Sylvia Plath doesn't know who I am
By Mikel K
I stare into my garden, as I would into my lover's eyes.
APRIL 2009 K POEMS
I want to write a book that will change your life
Hey my dear Friend,
Today, I realized that I'm reading your poems for more than a year now...And it brought a smile on my face.
I can not really find words to say what I want to say, so I keep it simple;
I have really have enjoyed them so far, and they gave me a frame to see my own life in perspective sometimes...
I hope you understand a little bit what I mean.
Thank you for your honesty and open mind and humor!
It is a real privilege to read what's up in your mind and life!
Have a great weekend!
Big and warm hug,
Maaike
No poker chip necessary
I had a luscious cup of coffee, this morning,
my first sip of the wonderful nectar, in 16 days,
coming yesterday.
I feel good about the relapse.
She promises packages that never come
The dogs acted like someone was at the door
and I thought, for a second,
that maybe someone had sent something to me.
"It's beautiful, because you lose yourself, which is the same thing that happens when you're writing well, or doing any true creative act. You lose consciousness of yourself as an individual. That's the great escape. It's better than booze, my boy!"--Kris Kristofferson
Let's Spend The Night Together
One of the dogs crawled into bed with me, in the middle of last night. I was ninety nine percent sure that it was Morisson, because he does that sort of thing when it thunders, and lightnings, and Bundy only does that sort of thing when I am out of the abode.
Sure enough, when I woke up, this morning, there was Morisson, laying next to me. The skies must have been loud while I slept.
A quick report
I woke up at 4 a.m. to a noise at the end of the hallway
that proved to be my dog Bundy up on his hind legs
with his front legs on the clothes drier and his big mouth
in the cat food...
Long day, today...cleaning the "Big House," with Jeff,
this morning, and then making lattes, and mochas, tonight.
It's raining out, right now; make sure to bring an umbrella.
Brother
I had not talked to Greg Willard
in over twenty years,
and, last night, we chatted on the phone
like a couple of long lost brothers,
which is what we are.
Green Thumb
A small broccoli bud is peeking at me
from within the green leaves of a plant
that I buried in dirt within a large vase
by the entrance to this abode.
I smile every time that I come home and see it.
Four tomato plants are approaching
an inch in height from a vase that
I sit by the window at the end of my hallway.
Two of the grapefruit seeds that I planted
in a vase have sprouted into small green plants.
Their vase sits next to the vase that holds
the tomato plants.
I am pleased that things that I have planted are growing.
It gives me pleasure to see life sprouting around me.
Let there be light
It is not raining outside, this morning,
the ark has floated off.
Dear Lord, please bring us some sunshine.
RIP Jimi
Blessings! A new day.
I woke up alive, and happy;
who could want for anything more?
Jimi, one of the African Dwarf Frogs
that I recently brought home
wasn't so lucky.
I found him yesterday afternoon floating
at the top of the water in the aquarium.
Dwarf Frogs don't float;
they sit at the bottom of the tank,
and occasionally sprint to the top of the water
to grab some air.
I'm worried about Janis, now.
Time out
A two hour nap rejuvenates
the body, refreshes the mind.
I still can't turn water into wine
It has rained here so much, recently,
that I am now almost able to walk on water.
Gemini?
It is a quarter to seven, and a bird happily chirps
outside the window located over my desk. I wonder
if it is the same bird who so happily chirps
outside that same window in the morning?
Band-aid
Nothing comes to mind, at the moment,
except for gratitude
that the two large white pills that I swallowed
have done their job.
They have pulled the knife out of the middle of my back.
Relapse
The depth of your charms
is causing me alarm,
I've been in the arms
of one like you, before.
Adieu
It was a bad thing;
I went back to the rain,
back to the rage,
found myself inside the cage, again.
Thankfully, it was only a song
that I was listening to,
I could relate to her emotions
I had lived that way for so long
So long, though, I had said to
that way of living, so long ago.
Retro
Don't take me back to that place,
I've never been to France before.
The 12:38 p.m. blues
Nobody waves back
when I don't say
hello,
She looks like she could use a drink,
but then she'd have to walk to the front of that room, again,
and pick up another white chip.
The road ahead is clear,
though the morning was foggy.
Keep smiling though you feel sad inside.
I never enjoyed spankings as a kid
I have a tooth missing, and, until recently,
it never bothered me, but it was while eating some peanuts,
I think, that I hurt the gum that surrounds it,
and, now, my mouth is, once again, in pain.
Pain is never much fun is it, unless you're into S&M?
I wasn't the prom king
Sometimes, I feel lonely,
like I am the only person on the planet.
Dammit, I say, why couldn't I be popular like him;
have the looks that bring all the ladies my way?
Necessities
I need to clean this apartment,
but, first, I need to take these dogs for a long walk,
even though it is cold, outside, today,
for it has been raining for what seems like
almost forty days and forty nights.
No woman from Mars nearby
"No, now, give me a kiss,"
she sounds like she is singing,
on the song that I am listening to.
Kisses are communication from a foreign planet,
when no lips loom on the immediate horizon.
Orientation
Make your own rules,
then follow them.
The beaten path
As I walk home from the poetry reading,
certain that academia can certainly confine poetry,
I hear dogs barking, and I think how I have a dog
who has most likely been barking at everything and everyone
who has walked by the apartment since I left home,
and how I am glad that I blew off the post reading poetry party,
to hang out alone with the dogs cats turtles and one frog.
I don't mix well at mixers, and find them rather confining.
Alienation
Her fingernails are perfect
and so is the way that she
looks at him, as they kiss
and I think that people in love
should not be around me.
Sylvia Plath doesn't know who I am
The people in the lobby chitter chatter chitter chatter
while my heart flutters back and forth somewhere over the seat
that I sit in.
The college kids at this University don't piss on the toilet seat,
like the homeless guys do at the bookstore that I work at.
I said hello to the poet who we had all come to see,
"I am so and so," I said to him, and he smiled.
Notes from a perhaps jealous person in the third row
I was standing in line to get two books autographed by The Poet who had just done a reading at The Very Important Place, and I realized that I would be hypocritical to have him sign those two books, because, first, I found most of his reading boring, and, second, I had found both of the books that I held in my hands boring. Also, I was feeling insecure enough to think that it was I who should be sitting at a table having people want me to sign my books, and that The Poet should be asking me for an autograph, and not the other way around; so I split.
He was a nice enough guy, I had said hello to him before his reading; I guess they give big time awards to big time boring books, written by nice enough guys, pedigreed guys, their ducks in a row when it comes to poetry degrees.
From the podium, he read all of his poems the same, three beats, three beats, three beats, the same intonation that you can hear at any open mic night, on any night of the week anywhere; it is a copped rhythm, showing no originality.
Each poem should have a life of its own when it is read to a crowd.
The Poet's new poems did seem to have a far less dull life than the ones in his previous books, and I wish him well with it.
I was overdue on cleaning out the kitties cat litter box, but I changed it, and yet the bathroom still smelled like cat pee; so, tonight, I figured out that the cats have been pissing in the laundry basket that I keep in the bathroom near their litter box.
Take that, mother fucker, don't want to clean out our box...
Animals figure out new ways to baffle you, all the time; my African Dwarf Frog, Jimi, died on me just the other day, and I have been trying to figure out whether to bring him back to the pet store, get a refund and bring home Jimi Too, to hang out in the five gallon container with Janis, or should I give Jimi a proper burial, here in the dirt outside the abode, instead of having him flushed down the toilet at the pet store?
Axl Rose is singing, "Knock knock knocking on heaven's door," from my cd player, and I guess that is what Jimi is doing tonight, or maybe he crossed the threshold, and now resides in Frog Heaven.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 10:42 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
A hustle is a hustle so why can't you say hello?
Have you ever put on the orange jumpsuit in the detention center,
and watched them fade away from you no longer interested in trading
meat for a bread?
I'm as alone as a skinny white drag queen in a jail cell
full of African American street kids busted for selling
what is not even crack.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 10:29 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Only on the cd
"She's got a smile that it seem to me..."
but she never shows that smile to me.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 10:27 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Attempt at statement of neurosis number nineteen hundred
Welcome to the mother fucking jungle, baby,
Axl and Henry can't compare with me,
if I choose to succumb to the disease,
honey, please...been there done that,
put my head on a platter said, "Kick me."
There is a breath that blows through your brain,
if you let it, there is this mechanism
that wants to say forget it, you can't live happy and free.
