One Less Friend

The mystery was solved
With no satisfaction
In fact
The news only brought
Sorrow into our lives
We've been wondering
For decades
What happened to our mutual
Best buddy, Jeff
Where did he disappear to
After college
No one could find out
We only wanted to talk to him
And see how he was
If that was possible
But now, it's not
As we finally found out
He succumbed to cancer
Four years ago
It was a real death in the family
All of us had personal experiences with him
We still held close
Something reminding us all
As we grow ever older
Maybe we shouldn't treat each other
So carelessly
As we are all still friends
And could be better ones
Since we are carrying pieces
Of each other's lives
Along the continuing journeys 
Of our own
Willingly
And without complaint

copyright 2022 by Steve Keil
From the book "Cue the Chapman Crane"
Available on Amazon

Cue the Chapman Crane - The video

I recently put together a short film to promote my new book. Here it is.   

On a street near you

When Freddie goes in for the big
Vacuum cleaner reveal
With a wink and a kiss

There isn't a bar in the world

On the wrong side of the tracks

That doesn't cheer him on

Even decades later

It's one of the biggest instant love letters

From any of our stars

To the rest of us nothings below

Without a word spoken

We can hear him say

"That's right, my darlings

Can you believe I'm getting away with this?"

My favorite image of him

Burning away in video foreverland

Too hot for the time

But now quaint in its

Playful non-threatenance

A smile

Which almost makes up for the

Years of pain endured

When he became one

Of the many sudden outlines on the pavement

Like too many others I knew

But name and nuance

Who I also wish I had

A recurring loop to enjoy on a regular basis

While we carry on

Without

January 6, 2021

This is the carnage
Of the Age of Aquarius
A double star
Opening a double door
To the darkness
Where those who demand
The most amount of respect
Are the last ones to give it
To anyone else
When the left and right
Continually fight each other
Do you know who laughs?
The top
Now that we've all seen this horror
From both sides of the aisle
Can we agree
That it is not only 
Partly our fault
But something we should be
Active and willing to change
I've often worried that
Regret is an antiquated notion
My generation was left to bury
Let's not let that be the case
For we all have
Some amount of blood
On our collective hands
Let's at least wave to each other
As we drown
To show 
We are all bound
By our limitless humanity
And ever increasing 
Imperfection


Copyright 2021 by Steve Keil

Smoke Victory Cigarettes

The first day of the 
New Stay At Home order
And I'm going to be
A visiting criminal
Do I care?
I'm concerned, perhaps
But in my defense, officer
I have spent the last two weeks
In my room
Only leaving for groceries
And the morning run in the dark
I need to get a prescription filled
And I need to have a conversation
With someone
In person
That, as far as I'm concerned
Is an essential service
And, really
There's four people in my bubble
And this naked couple I'm going to visit
Is half of them
So, fine me and lock me up
For socialization
Then take me to 
Room 101
Put those impending rats in my face
And let's get this
Whole thing over with
Because, after all
You know how much
I love you
Don't you?


Copyright 2021 by Steve Keil

The End of August, The End of the Road

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Everybody wants to rule the world
I didn't then and still don't
Because like most things of supposed value
It would be way too much work
But what I did want to do
As my best buddy Jeff and I
Were listening to that Tears For Fears manifesto
On our way back from 
The Little Gem Diner
In the north end of Syracuse
While the sun came up
What I really wanted to do
Was to get away from everything
I could see with my bloodshot eyes
As the view from Route 81
Was the same passing blur it had been
Since high school
I not only knew why I wanted to leave
But where I wanted to go
The mysterious city of Toronto
That had captured my heart and soul
On previous excursions upwards
In the past few years
All this I knew at that eye bleeding hour
With the sun burning my corneas
Even though I couldn't say it
From lack of energy or understanding
To anyone who could listen
Especially my best buddy, Jeff
Who was chain smoking his Winstons
And contemplating similar 
Exit strategies of his own


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

An Internal Memo

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Let's indulge ourselves
In the pointlessness of positive thinking
For a change
Instead of the unsurprising
Expected impending doom
Which has not disappointed
In its daily rounds
Shall we get all Shirley MacLaine
And take a trip to the 
Past lives pavilion
Just to draw strength from
Previous failures
Or go full postal Dale Carnegie
Who believed in his philosophical larceny
So much
He changed the spelling of his last name
Thinking that people would associate him
With the rich family who built libraries
And they did
Or maybe what would work better
Is just realizing
We're doing the best we can
And we should understand that
The ability to continue through
The King Lear storm
Is something to be acknowledged
And appreciated
It probably won't subtract any sorrow
But it might
And that delusion
Is something you can dine out on
If not for a meal
Than at least an amuse bouche
Which is marginally better than nothing


