images

into the glass pipe
you blew a thin black smoke
watched it circle and rise like a labratory experiment
indigent indigent lab rent spent
a potato peeler so fast, faster
than the guitar at one bridge of
"love will tell us apart again"
ending with cymbals for church bells
so smoking and black this ceiling
"girls just wanna have fun"
blacking their hair like shoes
fingers trailing above, they trace tiger eyes
and tyger by blake across their cheeks
shakira in video for "la tortura"
turning with karate hands
wanted to smell the daisies today
ate nothing to make room for food for thought
fraught puppet doll on a headstring
something creaked and to the side of it
i looked and saw you by the sink
silver is all you think of
blazing orange yellow zinnias
burting into paper mache
black shower curtain cloth in the penthouse
peeling a banana picking up your feet
to see what the cat has drug into the suite
have you seen her tongue wagging
she sticks it out into a point to wiggle
back and forth south and north
i don't like it one bit
wwwwwwwwwwwwhhooooa it's the final countdown
not so cozy in this rocket
not but i got rid of the migraine
"you raise me up" to the world cup of bud
you throwing up last night
something isn't right but i went to McDonalds anyway
i feel in "the final countdown"
maybe i can really fly but you're a mountain climber
rug burn from crying your face into the carpet
you haven't prayed like that for a
long long time
something was shining in heaven last night
tumblers toasting
wine red and punch arms entwined
wedding of two women
she has mahogany hair tied up part of the way
hands over the radiator
stray cat strut, self-sure in a white oxford shirt
box boxing day with a room full of deceipt
white eagle, white owl feather span to take a corner
flying forth and circling to the right
clutch the moon and it is a stack of paper in a tie
throw on something over the navy coat
hands on the rail looking back at me
while seeing into your future
hair blowing back on the deck a dark haired woman
with her lover
flower in her hair by sunset and then the world
hit a titanic, a crack in the ice, and
fell through the veil to our hell
blue and white, stars and stripes
hitting a wall in the middle of the night in your dream
"she is high as a kite"
everyone with tiny little flags victory
victory
red roses flown into the hands
of a man without a mother
up down up down zip zip zip a zigzag seam over my lips
it's not a straight zip
it's a zigzag zip cuts you to the hip
down on you over the distance
all of you
all of you who love me
sticky tape across the tops of the boxes, clear tape
and your blue jeans on their knees to task
stranger things have happened
stranger
two seagulls circling the top of the pole
replacing the crane on sea legs again
dark hair kisses your face with
hot pink lips
sinking ships
an arrow sank into the core of the tree in the distance
couldn't pull it our with your bare hands
not even a strong man
arrows in the side pocket, glistening in the sun
at break sin the trees
forest run through the river bed where we played
eating stones instead of crow
betting paid off while the metal pail was swinging
wishing at the wishing well
all the pretty pennies
sweetly singing
so many flounces on the white white dress
apron for her head, gypsy
i know one laid her hands upon me
a hot poker boring holes into the floor
my wand turned into a tap dancing stick
cracked up laughing at "the kid is not my son"
doctor tested my reflexes like a logger with an ax
to the knee, to the hip, to the heartlip
ohmigod how she loved this song--"billie jean"
powder puff dusting her nose
your noses when you were cold snow bunnies
magazine on the vanity
she could do a spiral from the high ladder
into the pool, a drill into the choir of white wire
fracturing the solid blue
italian and spanish besos, white chips on the table
playing for keeps, winning for bees
long white electric keyboard dripping
dipping oreo cookies into the milk, silken bare arms
saw her singing in the bathtub
bubbles to her chin with one leg flexed, bent at the knee
toe pointed
"take on me" piano sounding like the skittering of
tiny black beetles from underneath one couch to another
using scissors to cut up the fabric
she cracked the code

from the canteen WWII

wiping away all of your tears away when you were small
rolling down on your side like you are on fire
practicing for the course in higher ed
************************************************************
to "sacrifice" by elton john

negotiating by nickel and dime
for every small thing
a gift the sparrows gave to me
how to see, how to wing it, how to flee
working me over like a
used car salesman, and trying to charm
wicked whales with pushcarts of cocaine
afraid only of the pakistanis?

what is the big deal about those from pakistan?
if i say i have a friend from pakistan,
i have bugs and buddies upon me like fleas, and they're jumping too
it's not just obama, oops, osama, a friend from pakistan
is like having the latest designerwear

for someone who would claim to love me
i might even sell my soul
for someone admitting there is nothing
why would i sell out?
is my heart so cheap? my body so cheap?
don't say it's an offense for me to bring up my worth
when it's not even me you want
but something which will help you understand
why the grass is greener on the other side

colombia is another hot ticket item
it seems that i am just a part of the rack for sales
everyone asking me if i want to be a spy
who am i willing to betray, and tested by
at least five different men who ask all kinds of questions
trying to steer me and extort answers from me

money is for business and if it comes to business,
i want to see my ducks walking the wire,
proving to me a deal is a deal
if it's love, and if there is irrefutable evidence on
both sides, i would spend all my billions
on treatment for his cancer,
i would not divorce him for making only $53,000 a year
i am loyal and for better and for worse
i will show you one hand of loyalty while i am lied to
i am kind enough to be loyal to my word, to my enemies
willing to sacrifice my own self and own soul
for those i love, when the benefits outweigh the risks.
i won't jump over a cliff for love
i figure it out carefully, in the time constraints permitted.

i call the shots. the shots don't call me.
that sort of works in a variety of ways.
because i call the shots, some shy away.

i don't mix business with principles for my personal life.
my principles are higher than your negotiations
stakes are sky high.
i expect your word to be your word,
for love or money
business or pleasure.

funny what you might get if you don't try so hard
to make sure you're getting your money's worth

part II:
for love, i even wash and clean
i even make beds and buy flowers

don't forget though, i also buy flowers for myself
i grow them and cut them and make the arrangements
for my own pleasure, and it only means something when
i notice someone else has noticed everything
all of the colors i've seen in my mind's eye
*************************************************
*************************************************

taxi drivers

smartest people in d.c.
never thought a driver had brains like that
and this and that and this one too
"where are you from?" i ask
so curious to know
they know more about the politics
than the politicians
called one the other night, from india
and mentioned my problems
with having my son removed from me
without proper evidence and told him, it
was like holding all these detainees
without charges or even letting them
see what they're accused of.
today, i read
they've been freed. so many of them
free and with apology.
a new day for iraq
same old thing for me
there has to be consistency in law & order
to ever be believed
taxi, taxi men, you are my men of honor
drivers of luxury cars, you are my pride
showing a stranger
kindness
i notice your emblems and jewelry and the photos
for your religions and of your children
commiserating with one the other night
found out someone had a key
just like that, they were freed in iraq
i wonder who is working wenatchee
who decides which captives are set free
for peace, go forward and sue if you can
for more than $20 compensation