Smash the wheel;
in the jungle be free.
If you eat meat you eat death
Four little tomato plants, and two little grapefruit seed plants
are poking their pretty little heads up from some dirt that I put
in two vases, several weeks ago. I can't tell you the high that I get
from seeing these little babies rise. I planted some carrots outside,
in the garden, yesterday. The broccoli plant that I bought, and planted,
a month or so ago is started to kick out some broccoli from the center.
A brief attempt to achieve universality in a poem
I want to
no he wants to
no she wants to
no they want to.
The gift that keeps on giving
My attitude has been bad for the last couple of days;
I have had trouble breathing in and breathing out,
but I have not lost my appreciation for what a wonderful gift
The Lord has given me: life.
My IQ is lower than my debt owed
My cat stuck his nose in my coffee,
this morning, but he didn't spend much time there,
like he would have if the coffee had been my water.
My daughter is flying to Paris on Tuesday.
She is going to take a picture of Jim Morrison's grave,
and send it to me.
I think that it is some denotation of
my limited intellectual capability
that that is the only thing that I could think of
to have her take a picture of for me in France.
Where's the heart soul and soul man?
Nobody states your resume
for you, you have to wear it
on your sleeve,
why?
So and so did such and such,
chaired this,
is degreed from there.
Where's the heart and soul, man?
We are the maker of rules dealing with fools
She told me about the things
that you shouldn't do in poetry,
how to title it
sticks out as one,
but she have said
that the most important thing
was to not be boring.
Meditate
You can over analyze something
like love
like a poem
but not like a flower in spring
or a dog in the morning
wagging his tail happy to see you.
The fire in my brain is not burning so strongly, this morning.
My son is in San Francisco,
my daughter is headed for Paris,
I'm sitting here at home.
The Pearly Gates can wait
Sometimes, uncertainty clouds my thinking.
Jim Morrison sings, "Break on through..."
I'm not ready.
Inhibition
I want to, but something stops me.
Sounds of an emerging spring
The rain has stopped plants are pushing up through God's earth.
The cat is meowing, he wants to go outside, but I won't let him,
cars pound the pavement I want the cat to live.
Solitaire
She gets stoned; alone.
Funeral for a frog
I buried Jimi in the big vase where my broccoli plant resides.
He will rise in something healthy for you, that, mostly, tastes yucky to me.
Hand in glove
She would have to be an easy fit,
slide on me like my old leather jacket does.
Reminiscing
aste tastes ugly for breakfast,
only a moron, or an evil man,
or both, would say that ketchup
is a vegetable in a school lunch for our kids,
the same man who fired the head of The FDA
for not allowing the company headed by his
friend to put the poison Aspartame on the market
empitome
I have a disability: I care.
If I didn't care, then money
would be my main thing.
I'm stupid. I should care
about money; money makes
the world go around.
Money.
Money.
Money.
Prayer
I'm eating sesame seeds and drinking coffee for breakfast.
Purgatory
He won; I didn't.
He got the girl,
the podium,
the people to show up,
and politely applaud
work that had no heart and soul.
Welfare
They left a postcard on my porch that said,
"One in four people in this city live below the poverty line."
I know what the dollar amount is that they place on poverty.
I live below it,
but I don't feel crippled, or incapable.
Bad Ass
I don't ride a Harley
I don't own a .45
I don't hunt
I don't fish,
but my kids still smile at me,
and my oldest boy let's me hold his son.
Would you welcome
People who have been around him for awhile
know that he is boring. He should have made room
at the microphone for someone else a long time ago.
Lack of talent often develops a talent for shaking
the right hands. I'm glad that I don't have to sit
in the audience and politely applaud clap.
911 not
No cops called after midnight,
because I have become a problem.
For nothing
There are bridges to cross,
but I can't toss this pillow off of my head.
There is love to make, but I can't fake a smile.
These are the times when Ronnie comes home to me,
singing about whiskey I can't afford to drink, anymore.
Anyway, what was I thinking,
whoever said that any of us would always have a smile on our face.
They didn't call it a race for nothing.
Straight In The Mirror
I feel like I'm not doing well;
that's what happens when you measure up
to someone else.
Sometimes the blues are going to take you
no matter how many pills they are giving.
The dogs need to go for a walk,
but I just sit here.
The turtle tank has been cleaned,
but now you got to fill it with water.
I have a daughter, but she's just not around much
I have two sons, but they got their things to do.
Sometimes, you are just going to feel like shit,
no matter how well things are going,
a million dollars wouldn't cure this headache called the blues.
Only fools
Only fools
(I can't speak on fools, today. I've got to keep looking
straight in the mirror.
Syringe
I know who you are.
I know what they call you.
I know where you are.
Can you infect me with love?
A good waste of time
I've never slept out on the street, but I've slept on a park bench a night, or two, when she threw me out because I wasn't acting real good. And, I slept in the tall grass behind that church that is now yuppy lofts, in the old neighborhood, for several nights when she and I weren't seeing eye to eye.
I didn't like having lunch in the homeless line, and I needed to badly take a shower, after the second day, so I told her that I was sorry, though I still didn't see that I had done any wrong;
I've woken up in a jail cell, alone, and screaming, covered in blood, and vomit, emerging from yet another black out.
I don't know why I'm telling you this, but it seems like way to stall before having to clean the turtles' tank.
Frog-less
It is a beautiful morning, except for the fact that I have not seen my African Dwarf Frog, Janis, in several days. She could be hiding, such frogs are legend for such, but, after just seeing her mate, Jimi, pass, recently, something tells me that more is going on.
Pray for Janis, won't you.
Inhibition
I want to, but something stops me.
Sounds of an emerging spring
The rain has stopped plants are pushing up through God's earth.
The cat is meowing, he wants to go outside, but I won't let him,
cars pound the pavement I want the cat to live.
Solitaire
She gets stoned; alone.
Funeral for a frog
I buried Jimi in the big vase where my broccoli plant resides.
He will rise in something healthy for you, that, mostly, tastes yucky to me.
Hand in glove
She would have to be an easy fit,
slide on me like my old leather jacket doe
.
Ka Boom
I'm looking at elephants on the television
I'm dreaming of nuclear proliferating governments that care.
Not really true
Little bits come to me in little pieces.
I refuse to smile when there is nothing
to smile about.
Good Job
The garbage men did not care that she blocked the trashcans with her parking job.
Pass Fail
If I study will I pass the test.
Testament is given about things
that can't be proved.
You can't have what you want
I want tomorrow to be today.
I want yesterday to go away.
Kiss the sky
The dogs are always happy to see me,
in the morning, Bundy overactive,
pushing his head onto my hand,
Morrisson laying back, acting submissive,
but waiting for the first chance to
get his head in my hand.
Janis died, sometime yesterday;
my experiment with African Dwarf Frogs
a failure. The guy at the pet store
told me that they live for twenty years;
it seems like twenty minutes,
and Janis and Jimmi were gone.
Overseas
I'd part the seas,
and walk to you, if I could.
Remission
I love you so we could go bowling
strike up something interesting to say
to each other.
I know we could. I've been here before
though I don't like bowling.
Like a hippy that got kicked in
the teeth by The National Guard
Twentieth century I'm lost
I'm found I'm dirty laundry
that doesn't have quarters
for the machine. I'm the key
broken in the door. I should
have bought a back up. I'll
never be the same. Some things
are life changing, like your
name. I'm one in 8 billion,
all that really matters to me
is me, and that is so very
futile. Be fruitful and multiply.
Why? The flowers look good
in the spring, but they are
annuals, and they only get one
chance at it, like a rock band
that got old. Don't get old.
Don't ever get old. Don't let
mold grow between your teeth.
Take a shower every once in
awhile. Flower power is now.
Osmosis
The electric bill in this apartment
is almost as high as the rent,
I'm kidding, for sure, but I do think
that my money could be better spent.
No one knows what tomorrow brings
Show your age.
Show your dirty t shirt.
Pull dog hair from your mouth.
Smile.
Eat desert.
Walk.
Yoga.
Dogs.
Cats.
Turtles.
More desert.
Read.
Write.
Listen.
Talk.
Be not afraid.
They said it on tv
Overseas and at home things are happening
over which we have no control.
I heard that they are trying to get rid of
the middle class.
One inch
They say that I'm doing good
but I feel that I am doing the same as yesterday,
when normal seemed like enough,
only today I don't seem to be quite happy with it.
Astrology
Where to start?
