rattlesnake country

i am a cowboy
on the Texas prairie
riding my horse like an electric guitar
to dusty El Paso on the morning star
hitting the high notes
by my drunken camp fire
watching the low end
waiting for the dawn
drinking my warm beer until i'm crazy and gone
whistling for coffee
cattle and women
finding some water in a hole to go swimming
wide open spaces
and Alamo charm
a late night saloon with Yellow Rose on my arm
running from Dallas
no showing my face
it won't be tomorrow that the hanging takes place
i am a cowboy
a brand on my ass
heading to Austin and going first class
girl on my saddle
whiskey in my throat
humming a tune that honey just wrote
rattlesnake country
and devil weed town
no sheriff's posse can be pulling me down
i am a cowboy
on the Texas prairie
riding my horse like an electric guitar
a six gun will shoot you where ever you are
riding my horse like an electric guitar
i am a cowboy
on an American star

but only for you

all i can give you is a memory
all i can remember is a song
when once the words had meaning for two
they're singing now but only for you


i had a daydream special to me
i once had your hand on my heart
when once the world had patience and care
now it's listening but you're not there

the table is set, you're not eating
the garden is ripe, you're away
i've cried;  my tears are an ocean
the storms surround me today

the air i breathe is so heavy
my bed is hard;  i'm alone
i've cried my tears are an ocean
empty the future i'm shown

all i can give you is a memory
all i can remember is a song
when once the words had meaning for two
they're singing now but only for you

Strawberries in your hair

there was this small strawberry-
i was picking in a farmer's patch-
and it looked so perfectly red and well-formed.
i glanced away, noticed that other people
were also picking near my row, but not close by.
My container was almost full, almost to
capacity, but there was room for more,
another berry, certainly.
As i knelt, i held this small strawberry, rotating the fruit
softly and slowly between my thumb and
forefinger, imaging the sweet taste.
i gave a brief tug to the cap and it snapped free.
The berry asked me in the most polite way-
berries can talk, you know-to do it the honor
of eating it, immediately and
i ate the berry and it was good.

the bread crumb trail

take this hand which will not shake
tell the world i've been consumed
the circus ride has now resumed
and all it wants to do is take
my self pity spread across the golden city
i'm getting dressed in nighttime pants
and powdered lips and a white lie tie
when you look at me i want to die
all i wanted was your romance
all i found was a heavy heart of steel
i can't find your better self
i can't even find myself
i can' tell you what is real
i gave myself a castle and a crowded walk
a princess and a fractured fairy tale
i looked for you on the bread crumb trail
but i never heard you talk
forty days and forty nights i groan
eating all the sadness on my plate
i'm living but i'll never hesitate
i'm living but i like it all alone
i'm living but i want to see you
when you're looking just for me
when we're both simply free
not approximately
but wholly

MRSA

it's never easy to walk a straight line
on my brother's twisted spine
he's a long-term paraplegic
with a short-term goal
of getting away from bed
without his MRSA sore burning hot and red
on his ass not his chest
it's an unwelcome guest
the hole looks like a lollipop crater
or the family tray that a waiter
would precariously balance as he
tip-toed on the floor
with food for four
and drinks for the house
the plug of puss looked like a mouse
with her nose stuffed full of cheese
asking for seconds, please
twitching her whiskers nervously
like the oars of a slave galley at sea
Billy had to endure the pain of discomfort
and avoid prolonged contact with his sore
he didn't want to be a bore
he stayed at home for several days
missed work, took sympathetic calls
he may not have working legs, but he's got balls
and a large fan base in Hondo and Castroville
who are praying that someday soon he'll
feel fine, again and write a book
so they can understand what it took
to heal a staph infection
which drilled into muscle
like Charlie Hustle
stole second and third, rounded home
and eye-balled some tasty bone

fiesta dish

there is never any end to Paris
and the powerful beacon of love
and wealth
as monstrously wide
and deeper
than the highest tide
the memory of each person who has lived there
differs from that of all others
and could be very happy
and very poor
and very certain
or certainly unsure
i wish i had died before i loved her
had taken that first train from the Gare de l'Est
but my writing
was dangerously good
so i failed
to do what i should
and skied unroped before the full winter snowfall
set over the silently hidden crevices
and i fell awkwardly
like a blind pilot fish
chilled like a jellied eel
in my own fiesta dish.

Hajj

from Medina
where He took flight
black and
white
and a golden patina
they walked in Mecca
7 times around
in chastity
in unity
the standing sound
well, pilgrim
look at this immensity
this Holy city
here is a power
where the stones fly
like a symbolic shower
they walked in Mecca
standing on the Plain of Arafat
in heat complete
millions paused and sat
withstood the sudden rains
the dust at midnight
in plain sight
they walked in Mecca
in peaceful temper
all fears allayed
and prayed

Maria Callas

when she said it was evolution
i was too damn small
i heard Maria Callas singing
in the Milano opera hall
and she was absolutely divine
so i thought i'd take a chance
i wore my evening jacket
but couldn't find my pants
i heard Keith Richards play
when i was just seventeen
he was absolutely wildly crazy
verging on the obscene
when she said it was evolution
i was too damn dumb
i took my tail and bellowed
with my long hair and my thumb
i watched Ari Onassis
wear his glasses in the shade
he accumulated people
and i knew he had it made
i watched Mick Jagger
wear his penis on his nose
he accumulated people
and he liked them without clothes
when she said it was evolution
i was too damn blind
i wrote a note to Santa Claus
but it was one he would not find
and when she drew my attention
to the force of gravity
i told her i could defy it
so i climbed back into my tree
i heard Maria Callas singing
with a butterfly in her hair
her voice like angel flowers
vocal passion everywhere
when she said it was evolution
i was too damn naive
i heard Maria Callas singing
and it was impossible to leave.

