Failure is not an option(and neither is a glass of wine.)


ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ SEPT. K POEMS 2009

Mikel,

Your poem, "Moving To Another Box." was beautiful. I am not sure if you knew this...probably not...sorry that Clark or I haven't contacted you sooner...but Clark has inoperable cancer... metastasized throughout the liver...more tests are needed to determine the source...we should know more at the end of the month. Your poem moved me in a very personal way. Thank you so much for sharing your gift.
--Beth


You're so good you scare me. Shit.
--Monkey Girl

"Bad Ass."
--Skeleton Woman

"I don't know why, since I have a short attention span for most poetry, but I love the simple and the real in your verse."
--Ardee



viva la vicodin!!!!
all those days of drinkin and fightin in the streets are catching up with ya,
I suppose...


--Ian M. Shipp




Mikel,

What a lovely gift you give to one from your heart with words that find meaning in all that is mundane. Or, is it all that is surreal and tainted with moments of glory? You are a poet of the highest standard. It flows from you like lava from the ancient mountain that waits it's turn to rise and rejuvenate. It is frightening, exhilarating and reminds us of our ultimate pettiness, lowliness and the creatures that we are. Though I do not know this man for whom you didicate your time and talent, however, I am touched by your generosity of spirit and the words that wrap your gifts with golden ribbon.
--Cathy J.

Mikel,

That's so great! i know what you mean about posting that - sorry to ask so fb blatant and all. Do you know Bill Taft? His wife Lisa is one of the librarians at Grady and Brian Montero is the other librarian. He used to do that Outer Limits show on WRAS. fine people those two. I hope Scout has plenty of interaction with them.

I love your poetry, Mikel it's so refreshing. And what you post about your family is wonderful. As a widowed single mom, I make my daughter Kitty my priority, and it's nice to hear that you do that to. She's a second grader now, so I've got a lot of years to go there.
c


Spot Removal

I wouldn't jump off a cliff.
I won't eat lima beans.
I don't got to church on Sunday.
I'll probably never fall in love, again.

Moving to another box

They have until the fifth of the month
to remove the things that you called yours
from the little box that you called home.
That gives those who loved you seventeen days
to remove your material things.
What will they keep what will they throw away?


You are in a new box, now, they slowly
descended it into the ground, yesterday,
and you are on your way to wherever it
is that you are going, most likely no worries,
about the people and things you left behind.

Failure is not an option

With regard to my writing,
it is not. It simply is not.

Degree

I think that I want to get an MFA in poetry.
This will occur when my daughter graduates from high school,
giving me the needed time to purse the degree.
For a long time, I thought that I might write like
everybody else who has an MFA, if I was to get one myself.
Obviously, I don't think that anymore.

Sing a song

I am often not sure what a singer is singing about,
in their song, but I like the song anyway, and I like
the way that the singer is singing their song, and,
sometimes, I will even sing along to the song, and
someone will always point out that I am singing
the wrong lyrics, but I don't really care.

Funny how what we think is often not reality

She is a very cynical, mean and spiteful,
and she would probably be surprised to hear
me say this about her because she probably thinks
that she is one of the nicest people on the planet.

Roll baby, roll

Sometimes, you can think about it too much
and, then, nothing happens
You just sit and stare at the monitor.
When that happens, I turn on some music,
invoke the music and roll baby, roll.

Hot love and hate of heat

Sweat rolls off of my upper body,
though the day outside is cold.
I am blessed to have heat inside,
heat that is costing me nothing.
I have yet to turn on the heat in
this home.
You know that the utility company hates it.

Awful just awful

I was thinking about it tonight,
and it seems awful that I have not
put away money for my children.
I thought further on it,
and I thought that it seems awful
that I have not put away money for myself.

Remedy

Music alters my mood,
coffee helps me stay even.

Variation on the same theme

She lays on the bed chewing gum
holding her cell phone watching
tv looking bored, very bored.

She is polite, and doesn't say
that I bore her, that it is boring
for a fifteen year old teenager to
hang out with me, but I know the deal;

Like my daughter, I was fifteen once, also.

Stick knives in me and smile

Fragments of me enter me
causing me pain; my body
becoming as bad an enemy
as I've ever had. What
used to be a simple walk
to the grocery store is
now a walk down steps of
torture. The dog doesn't
understand. The bags of
groceries in my hand
don't understand. Death
is not imminent is, I guess,
a blessing.

Intelligence

The man just came home in his smart car.

Let's kibitz

Let's talk about the weather,
talk about whether love is in the air,
the trash has been taken out,
whether the latest book that we are reading
is keeping out attention.

Extinct

You cursed the birds chirping in the morning
after a night of doing blow and ludes.
It doesn't surprise me, I didn't know that birds existed
back when I was getting high.

This bank blows but the day is still beautiful

I just heard a Bank of American commercial, on the Cable TV, that said that Bank of America receives its greatest joy in "helping people." If I had had food in my mouth, I would have spit it out across the room in front of me laughing laughing like a madman on that one. Bank of America is a mean, and greedy, Capitalist Pig Corporation that cares about nothing but taking your money.

After I hear this commercial, I'm on the phone waiting, waiting, waiting for the cable company to put a real person on the line. I have just gone through about a dozen prompts..."press one for this, two for that, seventeen for the other." My high speed internet with them sucks. I am going to tell them that I am going to switch to Clear, and see if that will motivate them to give me a good deal on a faster service. If that doesn't suffice, I will switch to clear and see what the new kid in town has to offer.

I was watching CNN before I got on the phone, and I am really amazed at the number of commercials that I have to watch, in order to get to "the news." They are still force feeding me Michael Jackson stories. Let the guy die will you. Haven't you helped his family sell enough post death cds? Ted Kennedy is dead, too. Did you hear that? Why do I have to pay to have cable, and, then, also they make money selling ads that I have to watch. What a rip off.

