Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- .Introduction. This section has poems. --- 1/24/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- (1) After death, it is all over. Time is a fuse. (2) Commentary: You are unique. Every moment of you is a unique you. Every moment of the world is a unique world. --- 12/20/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- (1) I jumped fourteen stories out the window of my soul. (2) Book title: Fourteen stories out the window of my soul. --- 06/10/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- (1) The bad news. The story so far: Addiction. Loneliness. Mental illness. Poverty. Flirtations. Cul-de-Sac arguments. Poor job performance. Shrinks. Social isolation. No love. Nameless dread. Various enemies lurking. Unemployment. Bad teeth. Bump on soul. Fleeting visions of a better life. Condescending sneers. Laughter next door. Fired from menial jobs. Spider shaped thread on leg. Shadow that looks like a mouse. Mouse's shadow. Looks of fearful pity from strangers. Bed inertia. Second looks at trashcans. Nightfall, or worse, dawn. Thriftshop. Empty calories. Temp agency typing tests. Off track betting. Watery, bitter coffee. Spare change dropped in my coffee. The cold cloudy gray. Derision and scorn. Mocking and snickering. Chain of frowns. (2) The good news. If you can thrive and flourish here you've got it made. --- 2/23/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- (surplus) Food, (second hand) Clothing, (homeless) Shelter. --- 11/16/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- 1850: the sun sets while the community sings around a piano. 1920: the sun sets while the extended family listens to the radio. 1950: the sun sets while the nuclear family watches television. 2000: the sun sets while a lone individuals surf the Internet. 2050: the sun sets on a disappeared individual who is completely connected to other disappeared individuals. --- 7/1/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- A folk song. Title: The Spy and the Bully. // Chorus: The spy and the bully work hand in hand. / The spy and the bully want to rule the land. / They spy and the bully want to rule you and me. / The spy and the bully have a secret society. --- 12/8/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Abusers of freedom. Freedom hogs. Those who take more than their share of freedom. They want to take liberties with you. They think its their right to mess with you. Bullies. --- 12/13/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Alien neon. Unnatural light. Destroyer of night. Humans understood the fire's flame and even the incandescent bulbs were like stars. Neon is a nemesis. Clown-faced neon. Common whore neon. Word shaped neon. Let words say what neon cannot say. Neon sucks. --- 4/15/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- An artist came a ranting. "I battled the void. I engaged in titanic struggles with nothing. I wrestled the blank slate. I battled the empty sheet of paper. I hung the empty canvas. Don't you see?" And they all nodded. --- 4/28/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Another rented room. Got my laptop computer charged. Got my mobile phone charged. Got my mp3 player charged. I am charged. There's a new woman in my life. She's sitting next to me in the car. We are driving down the road. The windows are down. The radio is on. Its spring again. Frisbees are flying. Sneakers soaked in dew drops. --- 5/20/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Armed with new and improved weapons of psychological defense I hope to survive. --- 8/4/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Baby rickshaws. Stroller aristocracy. --- 3/31/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Beautiful women on the streets of Manhattan. Not just one or two. Herds of them like buffalo on the plains. Driving me to the point where I will write poetry. --- 6/16/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Beautiful words make beautiful turds. --- 8/29/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Before radio and television only the weather and the ocean were always changing. How could a life at sea be boring? --- 2/29/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Being snubbed by reality. I am really enjoying my anonymity and obscurity. Enjoying being an outsider. Enjoying being a contrary. Enjoying being an underdog. I am built for this. I've got what it takes: fear, mistrust, envy, spite. In the community of the Internet, I wander the streets talking to myself. --- 4/3/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Bicycling through the park at midnight. A swift and silent specter. Alone in the quiet darkness. --- 9/4/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Birth. Berth. Bare Earth. Beairth. --- 1/1/2007
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Boredom = death. Repetition = boredom. Lack of change = repetition. Stasis = lack of change. Not growing = stasis. --- 12/4/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Bourgeois Decadence. // The bourgeoisie want their food just so, their clothes just so, and their architecture just so. Prim and proper. The best of everything. And they only want to think about their kids. --- 7/22/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- cafe' Languor. Oh joy, watching the paint dry. Watching the grass grow. Watching the river flow. Another day to think, with no ideas in sight. At least I'm trying. Fruitless effort, fruitless endeavor. It used to bug me. Not anymore. I am not the cause of the worlds problems. I am not the solution to the worlds problems. --- 4/29/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Cats, butterflies, flowers, fish. --- 06/10/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- City Haiku. Under the moonlight. The noise of the cafe. People walking by. --- 9/25/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Climbing Mt. Curb. I live in the city at the moment. Yet I suppose if you added up all the curbs I stepped it would add up to be taller than Mt. Everest. Eat your hearts out climbers. --- 9/22/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Clouds moving fast and low. Wind blowing the fabric of world to tatters. People you know who died. Relationships gone bad. Jobs lost. --- 7/22/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Coffee Talk. All their talk. All their chatting. Re-inventing the wheel. Wheel spinning round. Going round in circles. Its better than silence, but not as good as what? --- 3/16/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Cold and Winter. Cold from without, frostbite, starts at the extremities and moves