monster tonic sells by the gallon
glugged, while grasped in a talon
it promises to topple empires
but what it builds is dirty liars
who pitch their forks into the fire
and listen to the awful sizzle
as the fat melts into a drizzle
after its prey’s fight long fizzled
oh, the foul. oh, the fair
it catches monsters by the hair
oh, the wild. oh, the free.
you can sip it in mid-winter tea
my mind is a flash mob
living to kick and dance
to music’s wail & throb
IT plays a game of chance
when my mind is blown
IT does the blowing
when i’m in the flow
IT does the flowing
how cheap, IT is, they say
but rent ‘s not paid each 30 days
each time i roam the bill comes due
as i’m kicked back to end of queue
water flows
under stark skies
to open seas
exiles flee
train eating track
one way
late monsoon
winter gray skies
thick & low
pink blooms
hold through the cold
dogged bind
silent rites
acted out now
later lost
breathe & sway
bath in forest air
samara rain
when I walk the city streets
i never look down at my feet
but my eyes do race and roam
seeking a secret route back home
i lost my way
one sunny day
and haven’t found the ragged, rustic door
that will drop me on that unmarked floor
where the elevators don’t stop
there are little words
that cheep and squeak
and know not what secrets
that they keep
they think themselves
the lion’s roar
but they fly not,
falling to the floor
piling up into so much dust
i can feel my heartbeat
i shouldn’t feel my heart beat
but i’m sharply folded
when i stand and blossom
the warmth rushes through me
and the pins and needles
trickle through my body
subtle the sensation
time attuned sensation
now i know my heartbeat
subtle silent heartbeat
half a coffee
sits on an oak table
long cold
devil days
a line feeds the train
one way
madman rants
spittle flies in an arc
message lost
That mammal stands a mile tall.
Far too proud to take a fall.
It lumbers on til days end,
nudging family round the bend.
Water hole. Day’s close. Circled up.
In the center stands a pup.
On infirm legs, the youth shakes
as adults stomp and earth quakes.
Predators stalk, but today’s odds
favor the prey and defy the gods.
a sinkhole of depression
whose dark gravity
pulls to the rim
those troubled souls
seeking midnight’s comfort
pavement shimmering in the arc lamp glow
human traffic hardens as water flows
a can glides, twisting, toward the storm drain
riding a ruddy river of rain
a torrent pours, night awash in white sound
sewers fill, the city gurgles and drowns
boarding the bus requires a quay
each monsoon night seeks a revival day
