Doing Doors
Walking with him makes me feel dizzy,
like when I was with you,
trying to be sexy.
He tells me I am
swift,
agile,
overflowing.
Calls me waif
while eating that ice cream cone
as I leap down steps,
bound up hills
sharing the best and Worst of Tobacco Row.
He motions for me to sit.
Eyes closed
imagine I am his successor,
a prodigy.
Yet, I am keeping his files warm,
like a motherbird over her nest.
At the next house,
as I hop,
my skirt flies a little
I don't look back,
knowing his hands are in the air.
"Hooray for this, my child bride"
The bites and flicks have made me weary.
Driving home, I dream of scandal.
Mustard cakes on the side of
this old man's mouth
cracking when he smiles.
Reminds me of you stoned.
like when I was with you,
trying to be sexy.
He tells me I am
swift,
agile,
overflowing.
Calls me waif
while eating that ice cream cone
as I leap down steps,
bound up hills
sharing the best and Worst of Tobacco Row.
He motions for me to sit.
Eyes closed
imagine I am his successor,
a prodigy.
Yet, I am keeping his files warm,
like a motherbird over her nest.
At the next house,
as I hop,
my skirt flies a little
I don't look back,
knowing his hands are in the air.
"Hooray for this, my child bride"
The bites and flicks have made me weary.
Driving home, I dream of scandal.
Mustard cakes on the side of
this old man's mouth
cracking when he smiles.
Reminds me of you stoned.
As many of you know, I have been working on a true story collection. I sent a few small samples to a podcast...my stories start at 26:39. Recommended for retelling around a campfire...
Poetry and Prose 2014
Silverfish
Slipped through the tiles
it had waited to emerge between toes.
Feels like wearing the lavender dress
atop the bottom stair of the chapel
Mary staring down knowing
(I will never be good and i have to pee so badly),
or later that night when I see her again in
the closet being eaten by tiny silvery bugs
Flies crowning her baby's head
or Boots lolling in the big back of the wagon
that was powder blue
and knowing he would die now
(and sometime everyone else too)
or so many years gone
knowing now that
Father Dominic was right.
it had waited to emerge between toes.
Feels like wearing the lavender dress
atop the bottom stair of the chapel
Mary staring down knowing
(I will never be good and i have to pee so badly),
or later that night when I see her again in
the closet being eaten by tiny silvery bugs
Flies crowning her baby's head
or Boots lolling in the big back of the wagon
that was powder blue
and knowing he would die now
(and sometime everyone else too)
or so many years gone
knowing now that
Father Dominic was right.
Nouns
Fists behind spine
full of breath,
he sat and longed for
things soft
places dry
girls like that Girl,
who he wanted to act
in love with
gentle nods at dim tables
made famous by Hands,
what he would do
smiling at her every morning at the fountain
rounding out ideas of
three things he knows Best,
where he could make
mourning shot elderlies,
his blood relative
real in the sunshine at the Cemetery,
grease dripping from every thought he ever gave Her.
4/11/2014
Fists behind spine
full of breath,
he sat and longed for
things soft
places dry
girls like that Girl,
who he wanted to act
in love with
gentle nods at dim tables
made famous by Hands,
what he would do
smiling at her every morning at the fountain
rounding out ideas of
three things he knows Best,
where he could make
mourning shot elderlies,
his blood relative
real in the sunshine at the Cemetery,
grease dripping from every thought he ever gave Her.
4/11/2014
How to Let Go and Love Spring
The long,
wet,
chilly winters in Oregon
slowly
(let go and)
turn
into long,
wet,
foggy,
kinda cold springs
(that are)
dotted with marvelous rays
of sunshine
(that can)
last hours.
One day this year a day like that lasted all day,
a rare event,
usually not seen
till May.
The long,
wet,
chilly winters in Oregon
slowly
(let go and)
turn
into long,
wet,
foggy,
kinda cold springs
(that are)
dotted with marvelous rays
of sunshine
(that can)
last hours.
One day this year a day like that lasted all day,
a rare event,
usually not seen
till May.
Turning into you
The crescendos of your hips
make
me fall into your wakefullness.
Scintillating eyes
peel back layers
stretching
to find that
way that
your
your smile leans down
makes me forget
about
waiting
for time to make time to take time away
from that perfect package
aged enough that its
the right size
for barely touching thighs
wide twists and
a load of heavy sighs
to fit properly
nested
living inside you,
(like standingtooclosetoasculpture)
seeing my confusion now up close
three steps closer
to where its always been;
there in the kitchen
the bulb hanging loose and
swinging on a cord
casting dancing shadows on foreheads
makes me want to surrender
discontinued thoughts
surrounding me with sounds too intricate
I ask
(or start to ask)
something.
-February 2014
Poems 2014
woods walk
smelling pine, my minds eye fills
where you were served
silver platter, made of gold
mail order bride, opened up
with a lion's yawn
put your jaws
round my neck
no teeth cutting flesh
making sure we know you
could kill
(if you wanted to).
January 2014
smelling pine, my minds eye fills
where you were served
silver platter, made of gold
mail order bride, opened up
with a lion's yawn
put your jaws
round my neck
no teeth cutting flesh
making sure we know you
could kill
(if you wanted to).
January 2014