Monthly Archives: March 2009

I consider going inside the establishment
I am sitting in a chair on the sidewalk
outside of to order a beer and maybe strike up
a conversation. I prefer it outside though.
The chaos underneath the apparent order is rife tonight.
Much goes into the ambiance of bars and cafes,
which for all that decorous effort at creating a
pleasant place to [...]

The neglected billboard;
tears of a faded poster
flapping, casting fluttering
shadows of tatters in the way
of beams from the bright
lamp illuminating paper,
white with faded print,
that seems anciently brittle;
the words on it are barely
legible: 1-800
outreach,
donate your car, free
towing,
help
kids in need.

A stranger saw me naked. I felt
so ashamed I wanted to run
and hide my body in a place
where everyone was blind.
I knew the stranger, not knowing me
or my past, or my heart’s longings, not staying
long enough to listen to me explain myself
would judge me based on nothing
but my nakedness and I feared
that that cold merciless [...]

One can imagine Chopin
at his piano throughout the night
by himself
in some Paris mansion playing
as the last candle
burns away;
playing by moonlight
streaming through a window on a night’s breeze;
playing after the moon had set
and hours still remained
till the sun was to rise;
playing in darkness,
weeping, inventing
passages of assertive strength
and jocund frivolity in response
to the sadness that pervades
every memory
as [...]