in. Cold from within, hypothermia, starts with shivering and chattering teeth. When there is no heat, and no hope of heat. When one realizes this, and when one sees one's folly. When natures shows her face, and pushes civilization back. --- 6/25/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Cold, damp, dark and dirty. My apartment? No, my mind! --- 8/18/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Comfy and cozy. Sitting in front of the fireplace. Warm and content. Slippers and newspaper. Tobacco and whiskey. Trying to keep the world at bay. Insulated vests. Wall to wall carpet. Isolated and snowed in. Cellphones off. Hot tea, mulled cider. Fuzzy sweaters. Favorite chair. Imagined calm. All quiet and joy. Candle light. Soft music. Frisky girlfriend. Picture windows. Apres' ski. --- 12/16/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Content // I am content. Songs. Books. Paintings. Movies. Breathing content in and out. Not objects. Content. --- 5/30/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Courting the muse. Coaxing the muse. Urging the muse. Patience for the muse. --- 11/1/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Crickets. The low pitched, slow chirping crickets. The high pitched, fast whirring crickets. The middle pitched, middle chirping crickets. --- 7/20/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Daily Dedication. // I have time. I have energy. I have a brain. I have a body. What will I do today? Save the world. What is standing in the way? Poverty. Hunger. Illness. War. Crime. Illiteracy. Ignorance. Injustice. Fanaticism. Violence. Oppression. Exploitation. Bullying. --- 3/28/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Death of a friend as an amputation. Not unwounded. Not a wound that heals cleanly. Not a wound that heals leaving a scar. Not a wound that will not heal. Rather, the loss of a body part. So that one always misses it. Leaving, the nothing, the void, the absence, remains. --- 3/16/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Death Says Good Morning. They say New Yorkers are unfriendly, but now death walks among us, and you hear a lot more good mornings. --- 10/25/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Deep winter, night storm, huddled alone. Mid-summer, morning sunshine, with friends. How to get from A to B? --- 3/16/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Empty library. // Empty Library. Finally, I can get some work done. / Ghosts walk the stacks. Books on shelves patiently waiting. The books toll for thee. / Walking to and from the library, at every time of day, in every season. Living at the library. Living in the library. Living through the library. / Lonely library. Unpopular library. Desolate library. You stand, holding your ideas in outstretched hands. No one listens. Nobody wants you. / Years of accumulated knowledge. Wisdom gathered from all corners of Whizdom. Your foundation cracks wise. / People are on the Internet now. Nobody needs you anymore. Only the booksniffers, who yearn for scents of ancient parchment. / The cryptkeeper's haunted face peers as you walk in. Who goes there? Whyfore art thou? / Old library, home to chipmunk and pigeon. Your books stand like tombstones. The library is now a cemetery. The bookstore has a cafe'. Where are we, now? / You were once a card-carrying, card catalog user. / Every year a new new set of faces arrive. Some one may yet show. Somebody may appreciate you. There is hope for you. --- 6/19/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Every now and then the fog clears and I emerge from the haze of everyday life. The routine has a tendency to hypnotize. When the heavy doses of today's society wear off, I realize that this is my life in the world. It takes a clear mind. Dull trance vs. sharp wits. Sometimes it feels safe and secure in the clouds were I can not see, but it is dangerous there. --- 8/4/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Existential shakedown. Kicking the tires on reality. Hacking life. Why do I thrash everything? Why do I whip my mind like a dead horse? Who can live like this? Who can live any other way? --- 6/3/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Five and Dime. // Two dollars for pen and paper. / You felt like someone handed you the world on a platter. / The keys to the kingdom. --- 5/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Four in the morning / on the sofa / listening to jazz / reading Zen. // Working for no pay. / Studying for no degree. / And yet I am calm. / And yet I am happy. --- 11/8/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Four simple list poems about the seasons. (1) Winter. Fireplaces. Icy sidewalks. Snowdrifts. Chill winds. Numb hands and feet. Snowstorms. Hats and gloves. Long underwear. Skiing. Sledding. Hot cocoa. Snowball fights. New Years. Frostbite. Hypothermia. Winter. (2) Spring. March 21st, vernal equinox, first day of spring. Daylight Savings Time. April 5th, tax filing. Snowmelt. Flooding. April showers. May flowers. Buds on trees. Flowers on trees. First leaves, May 15. Last frost. Planting crops. June 21, longest day of year, first day of summer. Spring. (3) Summer. Crickets. Cicadas. Swimmning. Ocean. Suntanning. Barbecue. Lawn mowing. Ice cream truck. Sprinklers. Pools. Beach. Sun tan oil. Swimming suits. Beach towel. Flip flops. Sandals. Heat, haze, humidity. Thunderstorms. Lemonade. Iced tea. Iced coffee. Rock climbing. Surfing. Hitching. Skateboarding. Summer fruits. Hammocks. Lazy naps. Picnics. Dining outside. Indian summer. Cutting lawns. Sweating. Heat rash. Air conditioning. Summer. (4) Autumn. Memorial Day. Back to School. September 21st, autumnal equinox, first day of autumn. First frost. Pumpkin pie. Apples picking. Apple pie. Apple Cider. Morning frost. Halloween. Trick or treating. Jack o lanterns. Wood smoke from fireplaces. Leaves turning color. Leaves falling. Raking leaves. Burning leaves. Harvest crops. December 21st, shortest day of year, first day of winter. Autumn. --- 9/11/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Four word poem. Fish dinner, fish dessert. --- 11/02/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- G after you died, Grief and Guilt moved onto my block, next to Anger. They have been there ever since. I see them almost every day. --- 9/11/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Geez, Louise, its the bees knees! (Commentary from the year 3000: this poem is perhaps code-talk to protect them from Martian invaders). --- 9/17/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Girls Watching the Men Work. // The men. / They are so strong. / And so stupid. / How will we