Saturday, January 17, 2015

It Came to Me In a Dream

It was lovely
As the woods
Were dark and deep

The very lap
Of high society

But their teeth were
Stained you see
For these were ghosts
That came to me

Ghosts that came
To haunt my dreams
And remind me
Of more bizarre scenes

A grand ball
In a grand hall
Or the lobby

Where our revered kin
Stumble in
And mumble marvelous
Pre-Motion Picture Lines
Of real verse

Like the thoroughly modern
1920's

When poetry
And all its didactic charms
Held us thrall
To magic

Friday, January 16, 2015

SAD FAREWELL

SAMPLE
(Free Stuff on the Streets of New York)

When we moved
Into the hood
Drugs were easy to
Get
Coke and weed

But the best
Things Are Free

The sun blazed on
A late afternoon
And was pleasant
Even if it
Was early January
And the air itself
Froze inside your
Nose
Sterilizing  bronchi
With
          Each
                     Inhale

Still people stop
From brisk walking
To peruse a box
Of books, trinkets
And a chest of
Drawers curbside

Leafing through
Dante’s Inferno
And an IKEA creation
Wondering

How to get it
Back 5 blocks
And up four flights

In some bars
At happy hour
Blue flamed sternos
Warm wings and
JalapeƱo poppers

For the price of a
Guinness or two
You can dine there
Most days of the
Week

Outside the arena
On game day
Samples of soaps
And creams
And sometimes
Dreams
Flow from
Bottomless plastic
Barrels

Thursday is bulk trash
Day
And furniture
Found on sidewalks
Really paved with gold

Filled our studio
In early 4th floor
Over-heated eclectic style

The City giveth
Weekly as
We walked
Naked
Through someone's former
Possessions

Happy to have
Found free stuff
On the streets
Of New York

We made love on
Sundays
To the chime
Of
Church bells

So thankful
For smiles
Laughter
And tears

Flowing like red wine
We tasted
At the free
Tastings!

And it was
Orphan’s Christmas
At SAMPLE
And Orphan’s Halloween
And everything
In between

Now glittered skulls
And garland
Fill paper boxes
Becoming part of the
Free Stuff
On the Sidewalks
Of New York

East side
West side
All around the town
We come up out of
The F Train
And settle ourselves
Down.

There was Maio and Heather,
Janine and Rollins too
Serving up Ploughman’s platters
Wine and spirits too

We would go there often
As often as we could
And always left
So happy

That SAMPLE was in the hood