Ever since
the flashing red light

we've been caught
in a loop

of tag
and no tag backs

a current in the sea
of humanity

that pulls us farther
and farther

away
from the shore

Not where we drew blood
but under the bridge

is where we found you two
in the dark in a storm
like no other

and Poppy


I'd do the muddy slide
down the embankment
over and over again

just to rescue you

because it never grows old
to close my eyes
and hear you purr

as I watch you paint
murals on the walls
of my mind

and Percy

your prologue
meaning whatever went on before
did nothing to stunt your boundless joy

As  you jump
from constellation
to constellation

and tweak the moon's nose
each and every
starry starry night

The crest
and white frothy wall
of salty water

and you kick

before the wave
tumbles over
and knocks you down

but it feels good
to be alive
even though

you're on the losing end
of this eternal
fight

Something we need
to explain

the symbol
or significance of the thing

on a chart diagram
or schematic

but those who were
truly

the "GOAT"

needed no map
at all

Slip slide and away
and so go the water weenies

after that last weekend
we shook hands

vowing
to pick up where we left off

when we met again
but we didn't

I guess
we made a pact

so you said

to come find each other
in our after life

sorry
I didn't get the memo

although you look familiar
and you seem nice

coffee?

Orange
reflecting
channel
markers

making
passage
one way
and

dependent
on men
to wave us
on

and yet this
is where
the road
diverges

literal
and symbolic
is
the fork

it's hot today
so right now
well travelled
looks pretty good

to me
so so sorry
frost
and W.D.

No not stone
but one

shaped like a ***
filled with ***** and *****

of multicolored yarn
figurative

of course
more the stories that shape

the way a man feels and teaches
him the why and how

to love

The foam atop my beer is like the stuff
that laps the shoreline

the lazy song of a record skipping
on the jukebox

peace

is something you can find anywhere
and find it

you must

Cloudy now
and the skies
are gray

wet we are
about
to get wet

it was hot today
and blue
but not my kind

of blue spent
the whole summer
alone

on this porch swing
without you and where
you went

I'll never know
I wish I had a map
so I'd know where to go

Why

I'm just a harmless
gray fuzzy thing

sometimes without
but mostly

on a string
a pool shark

or maybe  a card shark
so to speak

it doesn't hurt
when I bite

and again you ask
why

that's because
I have fuzzy green teeth

question
you trust me

don't you?

About a guitar
maybe a man with one?

or better yet
a metallic pigment?

it was

the cut of your jib the tone
of your voice

you wonder why
I did

what I did

I wonder why
you left me no choice

A strong name
to some

but to others
it doesn't mean

well
you know the rest

it took a lot
of it and giant-sized marbles

to get where I am today
though apologies

to those I might have stepped on
and hurt

along the way
I regret it now

and understand that
you meant jack

and more
than I ever knew

Manx
they have no tails

and not much of one to tell
either

just *****
of nonsensical verse

and joy

the mind is best
when the mind is at play

agree?

a bauble
or a geegaw

something to spark
the imagination

to relieve the stress
a release valve

so to speak
mine you

was something
bounced off the wall

stretched
like Stretch Armstrong

and molded like playdough
you were there

but not really
often just a figment

of a magic afternoon
where both of us danced

with crickets lizards
and whirligigs

but now you are gone
one day I cut you loose

by choice and necessity
though you still haunt me

on sleepless
and moonless nights

Ten jokes a day
greasy bacon and runny eggs

at wit's end
of the string already frayed

tattoos and needle scars
cigarette ash and stains

on the table
***** mop water a rag

and ten jokes a day
from pain and heartache

is where the laughs
come from

your's mine
and everyone else's

in between

knee ****
or reflexive
response

by

visual
stimuli
designed

to get a reaction

you always
back
me into a corner

leaving no choice
but to push
to click or flip

whatever is convenient
immediate
expedient

or red

In the sun
and that I have

for my day
in court

not in front
but behind the mic

without it
my voice is timid

my resolve flimsy
and shifting

Where even the doorman
has a joke

and no one
is straining gnats

or swallowing camels

because they're too busy
swatting them or smoking them

while trying to scratch
an itch

that is next to near
impossible

to reach

Too much water

he said

we are taking on too much water

he said

as the outside patio bar flooded
and the hanging plants

so laden with rain
dropped

from there hooks
splashing

and smashing
onto the submerged concrete

the sky rages and weeps
and we are left to pick up

the pieces

There's nothing funny
and it doesn't tickle
nor is there any gold to be spun

the sensation's rough
filled with pain tears
and very little mirth

but that is best understood
coming from your mouth
directly into a silver microphone

