I Was Just the Air

Standing on a bus
with my life burning away

breathing
and I was just the air

my body was only
an aspect of air

the cloth upon my arms
also air

my thoughts were just
gusts in my skull

an awareness of breath
while breathing

as everyone breathed
clouds of air

in and out
inside and outside

a bus that coughed in the wind



.

After Work

The blurred wall
of another train
passes our passing train

A synthetic voice
announces our stops (and new
messages on someone’s phone)

A made-up face
gazes at
a magazine

A man with maps
of worry beneath his eyes
stares into spaces between faces

(Each of us eager to be elsewhere!)

A car adrift
on a different tide
floats beside us awhile

A man in paint-stained pants
wears a jacket
advertising a bank

The train’s steel wheels
scrape steel rails
like screaming skeletons

We all have plastic
identity tags
at our waists and necks

(This surge in the brain! This urge to relate!)

Outside shines
a twilit sky
of flaming foil



.

Victor Casino

Under the sky of a smile
I kept my options wild

So did she

We stared down on Las Vegas
From a jet at night

A forest of lights

A jackpot JING! JING!
Gleam of a prize

In the mirror of her eyes

Our YES!
Like a hiss

Of greasy success

Melting into a lava
Of unnavigable horror

In an air-conditioned room

A hateful glare
In the sudden sun

And I chose to run



.

Fancy Dancer

You’re such a fancy dancer
You’ve got such flash and class
Out on the floor

You never stoop to shake it
With someone starting out
That’s such a bore!

But don’t you remember
That you were once the one
Doing clumsy steps?

Now when the clumsy stumblers
Gain their gliding grace
You don’t dance with them

It’s not a joke
It’s not a joke
A whisper in the air
Is starting to grow

When the whisper grows
Through a cloud of smoke
It seems to say
What you’ve always known

Once upon a time
You saw dancers you admired
They were beautiful

You tried to get it right
You practiced every night
In your little room

Then one magic night
You hit your heaven’s high
In a big dance hall

The best dancers danced with you
You joined their special few
And you’d top them all!

It’s not a joke
It’s not a joke
A whisper in your mind
Is starting to grow

When the whisper grows
Through a cloud of smoke
It seems to say
What you’ve always known

Faces full of voices
A mirror in the sky
A teardrop
And a windy moan

The soul of someone singing
A plot behind a smile
Fierce glances
At another’s clothes

A thirst for something gentle
A thistle in a kiss
Insistence
On your difference

Dancers like an ocean
Music big as love
And laughter
With ev’rybody else

It’s not a joke
It’s not a joke
A whisper in the wind
Is starting to grow

When the whisper grows
Through a cloud of smoke
It seems to say
What you’ve always known

.

Let Go

The boss called me in his office
Told me to sit down
I sat and looked right at him
His eyes kept flashing around

He said “We’ve got to let you go
The firm is cutting back”
I can’t really remember
What he said after that

I did not knock him out
I did not jump and shout
I just walked on out

I called up my girl friend
Hoo-ooo-hoo-ooo-hoo!
But a man who’s got no job
Is not at all her type

She said “This just isn’t working
We’re on different paths
You do too much moody brooding
And I’m not into that!”

I did not beg and moan
I did not throw my phone
I just let her go

Collecting unemployment checks
Drinking cheap beer with friends
I just wrote a bunch of poems
It's gotta be my best batch yet

Sending out my resume
Only got a callback once
I can extend my benefits
For just a few more months

I only eat at home
I always sleep alone
I can’t pay off my loans
But I still got a phone
And I still write my poems
My mind is still my own



.