survive? --- 3/5/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Going to the prom was the end of their life. Not going to the prom was the beginning of his life. --- 5/7/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- He enjoyed astronomy because the stars know how to keep their distance. --- 4/8/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- He lived in a world of four scents: diesel, gasoline, diesel exhaust and gasoline exhaust. He lived in a world of two colors: black and white, and all the grays they produce. He lived in a world of one sound: the drone of the highway. --- 4/29/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- He looked like he had fought in a war, even though he had lived in a time of peace and comfort. But it was clear, looking at him, that a war had been fought. --- 3/2/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- He waited for snow. Quiet, cold, lonesome, wild. Safe, alone, peaceful, winter in the mountains. Summer in the city. --- 9/8/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Heat and Summer. Before the air conditioner, before the electric fan, and before the ice box. The heat was omnipresent. One became one with the heat or perished. There was shade, there was water, and there was the occasional breeze. A lot of sweat, a lot of still bodies, and a lot of minds shutting down. Some minds going haywire. I'm waiting for the weather to change. I'm wondering if the winter is worse. --- 6/25/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Heathcliff mood. Let it storm. Let the rain fall. Let it gust. Let it gale. Let the clouds gather and burst. Let the lightning strike and the thunder roll. Let it sleet. Let the ice cover me. Let me walk the moors. Let me get lost. Let night fall. Let me wander the night. --- 11/15/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Her Mind. // She had a spring meadow mind, / in contrast to the waste-land, / the no-man's land that was my mind. --- 5/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Hey kid, / you've been running around the yard / thinking you are in the wilderness. / Take off that paper hat. --- 9/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Horror Show. What kind of horror show is this? Living among the dead. First, the living-dead, that is, the great dead artists who live on in immortal works. I can hear them, but they can not hear me. Second, the un-dead, that is, those people we meet who live and breathe yet seem not to feel or think. They say nothing to me. I can not hear them, yet they seem to hear me. What kind of horror show is this? Cavorting with cadavers in one-way conversations. Some people enjoy horror shows. Not me. --- 4/11/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- How do you know when you are bright? When they stand blinded, shocked and crying out in protest. How do you know when you are bright? When they shield their eyes, turn away and hasten off. How do you know when you are bright? When they put on their sunglasses, make their face a blank slate and go about their business. --- 9/9/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I am Dr. Frankenstein, trying to create life out of stale ideas, inert words and a spark of electricity. Look, its alive! Isn't the monster beautiful? --- 9/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I began to wander. I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what time it was. I didn't know what day it was. I liked the feeling. I decided this was how I wanted to live my life. --- 7/13/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I dreamed of mountains by the sea. I dreamed of mountains by the sea. Climbing and surfing is where I'd be. --- 4/16/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I figured she knew a lot about the ground since she spent so much time looking at it. --- 10/28/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I have a Lorax in my thorax. --- 4/7/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I love having to get past your body to get to your soul. --- 9/24/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I remember sex. I remember love. First it was an ideal, a hope of two healthy (psychologically and physically) young, beautiful people meeting. Then it was a reality. Now it is just a memory. --- 7/28/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I tried to write her into existence. Meanwhile she lived next door. --- 2/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I want to talk to you at dawn. I want to talk to you all day. I want to talk to you at dusk. I want to talk to you all night. --- 7/1/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I would like to visit every place at every time and notice how quiet and still most existence is. --- 2/23/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I'm a mail man. What can stop me from the swift completion of my appointed rounds? Heat and cold? No. Rain and snow? No. Barking and biting dogs? No. Injury? No. Poverty? No. Neurosis? No. Social opposition, mocking, etc.? No. Social ostracism? No. Loneliness? No. Threats? No. Physical violence? No. --- 11/5/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- I've been to places where life is cheap. Its a big waste. Those places waste life. They kill others. They maim others. They beat up others. Life is cheaper for them. They place a lower value on life. Savage, barbaric societies. This is not civilization. This is not progress. They beat their children. They beat their women. They beat their horses. They beat their dogs. They beat each other. They beat themselves. --- 7/21/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Iama. Iama llama. Iama comma. Iama farmer. --- 5/23/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Idle. // Warm sunny day. / Everyone returns to Nature. / Creating a traffic jam. --- 4/28/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Idyll. // Gentle spring shower. / Wash your hair in rain water. / Wear a flower garland. / Get a ticket for being a public nuisance. --- 4/28/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- In my mind it's a sunny day. Beautiful geniuses give their best effort. Things are improving. --- 02/24/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- In summer the leaf covered trees brush against me like a sponge. In winter the leafless trees brush against me like a bristle brush. --- 6/12/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- In the mid-west of my mind the corn-feds listen to Journey, untroubled, unthinking. --- 3/15/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- In the Village I bought a potion that contained ginseng, ginkgo biloba and Ginsberg. --- 9/9/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- In the winter I am an Eskimo, coping with the cold. In the summer I am a Bedouin, handling the heat. The air-conditioned cube-dwellers have lost touch with the natural environment. --- 3/11/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Intelligence subverted. Smart people into stupid things. Distracted. Avoidant. Bribed. Steered wrong. Diverted. Perverted. Subverted. --- 3/30/2007
