MATADOR
What would you rather do
late on a Sunday afternoon
than posture under the white sun?
Would you sit nude on a balcony
with a glass of chilled Asturias
your gaze falling on the Gypsy
dancing girl with dangerous eyes
and twirling red skirt?
Would her knowing leer
call out to your bloodstream
in a hail of castanets punctuations--
with practiced gliding of style
seducing you away from the arena? (is this ?)
Would brass ensembles blare fanfares
in double time to the twirl of
picador's purple capes--
or to fevered multitudes beyond patience,
calling you to one more glimpse of
postured bravado at your grand entree?
Like a stoic philosopher of old
brute patience of the bull waits
the stinging urge of darts
you're tugged to and fro
by the war between Ought and Must
late on a Sunday afternoon.
NIGHT TRAIN EXPRESS
Long low mourns
of nighttime
train whistle
far and away
from Port St. Jake
night echoes
burrowing into
further dark
dank river valleys
a far piece
down the track
and switchin yards
not yet known
or seen outside
mind pictures
fueled up by
wonderworkin wine.
IT'S GOVERNANCE
The talk shows and smart-assed
shock jockeys
and superstars
from think tanks
who give good style
and one-liners
and put-downs
glibbing into all
the metro areas
from the safety
of padded studios
concertina wire
embracing the
safe areas like
a belt tightened
by methane gas
swelling in the guts
and mobs of citizens
outside the gated
communities swell
swell larger and more
screaming at the lights
"Do the right thing
motherfuckers!"
Too late
tone deaf
signing off.
I went thru childhood thinking something was the matter with me, but I didn't know what. Convinced I was insane, I decided to fool the world by faking a sane exterior, trying out dignified poses in front of a mirror, and jotting down my mad thoughts in secret.
I then discovered that I was distantly related to Lord Byron, so I began reading his poems and trying to imitate them. I even grew to look like pictures of him.
I didn't publish any poems till I was well into my 40s, but since then have published four books, and have appeared in small magazines and anthologies around the world. |
