Compliment?

You are a treat
To a poet in heat.

Longing

I love watching
the winter evening
cuddle up to you.

Too bad
it must leave me
out in the cold.

She's The One

You will find her
on the other side of a sunny day,
tucked away in a greenhouse,
pickling her thoughts,
giving highbrow its bad name.

Let Down

They said she would bloom:
She ballooned.

Cause

His love for
her rises
in the morning,
travels up his knees,
and lasts almost a minute.

Effect

she rides (with) the siloviki
masking thinly her
cold hatred of all things
not lorded over.

beasts of her burden
and slaves to her form
line the streets
and pretend they don't.

Point Of View

love is
silent,
furious
and jaded.

it can be found
in the news
and on the streets.

it sounds
like a stifled cry
and answers to any name.

She Says

Let's just say
that the magazines he reads
are self-help books
featuring really pretty women.

He Says

In the end,
it figures,
the greatest threat to mankind
is premature balding.

A Dream

It was a mossy evening
and we could all but hold
cold, grey, bitter hands.

It was a windless moment,
and the one fort did,
as only lonely forts can,
nothing but look away.

Us

You are
a female assumption:
describing vaguely
an obvious could-have-been.

I am
a father's memory:
regretting once
the seven certainties.

Never Paperback

Never
paperback,
folk-lore,
or even a parcel wrapped in brown paper.

Mostly
the corner seat
in an empty cinema hall,
or a midnight deal
at twice the going rate.

Always
another day
of fierce living.

In A Doll's House

Forks to the left of me,
knives and spoons to the right,
I accept your invitation
with grace and gumption,
and declare this party begun.

I sip a sweet-smelling phrase
and roll it over my tongue.

"In you flows,
like this fine wine,
the milk of human kindness."

"The Ribeye Ettouffee
is an inspired choice
for the evening,"

"You really must spoil me,
with a second portion of your
what-did-you-say-it-was pudding."

It sounds right.

Beyond this temple of the bitch-goddess
I have no use for my cuff-links
Nor you for your coasters.

Good Food Guide

Early to bread,
Early to rice,
Makes a man fat.

R.E.M.

We recur
in time's libidinous dreams,
rehearsing from dog-eared scripts:
a simple plot in legible hand.

Hawaiian Shack

Dionysus,
Set your poison
Racing through my veins
and let it find its way
to that secret harem
of Kohl-lined eyes
scouting for tonight's worthy lover.

A Prayer (For Sandy, Avi, Kinny & Me)

Our keepers in heaven,
grant us the exclusive rights
to spew unlimited venom
on your limited-edition world.

Leash

You slam a 'do-not-enter' in my face.
It locks me out, licks its paws, and purrs.

I pray for it to sway in silence,
from thought to clement second thought.

The room is full of your perfumed arrogance.

Newspaper in hand, I wriggle
under my seat belt of etiquette,
and glance furtively at the weather forecast.

By Chance

Will we meet,
Like we parted,
By chance?

Performance

The time was right. I swore unconditional loyalty and a few other things. The dog, he was pleased. He was a patron and knew my price.

A Wish

Haves & Have-Nots

Opinion

A society kitten
Smitten by gross
Prose said to him:
Jim, your clever
Endeavour to write
Might never be
me but always you.