like a Javanese toy

young and alive
at twenty five
a clear head
and what was said
all right
good night
jeune fille
sleep well
and do tell
the beer was sipped
tongued and lipped
and swallowed
she followed
home where my canvas sits
and her black sweater
fingertips
well, i want to paint you a why
but you're artful and cry
looking away and tense
making good sense
i'll draw you tomorrow
dressed in sorrow
with a pencil
and a fine a l'eau
but now
from head to toe
like a Javanese toy
acting coy
i'll take you in my studio

the room

the lonely room
isn't a friend of mine
isn't a satisfied lover
or four leaf clover
no valentine
falling over
no music, no written word,
no secret can ever be heard
no glass of wine
the lonely room
isn't a friend of mine
isn't a satisfied lover
or first teenage kiss
no toe the line
no place i'll miss
no escape, to save my day
just not a place i want to stay
the lonely room
isn't a friend of mine

red heat black eye

this leather strap
slapping me on the back
red is the color of your heat
untying my feet
slipping on the floor
i can't give you anymore
than what you're looking for
but how can i be sure
every time you hug me
you really want to love me
you want to use me
punish and abuse me
seize me and deep freeze me
this crazy bed
and everything you said
black is the color of your eye
untying my cry
painted on your face
fancy boots and New York lace
i'll need another taste
but how can i be sure
everything you gave me
simply to enslave me
this simple life
cutting me like a knife
blue is the color of your charms
untying my arms
knocking on the door
i can't give you anymore
than what you're looking for
but how can i be sure
every time you hug me
you really want to love me
you want to use me
punish and abuse me
sieze me and deep freeze me
every time you hug me
you really want to love me
you want to use me

Darryl

Darryl died Sunday night
in an alleyway
in Hue
in fading light
shot in the head
a lucky hit
and he caught it
and he was dead
another Marine
came under fire
behind a large tire
by a sniper unseen
someone dragged Darryl
by his feet
away from the street
and over a barrel
to the University
where he was tagged
and bagged
and sent home free
often there was news
about this war
and more
for consumers to choose
but it wasn't a game
think street fight
shoot on sight
nothing tame
nothing certain
bullets flying
civilians dying
everyone hurting
to stop the spread
of Communism
this Baptism
of angry lead
meant Darryl's death
now we'll catch our breath
when the dust falls
and decks the halls
with bells of holly
fa la la la la
la la la
la

no more sugar

no more sugar, baby
it's driving me crazy
no more drinking on Friday night
our candles are lit by a campfire light
no more squeeze no more tease
i'm begging you please
keep your pants on
it's closing time until i'm gone
no more sugar, baby
it's driving me crazy
no more kissing inside my ear
your tongue is busy keeping me near
no more squeeze no more tease
i'm begging you please
keep the music on
until the new dawn
how can i want you
when i need you
but when you free me
everyone can finally see me
soaking in this lonely rain
dripping wet inside my pain
do you see what you believe?
nothing hiding up my sleeve
now it's time for me to leave
no more sugar, baby
it's driving me crazy
no more sugar, baby

looking for the devil

hey little boy walking down your street of joy looking for the devil playing with your little toy life back home will never be the same graveyard shift exploding in your brain the war is never over rolling in a bed of clover walking steps with your rifle in the air no one ever said it's gonna be fair looking for the back door side door gunner gonna get me some, gonna get my share hey little man walking on the desert sand looking for the devil even Jesus can't understand life back home will never be the same graveyard shift exploding in your brain i can never kill enough i'm just so God damn tough kicking ass and kicking down doors drinking whiskey and kissing whores punching out lights and acting hard blowing bridges in my front yard life back home will never be the same graveyard shift exploding in your brain looking for the devil but finding only pain life back home will never be the same

Lady so-and-so

she had a sharp witch's nose
which ran wildly into the street
with her full head of curly hair
and then a hasty retreat
from the traffic of busy old age
which brushed her and spun her around
she was really a wonderful lady
and made nary a frightful sound
i met her one day on the sand
of a desolate road in the hills
and we played with the drums there about
which always provided her thrills
the drumming which bloodied our hands
first one then on to the other
she pampered me more than an hour
i left when she looked like my mother
but her words then ran down my back
like stripes on a tiger in pain
followed my flight into town
and haunted my sleeping again.

Buenes Aires

Buenes Aires
Argentina
a writer sips
the word cantina
Spanish blood
gaucho pride
continental Europe
immigrant tide
independence knew
Juan Peron the killer
who saved a shoe
his only memory of the disappeared
government soldiers police feared
30,000 separate stories
special living glories
tortured murdered
scattered in fear
no one here
lovers parents searching
everywhere
no one there
tango on the street
music a warm gun
Peron is dead
the memory overrun
the names of new flowers
singing and dancing
Mercedes Sosa for hours and hours
alive in any language you desire
the ticking clock strikes like fire
Buenes Aires
where too much love will kill you
when you visit and want to stay
the Teatro Colon will thrill you
you'll throw your past away
Buenes Aires

Jack and Jill

Jack has hair on his penis
exactly where it ought to be
each tiny follicle
every cell
functioning when he has to pee
listen well,
at twelve years and change
the familiar body
starts acting strange.
Jill ran up the hill and cried
her chest abruptly gained in size
each tiny nipple
every cell
functioning like a yeast should rise
listen well,
at twelve years and change
the familiar body
starts acting strange.
male and female
biology
the planting of a seed
to become a tree.