41

 

41, middle of the night, first

thing in the morning Nobody

sleeps, everybody dreams I’m an art

worker who cannot stop. We all sit

down, sit down everybody! And work

your art. I’m the old man in the middle

dancing in the altogether. And who’s

that blowing Coltrane? Coltrane, who else?

stands up and rehabs the gumbo. That’s

the way to party partay! Going national

today. All here to greet it, as it begins!

The guy sighting down the mount, taking

photo of the first guy to make the peak

 

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

AIDS

 

Around the world are rings

Of plaque in a construct of insensitivity

That guillotines the nerves

 

Science shirks where politics shrugs

Footprints become graveholes

And life disease, where life is a disease

Where life puts its arms around you

And draws you in and...

 

I am talking to you

A bullet

Shatters the rifle

Of the speaker's mouth

No longer barbs "to ask"

Only "cry" as in "cry out"

 

I am of the generation

Invented a newer oppression

A murderous murdered generation

With a nickname AIDS

 

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

BEACH SIMPLIFIES HORIZON

 

Here warmly framed in gold, the young Cezanne

Would scratch his pen neath the solemn eyes of Zola

and run his letters together cryptomorphically

So that the Rhine would hush and ever so

Sweetly the Rhine would hush as in Zola's eye

A single tear would work its way out and down,

In the center of town, the muffled drum

And a clear blue memory of a man whose pipe

Would not draw but work a puff of smoke

About and around like friendship

 

 

 

I would, that longest window, sit there

And grapple with morning.  With the chair

Appropriately turned on its side, narrow,

Opalescent, triangulated, waiting night's

Fountain and lots of music everywhere.

 

 

 

Sometimes I smoke

Sometimes my pants fall down

But it's ok

I wear underpants

I don't smoke in bed

 

 

 

This, woman, is bread

We eat the stuff

That's how it happens

 

 

 

Not a care in the garden

So I'll stay there, grappling

With no care, caressing the tender

Hair of your whiteness, where color

Once was, and pouring water, and I am red

 

 

 

Touch a moment

That, baby, is so good

And my huge forearm

Big gulps and gulps

and also to turn around

and see you there

 

 

 

Green did someone say

Green lots of green

All over the place you'll find green

That's what I mean

Simply green

 

 

 

Once there was light

We'd sit in it

Maybe a wall

Isn't a bright idea

 

 

 

Let's take a fat shower together

And mix up our hairs

And kiss whatever

And a blind lover

Just make it sweet

 

 

 

Escape from land

Jump in and disappear

This is the life

So cool and long

 

 

 

100 years of a rose

And my beach simplifies the horizon

Please get dressed in a relaxed manner

While I watch and watch and watch

 

 

 

The sun of melody

I mean the sun's melody

Humming wind

All right, I'll lift my arm

 

 

 

Solid and airy, and clumsy Beauty

Put an arm up if you are

Well whatever you are doing you

Can always put your arm up

Or maybe just put your arm up

Maybe with a lot of blue water

You'll lift something and it will be

You, your arm and you, blue too

 

We'll invite over just scads of people

If it's ok with you and eat fruit,

     all different kinds

Maybe you'll take your clothes off

Maybe Paul will draw you with

     that magic brush of his

We could probably stay like that

     probably forever

 

 

 

The only thing

You can wear

Is your tattoo

 

 

 

What are you thinking about

I am thinking about screaming

That makes me laugh and your smile

And life's relay scream a song

 

 

 

It sounds funny

To get in bed

Like hand me a knife

I'll cut a hole in the

Puffy feather mattress

And we can crawl in there

 

 

 

Beds, please don't

Sleep on them

They are our friends

 

This tree is now the sun

And all the bathers are wearing

Glasses. Well, are they

     sunglasses?

Ask for yourself.  They

Will answer, and that will

Be it for you you you

 

 

 

This is not paradise, it is

Marvelous, about 5 km outside

Paradise.  I was born and raised

In this tent and yesterday it fell

Down.  I don't care.  Let it rain.

I'll eat your hair without a

Care and press my trousers but

Where did I leave my trousers?

 

 

 

Paul, hurry!  The Bathers are dancing

They're balling the hillside and a

Barking shadow warns them if you're

Not careful.  They are practicing

Safe sex and look like they'll graduate

With honors.  That's the story, but

Where is the painting? Paul, come back,

You have forgotten the easel, the paints,

The pants, the....

