With My Eyes, I See

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see what you’re saying

What you’re hiding

What you’re slipping under the table

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see what you’re hoping for

What you’re praying for

Celebrating for

Paying for

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

Under the covers

Under the cloudy sky

Under the planked wood

Under the ocean’s tide

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you turning the corner

I see you ignoring me

Talking to me

Taking my picture

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

In the mirror

In reverse

I see you involved

I see you evolving

I see you with your head down in that book

I see you with your head between your legs

I see you in the court of law

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you on a winter trail

I see you with the wind blowing in your hair

I see you in my dreams

I see you in the last pew

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you behind closed doors

Writing me a farewell

Digging your own grave

Forgetting my name

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you cheating

And cheering

And eating

And ignoring

I see you baking that big birthday cake

I see barking like a dog

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you blind siding me 

I see you car crashing

I see you sleeping

Hovering over me

Tying my knot

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you finding the parking spot

I see you getting a lotto ticket

Hiding behind the tree

Following me

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you buying chocolates

I see you playing games

Tuning the piano

Whispering to the bumble bee

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

I see you smoking that pipe

Carbon dating

Intense mating

Lightning dancing

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

I see you driving fast

I see you diving low

I see you dying slow

Lying

Prying

I see you not minding your own business

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

I see you painting the portrait

I see you holding on

I see you letting go

I see you raising your ego

I see you in the end

At tomorrow’s bend

I see you holding my hand

I see you pretend

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

Biting your nails

Sanding your toes

I see you spitting in the funnel

Doing those science experiments

I see you drinking black coffee

Churning over

Opening that new financial account

Knocking your teeth out

Falling down the stairs

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

Growing your beard

Tattooing your skin

Popping that pimple

Buying products on TV

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

I see you giving your testimony

I see you hiking the mountain

Going up on the down escalator

Steaming up the shower

Denying children

I see you

I see what you’re doing there

I see you bowling a strike

I see you going downhill in second

I see you breathing a sigh of relief

Beating a bucket on your head

Dancing to the beat of a drum

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you spray that perfume

I see you cut your hair

I see you grade student papers

Open up maps

And your GPS

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you opening the freezer

Chill the meat

With a knife slice the beef

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you in an improper gown

In a proper town

I see you with an upside-down frown

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you provoke the spider in the corner

I see you invite your sister and your brother

Ignore mother

Mail the package with proper postage

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you falsely the records

I see you in traffic stopped at a red light at night

I see you combing your hair

I see you sucking on that peppermint candy cane

Listening to vinyl records

Dusting my skin

Forgetting

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you milking yourself

I see you with the gun in the air

Shooting off rounds

Plump and white and with bullet fists

I see you underground and over shadowing

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

With your fancy satellite phone

With your gold grill

I see you with your big fat wallet

Credit cards

Porcelain toilet

Safe outback

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see you eating leftovers

I see you at the complaint department

Putting me in chains

Shutting me out

Spitting in my face

I see 

I see what you’re doing there

I see

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.19.37.10@130BklynNYC

The Effortless Fly

The effortless fly

Is poetic

In the most romantic sense

This little black insect

Landing on the hair on my arm

Tickling me

On a warm spring day

The sway of the trees

Give way to the slight wind

The effortless fly

Lives for a few weeks

In the passage of time

So much shorter than mine

As I swat and swat and swat

This dead bloody effortless fly

On the palm of my hand

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.17.08.19@345ParkNYC

Closures

I mailed her a detailed letter

Told her why I killed love for her

Admitted my mistakes

And she returned the favor

My desk calendar got dusty

A few weeks pass

And in my mailbox in the front yard,

I found the most agonizing battle cry

She was pregnant with my child

When she fell so ill in her mind

And sliced her wrists from bow to stern

(I don’t have a desk calendar)

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.16.54.07@345ParkNYC

The River Fails Me

I took the long walk around the Hudson River

From the bay to the beginnings

It took all my life

And my life out of me

From me

I saw the train coming at full speed

I saw the George Washington bridge

I saw the paralyzed drivers

Not know what to do

To drive around the flashing lights

Or to stop and stare

I sung in unison 

With all the stadium fans

I packed like a rat

And had an eighteen-wheeler wheel off all my possessions to Brooklyn on a hot summer day

