life
cannot thrive here
rain
does not fall here
sands
flow and ebb here
the dunes flow on forever
like a great empty ocean
but this isn’t an ocean
an ocean is full with life
not gouged out by famine
but this place is starving
filled with bleaching sunlight
and this place is a desert
and I am a coyote
a famished, vicious wild thing
on my own, loose from my pack
I shamelessly stalk and ****
under this unforgiving sun
because I yearn to become full
to be freed from my hunger
I howl and cry relentless
piercing the void of cold nights
because I yearn for another
to fill up an empty heart
I am a sad starving beast
and I am the desert
a barren empty land
unfit for living things
filled wholly with nothing
sweeping and heaping high
the dunes pile with harsh grit
formed by long held hunger
I am dry and empty
but I am not serene
sun scorched and thirsty
rasping as a tempest
but yet I am not cruel
without hesitation
I present oblivion
a calm amidst chaos
but I really am a coyote
and yet I wish I was the desert
because I am in the middle here
tossed and torn by greater conflict
but I am not in the spotlight here
I am not the one in control here
I will trot about the burning day
and I will hunt in the frigid night
but when my time comes, I will die here
and the desert will stay just the same

Our hands are locked together as we stand
fused and held by immeasurable force
drawn in by time and fate and faith
and tethered by our Cygnian love
and in this single lovely moment
I taste the nectar of paradise
at once minuscule, then gaping
a crevice opens in our hold
rending what was adamantine
as your fingers slip my grasp
and in my desperation
I try to hold you tight
fearing what I set loose
unaware as I was
that it was far too late
you began to drift
and you left a void
growing between us
just as all things in
the universe fly
apart, we did too
that is the truth
we must accept
forces that cleave
all bonds too weak
exist and
exert their
strength on all
existence
I think to
console
myself
as
I

watch

you


fade

some days, I wish I could peel off the plastic
the polymer god of our modern world
some days, I wish I could digest my food
or strip off polyester suit and tie
some days, I wish I could turn off the screen
constantly feeding me the thoughts I need
our consumer world moves like elastic
bouncing from product to product, and sold!
I don’t ever object; that would be rude!
rule number 1: producers never lie
I trust the market, none can be so keen
and I trust the contracts I’ve never read
the things that make the world fit comfortably
they shape the world without a knick or kink
“to ignore the trends, or buy the wrong thing
is heresy! capital terrorism!”
still all in all I can’t help but question
“progress: something one must never impede”
progress to what? life lived acceptably?
“spend! or else the economy will shrink!”
they’re egotists that forbid questioning
so they can feed off their corporatism
and valued above all is ambition
But it's always the others they make bleed

Summertime blues
feeling
down n’ out
gut out
passed out
on the street corner
where I hear
a familiar song
Deadhead born a generation late
never suited me anyway
just trying to be cool
but it’s too hot
I’m melting
I’ll become something
completely new
original
leaving behind what I was
I’m changing
for better
or maybe for worse
I know I’m not perfect
growing up *****
when you first see the mold
and it starts to fit
stick to you
like sweat on a
hot summer day
when you just want to
liquify
seep through the cracks
and drain where they aren’t
watching
judging
expecting
you to sublime
into something
be someone
go somewhere
even if
you drain into the gutter
out to sea
or if you just take a bus
to California
where the beaches
are cool
where the people
are cool
where you can just feel
your problems melt away
your lover is there
waiting on the beach
waiting for you
lover boy
just go for it
what’s to lose?
just go for it
strike a match
let it burn
catch fire
and let your heart explode
lock lips
and set her heart ablaze
shoot off
like a rocket
take a look at yourself
where did you land?
or did you just burn up
on re-entry?
did you see it coming?
did you see her coming?
did you see you coming?
‘cause you were really
cool
when you were
burning bright
you did it
tiger
you shot for the red-hot stars
you wanted to shoot for
and you made it

