charcoal night
hues of red
the voices meet
on Memorial Road
droplets of rainwater
cling, on jet-black
strands of wind-blown hair
synchronizing, tweeting
voices like a foghorn,
travel through autumn air
walking stance in poetic mode
voices break, flow on Memorial Road
silent benches,
damp maples,
prepare to shut their eyes
CONNECT eye to eye
but STRUGGLE to say good-bye
crisscossed pathways
met, halfway
HOLD
the current of this moment
like a ballpoint pen
between tip and thumb
electric free-spirits
attached, yet apart
Memorialize bodies
Unmemorialized souls
on Memorial Road.
First
I nearly don’t remember you at all but
Here was the place
My first time, yours too
Things you lose: your patience your temper your heart your mind your car keys
Lose your way lose ground lose an advantage lose control
Did we lose our innocence? It’s a silly thought
We were tough smart kids before, tough smart kids after
Although maybe a little bit softer
I was softer, after
And anyway, technically nothing was lost that night
It was just an intimate physical clinical experiment gone slightly awry
All over my thigh, and
I nearly don’t remember you at all
Or that night either, except for the pin-wheeling stars
Straight-backed trees a stern wall of witnesses behind
Warm wet wooden planks under my shoulder blades
Cool slapping water, and murky water smells
Conscious that I smelled like the deep-fat fryer I slaved over every day that summer
But you?
I nearly don’t remember you at all
You were skinny and blond and you talked about rugby and bored me to death
You said you hated my town. I hated my town too
You tasted like beer and tobacco, which was exciting
I was pretty sure you were sophisticated
I thought you were cute, but I can’t remember your face as well as I can remember
the spirals of the stars,
the straightness of the trees
When you’re young you’ve got nothing to lose,
when you’re not, you’ve got everything to lose
Somewhere in the world right now, like me, you’re not young
Are you fat? Prosperous, happy, divorced, bereaved?
Burdened by stresses we couldn’t imagine
when we were young together on a night
so fat with the future it felt like Too Much?
Ready to live it all, have it all,
innocent before and after, in the way tough smart kids are innocent,
we didn’t know the risk, that everything we live and have can be lost.
I don’t think about that night often, or really ever,
And I nearly don’t remember you at all
but that being said, I’m thinking about it now
and although your form is dim
your name carelessly lost like car keys,
I would just like to say that I am thinking of you with enough tenderness
for the skinny boy you were
the man you may have become
and the losses you may have suffered along the way
that I can almost say, at long last
although I nearly don’t remember you at all,
I kind of love you
Mud Bay
Walk slow on the path as if you’re treading water.
Swaying your arms front to side
Treading the air
The tips of your fingers brushing the edge of bushes.
Floating down the path
You pass the train tracks.
Listening to the leaves
crashing against the current of the wind
You breathe in the sea salt
And sink into the layers of mud.
To the sea
Ask for directions to the dock
Question your whereabouts and backtrack a bit
Question your decision
Look calm
Wish for Gravol but take Ibuprofen instead
Look calm
Stand alone together
Check your reason for being there with some new arrivals
Pet the dog when he jumps off the boat
Act calm
Escape Event
(1) Water runs freely and creates deep,
crystal clear pools.
(2) Great spruce trees and pines stretch to the sky
and grow lush and green.
(3) Stop…and listen.
(4) Listen to the water as it trickles over the stones;
Listen to the roars of distant waterfalls as they make
their presence known.
(5) Stop…and smell.
(6) Smell the subtle yet familiar scents of
the great Red Cedars, the Sitka Spruces, the Western Hemlocks,
and the Douglas-firs.
(7) Stop…and feel.
(8) Feel Mother Earth’s embrace;
let the warmth of the sun invite you,
let the headiness of all the scents entice you,
let the waters give you a sense of calm,
let the trees take you back home.
(9) Stop…and just be.
(10) Escape from the concrete jungle
if only for a moment.
Escape from the maddening crowd,
if only for a while,
And just be.
Sweden Way
- Scan the lot, move decisively for your parking spot
- get to the restaurant for free coffee before opening
- go to the market floor, ignore the showroom
- stop, do you need that cheese grater? Remember what you came for
- follow the lights projected onto the floor
- ignore the framed pop art, everyone will have it and you don’t want them thinking you shop at IKEA
- use the self-service line, it’s faster
In Need
Undress
Put on a long t-shirt
Pull the covers back
Slid onto bed
Pull covers up
Wiggle until perfectly comfortable
Relax
Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Event Poem: School Day
Open the door-no, don’t-take a deep breath first.
Now, open the door.
Walk through the corridor pretending making eye contact and saying ‘hi’ to strangers are in your inner nature.
Turn the lock to the right twice, to the left once, to the right once more.
Open the locker door-no, don’t-remove the lock first.
Now, open the locker door.
Put your hurley backpack making sure the logo is facing outwards.
Get your stuff, walk to your classroom, again playing the pretend game.
Open the door-no, don’t-take a deep breath first.
Now, open the door.
Go with Fire
1.Transform what has been seen.
2.Break the silence.
3.Risk yourself.
4.Find radiance.
5.Ready yourself for scorn.
6.Embrace difficulty.
7.Work hard.
8.Find the language.
9.Turn despair into beauty.
10.Write.
Event Poem
Listen to the diagnosis but do not lose your shit in front of him, stay strong
Hope he can meditate those white cells into compliance
Feed him organic, why not?
Nuke him, chemo him, radiate the shit out of him but don’t forget to stay positive
Don’t upset people with your doom and gloom and surtout, do not mention death, it makes everyone soooooo uncomfortable
Ok docs, even though he’s terminal, aspirate that fucking blood clot out of his artery; please he has two little girls
Hold his wife up, wipe her snot, grief is so messy; better to be hit by a truck?
Do not worry about getting him to walk again for the rest of his life, it is not going to happen
Dope him up, make him comfortable so he can get his affairs in order, help him write farewell letters to his girls
Take his pulse and remove the tubes, close his eyes, call everyone, it is time to gather and bid a life farewell