Introducing
Brian Rihlmann

 

 

 

That’s All

 

what makes the night—

the night

the darkness—

the darkness

is precisely

the absence of light

 

you can imagine

the dawn

the sunlight

peeking through the forest

 

but imagining it

doesn’t brighten the path

 

so you force your eyes open

wide as you can

grope

stumble

and flinch

until morning

 

 

 

The Mystery

 

whether you jump

into the mystery

or are shoved

you’ll find it

eventually

 

and then

do you fall

or fly?

 

depends

on your faith

 

is there a bottom

or not?

 

it can’t be falling

when you never

land

 

 

 

No One Can

 

he comes in

ten minutes late

sits at the desk

beside mine

sighs, and says

“man.... I wish it was 4 already”

 

I chuckle and nod

then buckle in for the ride

I tap away

break for lunch at noon

breathe a thousand breaths

think a million thoughts

 

about 3:30 we look at each other

he says “almost over”

I lean back in my chair, “yep”

 

“almost over”

is supposed to be

a good thing

in this context

 

yet the lives

are the days

and the hours

and the minutes

 

I almost ask him

the obvious question

the “where does it go?” thing

 

but he won’t be able

to answer that

no one can

 

it’s 4... quittin’ time

I punch the clock

trot out to my car

gotta get ahead

of the pack

 

 

 

 

A Great Job

 

She gave me

the standard bravado

about how her job

was the greatest:

 

“I get to dress up

and do my makeup

and look pretty...”

 

“Uh huh.” I said

 

“...plus the money is great

and I set my own hours

and only see the clients I want.”

 

“Sounds pretty great,” I said.

“maybe I should try it.”

 

She laughed,

then knelt down

between my legs

and unzipped my fly.

 

As she worked,

my eye wandered,

and caught the gleam

of a glass pipe

on the nightstand.

 

 

 

 

My Demons Are Not Night Owls

 

i never have nightmares

my demons are not night owls

they don’t sneak out at 3 a.m.

to terrorize me

with their shenanigans

 

they rise before dawn

when i do

no matter how quietly

i slip out of bed

and tiptoe to the bathroom

 

there they are

perched on my shoulders

staring back at me from the mirror

as i rub creases from my face

 

they begin whispering

about the time

i’m brushing my teeth

 

and waltz through my head

all day long

clomp and stomp

of clumsy steps

on the hardwood

 

by nightfall leaning

against each other

shuffling their feet

like the last couple standing

in a marathon dance contest

 

they collapse eventually

they’ve gotta sleep

sometime too

 

maybe that’s the upside

to all this

 

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