Where to finish?
Who to say hello to?
Who to add?
What am I looking for, anyway?
Love.
Sex.
Companionship.
Come visit then go away.
Spend the night,
but don't turn out the light quite yet.
Don't put your sweater there.
it'll get covered in dog hair.
Hey baby, what's your email?
I'm trapped inside this little box
looking for a fox to say hello.
But my deodorant works
I'm depressed because the carpets have turned into hardwood floors.
Spring won't ever come; I'm alone alone sipping another cup of coffee
telling you that I like it this way, some days I do, some days I don't,
sometimes there is no reason for these things that I've been feeling.
I'm going to move to Williamsburg get a degree that says I am somebody.
It doesn't start out this way
I want to get high,
I want to wind up
with a needle in my arm
standing on a street corner
saying, "Hey, honey, you wanna date?"
I'm starring in a dream called reality
Turn on the tv there I am but I've lost
my best friend, he went out the back door
of where I had him staying, and I haven't
seen him since.
Blow up the world and let's start over
Sweet tooth
can't stop.
Duplicity
A moron keeps looking for love,
when love has never found him.
Effort
Scissors can cut you,
like the lack of a smile.
Aberration
I'm not ready yet for their voices to enter my head,
I've just made the coffee, just gotten out of the bed.
There's a war that is starting, none that are done;
some kid just killed his school teacher and 57 students,
oh what fun.
They never tell you about man who loves his wife,
they never tell you about the wife who loves her children,
they never tell you about the dogs who are happy to see me,
when I come home.
Satisfaction
I could have a heart attack,
any minute, so it would be wise
to enjoy every minute that I'm alive.
Juxtaposition
It's cold outside but there isn't any snow
on the sidewalk, just pollen on the trashcans.
Slow down
The AARP keeps sending me letters in the mail,
but I just tear them in half, and throw them out,
because I'm not ready to be that old.
The inevitableness of uncertainty
If I put a man on the moon,
would he forget about me as soon as he got there?
What about milk delivered to the door?
It was never good for you anyway,
that was just a lie, like heaven and Amway.
Are we having a good time,
are we arriving a bit too soon?
Should we form a conclusion at the beginning,
should we cut our losses and run?
Blue chip
Your place is dirty she said
and I thought about my mind
how it was civilized
when it once had been so impure.
A credit card companion
Triple X Boom Boom Brandy said that she wanted me to give her a call, she lives in Louisiana, and she's just starting at the walls.
Better vinegar than cat piss
Sometimes, ordinary just doesn't feel good enough
so I run around the abode with a microphone in my hand
screaming to Tom Petty Black Flag The Stones or R.E.M.
The dogs look at me as if I am crazy,
knowing that it is not time to take a walk.
The only carpet being rolled is one full of mold
There is nothing going on
I never had a sister.
Spring break has taken my daughter.
I needed time off,
and then I had too much time on my hands
She had a face that someone said
would let her get away,
I don't want to move to Nashville,
because I'm not a country singer.
I don't want to move to L.A.
because I'm not a movie star.
There is nothing going on.
Nobody is trying to take my picture.
Los Angeles 1982
Everything is alright or wrong
I want to write a punk rock song,
and SCREAM
Justice is mostly how you behave.
You earn justice,
the old fashioned way,
if you can't buy it.
Silent Flow
I can understand why you say that it hurts,
because I've drank my coffee alone, too.
I could be wrong but I think Walt Disney is still dead
It's hard to eat while they show starving kids on the tv
up next is the minister and his wife who are selling tickets
to the ballpark to tell you how to talk to god/just happens
they have another book for sale/they talk about praying for
folks/somehow I don't think they are giving much money away.
I could be wrong but I think Walt Disney is still dead.
Can't floss enough
I wish that I had white teeth like Nancy Pelosi
Cut again to kid crying
Pick a kid,
send us a check,
we'll drill a well.
To be a superstar
I can't listen to that cd again,
I don't want to got to sleep with that sad song in my head,
and don't tell me about religion, either,
I got my own relationship with The Lord, instead.
And don't whisper to me words about Revolution,
I know that all you want is a better car,
me,
all I want, is some peace of mind, and to be a superstar.
--Mikel K
If you do this
It's time to go to sleep,
but I've gotten in too deep into the coffee,
instead of drinking that second cup,
I should have said what's up if you do this.
Completely unknown
I feel like you know me.
Hey, there goes what's his name.
Do what the cat tells you
You're the only one playing my game,
and I don't even know your name.
You subscribe to the same philosophy
as me, we both think that the world has gone to hell,
oh well,
what can you do but love your children,
discipline your dog, do what the cat tells you?
The as yet to be completed song
I got a carpet too dirty to fuck on.
I got two guitars that I'll never learn to play.
I got one dog that's friendly, I got another dog
that's always ready for a fight/if you fuck with me.
My days of fist fights and plotting revolution are over;
I don't care if I get the cover of The Rolling Stone.
I got so many blue chips we could have a card game.
I'm completing the as yet to be completed song.
I'm happy where I'm at, not trying to figure out
where I went wrong.
Trickle on
We've dug in deep though the prices aren't cheap
someone made off with what should have been ours
they say don't be alarmed you'll get what you're due
in heaven on earth we have the finer things
the best of things the things that you don't need
to own who needs a home when you've got the streets
to wander.
Good to be alive
What makes me happy a joyful noise from a kid I've fathered
telling me that I am not really my father's son that I've broken the cycle.
Not stoned listening to The Stones
Wild horses couldn't drag me away,
once I have found you, I will surround myself with you.
Anticipation
The cat is headed towards the turtle tank.
It just kills him that he can't get inside
the glass.
You're English is fine like your intentions
I dreamt of turtles last night,turtles in the wild,
and I asked someone in the dream if I could take one home,
and they said sure, but I hesitated thinking that I didn't
want that turtle to die, inside or out.
I stay close to the ship
Morning has brought sunshine
to the world immediately outside my front door,
the cats, dogs, and turtles are fed,
the coffee is brewed, prayers have been said.
Bring it on, Lord, bring it on.
Stairway to heaven
I won't get in, I've got zits
no prom date, the homecoming queen
asked me, my dad said no,
he said that we couldn't afford it,
even though he wouldn't be paying.
She won prom queen, too.
I might have lost my virginity;
that Irish Catholic dad knew.
Sorrow
The guy next door got a really nice card, today,
it came in a beautiful blue envelope, with spiffy handwriting on it.
They put it in my mailbox, and for a moment, I held it in my hands,
thinking that it was mine,
then I cried because nobody loves me.
A land called love
I believe that if you whisper in my ear
while you take me in your hand
that we can make it to a land called love.
Can't you see
The boy gets GI JOE the girl gets Barbie,
the girl stays home with the kids,
the boy joins the army, comes home with his arm blown off.
Imaginary Lover
You've got me salivating like a Pavlov's Dog in a Rolling Stone song.
You got me quivering like my fingers on the string of a bow and arrow.
You got me twitching like a finger on a gun; no fun.
Sometimes, you get what you give
They let Ronald Reagan into heaven,
but all they gave him was a ketchup bottle,
and the streets to wander.
Security
Bundy is onto something, this morning,
once again, there is somebody out there
on the sidewalk walking by with their dog,
and Bundy needs to let them know that
he is alive, and protecting us.
Innocence
She taught me how to smile,
and then she made me cry.
Make up your own mind
I was told that you can't use the last line of your poem
as a title because then you are giving the poem away
in your title. I don't know that I necessarily agree with that.
Of course, the woman who told me this, also told me that
everything that she was telling me was just suggestions
and that I had to make up my own mind.
A great guy is leaving my life
Matthew, my boss at work,
is cruising to Cleveland.
I will miss him.
He was a great boss.
He is a great person.
I wish him the very best.
Before the living is over
She said that she saw me as this chill guy
and I wasn't sure if that was true
or if it was just an image that I project
in the poems,
a goal that I have for my life
having lived a very large portion of it
very un-chill.
Sometimes, we have to cast off the old us,
and live a whole new life before the living is over.
Avoiding inertia
I can only write about my dogs, cats, and turtles so much
I need new adventures to write about.
I sat on a Methodist church steps last night
with a friend
and she told me how she talks to the dead
and leaves her body, sometimes, when she sleeps.
One time she astral projected herself to a beach somewhere
and woke up with sand on her feet.
Scout has landed
Scout has landed
in Paris,
she made an 88 on her math test last Friday,
so her mother did not make her stay home.
