Elf 4

Dine with the elf
Sitting cross-legged by the fire
Cold stone floor
Bowl of steamed ancient mixture
He speaks with his hands
Wants to be understood
Communicates a wayward time
Flying devils and master swords
Now weariness creeps in
Heaviness of the world
Laughed at
Not taken seriously, perhaps
On exhibit
Like all creatures he longs for love
Finds it in bits and pieces
Gives it with false starts in luxuriousness

Elf 3

Do we not want to comfort the elf?
In all his otherworld glory
With his open stance
Elegant limp that he nurses so well
Forbidden and secret skills
The call of the elf and all his kind
At the edge of our world
Sings to us, unending
In myth
Living among them
Separate from them
With us, without us
Brushing against them
Entreating them to stop
Invitations to our world
Stay
Originate in schism, fright, consort

Elf 2

The elf goes here and there
Belongs nowhere
Wants to visit the highlands
But is held low
He walks with a limp
Stands apart from the others
Is a layered onion
Complicated
Arrow ears
He rages at others in his tribe
Thinks it unfair they have what he wants
A challenge being a limping elf
Self pity
Open harness
His powers intermittently strong
Visit with the elf
Give him more than listening
Allow him room to draw pictures
Of might and woe
Take him into your moss-covered lodge and
Keep him warm

Elf

Cold mist brings
Warm elf
Magical and half human
His eyes glisten with
Spilled dreams
His face trying to smile
He cannot
He sprinkles his sparkle dust
Takes us to forbidden lakes
An openness rare
Desirable
A powerful drug
He is hurting
Abandoned by his clan
His health failing on this side
He longs to be taken back to where he came from
But isn't there a piece of him that wants to stay?

The Point

Wondering what the point of it is
As if there needs to be one
There must be meaning
Unacceptable otherwise
Strive for that epiphany
Achieve the reason
Get the point
After having gotten to the point
And then point it out
Enter Harry's Pointless Forest
Discover that everything has one
Retreat into your lost existential world
Ruled by atheists
Avoiding it at all costs

Double Jack Coke at 8:15

Eight fifteen in the morning, eating crummy eggs at airport bar. Guy to the left of me orders a double Jack Coke while a hefty man on my right downs a shot of tequila and a tall beer, courage for their flights or the latest of all night drinking binge. I pull a long human hair from my omelet and consider my orange juice and coffee and feel small, facing a five-hour flight and free alcohol that seems, at this hour, like a long ride to salvation.

Diving Lady

The lady at the Starlite Motel is always diving, with unchanged Olympic form, perpetually clad in her alluring green one-piece strapless bathing suit, welcoming all comers to join her in the cool blue pool, challenging us, beckoning everyone to give her a try, as if she is the only woman in the world, desirable, haunting, a siren to our weariness, wet and wrinkled and sun drenched, asking only to be seen and admired, never loved.

Plane

Unfriendly flight attendant
Germ-laden seat pocket magazine
Expensive drinks
Unhealthy snacks
Seat belts
Seats that don't recline far enough
Seats that recline too far
Lines at the bathroom
Crying babies
Fat people
Turn off electronics

If Wishes Were Fishes

If wishes were fishes
Or cupcakes
Or mail
I'd own an aquarium
As big as a whale
I'd heat up an oven
And pour drops of batter
To cook up some treats
That will fill up ten platters
I'd write eighteen letters
And order some gifts
So letters would fall from the sky in big drifts
If wishes were fishes
I'd spear some sardines
And wish for more time
With you and cuisine

Ode to the Unwitting

The ode to the unwitting
Rings out and
Hits too close to home
So much gets done
But no difference made
The click ticks and
Suddenly
You're on the other side
Cold in here
Now too warm
A blade of grass pushes up
Squints at the sun
Eaten by a dog
Is it really too late for
Meaningful change?