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

In The Dark On The Outside

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Up early
First thing
Before the sun has a chance
To rise
I hit the pavement
With the shoes I'm ready to retire
Taking in the views
Of the houses around me
At a decent pace
Since the gym is closed
On Christmas Day
Mostly by myself
Except for one misguided soul
On Huron Street
Somewhat at peace
Strong from determined accomplishment
Ready to turn the table
On my recent past
Willing to happen to the world
For a change
Feeling better about myself
Than I did the day before
Which is just about
The best present
I could hope for
While the rest of the planet
Unwraps boxes
And throws away
The pretty paper


Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Stretching the canvas for more space

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon.


Hey, the new issue of 
Southern Living is in
There's a sentence I never thought I'd say
Mostly because I have never heard
Of the magazine before
But since I am in current phase
Of reading what I ordinarily wouldn't
And realizing that The Sunday New York Times
Was too much of a time hoover
To leave room for anything else
I picked up this magazine from the periodical shelf
And dove in
It did have Octavia Spencer on the cover
Which was a good sign
But I don't know whether it was by accident
Or editorial design
That the first photo inside
Was one of a pie
Apple, I'm assuming
Without any other ingredients included
I zipped through the articles about
Throw pillows and Japanese maples
All pleasing enough in their scope
Only a clutched paw of more bits of string
To add to my ever-growing sphere
Which may or may not serve any purpose
In the W.H. Auden sense
Or inspire something of limited or lesser value
On my own

Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Blanks Filled While You Wait

From my latest book, Vanishing Fair, available on Amazon. 

The old man was bemoaning
The daily passage of time
Probably because he just lost
Another of his friends yesterday
I know how that goes
Having been blindsided relentlessly
When I was much younger
I wanted to say
Yeah, but look at us
It's 7:30 in the morning
And we're both at the gym
That's got to count for something
Even if it is the pointless raging against
The oncoming darkness of all our lives
But I didn't say that
I just vexed my shoulders and said
What are you gonna do?
Given that we were in New Jersey
It seemed the only appropriate response
An all-purpose reaction
That is surprisingly effective
In a variety of occasions
When nothing of value said
Is going to make
Any difference

Copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Still Busy Feeling Blue

It would have been his birthday
Yesterday
My friend, Peter
We were supposed to be a thing
Once upon a time
But it never came to pass
It just didn't
That didn't make me any less sorrowful
Of his natal anniversary
When I was perpetually reminded
Because no one has taken down
His profile
Since he was murdered
A few months ago
Assaulted in the laundry room
Of his apartment building
And left for dead
After his screams
Heard by the other tenants
Went unanswered
I don't know if they ever caught
The suspected son of a bitch
Who could do such a thing
To another human being
Let alone someone I knew by name
But it reminded me once more
Unnecessarily
In these times of sanctimonious
Self-appointed sainthood
No matter what is said
The horrible truth is
Not all lives matter
To everyone

copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

Preaching Under A Sweaty Hat

This is a new poem that I wrote on July 9, 2020. 

After the free cigars were

Passed out

Along with some of the guests

Each wedding attended

In the days of my youth

When I was far from being a man

Had a certain inevitable flow

Regardless of whether 

I approved of the union or not

At some point at the reception

I would begin to pester the band

If there was one

To allow me the luxury

Of singing an inebriated number

For the usually happy couple

There was rarely any problem with that

It was one less terrible popular song

For them to fully participate in

And if anything

I allowed them the opportunity

To seem a lot better

Once I slurred my way through

Whatever tune was available

I seem to remember a lot of

Huey Lewis to choose from

Bur don't quote me on that

No matter how awful I was

I would get applause the crowd

After all, I was one of their own

Despite being

Totally unprofessional

Just as I would make my style

In the years to come

Once I started getting paid

For doing the same

copyright 2020 by Steve Keil

New Ways With Gin and Sour Defeat

This is the title poem from my most recent collection that was published in 2018 and is available at amazon.com

Sequestered to the back
Of the bar

Where the wallflowers

And the uninvited
Wild things are

Watching the crowd with

My hello kettle

Running a mutual commentary

For our own amusement

Entertaining ourselves as usual

While everyone else

Is entranced by

What's happening on stage

Laughing at the absurdity

Of it all

Including ourselves

Knowing that this is

Our version of

A fine romance

The most we'll ever be

Together

Which is still more 

Than can be said

For the zombie apocalypse

With necks bent downward

That surround us

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