TENNESSEE
I used to call her Dixie,
And she, me, Memphis; pet
names since removed. Only now
reminded due to an email search,
I found an e-card with those aliases
while looking for something important.
Momentarily breathless, I deleted
that too, and resumed my quest.
SENSELESS
You don't see me, across the
room, admiring your form.
You don't hear me, as I
murmur your name. You don't
taste me, though I can be sweet.
You don't smell me, despite
anointing myself with hope.
You don't feel me, for you
are much too far away.
FEAST DAY
Widows with wizened hands
gather in the kitchen to roll beef
and mix meat. No recipes, only
tradition and the collective memory
of stooped ravens, turn ingredients
into love, to be brought forth on
steaming platters, to a raucous
crowd in the next room.
ACES
The recess klaxon sounds, so
Aces scramble to the swing set,
windbreakers flapping. In their minds,
worn leather flight jackets, complete with
squadron patches, and fur collars, protect
them from the cold. Gaining altitude quickly
over hop-scotch and four-square,
engines roar as they form up, scanning
Pacific skies for Zeros. Engaging the enemy
with booming cannon, and rat-tat-tatting
machine guns, they soar, higher, higher,
until, "I'm hit!" Chains go slack, then
snap taut, bottoming out. Returning to base,
the flushed boys meander in, not looking
forward to long division.
LOMBARD
Regular speed to stop action,
the wail from the platform is piercing.
THUMP, then clattering beneath my feet,
coffee gone cold in my mouth.
A life taken, the steel beast eats
without remorse or feeling, merely
feeding. Processed to bits, she is
gone, and I am changed.
HOME AGAIN
The long hallway, with naked bulb,
stretches, distorted proportions
beckon him home. Dead Man walking,
alone, as always. "Honey, I'm home!"
he calls to no one. No one answers.
YOU WANT PISSED?
You got the house, and
my parents bedroom set,
and how many diamonds?
And you, you got lacy delicates,
my heart, and my favorite t-shirt.
How do you feel with a man in that bed?
Or peeling off that outfit for dog-like eyes?
SUBMISSIONS
On a horrid orange couch
I prepare my submissions. Rejections
outnumber acceptances, yet,
I continue. The taste of beer,
smoke, and envelope paste fills
my mouth. Ten more pregnant
packages ready for mailing.
SPREAD
My ass is wider,
so my pants ride higher.
Once fashionable, now
I look like a dork.
BACK FORTY
Surprised to find the fence row there,
he followed it to the back
of the pasture, where cool woods still
beckoned. Time and rust had blunted
the barbed wire that once tore his
new blue jacket. The weeds now
high, in a pasture smaller than he
remembered, obscured the pump, that,
when he found it, still worked. No
water was ever sweeter.
TEARS
My lips wet with your tears
of life cut short. Accepting
your pain, I drank them in.
Once dry, you left, afraid
to face me. I cried alone,
glad to have known you.
DREAMS
Waking from a dream,
sweaty, frightened, I
reach for my lover.
No lover found,
only a cool pillow
that beckons me back,
to unconsciousness.
REPEAT
What I thought was affection
was just friendliness,
she smiles at everyone
that way. Victim of
my ego, again.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
Fleshy hand grips a hook,
and thumps it into a
chunk of still warm meat.
Moments before mooing, now
deconstructed into
prime cuts, by big men,
in spattered smocks,
and white hard hats.
A far cry from shrink-wrapped.
BREEZE
Windows wide
open,
blowing out
winters' funk.
Elusive promises
whispered.
PORTAL
Paint peeling,
cracked panels,
swinging on two hinges,
the front door both beckons
and blocks my
memory.
Who will answer if I
knock?
CHARGE
A blue tendril grows
despite the leaden rain.
Holding the line,
as good soldiers should,
no butterflies in their stomachs,
just maggots in their gut.
Screaming and crying out,
the thinning ranks advance,
while gilded generals sip tea,
and watch through telescopes.
USED
Crouched incubus
sucks life from
soft lips.
The victim,
once flushed,
now pale,
is used up,
and so, discards her
tormentor,
refreshed.
