L.R.R.H.

Poor old Little Red Riding Hood
Fled her home and hit the track
Leaving her life and wolf
Never to ever go back

She rode the rails for many years
Her face grew old and shaded
She dreamt of her distant past
In which she thrived unaided

She had no home she had no goals
She just roamed further day and night
She just ended up deeper in to nowhere
Because she had thought it felt right

-RTB

Stabbing Pen

Pressed against him
For the first time
He felt it
Painful
No
Potent
Vivid
And terrifyingly real
A shot of life
To an extremity
That had been dead
For too long
Neglected by others
And forgotten by himself
Ignored and unacknowledged
And hence
Invisible
The sensation was piercing
Like an awakening
A rebirth
A baptism
A verification and validation
Of his own life
An entry to a beginning
And a beginning to a story
A story yet unwritten
A story in which
He was finally
Finally
Holding the pen

-RTB

Sydney

Self Portrait by Rich T. Boehmcke

Clasp

"Come with me"
She begged him
But he couldn't
He had already let go
Of her hand
And everything beyond it
Of her laughter
And her worries
Her insides and outs
He let go long ago
But it had taken him
Days
Weeks
Months
To let her know
To show her
That they were no longer
Holding hands
Together
It was just her
Holding his
Alone

-RTB

To The Sea

"We're Beyond the midpoint"

He said

To no one in particular

And that's what they'd become

No one in particular

And no one left to be

And that is why they fled

With no place left to go

Just some place they couldn't be

So he led them

Because they trusted him

Even if they didn't understand him

They had stopped trying

They all had

So they shut their mouths

And set to sea

Not knowing where they'd land

Not caring what they'd see

Only knowing

What they'd never see again

-RTB

Their Sins

He had arrived

It seemed as though

Nobody had seen him enter

And nobody would see him leave

His presence brought palpable foreboding

Fear in bulk

Insecurity like invisible spirits

He was haunting

They all knew

It had to be

It couldn't be any other way

They had bargained for it

They had asked for it

And it was they

Who would pay

7 Years 2 months and 3 weeks

To the day

They they prayed their sins be forgiven

And he told them

What they hoped he wouldn't

What they begged he didn't

He told them no

-RTB

10 New Band Names

Intentional Mullet

Ms. Hendershot & The Groovy Peruvians

There's No Shame in Munchkins

Ole` All Day

Cause of Death: Gummi Bears

Everything Good In The World Has Lactose

Cookie Casserole

Stinky Hippies

Drunk, Naked, and the Element of Surprise
Sophisticated Peas