But, the day is beautiful. It is my first day back on the porch,at the front of my abode, since the weather changed. The sun is hitting the trees in a magnificent way. My daughter, Scout, just got home from a little after school activity.

Just because a bank wants all your money, and a tv station shows too many commercials, and the cable company makes you wait forever to talk to a real human being does not mean that your day is ruined. It's all in your attitude, baby!!

Sun set

Don't let the sun set
on your aspirations.

Sun rise

The sun is setting somewhere,
but can always be rising for you.

Hot tea instead of a joint to see where the day will take me

I am about to fix a hot tea,
and see where the rest of the day takes me

Pay back

They lit mongooses on fire
and let them run
through the sugar cane fields
in retaliation for dousing their pot
with chemicals from the air.

Lulu

I went to visit my grandson, last night,
and a neat side benefit of seeing Elliot
is that I get to see most of the rest of
my family also.

Gigi was there full of love, not only for
her grandson, but also for me her ex, and
Kevin her ex-husband. She sounded very happy,
and optimistic when she said that she was
going to find a cure for my arthritis,
and Kevin's cluster headaches. Cluster headaches
require miracles that have not yet been sent
from Heaven to be abated when one is unemployed
and does not have insurance. The matter is further
complicated because now that he has lost his job,
when he gets a new one and gets new insurance,
his headaches will be looked upon as a pre-esisting
condition. Ain't life unkind?

I don't know if there is a cure for my arthritis.
Hip replacement surgery would help the pain in that are of my body, but I don't know if my insurance would cove it.

Little Elliot was not worried about any of this though. He was very happy to pull on my white beard, when he was handed to me for my time with him. I tickled his feet and made him laugh, and he made me laugh just by being with me.

There are amazing gifts that enter into your life, that you neither ask for, nor expect. Becoming a grandfather was one of those gifts.

Day Off

I could clean.
I could sleep a lot.
I ll probably sleep a lot.

But...

Everybody else has money, but me.
I'm not complaining; there are different choices
that I could be making, although I am limited by
certain mental, and physical parameters
which I will spare you.

Everybody else has pink butterflies fluttering
about their existence, but I; I'm not complaining
but...

Something's missing

And suddenly it's September,
I'm sneezing and I've caught a chill,
the heat has left us behind,
and the cold has caught us off guard.
Whatever happened to the stable weather
of fall?

Standing around

I've missed the bus before
been left standing in the rain
or sunshine, fall or spring,
and it is something to note because
I've never missed a plane.

Obscure on the bus

Nothing eventful, but I'm about to take a bus
to downtown Atlanta. I have taken buses to downtown
for the past twenty three years. I cannot remember
anything from each of those rides, like I will soon
not be able to remember anything from today's bus ride.

I'm sure that there is something deeply philosophical
being said here, but I really can't see it.

Couldn't mow the greener grass

If I could I would do a lot of things that I don't
but, I either can't or don't really want to,
preferring to do what I am doing, which I, mostly,
find great satisfaction in.

The grass is always greener, they say,
but when I went to cut it I couldn't get
the lawn mower to start.

I will refrain from comment on which type of person thinks which

I am going to the food stamp dept. this morning
to have the number of hours that I work verified.
The hundred dollars a month that they give me
keeps me from panhandling and holding up banks.
Some of you will think that I am a useless bum
for eating in this manner, and some of you will
applaud the government saying yeah they help people out.

Endless babble

When I talk to myself
the dogs gather about me
as if I was a politician
with something important to say,
but just like a politician
I am just babbling.

God takes the good ones too early

Clark Vreeland is leaving us.
I haven't gotten pissed at God
about this, yet, because I am still numb.


Should crazy people have a job?

He came in looking for a job
to the place where I have a job
and I thought that if I was the one
hiring, I probably wouldn't give him a job,
because, though, he had dressed up nice,
he looked crazy.

In the valley located at the top of a flat mountain

I stand in opposition to my agreement.
I'm not sure why; but I'm going to try and figure it out.

Where you get away

The office is closed
The junk mail has been opened
for another day,
you're about to step inside your home
and see what will find you
The Dogs look like they've been good
they left your chocolate wrapper in the trash
where it belongs
You turn on some music
you like to hear songs
by bands that sooth you
transition you from the hard part of your day
to the part where you get away.

It was awful

For the length of the dream
I waited for the police to come
and arrest me.



The common denominator

She's standing on a street corner
and I'm trying to mind my own business
which isn't much mind you, but it is mine
still I find myself wondering what she's doing
standing on that street corner,
and no matter who she is
an older worn out lady
or a younger just getting started kid
I always figure that crack is the common denominator.

Some days just suck

Down on my luck,
or depressed,
don't have the clothes
that I need to get dressed,
or maybe they are wet from
a rain that came unnannoucned
I got bounced from my bike
to the wet pavement
almost broke my nose
tore my clothes,
but I keep dreaming
one day everybody's going to love
a poem of mine,
and a million people are not going
to give me a dime, but a dollar.

Making it

I've been on the radio,
I've been on the tv,
I've been on the stage,
but, still, on the nights
of those days
where I felt like a superstar
I still went to bed like anybody
goes to bed,

no Angel from Heaven showed up
and said, "You've made it."

I like days where I need nothing

Some days are like that;
you're broke, but it doesn't matter.

Why not?

There's nothing living here but these dogs n cats n turtles n me.
You wouldn't fit in, we wouldn't get along, you'd eat meat and I'm
trying to practically have lettuce instead of eggs for breakfast.

Mostly, we learn from everything we do

Thanks, but I've got no regrets
I will never forget all the bad things that I've done
but that was then and this is now
any how what can you do about the past
but learn from it and move on?

