The seven year summation

From my latest book, "Dishpan Hands And Heart", which is available on amazon. 

Now that there’s nothing left of us

On franklin street

The place where we gave our all

And got little back

Except in the way of grief

No me

No you

No kitties acting as though

We worked for them

No bookcases filled with

Media

And crowned with the history

Of aviation

No comfortable couches

That doubled as twins

No daily sane breakfasts

And limited lunch menus

No more trips to the scooter

For afternoon escapes

With sound recordings

No lack of privacy

No getting on each others’ nerves

No being there for each other

When it was needed most

When there was no one else interested

In getting those hands dirty

And of course I miss it

Like the sling on a broken arm

You live with

Never understanding that
It’s just a temporary thing

The Unseen Power Of Darlene

From my new book, "Dishpan Hands And Heart", soon to be available on amazon.

After all these years

That anti-materialistic tune

Still holds me

With its minimalism

And unexpected harmonies

I know I’m not alone

In being caught up

With this love affair

Which hit me instantly

On first listening

Britney by way of eno

A sonic landscape

You could throw a rock through

And not hit anything

Except an old 808

That someone forgot to

Turn off

Left to grind its gears

Behind finger snaps

And who knows

What else

That was left behind

In that deserted alley

Thank you, Carlo

From my book, "4:3 Days in 16:9", which is available on amazon.

Allen, baby
You weren't jaded
She got that wrong
If anything
You followed your bliss nearly to the point of blindness
Trying to remain spiritual and humanistic
In spite of the normal nonsense
Perpetrated by those
Trying to keep it real
All you wanted to do was write poems
And live with peter
While pursuing some version of yourself
That was always open to re-interpretation
Living in the world
But not of it
Where any hep cat knows
The sugar caves
Will always collapse on you

A Copy Of A Mimeograph

From my book, "Cottage Industry Of Uncool", which is available on amazon.

It's never tiresome
To read the blunted wit
In these impersonal profiles
Under employment - have one
Hilarious
I don't bite - unless you want me to
Charming
Bored and horny
Good for you
But before you mention
Those mythical long walks on the beach
Let me just give you the answer
To your next question
Which is
No
I don't like
Pina coladas
Nor
The taste of
Inane

All In A Day's Unpaid Work

From my latest book, "One Sigh Fits All", available on amazon.

Another time
To play gary 88
Taking care of people
In the buildings
And trying to fix
Whatever's gone wrong
So when the power went out
After a big bang
That's what I did
On the phone with
The electric company
To say
Hey, you guys
Get yourself over here
Which they did
Surprisingly quickly
And when the hard hat
Brought everything
Back to normal
I thanked him
For his efforts
With a slap on the
Back
Then walked back down the alley
To our house
Flanked by
Beautiful interior
Runway lights

Song For The First Of Rocktober

From my fourth book, "Any Forward Gear Will Do", which was published in 2014 and is available on amazon.

Gracias, Johnette
Every year you cheer me up
With your contribution
To natal acknowledgement
No matter how bad
Things are
Or seem to be
You get me to smile
And not feel so awful
Because your couplets capture
The balance of
Hope and hopelessness
That it seems
All unrequested celebrations
Are about
One of these days
Maybe it won't always be thus
But in the meantime
I'm going to drift like a cloud
Once more
And feel
Somewhere far away

The Beautiful Music of My Youth

From my most recent book, "One Sigh Fits All", which was published in 2015.

Cruise control
In the Jesus Chrysler
While glen campbell
Sings easy
About a hard job
He never had
Hugging the contours
Of a double ribbon
Through the rustbelt
Under spectacular twilight
That would make someone
Who's not from the area
Be coloured impressed
And anyone who's used to it
Want to pull down
The driver's side blinder
To focus on
The other idiots
On the road

09/03/09

From my first book, "Between Keats and Kerouac", which was published in 2010.

Wait in line
Get your number
Stand around for a while
Check the cupboards
Scan the faces
Hear the Hip
See yourself
How'd it come to this?
Wait your turn
Show ID
Share some small talk
Yeah, I'm sure it's me
Get your veggies
Get your milk
Choose the tomato sauce
And a box of ilk
Carry out your allowance
Feeling low as low can be
See you next week at the food bank
Happy anniversary

Home Improvement Pavilion

From my 2012 book, "4:3 Days In 16:9".

It's the last day of summer
One that's been painful, tough and joyful
Though not in equal amounts
And as much as I'm ready to say goodbye
To the heat and the torture
It's still sad to watch it fade away
Why is that?
I won't miss the sorrow and won't make time for the pain
Maybe it's just another chapter coming to a close
One that brought me to my knees
And eventually to my feet
Applauding myself for good behaviour
No, today's sad because today is always sad
The last day of the State Fair
As they burn the lot
And I say farewell
To the rounders
And the clowns

Don't Tell Anyone I'm Not Miserable

from my 2014 book, "Cottage Industry Of Uncool".

I'm sure this half full mood will pass
Not so unusual that it's unnerving
But something that doesn't come up on the playlist
Too often these days
I can already feel it starting to subside
Mostly due to aching muscles
Incurred after my early morning run
When I was more open and inspired
In the cool november air of dawn
As the gift of marvin gaye
Continued to wash over me
Now it's late morning
And having been to the bank to deposit more charity
While listening to billy collins
Convince me to continue down my path
I need to bang the erasers
Setting aside the chalk
To let the steam build once more
In the generic caffeine
Of early afternoon