personal writing

Ode to the Lint in My Belly Button (2011)

/ dowdicus / Leave a comment

Originally published in Tributaries (2011)

Oh lint in my bellybutton,
Whence comest thou?
Surely you,
Who keeps my navel warm at night,
Are the manifestation of love
And warmth,
And all things good,
Which cradle in the center
Of my being.

Lint, though you are gray,
Do not despair!
Those who wash you out
Are empty inside,
Where I am full.

Oh lint in my bellybutton,
How I miss thee so,
When I search
And find naught
In the center of my being.
Lint, you Omphalic dust
Collecting in the center of life,
I mourn for the outties
Who do not know you.

Lint you gay gathering
Of dust and of hair,
May you ever return to my navel:
May we ever be paired.

Severed Connection

/ dowdicus / Leave a comment 
Late nights for days–
unable to sleep or focus or do anything,
racing thoughts down the freeway.
I was thinking of the women I know and how lovely they are,
when something reminded me of you, and I reached out–
and you were excited about the people 
who still matter to you

I slept last night.
No more racing.
I was thinking how I used to be part of your life,
and how quietly you slipped away.
You didn’t even leave a note.
I sat in a chair,
thinking at nothing,
until I felt bad

Bitter thoughts may be cruel–
but joy is no ally.
The good days are a Trojan Horse.
The bad days are reality.
And each day rewrites the last,
except when emptiness comes–
and both inside and outside the horse,
there is 

nothing.