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Jan 2010 · 909
Washroom Secrets
Del Maximo Jan 2010
back in the washroom
back in here so many times
hope they don't notice
just here to wash up again
seems I can't get it off me

it's so hard waiting
sitting there waiting for news
seems it's been hours
since the ambulance took him
and I drove to my sister’s

picked her up at work
then we flew down the freeway
driving mindlessly
123 per
and coming up on a curve

I slowed down in time
made it to the hospital
explained what happened
told the nurses everything
to my sister's amazement

was a heart attack
and my dad had stopped breathing
I called 911
got CPR instructions
I did the best that I could

we had to sit there
waiting for the family
and waiting for news
but nothing was forthcoming
so we sat there in silence

it was just too much
and my mind started tripping
didn't need to go
but kept sneaking out to wash
my dad's breath off my moustache

Del Maximo
© June 28, 2009
Jan 2010 · 889
Katya at Six
Del Maximo Jan 2010
her first Christmas tree
rising to the ceiling
the green scent of fresh pine permeates
papa put up all the lights
now it’s her turn
a treasure of ornaments
buried in tissue paper

a small, brightly colored stuffed menagerie
made by her Aunts and Uncles
when they were just kids
glittered, glistening plastic snow flakes
shiny, smiling ornaments of different sizes
and unusual shapes
most of them older than her
going back three generations

it’s quite a task
but Grandma said she could do it
unwrapping with care
choosing just the right placements

when she’s hung her last hook
my little niece stands back
aglow with happiness she whispers
“It’s perfect”


Del Maximo
© December 8, 2009
Jan 2010 · 2.1k
Someday
Del Maximo Jan 2010
a holiday feast
turkey and mashed potatoes
dressing and gravy
creamed corn, cranberries, cornbread
greens and sweet potato pie

she watched her children
all bright eyed and excited
enjoying their meal
as they left the lot she thought
“Some day...we’ll have it at home.”


Del Maximo
© December 8, 2009
Jan 2010 · 1.0k
The Collector
Del Maximo Jan 2010
dropped hard to the floor
the crumpled sound of dead weight
his cracked skull oozing
lifeless body releases
blood, ***** and seepage run

the stench of death fades
bones gnawed clean by sated rats
start to fossilize
just another new entry
in his basement collection


Del Maximo
© September 18, 2009
Jan 2010 · 599
Oscar's Ghost
Del Maximo Jan 2010
somewhere in the past
before my grandfather's time
I paid a visit
back in my family tree
I'm not sure how it happened

I just closed my eyes
tried to think of nothing else
until I passed out
I awoke in a strange land
a time of horse and buggy

kept pinching myself
the pain was real enough
it wasn't a dream
but it was all very weird
no one could see or hear me

recognized the house
it was my family home
familiar faces
seeming contemporaries
but no one there that I knew

I couldn't stay long
felt the pull of the present
felt myself fading
when they posed for a portrait
I stood in the back and smiled

that's how it happened
the camera caught my image
looking like a ghost
a strange man standing in back
whom no one saw at the time

"There's a spirit there"
the family legend goes
"We call him Oscar"
today no one notices
old "Oscar's ghost" looks like me


Del Maximo
© October 8, 2009
Jan 2010 · 720
Just Oscar
Del Maximo Jan 2010
hiding in wood grain
he was waiting silently
his eyes looked about
as the old house was creaking
crispness of fall in the air

they broke a window
hoping to find shelter there
settled in to rest
noticed the eyes on the wall
more than just knots in woodwork

he was watching them
his stare had them glued in place
a mist came forward
they found the strength to break free
bolting for the open door

as the story spread
people came to check it out
couldn't help themselves
morbid curiosity
one by one they were chased off

caretaker cackles
"That's just Oscar" he tells them
"Lived here long ago"
"His wife and child were murdered"
"He's still here waiting for them"


Del Maximo
© October 3, 2009
Jan 2010 · 1.3k
Key Man
Del Maximo Jan 2010
they call me key man
I have keys to everything
need a door unlocked
be it the highest tower
or the deepest of dungeons
a secret garden
or a ballpark stadium
I can get you in
I have keys to everything
except a place in your heart

Del Maximo
(c) July 29, 2009
Jan 2010 · 925
Daddy's Little Girl
Del Maximo Jan 2010
a delicious treat
for such a sweet little girl
she was soooo hungry
look in her eyes said it all
voracious, insatiable

finger licking good
greazy slimy decadence
nice presentation
gray matter smattered with blood
escargot consistency

sated and happy
she rested in the corner
basement was quiet
not thinking or caring much
just pleased to eat daddy's brains



