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Poetry

149 poems, 1999–2010 · Browse the full archive

Soon to be soft, so tender, so sweet
Over the path I lure myself,
Only to cast away from love
This is on the million-mile road

Never understand what I really want,
Soft lips whisper ideas to me,
Whether they’re yours or the one’s in my head
They speak about the million-mile road

Mathematical problems I can never understand,
All the numbers relate to you,
Pages and pages of undone work,
Are completed on the million-mile road

Come closer as dawn peeks,
Life with you is a game of hide and seek,
Maiden visions from afar,
It all comes together on the million-mile road

The Million-Mile Road, 1999

Selected 35

All poems

All 149

1999

  1. The Million-Mile RoadSoon to be soft, so tender, so sweetPoem, selected
  2. Joy Sonnet in a Random UniverseSometimes I’m happy: la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Tum ti tum. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Hey nonny nonny. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Vodo di o do. Poo Poo pi doo. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Whack a doo. La la la la la la la. Sh-boom, sh-boom. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Dum di dum. La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Tra la la. Tra la la la la la la la la la la. Yeah yeah yeah.Prose poem by Helen Chasin
  3. Backdrop Addresses CowboyStarspangled cowboyPoem by Margaret Atwood

2000

  1. A Woman Standing In The RainI look outside my windowPoem, selected
  2. A Wednesday Afternoon Math Class OR The Marshmallow PoemThoughts, like dormant clouds, cluster around my head.Poem
  3. DreamsIn the openness of my mind there exist many dreamsPoem, selected
  4. ChestnutsTroubadour’s and illusionary’s wiltPoem
  5. The Trigger EffectWith one gun shot,Poem

2001

  1. LonelinessListen, carefullyPoem, selected
  2. Cinnamon HeartsI am bitterPoem
  3. Big Black ShoesFor TiffanyPoem
  4. It BeginsReality leaksPoem
  5. ToesIf I were a dying mitePoem
  6. The Great Hater…These I have hatedPoem, selected
  7. Ode To My SocksMaru Mori brought mePoem by Pablo Neruda, translated by Robert Bly
  8. The Job Of A DoorknobThe job of a Doorknob is to be rounded,Prose poem
  9. Ode To A Box Of CrayonsMy sister Jasmine brought mePoem
  10. Our WorldI step outside into the open worldPoem
  11. An Ode To The Job An OdeWorms are soldiersPoem
  12. A Tree In The WinterFor JuliaPoem
  13. The Shrink And Serial KillerElves and dwarfs and midget’s,Poem

2002

  1. The JourneyI am following the right pathPoem, selected
  2. This Is A Good PoemHe wraps himselfPoem
  3. Cheryl’s CupDelicoius –Poem
  4. This Is All I KnowI will reveal myselfPoem, selected
  5. Unsure CompletenessI am frightened of your completenessPoem
  6. A Funnel In My EarFor LindsayPoem, selected
  7. Fire HydrantsJehangir SalehPoem, selected
  8. Untitled SongIf I killed myselfPoem
  9. MagicThere is somethingPoem, selected

2003

  1. AppleAs the earth circles the sunPoem
  2. I Am CancerIt doesn’t matter to mePoem
  3. I Love YouNever, have I found a loverPoem
  4. Mr. ArmstrongA tributePoem
  5. Oh No, Suicideit’s so easyPoem, selected
  6. The Sex Columnist’s SonnetDear John, I sincerely hope you can help mePoem, selected
  7. To LoveI was afraid once you camePoem
  8. Untitled Because I Don’t Know What Else To SayUntitled Because I Don’tPoem, selected
  9. Waiting For A Woman With Nothing Else To Do But ThinkWaiting For A WomanPoem, selected
  10. WarningMass gravesPoem
  11. YeatsYesterdayPoem
  12. Please Stopto the herdPoem
  13. Gesture at Bay & BloorEasy to trip onPoem
  14. This Is Not Speech To Divine RevelationThis little boyPoem
  15. After Getting LostYou remind mePoem
  16. Where Are YouI am dying insidePoem
  17. Bus Ride 2there’s a disparity betweenPoem
  18. Nothingupon arrivingPoem
  19. I Am Dying InsideI am dying insidePoem
  20. I gave to youI gave to youPoem, selected
  21. List Before We DieVARITATION ONEProse poem
  22. Final Movement 3Art isPoem
  23. It Has OccurredAs the sound of lapping wavesPoem

