Wednesday, June 29, 2005

CHILDHOOD


When I was young I used to watch goldfish in a pond.
At night I said prayers to God.
My brother and I played war in a field of weeds,
We each hid in our fortress to plan out deeds.
Then machines excavated the field, it would rain,
Only mud stained our chains.

I would visit the pond more often then,
And on my way a man offered me candy on the street,
Orange slices and licorice were my treat.

When I was young I rode a horse named Cherokee,
I would gallop round and round a field near barns
Where chickens lived with porky pig.
Then salesmen in suits rubbed their chins and
Made our barns into money dens.
No more chickens or porky pig.

Cherokee died with his neck locked to a pole
Beside the goldfish in the pond
And the candy man moved away.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

TWILIGHT HAIKU



But soft! Red embers
All burning so brightly black
Beneath a full moon.

Monday, June 27, 2005

MEXICAN HAIKU



Kissing your soft lips
Quivering on the white sheets
Red hot tamales!

Friday, June 24, 2005

LIFE IN THE WOODS


I always remember
A certain red dawn
But I forget the hour
I fed the young fawn

On dark evenings when it was quiet
And the river flowed
Unforgettable like the tall mountains
When the wind blowed

I always remember
A certain red dawn
But I forget the hour
I fed the young fawn.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

2005 AND COUNTING

The darkness is not in me or thee,
It is in the times,
And we scream, not at each other,
But at the times,
For the darkness is not in me or thee,
It is in the times.
Let's be golden light,
Hold each other tight.
We are the best of times,
And now is the only clock of our love
Under milky covers of the moon.


Wednesday, June 22, 2005

1976



In the morning I boil water
Place a teaspoon of coffee
In my mug
When the water is boiled
I turn off the burner
Put the water into the mug
Then dip a spoon into the raw honey
Stir it all
Then reach for the refrigerator door
To get half and half
Which I add to the mug
Of past remarks
Stir again
Let sit while I roll a cigarette
And I am ready to
Just keep alive again
In the morning
My biography begins
In a mug.


Tuesday, June 21, 2005

COLORADO HAIKU


June bugs in the rain
Fly under the summer moon
The scent of pine trees.

Monday, June 20, 2005

LEAFY TREE HAIKU

Leafy tree monster
Ready to eat popcorn sky
But for a brave horse.

Friday, June 17, 2005

WRITTEN WHILE READING THE COMPLETE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON


INSIDE OF EDEN
THERE AIN’T NO CHEATIN’

ADAM’S AT HOME
EVE'S BEHIND THE STOVE

LITTLE CAIN AND ABEL
ARE CLEANIN’ THE STABLE

OLD NOAH’S IN THE DARK
ABOUT THE FLOOD & THE ARK

MCDONALD'S AIN’T EVEN A THOUGHT YET
THE SKY AIN’T READY FOR ANY JET

BUSH IS CENTURIES AWAY FROM THIS LIFE
CLINTON HAS TO WAIT TO CHEAT ON HIS WIFE

INSIDE OF EDEN
THERE AIN’T NO CHEATIN’


Thursday, June 16, 2005

"Whether" Report

Relative humidity
With increasing winds
Partly cloudy

Do not worry

The barometric
Pressure
Is rising

Some pollution
Some radioactivity

Do not worry

It is going to be
A fine day.


Wednesday, June 15, 2005

IN APRIL LOVE

The soul who meets another
Face-to-face and body-to-body.
This volcanic, voluptuous kissing
Is a dark river in me
That discovers a bright river in you.
O ecstasy!
Vast, blue ocean so near!
We must advance slowly,
Slowly beneath the bright and swelling void.
We seem more real than the ecstatic exploding
Of all the stars!
Until the next sunrise,
Our kisses should be as soft as
Moonlight,
As true as
Starlight
On a hidden lake.


Tuesday, June 14, 2005

BEFORE THE DINOSAURS


Fossilized Giant 6-inch Prehistoric Cockroach






Cockroaches
Move slowly
In Persia

Drunk on opium
And hashish
They hate
To fight.

I go to sleep
And remember that
They are the only
Survivors of

The holocaust

The hallowed cast

The haloed cast.


Monday, June 13, 2005

EXIT & INKBLOT



There is A Fear
of Walking Out
Without Leaving
Any Golden Footsteps.

Droplets Of Ink Stain
The Ivory Page
Like Scarlet Wine.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

NATIONAL SECURITY

The King is not dead!
Long live the King!
Isn't that what you said?
Isn't that what you meant?
But, O, how so, so decadent is this
White kingdom now,
This white kingdom, God-sent?
O, yes, the king is dead!
The great, proud, loving king
(But did he ever exist except
inside your breast?)
Was he ever White King of Innocence?
But let not the body of state
Or its dying body-politic sever our souls.
Instead, let's sing, 'The Queen lives!
The Queen is alive!'
But shall the holy queen ever be President
To keep a throne of light and tenderness?

Saturday, June 11, 2005

After Reading O'Neills's Long Day's Journey Into Night

This house in our home
Of grief and tears
Is filled with foam
Of spoiled kids
After Depression years

A father's dream
A sister's scream
A brother's cry
The dream is dead

The mother's sigh
The dream is alive
But our love is dead
Another brother said

The flowers bloom
Let them bloom
Let them hide our gloom
Then he fled.


Friday, June 10, 2005

GOD

Dedicated to God

O sweet coffee
Such sweet heavenly drink
For my mouth
And soul...
How God must have
Loved the earth
To leave this
And all the other delicious
Things that we eat and drink!
Chocolate, watermelon and peanuts!
God is the celestial cook!
The perfect chef!
The immaculate dishwasher!
The great good guy!

It must be spring
Because the poetic
Thoughts are coming up...
Roses?