A DREAM SO HEAVY IT WOKE THE CAT
I cried my bedroom door shut,
Then flung onto the bed.
The cat meowed up to my loneliness.
Blankets curled up
across me, and the sun turned off.
I remember how your car laughed
down the street, and when the Stadium
loomed we all heard the music
and saw the blue and paper white
uniforms of the band.
And how the car was silent
after the game. You were upset.
Defeat had weakened our laughter,
and I forgot my promise
to be nice.
so you let me off first.
9-29-89
There is a mathematical equation the describes the starting points for lines in my freeverse poetry, but I forgot to bring it along and thus, alas, cannot put it here for your reading pleasure.
Freeverse, by the by, is meant to be read aloud in the same way prose is, with little or no emphasis on the line breaks. The line breaks are only fully appreciated by the visual poetry reader.
And people wonder why I prefer to read iam. Sheesh.
HORIZON POEM WITH THE HAZEN JAZZ ENSEMBLE
This morning should be entitled
Made In Japan. Empty
voices in the sharp morning
flow through the washed dawn.
I am thinking about him.
His blue seamless eyes and cold
hand, which warmed in mine;
The Pay 'N Save laughter;
The Kodak smile.
I cried when he left.
This morning I forgot him
for a moment
and smiled.
5-21-90
LOVE LETTERS AND DRIFTING PINK HEARTS
Listening to the Jazz Choir
practicing, chuckling at James' joke
about the three explorers and the canoe,
I struggle to find the perfect
band uniform
for a freshman who appeared out of the wall
to demand a fitting.
The hardest part is the cummerbund,
None have ever fit, but the student
will not listen.
James says goodbye,
And I smile a farewell.
Sighing, I wait for the bell
And wonder where
the freshman in me
has gone.
LIVING IN THE MEGASCOPIC WORLD
What I hate about cartoons
is the politics.
As I pound down the stairs
on my way to math,
Gravity hits me in the back
and shouts, "Don't smile,
it will hurt your face."
And I stumble to my locker.
When I open the door
Color stabs my eyes
and cries, "Black and white
is reality."
So I grope to class
but Emotion trips me
and whispers
"You never said goodbye."
SELF PORTRAIT
There is only one more sheet of notebook paper
in my folder. When I opened
the pages is quivered in an abstruse
spasm. I think it did not want
to be wasted.
The black medium point pen hovered for a full
moment, then swift lines
pushed down the cold page.
When I finished, I folded the picture,
and carefully passed it on.
You laughed when
you saw the picture
of yourself.
WRITING IN MY JOURNAL
AFTER OUR LAST FIGHT
Silver beliefs
transmute into
raisin thoughts.
The sun is clear.
The lake is bright.
Rancor is only a word,
but is describes his face.
I cried dry tears to my pencil -
my pencil did not reply.
POEM WRITTEN ON A GREASE-STAINED MCDONALD'S WRAPPER
THAT WAS THROWN AWAY AFTER DINNER
I love eggnog shakes
mixed in five seconds,
With McDonald's fries,
A joking Christmas
Insult, and carols sung out of tune.
Tomorrow
I will visit you again,
Not because I love you, but because
Going away is like black window shades
on a snowy day.
Forget the words I left so carelessly
On your front porch,
Remember the time
You convinced me you were a good driver
Only to get a ticket three blocks
Up from the school.
This is another Double-Meaning poem. Read the first letter of each line down, if you haven't already gotten it. Fifty points if you can name the other Double-Meaning poems in this collection.