As darkness set in

And the moon enveloped the sun

I heard the whistle of love

The whistle of love

The whistle of a train barreling down on me

Couldn’t get up in time

Couldn’t get out of bed

Slept in and out of a coma

Wish I just had a comma

Or semi colon

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.16.36.10@345ParkNYC

In Reverse

I have no regrets

Just plenty of returns

And burning agents

Scrubbed floors with bleach

And swallowed when they told me not too

I started to write down all my regrets

But then I remembered I have no regrets

Except

The regrets I can’t remember

The regrets I don’t admit too

Or don’t name

Or choose to remember

Just plenty of returns

And exchanges

Even foul smells

So, I washed my skin

And I washed my clothes

Rubbed out the dirt

And rubbed out the blood

Regrettably, I wish to inform you  –

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.16.26.34@345ParkNYC

Just Passing Through

I filled the prescriptions at the drug store

Picked them up the very next morning

Took the 7-day course

And now I’m on the daily course

And now I’m on the nightly course

Routine

So many prescriptions

Juggle them in this medical jungle

That I have become so familiar with

Getting old and dying is so complicated

This is wrong

That is wrong

This is falling apart

Because of this, this is also falling apart

So, prescribe another medication

Swallow the pills

One after the other

To extend this life

One passes the other

Pass the other

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.16.01.46@345ParkNYC

Couch

Placed my skull on the table

The table at the end of your couch

You were watching television

Ignoring me as usual

As you usually do

You didn’t even realize

That I took my skull out of my head

And placed it on the table

The table at the end of your couch

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.15.04.22@345ParkNYC

Loving You (Version #2)

Rusty nails

Under my skin

Stuck between my memories

And my future sin

Unpredictable uncertainty

From the choices I made

As a child to adulthood

So many wrongs played

Forgotten names

Of every and each treasure

But nestled between her thighs

Was my greatest pleasure

Spewing out the truths

They set my inferno free

Threatened by limited time

I succumbed and bent my knee

Haunting’s from yesterday

Made my daydreams reality

A door ajar invited me inside

Even in surrendering I make a plea

I planted my strongest seed in the earth

To mark my early grave

Fallen from the sky at great speed

To this love I have become a slave

Turn off the kettle

A warm tea by the crackling fire

I melt in love with you

And wrap my scalp in barbwire

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.27.14.53.29@345ParkNYC

In The Center

In the center

Between

The two valleys

This isn’t your mother’s shopping center

Get out the cart

Take out the trash

Look at the rearview mirror

Objects are closer than they appear

Purchase what’s on sale

Return your full price items

Return the gifts

Return to the scene of the crime

Sign up for the store bonus

Shake out your chicken leg

And pay by check

Rolling over

Rolling under

Rolling thunder

Trying to find the receipt

Paid for

Exchange

Contemplate the rate

Layaway

Credit

This is a store announcement

This is a sore loser

This is a poor customer

This is a thank you

Lying to security

Lying flat

Temper tantrum on the floor

Bought a new hat

Lighting fuses

Refusing to leave

Put away the refuse

Take the dog out for a walk

Town Center

Center Fold

Center Reach

Center Insight

Birthing Rights

Women’s Rights

Right hand turn rights

Right wing lefts

Left hand turns

Turning to write

Written right

Correct

Between her legs

Bright

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.24.18.05.41@130BklynNYC

Catching Shooting Stars

To catch a shooting star

You’ll need:

A wide net

A good eye

A mighty drive

A pinch of hope

A cup of caffeine

A bundle of patience

A lot of determination

And an eager heart

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.21.11.56.10@345ParkNYC

First-Class Riot

His hair was unwashed

Messy and uncombed

His face aged with last week’s shave

Sandpaper skin; rattle snake envy

Well used paperback book

He put on his dark blue Levi’s

Buttoned his collared shirt

He dusted off his leather boots

And placed his wool hat on his head

He drove his pickup truck out to the desert

Had no rhyme only reason

Searching for her name under his breath

He howled at the lonesome sky

Hot sun beat down between the clouds

Baked the cracked riverbed dry

Tumbleweed blowing in the wind’s grasp

Echoes of vultures circling overhead

He showed up late

And she was nowhere to be found

Just a damaged pocket-watch out of time

That hoped for one last chime

Because he’s a first-class riot

Unreliable

Beaten down

Not trustworthy

And territorial

Completely unhinged

And gave her the back of his hand one too many times

She left before he arrived

Rode the lost stallion as far as she could

Headed towards the rising moon

Didn’t leave any memories behind

Burned them to ash before she left

Burned them to ash

Left her haunts on the upright cross

Bloodstains seeped deep into the dirt

Dropped ripped and torn cloth 

Guided her hopes inside her treasure chest

Left her back home nest

He drove back to the border come dark

Without headlights to guide his path

Ended up in a ditch to die and waste out

Splayed to roast and rot

Coyotes call and moan

Towards his throat they do roam

Because he’s a first-class riot

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.14.16.24.00@345ParkNYC