Ever again

I picked up the pieces
after the fall
it was nearly Spring
I didn't know what the garden would bring
we were depending on it
no money for the grocery store
no desire to eat "their" food.

Equal Opportunity

I'd probably rather look at pictures of Madonna
when she was young or old than of Bob Dylan,
at any age; but that's just me. We were talking
about the sons of Famous Men, like Jakob, and
Sean, and Julian, and remarking on what a hard job
they might have of holding up, and then I thought
of Madonna's daughters, and said hey, what about them?


He's happy there

I don't want help
just leave me alone
I'll be ok sleeping
on this newspaper,
I can read it
in the morning,
if I'm not shaking
too bad,
everybody else is
in such a hurry
they don't have time
to worry about me.

He's not a bum

I got a job
I couldn't handle it
I thought that it was them,

I got another job,
I couldn't handle it
I thought that it was them,
not me,

I got another job,
and another job,
and I thought that it was them
and not me,
when they fired me,

it turned out that though
I'd never been to war,
I couldn't handle stress.

I need a job.
I need a job.

What I came to say

I have love
but I don't have a hand to hold,
it's o.k.
that hand often tightens its grip
anyway
that's not what I came here to say
what I came to say is
good morning
welcome to another beautiful day.

Will I pollute inside The Pearly Gates?

I'm solid
in my waste;
I'll get out of this place
before my grandchildren
what will I have left them,

plastic bottles,
bags filled with treasures,
my waste I give them,
and then I move on.

Will you love what's inside of me?

Is what I am
what I see
in the mirror
in front of me,

or is what I am
what I feel
when I think?

I think that I
am not
the man in the mirror.

The Loss

You can get it wrong
and I was right, but
it didn't matter either way.

Edgar Allan Poe's poetry is mostly inaccessible, but not as inaccessible as M.S.Merwyn's. Donald Hall almost always lets you in. Bukowski sucker punches you and you wind up in bed with him.

Guard Dog

The dog barks in his sleep
at intruders that he dreams of.

Now, I see the light
where I used to be without
light bulbs, or flashlight.
I always had a lighter,
and I would light cigarette
after cigarette taking me
further and further into the darkness.

Who's better: Whitman or Frost?
Who's the boss: Milton or Pound?
Bukowski or Collins?
Donald Hall or Debra Allbery?
Gylys or Bottoms?
Poe or Dickinson?
Plath or Carroll?
Rimbaud or Shakepeare?

A bard is a bard

You are a bard, or you are not a bard
I am bardic even when brushing my teeth,
when standing in line at the credit union,
when receiving a ticket from a cop.

It never stops,
if you are a bard,
then you are a bard,
nothing barbaric about it.

Don't point a finger

I try to avoid trouble
so I wait until it is dark
to take the dogs outside,

I have an extra dog, for a few days,
and I don't want someone freaking out
because of this.

Retro

Bits of you
pieces of me
no sympathy
dream is over
on our own
again.

Afghanistan Yeah

Kill the poor
dangle a carrot
in front of them
promise them
an education
and ketchup
no longer as
a vegetable.


Perfect is as perfect does

I saw some male ducks making out in Central Park
their children were playing with other children
while my mommy and dad fought about the house
they were divorcing like so many other mommies and daddies.

And and and

There's always an enemy lurking
because someone always needs to
sell bombs
and helicopters
and tanks
and hand guns
and machine guns
and tents
and armored helmets.

Turtle Love

One of my turtles, the girl, Rue Paul, is sunning herself on the floating fake rock that sits under a heat lamp in the turtles' aquarium. The other turtle, the male, Prynce, is hanging out on a large rock at the other end of their aquarium. They both look quite satisfied, this morning, having had breakfast, and all. I am amazed how these two turtles have come to know me, and not be scared of me. Often, they are waiting for me at the end of their home, when I pull back the top to the aquarium to feed them. When anyone else opens the aquarium to feed them, they hide in the back of their box.

Rue just jumped off her rock, and headed over to see what Prynce was up to. I am also amazed with how much time the two turtles spend together. If I could find a love like theirs, I would be a lucky man.






Cluck cluck

I am a straight duck, and I say,
"Cluck, cluck EVERYBODY has to be like me.




For not loving me

Coffee might kill me,
or, maybe, it might be you.






Of being with you

I've got work to do
time may run out any time
But I can't work all the time
I want to spend time with you
Eternity may pass our way,
and I don't want to miss a day
of holding your hand
of making our plans

I've got work to do
Eternity may pass our way
I don't want to miss a day
of being with you.





I'm sorry.

I'm sorry,
but I'm coming
to take you away.




Free entertainment

There is nothing in me
when I am tired. I sit
and watch the dogs. I
sit and watch the turtles.
I sit and watch the cats.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 9:28 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Games

Young kids are amazing,
they really are; I'm not
sure if I am entertaining
them, or they are entertaining me
when I hang out with them.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 9:26 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Ouch

Someone gave me a lamp,
and I threw the shade out
because it was shabby,
and soon I put the back
of my arm on the hot bulb
burning myself.

I think, now, that it is
a good idea to use shades,
even if they are shabby.


He collected friends like other people tried to acquire money.

This lady is driving up from the beach in Florida to have coffee with me, because she says that I am, "a nice man." Am I a "nice man" I wonder to myself...there are men, and women, out there who will tell you that I'm not. I'm recovered, though; reformed. I don't do like I use to.

I don't want you to be a soldier momma

I don't believe in the dollar.
I don't believe in war,
sometimes I ask myself what we do all this for.

I'm not a Communist.
I'm not a Socialist.
I'm not a Capitalist.

I'm not a Republican.
I'm not a Democrat.
I'm not a Libertarian,

but I know who I am.

I won't stab you in the back for a buck.
I won't send you to die so I can establish new markets,
for my goods, because making money at any cost is certainly not good.

