HE: do you want huevos rancheros?

SHE: we don’t have tortillas

HE: no problem; we have tricolored tortilla strips!

SHE: we don’t have salsa

HE: no problem; we have cherry tomatoes. We have onion. Half an avocado

SHE: we actually have fresh cilantro

HE: we have salsa!

SHE: fresh eggs of course

HE: thanks, girls

SHE: beans?

HE: yes! Left over from February; when I turned 60. Thank you, freezer

(Half hour later)

THEM: those huevos: yum!

I sleep next to
The time traveller’s wife
I’m there with her
In the then when where again

She sleeps next to
The time traveller’s life
She’s there with him
Bending being here and then

We sleep until
The moment is right
We wake being
Me, you, us and them

semester ends frenzied
with freshmen disheveled
I worry for their worries

I feel their predicaments
but not mine to solve
my words, I hope, are salve

retirement ripe,
I do my best
they must do the rest

Yesterday, I was not a nice person
An entire episode of that

Apologies being crafted
Strategies hopefully drafted

A. Bourdain?
It was a trigger

Why I love travel
My best times with you

Showed us everywhere
Bonds we all share

Crass, adorable, unlikeable
(Self reflection there)

I didn’t suffer loss well
A man behaving badly

I was awful to my travel companion
No excuses; apology?

Timely serendipity
Time travel is slippery

I just went back to ‘68
Way pre-Watergate

I was just ten
Way back when

“Come on, Sherman,
Into the Way-way Back Machine!”

Who-hoo Hulu!
Two years after Sulu…

I enter the “Time Tunnel”
Running the funnel

Distanced, displaced
There I am:

Face to face—
It’s me again.

rye fphitter waht two…
What?

myie whust cheich punum
What?!

tessha bidda fikum…
I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

Ok I’ll kreshit bid it dit
What?! I’m

Honey, I can’t hear you…
Could you please speak up?

Yes!
mmimble schumble com

The dew rises
Sublimation
Water to vapor
Metal to rust

There is a time to acquire
A time to retire
A time to release
I hope I’ll know to

Let it go;
Exhale
Sigh
Slow

I need some grief relief
I need some glibness forgiveness
A second chance glance
Another shot at redemption

It’s the what we do wrong song
A second stanza reprise
Self reflection detection
And deflection surmise

———

1. MYSEXUAL

**** on cold ****
Kitchen confidential
Learning what feels good.

Unease of urges;
This body discrepancy!
Learning to work it out!

Frozen. Lying next to her.
Panicked. Breathing. Needing.
Yearning to work it out…

2. BESEXUAL

College class. Really.
Human sexuality.
Friendly entry.

Not many after; but all good:
Love fades to friendship.
Then: wife of my life!

"On” would be the term
For her electric touch;
FFFWOOMF! Ready for love!

3. BYESEXUAL

No post-****** depression
Resignation completion
Better just to sleep

Things peter out.
From flames, embers.
From embers, coal.

Did I want to start sooner? Yes!
Did I want to last longer? Yes!
Do I accept what’s now? Yes.

The maw of grief opens
Slowly, reeking
Of onions

Wet eyes blink
From the lost cost
Bereaved, we weep

Still, not yet asleep,
We sojourn here
Bereft

I can live with 84%
That’s a B+, right?
Or at least a B?

.

I'm missing something essential
With intentions unimpeachable
I strove to get it right.


.

Right?





.

Man, it’s hard to be a man.

Witless white man
in a sea of brown
without you, the
world still goes round

White bread privilege
tasty sandwich
boloney with oblivious
what wasted bandwidth

I yearn for post-racial
i own unconscious bias
“Gorbachev, tear down that wall!”
better world built by us

Lil’ angel black
Perches nightly
Guarding him
All night long.

He sleeps a lot,
Slow old boy
Downstairs resigned
Downsized.

He saved her
She loves him
He tolerates her
Appreciates, grudgingly

Every cat, every dog
Has their day.
Better yet,
They have each other.

My big brother just
Called out of the blue as

Sun shown through a
Week-long grey mist and

I love the feel of blue skies but
brotherly love—far more important

I might be seen as godless but
We both believe in goodness

Nostalgia is nice
By its very name
A pleasure filter

A smell

A comment

A picture floating by

Your personal time machine
Kicks in, transporting to
Warm and fuzzy

People

Moments

Joy

You might want to stay
But no, not real
Enjoy it though

One.
Might be fun…

Two.
Might be you…

Three.
Be with me?

Four:
Ask for more.

Five,
Combined lives.

Six;
Pick up sticks.

Seven:
Life unleavened.

Eight—
Navigate straights.

Nine:
Leave all that **** behind.

Ten.
Then.

