My Lai

a Vietnam fog stirred early in the mid-March sky
silencing the young babies and their frightened mothers
the sound of rifle fire made it hard to hear them cry
their bunker was not dug too deeply into the weeping dirt
as the young men of Charlie company searched for easy targets
intending to inflict maximum hurt
on the hamlet of My Lai or Pinkville
as it became widely known
among soldiers shouting KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL
littered with the dead and splintered bone
March 16, 1968
five hundred and more civilians not coming back
to their woven, comforting sleeping mat
snuffed and wasted and zapped
bloodied in black
they were no longer breathing the machine gun smoke of their burning home
war is always more than what it seems
and makes man less
than what he dreams
the water buffalo was not planning an ambush
he was not wild
his big black eyes were no longer seeing a happy child,
or anyone
he fell on the rich green shoots of rice unharvested under an afternoon sun,
more a pet than an enemy undone

you chained me

when you chained me
you entertained me
it was a quarter to four
and i kept hoping for more
as i was lifted from the bedroom floor
never stop
never pause
the pain i'm giving to the cause
keeps the romantic smile on your face
black leather and hard lace
it's never out of place
your knife was rubbing on my throat
bleeding on my red rubber coat
i didn't think it was very nice
when you used me as a sacrifice
there was a menace in your eye
i finally thought that i would die
never stop
never pause
the pain i'm giving to the cause
keeps the romantic smile on your face
black leather and hard lace
it's never out of place
you whip was hurting on my back
but i wanted to experience your attack
i didn't think it was very bad
so i asked you for all you had
there was a menace in your eye
i finally thought that i would die
when you chained me
you entertained me
it was a quarter to four
and i kept hoping for more
i didn't know i had your appetite
but it felt so good when wrapped so tight
i didn't know i'd feel so damn proud
when you slapped me and i laughed out loud
when you chained me
you entertained me

Stella's chocolate cake

old grandmother made a killer chocolate cake with cocoa powder for Christ's sake! cocoa powder? she used vinegar for the baking soda that came all the way from South Dakota and flour and white sugar to mix with one cup of salad oil and vanilla for taste hand whipped without haste 2 cups of cold water into the dry mix then fold gently into the pan use the spoon for discreet licks while cooking at 350 for 30-35 then top with peanut butter icing but not too thickly applied totally yummy in your tummy

silver spoon

i heard her coming up the narrow stairs
on a Saturday morning and i thought "who cares?"
with her rainbow hair and a grocery bag
inside of which was my discount tag

i have album covers thrown across the floor
telling me i'm not young no more
and thinning hair and a nervous cough
a love for poker and charity golf

collecting smoke &
collecting dues
i'm sitting broke
with a glass of booze
i'm paying rent &
sipping wine
in a tenement
with a FOR SALE sign
eating bread crumbs on the floor
wondering what i came here for
never ending tales of woe
i have no other place to go

ungrateful kids and a teen mother yells
above the sound of the near church bells
a pile of clothes and dirty dishes
are all that's left of my brightest wishes

i play my friendships with a tambourine
an echo bouncing like a summer dream
on the crack sidewalk a silver spoon
and the fading image of my dying moon

collecting smoke &
collecting dues
i'm sitting broke
with a glass of booze
i'm paying rent &
sipping wine
in a tenement
with a FOR SALE sign
eating bread crumbs on the floor
wondering what i came here for
never ending tales of woe
i have no other place to go

digesting the meal

the grilled chicken salad was the perfect meal
and you were the perfect guest
as i watched you easily eat
with a fork and a knife
it appeared to me that you enjoyed
our time together
my iced root beer wasn't able to
provide any profound statements,
although i sipped with eagerness
the grilled hamburger i ate resulted in an
onion burp far removed from our table
but i covered my mouth and apologized
to no one in particular
it's true that a nuclear Iran will pose
regional balance-of-power issues
what is not certain is if the Israeli
Air Force will send 100 (+/-) fighter jets
on a preemptive attack against these nuclear
facilities, creating awful uncertainty
but it seems certain that Muslim terrorism is
a growing worry worldwide
what is not understood is how to address this
extremism
there are historical facts about Islamic
expansionism we can know them
I have not read the Koran; have you?
perhaps I will become a suicide bomber,
but i'm not now wearing an explosive vest or belt
These are desperate times
i trust you didn't have too much trouble
digesting the meal

you're just my lover

you're just my lover
i hold you on a wire
pulling higher

like a little bug
on a little rug

never satisfied
i like to roll you on the floor
always wanting more

like starting a fire
burning with desire

i guess it's different
why i love you
as i take my place above you

like a little bug
on a little rug

i'm touching your smile
staying for awhile

but you don't own me
i'm setting you free

you're not the only
sweet lover for me

you can't mess around
bringing me down

i've cried so often
without making a sound

like a little bug
on a little rug

you're just my lover
i hold you on a wire
pulling higher

never satisfied
i like to roll you on the floor
always wanting more

Amish buggies

i rode my bicycle this morning.
Hunter and i participated in a fund-raiser
for the Lancaster Bike Club, along
with 3,000 other enthusiasts of
all ages, mostly middle-aged to
older. I did see the young kids
riding their fat tire bicycles and
their smiles of pride were wide open
and genuine.
Because the 62 mile route (it was
a metric century) was designed to
follow rural roads, there was an
enormous amount of horse poop
on the asphalt. Why? We were
riding in Amish country, on a Sunday
morning, when that community was
traveling to Services and we saw
dozens of buggies, all horse drawn,
with young Amish children watching the
lycra-clad English riding alongside
and passing their transport. It's cool,
too, to go over the covered bridges.
Our course took us through 7 such bridges,
several re-built from prior flood damage.
Thankfully, the heavy rains didn't materialize
until after Hunter & I were safely inside
my van, considering a mocha frappe at the
nearby McDonald's. Our road time was
3 1/2 hours. We had fun.