Balance

Is it really a ridiculous idea
That change is easy or attainable?
That a door closes and stays closed
And there's no need to turn around
No temptation or relapse
Why go through it anyway?
Where is the balance if you can't
Turn off the switch
Or if there's something to take its place
At that moment
What do you do at that moment
The moment
And never being able to get enough of
Whatever it is
More is never the answer
A very convincing emotion
Strive for chemical balance
Feel-good chemicals
Quick, access the pleasure center
Or close the door
And lock it

Musical Chairs

They change seats after each course
New perspective on the meal
Segmenting it into sessions
Seeing the room, the tastes, the service from a
Different point of view
Please don't mind us
We've been doing this forever
Or at least since this appetizer

Watching Shadows

I need to know the time but don't want to be rude. Must pay attention. This is important. Things on the line. Watch glancing is in poor form. What are the ways of checking my watch without looking as if I'm checking my watch? Sneak a look? Too obvious. Stuck watching shadows.

Cello

I ask the driver what kind of music he likes. Says he grew up listening to classical music. Play some, I say, not asking please. He pushes a button on the radio and ushers in a deep mournful Bach cello solo into the car. We head into New York, the buildings bright against the clear dark March sky, then into the Holland Tunnel, the cello pushing faster, climbing scales through rising static, the composer and artist pining for lost loves as we are delivered to humanity.

Unfinished

Unfinished book rests
Waiting on a shelf
A file deep inside a computer
Untended
Tethered to nothing
Addressed only in passing
Returned to now and again
Like an occasional illness of
Stillborn proportions
Its potential is unlimited and
Unknown
Something or nothing
Unfinished, unadorned, unloved

Blue Car

Oh
Blue car in front of me
Slow
Intemperate
Irritating
Tasking me with snailness
I stab at thee with your slow idiocy
Oh, you blue car
You bring death to my eyes
You slow piece of gum
You devil in metal
You mechanized spike
My life drains away at you
Staying close to the speed limit
May you rust in hell

The Onion Man

The onion man
Walks the countryside
Searching for children
Who need to be sautéed
Made savory
The onion man
Takes no prisoners
Disrobes to reveal
Fresh skin
Come with me
Let's cook

Hidden Microphone

Three generations ride in the car
A long absent Russian
Voice deep from cigarettes, frozen, ironic
Knowing, but forgetting
Herded by his angelic wife
Gentle, small, kept, kind as the sun
Both of them discussing the rainstorm
Getting lost
And not risking a glance at show tickets, lest they get wet
With them, cajoling, their oldest son
Ever single, hat maker, piano man
Pushing their voices toward a hidden microphone
Ready with questions to capture answers
Unaware his will be as cherished
We listen to them through bands time
Years brought forth
The last of the clan contemplative
As ready as he will ever be
Focusing on sound quality rather than spirit
Lonely, generous, loving
Wallet proudly in front pocket
Happy with leftovers for tomorrow's dinner
I drive them over worked roads
Aware of the moment's significance
Basking in its myth
Joining them, slowly
Marching shoulder to shoulder into time

Thinking About Thinking About You

I want to start this poem saying
The last time I saw you
But I've already started a poem that way
But those words stick in my brain
Like a song that won't go away
If only I knew who you are or were
Who is the you in you?
And when was the last time I saw you?
It would certainly be good to know
Provide context
Instead, my mind latches on to the last time I saw you
And so it goes
Thinking about you
Thinking about thinking about you
Someone I may or not know
But somewhere, I do
Somewhere, I'm thinking about the last time I saw you
It's memorable
Over and over
Obsessed by it
Or so I'm told

Where Time Forms Its Own Time

The lights come down
Slammed into a screen
Grabbed by the throat
Suffocating
A man floats over traffic
Another begs for justice
Images of the city tell a story
A bomb in a car waits to explode
We're pulled into other worlds
Fantastic realms where
Time stands still
Or time forms its own time
We suspend belief
Learn about ourselves