PAST
Once
the demand for roller skating
was so high
that buildings were erected
by the thousands
all across the land
just so people
could ride around in circles
talking to each other
over the din of terrible music
washed in alternating
colored lights.
LOVE LETTERS
Like it or not
I predict
this new decade
will birth a record number
of relationships
occurring
between a hopeless romantic
down in the dumps
and a fictional character
using the internet
to perpetuate a cruel hoax.
CANDLE
The light from a basement window
as seen from the street
past two AM
can mean many things
my favorite of which
is that someone is fast at work
changing a life that once was
into a life that might soon be.
LINES
The last number dialed
on a public telephone
in the United States
went through at 8:47pm Eastern Standard Time.
A man name Willard,
whom everyone teased as “Willy”
rang his wife
to let her know
he wouldn’t be returning
on this
or any evening
He’d had enough
of her,
her parents,
her constant badgering
and the way she’d tricked him
into such a commitment.
He went on
to describe at length
his fear and mistrust of the government,
his dislike of psychotherapists
and his concerns
that pharmaceutical companies
were controlling the masses.
His quarter ran out halfway through
a pre-rehearsed speech
about fluoride in the drinking water.
She wasn’t there to receive the message.
SKINNED
Strange
that we associate being naked
with being vulnerable.
Every time I’ve seen it happen
the naked person
is the most powerful one
in the entire room.
GRADED
How do they decide
what information
is worth knowing
and what isn’t?
Like why is the monarch
the only type of butterfly I can name?
And when did I even learn that one?
CLARITY
She sits by her window
day after day
plotting points
on a path
to become as well-liked
as a photograph
of an important event
she never attended.
NEW FRIENDS
When you meet someone
nicer on accident
than you could ever be on purpose
does it make you
angry
at how naturally they inspire
or does it inspire you
without you knowing
and leave you
(a few hours, a few days)
better off?
GOLDEN YEARS
More grandparents should go on spoken word tours
set out in camper vans
and hit the circuit
with 30 minute sets
about how life used to be,
the old country,
and how to best enjoy your time
on earth.
Save for the slow driving
this could be a good initiative
and sounds
to me
much more robust than
retirement.
TEST
If a rope lowered from the sky
held by the hand of no one
tied to nothing you could see
just floating
in front of you
all the way up to the clouds…
Would you climb it?
EXPLANATION
Q: “Dad, how come angels halos
stay floating above their heads
even when they move around?”
A: “Magnets.”
Q: “Angels heads are magnetic?”
A: “Yes.”
HOPPING
In the days you spent naked
drinking on the freight train
swimming in the creek
playing drums made of buckets
the government came to some decisions
it turns out you were right
about almost everything.
There’s still a lot of details to work out
and much to be repealed
but it’s going to get a lot better now
So thanks are in order.
“Congrats.”
ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
In the airport gift shop
waiting for a plane
a girl says to her mother
“Aww man.”
“What?” her mother replies.
“I thought I found Waldo,
but it was just an African American Waldo instead”
“Well… That’s okay.” Says the mother.
“No” Says the daughter
“That’s not the real Waldo.”