early memory
first crush
girl next door
— Ginger —
locks my mom
(carrying laundry)
out of our sunroom
(my adoring wonderment
at her bratty defiance
as I gaze from without)
mom miraculously
behind her
(out the gate
through the front door
up the stairs)
…
righteous spankings
(meted out to her)
-
Portentous Hussies
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How absurd!
The notion someone would enjoy
pushing a boulder for eternity:
I was dismayed at first,
then railed against it;
after so many years
rolling it around in my mind,
I find it a worthy opponent.
Now I dance with glee
anticipating my coup de grâce
indefinitelyDamn You, Camus!
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Forgive me.
When I drove you home,
the peach fuzz on your dimples,
your lithe limbs fresh from practice,
your grecian forehead,
your long curly hair,
your quiet, earnest soul
made a lobster of me
caught boiling in my own blood.
I tried to hide it.
I felt the flames of my religion
melting away from me.
And the most cowardly sin
I may have ever done
is to ham-handedly deny
your tender and innocent maidenhood
undid me.Reckoning
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Exhaling
silently whistling
blithe as a tea kettle
steaming before it screams
nursed by her ribs
tender as a kitten’s underbelly
never looking up
smiling into her smartphone
as if she knew
as the smoke blewVaped
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-
for
my brief
flickering flame
soliciting
stars
I
thank youVotive
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In the rosebud, glory remains
sun and rain, sun and rain
this, the gardener’s refrain
sun and rain, sun and rain
this, the gardener’s refrain
sun and rain, sun and rainMille-fleuille
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“goodBye!” — she cried
“goodBye!” — sakes alive
“goodBye!” — innocent joy
love
earnest pleasure
in the plain fact
The way “God” encapsulates
the entire universe
Why — just a little girl
and I thrilled
at the warbling that
entreatingly woke me
so many mornings
until, rushing to the window,
I blinked to find
a young girl held
upon a second story sill
the whole window retracted
her whole body dangling
waving her father goodbye
So did the months go
those mornings
punctuated by
heart-piercing hoorahs
in the shape of “Goodbye”
in the shape of a girl
I must see it again
I thought
and raced to the window
and started to see
some older woman there
peaking out and waving fondly
“goodBye!” still rang out
“goodBye!” rained joy
"goodBye!" the triumph of simple love
her father escorting her awaySweet Exuberance
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I choose you
my only
my, what piercing eyes
what Glorious
incineration
my last visionVeiled Goddess
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Your blue shoes
with squat, square knob heels
Your calves
The backs of your thighs
Your denim jacket
The sheer waves of your brunette hair
Your over-the-shoulder glance
Your upturned nose
Your chortle
Your shepherding your dog pastThe Look Over
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Whenever you gaze at me
I don’t show it,
but my clear lake ripples
I yearn for you
but hold back
and secretly I scheme
If I could make you see
how lovely you are
then you might become foolish
enough to kiss me
I could turn you into a Narcisa,
the way we fondly gaze
at one another,
and then hold you fast
I honestly reveal your beauty,
but on closer inspection
you realize my cheap amalgam
I confess there are others
whose prettiness I’ve winked at
You feel betrayed by your vanity
I'm stunned by your ravishing exit
The bounty of your presence was always true
I remain, a picture of hollowness,
my silver tongue calling after you
only to be tantalized by echoes
of remembranceReflections of a Mirror
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