I don't think her mother would have made her stay home
if she had bombed the test
but it makes all of us happier that she is in France
having done well on the test.
I have told her that I want a pic of her at Jim Morrison's grave;
that is about all I know about France that a dead rock star is buried there.
Isn't that very un-bohemian, and very un-intellectual of me
Oh yeah, I know that the French didn't much care for George Bush,
and for this I applaud them.
Filling in the dots
Someone asked me what I am looking for
in a relationship, and I responded,
"Peace in love." I think that that is a good answer.
X Ray
I rode the bus to the neck doctor, yesterday,
and, after looking at a couple of x rays,
the doctor smiled and said that there was nothing wrong with my neck.
This greatly pleased me, because, now, I will be able
to go back to headstands, and shoulder stands with full confidence.
Where do street drunks, panhandlers, and hookers go when progress invades?
The sky opened, and drenched the earth, last night.
While this occurred, I was making mochas and lattes,
and pouring regular cups of coffee, in the coffeehouse where I work.
Small, medium, and arge, thank you, not tall, grande, and venti.
At ten p.m., when I got off the taking what they're giving clock,
I walked down Ponce de Leon, a previously risque street
to be on at ten p.m. on a Saturday,
if you are leery of street drunks, panhandlers, and hookers.
The street was mostly quiet, last night; perhaps progress
has helped to clean it up a bit.
Saying hello to my friend Sudhir Kumar Rudraraju
His English was not perfect,
but his smile was,
and his willingness to help another human being,
friend, or stranger, was amazing.
They found him in the foyer of his apartment building, recently,
laying in a pool of his own blood,
multiple gun shots having terminated his beautiful existence.
He didn't deserve this.
RIP my beautiful friend, Sudhir Kumar Rudraraju;
it was a wonderful experience knowing you, working next to you,
folding pizza boxes and chatting about life with you,
as you made your way through Mechanical Engineering School.
Someone stole your life, but no one can, or could have, stolen your spirit.
You fly with the angels now, and discuss poetry with Bukowski,
music with Morisson, politics with Hunter Thompson.
I miss you my good friend, but I will catch up with you, of this I am sure.
We have a reason to smile
I have woken to hear the birds chirping
on yet another beautiful morning.
I must give thanks, again,
and, I must, again, ask for guidance from the creator:
Guide me, Lord, in thought, word, and action.
Thy will be done not mine.
I feel at peace, this morning;
my breathing in and breathing out function is working well, today.
I am not experiencing "the blues."
Any day alive is a gift.
I accept this gift, today, and I embrace it.
There is a smile on my face.
I hope that there is a smile on your face, also.
It is an oatmeal kind of morning
I put the oats in a bowl,
add filtered water,
and place the bowl in the microwave
for about three minutes.
I add butter.
I thaw about three quarters of a frozen banana
in the microwave, and add it to the oatmeal
I eat it. Yum yum.
Figure out what your story is going to be about. This is called the plot. To start, decide what the novel is about. It could be about a pirate captain who voyages the seven seas or a knight who defends his fortress from cruel invaders or a concentration camp escapee. Once you have the central idea it WILL develop into a full fledged plot. A plot needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. It also must have conflict and a resolution pulled on by believable motivation that will make your writing static.--http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Novel
A weird fascination
I woke to find my cat, Kobain, sleeping in the weirdest place. I know why he was camped on my printer, though; it is right next to the turtles's tank. Kobain spends too much time too close to the turtles. He often sits on top of their tank peering down at them. I often wonder what his interest in the turtles is. Would he like to kill and eat them?
Out of bounds and off limits
She is pretty, but she is far away,
and married.
Only so much time
Now, he reads more than he writes.
Does the reading take him away from the writing, he wonders?
They have told him, in the past, that a writer should read a lot.
It always seemed to him that a writer should write a lot.
Starting a rainy day
The birds are not chirping this morning,
they are hiding from the rain;
a mean looking day it is out there.
My oldest cat, Kobain, got up on my smallest bookshelf,
just a few moments ago; he was not looking for a book,
he was peering into the small aquarium that sits on top of the shelf.
"They are dead," I said to him,
referring to Janis and Jimi, my African Dwarf Frogs,
who were very short-lived residents of that aquarium.
Kobain jumped off of the shelf, and went about his business.
Astrology
And, I think, sometimes, there just is no reason...there just is.
This does not negate the existence of anything, but, sometimes
a smile is just a smile, and there is no reason for it, no need
for a reason for it,
just like something falls from the sky, and lands on a car, or house
for no apparent reason. Sort of. Maybe. Heck, I'm not sure.
"And when we gathered before the black towers
Waving our bugles and branches of oak,
Pikes in our hands, we felt no hate, we felt ourselves
So strong, we wanted only to be gentle!
--Arthur Rimbaud, "The Blacksmith"
A moment at a glance
The writing of the poems
gets replaced by the reading of the books
that I can borrow from work, and bring home.
I found a piece of cat poop near my desk, this morning,
and I immediately gave my dog, Bundy, a dirty look.
He cast a guilty glance to the floor.
The aquarium where The Frogs died, still looks lonely to me.
I either need to put fresh life in it, or hide it away.
This day is new, and full of immense possibilities.
Further addictions
The electricity went out, here in my home,
at about ten a.m., yesterday.
For most of the day, I sat on the porch,
and utilized the sun for its light,
reading a fascinating book, that, mostly,
made me forget about the situation at hand.
At lunch, I further forgot about the situation,
and fixed me a nice plate of pasta with a healthy sauce,
and veggie meatballs, only remembering that the power was out
after I had put the plate of food in the microwave,
and had pushed the button that normally starts
the food heating process.
Thankfully, the lights were on by the time I got home
from a visit with my grandson.
It is amazing how addicted I am to electricity,
and to my grandson!
Man and Dog
My dog, Morisson, climbed into the bed with me, last night, because it was thunder, and lightening outside. I normally don't allow dogs in my bed, but when Morisson gets scared, as he does during storms, I don't kick him out of the bed when he jumps up there. Last night, Mo was a pain in the ass; being on the bed was not enough for him, he had to keep nudging his nose into various parts of my body, primarily my hand and arm, seeking further security. Dog and man made it through the night, however, Morisson happily jumping off the bed, this morning, as I climbed out of it to start a brilliant new day.
Less of a guy
"You're such a guy," she says,
referring to the filth of my apartment.
The filth was here before I arrived;
I simply moved into it, and adopted it.
Does that make me less of a guy?
Submissive strength
Let me be flower petals at your feet,
petals made of metal to protect you.
Grow
I want to transplant the sun six feet west,
so that it will shine where my seeds are sown;
my seeds may not grow in so much shade.
The poison in you
Oh, you think, for breakfast,
you are eating healthy, having citrus,
then you think, as you suck it down,
that you are inhaling pesticide;
someone sprayed the crop with poison,
to kill all the bugs that would eat their crop,
but what then does that poison do,
when if finds its way into you?
In the beginning
Venus wanted to be the closest planet to the Sun,
so it began to run, but found that it could get nowhere.
Then, Venus decided that it wanted to be brighter than the moon;
so it tried to cast of more light, but it couldn't.
Venus, the Goddess, looked up at Venus, the planet, and sighed.
She was frustrated, also.
Subject
The man sucked happily at her bosom
not noticing what was going on in the world around him.
German soldiers kicked his door down, killed him,
took her away, and proceeded to suck on her bosom themselves.
This is progress
I can, now, look at a pack of matches
and relate to them as simply a pack of matches
and not relate to them as something
that directly relates to a cigarette.
Changes in latitude
Last night, one of the bosses was putting pressure on me,
to get the job done faster. The corporation has cut us back
from two workers to one, and still "hours" are in short supply.
I was a bit pissed off, because I had been busy with customers,
all night, and couldn't knock out the amount of wiping down,
and cleaning that I usually do, but I bit my tongue, and took
a few short cuts that I didn't tell the boss about to get out
of there, and away from her.
I am working with the same boss, tonight, and I am going to
go into the job with a good attitude, with an eye on getting
off her precious clock sooner, tonight, by finding things I can do
to efficiently speed up the process.
In other words, I am going to show up with a good attitude,
instead of a "piss off bitch" one. This is an improvement in my existence
and I think that it should be noted.
Love from a possibly feral cat
I have been feeding this cat for weeks;
his name is Monkey, and, today, for the first time,
Monkey called out to me, and let me know that he was hungry.