the mission

does anybody really care to know
why the sun sets
and young babies cry?
people die while happy lovers sigh
where the wild winds blow inside my private studio
wanna try to wonder why
the smiling girls are wearing curls
dressing all their little toys
like little drummer boys
and calling them on Friday night
for a teasing nibble and a bite
does anybody really care to know
why the sun sets
and young heroes cry?
there's a cruel thunder in the sky
and an angry warship on the sea
heading for a battle with it's big guns
aiming straight for me
does anybody really care to know
if the Captain is a cameraman
with a popular Hollywood TV show
downloading a pixel picture of me
filing it inside his memory
he's on a mission
he's a member of the CIA
undercover with a shutter
with a silver party tray
playing his dirty dancing game
playing the flirt
playing me for the fool because it doesn't hurt
does anybody really care to know
why the sun sets
and young babies cry?
they both know they're gonna die.

burning on the floor

when i stood to leave and said you were beauty
as you rose and thought to ready bed
i didn't do it as my duty
could you hear anything that i said?
when you didn't seem to notice how i cried
as you firmly closed the door
i smiled even though a part of me inside
felt like burning on the floor
i walked into a strange and ghostly land
into the sundown like an angry spear
trying to maintain a sure and steady hand
even though you were not near
what is it? i wondered that you failed to know
i loved you such a short time ago

black leather gloves

black skirt and black high heels
a hard rock sidewalk
with angry tire squeals
muffling the way you talk
crossing the busy street
wearing black leather gloves
for the hungry men you meet

the memory of broken loves
with you hustling late at night
past papers tossed by heedless wind
and hopes of sweet delight
your hair unwashed, unpinned
a fancy collar by your ears
you walk with secret fears.

you take all the chances
there's no one by your side
no one to give you romances
everyone you trusted has lied
you've thrown yourself away
there's no tear falling just for you
no one can touch you without pay
will any dream come true?

by three in the morning you're tired
nursing a new black eye
but it's not like you were hired
to be baking grandma's apple pie
it's a rough world and you're the man
in a city full of rock n'roll
playing songs from Roy Orbison's band
finding your head and losing your soul

today i heard you'll find yourself
asking hustlers for a clue
as though it could be found on a closet shelf
worn like a favorite shoe

your coffee, sir

run along sonny
take your skeleton
and your rope
don't pay any attention
when they call you a dope
inspecting the sewers
the piping underground
dressed in your finest tie
you won't make a sound
run along sonny
take your Indian land
your expansion dreams
don't mess with reality
for it's not what it seems
climbing the ladder on main street
polite in the line
drinking your premium coffee
working overtime
run along sonny
with a new vehicle smell
your loyal friend
with her road map displaying
GPS to the end
and when you're exhausted
and feel like a goon
you can't think of dying
it's simply too soon
run along sonny
take an apple pie chart
an upstart leg
a seat on the sidewalk
learning to beg
take five with an option
for selling the firm
get pregnant in shadows
and carry full term
taking tests for advancement
swatting the flies
cleaning furniture cushions
polishing your lies
run along sonny
a neat hole in your head
an uphill grind
it's Uncle Sam welcoming you
to full peace of mind

you're away so far

drinking alone with my evening beer
sitting at this bar
thinking about why you're not here
why you're away so far
and i'm considering how i feel about you
tonight i just don't think i'm right
because i miss you and i never want to
feel this way again
without you i'm so crazy and then
i'm tripping down a city sidewalk
looking at a star
thinking about why we never talk
why you're away so far
and i'm considering how i feel about you
tonight i just don't think i'm right
because i miss you and i never want to
feel this way again
without you i'm so crazy and then
i'm reading about a love gone wrong
wondering how you are
singing the saddest words of my song
why you're away so far

Edna (1892-1950)

In Paris, a simple bridge over the river Seine
could not be rebuilt:
George Dillon brought his younger arms,
surrendered to lavish red-haired charms
and the scandalous Fatal Interview
about the sexuality of two
was promptly published on the following Saturday.
It offered a literary way
to understand the sad demise
of one famous Poetess sonnet-wise,
who became drug addicted and Steepletop lost
at an undeniably human cost.
With lips like a valentine heart
and sweet songs from her apple cart
would she love me, if I said
I could raise her from the dead
and read Aeneid or Baudelaire
in French or Spanish, if she'd care.
We could go walking in the nude
and while not perfect or purposely rude,
I'd kiss her inside her candle's glow
and play music on the keys of her piano.
She could recite her poem Renascence
with that unforgettable voice which forever haunts.

Paris dress

Heaven in a city of France
when i watched the happy people dance
i heard the hustling street performers sing
underneath a statue of an angel's wing
between puffs on an elegant cigarette
where i saw a woman i wouldn't soon forget
she was walking high and all alone
lips full of an exciting unknown
her shoulders back and hair pulled tight
i imagined she'd dance with me tonight
inside her low cut Paris dress
what treasures hid i could only guess
but she didn't pay me any mind
crossing the Champs Elysees where fashion dined
trailing expensive perfume in the air
snaking through traffic without a care
not hurried and with her casual sway
i sat enthralled what could i say?
she disappeared inside her foreign tongue
but God, she was lovely and very young