2004

  1. I am uglyI am uglyPoem
  2. GoatI gave you my goatPoem
  3. A Letter To The Premier Of OntarioSurely, sir, you are a fair and reasonable manPoem
  4. He Said, She SaidYou want to person who isn’t the poet to do the first line, she said.Poem
  5. I Would Like You To KnowI would like you to knowPoem
  6. If You WeepWe will walk togetherPoem, selected
  7. Your AnklesYour AnklesPoem, selected
  8. Ode To Chininskinot feeling very wellPoem, selected
  9. EndI writing an endPoem
  10. HappinessTo be proud of your own eulogyPoem
  11. LivesHaving trouble composing my lifePoem, selected
  12. I do not believe in rampant sunsetsI do not believe in rampant sunsetsPoem
  13. Poem For LI miss youPoem, selected
  14. Different Variations Of The Same NoteAs I sit here inside my mind is fuzzy and fracturedPoem
  15. Questionsyesterday,Poem
  16. Too Close To The Edgeshe almost fellPoem
  17. Willowremember the willowPoem
  18. Light a candleLight a candlePoem
  19. HomageJesus was not electedPoem
  20. There are those whoThere are those whoPoem
  21. Poem 5Poem 5Poem
  22. Your Mind Is A Creature Who Runs MadlyYour mind is a creature who runs madlyPoem
  23. Marionit’s the killer combinationsPoem
  24. What if I wroteWhat if I wrotePoem
  25. Poem In My BedI promised youPoem
  26. GrowingTodayPoem
  27. Poem For A Night And A NationThough we are made hardPoem, selected
  28. CirclesI am trying to take a poemPoem, selected
  29. Tonight We Talked About DeathTonight we talked about deathPoem
  30. Poem For Samuel BeckettDear Mr. Beckett,Poem
  31. Subway Poem SongIt was likePoem, selected
  32. Forcing A PoemYou believePoem, selected
  33. The Space BetweenThere is strengthPoem
  34. Love PoemMarriagePoem
  35. Longing, Queer And IncompleteI miss youPoem, selected
  36. There Is No One Outside The BuildingThere is no one outside the building. I cannot see them. I cannot know they exist. I suppose it is logical to say that I exist, sitting at a desk in a room with two other breathing bodies. One is trying to ignore the other who has been sick all night. One is buried under blankets on the floor. I cannot see their body, but I hear some breathing, so I guess it is possible that they are still there.Prose poem
  37. QuietQuietPoem
  38. There Is More In This World Than Can Be Dreamt In Your PhilosophyWhere have you beenPoem, selected

