Perched on the potted oleander
the titmouse tilts her tufted head
peruses the not so pert human
drinking tea on the porch.
She wonders where the wings are
and the black oil sunflower seeds?
All she sees spread before
said human are pen and paper.
cat tails blow and burst in my face
the smell of the sea reminds me of your pond
and i over extend again
i scratch my skin and it burns
the taste of blood still tickles my tongue
the light turns green
and i criticize you for leaving the bathroom light on
what will it take for you to leave me alone?
you know i can’t do that
i read a poem titled “i’ve fallen in love again”
and like rain flooding down a gutter
the tears come
i’m supposed to make a list of all the good things in my life
but there’s only so much to put down.
time flies when your hearts in two pieces,
and the mental clock of my conscience stopped reminding me when it was the start of a new day
i detail the feelings of grief often,
and people assume i’ve sustained a great deal of loss
in my selfish pondering
sometimes
i wish death had won you over
Each time it rains
after I’ve watered
the garden I feel
something. Just
not sure what.
Who would’ve thought
7 pounds and 10 ounces
Could contain
The weight of the world
Who knew
That his little baby hands
His little baby feet
His little baby body
Could make me
Like Atlas
Hold the world up
But not as punishment
For him
And one day
He’ll take the world off my shoulders
And into his hands
To do with as he pleases
I just hope
That I can leave him
With a world
That doesn’t feel
So Heavy
The revolution bloomin
They care more about the lootin than the shootin
This shit gotta change
Tomorrow can’t go back to what we been doin
Is the revolution bloomin
Or is this white evil too deeply rooted
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution will be live
Now are you a live motherfucker
I mean are you alive motherfucker?
A ride or die motherfucker
Or are you just a lie motherfucker
Starin the mirror right in the eyes motherfucker
Are you fine just watchin your sisters and brothers suffer
Or are you gonna toe the line motherfucker
2020 still state sanctioned killings cuz of color
The look on that pig’s face squealed he was protected
Never thought he’d be arrested
But shit that ain’t far enough
For them to see the message
People in the streets bleed in rebellion
Against evil
Turnin off body cams, so deceitful
President turnin forces on the people
They say obey the curfew
Or they gonna hurt you
We can’t have peace in streets
Cuz of these racist police
No justice no peace
But they all got a piece
Strapped to the teeth
And they’ll bust it at a man just tryna help people eat
With the national guard
Terrorizing his street
Where the compassion in your heart
Where he lies there with no heartbeat
And the democratic mayor and governor won’t do shit
The lesser of two evils still evil and ruthless
They can’t stop the movement
The revolution bloomin
They care more about the lootin than the shootin
This shit gotta change
Tomorrow can’t go back to what we been doin
Is the revolution bloomin
Or is this white evil too deeply rooted
One: The Flavian Amphitheater
This arcing path between high walls, the arched roof beams surmounting pale and patched brick facings broken by rounded entrances to cells and storerooms: All lines reach upward for the unaccustomed sky and sun, the restless crowds clamoring to determine matters of life and death, defeat or fleeting mortal glory. Above as below, hope is not abandoned; it fled with small warning.
Two: The Old City
without a clock we’d be lost
among these many buildings
on this narrow curving street
each morning and afternoon
the shadows are thick
on a rainy day without sun
we could sleep too late
or end the day too early
and just imagine the Sabbath
Three: The Cemetery
This is where my brother’s ashes rest while awaiting the death of the sun, this double-sided afterlife filing cabinet, some eight feet high and a hundred feet long, just one of dozens in this section. From the map, or standing in the parking lot, it all looks enormous, open and welcoming until I stand next to it. Forehead and fingertips resting on his chiseled name, I can hear the walls unroot, come closer to each other. The sky and sun collapse, arrest their fall just above my head as the ground shifts to meet them. Ashes to ashes: There’s only one way out of what embraces.
from the cliff’s edge,
you can see all the
way to the folds
of the Earth;
the fresh pines and
the honeysuckles’ scent
carried through the wind
all laid out like
the most divine
of texts. the solid
rock of the Earth
right under our feet,
the pouring rains, the
flooded creek embankments:
God is there.
“Be still, and know
that I am God,”
He said.
and it’s here
that i know
Shanghai Mag Lev @ 267 mph is fastest train in the world
propelled by magnetic levitation
On board this Mag Lev
sights whiz by causing vertigo
Bound to an unknown destination
puts me in a trance
Where am I going?
When do I get off?
My mind levitates above my body
watching It all unfold
Covid-19 at the controls.
words
are getting gross.
“loyal”
is disgusting.
“strong”
makes me puke.
“angry”
rolls in my stomach
like thunder.
rage
blinds me
like a flash of lightning.
i apologize.
but i’m not sorry.
I’ve almost made myself forget
her cigarettes with their kiss
of lipstick on the tan, mottled
filters – her fingers,
how they hugged each one,
dimpling the white tube
right where it met
the stiff band,
almost lost
the sense of her small slender hands
lifting them. Have almost forgot how
she brought them to her mouth
as if in secret
as if no one could see
(she never
ever all her life let
her parents see
her smoke).
Almost I’ve lost
the memory of her inhales,
the drift or sharp
expulsion of the smoke, how white
it was –how pure,
like my guilt now
at how superior I felt
after I quit,
how cold her anger then,
born in those years
– ice between us.