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Is there anything left to my life? Is there anything more to this world? --- 1/22/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- It is best to sit in the sun on a cool, clear day. Let your body feel the heat. Your mind empty. A blank slate. Your name before you were born. --- 9/12/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Its spring and the trees are fornicating. Smells nice and there's no bed sheets to wash. --- 4/25/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Karmic boomerang. --- 1/14/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Ladies, there are men out there who think your thick ankles are beautiful. Just wanted you to know. --- 3/3/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Lids like lead. My sessile mass. --- 07/23/1988
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Life: after the initial shock I said, "Let me compose myself". --- 5/1/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Chiggers and ticks and flies, oh my. Maggots and fleas and lice, oh my. --- 9/19/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Looking out at Union Square. Looking at all the faces. I find it difficult to believe that all this means nothing. Whoever said this means nothing must not have been looking at the faces. --- 3/10/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Lost in the world of thought. // Scenario One. Lost in the world of thought without any food or water. You struggle all day to make progress. Finally, at the end of the day, you are overjoyed to see a set of footprints. Perhaps the footprints will lead to civilization. Then you realize, to your horror, that the footprints you see are your own footprints. You had wandered in a circle, back to your starting point. // Scenario Two. Lost in the world of thought. You decide to stay put. You decide to wait for rescue. Days go by. Your party descends into cannibalism. // Scenario Three. Lost in the world of thought. You struggle on, bravely. You climb mountains, ford rivers and struggle through jungle. You chart previously uncharted lands. You add to the map of knowledge. --- 3/19/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Manhattan is grand and its residents become golden via osmosis; call it "gilt by association". --- 9/19/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- March. The gray skies. The drizzle and damp. The cold whipping wind. The mud caking our boots. We plod on, waiting for better days. They should call it "forced March". --- 3/16/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- May. / May, the possible month. / May or may not. / The odds are about 50/50. --- 5/6/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Mental refuge. First everything disappears. Then I am walking through the forest, snow crunching under my boots, stars flashing through the firs. I walk for hours, empty headed, till I can smell the wood smoke from the cabin fireplace. --- 12/26/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Middle age lament. // It seems like nothing I'm doing is having any effect. It seems impossible to get anything done. It seems I'm not accomplishing or achieving anything. It seems I'm having no effect. It seems I cannot change the system. --- 3/28/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Minimalist poetry. // The beauty of the blue sky. / The beauty of the gray sky. / The beauty of the green earth. / The beauty of the brown earth. --- 11/8/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Mondo Basho in Hollywood, or Chinese Poetry by the Numbers. PART ONE. (1) Pick a season: spring, summer, autumn, winter. (2) Pick a time of day: dusk, dawn, day, night. (3) Pick an age of person: child, adult, old person. (4) Pick a gender: female or male. (5) The total number of Chinese poems possible equals the total number of combinations of the above variables. For example, Mondo Basho might write, "Spring dawn. The young women are planting rice. What's for dinner?" PART TWO. If Mondo Basho lived in present day Hollywood what a difference it would make in his poetry. For example, he might write, "Is it spring? I've been in Hollywood six months and the weather has not changed. Is it dusk? The smog is so dark the street lights are on at noon. Is that a girl? Perhaps it is another transvestite hooker. Is she legal? The teens dress like old ladies and the old ladies dress like teens. Where am I? The suburbs stretch to the horizon. How do I exit this freeway? --- 6/12/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Music of my youth. Clear, sunny day. I've not wasted thirty years. Its 1978. The Carter administration. Bright, optimistic, hopeful. --- 2/15/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- My life is like a cup of coffee. It took about eighteen years to bring me to a boil. And since then I've been slowly cooling. --- 9/25/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- My little terrorist lover. / She's holding my heart and penis hostage. / My brain lies dead on the floor, fallen victim to her demands. --- 6/4/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Nighttime. Real night does not exist anymore. Only in a few places far from man. There are two kinds of real night. The first is night with starlight and moonlight. The second is night without starlight and moonlight. The latter is the real real night. It exists only when there is no light, and no hope of light till day. No electricity, no batteries, no fire, no matches. When you can not see your hand in front of your face. And the woods are alive with the sounds of animals. --- 6/25/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Object of her affection. How I desire her rapt attention. How I miss her look of expectation. How I pine for her admiration. How I loathe her consternation. I felt her excitation. I felt her satiation. I miss her conversation. --- 6/12/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Ode to a woman. Your beauty is the sign I follow. Hope is the quest. Your love is the promised land. --- 12/29/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Oh, I Have Flossed. // Let them not say that I have not lived. I have