Slight-of-hand is notSlight, but rather Sleight — The wordItself so cunning, So sly; so determined toMislead, to slight you by sleight. *A Tanka poem is a Japanese form that consists of 31 syllables, usually forming an unbroken narrative line.

Here is a short video of my appearance on Accents Radio with the uber-talented poet and screenwriter Katerina Stoykova. I read several poems and an odd short story. Enjoy!

‘Erudite’ and ‘Pedantic’ are neighbors and kin: To know is a virtue; to KNOW you know is a sin.

One fine day with no one home, Consciousness possessed our rotary phone. ‘Twas surely a number of years ago, ‘Cause phones are electric now, you know. And no bleepy-bloopy smarty cell Has an old tin can’s chance in hell Of handling the otherworldly experience Of bein’ possessed by thought and sense. But all afternoon while

We’re a couple of bent paper clips, Friction at our bendy tips. Made to clasp and grasp and fuse, Meant to wed intent to muse. Bend me, twist you, intertwine — We paper clips think bending’s fine.

Someone asked me today for the rules* for writing limericks, so I decided to respond in limerick form: Limericks are five lines long, Shorter than most of our songs. Lines 5, 1, and 2 Rhyme, and so do The middle two lines (if not wrong!).     NOTE: This meta-limerick does not address the rhythm

I slide in behind her At an all-night diner. “Is this where I check my privilege?” I say.   She brokers a peace deal with her skirt, Turns in her booth, Sucks on her tooth, Says: “Baby, that ship has sailed.”   I shudder. That’s what she offers? A worn-out, semiotic ghost Aback a limpid,

Corrupt as if cursed by Legion, Pure as if blessed by Three:   Legs, breasts, and souls — all bare. Marbled gooseflesh; primacy; canned air.   As far East as you can get, As much Camelot as you can take.

I believe in the lessons of the Enlightenment: Human is human. Period. I believe that tendencies from the Right or Left to forget these lessons can and do lead to atrocities (regardless of intent), and could eventually lead to the extermination of all humans if unchecked. I believe there are sometimes bad actors among humans,

I do not hate you. I do not think you dig Nazis. I do not think you want to eat babies or massacre unicorns with a chainsaw. I assume, like me, you want this world to be a better place. I assume, like me, you come to your beliefs on the heels of years of experience,