Evanescence Redux

Ream upon ream with you still elusive, 
Lest you slip away forever as if in a dream, 
Let me dream I captured you, dream after dream. 

Fulfilling the Requirements of the Poetic Canon

Fire away but please 
At all costs be cute, be witty 
Above all a void—empty 

Adjectives like the accursed 
Plague the rat race, the not so fleeting 
Black death crawling underneath 

The nitty-gritty. 

Dead Poets' Society

Everyone was nonchalant but you, 
You kept on carping 

Carpe diem, carpe diem, 
The moment’s here, there 

In fact it was everywhere 
But you, you were neither 

Here nor there. 

Ravenous Wakeup Call

Cawing their raucous version 
Of Come and get it! 
The early risers are up 
On the utility lines opposite 
The pigeons cowering 
In their cubbyholes, keeping 
A keen eye out for any unfledged 
Chicks itching for a fling, surely these 
Lovey-dovey gentlemen callers are 
Crooning in the sweet by-and-by, 
There’s always one rash enough to try. 

Comin' Thro' the Rye

Sing a song of no 
Nonsense, laddies— 

Here comes smoking white- 
Bearded old man, 

Sickle on right 
Shoulder, waving 

No bloody left hand. 

Not So Slight After All

Now full-blown and back to stay before you 
Know it, that self-flattering backhanded gesture 
Behind what you took as just 

A passing complement. 

Gossamer Rain

Wait— 

These almost invisible 
Filaments of liquid 

Light, so finespun 
You see only while 

The sun spins away. 

The Perfect Poem (After Heraclitus)

Mortal, 

It went the way it came, thusly 
Nothing shall be created 

The same. 

 

Twilight, Hombre

See? 

You left town before sundown, 
But it ain’t dawned on you yet. 

Unfolding Canvas

Violet-blue anemones in green field 
Of yellow-flowered clover— 

Set to take over, profusion of red 
Encroachers already bleeding through. 

Mnemosyne

I remember her saying 

As long as you ask for me, 
I’ll be here forever 
But I forgot to ask her 

How long ago that was. 

Polyphemus at the Ophthalmologist's

Doc, why are you showing me 
All these blasted fuzzy things?

In my mind’s eye, I see nothing 
But no man smitten to smithereens 

By his own blind issue. 

Basket Case Dandy

Christ, it took my breath away— 
I saw myself running straight 
Down the street in my birthday suit— 
Before I could say you’re making a mistake, 
Straightaway they bore me off, babbling 
Just you wait and see, I’ll be back 
Dressed to kill another day. 

Meditation Exercise (Update with Visual)

No matter how lost I am, 
Morning after morning 
I find myself walking by 
Grove after grove of blessèd olives, 
Arms outstretched to the sky. 

(Updated Monday, March 4)