filled out forms in triplicate. I have climbed gray stairwells. I have been in traffic jams. Oh, I have flossed. / Let them not say that I have not lived. I have stood in line for hours. I have done countless situps and pushups. I have paid bills. Oh, I have flossed. --- 3/5/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- On a Choking Victim Sign in a Restaurant. If I wanted to choke my victim, would not I put my fingers around their throat, rather than my arms around their waist? I do not want to hug them. I want to choke them. --- 2/25/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- On a hot summer day who is to say that the discovery of ice cubes was not as great as the discovery of fire? --- 6/28/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- On cool summer nights we used to go for slow rides and try to get lost for the fun of it. Were we wasting years, or were we enjoying them? With nothing to show, not even memories. Now, looking back, I wonder where did it all go? Is it too late to answer these questions? They should have been answered long ago. --- 07/30/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- One line poems. Environment (place) poems, and time poems. To take a mental journey. (1) Season poems. (A) Winter afternoon sun turns snowfield gold. (B) Summer heat drives me crazy. (C) Autumn winds scatter leaves. (D) Spring flowers. (2) Day poems. (A) Dawn, the dew covered grass soaks my shoes. (B) Daylight top light. (C) Dusk, like winter, seems like death. (D) Night, who turned out the lights? (3) Place poems. (A) City, so many women, their eyes lift and carry me. (B) Mountains, like a fortress. (C) Beach, topless is untoppable. (D) Suburb, strip malls. (E) Country, small towns in which to drown. --- 10/30/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Out in the suburbs people sleep peacefully. --- 04/30/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Patch the rip. Glue the patch. Duct tape the glue. Pin the duct tape. --- 8/13/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Pigeons, seagulls, and crows. --- 02/04/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Poem about activism. It is important. I'm not especially adept at it. It does not come naturally. There is little money in it. That is all okay. Its the ethical thing to do. --- 5/17/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Poem about my ideas: Each brick was set next to the other, layer upon layer, till something useful was made. --- 04/01/1988
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Poem of the enlightened petty bureaucrat. I am not having any vivid visual, aural, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory sensations or hallucinations of any positive or negative type. Nothing is bugging me severely, yet I am not ignoring life's problems in mind or action. I have dealt justly with my enemies. My mind is not pre-occupied nor obsessing, yet I do not lack focus. I am working calmly yet resolutely toward a set of well thought out, rational goals. I am not about to have a nervous breakdown. I don't feel a need to yell. I feel moderately well in an unforced way and that is ok, dammit. I feel neither slave nor master of language. I am not sanitized, nor am I in a wallow. I am not ignoring you or my environment. I am not bored, nor overstimulated. It is not wrong to feel this way. I am not coping out on life. I am not living in a styrofoam eggshell mind. I am not a rock. I have not given up. Do not pin your dissatisfaction and angst on me. Do not label me or put me down. I feel your pain but it's not overwhelming me. I am not a religious or political fanatic. I am just trying to communicate without imposing my ideology upon you. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. You've been a great audience. Thanks for listening. Thank you very much. I do not feel personally responsible for causing or curing all the worlds problems. I have not stopped thinking or feeling or remembering. I am not trying to attack you, nor am I being defensive. I respect you as an equal in a friendly way. Must we all suffer greatly all the time? --- 09/15/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Poet Logician. // Does she love me OR does she love me NOT? IF i love her AND she loves me THEN shall we together be. ELSE misery. --- 12/1/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Pre Internet. Suburban rooms. Isolated, bare. Meaningless work. Empty-headed exhaustion. Cultureless. Vacant. --- 2/26/2007
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Professional Loafer. // I was wandering aimlessly. / I was watching people holding drinks and cigarettes. / I was researching the mundane. / I observed the commute. / Disinterested, objective, outside. /// I catalogued the obvious. / I accounted for the trivial / while you were making important decisions. / I bought a Whitman sampler. /// While you were busy getting overtime pay / I was walking slowly in the park. / I was sitting on a bench watching the sunset. / I was up at dawn when no one is around, interviewing seagulls. / I was doing all these things that you are too important to do, and reporting the details. --- 6/1/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Putting her hair up. Letting her hair down. Its mesmerizing. That's how they snare us. With cascading tresses. I was talking with a lady the other day, and very nonchalantly she decided to put her hair up. Then in the same conversation she decided to let her hair down. --- 7/20/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Rain on the beach. --- 08/01/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Rainy day, all the shades of gray. / Sunny day, colors will display. --- 11/20/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Reductive simplicity. // Black coffee. / Unfiltered cigarettes. / Grain alcohol. / Pine box. --- 4/2/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Seasonal Sex. Summer sex: Hot, sweaty, sticky. You separate quickly when done, and the ceiling fan cools your sweat. Winter sex: Huddling under blankets. When done you do not want to leave each other. The fire warms you. --- 6/21/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- She had Halogen eyes. --- 11/10/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- She is strong and sturdy. Small and compact. Focused and determined. Physical and earthly. She was built for life. I am tall and thin. Ethereal and other-worldly. Mind everywhere. Veering toward death. We make a good team. --- 8/20/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- She was so serene. Her life was so serene. In her quiet, gentle, neat room. Cute and cozy. Happy in