happy anniversary, darling

When people talk, listen completely. Dont be thinking what you're going to say next.
Most people never listen.
Nor do they observe.
You should be able to go into a room and when you come out
know everything that you saw there and not only that.
If that room gave you any feeling, you should know exactly what it was
that gave you that feeling.
Try that for practice.
When you're in town stand outside the theater
and see how the people differ in the way
they get out of taxis and motor cars.

There are a thousand ways to practice
getting in to somebody else's head for a change.

what i could have said

if you'd slow down a minute to let me finish.

If Akatiff seems impatient, its because he's obsessed with results.
As a kid growing up, he once worked 13 straight hours to build an oscilloscope
even though he didn't care what an oscilloscope did.

but that takes time.

the extra button

sewn into my shirt tag
could give me the second chance
to show a change could be had

how to lose how to win
could get lost in passing words
and the sirens of a nearby ambulance

a bicycle tire under a benz
used in making polite requests
stones the healer of a nearby trend
and insults the dealer when affections commend

five days in hell
five days of consumption
brain badgering witnesses
of some kind of corruption

the thoughts of a child
grow up in depression
only when the distinction
gets the best of decisions.

you better believe
as much as you speak
when the responsibility
is worth the upkeep