I'm not into just saying, "Peace and Love. Peace and Love."
Things have to have meaning to be.

I'm not Catholic.
I'm not Jewish.
I'm not Muslim.
I'm not Krishna.
I'm not Buddhist.

I'm not so many things.
I don't believe that a diamond ring should hold you.

I don't believe in the dollar.
I don't believe in war,
sometimes I ask myself what we do all this for.

I remember when I was so lost
I could have disappeared because of my vanity
I couldn't listen to anyone
and after a time what I was doing wasn't any fun.

Good times good friends no enemies

Good times good friends no enemies
you can look inside of me and see a smile.

There are certain songs that I can listen to over, and over, and not get tired of them. "Green Grass and High Tides," by The Outlaws is one of those songs, and so is, "American Girl," by Tom Petty. The lyrics make sense to me, and the music drives me into a very enjoyable manic rage in both songs. A great song can make it seem as if life is treating you well, even if it isn't. A great song, for me, is better than taking a hit or a drink of anything.

I want her because I can't have her
isn't that the way they say it goes?


A place you weren't invited to

One mile left to go, and I won't be caught
in this atmosphere; funny how the freshest
air can be stifling, when you find yourself
unwelcome at a place that you weren't invited to.

Papers and a bag of pot

I never told you why I was always rolling
away; anyway it doesn't make any difference,
that was then and this is now.
I never learned how to roll a joint,
but I smoked quite a few, there was always
someone around to roll if you had papers,
and a bag of pot.

Sometimes, without warning, life is good,
and without really trying, somehow you are there;
in a place of peace and contentment.
That's what happened to me;
I'm happy, can't you see that the time before
this was just a warm up to teach me how to
live in this now.

Bubble Gum

It's easy to say that you are praying for someone,
and then go back to chewing your bubble gum.

On our own(not necessarily)

I don't necessarily want to be alone
but no one is calling on the telephone
cactus is breathing in the desert
a hooker is pleasing a man that she hates
someone just smashed a guitar over a complete stranger's head
someone is laying in the gutter happy to not have a job
there is a cop kicking the shit out of someone
who might deserve it
but should even a cop take the law into his or her hands
fast food sales and soldiers' deaths are up
someone, as usual, is making a lot of money off of war
a kid is smiling he's got a cone full of sugar in his hands
the phone is not ringing
the phone is not ringing
but that is alright
I am more capable of thinking when I am on my own.

Experiences even while sleeping

Pissed off, feeling fancy
suddenly you know who you are:
you're no superstar,

you're just a millionaire's daughter
who came to me in a dream
I acted like a whore/you reciprocated
I said how about more/at a later time
you said, "No, I'm moving on. I've had
my way with you."

I felt dejected/rejected,
but it's o.k.
I woke up and put the experience
in this poem.

We're all doing what we can do(are we?)

Go out wondering;
go on wandering,
see what you can see
without being all that you can be.
It, mostly, looks the same to me,
whether you swim for free in the river,
or pay for the pool, like a fool.

I saw you at the rally,
and I thought that all I do for the cause
is play with my dogs.
Should I be at Woodstock watching Jimi
with The Chicago Seven,
would I soon wind up in heaven like Abbie?

It's all relative,
I've got no relatives
who died for the cause.

You make your banners,
I'll put leashes on my dogs.

Be all they want you to be

The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force scam people just like a vacuum cleaner sales person can, and often does, going door to door. It's all in the sizzle, baby, not the steak.

"You want to make something of your life, don't you? the recruiter says to the young man, or woman with a so sincere smile. You'd like to go to college, wouldn't you. You want to make something of you life, don't you; you want to become a real man, a real woman, don't you?"

And the next thing the kid knows they are laying in the sand, or dirt, in a far off land with their balls in your hand, or their breast shot, or cut off, and their legs gone.

I am blessed to have never had to participate as a soldier in all the wars that have occurred while I have been alive, and looking back, now, I realize that there were quite a few of them, ie we are mostly at war, or so it seems. Something saved me from having my life, and limbs, challenged, and has let me come to the point where I can sit here at this desk, listening to music, and drinking coffee while bitching about war, man.

I know that there will never be peace on earth; humans are not built for such. There will always be money to be made from sending out kids to fight old mens' battles.

I feel sad about this; I really do.

--Mikel K

Implication

There are implications for behavior
like if I pull your hair you might call the cops
and I couldn't stop you by begging please
and apologizing no no no so I don't need
to exhibit the behavior.

What I wouldn't give

Baby, what I wouldn't give
to have a dollar for every time
you've said that to me,

and, baby, I'd be rich if
I had made you pay for every time
that you hollered at me.

And, what about every time
that you hung up the phone on me,
shouldn't you, somehow, have to pay.

I don't really want to walk on,
but, baby, I am gone;
I'm gonna blow out west
put those other girls to the test,
see if you were really the best,
like you always said.

What I wouldn't give,
what I wouldn't give,
to have a dollar.

Gary Johnson, McDonald’s senior director of global purchasing, said hoki use was down recently to about 11 million pounds annually from roughly 15 million pounds — a drop of about 25 percent. “It could go up if the quota goes up,” he said in an interview. He noted that McDonald’s also used other whitefish for its Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.

Slow to pay

You must be laying around in your bedroom
with your boyfriend
cuz you didn't have the decency to reply
to my invitation
it's ok
I've never put much emphasis in you, anyway.

Write a song

If I'm not right
say I'm not completely wrong,

I'll write a poem,
you write a song,

if I'm wrong,
then I'm wrong

bust me, but bail me
out

there is no such thing
as always being right,
but there is such a thing
as constantly being in a fight

if I'm right, don't say I'm wrong
write a song
write a song.

