You, Too [Lyric Poem]

I cannot be one.
 I cannot be lost.
  I cannot buy my entry
      at a payable cost.

I cannot be three.
 I cannot be boss.
  I cannot isolate: diamonds
      from the dross.

I think I can be two,
 just the me & you.
  our two could be one,
      like two planks form a cross.

Chokehold [Lyric Poem]

Source: Wikipedia; cropped & modified; Khmeri chokehold
dying by the second
   from a starving brain;
 each new panicked moment
   narrows down the frame.

now, my world is dwindling,
   shrinking to a dot:
 like TV's used to do
    when you shut them off.

Now, this poem is done.
   there's nothing past one pel --
 except for oblivion:
    no sight, no sound, no smell.

River’s Rise [Lyric Poem]

Stumps are underwater.
 The pebble beach is gone.
 Floating docks slant downstream
 as fast waters roll on. 

Detritus on pylons:
  a beaver dam of wood.
  Coffee brown waters flow
  where yesterday I stood.

Will the levees stand strong
  until the surge recedes?
  Will the flood wash away
  the willows and the reeds?

The Desert Calls [Lyric Poem]

The desert called; its tone silent.
 It asked me out, and so I went.

One patch of dune looked like the rest;
 so, I couldn't tell which place was best

to burn just like a slice of bread
 stuck in the slot, 'mid burning threads:

those glowing wires, exuding heat
 that burn the head and burn the feet.

And so, I marched across the sands
 in search of more temperate lands,

but I never reached such a place
 and vanished there, without a trace.

Proof of Life [Lyric Poem]

Something shakes the high grass,
   what it is I can't say.
 I see flowers tremble,
    near a part-line splay.

I hear dry stems rattle
   to some darting moves.
 But a creature's existence
   still remains unproved.

Maybe it's delirium,
   or a trick of the wind.
 I catch no flash of fur
    on which my claim to pin.

Even from the watchtower,
   my grounds are circumstantial.
 I can't give proof of life --
    at least not that's substantial.

Fish-Eye View [Common Meter]

Do I look blurry to a fish,
as if a floating cloud?
Does it expect I’ll dart away
as silence rings aloud?

Little Doors to Nowhere [Lyric Poem]

I love a little door to nowhere,
 with no apparent reason to be. 
  Not under a sign or in the square,
   but in a privy wall or thick tree.

Somewhere one would least expect a door.
 Somewhere that begs the question: "Where to?"
  A place for mean rogues, scamps and whores?
   A hideaway that offers no clue. 

It would probably just disappoint:
 to learn the sanctum's private intrigues.
  Not some tough, sleazy speakeasy joint,
   or bohemian savants' league. 

And so, I never, ever knock,
 but let the story form in my mind -
  a tale to titillate and shock,
   one that leaves no misanthrope behind.

Vowel Goof, Or: Spelling Matters [Lyric Poem]

The sign read: "Flee Market," 
    and so, of course, I fled.
 The hawkers called to me
    as I sped like hot lead. 

From what I was fleeing,
    I have no idea.
 But I found a cheap chair
    down at the IKEA.

Tautology [Lyric Poem]

It seems there's no need for a sign
   that says: "No Outsiders, Inside!"
 Wherever you may draw the line,
   it can't sensibly be denied
   that the outsider who steps across -
   having crossed - is an insider. 
 No need to consult the rules or boss
   Re: the "IN" side of the divider. 

Out of the Box Crocs [Lyric Poem]

To find oneself within a crate -
 packed inside and labeled "Freight"
  seems like the worst that things can get,
   but then I peered out through the slit,
 and what a thing it was to see
  a croc's keen eye stare back at me.
 
It had so many freakin' teeth,
 both on the top and underneath!

I concluded the box 'tweren't so bad.
 To stay a while, I would be glad!