HAPPY ENDINGS
mother why are you dead so
long
in a dream you were a hag
& not the sweet woman
who neighbors remember
you threw a
mastectomy toward me
i had the presence of mind
to duck
sometimes i think you will
be
where i never think of
looking for you
the kind of error the
dreamer relies on
-----------------------------------------------------------
FINALLY
quick. it's late,
grab your life
no more time for the cuts
of frailty
the lifeline support
button worn about
your neck was to protect
you
from the unknown, a
barrier
between you & panic
why didn't you press it
until 6 a.m.?
they would take you away,
you knew
instead, when you fell,
you collapsed
on your knees in tears
& fatigue
with a fever supporting
the all night
rebellion. the next
day you
are swollen & sore all
over, after
your hideous battle with
god
------------------------------------------------------
PINK BALLOONS
the gray tree thought it was winter
& lost its leaves.
after the funeral, the woman & her daughter
glanced out the window
while fixing tea, keeping busy.
cards to reply to, calls to return.
the tree, meanwhile, had nothing to do.
it got like that in january.
loitered like a fool without a muffler.
in the branches of the tree, the woman
& her daughter noticed, a few stupid pink balloons
got lost & bobbed from a pathetic
string, longing to return
to a child's birthday party.
what a thoughtful card from so & so
even after all these years.
the daughter couldn't help but agree.
the days ended abruptly.
january was no friend to them.
each morning the dumb balloons tried
to befriend the tree.
each morning the woman paused at the window
would you look at those balloons, that's impossible.
the daughter couldn't help but agree.
but one by one, the phone stopped ringing &
the last of the condolence cards
was answered.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TYCOCIN
tycocin in the bird
tycocin & the forest
tycocin turns its head
tycocin at sunset
tycocin sees the march
hears the march
oh joy
what can it mean?
tycocin in the quiet
tycocin in the world
tycocin is the bird
the forest turns its head
tycocin knows they're coming
tycocin means to help
the sunset sees the march
this sweet march of tired
citizens, they march
to sweet music, oh joy
one must not make noise
in this deadly forest
tycocin in the bird
who watches, hears footsteps
tycocin is the world
the forest knows they're coming
but will do not a thing
these citizens, they march
to sweet music, tycocin
is the bird who watches
the sweet music walking
toward the mouth
of the forest, sweet music
the citizens enter the whale
tycocin is the bird who
watches the world & the whale
& the citizens swallowed
in the sweet lungs
of the forest, the blood
will remember, the forest
will bow its head
tycoon is the bird
lay down stones
on the path taken
tycocin & the forest
tycocin turns its head
tycocin at sunset
tycocin sees the march
hears the march
oh joy
what can it mean?
tycocin in the quiet
tycocin in the world
tycocin is the bird
the forest turns its head
tycocin knows they're coming
tycocin means to help
the sunset sees the march
this sweet march of tired
citizens, they march
to sweet music, oh joy
one must not make noise
in this deadly forest
tycocin in the bird
who watches, hears footsteps
tycocin is the world
the forest knows they're coming
but will do not a thing
these citizens, they march
to sweet music, tycocin
is the bird who watches
the sweet music walking
toward the mouth
of the forest, sweet music
the citizens enter the whale
tycocin is the bird who
watches the world & the whale
& the citizens swallowed
in the sweet lungs
of the forest, the blood
will remember, the forest
will bow its head
tycoon is the bird
lay down stones
on the path taken
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CPR
the cpr instructor
mentions
it takes only one hour
to freeze
to death. later i
ask jeeves
to fetch the
record-breaking
temp stats on the web
for minsk, first week
of december, 1941
so very far
from your vienna
so very far
from us grandmother
what is the latitude
of minsk?
what surprise
could there be?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
I`AM TWILIGHT
i am twilight.
my switchblade teeth would
take a bite out of my birth
certificate. somewhere outside
my real name lies ready to pounce.
the teeth made it into a small square
of the paper, 45 seconds
on the local news, homeless man
loses gang fight, falls
backward down an elevator
of a crack shack, impaled.
my private death without a name.
tell them i was twilight
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