"We can disagree without being disagreeable," -- Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Speaking to, Joe Wilson, the Republican House member, who shouted "You lie" during President Obama's health care speech to Congress, and then called The White House to apologize, blaming the outburst on his "emotions.".
Web surfers who visited http://www.joewilson.house.gov/were greeted with the message: "This site is down for maintenance. Please check back soon. This is the guy who screamed, "Liar," at Obama during his health care speech.--CNN.com

I'm thinking that Joe Wilson can give it, but he can't take it. He's got "the balls" to scream, "You lie," in a totally inappropriate place(he wasn't at a Pro Wrestling Match or a Football Game) and yet he doesn't have the balls to listen to what The People have to say to him about his behavior: his staff doesn't answer phone calls, and they shut down his website.

What a pathetic pussy; what a hit and run coward.

Joe will probably join Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity as a hero of The Republican Party. He may very well wind up on the ticket with Sarah Palin as The Republican's vice presidential candidate. In calling The White House and apologizing for his outburst, I wonder about his level of sincerity. Was Ole Joe just covering his ass, or doing what he was told to do by The Party.

After The President's speech, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, tweeted that Wilson's outburst was the "biggest disappointment of the evening, the total lack of respect shown by one house member for the President," she wrote. "It is never acceptable to behave like a jerk."--CNN.com

"We can disagree without being disagreeable.."-- Rahm Emanuel
I hope that I'm not being disagreeable.--Mikel K

Today is a day off from taking what they are giving, and although I really like my job, I like days off more.

No hope

She said, "Must be sweet to have a momma
you want to keep around," and I thought,
It would have been sweet to have a momma
who wanted to keep you around, but that
would be different ground to tread on,
and like I told the girl yesterday,
"In some cases, there isn't hope."

My World

My girl
she put me away
my girl
said that I either
had nothing to say
or was
screaming all day,
and she couldn't go on
that way.

My world
My world
is suddenly gray
she got me out of the way
I'm in here with the bi polars
and schizophrenics
they keep coming my way
to see if I got a cigarette.

My world
my world
my girl
my girl
my world has unfurled
my girl says she'll come see me
on visiting day.

Groovy Cup

Wus up?

I'm going to let you
sip from my groovy cup,

that's all.

No leaves to rake in the fall.
No snowman to watch die,in the winter.
No flowers needing water in the spring.
No air conditioning bills in the summer.



What's that you say: bummer?

You don't want to drink from
my groovy cup?

Well, o.k. that's ok
I wasn't all that into you anyway.
I'll find someone else
to drink from my groovy cup.

Nobody Knows God

Nobody knows God until after The End, until after you have Knocked On Heaven's Door and been let in. You can read The Bible, you can go to Church, you can pray, and pray for days at a time, but you still won't know God.

Is a little prayer as good as a big prayer? Does God count you more "in" if you pray all day, than if you just give him a quick hello in the morning, and a tired goodbye at night?

Buddhist monks who pray a lot, probably don't have an inner track to heaven than the busy mother, who also works twelve hour shifts as a nurse, to support her babies. Just because a Church says that they are the only Church(Catholic)who can get into heaven does not mean that that is true.

How does view Bernard Madoff versus Phillip Garrido? We don't know, because you can't know God until you are near to being lowered into the earth in your box, or are near being torched.

Nobody knows God. Nobody knows God, while they are alive; I am telling you.

Static blows eyelid appearances rushing to the stage to seize a ghost culminating in intense nothing-if-ication vibrations extended then lost wars can never be won smoke the kind bud the whole time you might have fun I've got to run now no appearance do you know what i have to do put butter on bread and then go to bed my number was never called for such evil adventures I am addicted to my luckiness kiss me.

The ramification of the optimization of all of it into the earth necessitates thought that shouldn't be bought. Hallucination as verification of the loss is a thought, but a dull one like on a knife that won't cut kiwi. Be with me on this, teach me how to fish, walk on water with me and daughter her children shall be meek what will they inherit?

Keeping a roof over you

Most of us would rather live in peace
than make money off of selling war,
we think that getting along is what we came here for
still some men think that putting money in the bank
is validation for selling guns and tanks
if you think that that really stinks
what can you really do
you already have so much to do
keeping a roof over you.

Quote

My tomorrow is not the same
as my yesterday,
you don't have any time
that I can borrow, but that's ok
we are all allotted
the proper amount of time,
anyway
what I came here to say is
I love you,
and I know what you have been put through
still you are here
I long to feel you near.

A hoary sage

I am a hoary sage;
I've raged from a stage.
You'll soon turn the pages
to my books.
Look again and you'll say,
this sage is my friend.

you are beautiful how you are
none of us is perfect

Some people think that you can only love
a child/grandchild if it is "yours"
ie from your blood sperm egg
but i disagree
"love" is deeper than that

Blood is not always thicker than

They didn't come from your egg
they're still yours
if you choose to love them like they are.


It s your today, and my yesterday
you have yet to sleep,
and I went to bed early, and have already risen

Free entertainment

There is nothing in me
when I am tired. I sit
and watch the dogs. I
sit and watch the turtles.
I sit and watch the cats.


He's your daddy

He's got a trophy wife.
He's got a car you admire.
His house is near a golf course.
He likes to play on Sunday.
He'd grab you by the throat
and strangle you for a buck.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, the dreams I have.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, the dreams that I have,
are of you.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, you can't let me down,
because I won't put all my eggs in one basket,
like a clown.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, chance encounters are so romantic,
there is no formula to love.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, my heart beats for you.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

First Class

Love can't be laid over
like a stop between two flights,
on a journey.

It must be constant
like the flight itself
from Point A to Point B.

No turn off notices

I'm insistent about being non-insistent
on your love. Your love should come easy
like water from a sink, in a house, or apartment,
where the water bill has been paid.

Go go go

You've to go go go: you can't always sit around,
although sitting around is important, too.

