Saturday, July 30, 2016

turning the wheel back

if we must consider
all of these scenes
as dreams
what of your honey voice
your terrible hands
when they touch my arm
I tremble
what of the hint of walnut
in German tort
what of sorrow and those special severings
-- newborn from womb
-- me from you

or the obvious, rent from our egos
leaving us tumbling
forsaken
dust motes, alone
away from any trace
of community

if we should think
of all dharmas as phantoms
why should you come to me
as sweet as the pinnacle of passion
as dense as my unknowing
and the deafness we all share
at hearing your formidable teachings

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

it is very difficult


it is very difficult
it is exceedingly hard

this is why the children suffer, pass on
before they're old and wise enough
to change the world

this is why soldiers
who have to live in blood
also have to dream in blood

this is why the prettiest women
are dismissed as shallow
bred to bare cleavage

this is why integrity
gestates in ones belly
only after its power is made
to lift mountains
bring them to the sea
for refugees and drowning men
to climb to land
to take shelter
in the shade
of our forbear's
reluctant charity

Friday, July 22, 2016

The Simple Miracle


“We talked about miracles. Not levitating, not walking through walls, but taking the dog for a walk, or offering chunks of Parmesan cheese to a visitor.” – from The Old Woman of Pagazzano

I could not sit still
Could not sit,
Still, I could jerk my head
Argue with the air
Pound my palms on the table
Dishonor my better inclinations
Over politics, the state of the world
People who pick at me daily
Test my patience, my compassion
Or touch my heart
Worrying me to finally care

The simple miracle –
We want it to be
A moment of clarity and peace
A solution, a salvation
But the truth is
Sometimes it is gall in the throat
A harsh word, a flung turd
A human reaction
To a Titan’s dilemma

condemned

blowing high winds
turpentine and paint
the smells of progress
regression, one infinity
at a time
makers of cities and maps
and portfolios, full of maps
we chart our dreams
our plans, our delusions
we never gave up
on peace
we just took care to hide it
in the molding and drywall
silently smoldering
…don't ever fear
on account of all
you have seen here…
in some future
in an eon, a vague
long-awaited tomorrow
this chamber of horrors
this house of our communal
slow torture –
it’s coming down

Saturday, July 16, 2016

The One Circle

it is a metaphor
for enlightened mind
a replacement
for the image of Shakyamuni
the historical Buddha

round and nourishing
like a donut
or a teething ring
or a beer bottle cap
or a pizza

I want to eat it
make love to it
climb through it
through the Buddha's head
and, glistening with white pulp
and brain juice
laughing maniacally
emerge from his ear
free at last
liberated madman

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

The Sorrow Eaters

The work is unforgiving
In this place apart
We cast-offs, congregants
Castigated freaks
Orderlies in this asylum of peace

Lesser men with greater yen
Attempting to appear larger than they are
Have all found their way here
Ego, it is, the disease that ails the greatest
Of the great, the truly sick
Some powerful
Many rich
But none wise enough
To be caught with their pants down
Their toupees out of place
Or their guarded hearts
Spilling truth or genuine emotion

We try our best to hold them still
They squirm and bite
While we brush their hair
Scorpions in nests of horror
Scurry out and into the patience

Their self-centered thoughts, inflated desires
Gyrate inside them, like a hurricane
Or a dust storm
Or an apocalyptic war
Their guts devoured
From the inside out

We seek to grow them up
Eating their sorrow
Inventing their release
From the prisons within prisons
Which they hallucinate, even in sleep
Now that their families, humanity
And posterity
Have forgotten that they exist

Sunday, July 10, 2016

the Sarasota 3

Three poems from a trip to Sarasota ***
_______


in a thicket
of spiny, scraggly green
one lone, purple bloom
--------------------------------

in the shadow of my father's
independent living
sipping Coke on the patio
interior to exterior
me with my clothes
inside out
my blood, so fresh
the sweltering air knows
no difference
between mind, emotion
and birds
swapping affectionate calls
------------------------------------------

exotic birds
trading fours
pausing for partners
on adjacent trees

even disparate avian species
know how to
listen
Reply, Repl

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

as Golden State burned


(this really happened
in my hotel room
with my CD walkman)

as Golden State burned
Paul Simon sang
"When times are mysterious
serious numbers
will always be heard"

trail of tail

brother gecko
skittish salamander
ever wary
of what lies ahead
so soon
loses sight
of what's been left
behind

Sunday, July 3, 2016

more senseless, adorable memes

bristles on tiny hedgehogs
a sloth, disinterestedly bingeing
on banana slices
two newborn preemies
in the same crib
hugging harder
than dear life

these senseless, adorable memes
and more
will bring with them
a softness
that will not cease
will grow in your heart
until, all-consuming
sorrow no longer comes to call
and the spectrum of light broadens
while you are rocked
by explosions of new colors
and the most tender feeling
you, sorry mud-beast
can attain to

Friday, July 1, 2016

dreading the father's day brunch

dreading the Father's Day brunch
at the country club
the shining bald heads
the clean plates
the heavy make-up over bleached faces
the straight paths and dishonest math
talking guns and Orlando
kindly avoiding mention
of Islam
and presidential candidates