It’s not just for funsiesour flimflam directive.They musn’t know whatwe know lest a seismictilt befall the paradigmour peeps have carvedlo these sundry aeons.Hells bells should theyglimpse a hint of truthin the buff before wetar and feather it. Woeis we should this realitybe unadorned with hat,fake mustache, glasses.Extraordinary times callfor ordinary measures.We need them to lookthemselves... Continue Reading →
Hissing, honking, haughty bird,taking its precious time crossingthe thoroughfare, above the law,its garbanzo bean brain bestiallyaware of its federal protection.You know you are in its lairwhen a minefield of black snakefirework shaped feces informsyour formerly halcyon hikeon the defiled shores of a lake.Then, completely inconsiderateof your cardiovascular stability,its flock alights in a frenziedsplash, pocking the... Continue Reading →
We were once as brothersor so I thought.Deep bondsbuilt on summer walks.Talks of crushesover lunches when we shop.But these pleasant outingswould suddenly come to a stopwhen your slipped race preferencesbrought me to a halt.Now I wishwe could forget all of our faults.Oh, dear brothersfrom another, white mother,our ties unknot. Read More in Poetry
The steps were simple: first, knock on the door; then you have two options: if someone answers, you tell them you are looking for Rodney Steele, that you’re there for his drains. We were dressed as plumbers. After they tell you they are not Rodney Steele, then you apologize for the mistake and move on... Continue Reading →
there's always that one guythe odd man outsitting back in the cornercompletely Nick Cavestoned and/or bashfulcounter-dispositional and/or analyticaleven when the conversationchases round his headlike hummingbirdsthen moves on quicklyto another feederhe may sip a Camparicloistered in sad reflectionsmile at childrenfrom his island cagedoesn't join in banterdoesn't work the room ashe's half deaf and hiding it againyesterdayhe... Continue Reading →
E-man, Electric ManModern Superman, goes electricall powerful, glowing with sparksthat twinkle in the eyesdark lightning in the mirror.Electricity -- what is it?if you touch it you get shocked,why not let go?is it solid like a bug, a fireflyin a jar -- when a chargeis inside the battery, does it weigh more?when current runs through wiresis... Continue Reading →
“Avast!” your crazy uncle shouts onNational Speak Like a Pirate DayBecause it’s something he read on AOLHard to get him to upgrade since he’s stubbornStubborn enough to keep the thousand CDshe got in the mailHTTP 404 ERROR PAGE NOT FOUNDExcept he thought it was the area code for AtlantaWhich is useless when trying to buy... Continue Reading →
Brown rough calloused handswrinkled like raisins dippingin and out of the masa.Pounding and kneading la masapara las tortillas,“Para aprender mija” she tells memassaging and kneading the masalike a sculpture pliable by herhands.I answer in English, “No, I don’twant to learn.”denying the half-Mexican part of me and my languagethe only language I knew until I began... Continue Reading →
I remember asking youwas it a coyotebut I knew he would have taken youI came closeryou couldn't runI nudged youthere was no bloodyour ears laid backand I stroked that soft inner spacebetween my fingers.I never thoughtthe wildness in youwould ever let me hold youbut there we sat a whileyou in my lapI felt the length... Continue Reading →
I was twenty-one years old the summer Elaine and I backpacked into Three Sisters Wilderness. I was an urban creature, from a long line of same. My grandparents had emigrated from Greece and Italy, landed in the Bronx, and never went farther. They were factory workers, saloon keepers, a butcher...