her cubbyhole. Her quiet joys. I am so chaotic. My life is so chaotic. --- 11/27/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- She. // She is like sex. She gave me half an hour for free. She could have charged me $75 for our conversation . // She is like drugs. She gave me a sample for free. She is in my bloodstream. She is under my skin. // She is like rock and roll. I hear music when I think of her. --- 6/23/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sixty nine meet Ninety six. // Freedom loving vulgarian with the business monopoly. --- 10/7/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sleven. // Hanging out at the convenience store / where I work for minimum wage / because I can't afford a car, / and I'm not old enough to drive. / This isn't living. / Slaving at Sleven. / Viewing the world through slushy glasses. --- 3/25/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Slogging through relationships. Slogging through conversations. Slogging through generations. Slogging through arguments. Slog. Flog. Bog. --- 3/11/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Slow motion, instant replay, do over. --- 10/7/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Smoking cigarettes. The ember is the hearth. The smoke is the ghost of a long lost friend. When one smokes, one is sitting around the fireplace with an old friend. --- 02/05/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Snowfall in the city, / just like a tickertape parade / except everywhere. --- 2/18/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sometimes I do not feel like a human being. You have to admit, it seems I have less and less in common with people. I listen to music to make myself feel human again. I need to get a job. This eternal cafe' observation is doing me no good. There is no philosophical proof for a "person". For all those who want to be unique, special and different, I imagine there is a hefty price to pay. Yet not so high as the blank look I see in the eyes of the "well adjusted". --- 7/11/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Southwestern rest stop. // We had dinner in the diner and dessert in the desert. --- 6/8/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Spin doctors, head hunters, swing gurus. --- 12/01/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Springtime. When winter is over. Sitting in the warm sunshine. Making vitamin D. Releasing endorphins. Happy. When the blues are over and past. When good times return. When good natured laughter abounds. --- 4/10/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Struggling artists, effortless slobs. --- 10/20/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Summer in the city. / Everyone in the streets doing a strip tease. / Taking it off. Piece by piece. Hotter and hotter. --- 7/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Summertime. Cicadas by day. Crickets by night. --- 7/20/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sunrise on the field after the carnival. // The humans are gone, along with the bright lights, the music and the machines. We are left where we started. Heat, dust, crops, crickets. --- 8/8/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sunset on the beach with my love. Sunrise on the beach with my love. And everything in between. --- 9/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Surfing. The ocean is a woman. The wave is a woman. Salty and wet. Yielding yet forceful. --- 7/1/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sweet life. Cool June. Breezy, dusky, dawny, yawny, sleepy. --- 6/20/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Sweetheart, how sweet the art. --- 1/25/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Talking to you is like throwing a rock into in the Grand Canyon. --- 7/7/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Telegraph from the front: The gender benders have united with the genre benders. Art is on the attack. --- 10/15/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Ten post-coital thoughts. // (1) Mission accomplished. (2) Next! (3) Who is paying for this? (4) Elysian fields, here I come. (5) ZZZzzz. (6) I'm in love. (7) It does not get any better than this. (8) Not available in any store. (9) No baby. No baby. Yes baby. (10) Snarfgle pxil hup lego. (11) What's that itch? --- 6/25/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Ten thousand more years of middle of the road, middle class, middle brow, suburbs. Peaceful, quiet and happy. Blessing or curse? --- 4/6/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Test for depression resistance. On a cold rainy day, / near the scarecrow in the empty field, / by an old car rusting beside the interstate, / next to an abandoned warehouse loading dock. / That is, in the middle of nowhere, nobody did nothing. / Are you still happy? / Are you still smiling? / Can you still see the sunshine and flowers? / Can you still hear the music? / If so, we need you in paradise. Get here as fast as you can. --- 3/18/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Bullet Poem. // * This / * is / * my / * final / * business / * report. --- 11/15/2003
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The cold air drove everyone out of the park. Even though the sun was shining, and clouds raced across the sky, no one was to be seen in the park, which just a few months ago was crowded with sunbathers. The cold air brought the wilderness from up north. --- 11/16/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The crackdown continues; today several arrests were made of doodlers and those who mumble in their sleep. --- 10/16/2001
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The expressionless face of the exhausted. Exhausted from a day and exhausted over a life. Panting like an animal. Eyes glazed yet still wary. Exhausted from physical exertion, psychological conflicts and ethical problems. Exhausted from battles with nature, other people and self. Zonked, flinching, panting, twitching. The face is paralyzed. The visage is dead. --- 7/14/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The green lawn is like a pool. And I feel calm because I have found water. --- 10/05/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The highway is a cement river. --- 08/09/1988
