Monthly Archives: March 2009

Raised on bad music, Echo chambers, drippy lyrics, Raw grind of the hurdy-gurdy, My adolescence lingered Long past my thirties. Where was the gift for pain That pure musicians harbored, Grand decisions hammered Into chords? Guitars Twanged, singers stammered Out … Continue reading →

My father’s mother died of blood, The lack of it; or did she waste Away, a cancered form of food & medicine? The night she died, My father & I stood outside Her planet, silent as he faced Funeral north, … Continue reading →

Air current caught me, 2 tires full, spokes & handlebars & keen vibrations, My bicycling upwards With hand-brakes polished… Back-pedaling, Front-pedaling, Warp & woof, My escape route woven. The green light’s go. At first, Rain was predicted, Then showers, Tornadoes … Continue reading →

Daugher of Jerusalem, Your skirts Have rustled in our temples, Your breasts Have shone as rabbits out of lairs, They tease the hunter from his hunting. Daughter of Jerusalem, The voice of you Belongs to many countries, The mouth of … Continue reading →

Love-deep in crossword puzzles, Young couples sit apart. Son of Ruth – Obed. Eyebrow – Bree. Changsa is the Capital of Hunan. The sun falls vertical. Everyone in the park is chewing a pencil. Nobody erases. Most write with ink. … Continue reading →

BE NOT AMAZED BY BEAUTY FLASHING Be not amazed by beauty flashing, By skeletal hands soothing a fever, The arthritic fingers of weavers Of tapestries. Lovers, curled together Before the marriage vow is fashioned, Are not amazed. The splendid whip … Continue reading →

Where madmen ride Roses are more red & women pure, Hearts fall outward In a lively dance & need no cure. If logic need a cell, The mad go free To breathe the air, & whatever life They crave is … Continue reading →

I have journeyed here to see, Not to be lost idly In my own thoughts. Red-shouldered hawks Whistle; my eye, Like an oar, locks On a dwindling shore. Water is a long poem Whose waves scan these rocks Where man … Continue reading →

Keats, himself a five-foot epic, confused Balboa with Cortez, & bleary eyed Sat up all night with Chapman shaking In his palm. War-fermented ships cruised His mind until Ilion’s walls were pried Apart & Helen fell into quaking Arms. He … Continue reading →