Shock Treatment

They gave me a pill that slowed me down
made things kind of a blur
made me move in slow motion,
but they never gave me shock treatment.

Peace at last

I am thawing fish
soaking beans
and I have a brand new bag of rice,
so dinner will be nice.

The dogs, cats, and turtles are fed.
We are blessed.

Some men wander the street
looking for work.
Some men wander the street
looking for a bottle of Listerine,
but that's not me.
I am blessed.

You have to be thankful for what you have,
and I am.

Rerun

Take your happy home and go home,
I don't see things that way
Leave it to Beaver is just an illusion
Beaver got drunk and had sex
with Eddie Haskell
if you want to know what's really going on.

I need to know

Someone suggesed that I should put honey, and cinammon
in hot water,and drink it, twice a day, to help with
my arthrits. Honey and cinnamon tastes absolutely nasty
to me. Recently, I started putting the hone and
cinnamon in my coffee, and I like that. Now, my question is,
is putting honey, and cinnamon in coffee as beneficial
for my arthritis, as putting it in hot water?

Methodology

I am a creature of habit
not as original as I used to think that I was
or maybe, when I was younger, I was less
a creature of habit.

You can choose light, or darkness to envelope you

Madness ensues if you let it.
Madness ensues if you give it an invitation.
Madness ensues if embrace it,
worship it, want it, whisper to it hello.

Are you going to hell?

Sin is relevant,
it depends on what religion you are in.

Ugly is as ugly does

She said to me, "You know you only have a certain amount of time
to be "beautiful," and I said to her, "Well, I've always been ugly,
but you ll be lovely until the day you die..."

A morning conclusion

I put two teaspoons of honey,
and a teaspoon of cinnamon,
in my coffee this morning,
hoping that coffee can substitute
for water as an ingredient
in a drink that is supposed to be
good for arthritis.

I have learned that I like cinnamon
in coffee, where I feel that it is nasty
in water.

Law of

Great fanfare is sometimes made
over mediocre books
I wonder how many truly marvelous books
have never received a push by the Publisher's PR Agency
"You must find an audience," the book is told,
we will not create one for you.
Darwinism exists for books just like it does for you and me.

How to beat security

He was a large smelly man,
carrying a large smelly back pack;
when he left the bookstore
he set the alarm off.
No one chased him down.
I guess that the lesson is
if you want to steal books
from a bookstore be very undesirable
in appearance, and smell.

Things may never be the same
but we will get used to doing them a different way.

How I kept from going to prison

I threw away my gun,
it wasn't mine anyway,
put down my knife,
can't remember where it came from
those were two of the smartest decisions
that I ever made
weapons and alcohol don't mix
and I was very drunk almost every day.

Dangerous Drugs

You quit shooting heroin
and develop arthritis; the
Doctor puts you on pills
that can kill you. Maybe
you should have stayed in
the gallery.

Not really, but it is funny
to note that pills on both
sides of the law can kill you.


Crosses to bear

I think I suffer much,
but I have a close friend
with an inoperable cancer.
His cross to bear is far greater
than my cross to bear.

Why are we given crosses to bear?

What is wrong with God?
C
God never takes the right ones from us,
he steals the ones that make us smile,
the ones who create things that make us think.

What is wrong with God?

God Bless Clark Vreeland

His light will never be extinguished,
his flame will never be blown out,
we will always have him with us,
his smile,
his pensive way of answering our questions
his intellect
his songs
his paintings
his children.

Sometimes you don't know how much you love someone,
until they are gone. He is not gone, and I know
how much I love him. God bless, Clark Vreeland.

Beans

I'm soaking wet today
sweating, waiting for
the beans to be done.
I've had to pour water
over them several times,
the first time I was almost
too late, the beans almost
burned onto the bottom of
the bowl. I've done that
with rice before, burned
the ric, and I've come close
when boiling eggs,
but I've never burned the beans.

I'll have beans and rice, tonight,
maybe add some fish to them.

How to shut down creating

It is almost time to stop writing, this morning.
My anticipation of oatmeal is getting high,
and food, and the creation of words, do not mix, for me.

Stop

The cats and dogs follow me to the door
the dogs thinking that it is a time to go outside
the cats thinking maybe they can sneak out, this time
but, it is raining cats and dogs out there
and no one is going anywhere.

Very Glad

Sometimes, I am reluctant
to go to bed, even when
it is way past the time
when I should have dropped
to the pillow.

It is as if I am scared of
missing out on something.
These, days I am always happy
to see the morning,
though there was a time
in my life where I prayed
before sleeping to not wake.

I am glad that those times
are behind me.

There should be cash due me

The dogs are soon due their pills.
The power company is soon due its money.
The cell phone bill is due.
The cable company wants money.
I'm on the wrong end of all of this

Russian Roulette

The rain brought puddles that went half way up
tires on vehicles parked in the lot;
it sent people scurrying into the bookstore
who had no intention of buying a book,
just the intention of getting out of the rain,
until it let up, or stopped.
It was pouring buckets, the kind of rain
that soaked you from head to toe
the instant that you stepped into it.
Umbrellas did not save your shoes and socks,
huge puddles were mostly unavoidable.
I got to watch it from inside a dry place;
sometimes the black jack dealer is on your side.

That's Alright

I got arthritis, but I ain't got a heart attack
my hip hurts me, but at least it's not a cyst
that will expand and kill me.

I got pennies to your hundred dollars,
but that's alright, momma, that's alright.

I haven't had a drink all day

They tell me that it is a miracle
when a drunk doesn't drink
just for today, and I believe them
because the drunk is supposed to drink.

Frazier Hughes.com

He might have you believe
that he laughs all the time,
that everything is funny to him,
and he is a funny guy,
a man who can bring joy
into other people's lives
with his comedic expeditions,

but,

he is also a father,
a kind, loving father,
who has chosen fatherhood
over fame,
who has forsaken the larger markets
for the greater love
that staying close to his children
can bring.