 

 

 

Time to join in with time

All the time is just a mouth

The corpse leaps out of the coffin

As the bone from your forehead

It means fight, and we will,

With swords and shields and

Sleeping you fight me back awake

 

 

 

What's wrong with this picture

Nothing

That is what is wrong

And a beer glass

 

 

 

I'll just sit down here and rest

While you do the rest

 

 

For goodness sake

Don't you think

You've carried that water jug

Far enough

To the moon and back

And to the moon

 

 

 

Colors are something else

For example, a fence

That softens a little

 

 

 

I think I've found a niche

In this rock

Or maybe my buttocks

Made it

But I'll stay here

To consider

 

 

 

Which way

This way

Or that way

Always

 

 

 

All there is

In the big room

Is the walls of

The room

And paintings paintings

 

 

 

       Face Mountain

That says it

That says it all

Except no fair

Saying it

 

 

 

A jungle of white towels

On brightest July mid-morning

I'm running into irony

But you keep pulling me back

Little by little

 

 

 

There's a girl right here

Looking like the apple she eats

I am happy.  She is doing everything.

 

 

 

     One Last Funny Step

Caught in the polka of the soul

I was a brat with a mission

Listen to me, for I'll say it but once

And now, having forgot what it was,

Come back, genuine idea of it,

I cannot run anymore

 

 

 

Maybe it's time we got wet

Only our reflections

The rest is sex and sun

And somebody explaining it to you

     with a tongue

 

 

 

Hey you

Yeah

You look great

You too

Totally great in front of me

 

 

 

     Blue Will Take Over

What were we saying

I forget but maybe

We can conjure up a telephone

Then the telephone would remember

That is what they are for

 

 

 

Who moved that bridge to there

No, they built it

And it was always there

Go back to sleep

 

 

 

What are we doing now

What were we ever doing

We are being flowers, tulips

And we are looking at you

With that "join us" look as

We join too, everything, that

Is what we are doing, or

Did, joining up and in and becoming

Everything, everything is what we are

 

 

 

     One Last Red Look

I'm not sure, or,

No longer am I sure

But yes it seems

It seems a boat

So after that

After that I don't

 

 

 

     Maybe the Sun

Again, maybe not

Or who is over there

I'm surprised it's you

You used to but it's ok

You did, I remember the

Time, but then time joined up

Sweet and swift, this silence

 

 

 

     Maybe Down This Road

At last

I guess

Big trees

Are what we

Happen to be

 

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

CHIMERA

 

It was love & that was all

Ho-hum a rooty.  The wall you

Were kissing is suddenly

Missing, for it is April

In New York.  Slowly

The Poets Theater Festival

Sets sail for Broadway.  The computer

Virus is discovered to taste exactly

Like fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice.

Someone shouts, "Daddy!" & I run...

 

 

_________________________________________________

 

 

FIRE: Friend or Foe?

 

Once

A long long time

Ago

Once upon a time ago

As a matter of fact

Just a second ago

In the beginning

Back to the beginning

Just before the beginning

It was shhh

I'm a-talkin quiet and peace

A riot of quiet

Can you hear it? C'mon try it

You can't hear it? Well that's quiet

Shh Mmmm Bzzz

Didja hear that? In the distance

The insects were buzzing

A language of verbs

& I'm talking

I'm a-talking

I'm a-talking talking bzz-bzz

Little mosquitos

In the ear bzz

Verbosely verbing

Bzzing? Amazing!

Re: "verb"-erating

Suddenly yet subtlely

A luminous lucidity

In the inner inner ear's inner sanctity

The bzz gives way - something's trying to say

The bzz clears

& now you hear

 

Fire! Fire! -

Fire: Friend or Foe?

 

A friend (& I use the term advisedly)

A friend once remarked

(Which is rare, in that friends

Usually remark twice --

(Sometimes I think that's the mark of a friend --

The second remark...

Sometimes I think that's the mark of a friend --

The...))

 

Fire! Fire!

Fire: Friend or Foe?

 

These days with Death so fresh

So deep & so near-at-hand

You feel infected as a Youth

As if there's no Future

That's not polluted

No Past but what's retributed

Nothing to say

Cept "Throw it away!"

 

Add it to the Great Garbage Heap

Where we sit so gently, my Love

& I, discussing the Forms in the Sky

& like as not, as our toes get toasty

& we look below at the rolly coasty

 

Lands ablaze like a big gas barbecure

Searing the flesh o' the earth

Well, that's when we start to reflect on

Such as this:

 

Fire! (we start) Fire! Fire!

Fire: Friend or Foe?

Fire! (yes, that's how we start) Fire! Fire!

Fire: Friend or Foe?

 

Because really we don't know

And as we thus sit thusly

Awaiting the returns of civilization

To answer our small queries

Concerning the Nature of Nature

And Harnessing Destruction and Alternative Alternatives

Until our red hot lips meet

And we make all kinds of passion

Sweet, nasty, hasty, taster,

Flooozy & wicked, bastard prick and

Putting the left-overs in a Tupperware container

Of course because we know nothing lasts forever