i am leading
a quiet life
but not in mike’s place
this is no shangri-la
i am not sipping
the nectar
of any god
in a semi-transient
state
of sun-burned skin
and parched throat
a bartender-ess
cum mother poet
psychic mediator sister
psychologist
a true jill of all
trades for
minimum wage
plus tips
brings me a beer
and the pool balls
CRACK
together like
bones
so someone walks
in
too much light
squeezes through the
door suddenly
there is too much
smoke in my eyes
maybe i should
leave
go where
stop with all the
questions
3 o’clock
and all’s
drunk
that’s getting
drunk
somebody
i forgot
who
croons
from the jukebox
asking someone
if they’re lonely
tonight
the wooden walls
do not respond
and doesn’t
really
ask
anymore
five women
all wishing
dreaming
that one day
they’ll go
to somewhere
greater
and it almost doesn’t matter
where
they go
just to know
they
won’t
ever
come back
memories don’t always
help
have you ever patched
a hole
in a cement wall
with
papier mache
maybe
i’ll grow a
moustache
youcant
i forgot
biology
i didn’t
really
want one
anyway
i’ve been
thiking
about quitting
smoking
but then smoking
is a dirty habit
and
in all that dirt
i find
sanctuary
and
justification
i feel
they are
just feelings
getpastthem
my mother
told me about
the face
you show others
and
the face
you keep at home
in a jar
by the door
but
i’m not cathy rigby
or was it
kathy scott
all of these
i’m nots
i ask
what am i
occasionally
i wonder
in the morning
when i face
the sun and birds
and fish
i wonder
in the afternoon
when i hide from
the sun
too hot to do
anything
but sweat
and smoke
wondering
in the evening
staring straight into
it
as it goes
down
in a great, bitchfest
of flames and
sad love
sea
why
yes i see
spots
on my sunglasses
that’s what i
see
somewheredowntheway
amanfixessomething
bybangingonit
aboatgoesby
i notice
a bug
in my coffee
theboatgoesbackwards
thendrifts
i take off
my sunglasses
only to notice
i didn’t need
them
after all
i got a
tan
this summer
what else did
i get
amandrawsbackhisnet
itwasempty
i got
a sunrise
all tangerines and
grenadine
i got a headache
jumpstarted by
coffee
and
fueled by
fatigue
i got crazy
no
really crazy
and it wasn’t so bad
it was actually
kinda
relaxing
yes relaxing
like being in the
middle
of a strange place and
having the lights
go out
relaxing
like taking a
shower
in the middle
of the night
at home
alone
on the second floor
hearing noises
downstairs
relaxing
like sitting in
traffic
in the middle of the day
in a car
with
no air conditioning
and nothing to drink
surrounded by
sweating swamps
crying babies
and
bad
loud
county
music
relaxing
this summer
i begged for
change
in a corny
false
English accent
in the French quarter
just to get a
pizza
and slept in my
car
for two hot
nights
and broke bread
across the street
from a movie shoot
with a lesbian
a bald girl
a sleeping boy
and a singing fool
this summer
i was alone
but not
i showered in a
drop-in
and borrowed
eyeliner
from an anarchist on her way to
las Vegas
i sang violent femmes
songs
by the Mississippi
and drank malt liquor
while old men fished
for eels
t his summer i was a waitress
and
i never knew
i could be
so
very
nice
this summer
Ophelia
mycarsee
went on strike
three times
and
was vandalized by
treat Williams
but now
i can change
the oil
check the water
and
burn holes in
the seats with
my cigarettes
this mechanical summer
i’ve been
a thief
a liar
and yes
a magic bean buyer
but nothing grew
from my effort
this godless summer
i have considered
becoming
a nun
becoming
clean and pious
all my questions
answered
this confusing summer
and ye though
i have stumbled
through the valley of
good taste
i have remained
my mother’s wench
at heart
i read
my tea leaves
for mystic signs
you will meet
a tall dark
don’t cross the street
on the even days
in may
burma shave
and so
i keep
shaving
and shaving
and shaving
but the hair
on my legs
keeps
coming back
and i keep changing
and changing
and changing
but
the hair on that
shirt
keeps coming
back
and still i put it on every
morning
i woke up today
to find an
un-colored sky
not blue
not gray
but each
canceling and
controlling the other
i had
such
a dream last night
i forgot
where
i was
went driving
looked for a
sign
the grocery store
told me
and
i believed it
COMMENTS
-
Guardian
19:45 Aug 15 2009
I really really like your style!
paxnor
19:57 Aug 15 2009
thank you for taking the time,
i know it's really long...
:)
vamp91
02:58 Sep 13 2009
that was good