Objective mirror

sometimes i wish
i could step outside myself
and see
what everyone else sees
so could have a better idea
of what road
to turn down
next

A little sad (May 2007)

I released a friend today.
I didn't want to do it,
but the past, it always holds more sway.
So I released a friend today.

I released a friend last night.
We were always civil -
there was no fight.
But I released a friend last night.

I released a friend today.
He was already absent
and no promises were there to betray.
So I released a friend today.

I released a friend last night.
I found him halfway
between darkness and light.
So I released a friend last night.

I released a friend today.
I hope he's not angry.
His course should not stray.
I hope our paths cross again in some way.
But I released a friend today.

An Elegy for an Automobile (March 2006)

it's super smelly in tremont tonight... so here's an elegy to ponder while i inhale microscopic mittal death

Lolita - Beloved car...
Feb'y 1998, Tempe, AZ - March 2006, Cleveland, OH

You were a good car.
A trooper.
Your chassis held true.
You carried me back from Arizona and delivered me into the rolling hills of Vermont.
You squired me to weddings and funerals, anniversaries and birthdays.
Ever vigilent you were.
You rarely broke down (technically only 3 times...4 if you count the time I left the cap off the radiator... sorry about that...).
And you always waited until I was off the highway to really get screwy...

But near the end, your engine ran hot.
You developed a taste for Dex-Cool that could not be quenched.
Your internal combustion became too much and eventually, dear Lo, you hemorraged.

O my dearest darling Lo! How I will miss your dedicated ways.
Your scar from the snowplow.
Your missing lock.
The wound above your windshield - it was so late and we were so stuck in that parking lot... we had no choice but to rev the engine and ram the gate.
You were my chariot and I miss you so.

Ode to a Google (Fall 2006)

O! my dear Google,
with answers you are never frugal.

I give it statements in quotes,
It gives me answers and never gloats.

A sentence I may only have to offer,
But Authors! Dates! Publications! All fill my coffer.

O Google, without your data we'd be lost.
And into the abyss, gracelessly tossed.

The City Through Haiku (May 2003)

The City was grand;
yet a bit overwhelming.
Mem'ry misserved me.

Concrete was too rough.
Neon obscured evening stars.
Spring peepers are missed.

Yet, high energy.
Diversity surrounds me.
I'm in the Machine.

Matisse/Picasso:
They brought us to Queens.
It was beautful.

Then subway ennui -
much too close to your neighbors.
Not much is hidden.

Next day to Brooklyn.
See friends, shopping, and noodles.
It threatened to rain.

Then subway hubris -
"Sorry, but yo' card don't work."
No mercy for me.

The problem is solved.
Meeting Cathy for sushi,
red bean ice cream, mmmmm....

Saturday came quick.
Guggenheim for three hours -
Matthew Barney rocks.

The Met impresses,
I critique artifact mounts.
No one is perfect.

Hot Jazz with dinner.
Cultural elite nod heads
with rhythm - drink wine.

I had to get out.
It's too much affectation.
But the pie was good.

My last night in town.
I'm asleep by eleven.
It's fine to be square.

Sunday, go shopping.
Meet Jude. Museum of Sex.
There's not enough time.

I pack to go home.
Second Ave. to hail a cab.
Adventure is done.

Short flight to Akron.
Can't wait to sleep in my bed.
I miss my backyard.