Author: randyribay

rat dogs and shitty sparklers

poetry

six summers
ago in russia
we attempted to
celebrate the fourth
with firecrackers
and hot dogs
in a field of pale green weeping
willows. though
i enjoyed the
motherland rumor
has it the hot dogs
are made of rats
and the sparklers
just do not last.
thus, rat dog in
one hand, shitty
sparkler in the
other, i suddenly developed a
sense of patriotism.

retrospectively, the poem as prophecy

poetry

there are times i sit here
reading of worlds and wondering
if i have ever known yours.
three years and can i say
i know what you’re thinking? or
finish your sentences with familiar
eloquence? sometimes i secretly
fear that i cannot especially
when i just end up cutting you off
from a thought diverging from,
say,
us.

the universe

poetry

Scientists announced Tuesday that our love is expanding at an infinite rate. While this perpetual growth cannot be seen, it can be concluded based upon observable effects. For example, the wavelengths of Time Spent Not Thinking About Each Other (T.S.N.T.A.E.O.) are exponentially drifting further apart, resulting in an undeniable red shift. Three predictions regarding the fate of these findings have been put forth by the scientific community: 1. Our love will continue to expand infinitely; 2. Our love will continue to grow, but the rate at which it does so will slow and approach a limit; 3. Our love will eventually peak and then subsequently collapse in upon itself, creating a black hole from which even light cannot escape.

(re)alizations

poetry

wednesday night i looked
up and realized
i had forgotten the
sky

transfixed by my (re)discovery
i stared until
stars (re)appeared
thousands by
the second

i (re)ached for your hand
forgot what we left east of us
as we escaped into central PA

meanwhile
stars continued to (re)appear
and the sky seemed so saturated
i half expected
it
to exhale.