memory stepping

published 2007

Like hair that falls into the face, you
are impossible to ignore-my
tangled inconvenience just over
head, nine steps to the bed instead of
seven, weak as I am to walk it
alone. The room is larger, hollow
as a slaughtered cow, racked and hanging.
Or is that me? It's the raw pink that
distracts. The unfamiliar smell (sharp)

I have grown used to. Mosquito bites
beneath my feet make for uneasy
pacing. The lonely worm-wood floorboards;
infested. Memories, like maggots,
eat away at the rotting carcass;
grow more vivid with every step toward
the door. A clown-like mouth mocking me
walking the steps from it to the bed;
you looked so graceful on your way out.

stains

with only a couple of days left in black history month, i wanted to post a poem that i published 4 years ago. i wrote it in honor of one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, langston hughes. i hope you enjoy it.


stains
for langston hughes


you sang america
when white linens were washed with
lye.

now colors tumble dry
rather than hang
on a line.

sheets rode the wind
like pointed ghosts of past. stains
pinned with pride for all
to see. today
she wears them privately;
shamefully.

try to wish them gone
when they will not wash
gone

sleepily she recalls the text-
book tragedies of which you
wrote; half
on your side, half
her own. decades gone,

her hands still smell of
lie.

elegant. the fist wraps

my heart beats like wings, fanning
the fire - butane
blue - in your eyes. my pupils
burn like moths, eager to learn
the flecks
in yours. i am lost;

this visual lip-lock tastes like ocean
but feels like sand-
paper. my body cries,
my eyes perspire. funny
how sweat and tears conspire to feel

the same, taste
the same, look
the same. you

burn
elegant. the fist wraps
at the inside of my ribs, it begs
to be set free

a haiku

pride worn like cologne
hi, my name is adam, i'm -
addicted to me

Concerning Coyotes and Other Pressing Matters

Concerning Coyotes and Other Pressing Matters

A pack was spotted

near the potted plants

in Mrs. Mann's back

yard. If you have kids, small

dogs or cats, it's important to note

they feed on these,

and please cover up your cans

of trash.

This just in, the Honky-tonk

Karaoke Classic has been upgraded

to a bonafied jamboree; courtesy

of Daniel Lee. Tickets are now

twelve dollars. Men who bring

their own beer

and women, half-price.

And congrats

to Mable Patz from mobile

park Eleven A. She won

our bingo bonanza yesterday

taking home a brand new plastic

grass backyard. Second

place went to her husband

Clay, so they also took

the decorative light strands

of Coors Light cans. Clay would now

prefer that he be referred to as Fancy

Pants!

Mr. Thompson lost his four

front teeth. It's been a week since

they were last seen, on the arm

of the plastic lawn-

chair that resides on the brown

spot beside his front "porch."

He has vowed not to

shoot on sight,

as his sign has warned, provided

his teeth are returned

unharmed.

Finally, the ice-cream-

social hosted by the activities

league of Park Four B

has been postponed

for reasons not disclosed

but they propose

that the following Tuesday will

do if the weather holds.

Thank you. The Management.

the nerve of some people

a woman cut me off today

then flipped me off

because i was only going ten miles an hour

over the speed limit

she was on her cell phone at the time

and had to let go of the

steering wheel to offer me

her middle finger.

as she sped

away, i saw a silver fish

on the back of her car and a bumper-

sticker reading "DRIVING FOR JESUS."

i too am religious

so i said a quick prayer

that she wrap her car around a telephone pole

as soon as possible.

amen.