1.

there is no greater pleasure

than leaving a place behind

in your rear-view mirror.

2.

I have tried to separate myself

from everything—

that is the pleasure of taking a step back.

When I come back,

I know it’s meaningful.

3.

I stay in a place

until I’m sick.

Then,

I heal myself.

4.

Reconnecting with an old friend

after a decade,

reminds me

why I left.

5.

the friends in my immediate circle

influence me.

It’s a pleasure

to step outside

of their circle.

6.

Routines are meant to be broken.

7.

Given enough time to observe the female

I see similarities.

If I point these out, women invariably say,

“Not all women are like that.”

This is one of the similarities

I observe.

8.

Given enough time to observe the male

I see similarities.

If I point these out, men usually think I’m an idiot

and don’t say anything.

9.

My routines of thinking

have become obsessions.

I spend several years on one,

and then, I give it up.

I was obsessed with

Jean Claude Van Damme, Serial Killers, Nietzsche, Bukowski, Golf, Women, Writing, Psychology, and Philosophy.

I’ve left each one behind,

and occasionally,

I come back,

but it’s never the same.

My lifelong obsessions

change

as I change.

Writing has remained the same.