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Housewives // Meeting for coffee. / Chatting up a storm. / Holding court. / Setting the world to rights. / Ultimately self-satisfied. / Obviously correct. / What were they thinking? --- 4/15/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Ideas. // Before you thought of the ideas they weren't a part of you. After you forgot the ideas they weren't a part of you. They came and went and left only a trace on the page. / Where do the ideas come from? Do you call them with a whistle that you bought from an ad in an old comic book? / Where do the ideas go? Back into the wild. They are an elusive species. Their actual number is unknown. They are rarely photographed. Some people live their entire lives without seeing one. --- 7/21/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The lawn in the moonlight was beautiful. Slick with dew. It was then that I came to realize what all that acreage was for, as I made love to her on the golf course. --- 12/25/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Loneliness of the Night Watchman. I cried as I did my rounds. No light. No people. Just an empty building and darkness. --- 7/7/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The most important words poem. Overpopulation, pollution, resources, government, rights, education, needs, food, clothing, shelter, health (psychological and physical). --- 01/01/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Observer. There are limits to what you can learn from body structure, posture and gait. --- 6/11/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The ocean and mountains. You can rely on them. They will always be there for you. You can depend on them. They are a shoulder to lean on. They will support you. --- 6/20/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Odds. For me, for anyone, and for the world. Odds everything will be all right 5%. Odds of total annihilation 25%. Odds of tragedy 80%. Odds of a miracle 5%. Odds of injustice 75%. Odds of justice 25%. Odds of heartbreak 99%. Odds of complete failure 55%. Odds of muddling along 85%. Odds my kid will murder someone 2%. Odds of meeting a real friend: 1 per year. Odds of me losing all will to live: 1 per decade. Odds of using up all of earth's resources before heat death of the sun 50%. Odds of achieving an ecologically sustainable society 51%. Odds that The Odds are accurate 70%. Odds of doing anything unique that is worthwhile 10%. Notes. (1) Bravery is continued hope and effort despite the odds. Cowardice is being overwhelmed by the odds. Be brave my child. (2) The Odds are not 100% accurate. The Odds can change. Actual results may vary. The Odds are not a guarantee. Your behavior can change your odds by 25%. --- 11/16/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Parts. // The parts are scattered on the ground. The parts fit together. If I put the parts together the machine will work. So says the artist, the philosopher, the psychotherapist and the technologist. Ideas are parts. I make the parts and then I put the parts together. If I leave out a part or if a part is in the wrong position then the machine will not work. Puzzling. More parts arrive daily. A parcel of parts. Part and parcel. The puzzle is growing. Warehouse clerk, check in and check out the parts. --- 11/20/2004
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Person Sitting Next to You. I want you to be my friend. I want you to talk to me. I want to wander around in your head. I want to take a mental trip courtesy of you. I am going to be like a tick in your scalp. A parasite unseen, feeding on your blood. When I have had my fill, then I will move on. --- 10/30/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The pieces of string that hold my life together. The pieces of string that are my life. --- 2/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The poetic method of knowledge. Ten years of thinking about the mountains to get this far. The Mountain Poem in three parts. (1) Rock, stone, cliff. Color, texture, 3D shapes. Before humans, before trees, before life, there was the stone. Solid, dependable, strong. I can build a foundation on stone. (2) Mountain. It was big, like the sky. Free. Not petty, not claustrophobic, not confining. You could get lost in it. You could lose yourself so no one could find you. You could get away. You could lose yourself in it. You could hide in it. It is a fortress. It is a castle. I am the king. (3) Warm in the sun. Cold in the winter. I imagined myself part of the rock. Turning to stone. A stone man. A stony visage. A mountain man. One could return to the mountain if need be. One could survive there, low tech, simple life, basic, elemental. On could go there if the pace and pressures of the busy modern age were too much. It was a safety valve, an escape hatch. The stone was a silent, watchful, guardian. Like a god. The stone was a quiet friend. Peaceful. --- 03/20/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Porn Poem. // Porn. Pron. Prno. Ponr. Pnro. Pnor. Porn. --- 3/25/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The rain is a massage. The rain is music. The clouds are a blanket. The wind is a robe. The leaves are a cooling fan. The grass is a bed. The surf keeps the beat. --- 6/20/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Rain. // The rain, / reminding me of all the times it rained. --- 3/10/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Road. Gas stations. Convenience stores. Diners. The white dotted line. --- 7/5/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The rope bridge spanned the chasm like a hip string on a bikini. --- 10/25/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The smell of babies is distinkt. The smell of old people is distinkt. Apparently, the people in between, the adults, have a smell too, only they cannot smell it. You can't smell your own smell. --- 12/17/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The sound cars make in the rain when they drive by. --- 10/30/1997
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The Surf. Tonight, the warm salt mists, reeking of garbage and seagulls, blew onto the land. What I mean to say is I love you and want you in the nastiest possible way. Mist so thick you can cut it with a knife, leaves me wet with droplets of clammy sweat. I want you back. When the earth was young and pure. When there were no names, no words, no ideas. But I will take you now. Steaming and fetid, dark and full of life and disease. You still smell good to me. Do not speak, I do not want to hear what they taught you. A modern mind is worthless to me. The modern life is a small thing to live and die for. I don't want to see it. This is how bad I want you. Protean, like the sea. Waves crash over me. Seaweed. This is how bad I want you, that I would drive for hours at 3a.m. in the summer night, with windows down, by the shore. I can't see. Trash baby, you are holy in my eyes. Alive and dirty like the sea. Your subtlest of moods. Your smile. Lets have dinner tonight. Dank and foul. Pungent stench. You smell bad and I love you for it. Your raunchy, murky soul I can fathom. Dying people fu*king. --- 08/15/1988