A correlation of crows
Coruscate above
Rippling and shimmering
High in the sky

Potent portents present
As options multiply
Diverge, converge, divide
With diminishing reply

Phosphorescent swirls
In an opalescent sea
Wondrous whirligigs
Of knowing and being

What goes around
Gets dizzy

All’s well that
Isn’t bad

A fool and his money
Has a lot of fun

Early to bed early to rise
Has no night life

A stitch in time
Is a temporal rupture

What doesn’t **** you
Raises insurance rates

When life hands you lemons
Open a fruit stand

Actions speak louder
With a PA system

The apple doesn’t fall
In outer space

You cannot judge a book
Without a lawyer

The grass is always greener
With fertilizer

An apple a day
Costs $250 a year

We’re not laughing at you
(Yes, we are)

There’s no such thing
As a unicorn having lunch

Money is the root of all
Capitalism

A spoon full of sugar makes
Diabetics

Misery loves
Therapists

Better safe than
In danger

All that glitters
Sparkles

Ignorance is
Trump

Did she really mean that?
What was that snarky smirk?
What the **** does that mean?
I can’t believe he just said that!
Does that mean that…

Here’s a chill pill
Don’t think the worse
Get over your brain strain
Move on to restrain
Here’s a new refrain

Surprise: more than you
No one aspires to conspire
Antagonists might be protagonists
Think better of everyone
Beatles: “All you need is…”

Who?
What?
Where was I?

Uncertain lullaby?

A taste,
A smell,
A sound—

Alarm nearby but:

Frozen asleep
Stasis stuck
Hush-a-bye solid goodbye:

Frozen!

“I CAN’T MAKE MY LEGS MOVE!”
Caught tween here and there
A living/sleeping nightmare

Dreamer tries to wake,
Remembers Borges’ circle;
Who dreams the dreamer?

Nightmare ends as
Barrier weakens
Fluttering eyes awake.

Shift, move; pillow fluff—
Chasm crossed;
Glad I’m not in my coffin.

Grief is a bowling ball
Ripping down the lane
Leaving few pins standing

The map of grief
Has blue states
And blue states

Grief is a state
Of emotional tsunamis
Crashing ashore

Waters recede
Pins are realigned
We proceed apace

But with longing
And remembering
And the long tail of love

first, relief
I don’t have to do
anything

dishes *****
bed unmade but
everything else

6am to 6pm brigade
promises made
love delivered

chicks in
cats fed
dog abed

then, lover lonely
misses wife—
not the strife

I am tired of mendacity
Tweeting mansplainingly
Daily weekly repeatedly

True is fake while
Making it Great
Only to the base

Stop fake news
Choose
Vote

With teacher as student
And all the world’s topsy-turvey
Not knowing knight's next move
Although all the board’s a flux
Each step is potential adventure and
Intuition is your only guide
Take the step

There is in control and
There is out of control
Then there’s no control
And then just the thought of it

Our bodies teach what we lack:
Older, stranger; put the coin in the slot
Lemons, Oranges, 3 of a…
DING! DING! DING…

Or not.

We still-ill-want control
But, that sum-um times
Elludes us. Put another quarter in…
Hope for Elysian dream

I’m invisible

Corporeal,
Physical but

Invisible

I can’t be seen

I’ve left my mark
My scent
My ***

My words
My works

Still,
You don’t see me

There’s a rumble in my tumble
Upswitch Ipswich overload
Chorus of toads or crickets?

Circuits snapping not yet breaking
Electrical trickle cascading
Wassup? Turn it up!

Tune in, drop mic, turn on!

To the right: supreme justice
A handmade tale by
Current resident

Steering country to wrong
Constitutional crisis
A future bleak

Woman’s body choices
Soon severely limited
Roe v. Wade betrayed

Rule by mob minority
Supremacy of white
Is simply not right

I’m a solid bronze snowflake, baby
Shiny, showy, pointy
I don’t melt

I’m here for the love, the dove
I’m here for the queer and the trans
And the newspaper delivery man

My heart is on my sleeve
Always beating never bleeding
For what‘s right, the good fight

This liberal for liberty
Leans so far to the left
It’s hard sometimes to walk

Disregard me at your peril
Think me mushy meek then
Meet me feral

No.
Not without evidence it won’t

No.
Without assurance I won’t

No.
No.

We won’t be fooled again

Ameliorate:
To make better

Asked if we could
We knew that we should

We said yes and
Plum blossoms blossomed

Welcomed ambitious souls
Into our lives and home

Oaxacan students
Changed our course

Family extended,
And we, forever bettered

So, after your interview
Schedule an interval to
Check your recording
And/or flesh-out your notes

Twenty minutes
Or half an hour
Immediately after
With a barista beverage

Get a cuppa coffee
— Wait, this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC coffee…
— Et-hem; this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, coffeh…
— Uh, wait, this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, SHADE GROWN coff…
— So, as this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, SHADE GROWN, SONGBIRD SAFE! co…

**** it.
Get a warm cup of Chai tea

— Wait, this IS Arcata…

Sip that soothing cup of Chai tea
While gracefully doing

Tai Chi

It’s still spring…
With a hint of summer
Guess I’ll call it Sprummer

Actual opposite of ******
This seasonal fecund trend
The great greening of the world

Blossoms still coming with some already gone
Trees leafing fully with some still nascent
Every abundant hue of green in view

Festival of chirping; birds flirting
Copious coos of doves in love
Swooshing thrums of the hummers

Morning rain
After noon sun
Evening pending

Axis tilt-a-whorl
Wobbly earthiness
Glorious, wonderful transition!