a dream
fleeting
illogical
cacophony of those things that dwell
in
between
the world of fact and fantasy
the monsters
it seems
prefer
to
hide there
in the dark of our minds
where the vanquishing sun
cannot reach
that edge of all sanity
that cannot be understood
or reasoned with
where it’s all dark
and I feel dark
and everyone else is dark
another door opens
to fields of
lavender
when we used to
pick wild
strawberries
and we would
make honeysuckle
crowns
til’ dusk
that
lovey-dovey summer
I had hoped would never
end
but then I woke up
to find it had never
even
began

you and me
together
thick as thieves
stay with me
through the con
and the gag
my cohort
my ally
my comrade
just until
the punchline
I’ll follow you
in your footsteps
I can’t do it
not without you
you are the light
I’ll devote to
your disciple
your partisan
your apostle
in your lessons
never ending
you’ll be there for me
always by my side
‘cause you stand for me
blood on your iron
my raison d’être
is to rout with you
my chevalier
my front lionheart
my courageous knight
your sword raised for me
matched by my own shield
the nature of our bond
there’s nothing I can say
that will carry meaning
enough to express it
transcendent of title
I proudly exclaim as
your very pride and joy
your one and only heir
your affectionate son
I appreciate you
and the wealth of your life

what is life?
each life is
an experience
a momentary current
in the flow of existence
each life is
a collection
of sensory data
telling a story
about the universe
each life is
not individual
the life I live
is not my life
alone
my life
is the tie that binds
my unique experience
to every other
I have ever met
each life
follows its own path
purpose
is not a unifying theme
its whatever you choose
each life
is an experience
unbound by identity
so go out and
make it a good one

let’s go for a ride
in the ‘55 pontiac
just like the good old days
it doesn’t have AC
but its okay
we can roll down the windows
and just ride
down the highway
we can go to that
drive-up burger place
if you’re hungry
the carhop will bring out our shakes
yours chocolate
mine caramel
just like the good old days
and we’ll sit there
and talk
long after we’re done
maybe I could take the wheel
and I could drive
if you’re tired
but we’re not done yet
we could go watch a movie
at the drive in
and after that
we can just go to
the middle of nowhere
some place really dark
and just look at the stars
with the Beach Boys on the radio
just like the good old days
let’s not talk about the future
not right now
tonight we talk about the past
because tonight
we’ll talk about our love
and how it formed our
special bond
to today
it has survived
every trial and tribulation
it has been alongside
every joy and happiness
so as I hold your hand
that monstrous thing
tonight of all nights
I’m going to remember
the good old days

all is now auburn colored
from the flush leaves on the trees
to those that keep the ground covered
and those flying on autumn’s breeze
O fall! paint us rugged oaks
or the softest red maples
O autumn! use brilliant strokes
for every hue you are able
lay waste to the summer heat
and hold off the winter frost
a buffer built by those winds fleet
gentleness of this form is lost
O but Autumn comes with grace!
never a hint of cruelty
even less than a lovely face
alas you will fade brutally!
O how we’ll mourn when you’re gone!
and drink to empty our cups!
the tavern ablaze until dawn!
honoring yours’ and winter’s crux
glasses in the air we cheer
revering bountiful gifts
full plates and full glasses of beer
the cornucopia we lift
owes nothing to your cold death
but instead to supple life
that gave to the land its last breath
until we had a harvest rife

Hell rages on
to the battlefield
delivering children and soldiers alike
to a furious visage
Hell rages on
to the forests
toppling and rending the verdure
to feed unending hunger
Hell rages on
to the city’s streets
where the poor writhe and wither
as they are crushed underfoot
we are content with this
content that hell stalks
and flows through the world
like a passing storm
the horrors stand at our door
and we sit and bicker
bicker
bicker
bicker
at why that actor
cheated on his wife!
or maybe the best
ways to look 18 again?
perhaps today its the fashionable
surgeries ALL the starlets are taking on.
but is there more?
what are we to do?
there is more
we can feel
we can let loose
of our steely façade
and feel
and feel to the depth our hearts
and we can burn
burn off our husk
and embrace primal fervor
and blaze brilliantly bright
above all
we can care
and care enough
to endure discomfort
and care enough
to change
and care enough
to love