i'm alright (excerpt from "new thread june 2007") i decide on a short walk around the block. encountering the usual distractions and sources of duress, obsession, etc. i decided to alter my path of contemplation. it could be worse, i think to myself when observing the homeless and their signs. i see derelict eyes, sullen and contrived countenances vibrating through the streets. you can think differently. you possess the willingness and ability to do so, right?. like turning a rusty damned screw. simple as moving your head up through purple clouds. easy as sand in the mud. try it, damnit! i implore myself. i project a modicum of tranquility through my thick-framed glasses and plaffo! there it is a snowflake in the arid desert. a whale song through platinum didgeridoos. so i'm lofty for a moment. free! i'm glistening through this like being five years old and laughing. the rooms and the cupcakes. baking pumpkin pies and flour all over the kitchen and our faces with mom.      meeting your dad to mow the lawn. sneaking to the drive-in with my brother - catching that cheech and chong flick. the cardboard forts in the spare bedroom. so - i'm alright. the gray streets momentarily shine and radiate. the dark clouds disperse and a crescendo of orange, reds, yellows, pearls burst into immense blossoms like fireworks kissing the sky. so - i'm okay. suddenly, my breathing is calm, soothing and satiating. my future wife just blew me a kiss.              a flock of hummingbirds (yes, i dig hummingbirds) grant me an art show and skip across the pages of my published works with tiny speckles of pigment on their feet. i press on. around the corner towards a church. i think about going in. yes. just for a bit of quiet. peace. there was the intention as potent as a hurricane— michael j tino 2007 back