Welcome, SPRUMMER!

Our familia
Are familiars

Alliances abound with
Conundrums around

There is love, true
But quick to misconstrue

And misinterpretation
Creates red frustration

Then misplaced anger;
And malplaced angst

Siblings feel betrayed—
Untrusts, untruths replayed

It’s a Punch and Judy show
It plays out mean and slow

A sad, but vibrant
Painting by Van Gough

I am so happy sad
I could explode
Like unexplained
Unexpected
Unknown ordinance
In Laos

The way out
Is to go
Not there again
But over there when
Out of comfort zone

Meet and greet
Eat what is
Reciprocate smiles
Miles from home

A chicken sits to think
While sitting lays an egg
No joke, there’s a yolk
Ensconced in membrane

Outside the albumin
Called white when clear
Humpty Dumpty smear
All still in calcium shell

Layers of understanding
Sometimes cracked open:
Is the yolk on you
Or is it white privilege?

Scapegoating 101
Always wrong

Feeling good by
Blaming someone

Nice for you
Justice for no one

Masters
Of illusion
Is that a ——

I see before me?
Or glue-gun
Construction

**** death camp ledger?
Oh! kay…
Guns, too?

******* battering ram?
And swords and helmets?
Ok.

We are making
A redwood grove?
A spiral galaxy?

A multi-platform space
Suggesting the
Heinous oppression of…

And what is in their hands?
What thing belongs there?
The colors again?

Hey, Mikki,
I miss you
And the work.

White as white can be
I miss your bright
polka-dotted plastic wrap

Add a slice; baloney
Individually wrapped
Orangey faux cheese

Yes, please!
Squirt on the mustard!
Mayo? Yes, buster!

Side of chips, potato
Paper plate, if you say so
Good lunch or just snack, natch!

Take me back, back, Tang to
A way-way-back machine
To my own personal 70s show!

Is our future faith-based or
Freak fate?

Eternal kingdom or
Just dirt?

Is it really nature versus
nurture…

Or is that a false choice and
It’s both.

Nature is fecund and nature is
fetid.

We begin then end contemplating
Beyond.

We were right all along while we
Were wrong.

Ergo I am
Sham, eye yam
Green eggs and spam

Ego flim-flam
Partizan
I am what I…

Traffic whines as
Trucker chaos decides
With or without earplugs

Subliminal rumblings
Traffic stumblings
Above and below

Up here, it’s obvious distractions:
******* lane changes
Big-rig disruptions

Down here it’s subtle diffractions:
Kaleidoscope differences
Elysian needs

Wait for it
Hope for it
Refreshed release

Just let go of
Pandemonium
Forget regret

Common space vs.
Personal space vs.
Marriage space—

I waited for you to…
“No, I waited for you, too!”
No, I wanted from you to…

I thought we both want…
I believed we both should…
I thought we both might…

Dance

It’s a tango:
Slip, slide, dip,
Marriage is a wild ride!

I want something
But I don’t know what; an
Unscratchable itch

Urges deep percolate
That I can’t articulate
Fait acompli? Or No?

Wait? Or tempt fate?
Do, and invite regret?
Heads or tails?

Crap shoot, poker game
**** the zit or not
Spin the wheel…

Monarch butterflies
Go back and forth
Mexico to Northeast US

To Alaska
From Baja swim
Great blue whales

Hummers, flycatchers and warblers
Orioles, and swallows seasonally
Fly their North-South routes

So do people
All the world over
Fleeing oppression

How do we treat them?
Less than human?
Better than butterflies?

Grief is a thief that
Hoodwinks normalcy

Just walking along
Then suddenly: BOOM!

Tears flow
Steps slow

Follow the tear’s trail
Down your left cheek

A universe of memories
Flashed in a moment

Sadness, anger, love
Angst, regret, forgiveness

Every step forward was
Already forged in the past

Rejection reaction
Who is yelling at whom?

Button pusher
Make your game claim.

Have it escalate
To blame game.

My good impulse
Repulsed; intent bent.

This cat and mouse ****
Will bring the house down.

I think I’m a Bhuddist
Because I’m catholic
Look it up

I think I’m humanist
because I’m sympathic
It’s what’s up

I think I’m a pugilist
Fight the fight fantastic
Loving cup

Everyone in this room
Came from a unique womb;
A mother to another—

As we intersect
We’ve laughed, shrugged
Shared stories…

The bond common
Place and time summoned
We reconnect

If you had fun, I won!
Complete ___  to compete;
Prance!

Thank you all!

“Fool!”
Accusation accepted
Actually, although,
Really: Clown

Free the Fool, yes!
Foolish?
Whenever I can
Fooled? No.

I may own
A tri-tipped foolscap
With jingly-jangly bells, but—
The emperor has no clothes