I had put food out for Monkey, this morning,
but, maybe, some other cat ate it off my neighbor's front porch.
Monkey, who mostly lives outside, let me pick him up, and pet him.
I guess even cats who mostly live outside
know who feeds them, and shows them some love.
Walkie Talkie
He liked communication
with, and from, another human being
in any form; even an eviction notice
made him smile.
A quick prayer to the caffeine Gods
I'm drawing a blank,
too few hours of sleep
to think.
Coffee, I beseech thee to wake me.
Under the gun
She was breathing down my neck
breathing down my neck,
breathing down my neck.
Turning Pro
"Looking for birds, are you?" I asked the guy, who was standing outside the grocery store, holding a pair of binoculars, as I was putting my shopping cart up.
"They broke into my house," he said, pointing off into the distance.
"They got my laptop. It had a nearly finished movie, and soundtrack in it"
"I see," I said, "And you are out here looking for them?"
"Yes," he said, "The girl is average looking, but the guy has half his head shaved,
and has tattoos all the way up, and down, each arm.
Well, they should be easy to find, I thought to myself; he's just described
half the kids in the city.
"I let them sleep at my house," he continued, "and when I woke up, they had taken everything."
"You are lucky you weren't hurt," I said to him.
"I slept with a .45 under my pillow," he said to me, with a smile,
as I wondered why a guy who saw a need for a .45 under his pillow,
by doing so, would allow the people who caused him such alarm to crash in his house.
"Have a nice day," I said to him, heading off with my groceries.
He gave me a smile, and a wave, and had reminded me of what Hunter Thompson
once said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Resist
Syrinx, baby, come to me
do not run into the river
and become a reed.
Hold me
I went down to a river, to find me a nymph to love.
Pan said, "Halt," and sent me backwards; into the arms of the unknown I fell.
I could call out to Pan
Carrots that I planted, several weeks ago,
have been silent. What must i do to make my garden grow?
A thought about a French poet as the America sun pokes its head out on an April day
"The earth below us, ripe and rich with blood..."
--Arthur Bimbaud
I wonder if he refers to the bodies of the dead,
and then I wonder if those buried are still full of blood.
Game of chess
The everyday used to seem complacent,
and then boring, finally driving me mad,
my desire, eventually, becoming
to escape regularity at any cost.
When the cost got too high, changes were made,
and having survived all of that,
I can, now, see the beauty in a normal day.
Confident
Someone else won a poetry prize,
but nothing inside died, today,
when I learned the news.
Growth
My broccoli is screaming, but my carrots are still buried,
except for the many ones flourishing in a pot, inside,
by my only sun-filled window.
I have yet to lay my tomato seeds in the ground;
I want to be sure that another freeze will not hit the ground.
News Junky
Since I'm about to lose my t.v.
I really want it back
If I can't watch the daily news
I might have a heart attack.
I'm happy
You have sex frequently,
I used to be a day tripper,
you sneak into see me,
between relationships that
don't work out.
I have more friends than enemies,
I don't think that it used to be that way,
You get your name in the paper,
certain heterosexuals accuse you of being gay.
I'm happy.
I'm happy.
I'm happy.
Smile my friend, there is nothing you can do
Count your blessings,
don't worry about getting behind,
we'll all wind up in the same place,
no one wins the human race.
You can paint pictures,
scribble poems at home, alone,
borrow billions from the government
to keep your bank in a position
to still rip off the consumer, and,
one day, we'll all push up the same daisies,
still be the same ashes cast to the wind.
Seed Sown
I'm keeping flowers in my room,
too soon, I don't know if they
will bloom,
will you?
A morning meal is good for all of us
I ate eggs and grits for breakfast,
homemade with cheese, thank you.
The dogs gathered at my feet,
hoping that crumbs would fall
down my shirt, and onto their floor.
They already had their morning meal,
but enough is not enough for dogs.
The turtles could give a shit;
one sits on his rock, under his lamp,
the other is doing sprints
up and down the length of the aquarium;
they already ate.
I blew kisses to the air,
outside the abode, this morning,
to see if the neighbor's cat would come
and let me feed him.
He arrived, right away;
everybody likes to have breakfast.
Save me
My grandson is getting old,
he has been on this earth
for 12 weeks, now.
I know how fast a child grows up,
having watched three kids do it.
Soon, I will be in a retirement home,
babbling incoherently to myself,
drooling all over my shirt,
and, every once in a while, going poo poo
in my pants.
Through rain, and snow, and even
The lady who delivers my mail,
said, yesterday, while I was sitting on the patio,
underneath my mail box
that she loved my tattoo,
the one where the snake crawls
out of and through a skull.
She said that she wanted to get one
like it, so I gave her the name of
the man who put the tattoo on my arm.
It is sort of funny to think that
the lady who delivers your mail
might deliver it, one day, wearing
a tattoo of a snake crawling through
and around a skull on her arm.
Prediction
This day is full of light,
and it is full of love.
This day will be full of smiles.
This day will be full of happiness.
This day is a gift not to be squandered,
on darkness, hate, frowns, or depression.
This day is this way because I say that it is so,
and I know that God, The Creator, My Higher Power
backs me up on this.
The existence of Monkey
Monkey, the cat who sort of lives next door,
now comes, when I stand between his abode and mine
and blow kisses to the heavens.
Monkey has learned that I feed him,
and even though he is a bit feral,
he, now, lets me hold him, and pet him,
before he eats.
I say that he sort of lives next door,
because the man who has been feeding Monkey
for the last nine years has not been living in the house
for over a month now.
Monkey is not homeless, but he is handicapped, a bit,
when it comes to interior existence.
Warm it up
The coffee grew cold
as I spent time in cyberspace,
time that maybe should have been spent
writing
creating
typing letters into words
words into sentences
and so on.
The dogs, cats, and turtles got fed first,
so I have not run too far amok.
When to hide
There was an event in the park near our abode, yesterday;
lots of people parking their cars on the street
in front of our home, much loud talking, later in the evening,
and much screaming.
(It is imperative, you know, to ingest huge amounts of alcohol
when you go to the park to look at art--it was kind of an art
festival that the revelers were attending.)
Due to all this commotion, I did not see Monkey, the street cat,
last night; could not give him the little cat treats that I had
for him.
I am sure that Monkey had a good hiding place.
He has lived in this neighborhood for a long time,
and knows when to make himself scarce.
Forgetfullness
I often make a grocery list, and, sometimes, I forget
to bring this list with me to the store.
This time, I forgot to get four out of the ten items
that I had written down because I forgot the list;
so I don't have any peanut butter, olive oil, Irish Tea,
or pretzels on hand in the house.
This won't kill me; but what is the good of making a list
if you are not going to use it?
The K Garden Update
I transplanted some very small tomato plants
that I have been growing indoors for the last few weeks
into the good earth, outside the abode, this afternoon.
Next to these newly planted seedlings, some carrot seedlings
are pushing their way up through the dirt,
from where I planted them, at about the same time
that I put the tomato seeds in some dirt.
The broccoli plant, that is positioned outside my front door,
is doing well, in its large pot; I think we'll be chowing down
on broccoli soon,
and I have a small grapefruit tree growing
in a small vase, that I place outside in the sunshine
every day that there is sunshine, and then bring back inside
at night.
Even thought I've had my tubes tied
The commercial on the tv
said that the pill that would help you pee less
could result in a runny nose, and decreased semen.
Now, I can deal with a runny nose,
but who the hell wants less semen?
Just friends
I haven't written a poem about her,
because she is emphatic that I am too old for her,
and that we are just friends, just friends, just friends.
It is hard for me to write a poem about a woman
who is just my friend.
When strangers become friends
She has the sweetest smile,
and a very endearing attitude.
There is something special about her.
I hate to think of poetry as a job
There are those days when I don't think
that I have it in me, those days when I
have to force myself to do my job, get down
to the keyboard and type.
Often, on those days, my production is the greatest.
Change
I think that I read, somewhere, that Buddha says,
that an enemy today could be a friend tomorrow,
and that a friend today could be an enemy tomorrow.
There are people like this in my life.
Life is change. Change is good. Have you go any spare change.
The early part of my morning
Coffee, almost immediately, in the morning
is essential. Add to that half n half
(I use the soy kind--Trader Joe's brand--)
and a sweetener(I use Stevia from Sevananda.)
This, is after feeding the dogs, cats, and turtles,
and Monkey, the cat who, mostly, lives next door.