With a pointed hat
ruddy face
and a frosty beard

you take me back
to a past
of fried bologna

cheese Wonderbread
and mayonnaise and
in the end

I am left
with following
conclusion

you truly are
what you ate

all those years ago

never

never

we are never off
the clock

always

in a race against time
on a  hamster wheel

that and along with other
absurdities

gets stitched together
to make life's quilt

that was never

never
and I mean never

supposed to make
any sense

Bean bags tossed
two and fro

his hands are fast
this man

in his striped shirt
and black pants

literally

he juggles
while I struggle

to balance a marriage,
job

hopes and dreams
seemingly and somewhat absurdly

on the head of a pin

Messages
of common sense

coupled with dimestore
philosophy

slipped neatly
into sugary wafers

while the Great Wall
in faded gloss

exists far across
the dining room

in the beginning
there was light

albeit pale

and our mouths watered
but what we came for

never really transpired
and we left

wanting more

of what we do not
know

No spotlight
that disappeared
years ago

now

just you wearing a madras jacket
loud shirt
and a polyester tie

leaning
against a varnished wooden rail
speaking into an old radio mic


trying to talk
over the Rolling Stones
on a Wurlitzer Jukebox

to no one
in particular

This morning your eyes sparkled
as you talked

to the birds that chirped
through the screen

then you shimmied up
your scratching post

I wish I could take back what happened
to you three weeks ago

and found you before it was
too late

my cross to bear but
bear it I will

Take my wife
PLEASE

STAND UP

as in also
you  stand up
for

LOVE
SPOUSES
for

SISTERS
BROTHERS
for

MOTHERS
FATHERS
f­or

COUSINS
AUNTS UNCLES
for

NIECES
NEPHEWS
and also

United
WE STAND UP
for

EACH OTHER

It's the small acts of magic
like the floating bar napkin

the dime for every quarter
or the clean separation

of two straws
tangled as lovers

matched
somewhere south of heaven

these little sleights of hand
turning heads everyday

and changing minds
forever

A flashing light
and a painted
Elvis gyration

flippers
a silver ball
and the sounds

bing bing
bing **** bing
bing bing bing

Brother

I think about you often
how you were bounced
back and forth

between homes
schools
happiness and sadness


and the short stack
of quarters you turned
into

free game after
free game after
free game after

free game

Yes
it is safe to say
things got weird

our paths diverged
like many rivers
headed to the same ocean

or many veins
carrying blood
from the same pumping heart

Buckets
of flashy yellow nuggets

by the bullion
it is there

if you are fool enough
to search for it

Plastic players
you spin on a spit
in an attempt to knock

a plastic ball
into
the goal

you are we are
doings things
that are way beyond

our control

A funny bone
a gag reflex

and an innocent
question

would you go out
with me

was all it took
for you to spit

Coke
through your nose

all those years
ago

I might rollover
and bring you
the morning paper

but my bark
is metallic
echoes

and sounds
as if it was made
in a metal drum

a noise
that will haunt you
forever

pink and sugary
your words
so lyrical

and yet
so fleeting
they dissolve

in my mouth

I don't want to believe
but I do believe

you sold me
a bill of goods
though I'm not bitter

how could I be
with such sweet
salesmanship

I am sandwiched
like a slice of ham

between
two pieces of Wonder bread

measurement
and judgment

you measure my intellect
by my words

yes
they are simple

you judge me
by my clothes

yes
they are threadbare

but please don't judge me
any further

or measure

until you try me
with mustard and Mayonaise

Yesterday
the weather was warm

with the sun sunny
side up

and the sky was a solid
blue

and now
I must honestly ask you

what just happened
a cold snap

ok maybe
but seriously

ginger
preferred

Like a giant hand
shaking a box of soap flakes
all over the place

then

scouring
rinsing
wiping dry

repeat

the last gasp
or a new beginning

take up thy bed and walk
is what you said
and though you were gentle

there was a force behind it
like a swift-moving river
more than enough to make me rise

put on my shoes
and take those first
wobbly steps

and eventually walk
and walk
and never

look back

Much simpler
than a scramble
for a basketball

I'm crazy for the trees
beginning
to bud

for the warm air
and the thaw

and the crisp walks
under a freshly
minted blue sky

but most of all
I'm mad for you
that's right

it's mad love

for the woman
I would not have
any other way

that I want to march with
down the road
to our golden years.

A planted seed
watered

great things
to grow
and come

like roses

or deeds
that will be recorded
for posterity

and colorful
full fruit
but not from the poisonous tree

and study
for practice application
and surely

but edible
oh so delectable

not just for academic
and entertainment
purposes only

There's a whistle blast
on the wings
of a guitar string

followed

by a mountain of mirth
joy and a little dirt
under our nails

as we ride the rails
you and I with an occasional dance
to distract us

from the cup of joe and fact
that we are flying
by the seat of our pants

Press that button
pull that cord
plug it in over there

and see that red signal light
blinking
I need your help

maybe
could you check
for an alternate spelling

or try dialing
that number again
I am sure it's right

that's the number
he gave me
please sir/ma'am

I am desperate
so very desperate
to make a connection

On top of the world
I am

well If not the world
at least the roof

right now it's sunny
but there's a storm coming

the clouds are gray
and the wind's picking up

stirring the ground
and blowing me

every which way

Open
with a red-orange sunrise

then
crack that sunrise like an egg

and let the yoke and white slop
into a mixing bowl

question
do we then beat that egg

scramble it
or do we fry it or

maybe poach
perhaps

we just leave that broken sunrise
in the bowl on the counter

someone else's gift
or curse

Leather
wrinkled with age

but trusty

case in point
without the fluff

we are talking about a grip
that's been through it all

seen it all
and stood the test of time

A stray thought
in the day
enlarged

by night

and now you are deep
dreaming
about fair weather

and a place
you've never been

Kansas City

it lingers
it dangles
like a shoelace

never tied
or unfinished
like a *** only

half thrown

Meat sliced
by a stainless steel blade
and by the pound

prime
and choice

back then
cuts were cheap
but such

as life

A Neon Splash
from a forgotten age
of cool and class

and jazz
palpable and complete
with curls of smoke

it's still there
you

are still there
it just takes a while

to notice what was once
so familiar so clear
and dear

Just a  speck
but I know it's there

across the sound
waiting for the tide

to recede
and the sand bar to appear

a bridge a connection
to the past

and a spark and a flame
to future enlightenment