I made this video almost two years ago at this point. I had just gotten the first copies of An Awesome Book from the printers and decided to make a little clip to let people know that it existed. Two things happened as a result : I became a children’s book author and some people on the internet thought I was serious about comparing my book to the bible. Both were unexpected reactions. 

EVERYTHING ALL DAY

Even though the ocean is dirty
and always too cold to swim
and full of amusement parks
and animals that sting
and fallen off diapers
I still can’t help but feel
inspired, overwhelmed
when I sit there
toes in the sand,
the entire mass of conquered
America behind me to the east.
 
Makes me wish I knew how to play guitar.

YELLING, SCREAMING

It must feel terrible
hating gay people so much
that you can no longer appreciate a rainbow.

I just wanted to let everyone know how things are going. Short answer : Awesome!

This was a school in Salt Lake City. Second grade, I think? It was the last stop of our last tour and we had been driving pretty much straight for thirteen hours or so. When we came in the door one of the kids said “You don’t look like an author, you look like a skateboarder.”

AIM HIGHER

Isn’t it odd
how many times
you have thought
“I should go to Paris”
and how few times you have thought
“I should go to the moon.”

GREAT

The world’s oldest person just died.
She was one hundred and fifteen.
If you do not yet have any long term goals
you should consider aiming for her title.
It’s not much effort
and think of all that you will have seen and heard
if you succeed.

This is the basic story of how I ended up where I am today. If you ever have any doubts about whether or not you should do something totally new even though you have no blue print whatsoever and there is every possibility that you could fail completely, the answer is 100% YES! 

Cheers to having a job that lets you stand in the Mississippi River if you so choose. 

I’ve finally gotten around to revamping my little website. I started this whole thing a few years back as a way to share my small thoughts with people of the world. Since then my life has evolved into an entirely different animal so I thought it was time for my website to do the same.

Over the coming year this will be a place to find ideas in the form of poems, prose and illustrations posted by me on a daily basis. Some of these posts might be old to you, some might be brand new. Whatever the case I hope you enjoy them. If you do enjoy them feel free to share them. I love sharing. Also I’m going to try to be better about posting more photos and videos and glimpses from my life’s journeys. I hope you enjoy those too. 

Thanks for all of your support! 

Love, Dallas

HEADSHOT

Every evening
he buys his smokes
and looks up at the wall
behind the counter
hoping it’s gone.
 
Every evening
it stares back at him,
the ghost of his faded attempt
8 x 10
black and white
bleached and curled by time
dead center
bookended by a sad comedian with a pony tail
and a professional weight lifter who signs his autograph with a smiley face.