Then, I check email, and Face Book.
Response to Dylan's "Hurricane"
Justice is a game
in every land, I am sure,
though I have only lived here
Knowledge
Sleep still controls my eyes
but I have turned off the C Pap machine
signaling that I am determined to start another day.
I give a shout out to The Lord,
thanking him, among other things,
for this precious gift of another day alive.
I don't have to work, today, which is another blessing
for, although I love my job, I love days off far better.
The dogs rest at my feet, out here on the porch,
attentive to the world around them;
birds sing, sun shines down upon us.
The dogs know, as I do,
that this is a beautiful day.
Evaluation
Animals cost money.
Children cost money.
Ice cream costs money.
Lick, lick.
Functionality
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
The function of a dick is reproduction
God, that guy is a dick;
I hope that he never reproduces.
Territory
A very pretty black cat
wearing a very pretty necklace
stuck its very pretty nose
on our porch door to say hello.
The dogs just stared at the kitty,
they were so well-behaved; I was proud.
Later, I saw Monkey, the next door cat,
chasing the black cat off his property,
and across the street.
A quick reply to those trying to push their Jesus on me
Jesus is dead,
and my girlfriend is giving me head,
and it's not a sin.
Poem for Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Fidel Castro is an asshole
Sing it to me
The cat strolled confidently away from it's bowl of food.
Another cat appeared nearby, and started meowing.
I wondered how many stray cats were out there,
and how you would tell a stray cat from a regular ole neighborhood cat who was just talking a walk, singing a song?
No amount of money can buy this
Love is your young son standing at your door crying
his collarbone is broken, and you know what to do.
Love is having macaroni and cheese in the house,
when your daughter gets home from school,
asking her if she is hungry, and then fixing it for her.
Love is living, once again, with your oldest boy
and getting along for the length of the lease,
when, in the past, he had stormed out of the house, never to return.
Love is watching an unruly ill-behaved dog become polite,
because of how you treat him.
Love is not only being there when your kid hits a home run
in little league baseball, but also being there to pat him
on the back, when he strikes out.
Love is postponing, and, maybe, changing forever your plans,
your dreams, because something greater has come along,
and has called out to you: we call them children.
Her kindness intrigues me
I often look at her picture
trying to see who she is.
Premeditated
Some junkies never learn,
they just turn their back
on one city for the next,
trade in one friend for another,
tell their story to whoever
has the time to listen,
but their youthful looks won't always glisten.
A prayer is all I have to offer,
waiting for another one to enter the coffin.
Get in line at 7 a.m.
Since I sit inside, usually at this time,
I never notice the people leaving their houses
and getting into their cars.
They leave to go get in traffic.
Yuck.
As long as she is loved
I normally sit inside at my desk, in the morning,
nursing that first cup of coffee, seeing what poems are in me,
but the minute that I awoke, this morning,
the birds were calling to me,
so I carried the lap top onto the porch.
Monkey was meowing at me, from the porch door,
and started to head to her house, having seen her food in my hand,
but I blew her kisses,
and brought her to my doorstep where I put her food,
so that I could watch her eat.
I've been feeding her for over a month now,
so I'm starting to wonder just whose cat she really is,
since my neighbor is never much about anymore.
Does it matter who owns her, as long as she is fed?
Does it matter who owns her, as long as she is loved?
I've torn my adductor longus muscle
and it hurts.
Hot girlfriend
Many of the ads on Face Book,
say, "Get a hot girlfriend,"
or, "Would you like a hot girlfriend?"
Yes, I would like a hot girlfriend!!
The loser beatnik movement
I love to see wild men settle down and raise families,
not emulate the loser beatnik movement.
On this Tuesday
The broccoli plant that greets you, at our front door, is basking in the sun.
The small carrot plants, just now poaking up through the soil,
are soaked with water from the sky that I have collected in a bucket for them.
I'm not sure how the tomato transplants are doing,
but I gingerly pour water on them, anyway
Monkey, the next door neighbor's cat, has not showed up to eat, yet;
it's my fault, I threw off her routine by sleeping late.
The chimes are happy, today, near and far,
they are ringing, almost constantly, on this windy day.
The dogs are sitting on the porch with me, very content.
The cats have their noses pressed to the window in the door,
wanting to join us out here, on the patio,(and once they have joined us,
escape to the outdoors would be their goal!)
Everything is as it is, and everything is as it should be,
as far as I can tell, on this Tuesday.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOB!
They screamed for "Bob,"
because they love Bob.
Bob is no longer with us,
he is in rock and roll heaven.
Bob was a band manager,
and he worked very hard
for the bands that he worked with
(primarily the band The Tastemakers.)
I worked once with Bob,
when The Tastemakers played on
my public access t.v. show, "Your 15 Minutes R Up."
Bob brought a light rig, and a smoke machine,
so that his band would look their best on tv.
Bob was a working band manager,not just a hand shaker.
He had a wide smile, a smile that lit up a room.
Bob passed, recently, and that is why we were all gathered
screaming, "Bob," the other night, in a music club.
We miss you, Bob.
You were one of the great ones.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOB!
RIP Bob McCurry.
Silence is
I speak.
No one responds.
I feel insecure.
Would I have been
better off to have
kept my mouth shut?
Wealthy
If you are broke,
but you have a book,
you are rich.
Class
Nobody told me anything
about anything;
I must be living in a cardboard box,
while everyone else is living in a nice apartment.
On my porch as I try to write
Birds chirping invigorates me.
People talking irritates me.
Building benjamins for the man
High strung no fun
you do their bidding
putting pressure on me.
On the front porch adventures
I sneeze LOUDLY
sending Monkey, the neighborhood cat,
running from his breakfast.
My dogs and cats have their noses pressed
against the glass in our front door,
they want out,
but I keep them imprisoned
until Monkey is done eating.
Pleasure in pain?
My dog, Morisson is going to get bit
his fascination with the carpenter bees
who inhabit the exterior to this abode
is too great.
Aristotle tried to figure out what happiness was.
I am reading a book about happiness.
Are you happy?
Morisson won't be happy, if he gets bit.
Everybody salivates over breakfast
Monkey, the cat who kind of lives next door,
came running, this morning, the minute that
I opened my door, and stepped out onto my patio
with his food.
I didn't have to call her, or blow kisses
to the wind.
I want to say something here about a Pavlov's cat.
Raising cats on the near poverty plan
The cats will ride the bus for the very first time, this morning,
and they are not going to like where they arrive: a place that is
going to give them their shots. We are not going to the vet, today,
we are going to a shelter that offers discount shots, once a month.
Discount, I can afford.
The man on the phone told me something else
I was expecting my cable bill to be $23, and it just arrived:
it was $210. Funny how what you want and what the cable company wants can be so far apart.
Crime and Stupidity in Las Vegas
Lots of drunk n drugged driving,
two men acting like fools.
The Penalty for getting caught fearing and loathing in Las Vegas
Please don't take me down to Carson City,
I heard that on the inside it ain't pretty.
With a torn groin muscles I couldn't walk the dogs
I'm hoping that The Landlord doesn't step in
any poop that the dogs have left in the high grass
that he is now cutting.
Closing Time
He was young, and, still, good looking, and, at first,
you couldn't tell that anything was wrong with him,
but, as he got into his third hour of sitting there,
in the coffee cafe where I work, and, basically,
just staring at the ceiling, I figured that something was up.
At closing time, I was cleaning the table next to his,
and he said, "Hey, could you help a brother out with a cup of coffee?
I told him that I could not, that there were, "cameras
all about," and he said, "What about a sample?"
"A sample I can do," I told him, and went and got him
a small cup of our medium blend.
Over the store radio that I have attached to my ear,
I heard our manager say, "He's been here before, he won't leave."
"Hey man," I said to him, "They are saying that you won't leave.
Since I hooked you up with that coffee, will you split for me?"
He stood up, and walked over to the cream and sugar table,
made a mess, making his coffee the way he liked it,
and slowly headed to the front door."
It is really sad what crack cocaine does to people.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 9:48 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
The sun is shining
Monkey was waiting at my porch door, this morning,
meowing her pretty little head off,
she understands the routine,
that I bring her her food first thing in the morning,
that is first thing in the morning when I wake up,
which, today, was around 8 a.m.
I hear birds chirping outside
which is a sign that I am supposed to bundle
this laptop up, grab the book that I am reading
(Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
and head out to the porch
My leg feels good this morning,
hopefully I can finally, once again,
take a walk with my dogs.
