Shadow and Peek

I could write books
with my serious looks
or sonnets with 13 lines
but I prefer to speak
as I shadow and peek
into rooms I was in
a moment before

A kiss is a word
A word is a promise
The palm of my hand
lands in the space
I preordained for contact
it's nice there
I like it

I could hold hands
and then let go
but then who'd know
about you
but me?
So make a sound
audible, memorable
I'll be above, I'll be around
looking inside, holding you down

January 31, 2007

The Squall

the squall today is a sorry one
a slap in the face of the lot of us
a pinch of the lobe with a brush-back vibe
so don’t hate the sunshine ‘til it’s gone gone gone

the left side of your face is a subtle one
raising an eyebrow just to make a half-heart whole
and that’s the woman I remember
long before the picture-cropping days

and if I’m too hasty in my meandering
if I’m too coy in my one-track way
I promise to liberate my messages
from the page to the mouth to your feet to the world
can’t help but love the way it feels today

January 22, 1999

Movie Marquee

the cherub wore white walking shoes
singing the silly Willie blues
as he chased the city buses by foot
the cherub wore white walking shoes
spilling the secret agent news
as the buses beat him every time

the mermaid made the taffy from scratch
butterscotch, strawberry, and peach
the mermaid loved her taffy recipe
handed down from mermaids before her

I put up every letter on that movie marquee
I put up A, I put up B, I put up C
I did it all and then it all
disappeared like midnight into moonlight into you

the spinster wore her special sweater vest
from the man who loved her the best
in the winter of ’56
the spinster wore her special sweater vest
from the man who once confessed
that their one winter felt like spring

the fairy had never been kissed
years of promises never kept
the fairy dreamed of kisses from gods
and frogs and demons and sprites

I put up every letter
on that movie marquee
I put up N, I put up O, I put up P
I did it all and then it all
disappeared like midnight into moonlight into you

January 15, 2001

The Decree of the Universe

The Kings of Convenience
Meet the Queens of the Stone Age
Halfway between
The desert and the fjords
In two old beat up Fords
Fiestas, of course
It's all they can afford
In this age of illegal downloads

Meanwhile, back at the Stereolab
An Audioslave toils the day
Converting Excel to Access
And back again
His only friend
A beat up Discman
His favorite lover
A discarded box cutter

The Go-Betweens go between the motions
Grasping at paychecks while Macaloon, blind
Envisions a comeback called a resurrection
The megahertz is trawled upon
>From sleepy dusk to singing dawn
And everyone Holds their head Steady
Until the mountain earthquakes itself
Into the glorious ocean

The Queens of the Stone Age
Meet the Kings of Convenience
On a dusty cat-haired window sill
In the one shady street on Potrero Hill
It's too crowded so they reconvene
On Billy Joel's old Village Green
But Bill can't drive anymore
On paved roads or dirt
In his punk rock T-shirt

Not to worry, the universe
Still has room, the universe
Never sends the songs back
The universe says bring it on
Break it up and hey hey my
Send the best hooks to the sky
Drive the trucks through, make them fly
The fjords will melt into their hallowed ground
The desert evenings will cool the festive sound
The blondest boy in Alexandria
Will shake the trees of all their mangoes
And eat until his eyes turn orange

May 27, 2005

Rubber Shoes

rubber shoes are getting old
summer blues are getting old
higher noise is getting old
bitter air is getting old
love fools are getting old
“Sara Smile” is getting old
walking trails are getting old
pine needles are getting old
wounded sky is getting old
rubber shoes are getting old

April 5, 1999