...festival late...

in passages not taken

by these shoes

all of you will be welcomed

in by the mystery

of a cover and the promise

of a celebration

in the desert.

Be cautious: it's cold out at night.

...visitations...

no matter

how many times

I get to see you

folks I want to see

you folks even more

and more

...termination cycle...

hitting the door

faster than they could

hit the cold concrete

faster than the girl

could scream

faster than the traffic

that continued by

faster than it took

for the ambulance

to come faster than

blood that was running

faster than the thought

where I place ourselves

on their cycle faster

than the thought

that we are safe for now

...filling in what fits...

embodied in the red _____

cautious as the pink soft ____

she looks at ____

finds the mistake on the ____

and turns to _____

song called _____

says, "You still got ____!"

he leans over and gives her a ____

...home city...

rev the motor

city rival can't

beat the down

or back but

drip the night

into rainy religion

spin the disc

around me when

the pick up becomes

the finale

and we get home

...dr. dj...

you're turning the tables.

i'm siding the winder.

your plan is engaged.

i'm engaged to plans.

your simple torque.

my frenetic step.

your pretty little ditty.

my sad little pretending.

you're finding a song.

i'm singing your find.

i'm singing your song.

you're spinning it again.

...faces...

the fearful images

in my mind are created

by my mind

and by the exploitations

of the faces

seen in the past

(this is where

these fears stem from

I apologize

for their dictations)

...familial misnamings...

cousin is far too detached

sounding and I think

that had I called to you

as a brother, or

an uncle, maybe we

could've had you for longer

or just another day

for me to tell you this.

...sad song berry...

the sad part

is that we sit

and wait for a blip

on the radar

flicker of hope

red LED on

vibrate mode

the sadder part

is the chorus

but it needs

to be drafted

some more

...cousins...

never said goodbye to your son

and now you

with all the distances

that living

each of our lives

creates we seldom

see how far one ocean

is from the other

because it is a real space

unlike the kinds

I have created in time

and place

(forgive me for not

being graceful here

but I miss the hell

out of you guys)

In Memory of Bruce Schroeder

...listening to Embryonic...

one must start thinking where

you are and where one

is right now

the time that you believed

this to be true and real

not a figure in the sky

or a hand on a face

but a sense in the mind

or the ache in the knee

things that show passings

rings in the tree

grooves of the valley

the distrust in man's

inventions and facades

or how you've embrace them

here we are now

into the origins of this

playless drama

the queen's death

the outpooring of love

the birth of a new one

through time

see the sun

its trying again

but we are not here

to follow this tail

or toil in it's shine

we must raise it up

and prevent us from

dying again

...cultivated...

his discovery:

the planks are loose

out by the old shed.

when he tore it away,

a garden was left.

This he keeps up

and finds paths

to whichever sense

he wants to explore.

...back to life...

bring me

back to life

once again

into warm airs

and coiled sheets

sweet with sweat

and spilled glasses

of cool water

when this life wants

to end

once again

...missing points...

conscious of the fact

that words can damage

with equal force

fist or foot

I did not mean

to kick or scream

only to tell you

that you are beautiful

beyond your skin

and that this

is a fact

...domino...

2:30 am mind wandering

to claustrophobic tenant's sounds;

chains in the ally way?

long drawn out attempts

at low rent burglary?

bound slaves in shackles?

Stupid, stupid mind at 2:30 am

they say "Domino, mutha fucka!

Domino..."

...cats on Pine...

cats on Pine

need not a reminder

that we don't write

cat poems here

but we will take

photographs

of feral lifestyles,

lions in the ally

way next to Sect 8

homes who feed them

(the neighborhood

predators aren't packing tonight)

keep cool cats

keep cool

no words on film

just you and the night

and all that dissipates

into it 

...los nachos pollo...

los luchadores

flying in place

settling up to the bar

under-crossing the top

rope and deadpan

catching a wave

(afterwords

chicken nachos,

the American invention)

...plastic...

we haven't forgotten

to water the plants

nor have the dogs

gone slaking after

an empty bowl

we have done

what we have been

asked of and we have

been attentive

to each and every

need they may have

(the plants are plastic,

by the way)

...next to...

next to nothing

is not a comforting

phrase especially

if that is what

you are next to

...strolling Hoboken...

the lady in black

breaking into her own

apartment and my

instinct to help

brushed aside

by a guilty laugh

as she falls in through

window, big black back,

curtains throwing

themselves out

onto Washington Street

as I head down

to see another

women through

Maxwell's big windows