What a blessing to be alive to see this new day.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 9:38 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009
There is a u in beauty,
and some day I will find u.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 7:10 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
B and E
Nature woke her with a loud clap of thunder.
I'm glad that it wasn't a burglar, or a serial killer.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 7:02 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
It is four minutes until her alarm clock will sound
Her clothes are tumbling in the drier;
it rained heavily last night, and she got soaked.
I will fix her cereal or eggs, and probably some tea,
for breakfast.
Her high school years are passing by way too fast.
I must grab moments such as this morning while they last.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 6:55 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Charisma can kill
The serial killer was an attractive man.
He attracted her to a hotel room,
and his sparkling smile was the last thing
she saw before he beat her to death.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 6:54 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009
A roman à clef or roman à clé (French for "novel with a key") is a novel describing real life, behind a façade of fiction. The 'key' is usually a famous figure or, in some cases, the author.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 4:31 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Synchronicity
I could be doing this.
I could be doing that,
but I find that I am best
when I'm happy where I'm at.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 3:06 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Job Description
I've never been a fireman.
I've never been a cop.
I've never been a killer.
I've never shot heroin,
been unable to stop.
I've never been a banker,
I've never been a clerk
don't you think that
someone who rips you off on interest
is more than just a jerk?
I have seen my children smile at me
when I've come home from work.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 2:59 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Occasionally, one of the carpenter bees that hang out around my porch will come inside with us when the dogs, and I, are done doing what dogs do on the grass outside the house. Bundy, and Morisson, will try to kill the bee, perhaps playfully, and I will grab a fly swatter, and try to get the bee outside.
There is one bee that hangs around the front door. I call him Ed, and have designated Ed as my doorman. You know how those fancy apartments that the fabulously rich, in New York City have doormen; well, now, I have my very own, nature's best, doorman right here in Midtown, Atlanta.
You don't have to be rich to be happy; imagination counts.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 2:52 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Reflection upon things that I have grown
Probably, my favorite plant, out of all that I have ever planted is my grapefruit tree.
I saved the seeds from the grapefruits that I ate, and placed them in paper napkins that I kept moist, for several weeks, until some of them sprouted, and then I planted them. One of them made it and is now about an inch tall.I carry it out to the sun, in the day, and then bring it in at night.
I will never eat from its fruits, but its growth is satisfying a hunger in me.
(The watermelons that I grew last year would be a close second fav.)
Love is the answer
When I was at the non-profit shelter for animals, yesterday,
there was a dog who looked very much like my dog Bundy,
in one of the cages, and he behaved very much like my dog Bundy.
My dog Bundy is a Rotty-Lab. He is a very type-A dog,
aggressive in protecting both me, and our home.
This is a good thing, I have come to realize, and I love my Bundy,
though it has taken me time to come to understand him.
My other dog, Morisson, is a mellow dog, a non-barker, who would
help a burglar carry the dvd player out of the house, if one broke in,
because, "it's all good man."
Dogs are like people: each one has a different personality.
I am blessed to have been given these two dogs to love.
I want to volunteer at the non-profit shelter, so that
I can share the love with other dogs, dogs who really need love.
Love is not just a people thing, now is it?
The Murphy's Law of my abode
My apartment retains heat,
except in the winter.
Benevolence or Benjamins?
Do we do things because it is the right thing to do
or do we do things because there is money in them for us?
It's a stupid question, really; I know the answer,
and so do you.
Count our blessings
I have a friend who has cancer. She still wears a smile on her face.
I admire her strength. I don't know if I could smile, if I had cancer.
I'd be pissed off as hell. I'd be mad at The Lord; real mad. In fact
I might just tell The Lord to fuck off; I'd probably be that pissed.
I mean, I'd be saying, "Why me, Lord? Why fucking me?
Why did you have to give me cancer, Lord. I mean, me; why me?
But, this girl that I know, that has cancer, she is not going around
cussing out The Lord; she is going around with a smile on her face;
and being a good mother.
Pray for her won't you. She's starting radiation treatment, this week.
Me, if I was starting radiation treatment, this week, I'd be pissed;
but I'm not, which is an incredible blessing.
Why her Lord? Why her?
Trash Talk
Tomorrow, they pick up the trash. What those guys, and gals, do is an art. Can you imagine where we would be without them? We'd be fucked. Say a prayer tonight for the man and woman who picks up your trash. Like The Steve Miller Band once said, "Your cash ain't nothin' but trash."
It's easy to get sober in Heaven
I'm in Las Vegas with Hunter Thompson; he's gotten clean,
picks up his first blue chip tomorrow.
(Thanks to Cliff Bostock for giving me the idea for the title to this poem.)
The cat has moved the dog out
Jaggar has displaced Bundy
sitting now under my desk
at my feet.
A feline ride on public transportation
My cats rode the bus, today, for the very first time,
and the train. They were very well behaved; not angry,
not scared, just taking it all in, taking it all in stride.
They were very cooperative when they got their shots,
not squirming too much, not screaming out in pain.
We were waiting at the bus stop to go home, when a man
ran up to us and said, "Come on, get in the car."
I had spoken to he, and the young lady that he was with,
about his cat, and he, and the young lady, had spoken to me
about my cats, while we were all waiting in line to get discount shots
for our cats at a non-profit animal shelter(called PAWS.)
"Get me to any train station, will you?" I said,
grinning like a madman because the cats, and I,
did not have to stand in the hot Southern sun, and wait for the bus.
"Where are you going?" said the gentleman.
"Midtown," I said.
"Cool," he said, "We are headed to downtown,"
and he and his lady dropped me, and my cats, off at our door.
The conversation in the car ride was as pleasant as the conversation
with the couple had been in the line to get cat shots. Sometimes,
you run into really good people, and it is a really good thing when
you can recognize it, and be thankful for it.
A handshake behind a dark cloud
The electric company must have made a deal
with the sun to eliminate spring so that we would
turn our air conditioners on two months early.
Ain't got no soul
Anybody that would do you
like he would do you for a dollar
ain't got no soul.
Just a momentary bitch
Just like you can brag about being drunk
I can brag about being sober
and, if you are bragging about being drunk,
you probably haven't gone with it
where I went with it, and I hope that you don't
brother and sister because waking up in jail cells
covered in puke and blood not knowing how you got there,
and wandering the God-forsaken halls of state mental institutions
wacked out on LSD is not a user friendly existence.
It's only rock n roll and my dogs like it like it yes they do
The dogs think that I am when I crank up Tome Petty and The Heartbreakers, that I am when I turn up The Stones, that I am when I put on The Guns n Roses, but they think that I am fucking crazy when I crank up The Prince!
My dogs have learned to put up with me, however, and even have come to enjoy the rock star posing and prancing that I do for them in the kitchen to my favorite acts.
"Maybe I'm just like my father..."
I don't remember Dad running around the kitchen singing, "I can't get no satisfaction," into a spatula dripping with runny eggs.
I don't remember my dad washing dishes while screaming, "Welcome to the jungle, baby."
"And if the elevator tries to break you down, go crazy!"
(That's it. That's all I got for right now. Go have a great day.
I hear that it's going to Purple Rain in Chicage. Send some love
out to Beasley. Say a prayer for Kathleen and her mom. Krista and
her kid, and all those addicts still out there still suffering, will you?!)
Peace
K
Let the sun shine inside you.
Let their be a smile on your face.
Drink as much coffee, or tea, as you need.
Walk the dogs; long distance.
Am I dreaming in America?
Keep the number of Doctors low
so that the ones that there are
can drive in limousines.
Keep the number of rabbits high,
so that the Doctors can eat rabbits' feet
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Screw the song writers out of their songs,
so that you can join the Doctors at the country club.
Build cars that will break and charge the people
who bought them from you exorbitant amounts of money to fix them;
and then get the government to bail you out
when the people stop buying from you.
Screw the consumer on their credit cars, and their student loans.
Wake me up when it is over.
Private
I'm feeling lovely there is no one hovering over me
telling me how to be all I can be.
Aspartame and other advantages they gave themselves
Somebody sold me something that I am holding
they didn't give me a receipt didn't tell me
what would happen when I opened the package.
I'm in way too deep this can't be happening
those bastards are profiting from my slow death.
Somebody throw me something to save me.
Arrival
Nobody told me I'd get old
if they had I might have
taken my time getting here.
Lick a stamp, at the least
Somebody send me something
so I won't feel sorry for myself
because I haven't met you yet.
