Brave New World, 1948

Maiden voyage making my way 
To the new world, so naïve 
At four I didn’t know what 
To make of an ice cream when 
It was handed to me on deck 
By the first black man I’d ever seen. 

Standing frozen there next to mom, 
I held on to it and her and watched 
It melting as I mustered the courage 
To move to the railing and throw it away— 
I still don’t know what flavor it was 
I was casting away. 

Poetries in Motion

From a distance I can see 

(The two brothers close 
To one another, the older 
One striding briskly, the younger 
Backwards, trying hard 
To keep pace, both 
Mouths animated, moving in 
What may or may not be) 

Unison. 

Throwback

I thought once I returned 
To the motherland, I’d remember 
Things I’d long forgotten— 

How silly to think one could 
Go back and fetch memories 
As if they were sticks 

To be retrieved and you 
A mere puppy playing 
At being a man. 

Carpe Diem (On a Sunny Spring Day)

From where I sit, here’s how 
It’s done, mate— 

Two cold-blooded conjugated 
Saurians getting their rocks off right 

Here and now on a hard bed 
Of warm slate. 

Belated World Poetry Day Poem

The first day of spring demands 
A poem second to none, Maestro— 

So let the music begin, 
And may the best song last 

Till one better comes along.