Poem To My Punky:
You are older now
and time is different in the sense
that I still see you
as this little girl with wild,
curly-blonde,
frizzy hair.
I still see Continue reading
Sessions From The Balcony
Love In The Late 20’s
It was early morning on the roof of an East Side building facing the East River with the sun moving up above the buildings in Long Island City. The summer warmth was thick and the humidity was wet like a blanket.
A little plume of white smoke lifted from the industrial section of buildings across the into the orange colored sky. Uptown and Downtown, The West Side and East were all quiet in the hours of dawn’s first light.
I pulled a cigarette out of the Continue reading
From The Junkie Diaries
In the thick of it:
It was the beginning of summer in 1989. I was closing in on my 17th birthday. My friends and everyone I knew were off somewhere living life as teenagers should, and there I was, stuck on a job and wishing I was anyplace else. My hands and face were dirty with soot and grease. My long hair was matted with sweat after working in boiler rooms as an apprentice for The Old Man shop.
Inside my thoughts, I waited hours for that moment when that imaginary whistle screamed at 5:00pm. At last, the week Continue reading
A Letter To A Young Girl
Here it is another day and we’re back at it. It doesn’t seem fair does it? The time between then and now seems to slip by so quickly. And yet here we are, back in this place, and time seems to move so slowly.
I saw something this weekend that made me think of you. I woke early to take a long hike that ended with me at a Continue reading
Letters From a Son: About A Hike
I saw my first butterfly of the season last Thursday. It was mostly yellow with black dots and a black border around the edge of the wings. Strange though; I seldom see butterflies in the city—let alone 32 stories up on the roof of a commercial office building. Of course, I smiled when I saw the butterfly. I smiled because the timing was perfect.
Yesterday morning was an Continue reading
Growing Up
In the earlier days on Merrick Avenue, the neighbor would have her grandchildren come and stay with her for a few days throughout the summer. Both were military sons with a father in the army. Both were younger than me. The oldest grandchild was younger than my by two years and the youngest was younger than me by three years.
They were good kids. Different from most of the boys I knew; the two brothers were fun and lighthearted. Neither of them wa Continue reading
Written for the LaSpina Family
Back when I was somewhere around the age of 10, I made this decision to head down to the basement and play around on my brother’s weight bench. I was too small and too weak to lift any of them. I tried though. I tried to lift his weight bar that went across the bench. I pushed as hard as I could. I clenched my teeth; my arms reached upwards with hopes to push and lift the bar and weighted plates from the rack, bringing the weight bar down to my chest, and then pumping out a few quick reps.
Unsuccessful with Continue reading
just thinking
Water folds onto the sand of an empty beach. Another season has passed. Another year adds to a pile that began back when I was about 16 years-old.
I remember the sky as it was. The thick gray clouds were like the salt and pepper color of an old man’s beard. The wind rushed along the Continue reading
Class Dismissed
And so of any, this is the first page I write in a new journal.
This is the first paragraph to detail a new journey. It all starts here at page one.
This is where my yesterday ends and I begin.
It all starts now . . .
I remember when I started with this commitment. I promised myself—no matter how busy the day is or what happens; I made a pledge that I would write my thoughts and work towards this goal I have of becoming a writer.
I remember the first time I sat in Continue reading
It’s Worth The Trip
I sat in a bench of armchairs at a little airport in the small town of Melbourne, Florida. The hour was early and the airport was mostly empty. Overhead, the lights brightened the white ceiling and glowed over a blue, Miami style carpeting.
I was amongst a small group of passengers that arrived early to quickly slip through the security checkpoints. Men in suits walked with urgency. They passed with business hats on their heads, a newspaper folded in half—tucked underneath the free arm while the other gripped to the extended handle of a wheeled, carry-on bag.
I admit that I am a guilty fan of people watching. Yet with no one around to watch, I settled down to take in the sights. I could see the morning sky through the tall windows throughout the gate area. Airplanes slept dormant Continue reading
The Written Addiction 