2005

  1. VictoryTime is passingPoem
  2. Justiceperhaps justicePoem, selected
  3. Poem For YouIt occurs to mePoem
  4. Annanda’s WorkApr. 10, 2000Poem
  5. Death Of Someone You Don’t KnowNo more pretendingPoem
  6. Poem For Youi have been questioningPoem
  7. In The Worst Of TimesToday was our AnniversaryPoem
  8. Listening To Men Sing In Praise Of Their CreatorListening to men sing in praise of their creatorPoem
  9. You Tell Me That The UniverseYou tell me that the universePoem
  10. Poem Where You Move ForwardSlightly behindPoem
  11. My wifeMy wifePoem, selected
  12. Poem After A Long TimeAfter too much time in realityPoem
  13. Another Piece Of WritingI’ve already written so much about being alone. How many more times can the same theme be re-worked until it drifts into a nameless fog, or worse, popular culture?Prose poem
  14. Poem To Be ForgottenYou say you love mePoem, selected
  15. Poem On BusMoving toward homePoem
  16. Abraham Carried The Light Of GodAbraham carried the light of God. As he walked to Mt. Moria with Issac, he could not explain what he was doing to his wife. He could not explain what he was doing to himself. Abraham, the first prophet, sacrificed his only son in the hope that somehow, everyone would be ok. And when I young, I often wondered what would have happened had Isaac not turned into a goat.Prose poem
  17. After The Evening Poemlake be stillPoem
  18. EvolutionWhen I hold your bodyPoem
  19. AloneI wrote my first poemPoem
  20. Poem At The Endit’s still all about mePoem
  21. Poem For MyselfI don’t really live my life anymorePoem
  22. Dark and SilenceGabrielle ordered MohammedPoem
  23. Praying And DeathI knew a man who kept the bones of this wife wrapped in a white bandanna. He would take these pieces out – pieces of her fingers, the fragments of bones – and play with them like a jigsaw puzzle while he cried so silently. Once he put her hand together, he press his hand down on the fragments of bone, closed his eyes and whispered something. I do not know what he whispered. He was not religious, but it seems like he was praying to something. Prayer comes so naturally to those around death. It is the only way to understand it – by appealing to forces that we cannot prove or know to exist – only through the forces of nothing do we understand nothing itself; the dying cannot do anything but pray. Everything they do becomes a prayer. The brushing of teeth is no longer to what it is to the living (to fight tooth decay), it becomes a symbolic gesture of wanting to hold on. Praying is all the dying do.Prose poem
  24. The NightThe nightPoem
  25. StreetI was so lonely tonight that I imagined someone following me. Following myself. Nothing really.Prose poem, selected
  26. Tonight You CriedTonight you cried, and I tried to be the man I wanted to be when I was seven years old.Prose poem
  27. Poem For The Way Things Ought To BeFreePoem
  28. Fragments1. When I wake upPoem
  29. Going NowherePen hesitatesPoem, selected
  30. September 21stSitting on the floorPoem
  31. EndI was frightenedPoem
  32. Light 2If all the lamps in the housePoem
  33. Poem During The NightWake upPoem
  34. There Is A Naked Woman In The Middle Of The Highwaythere is a naked woman in the middle of the highwayPoem
  35. Morning Feels Slipperymorning feels slipperyPoem
  36. SunsetsSunsets(1)Poem
  37. Poem Into The Futureit is not that we have changedPoem
  38. PoetryIt is very unlikely thatPoem
  39. When I DieMy friend Marie in Sweden will die soon if she does not get a set of new lungs. The two fish in her chest cavity are flopping and beating madly against her rib cage as she tries to inhale. They give up on the exhale. I don’t blame them. After 19 years of beating madly, her lungs are tired and soon will give up for good.Prose poem
  40. Dear MarieDear MariePoem
  41. HideMy friend Marie in Sweden is dyingPoem
  42. Poem For Machine NightMidnightPoem, selected
  43. WaterAalya does not know what a machine isPoem
  44. Poem About UsI have trouble writing poetry about you as you arePoem
  45. Suicide BomberEveryone on the bus is quitePoem

2006

  1. I wishElvis never diedPoem
  2. Jehangir The Dorkgrade ninePoem, selected
  3. Poem In The HospitalIf you tell me that I don’t existPoem
  4. A Life, Objectivelyit began with dethroned rosesPoem

2007

  1. The Game Of Hide And SeekFor ShandaPoem
  2. Mirror With A Stretchy Beginning And No End1.Poem
  3. What Are These Wordsif not an attempt at firePoem

2008

  1. LiarYou promised mePoem
  2. Mom & DadThe way of love is notPoem by Rumi

2010

  1. Epilogue: Perfect Anklesmorning feels slipperyPoem
  2. Mid Afternoon The Season Changesthere is less time inside my bodyPoem, selected
  3. Mid Afternoon The Season Changeslimbs sighPoem, selected
  4. now the endnow the endPoem