Nightmares

The song remains the same
The videos pause, then play
The colors
Muddy over here
Sharp pixels at that
The foyer beeps with Boost Mobile
Fingernails tap on the window
To scratch and claw your dreams
Into submission
While you drop your stub of admission
Into the trash can
That sits on the corner
Scratched and sniffed
Regrets come to trial
In wonderland
The mirrors in your dream
Reflect the ghosts of you
That linger on the tip of your tongue
Shaking
As your world stirs

Turtles' Fables

Fabulously green like a $50 bill
The turtle glowed in the black cloud
Of a Halloween storm
He hid his head in the blackout of the office building
When the winds escaped
Battery Park and the feet of Lady Liberty
He slowly climed down the Soho sidewalk
Passing the hurried heel clicks
Outwitting the debt-ridden college students
Steadying his sharp irises
He knew that he was slow to match
The pace of a rabbit
But he strode quickly
Unfolded his elbows to plant his shell
And blossom on the bank of the Hudson River
His bed was a lilypad, sponge-worthy
But his bed was not in the ocean
It was in the plan