Memorial Road

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

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.

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