how much i've missed you

baby, how much i've missed you

and i've never even kissed you

never had the chance to spend the night

satisfying my lover's appetite

no, i never had the sense

to climb down from my lonely fence

i never had the heart

to imagine a brand new start:

would you see me in the morning?

take me without any warning?

would you be the gentle to my breeze?

would you become the welcome to my please

the smile i'd walk a mile to see?

the arms my charms would love to have wrapped around me?

baby, how much i've missed you

and i've never even kissed you

never felt the smoothness of your fingertips

moving with desire across my hungry lips

no, i've never had the sense

to climb down from my lonely fence.

safe at night

the bird was dead

folded wings and closed black eyes

lifeless on the ground

but still imagining flight

safe at night

belly filled with seeds

in a nest made with straw and spit

her short time

as busy as a professional chef

darting 

over the clover

quiet now

in spite of the winds

blowing her soft feathers

the pause is probably permanent

as i hold the tiny body

in my warm hands

feeling her chill

his Russian wife

the grim, gray face

with her great dark eyes
stood waiting for the second World War
from a safe balcony in Paris,
near where an island forms a church.

she was without her Spanish stranger,
who was holding a young blonde girl
in bondage and was unable to break away,
as soft ropes pulled tightly around his waist.

and his Russian wife was too skinny to know, and not
well enough to understand that her own misfortunes
had driven him far away and it would not be gentle.

he now lived inside a hot beach cabana, peeking outside
only when he needed more money.

the young blonde girl quickly became both his obsession and his sister,
as she curled her pubic hairs inside their bathing hut on a
sandy Dinard beach and gave him plenty of pause.

his wife, meanwhile, kept her own hair
cut short, to resemble a current fashion.

and the gray lady in Paris, leaving the balcony,

put her hand to photography,
instead of a bust, 

but it wouldn't make any difference!
the Spaniard would seek her out, eventually.

my faith

she handed me a peach!

it was late in the afternoon and i was hungry,

so extremely hungry.

no food for three days

wearing soiled clothes and my unwashed body for weeks;

a prisoner inside my own mind

trapped by forces beyond my control.

her peach was the best thing i've  even eaten

and before i could offer my thanks,

she quickly disappeared into a crowd of strangers.

but i've never forgotten.

thank you, young girl, you've restored my faith in humankind.

her colors were nearly perfect

a juicy little number
which one i can not tell
her colors were nearly perfect
inside her oyster shell

behind the door to Heaven
a full red glass of wine
her colors were nearly perfect
revealed in her design

we tripped into a concert
sound poured into my eyes
her colors were nearly perfect
they painted her in sighs

the bright cloud full of rainbows
each one a lovely sight
her colors were nearly perfect
i watched by candlelight

with morning soon approaching
i saw when i awoke
her colors were nearly perfect

delightful as she spoke 

Chester

the man made people laugh
when he put himself into sharp focus,
cracking open his head for all to see
the eerie serenity of which he's so proud.

but he much preferred to cook,
visiting the Tuesday Farmer's Market
where the local Amish came in their horse-drawn
buggies and plain clothing with their produce:
shoo-fly pies, fruit pies, candied yams, fresh hams,
donuts, popcorn, chicken, cheese, steak, vegetables,and so much more.

and with a little money and a smiling please,
all the ingredients for a great meal could easily be carried
to his car in just one bag, or two.  No one would wave as he drove away,
but he always drove off, urging his own secret horses to run.

and he liked the road to Golgotha, where a campfire was always ready
for his evening meal, and the plates were always clean.

There, the black dog he bought from a farmer in Brownstown recently died
of old age and even stranger tumors and he was cradling the dog when Doctor
Delaney injected that thirsty liquid which stopped the beating heart, relieving any
suffering for the dog, for Chester the dog.
Chester didn't like Amish food, that much was certain,
and he couldn't speak a word of Dutch, but he might have had a vision of the Virgin.

There is a market tomorrow and the man will go to shop, putting himself
into sharp focus, with his head cracked open,
looking for another dog.

shark

there is blood only for a little while
a small stain on my shirt
i watch the dampness spreading

but it doesn't really hurt

it doesn't really know your name
or where you've been before

this feeling hasn't knocked me down
in fact i'll ask for more

and when you bite me once again
while hiding in the dark
i'll bring my little fish along

to chase away your shark.

spend the night together

okay,

if that's what you say

i'll be on my way

running until the middle of next week

looking for permission to speak

what's really on my mind.

and when i finally find

the proper verb and that elusive noun

i hope i'm already uptown

where all the factory girls are waiting

ice skating

while sipping cherry cokes

just like common folks

and if it's not a hoax

the writing will still be on the wall:

everything happening now is just before the final fall.

my escape was a close call;

no one is answering the phone.

i'm wore down to the bone,

almost arrested for speeding,

dazed by the lights and bleeding

near the warehouse where Andy Warhol painted.

and i finally fainted,

unfortunately,

before we had a chance to spend the night together.

I found myself with a smile

to save my life

i bought a ticket

and tossed my knife

watched it spinning into the air

seven times for good luck

but i didn't have a prayer;

boarded the train.

looked out the window

saw the rain

and heard the tracks;

tried to get some shuteye

but fell through all the cracks.

the night was long;

the train whistle blew;

i recognized the song:

the only one i knew.

it started black;

i hummed the tune.

stayed in my sack;

the stars came out!

when i found myself with a morning smile,

i lost all doubt

about something.