Del Maximo
© September 26, 2009
Jan 2010 · 612
I Like Myself
Del Maximo Jan 2010
best thing about life
is that I get to be me
I am who I am
with all my imperfections
the things I need to work on

it's life's challenges
all the obstacles we face
that make it worthwhile
not in spite of shortcomings
but the way we deal with them

all of the problems
particular to my path
character builders
things that I needed to learn
to arrive at who I am

and I like myself
not better than anyone
we're all still learning
a balance of reticence
and delusions of grandeur

people may not see
the universe inside me
some currents run deep
other things are worn on sleeves
some, to me, are mystery

but then all in all
life's jigsaw comes together
as the pieces meld
creating clearer pictures
of the person that is me



Del Maximo
© November 30, 2009
Jan 2010 · 915
Sisters
Del Maximo Jan 2010
I saw my sister today
painting clouds on a blue background
leaving trails like a sky writer
soaring above obstacles and problems
floating on feathers with spirit of eagles
keeping a watchful eye
feeding family
defending to the death
the mother of nature
a gliding cerulean mistress
I saw my sister today
flying high in the sky



Del Maximo
© November 12, 2009
Jan 2010 · 937
The Alley Cat
Del Maximo Jan 2010
shoot the moon
the sky is falling
he doesn’t have a clue
he can’t figure it out
he doesn’t want to
holding on to the past like crutches
punched, choked and slammed
like a Saturday night smackdown
he was his father’s “favorite”
wrestling verbal belittlements of brotherly shame
“Stop crying.  You’re acting like a female.”
his mother escaped the battle cage and sent for him later
abandonment and authority issues
anger internalized and rising to a peak
he dropped out of high school
a crumpled, broken man-child
a stone child
having only dreams left intentionally vague
falling to his addictions and ****** anesthesia
afraid of moving forward
he likes it in limbo
waiting for life to happen for him
expecting others to help
but he won’t help himself
exploiting every excuse
words and actions biting the hands that feed him
pushing people away
assigning blame with pointed fingers
campaigning for sympathy with crocodile tears
tip toeing silently
the years creep up and sneak by
he’s a full step slower
like an aging prize fighter
unable to bob and weave society’s jabs
punch drunk he says, “no más”
withdrawing to the streets
he says, “no más”
“no más”


Del Maximo
© October 8, 2009
Jan 2010 · 1.4k
Beaches
Del Maximo Jan 2010
where sea sings to sand
in crashing surf melodies
crisp scent of salt air
seagulls screech, sand ***** burrow
sky falls off the horizon

blue on blue oceans
conjoin cerulean skies
far as eyes can see
squinting slightly in hot sun
warm smell of tanning lotions

buoys bob in and out
mesmerizing slow dances
rocking with the wind
gliding boat sails billowing
golden crests reflect sunsets


Del Maximo
©July 16, 2009
Jan 2010 · 1.1k
L.A. 1992
Del Maximo Jan 2010
standing high atop
the place where he cashed his checks
armed with 5 gallons
Arrowhead's extinguisher
a hero in a bottle
he foolishly fought
the flames of civil unrest
then the roof caved in
good intentions killed in vain
swallowed by the fire pit

days dressed in mourning
haunting the cemetery
tending her grave's grass
grieving guilty tears of loss
for the young daughter she had
she was too busy
caught up in "bargain's" frenzy
lost sight of her girl
her 12 year old was trampled
beneath the lust of looters

gasoline cans brought
to burn the local market
were beat back badly
chased away by baseball bats
a homeboy fire brigade
"This is our market!
The only one in the hood.
It ain't goin' down.
We saw the news on tv.
That **** ain't happenin' here."

tales of rioting
the worst and best in people
national headlines
the leviathan rises
through the smoke, fire, and ash
anger incited
latent hooliganism
an unjust verdict
for police brutality
can't we all just get along?
Jan 2010 · 1.4k
Droppings
Del Maximo Jan 2010
a rodent's demise
didn't see him 'till the end
only his droppings
nasty little black feces
hiding out in my office

the glue traps were set
and baited with green pellets
a matter of time
a nocturnal S.O.B.
no one heard his night time screams

I have no regrets
and PETA would not be proud
but it's not my fault
oh the germs...the germs, germs, germs
just can't deal with mouse ****

— The End —