The King

The day the king dies

There will be a celebration like no other

The greatest celebration

Some may even say the biggest celebration

There will be jubilation like no other

The greatest jubilation

Some may even say the biggest jubilation

There will be cake like no other

The greatest cake

Some may even say the biggest cake

There will be fireworks like no other

The greatest fireworks

Some may even say the biggest fireworks

There will be feasts like no other

The greatest feasts

Some may even say the biggest feasts

There will be parties like no other

The greatest parties

Some may even say the biggest parties

There will be festivals like no other

The greatest festivals

Some may even say the biggest festivals

There will be dancing in the streets like no other

The greatest dancing in the streets

Some may even say the biggest dancing in the streets

There will be parades like no other

The greatest parades

Some may even say the biggest parades

There will be applause like no other

The greatest applause

Some may even say the biggest applause

There will be laughter like no other

The greatest laughter

Some may even say the biggest laughter

There will be screams of joy like no other

The greatest screams of joy

Some may even say the biggest screams of joy

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.29.11.15.43@345ParkNYC

Vanishing Thief

Under immense pressure

Required surrender to such grand pleasure

Cataclysms spinning around

Hands and feet shackled and bound

Forces unbeknownst to any reality

Enter my room and bend over my knee

Existence in question

Booked a midnight fuck session

Telecommunications interrupting

Evil aliens abducting

Everyone swipes their credit into bankruptcy

Bring out the clown cavalry

From sky satellites falling 

Creatures of night crawling

Politicians vomiting a greasy lie

Fighter jets do or die

Televisions exploding in our living room

Welcoming our existence to last doom

Genetic harassing molecules

Below the belt jewels

Violently pursuing our blood

Forty-day and forty-night flood

Micro plastics rollercoaster veins

Never can break from the day job chains

Drifting in and out of magnetic waves

Dancing at midnight on top of graves

Polymers and digesting bleach

Listening to the pastor preach

Everything released in hi-fi stereo

From trans queens to yesterday’s hoe

Lightning rounds

No kings, no crowns

Multi-travel pass

Motorcade to midnight mass

Running the yearly marathon

Drowning from dusk to dawn

Trajectory launched to outer space

She sat on my face at last night’s grace

Big brown paper bag suffocation

Parallel and perpendicular streets negotiation

Riverbed swans

Time to visit all the cons

Open all the solitary confinement cells

Ring the high church bells

Chariot on fire with an iron horse

Orbiting at hypersonic G-force

Embracing the dying planet

Below the world’s greatest island of granite

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.29.10.48.56@345ParkNYC

Interstate 287

Felt like yesterday

We were just young kids

Swinging in the shade of the oak

We forged a great friendship through the years

Walked along the evening railroad tracks

With our fingers crossed

Placed our ears on the rails

Listened for a tremble

Felt for a vibration

Interstate 287 was beneath the overpass

Cars and semi-trucks swooshing

I extended my hand to yours

We kissed for the first time

As a teen, I would have exclaimed 

The earth took a pause on its axis

My heart sank in happy disbelief

You felt for me like I felt for you

All it took was a commitment like no other

We had to pursue our own volition

Take our unlocked hearts to the swooshing of I-287

Or the freight train barreling down upon us

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.28.15.03.36@345ParkNYC

Empty

Empty the casket

Fill the tank with gasoline

Empty promises

With no more agreements

Children are out of the house now

I am left with an empty nest

Went around back

Emptied the trash

My stomach growls to be fed

It is empty

A dead man said

I came home late

To an empty house

With an empty bag

And found on my porch

An empty box

To place on my empty bed

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.28.13.06.20@345ParkNYC

Setting Sun

Sitting at the red traffic light

Waiting for the light to change

I was going to turn left

The clicking of my turn signal

Click Clack Click Clack

My hands on the steering wheel

Tapping to the rhythm of the

Click Clack Click Clack

In my rearview mirror

I see the sun setting

Gorgeous hues of

orange, red, yellow, and purple

Like flames, flowers, or fireworks

It was hard to drive away

Knowing I’ll never see her again

But I was

Sitting at the red traffic light

Waiting for the light to change

I was going to turn left

The clicking of my turn signal

Click Clack Click Clack

My hands on the steering wheel

Tapping to the rhythm of the

Click Clack Click Clack

Click Clack Click Clack

I had a heart attack

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.28.10.53.49@345ParkNYC

Feathers

In my blind effort

I had sewn the crow’s feathers

To my own shoulder blades

I admit

My idea was ill conceived

But I had to fly to the top of the mountain

To see you one more time

Instead, in my leap of faith

I fell to the ground

And the coroner announced my death

© 2026 David Greg Harth

26.01.28.10.45.45@345ParkNYC

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

As The Night Falls

The biggest threat

Are the words unspoken

As the thoughts remain inside

Hidden from the outside world

Hidden from any chance of

Assistance

Understanding

Or Help

Thoughts

Covered

Coveted

Camouflaged

Disguised so deeply

Unrecognizable

Unintelligible

Words swept away

Words kept under lock and key

Words sheltered beneath layers

Words that have become secrets

Words woven into my unconscious

Words placed in solitary confinement

Words tucked and compartmentalized

Words isolated from an ignored reality

Words at the bottom of my emotional sea

Words placed on shelves in the chambers of my heart

The biggest threat

To my ongoing existence

Are the unspoken words

Are the words unspoken

© 2025 David Greg Harth

25.12.18.15.53.00@245ParkNYC

Opportunistic Droplets

One

Two

Three

Drip

Drop

Droop

Droplets from the sky

Droplets don’t ask why

Droplets from her mouth

Droplets down south

Droplets from mother

Droplets from another

Droplets from the baby

Droplets of the flu maybe

Droplets while working

Droplets in corners lurking

Droplets on the train

Droplets from the rain

Droplets in the elevator

Droplets are the healthy traitor

Drip

Drop

Droop

Droplets to go

And droplets to stay

Droplets to take away

Droplets to go

And droplets in formation

Droplets for all the nation

Droplets to go

And droplets to fear

Droplets to make disappear

Goodbye droplets

Bad bad droplets

© 2025 David Greg Harth

25.12.18.09.18.28@345ParkNYC

Rusty Nails

Rusty nails

These rusty nails

Rusty nails in my feet

Between my toes

Rusty to the heads and tails

Rusty nails in the palm of my hands

Rusty nails in my heels

Rusty nails up my nostrils

Rusty in my forehead

Rusty in my bones

Rusty to rest

And resting to rust

And old 

And rust

To dust

© 2025 David Greg Harth

25.12.17.10.55.39@345ParkNYC