Last Shot

Mister Rudy was full of booty

He had the best place around

When you were in there drinking

You would get to thinking

Rudy was the king of the town

His Miss Judy was a beauty

She could really shake it around

Shaped just like a cello

Man! she made fellow

Feel his devil tremble and growl

Those two people seemed

To have it all worked out

Mister Rocco wasn’t normal

He was better than the rest

So much stronger so much smarter

Better watch it partner!

Every test proved he was the best

He knew a player is a taker

Any man who pauses is lost

He was built for speed

And couldn’t bear to be

Anybody less than the boss

That club Rudy had

Always made him feel small

Rudy’s lady made Rocco crazy

He had to have her all to himself

But he felt like a loser

Judy wouldn’t choose him

When Rudy was the one with the wealth

He looked at Rudy and he knew he

Had to get the best of that man

He knew it was his duty

To take that beauty Judy

Steal her out of old Rudy’s his hands

He walked in the club

Gonna get her

Packing a big gun

Gonna get him

Saying praying to himself

This will be done

He put a bullet in Rudy’s belly

Killed the king to be with the queen

It felt just like a dream

But when Miss Judy screamed

He knew she’d never be with him

She would never be with him

.

Flashes 11

A happy

bulge beneath

your belt

Obsessive collectors

in cafes

with laptops

That flag

in the boss’s

office

*

Her cynical

masculine voice

harsh from smoking

Marching formations

like a walking

word

A chorus

of disparate

voices in us

Soul damage

was his sense

of soul

*

Using eyes

as tools

of observation

Feel that

readiness

in your neck

Generosity:

our clear connection

with God

.

Get Off This Bus

“It is right and it is just—because he must!”—Henry Miller

Everyone’s got it

Everyone’s got a reason

That we don’t know

But we know that they’ve got it

‘Cause everyone needs a reason

To keep on going

We think we don’t show it

But we’re glowing with it every moment

That we keep going

We go without knowing

Exactly when or where the road we’re on

Is gonna be done

But it’s gonna be done

I wait for a signal

I stand in line and wait my turn to get

A glimpse of a sign

I hint or a vision

A trigger I can figure that tells me

That the time is mine

To do what I’ve got to

And make a move that breaks through to

The next side of my life

The side that’s been hiding

And waiting for me to get it right

Now the time has arrived

It’s like the turning of the tides

When you know you got it right

This time

And you know you got it right

‘Cause you’re feeling so alive

And light

And the chime you feel inside

Is rhyming with the light

Outside

Outside and inside

There’s something I trust

Something that tells me I must

Get off of this bus

It’s right and it’s just

It’s right and it’s just

Because I know that I must

Get off of this bus

Get off of this bus

And watch it ride off in the dust

‘Cause I’ve had enough

I’ve had enough and I know

This world is a bluff

This world is a bluff

.

We The People

Trade fifty years
Of vitality and industry
Advancing someone else’s wealth
In exchange for opportunities
To purchase some degree
Of comfort when we rest


.

5 Haiku

Stunned in the spring night
staring at the twilit sky
rubbing my sore feet

Sunny spring morning—
deeply breathing cool sea air
on my bicycle

A wide-winged raven
hovering in gusty air—
early spring sunset

*

Traffic rushes past
and we stand beneath buildings
at twilight, smiling

A paused train at night—
two headlights spread cloudy beams
through the milky fog


 
  .

Dead Cat In A Top Hat

“Dead cat in a top hat
Thinks he’s an aristocrat
That’s crap”—The Doors

Rat man living out on the street
That man begging for something to eat
That man’s tossed like a scrap on a heap of dreams

Fat man stuffing himself with pills
That man can’t feel any thrills
That man’s hiding up in the hills to kill

Ripping through the city is the terrible sound
Of people being set up and down
And you feel the burning when they tell you
That your turn is now

Right now

I told a friend what’s in my head
He looked at me with eyes full of dread
Then he smiled—Amen brother! he said

Those fat bosses are lonely and mean
They can’t get down—you know what I mean
You and me man, at least got a chance to be happy

Dead cat in a top hat
Thinks he’s an aristocrat
That’s crap

Ask the rat man
About the fat man
Yeah ask the rat man

That’s crap



 .

Can't Go Wrong

I heard a voice so small and strong
It told me Man you won’t be here long
Come on—get out and get it on
When this is living in you man, you know you can’t go wrong

I saw some birds soar in the sky
I saw some clouds with faces flying by
It was like—everything was alive
Now when I look up I can find them every time

I passed a place and in the glass
I saw my face but it was another man’s
It made no difference
Whether I was him or if he is who I am

I know a voice so small and strong
It tells me Man you won’t be here long
Come on—get out and get it on
When this is living in you man, you know you can’t go wrong



.