I love this man.

Don't even whisper my name

If you take to them,
meetings can save your ass.
I've heard all of the arguments
against them, but I have also
seen the great results that occur
from attending them.


I wonder what it is like to be a turtle

The turtles are up on their rock,
under their heat lamp this morning,
hugging. The turtles are much like
humans, it seems to me, from watching
them through the glass in their aquarium,
some days they fight, some days they love
each other.

Junkies can be quite innovative

They stole Bukowski books
from the bookstore that is now dead,
and sold them to get their smack.
Their was a big market for Bukowski,
and a huge appetite, at that time,
among people who stole Bukowksi for heroin.


Jim Carroll save me, really

I don't know much about
going on the nod;
the closest I got to
sticking a needle in my arm
was snorting a line of smack
that a junkie from Czechoslovakia,
by way of New York City,
laid out for me, one evening,
many, many years ago.

The line put me to sleep,
and Jim Carroll had warned me
how shit the junkie life style was.

Who's in charge?

It's going to rain, again, today
and if it rains like yesterday,
even people with umbrellas are
going to get soaked. Nature may,
once again, prove that she is
the boss.
It can wait until the morning, or afternoon

There is something that I need
to do, tonight, or at least something
that I should, or could do,
but I am pretty sure that I am not
going to do it, because I am tired.

This should make sense

I have had a number of lives,
and out of all of them
the one that I am living now
is my favorite.

I am more comfortable as a grandfather
thank I was as a blackout drunk.


Compatibility(of sorts)

My trip is inner, oh hey honey
what's for dinner?

When will I ever learn?

I wish that I could talk to her
in her language, but I can't
so I'll just have a McDonald's
and a Starbucks when I touch
down to her home, so I don't
feel so all alone

Can't make bail

What I failed to notice
was a notice on my door
that said they were looking for me
so instead of being somewhere else
I was here when they came back
to look for me, again.

oh honey, I didn't do nothin' wrong
you know that I mostly sit about and write
these songs
they must want someone else,
what could they want with a fellow like myself
I didn't rob no bank
I didn't hit no one
and run
I didn't rape no one
I made all the payments to my ex for my son

And now I'm sitting in this jail cell
trying to trade a slightly green bologna sandwich
for a cigarette, and if I get caught smoking
I'll be in even more trouble,
someone let me out, someone let me out.

Learning to crawl

You broke the law,
and the jailer acted
like you were the baddest criminal
that he ever saw,

he put the fear of God in you,
when you were already scared of
him, and everything else, anyway.

In that cell, you started to pray,
when it had been many a day since
you even thought about getting on
your knees.

But first you had to talk to
the guy in the cell next to you,
you said to him, "Please, can I ask you...
do you pray?"

Cuz you had forgotten how to pray
the way they had taught you to pray,
before you left The Church.

And he said, "Hell yes, I pray,"
and he taught you a prayer that you say
to this day.

Pushing a button

I thought that I had blown a fuse
and I was heated about this,
because I don't have any fuses, in this house,
and the landlord is on vacation.
Pushing a button on the electric outlet,
I was able to turn the power back on,
and was lead to think that the cat that likes
to push buttons might have had something to do
with this temporary intrusion into my consumption
of power.

Indoors whether they like it or not

When I open the inner front door,
the cats run to the glass door that remains,
and position themselves near it.
They would like to pass through that glass
to the outside world, but I won't let them;
I've had one cat crushed by a car, in my time,
and that is enough.

The possibility exists

There appears to be a hair in my tea,
but when I stick my pinkie into the drink
to catch it, it disappears.
There are four possibilities for the source
of that hair.
Number one is that it is a dog hair.
Number two is that it is a cat hair.
Number three is that it is my hair,
and number four is that it is a turtle hair,
which is not really a possibility at all.

Blessings

It's cold in here, this morning,
I need to shut the window
My hot tea is especially significant, now
Tom Petty is singing, "Breakdown,"
and I am glad that I don't breakdown, anymore.

Steal this book

Work steals words from me,
but it gives me garlic powder,
and peanut butter, and tortillas.

Solace

It was one of the longest thunder storms of my life,
and the one that scared my dog Morisson the most
out of the many, many thunder storms that have scared him.
He started at the side of the bed, nudging my hand
whenever my hand fell over the side of the bed.
Then his breathing got intense; he was letting me know
that he wanted up on the bed.
I did not particularly want him up,
so I waited until he jumped up on it to give him permission
to jump up on it.
He put his head upon me, and, when my hand was close enough
to him, he tried to bury his head in my hand.
I was exhausted from a long day at work,
and could not give him the affection that he sought;
being in the bed would have to be enough, tonight.

Boiling potatoes

I'm boiling potatoes
which seems like a natural thing to do.
I am going to turn the potatoes into potato salad.
I make really good potato salad.
Today was my long day at work;
I am tired, just like you are tired
when you work your long day at work.
Maybe you make potato salad after your long day, also.

We know who eats good around here

Pancakes seem like a nice thing
to have for breakfast, this morning,
but I am out of pancakes.
I might like to have some watermelon, also,
but I have no watermelon.
Kiwi would be nice, but there is no kiwi
in the house.
I'd like to fry, or scramble some eggs,
but, you guessed it, there are no eggs
in the house.
A cool glass of orange, or grapefruit juice,
would be a nice thing to sip on, this morning,
but alas there is no juice in the house.
I do have dog, cat, and turtle food, though,
so the animals are happy.

Termination

I saw two small cockroaches
in my kitchen, this morning,
which indicates to me that
there are more cockroaches
lurking.

I don not like cockroaches
lurking in my kitchen
or in any part of my abode,
so I will have to take steps
to have them eliminated.

