In the poem “secret decoder ring” the persona eloquently states that a “language of breaths, beats, and pauses” would form if the addressee would just believe one out of every twenty things said. What do you think is the one thing that should be heard? Overall, what do you hope people “hear” when they read your poems?

My sincerity.  Loneliness is at the heart of most of my poems and the thing is, I'm not writing in a persona when I write about it.  I really am that creature.  I write poetry, I take pictures, and I talk to friends online or by phone.  That's it; that's my entire life.

Your poetry has this delightful ability to surprise its readers. Do you consciously apply this technique when creating a poem?

Yes.

Is there a poet who has influenced your writing, and if so how have they helped to shape your work?

I'd say Pablo Neruda. To me, he is the most perfect embodiment of what it means to be a poet.  He dreams new worlds instead of just explaining old ones. Language-wise, I consider him more classic than experimental and that's how he has shaped my work. I write poems that mean something instead of getting lost in all the different tricks and pyrotechnics one can do with words. I've never formally studied poetry so years ago I decided to give myself a bit of an education and closely read and studied Neruda until I could imitate his style.  This resulted in a poem titled “that glass is.”  The other poets I have done this with are: T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, and Sylvia Plath.

What new exciting projects are you currently working on?

A few.  I'm currently guest editor for The Northville Review's 2nd Annual Poetry for Poetry Haters Issue.  I'm working on a series of prose-poems inspired by various historical facts with my partner-in-crime Barry Graham.  I'm collaborating with Ryan W. Bradley in a poem where we each contribute just two lines at a time.  I'm also working on a series of letters to different bones in our bodies with a wild and beautiful poet whose name I will keep secret at this time.

You are also a talented visual artist. Does your visual work help shape your poetry and/or does your poetry aid you in creating visual work?

I'm a poet so I see things poetically. I think this influences my photography in that I take “poetic” pictures for the most part. I try to find the beauty in small things, the secret worlds hidden beneath the obvious ones. As far as my pictures influencing my poetry?  It doesn't in any way that I can detect, but who knows.

In the poem “the sublimation of all earthly desires” you create a list of wants and the actions you take to meet specific desires. Would you mind writing one more line in the spirit of this poem—would you please tell me by filling in the blank how…

“when I want poetry I ________________________________________”

pretend I’m dead.

     secret decoder ring

if only you'd believe even one out of every twenty things I say

we could develop a language of breaths, beats, and pauses that would still convey what I need to convey

a Morse code separate from the thousands of lies I'm bound to repeat like a shitty mantra for a life I don't even like

this is that.

     16 silhouettes

I've got a silhouette of anger and a silhouette of guilt

I've got a silhouette of dry reasons and a silhouette of near limitless doubt

I've got a silhouette of mild sadness and of sucked-in guts

and one of inexhaustible frustration

a million silhouettes, I've made to pass the time

I walk into each one depending what I want to feel that day, that hour

lately I've been spending my nights in ugly pity

like a cave I can't control

but fear not, there will be other silhouettes soon:

a silhouette of automatic momentum

a silhouette of folded wings and wax-figured faith

a silhouette of sun-hardened punctuality

and a silhouette of poisoned dawns

-

these silhouettes never meet each other

each one is alone-alone and utterly bridge-less to the other

each one waits sober as a ditch or sends me desperate news

junk mail from my own soul which I must delete

over and over again, a million silhouettes

I've made to pass the time

I walk into each one depending what I want to feel that day, that hour

lately I've been spending my nights in blank reflection

it's a little less uncomfortable

like an apartment in the sky

but fear not, there will be other silhouettes soon:

a silhouette of automatic momentum

a silhouette of folded wings and wax-figured faith

a silhouette of sun-hardened punctuality

and a silhouette of dawns

     the sublimation of all earthly desires

when I want candy I climb down into my trenches and nibble on pebbles

when I want a good hot meal I set fire to another parachute in my closet

when I want money I write my name on a turtle and set him loose to wreak destruction

when I want popularity I climb down an ant hill

when I want immortality I draw bat wings on the ribcages of strangers

when I want warmth I sever my heart from the laws of gravity

when I want serenity I sharpen my teeth with a nail file

when I want transcendence I eat an apple

when I want something to wear I scrub my skin with a wire brush

when I want something to drink I look at the closest ocean

when I want hope I swallow a fistful of fireflies

when I want companionship I build spacecrafts

when I want validation I submerge my head in a tar pit

when I want change I stand completely still, the trees work it off

when I want strength I drain blood from an invisible graveyard

when I want you, I close my eyes