Chrome

My father can see
Out his window
The sea
And with mug in hand
Watch the sand
Arrive and depart
Threatening his love
With salt and rust

Largest Revenue

On Tuesday we jumped
The downtown train
And skirted the interior
Of the city's signature

Selective

Are you listening with your eye,
Or do you ignore what you see?
The wall, the paint on the wall,
The light, bright on the wall,
....from the window
....this is not noise
....unless you close your eyes.

Miracle

If she seems off, remember,
You never deserved her anyway.

Anthology

They were midgets
Or dwarves
I know not
The difference

In my basement
One Christmas
They gathered
Around for a poem.

I sang them one.
They clapped.
And one stuttered,
Stuttered, "Encore."

The other dwarves,
Or midgets
Said, "No.
Read another."

So, I sang about a dragon,
A dog really,
That knew the differences
Between kinds of little people.

No clapping.
Just little eyes
On the dog
At my side.

The dog dragon
In the basement
Licked his chops,
But all escaped.


…all but one,
"E E E En En
Enc c c c c ccc"
Never to finish "ore."

Not for Individual Sale

The most beautiful man in America
Looks with kind eyes
On the cynical and the proud.
He sits in a hotel room
And asks the talking head:
.......Are our hearts hard?
.......Does the dose do?
.......Will love leave us?
.......When does death die?

Walking With Coffee

Morning's glow and crisp
The air snaps like a carrot
The sun says, Jubilation
The sky asks the evergreen,
What's taking you so long?

Untitled

Guy
Pronounced Gee
Was a guy
I envied
Until,
I became him.

Up-to-Date Entries for Today's World

I will tell you about my hurt,
If you will talk about your money.
Then we will compare notes
On how we both have bills.

Do you have a pencil ready?
These are high in interest
And I see no way out
Of the house I drive.

Do you leave the door open,
When it snows sledding snow?
No one comes in from the cold
And the hot chocolate is still powder.

I've sold my geraniums at times
To cover the cost of disappearing.
Only to reappear, and wonder
Who the hell took my flowers?

Promise of Elements Melting and Heaven Burning

Spirit of blue
Flesh of gray
You do get a little lost
In this civil war
A tad mad in fact
Until the blackest darkness
Shaken by the voice of a man
Coming through the mouth of a donkey
Restrains anger and holds the prophet at bay

Math

When my dad still had a sweep
Of thin brown hair across his head
He looked through glasses and said,
"Count the beans son."
"One, two, three…"
He said,
"Add the beans son."
"Two and two and two…"
He said,
"Divide the beans son."
"………………"
He said,
"Numbers are always the same."
"But…"
He said,
"Always."

I saw the beans turn to beetles
A mob of homework eating beetles
And he saw numbers that never change
.......into anything.

Self Loathing

I dart into the snare
Again, again
I step into the noose
Again, again

Drive your bus, Lord
Down my road
In my flesh I'll wait
To step in front

Leesburg

Buildings listen in the night
When town has gone to bed
And the city comes out to play

Bella Luna Ristorante looks
With knowing eyes at the photographers
With their tripods and cables

Mannequins in golden windows
Lean to evesdrop
On a strolling couple

The buildings listen at night
Sometimes to the music
Coming out of their own mouths

The antique shop knows all to well
The witch
Casting spells in the alley

Buildings watch in the night
China King Restaurant
Sees a wet fortune on its sidewalk

Every night the Bank of Leesburg
Sleeps with one eye open
Waiting for the safety of morning

The buildings wait for sleep
Wait for turning doors on hinges
Wait to curl up in the sun

Ode to Langston

I been drivin’ north
My heart it feels so low
Been drivin’ north
My heart it feels so low
I keep drivin’ north tryin’ to forget what waits below

I got a woman who loves me
My heart it feels so low
A good woman who loves me
My heart it feels so low
My woman don’ fret when I gotta go

So I’m drivin’ in the dark
The rain is all around
I’m drivin’ in the dark
Slick rain is all around
Drivin’ all night gonna let my sorrows drown

And it’s sooo easy

I will break something
I will throw bricks
Into the sky as high as I can muster
I will kill the clouds you hide yourself behind
Thanks for the power to kill
Thanks for the empty space
Thanks for the response
You hear me?
Of course you do, now.

Anti-Skating

Chaos lacks Monday mornings,
going back to work,
loving habitually,
and dieing.