Daily Keemo. 3.18. Things You Learn From A Broken Nose

Things You Learn From A Broken Nose
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It was the day that I learned to drive a stick. The high school was rather empty because it was after detention and Toby and I were walking down the long hallway that led to parking lot by the gymnasium and the pool. We were laughing and joking around and being general idiots and we were walking behind two other people (a boyfriend and girlfriend) who were also leaving after detention. The boy apparently thought we were laughing at them and without warning turned around and slugged Toby directly in the nose and the blood poured from his face and his nose was busted up like a big, rotten, squished strawberry and his eyes were quickly swelling shut. We weren't fighters. (Plus, you know better than to fight people that are prone to do irratic things like punching people in the face for no reason. It's something you learn young.) By the time we knew what happened the puncher and his girl were gone and I helped Toby to his car and the blood kept pouring from his face and he sat down in the passenger side and put the seat back. "You drive," he said and handed me the keys. "OK," I said. "You can drive a stick, right?" he asked. "I'm about to learn," I said. "Yes, you are," he said.

I put the key in the ignition. "Push your left on the left pedal and turn the key..." he said.

I looked over at his bloody face, pushed down with my left foot and turned the key. Blood dripped down onto his shirt.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.16. There Is Lipstick and The Love Poem Is Not Dead Quite Yet

There Is Lipstick and The Love Poem Is Not Dead Quite Yet
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There is lipstick on the coffee mug that sits next to sink and
I know that she has been there.

There are earrings on the dresser and
I know that she has been there.

There is the sweet smell of her perfume in the air and
I know that she has been there.

There is no more emptiness inside and
I know that she has been there.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.12. No One Knows You In These Moments

No One Knows You In These Moments
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It was 4:53 AM when I slid out of bed and tiptoed across the cold floor and quietly shut the door behind me. The house was dark and cold and still and I went downstairs and sat on the couch and lit up the room with the TV screen.

No one knows you in these moments.

It was cold in the house and as images flickered on the TV, I remembered one time I was standing outside the fitting room while she tried on new clothes and a woman who walked by pointed to the Keemo button on my jacket and said, "I love your button. I am a huge fan of his work." I wasn't sure what to say, so I fessed up. "Well, thank you and nice to meet you, I am Keemo." We talked for a few minutes and she was very nice and she said that "she thought I would be taller" and I laughed and I knew that one of these days I would work that line of hers into a story.

No one knows you in these moments.

I flipped channels and it was still dark and I had a blanket over me and there were a million reasons why I should go back up to bed and only a few reasons why I did not. I could hear the dog pacing on the wood floor above me and I considered taking something to put me to sleep but what was keeping me awake was more important than stealing a dream before the morning alarm.

No one knows you in these moments
and it is these moments that make us.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.10. In The Kitchen With Girls And Music

In The Kitchen With Girls And Music
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There is a fresh apple core to my left and
a hammer without nails and
a pencil and a
a sad song floating up the stairs from the
speakers downstairs.

This is a song for anyone
With a broken heart
This is a song for anyone
Who can't get out of bed
sings the sad song and
I can't help but think that I am
glad this song wasn't around when
I was young and fragile because
it would have been
the end of me.

The girls are in the kitchen and they are
making wonderful everything and
from the tone of thier voices I can tell
there is a lot of listening and
somewhere in all this is happiness and
I must go look
for it.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.9. The Seats Are Filled With Names

The Seats Are Filled With Names
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Every person
In this waiting room
looks doomed.

The expressions on the faces
read like Kafka and
I can't help but feel like
all of us sitting here are the butt
of some surreal joke.

The nurse calls names and
thier seat is filled with new names
who will be called later and
I wait for my name and
an old woman sits next to me and
she doesn't seem so doomed
like the others.

"Beautiful day," she says to me as she sits down.
"Yes, it is," I say.
She hums to herself with a slight smile on her face.

The nurse comes through the door and I hear my name.
"That's me," I say as I get up. "Have a good day," I say to the lady.
"I already am," she said. "Thank you."

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.8. Better Than Any Words

Better Than Any Words
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After I finished this painting, it really started to grow on me and I realized that the actual event that this was about was really just kind of silly and it wasn't worth even going on about. Not to mention, I just thought the expression on the face summed it all up better than any words that I would write. So, with that, here is to just letting things be as they are and what they are is up to you...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.5. Six For Six

Six For Six
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We were all sitting around the table
talking, drinking, laughing, and there were
six of us and we somehow
stumbled upon the fact that all
of our fathers had left for
new lives with new women and
I know this story is not new
to everyone.

That is six for six and
the story is as old as man and
as pitiful as man and
as sorry as man and
as pathetic as man and
as a man
I write this

for all of us who know this
story too well and

for some reason still think the leaving
had anything to do
with us.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.4. This Is How It Will Be

This Is How It Will Be
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I have loved
her for as long
as it matters.

The time before that
was nothing.

With my last
breath
I will whipser
her name
and
it will be
over.

This is how
it will be.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.3. Through The Floor I Can Hear It

Through The Floor I Can Hear It
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The girls are downstairs and
I can hear their laughter through the floor and
it makes me wonder why
I am up here with these keys.

In between the laughter I can hear
the soft hum of their words as
they talk about things and
it warms me to know that
connections are made between people and
it is these connections that
makes me wonder why
I am up here with these keys.

I stare at my folded hands and
they tell me nothing as I wait
for the words to open them up and
when they finally do
it reminds of why
I am up here with these keys.

...Enjoy!

Daily Keemo. 3.1. When The End Is Just The End

When The End Is Just The End
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I was just about finished with this story and I deleted it. It just wasn't right and to be honest, it was not interesting and the point was something that just doesn't seem to matter anymore. Maybe it is just that I am too tired to go into all the details or maybe it is that lingering self doubt that makes me question why people would even be interested in something that I have to say anyway. Luckily, I learned how to deal with the self doubt years ago and decided to start over and let this grow into something else because in the end sometimes just completing is enough and sometimes just completing is the point.