flying hearts

our love has the limitations of a seating chart
a one way bridge, a closed after eleven park
we've lost that cartoon feeling
where the eyes make flying hearts
can't make a whole from the crooked fingers of its parts

and now for the loneliness

the plants are dying
there's mold on the bread
you've left your dirty dishes
and moved your bed into the shed

the demons are swarming
lights flashing red
angels slouched in the corner
halos fallen off their heads

and now for the loneliness

i didn't sign up for this
the long distance lines
the air mail kisses
the domestication of my school house blisses
te kettle's cracked, the drain pipe hisses

and now for the loneliness

PARADE OF TONGUES

I understand now
the furrow of the brow
the distribution of the weight
the ringing of the towel
the unexpected gem
lurking in the bowels
the tedious digestion
the horny lover's howl

The world is a parade of tongues
searching for their meaning
A midnight maid who's cut corners on her cleaning
A drooling baby frustrated with his teething
A paralyzed wife whose suitcase dreams of leaving

And I'm relaxing within the wounds of time
the gloves slip off and fade
I'm traveling alone
in the ripples of Eve's wake
To ask anything of this world
is the common man's mistake
So I've put out my begging bowl
and left it up to fate

The world is a parade of tongues
searching for their meaning
A midnight maid who's cut corners on her cleaning
A drooling baby frustraated with his teething
A paralyzed wife whose suitcase dreams of leaving

So when we meet again my friend
I'll wear the moment like a dress
and cup the soft shell of your ear
move my lips close and confess
that I've wanted the highest things
the bright lights and golden crests
but I've settled for the wealth of words
and must admit I am blessed!

not coming

i am not coming
the road withdraws its tongue
two separate cities
monitored by a shared sun

i'll sing in your direction
i'll contain my blood
you'll be happy on your island
until the time of flood

i'm retreating into the shadows
into the imprints of the rain
i've stepped foot across the border
and dropped letters from my name

i'm leaving, leaving, leaving again
rotting on the insides
running from the shame

soul opening heights

i wouldn't have made it this far without documentation
pressing the button, reliving the sensation
of your velvet lips and lack of frustrations
with the way of the world and its firm hesitations

i'm blooming in your hands - a spontaneous seed
shooting up from a fistful of dirt like a dandelion weed
the equation of my past life had neglected its needs
confused by its location, dwindling in speed

but i hear the strong call ringing in the halls
the vibrations build and tie their rhythm without pause
the spirits and the guides articulate their humble cause

i'm taken by your cyclone white
and where the light stuck in places
when you left my room that night
i'm mesmerized, watercolor eyed
from the brisk winds of your visitation
from your soul opening heights

paper cranes

you misunderstand the recipe for magic
has no measurements or hits
it is independent of binary patterns
pixel plotted screens or lists

you swipe the fruits from the stand,
chew up the bodies, spit out the pits
they shoot from your mouth
and shrivel up on the pavement

i won't approach it like this
beer in the bed, toxic fits
the overnight leap to justify the twitch
neglecting the soul to flip the instant switch

i know even paper cranes hit and miss
their fragile frames, dodging risk
they've filled the bowl, they've beat the wisk
but you are my healing kit

unveil the chorus

walk to the end of the dock
with your cut off jeans and fishing rod
the high high waters, the tree branch nod
bait the hook, listen for god

i've got a place where we can talk
under the bridge deep in the fog
a quiet place where the city won't bother
a cushioned nook, a welcoming log

it's time to unleash the horses
let the engines in your chest
rev their insides like porsches
these low to the ground operations
have worn out and bored us
untangle the melodies, unveil the chorus!

lightning rod

this churning chasm
this burning, this earth bound spasm
concerning the welfare of your call
i'll blaze a warriors path
abandon my bed, abandon my bath
i'm clear with what i aim to have

will you be my lighting rod?
for these white veins, this flashing fire
'cause i'm coming in from all directions
from the dark corners of the sky

consolidate this crackle and call
these glowing tendrils, electric sprawl
collect my reactions and recall
the sting of my storm with your skybound ball

will you be my lighting rod?
for these white veins, this flashing fire
'cause i'm coming in from all directions
from the dark corners of the sky

and if i am the storm that reaches
the highest light that spreads and teaches
a scattered cloud that seeps and leaches
this matter of time will not defeat us

simon says

simon says
time isn't real
don't waste your life trying to help people feel
like they are something solid instead of spinning their reels
a woman of your kind should stear clear of dark deals

simon says while we're lying in bed girl i can see the energy
flow up in colors around your head
this moment is worth knowing and should be well fed
watch the ingredients come together and rise like bread

then he adjusted his helmet dove from the back of the plane
exited the scene with the same grace with which he came
left me in the cockpit over looking my home state
a new view of the horizon, fields and silver lakes

simon says
don't use my name until the storm of your heart
has subsided and tamed
he would not follow, promise or blame
he just bowed politely and flew away
he just bowed politely and flew away

north, south, east, rest

ended up in car with you
bound for the east coast
i'm sometimes a good listener
but that day i talked the most

about my plastic box of recipes
my time with other men
how i'd like to marry off my knowledge now
with the glow i had back then

take my love to brooklyn
climb to the tallest water tower
fill its bulging frame with flowers

didn't know where you came from
was it the north or the south
couldn't hear over the clammer
of my crazed nutcracker mouth

the sun dipped its fingers
in the water it had found
it reflected off your hair
gave your head a redish crown

you said something about your brothers
that your favorite color's brown
you're heading back to new york city
in the morning you'll take route

take my love to brooklyn
climb to the tallest water tower
fill its bulging frame with flowers
when the smoke coats and dims
the firemen will point their hoses
and instead they'll shoot out roses

didn't know where you came from
was it the north or the south
couldn't hear over the clammer
of my crazed nutcracker mouth

that night i was not invited to the stage
instead i took the back seat
crossed my legs tight and behaved

unfortunate for you it ended up this way
the songs that festered in my throat
were the only thoughts worth saying

take my love to brooklyn. . . .

