Here's some of my work, distilled from spring 2006 through fall 2011:
"Confrontation with a Barber"
Where are you going
with those scissors
and that smug look on
your face?
Are you a barber
or something?
“A barber?” you scoff
“What year is this?”
Let me tell you
something about barbers
they cut my ears
you unctuous piece of shit.
"Winged Infiltration"
Why have the birds built their nest in my house?
My house has small windows that are rarely open.
The door, too, stays shut most the time--unless
someone is coming or going.
How, then, did these avian interlopers gain entry
to my abode?
Somebody let them in.
But who?
And when?
And why?
Do they think my Formica needs a veneer of white excreta?
Or my carpet more downy feathers than it already has?
I like birds just as much as the next homeowner,
but this is an outrage.
Excuse me if I don't like robins in my home, or eagles,
or whatever they are.
I'm no ornithologist--I took my training in botany.
"Bettin’ Man"
I bet you I’ve drunk a thousand
gallons of water in my life
Ten bucks says I’ve eaten
hundreds of pounds of food
Wager: I’ve been alive for
millions of seconds
I bet you I’m the best
wherever I’m from has to offer
I’m the toast of my
particular milieu
You wanna make this bet interesting?
Then put your fancy watch on the line
I sense hesitation but
I don’t blame you for a moment
You know I’m right plus you don’t
want to be chronologically compromised
I may be a lot of things but
I’ll never reach your rung of pragmatism
"J.M.L. (Just My Luck)"
I can't find my house
it seems to be missing
Can I borrow yours?
My bike is gone, too
How will I go places?
How will I crash into things?
You're lucky with your
house and your bike
you make me jealous.
"I’m Lucky to be Alive"
My car is shorter
than I am and
more blue as well.
It navigates the
serpentine roads
hugging the Rocky
mountains or something.
I crashed my car
into a river the
other day. It was
cold like a corpse in a freezer.
“Logistical Gastronomy”
Stale air breaks into a hard tack
Deep drafts moisten the pierced
and narrow channels
Goods barge in and dock points in
the lining
Food of the bygone epoch slips through
and out
Never to be grasped
“The Certainty of Binary Concessions”
Victory is not a
vow
Defection is not
defective
Press your lips
to the sweet,
salty barrel and
squeeze
Hair triggers
to stifle the pangs
of trickle-down
guilt
Fancy yourself an
aggressive clown-
fish in the timid
tank
Custom tailor a friend
prior to in-the-flesh
Align interests to kill
adventures
“The Four Elements, Parts Three & Four”
You say the antenna
is an immovable object--
that’s where you’re wrong.
You grasp it with a
painted grin thinking
you’re the man who
built his house
on rock.
But all you’re doing is
compressing the air
waves into incomprehensible
frequencies.
Build your house on sand
and become a conduit
for the dimensionless
shudders pervading
your environs.
“With a Cause”
Don’t try to deputize
me into your cause.
Your principles and
stances are crap.
Plus I disagree whole-
heartedly with your
core tenets.
My core tenets are
respect, good taste,
and common decency.
Sound familiar?
Didn’t think so.
“Innovation!”
I never thought to
cut a tree until
they invented
the saw.
But now I'm up to
my earlobes in
sticks, twigs
and logs.
I can't move in any
meaningful way
and eating is
a challenge.
I've tried sucking
sustenance
from the
fibrous
pillow smothering
me of late but
sap doesn't
hit the
spot.
“Accolades and Raids”
I take no pleasure.
I take no pride.
This summit feels
like a base camp.
I won’t pat
myself on the
back.
We’d only hear the
hollow thud of a
hollow feat.
Turn down the music
and cap the spirits.
There’s nothing cute
about a massacre.
“Prix Ponder Ants”
You’ve got the blues because
it’s not all red and white
it’s shades of pink like hearts
and brains and other parts
The brightest lights and deepest
darks tread in the stirring sea
above greenish hints in the formless
plane, you may always pay your dues
Make it palatable serf
stoop on the manor for now
but don’t kick off those work boots
await further instruction