I'm wearing my mask
I don't want to turn the tv on
because all they'll be talking
about is the flu.
I don't want to shake hands
with a stranger. Don't cough on me.
So, don't do it
I know this road will close.
I know that I won't make curfew.
I know that I can't post bail.
Welcome to me.
Will you leave you to be,
with me, within me, all over me?
The poor only get in the way anyway
Put your mask on.
Don't shake hands with anyone,
and, if you've got the money,
head down to the doctor,
and get you the cure; you know
they ain't giving it away for cheap,
even if a lot of people start dieing.
As the death toll increases,
so will the stock of the company
that holds the cure,
and God will smile down on all of this, for sure.
The package is sometimes all that is pretty
You could have had me,
but you wanted to get lucky
with a Brad Pitt wannabe.
Mr. Good Lookin' didn't turn out
to have a brain; now didn't that
drive you insane.
Solution
The coffee has made me nervous:
I'll have to drink some tea,
and eat all the chocolate in the house.
In tune
And, tonight, I will tune the telephone
to the radio, like I seen my kids do, and
I will download bands that nobody ever heard of,
and I will make them my own.
And, maybe, the old man will ask me
what I am listening to, and, maybe,
I might tell him, and then, maybe, we will be in tune.
Don't let anybody tell you
She got the money, honey, and I got high,
Left the house, and kid, for a run on the road.
I'm a beatnik, baby, bragging about peace and love;
Left a kid behind in Liverpool, while I told the world
how to live.
Our enemies aren't invincible.
Our idols aren't always pure,
but I'll tell you one thing,
I'd rather follow my heart than your dollar bill.
Sit still.
Sit still,
and listen.
Left a job in the city,
working for the man;
gonna grow old growing
my own vegetables,
something like that, don't listen to what I tell you
don't let anybody tell you.
Mikel K Poet: Hey. Will somebody run to the store, and get me some sour cream, because I forgot to drink my hot tea, once I pulled it out of the microwave. And, remember, as one church recently stated, "Chist has risen." Put money in my basket for that, will ya?!
Let's not forget why we were born
Let's go into convulsions. Let's roll on the floor.
Let's let emotion take over. Let's not grow a day older.
Stop
I don't need nothing, and you can't give it to me.
I'm a verb, baby, and you're a noun, and you ain't
never gonna catch up with me. I'm on fire, I could
take you higher, but I'm not going to. I don't want you
dragging my heart around.
Baby, won't you just give me the time of day
By Mikel K
It's been so long since I've made love
that I'm ready to fuck,
I feel like an old cowboy in the wild west
who was down on his luck.
I'd shoot a man for snoring, but I can't afford a gun;
even standing in line at the soup kitchen is starting
to look like fun.
I go to the bank, and the tellers ignore me
they say, "he's got an account, but there ain't nothing in it."
The off duty cop doing security is gonna throw me out any minute.
On the sidewalk, I see circles and squares,
I'm way closer to those down and out than I am to the millionaires.
I stand up and say, "Hey, let's get together," but nobody does,
they just stare at me.
I don't know what to do. I hope that I don't get the swine flu.
I used to make love. I'd settle for a fuck, but nobody takes their
cloths off for a man down on his luck.
(This is a song; I can hear it. This is a song, bring it close to me.)
Fear and Loathing wherever you're at
It's five 28 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm listening to Jim Morrison sing about an LA woman, and reading Hunter Thompson talk about doing drugs in Las Vegas. I'm scared to turn the t.v. on, scared that CNN will tell me that "it" is here, and that it is too late to run like hell. If it's not 911, it's another thing: The Swine Flu. God is a sick mother fucker. In heaven, Charles Bukowski, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, and The Lizard King sit around a table, drinking their coffee, and fingering their white chips. It's never too late to get sober, if you have a problem with it(the booze, and drugs, that is.) I need to find gloves, and a mask; not smile at anyone, not look anybody in the eye, and hand Don Rumsfeld money for the cure. Help is on its way; I just don't know from which direction: riders on the storm; let's hop in the big red convertible, and head where.
Some things that contribute to my sanity
I like to hang upside down like a bat.
I like to take long walks with the dogs,
and work on losing this fat.
I wish that I could play guitar.
I quit smoking.
I quit doing LSD.
I quit waking up in the drunk tank,
covered in blood and puke.
I believe in something; I call it God.
I believe my kids, and my grandson love me,
and that makes it all worthwhile.
Would you rather:
A) Die in a bathtub in Paris"
B) Shoot yourself in the head in your kitchen in Woody Creek?
C) Put a shotgun to your head, in Seattle, and pull the trigger?
And Keith Richards lives on.
(I'm thinking that I should start picking new artists to admire.)
Thoughts from a morning not full of drugs in Las Vegas
Maybe they are breeding paranoia in us/me.
Wear a mask. Don't shake hands. Don't look strangers in the eye.
Whoever came up with the idea of shaking hands anyway;
it's a bad move/downer?
Like Pink Floyd said: "What did you dream, my son. We know;
we told you what to dream."
Eew eew
Jim Morrison wants to uh wuh eew eew his mother.
Neurosis(not)
I may not have what I thought that I wanted,
but I know this: I have what I need.
Motto
She had a tattoo on her forehead
that said, "kisses for beer,"
and she would lay down with
nearly anyone who came near her
with bag or a bottle.
Imaginary Friend
So, maybe you'll be my lady,
and, maybe, you'll walk
from this cup of tea
and say, "never again."
A friendship is something
you can't slip in and out of,
a friendship is something
that you can't offer to me,
well, that's alright.
I've been down this road, before,
and I knew that it was destined
to end before you put
all the sugar in your coffee, honey.
My fear of getting lost
I tested the waters,
counted everything
that I'd bought for her.
I can't wait for
that time of month
when she gets closer to me.
How can it be that she leaves me
walking alone in the daylight?
Spaceship without a commander
He said that he didn't believe in luck
so fate slapped him upside the head.
Realization
I am such a small part of so many things;
I used to think that I had wings.
Resolution
Time passes slowly when you can't have your coffee in the morning
geez I'm suffering so greatly have a real problem on my hands
so many are suffering and I want to whine about not having coffee.
Look for a solution, don't dwell in your problems, smile
when you feel like running away.
Bad bad news but first a commercial
I have to get my blood sugar level checked, this morning,
and, if there is a cure for The Swine Flu,
I going to have it injected into my body.
The birds outside my window seem to be oblivious to the fact
that a swine flu pandemic may be at hand.
They are enjoying this morning, just as they do every morning.
Perhaps there is a lesson, here: the television news should broadcast
birds chirping, every once in awhile, to show us that there is beauty
in the world, and not just suffering and pain.
The television news says: we're all gonna die(perhaps)
If The Swine Flu doesn't get you, paranoia will,
there's too many people on the planet
it's nature's way of killing us, paying us back
for fucking with her, perhaps someone had sex
with a pig, I don't know.
The news gives us the worse case scenario,
maybe they'll drop a nuclear bomb on Pakistan
while we are fearing for our lives.
You and me flu(the coop.)
would you ride in a limo,
when you could take a cab?
Fairy Tale
Make a million off me,
and then offer me nothing.
Starve my family, and children.
Rape my best looking daughter,
and you call yourself civilized.
I'm not sure what I have in mind
by bringing this up,
I doubt that I'll get you to drink
from any other cup.
No homework for her today
She is watching cartoons,
and making mac and cheese.
I got a basketball jones
It's usually fun to the touch,
but, this morning, it hurt very much
when she placed her hand upon it.
There is nothing romantic
about disrobing in front of your Doctor,
even if she is a lady who you think is cute.
Now I'm on pills
hoping that the ills will go away.
A note to people I haven't met yet
I have dogs, so if dog hair bothers you
don't come around.
Perhaps a greater purpose
The buzzer on the drier just rang
signaling that my clothes are ready
to be taken out of the drier, and folded.
I am not sure of any great significance to this,
but, for now, I will have to leave you.
PR move?
They have changed the name of The Flu,
but it is still the same ole bad ass influenza that it was.
Up up up
The price of dog food has gone up,
along with the price of everything else,
but, this is normal, I guess;
have you ever seen prices go down?
Captive dance
I have to change the turtles' water, this morning;
it has gotten low, and turned a little brown in color.
I love my turtles.
If you have to live your life out in a ten gallon container,
I am thankful that you are doing it right next to my desk
where I can watch you frolic.
