Microcosms of forest (2020)

sleeping in my arms, my children 

once

held me highest 

going down the slide together

holding hands not just to cross the street

staring

endlessly into one 

another's eyes. every night

i told each daughter

a new story as they grew

and their hair shined. 

boxes cannot contain their art,

the world is too small.

our microcosm

remains, as a water bear,

in glacial retreat

toward the starry ocean. 

my heart has no crass excuse

other than to 

pump the sun into a nice warm ball

which we roll, roll,

roll and laughing chase..

 2020 

Portland 

Glutton of thrift hits the poor pantry, again

 Cue up, it's free food, mind your elbows 

So what you retired 15 years ago 

Drawing a pork pension with a fine nib 

Wheel the hamper another foot 

The line shortens as the desperate and 

The greedy compete 

The lettuce not wilted rather overstocked 

The deli pesto, potato salad, get the last one before the woman on crutches snatch it 

It a dog eat dog open to all hand out 

You can always feed it to dog 

It insulates the fridge the past due dates make you feel younger each day 

You can afford some splurge 

Having grabbed lunch meat at the poor's pantry  

It buttresses some delusion in being thrifty 

When you're grifty 

Step on the scale the 195 tale 

Five foot hum the heart as fit as a plum 

Call a plumber, snake life first 

Oh look a six pound bratwurst 

When life's a bowl of cherries 

Swallow the pits after grinding them with molars 

What canary? I don't see your canary? 

The quizzical face barely fits in the feathers, the sticker stuck to the tonsils 

No one notices, it burps indiscrete 

Karp Brown, sic

  

Krap Brown, that's how it coats my town 

Dog food chinese takeout slick

It used to be pretty, our city 

Look the sepia tableau sings feet up in front simon cowell  

As three lick the geriatric hooves  tootsies

Simon basks in the champagne glass shattering acapella 

They throw bits of leftover chicken 

As a reward, threw stars and a mildew spray commercial 

Krap Brown, it's beneath layers the rotten frame 

The peeled off lead went to head 

To ever rest easy ever makes one queasy 

The routine audition for the mothballs fame  

I could fit in it back when a bungalow had zippers to hoarding restrain 

Klepto tendencies stick it to the man Krap mantra claim 

Dragging this home you can put it in shed 

With xmas display in may and halloween year round  

A baby doll demented rides shotgun in their economy mobile 

Bags of shit stolen to feed weeds  

Make Brownie a heck of a ill noise plant 

Turning port land Krap Brown 

It's tea stir it well feed manure to sewer 

High as a vulture singing everyone got talent 

Krap excels in expulsion, steep

Just don't step in the well studied map  

The Karp clean what falls into the wishing mini pond 

I wish the harpy'd retired from stalking anything that moves  

 

Weather it (2018)

  

day before blusterday

up at 7

at work at 9, for 8 hours

working hard,

20 feet up a ladder

under the eaves

over the rose thorns

get on the bus back home

hey, dad! my sweet 16

surprises me

there by Reed College

there where i had the key

to the kingmaker's place

for months and months during that fall

of mothball sequestration

day before hester prynne

hid in the split rock

and came back from 6 years

raised by the Indians

who done in her maw

winners don't get sidetracked

get home with most of paycheck,

storm door blowing

glass shards of sound across the

extinct or dormant volcano

wham

wham

the notes all ignored, the music bad.

working hard at good energy

as hippies say

as parents say

as teachers say, to hustlers cons& chameleons.

finally in my room, my space

slam slam wham

shhh it's "home"

landing her grocery

cans of soup on the counter

like an enraged wide body airplane out of diesel,

bumping down hard

oh me oh my O's

about being at the DMV

"all the dew doh day"

having a hissy fit,

putting all peace on men

on pause, the most minstrel

lost-partum kindness.

Lil' OrFun granny

dressed up for Vegas Warbucks,

her whipped boy

with the fat wallet.

LOSER, "little bitch"

tickles the funny bone just in time

to scum the film off this filthy soup.

thank good nest

thank still water

thank you mom and dad

thank you 3 mountains

we can weather It. 

 

 

2018

SE Portland, Tabor