Pause Button

I look up
and the calendar reads
April 2007.

it is December 2008
and last year’s Christmas present
lays in pieces
behind my living room couch.

four days ago I saw a mouse
but I’ve yet to do anything about it.

the combination of grain alcohol
and drugs
have kept my mind off anything significant
since the summer of 2003.

back then the world mattered:
grades
and girlfriends
a future
and credit.

but they all fell off at some point.

I owe 600 to my last apartment,
1500 to an overdue credit card,
550 to the local court,
and God knows what to my bookie.

the wall stares back
and I know
when I come down
there is some climbing to do.

Charles Michael Craven is a 23 year-old with many problems, one being writing. He occasionally falls asleep in a town outside of Austin, Texas. Usually, he can be found indoors, wearing a t-shirt, mesh shorts, and a smirk. He has been published in magazines such as Boston Literary Magazine, Churches, Children, and Daddies, The Common Line Project, and Speed Poet. Also has a Chapbook available at scars.tv He also has a popular blog at his blog if anyone would like to read more.

Email: Charles Michael Craven

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