“Usually I Do”
Sometimes I put the bananas next to the lemons
Sometimes I forget to breathe
Sometimes I feel lonely
Sometimes I hold my loneliness in my lap and stroke its head until it falls asleep
Sometimes I am too busy to feel though I really want to
Sometimes I make myself too busy to feel cause I don’t really want to
Sometimes I wish things were different
Sometimes I am full of what ifs
Sometimes I am happy for no reason
Sometimes I let my dog sleep on the couch
Sometimes I don’t want to eat from my garden, I just want to look at it and feel grateful
Sometimes I think I am in love, but only cause I want to be in love,
not cause there is anyone actually there
Sometimes I cry at sunsets
Sometimes I lose my mind
Sometimes I fumble my words though I know what I want to say
Sometimes I fall back on sorry
Sometimes I help a friend but only cause I think I should
Sometimes I check my email with no intention of replying
Sometimes I sweep instead of vacuum
Sometimes I give myself credit
Sometimes I leave my freshly laundered shirts inside out
Sometimes I feed the squirrels
Sometimes I hope for the best
Sometimes, instead of doing what I need to I:
Organize the studio, clean the cupboards, sort the closet, move around the books, delete digital photos, back up hard drives, redo the tool shed, read through old journals, get rid of texts, futz with the loose handle, fix something around the house, water the garden, masturbate, go for a hike, call a friend, check my Facebook, dance in the mirror, sit outside in the sun, wrestle with my dog, do the dishes, make a list, dust the house, rake the yard, squeeze out a black head.
Sometimes I avoid
Everything
Sometimes I call my mother, careful not to step on land mines
Sometimes I don’t answer the phone
But usually I do
Photo & Poem by Joel Shearer© 2013
The Juice Bar 
I love this poem & the great photo of the dumpster by Jack Grape’s class!! Haha! Great work Joel & welcome to The Juice Bar! 🙂
Love Joel’s work, especially this poem. Yay! Nice to see his work up at the always fabulous Juice Bar.
Joel, love this poem and the work you’re doing. Miss you, my friend.
Joel, you make me smile! Love this work.
Damn wonderful… !
Joel, sometimes I put the bananas next to the lemons, pow, what a great line and so is the rest of the poem. Rockin’
Sometimes our mind is overflowing with rubbish… Tissss good to take the trash out!!!…. Well worth it!
Wow, Joel–what an amazing poem. I’ve read it five times already and I feel so understood–I might even answer the phone (if it were to ring soon). Thank you, Joel.
Such a huge fan of your work. Love this piece.
I heard this read aloud and loved it – so great to be able to go back and savor it at my own speed.
Joel,
Thank you for this poem. I walked with you into every line. “Sometimes I hold my loneliness in my lap and stroke its head until it falls asleep.” Frick! You’re breaking my heart. Magic man.