Upon the advice of the sage
Who under–valued himself
I followed my instincts
to my grandparents’ graves
The largest orange ball I ever saw
lingered, staring, sunsetless on the horizon
I found myself in a vast tundra
snow anonymizing the headstones
and realized I would never find them
I found myself amid the shrubbery
Gazing at a statue
Some ode to summer
I first thought of Daphne
the cruel beckoning of innocence
Her regal repose, fully human
rump reclining atop a vined column
a jump–rope of flora in her hands
changed all that
I thought of Fragonard
Where snow buries graves
Here, it was petals of the season
accentuating her flowers
As white stone escaped
from the black barnacles of time
in spectacular bare shoulders
and graceful arms
Oh, gorgeous stomach
Oh, flowing, robust curves
Oh, folds, enfold me in every part
Oh, neck, throbbing with life
whose pronounced crook
speaks the truth
take me
Month: January 2010
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Walking from home to ??, I come into a neighbor’s yard. There’s a pleasant, blond, young mother and a couple of her children in the yard. Also here are some dressed-up monkeys they are playing with.
The humans’ gestures welcome me to interact with them. I gingerly acquaint myself with the a monkey or two. One of the monkeys bite me. I smart for a second. The mother nonchalantly approaches me.
“That will be $25,” she says. She points to a sign posted on the house.
Monkey Bites Nip $5 Nibble $10 Bite $25 I reluctantly accept this. The mom escorts me across the small yard to a small guest house/office. There, a brunette young lady, perhaps a college student paid a low wage for this job, proceeds to ring up and ask for 25 dollars.
Embarrassed, I dip into my wallet and fish out a 20 and 5. I hand it over.
As I’m leaving the little hut I find myself starting to say “Scam.” The brunette gives me the evil eye. She threatens me.
“Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam,” I repeat, louder and louder.
I feel the neighborhood has been alerted to me. I realize the whole neighborhood is in on it. Little golden-haired boys with large water-pistols petal on their bikes in a desperate attempt to stop me.
“Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam. Scam.”
Biting Monkey Scam
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Went to Rock Creek Park. Took my bike on the metro. It was nice to see the snow on the rocks in the creek. Nice big creek. Good to see dogs off leash and having a good time scampering next to the river. Biked past the police station on Branch Road.
Took a walk next to the river. It was fun to see the animal tracks in the snow. Raccoon tracks? Maybe just squirrel tracks. Larger tracks. Maybe just dog tracks. Then the tracks went onto and across a nice big bark-less fallen tree: Raccoon tracks.
Got up the nerve to go onto the tree. I stepped on and proceeded slowly — shuffle, shuffle — half-inch by half-inch. It only felt right until I was dead in the middle. Looked onto the river coming down for a while. Turned, hmm, looks pretty good. Slowly turned and looked at the sun-laden river flowing away from me, various eddies swirling near and further down stream. Nice.
Then I knew the moment had passed and the journey was over. Took forthright steps off the log.
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I so wanted to give you all the stars in the deep night sky Those stars God’s already given you
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On a lark found myself in that dark secret restaurant no one goes to I’ll take the soup of the day my vain attempt to avoid extravagance And desert to say farewell to another lovely person Yes, I would like fresh ground pepper to give the soup some kick “’O sole mio” belting out into the well–appointed empty room Spinach–lobster soup Hearty and delicate Plenty of bread with which to dip And something in its craftsmanship Some hidden source of quality Slows me I shift gears Look upon the playing of traffic lights refracting through the beveled glass Lose myself gazing at the Christmas light–encircled tree And savor Dip, dip, dip Savor Reflect Gaze Dip Spoon A bit of lightheadedness some garrulous fullness overtakes me This happens on rare occasions unexpectedly in exotic places That restaurant in Quebec when I became giddy I try to talk to the waiter as he is about to remove my bowl Three times I work my mouth before I get the words out Chocolate sauce for the vanilla pudding with raspberries? They accommodate me with a delicate dribble of chocolate syrup over raspberry sauce atop a ridiculously small mound of pudding and four raspberries Still overcome by the soup I wait Allowing more minutes and traffic to pass till I gently approach the plate I carve out one small sliver and Bomb out in its astonishing taste So, time stands still nibble by nibble Each spoonful an era Regaling in the comradery of each wafting aria And cherish every bit What are those sparkling specks? Perhaps some pixie dust laced in it Now, making it a stranger place, My lips start tingling ten seconds after each taste Is this what life is So jam–packed with goodness that each tiny sliver is a world of foolishness? The timeless moment drags on Confound it; I can’t finish this song I’m too full — Not another bite — Please wrap it up and goodnightBellissimo
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