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The things she says. Her every word. I'm watching her move. Attentively. Tentatively. Warily. I'm thinking about her. I'm waiting to talk to her. Its an excruciatingly slow approach. Are we taking off or landing? --- 5/20/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The wind is a massage, a caress from a lover. --- 04/30/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- The year 2000 felt like a new pair of socks. --- 6/21/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- These People. These impoverished people. These bankrupt people. These irredeemable people. These empty people. These broke people. These people who make my life so rich. --- 4/11/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- This is it. Your one big chance. Don't f*ck it up. This is for real. This is the big league. This is not a test. This is real. Life. --- 6/10/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- To be driven. To be ambitious. // To want to make something of yourself. To want to make a name for yourself. // To want to change the world. To want to do some good. // It takes a lot of effort. It takes a lot of work. // You have to do it yourself. Can't rely on others. // Can't play it safe. Have to take risks. // Have to be creative. You have to be smart. --- 1/12/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- To the lover I never met. I looked for you, but you weren't there. I couldn't find you. Where were you? Our eyes never met. We never spoke. We never touched. --- 6/20/1999
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Turn me on and get me off. --- 8/23/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Twenty different phrases for snow. Powder. Slush. Big wet flakes. Tiny ice crystals. Frozen crust. Deep snow. Snow with grass tips showing. Snowball-making snow. Clean snow. Dirty snow. Snow with footprints. Virgin snow. Snow in sunlight. Snow on a overcast day. Snow falling. Snow on the ground. Blizzard. White out. Wind driven snow. Snow in still air. --- 1/22/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Undelete. Replay. Memory work. Scavenging the garbage heap. --- 7/10/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- We had dessert in the dark. --- 6/10/1993
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- When he pulled the tab off the lid of a cup of coffee he felt like he was pulling the pin on a hand grenade. --- 3/29/2002
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- When I was with her I felt swell. She threw me a curve. I miss her hip attitude. I miss what's her name. --- 6/12/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- When the yard was my domain, then I began to know the lawn. When the block was my domain, then I got to know the sidewalk. When I crossed the street, then I got to know the road. --- 5/15/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- When they let me out of my cage. When the bell rings. When the whistle blows. When I leave the table. When I have the energy. When I have the time. I will go for a walk. And figure out what happened. And vow to stay awake. And vow to remain free. --- 8/6/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- When you are nothing you can be anything. --- 8/14/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- White field of snow. Blank piece of paper. --- 10/2/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Why are your teeth chattering in the heat of the summer? You don't have the fevers of malaria. You haven't been swimming in chilly water. What did you see to make your teeth chatter so? Your skeleton is rattling like you had lunch with death. --- 4/20/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Why drink water when it produces tears? --- 7/7/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Winter. // Snow. Ice. Slush. Frost. Crust. Rime. Frozen. Sleet. / Gray and black. Gray and white. Gray and brown. / Shoveling snow. Plowing snow. Growing snow. / Sledding. Skiing. Slipping. Sliding. / Cold. Wind. Numb. / Falling snow. Drifting snow. Melting snow. --- 1/4/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Women's eyes calm me down like Valium. Her eyes were like two Valium. --- 02/04/1994
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Words come over the wire: Why is no one talking? You sit in sullen silence. Why is no one talking? You sit in sullen silence. --- 5/14/2007
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Words set loose on the page. Set loose words on the page. Loose set words on the page. Set words loose on the page. Loose words set on the page. --- 3/25/2006
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Words. // All we have is words. Actions spring from thoughts, and thoughts spring from words. / All we have is words. And words are diaphanous, short lived and light weight. / All we have is words. And all we need is love, said John Lennon. / All we have is words. Everything we need is in the dictionary, not the bible. / All we have is words. A web of words. A net of words. / All we have is words. Without words we are brutes. --- 5/7/2005
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Writers paradise. Cheap pens. Cheap paper. --- 10/2/1998
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- You rich bastards, you wiped the graffiti off the wall so you could put up a bronze plaque with your name on it. --- 9/1/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- You were given a perfect day to wander this earth. / The sun was shining. / Your body felt strong. / You met a woman. / It was a perfect day. / What more do you want? --- 2/29/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Your Plans for the Day. // First you will drive to the mall early when it opens to avoid the crowds. Return one outfit because it does not fit. Exchange another outfit because its the wrong color. Then go to the bank to check your balance and resolve any discrepancies. Then pick up your custom stationary. Then to the post office to pickup a package. Its all been planned out. You are the model of efficiency. You will get a lot done while I sleep late, wake up, throw up, and stare at the ceiling wondering about life on other planets. --- 8/24/2000
Arts, literature, poetry, poem. --- Your sweet body. Your sweet legs. Your sweet eyes. Your sweet lips. Your sweet hair. Your sweet breasts. Your sweet feet. Your sweet hips. Your sweet waist. Your sweet elbows. Your sweet clavicle. --- 7/23/2006