patterns of flight

these slow, slow bites
of fast, fast food
may be the end of my patronage
for anything good

another meal alone
another blackened night
moths on the bulbs
eating at the light

i still have the coals burning
the melodies and the lines
looping like the coasters
in the fair rides of my mind

and there was something here
something i came back to find
in this turned over card catalog
this puzzling palindrome of mine

i almost believed you
when you said i'd be alright
but baby these wings
have forgotten the patterns of flight

here, here and here

yes i'm too skinny dear
eating time is weightless

in my sleep i float over
to your house of wires
winter profile
leechee eyes
hair crown wild

i am something like a transparent astronaut
i can barely hear the space heater hissing
we would start kissing
------>here
here<---------
-------------->and here
if it weren't for my
nasa fish bowl head
my conflict with gravity
my american flag tattoo
shiney shiney red white blue
white blue blue blue

normally you would start pacing
tell me right now what to do
resume
call backs
give your name
stay on track

but i'm a satellite
just out of your sight
something that warps the light
makes your heard turn
ever so. . . . .

hungry

no i'm not lonely in this one room abbey
apricot paint job
crickette loop

the hair in the drain is mine all mine
wet nest
open dictionary
car rumble
soap shortage
inside
here
the closets half used

clock tower bells attend this
sushi dinner
plastic plastic sticker
wasabi ginger
rice soggy
pick, pick, pick

the streets empty
superbowl sunday
football shaped cakes at the supermarket
i wanted to give you one
white laces
you say
what are you doing with this?
clock tower bells
your moving mouth unaudible
the palm of your right hand expanding in size
your eyes lower
here climb up
i see that you are tired
i'll fold my fingers around you

yes love,
i am still jobless
still
hungry
hungry
hungry

sparrow eyes

keep away
with your spanish charm
your sparrow eyes
your tattoed arms

your candied groin
your rolling 'rs
your yum rum lips
your panting hard

keep back
with your spicy tactics
your licorice hair
your exotic rack

your feathered mattress
your lanterned shack
your rusted chevi
with wolf in back

i'm not the kind
to flutter and greet you
not your red rose lady
nor your mamacita

won't fluff your bed
won't groom and feed you
won't bend my back
to rub and please you

but just this once
i'll let you taste
let you touch
let you take
open the french doors
shed me naked
naughty now
confessions later

leave that there

don't you touch that
leave that there
the eggshell china
the silverware

the oil painting
the knobbled chairs
the furry coats
the minx's stare

you can't bring him
leave him there
his baby grand
his kinked up hair

can't take him with you
beyond repair
his splattered stop watch
his concrete stairs

time is ticking
time's a bear
it runs for office
it runs for mayor
the people gather
the people swear
it promises victories
it says its prayers

gypsy, gypsy
don't stand there
in that quilt of faces
with your tattered layers

the wind is burning
the wind won't share
its itinerary
its predicted fare

so before the paint dries,
the carpets wear
pack your satchel,
your pots and flares

but that heavy piece
leave that there
it's not your time
for walks in pairs

lonely export

she is a lonely export
she is sunburned and leather
she is a misplaced map
he is going down to get her

it's the same tray of circumstances
it's the same unopened letter
it's the moving violation
it's the chronic bed wetter

she's a rambling export
she's moldy cheddar
she's cutting off the lifelines
and threatening to sever

the day they walked the hudson
along the garbage and the feathers
he went home and drew her picture
i thanked the stars he'd met her

he rubbed the buddha's belly
he said they'd be together
she says she left for winter
but he's going down to get her

this is pain, this is pleasure

no you can't see them
in the fog of the dawn
alone on your futon
with your pajamas still on

they are paving your road
they are moving your boulders
carrying your name
on the nape of their shoulders

i know you are lost
i know you are broken
the pac-man machine
rejected your tokens

i know you are stuck
i know you weren't joking
when you said you'd had enough
when your car started smoking

so take this shield,
this song, and soak them
put this kimono on
find the embers and stoke them

there is fire in the lines
of the path you've chosen
melody in the pit of the throat
that's been choking

i know you are lost
i know you are broken
this is pain, this is pleasure
take the time to know them

waiting room

i'm in your waiting room
with the carpet fresh, the daily news
the fish tank, the country blues
trash magazine and raffled cruises

it's tuesday morning
and i skipped school
to pee in a cup
to show you my bruises
where life beat me up
i'm fat lipped and toothless
i'm dried up blood-
a victim of ruthless

i'm under the clock
in a cookie cutter chair
while you're scoping out throats
and brushing back hair
i'm tapping on the clipboard
to fred astair
mam sit right there

the doctor will see you
the doctor will care
his power's unchartable
his medicine rare

but i have yet to see you
you haven't touched or shared
with your alien instruments
with your truth and dare

petals unopened
rash never flared
a waiting room fixture
an unanwered prayer

leave that there

don't you touch that, leave that there
the eggshell china, the silverware
the oil paintings and knobbled chairs
those fuzzy coats, the minx's stare

you can't bring hime leave that there
his baby grand, his kinked up hair
you can't take this beyond repair
it's not your time. .

time is ticking, time's a bear
that runs for office that runs for mayor
the people gather, the people swear
it promises victories, it rewrites your prayes

gypsy, gypsy
don't stand there
in that sea of faces in tattered layers
the wind is burning the wind won't share
it will break you down beyond repair

so before the paint dries, the carpets wear
pack your satchel, your tents and flares
but that heavy piece, leave that there
it's not your time for time in pairs