Gnomic Utterances

Supposed wisdom from the Swamps of Sadness.

Love Is a Waveform

we want ever more of
so we pull at both ends
until it becomes a straight line.
A river finally arrives when it goes dry.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too
but you can always not have it
and never eat it either.
Every poem is a list.
Every moment the universe
breaks
the record for length.
The further a civilization advances
the more advanced its historians find
all past civilizations to have been.
You can’t drain an ocean of lies
without a poem
in which to put all the water.
You don’t need a formal education to succeed
but you do need a formal education
to know you don’t need one.
It’s easier to get someone who has given you something
to give you everything
than it is to get someone who has given you nothing
to give you anything.
You only do anything twice
once the first time
and the second every time thereafter.
Superimposing your lifespan
over the length of a single day
falling in love would be noon
no matter how old you are.
A love you don’t return
is like a sunset in another country.
Waiting is a time machine.
Wait a little to see the future.
Wait a lot to see the past again.

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You can read another poem consisting of aphorisms here. Both were originally published in Returning the Sword to the Stone by Fonograf Editions in 2021. Due to the implosion at SPD, Fonograf Editions is in need of funds to continue its mission of publishing unique and beautiful books of poetry. Support them here if you can. A small donation goes a long way.