Something to kill

If you have all this time
to write, but you have nothing
to write, then what have you,
if you are a writer?

It is like the bug person must scatter
bugs, if there are none about, so
that he or she has something to kill.

The possibilities of a normal day

Television
mostly
doesn't interest me.
I watch Cable News
while I eat,
and then I shut it off.
You should never beg
a woman
for anything
it gives her
an unfair advantage.
One of the dogs
got treated for fleas
this morning
I will treat the other one
when I find the other tube
of flea stuff.
The turtles
appear to be happy
this morning
I will soon have to
change their water.


It's often an hour to go until I've got to get somewhere, leaving me an hour until I am where I am supposed to be.

If you pray,
if you send out positive vibrations,
whatever you do to send your love
to another,
do it now, please, for Rose,
and her Mommy Bonnie.
Rose is being checked upon by her
Doctors; let's all pray,
and send positive vibrations her way.

The cat has gotten very good at getting the inner door open. No matter how hard I push it, I still hearing it creaking open, and look up to see him sneaking out it. The only problem that he has, is that there is another door, outside the one that he has just opened, and he will not be able to get that one open. And if by some miracle he does, he has only let himself out onto the porch, which has another door, and not out into the great beyond that he is trying to let himself out into.

At the last place that we lived, I let my cats be indoor/outdoor cats. We lived on a quiet street; there was an empty lot across the street; I felt good about the situation for letting my cats wander around outside. Where we live, now, I do not feel good about letting my cats wander; there are too many cars, too close to the house, and too many cats prowling about in the immediate vicinity.

I love my cats. I do not want to have to pick one of them up off the pavement. That was the fate that befell the cat that I had before I had the two cats that I have now, Kobain, and Jaggar. Her name was Madonna, and when my son brought home another kitty, who badly needed a home, Madonna got very angry, and would not stay in the house much. One day, a neighbor came to my door, and asked me if I had "seen" Madonna. I knew what he meant immediately. Poor Madonna had gotten run over by a car at the end of the parking lot in front of the apartments that we live in. I felt so blessed to hear him say that someone else had cleaned her up. It would have broken my heart to have had to scrape her up off the asphalt. If Madonna had just been a little bit more willing to share, she might still be alive. It just goes to show you that anger can be bad for cats, like it is for human.

What happened on the pillow, last night

I had the weirdest dream, last night,
and like all the weird dreams that I have,
it went on forever.
The weird dreams keep me stuck in them;
the good dreams, like where I meet a girl
and we fall in love,
are over in the blink of an REM eye.

False prophesy

It didn't last 40 days and 40 nights,
in fact it is sunny out there, right now,
on Wednesday, when they said that it
would rain until, at least, Thursday.
Well, "they" have been wrong before,
and I am glad that they were wrong this time.

Don't get mad get a sump pump

Even people who didn't believe in God,
were calling it An Act of God,
running to their cars to move them to higher ground,
saying a little prayer of thanks that they had let
the salesman talk them into the sump pump for their basement.
It was weird to see our state making the headlines,
looking somewhat like Katrina's little sister had
gotten mad at us.

Rain Scene

Today is my day off to take Yoga. I was exhausted when I fell onto the the bed last night. It was the tail end of my work week. A lot of you work more hours than I do, but nobody works harder than me; ha, ha. I am the hardest working poet in The Barista business.

About twenty minutes after I got to work, last night, we shut our doors. There was a flood in the back of the bookstore. Our General Manager made an announcement that people better check their cars, in the parking lot, out front, because there was flooding there, also. People waded into near knee high water to move their cars. One poor lady didn't get to her car in time, and could not get it started, once the waters had receded. My job for a bit was to stand at the front door, say goodbye to people who were leaving because we had closed, and to tell people who were arriving that we had shut our doors.

Yes, as much as it had, and was, raining, people were still trying to come in, and buy books, and sip on coffee in our Cafe. We put a sign on our door that said we were closed, but people ignored it, and rattled the door, trying to get in. We hoisted books from the floor, and placed them on higher ground. I worked the number of hours that I was scheduled for, I just worked them in a different manner, and manner dictated to us by the flooding.

The rain affected those of us inside the bookstore, and out; arks might have come in handy.



His meaning of life

I like to watch my black cat Jaggar
patrol from the kitchen to the drier
at the end of the hall, in the mornings.
He looks so purposeful; what he is doing
is going from one feeding are to the next,
from where I place his wet snack
in them morning,
in the kitchen,
to where his bowl of dry food
sits on the clothes drier,
at the end of the hall.
He seems to have great purpose in life,
and, for that, I am thankful.


Cop a plea

I'm alone even in a crowd;
I'm silent when screaming
out loud.
I'll outlive you,
then I'll give you some
of my life,
be my wife,
wouldn't it be nice?

The Delivery Guy

The Delivery Guy
went door to door
as he got sober,
writing down how he felt.
Often, he did not feel good;
he was angry at himself,
he was angry at the world.
He made a decision
to put the bottle down,
and take a seat
in the Little League bleachers,
where he could watch his son
grow up, running the bases.
The result is a book called,
"The Delivery Guy."
It is a brutal book,
too harsh for some to read.

No blab

If you have nothing to say,
then you shouldn't try to say something.

Don't feel like letting my fingers do the walking

The Carpenter Bees have moved South
for the winter, I assume, or maybe
they have fallen asleep inside the house.
I don't know much about Carpenter Bees,
and don't feel like Googling them, right now.

Any room with Thoreau?

People
do not
mostly
do
what
you want them
to do,

so you will
have to be
satisfied
with them
doing what
they want
to do,

or move to
the woods.

High School Smiles

Mostly I see her in a blur,
just like I saw her two older brothers
in a blur, once they hit high school.
I live for those brief moments, though,
where she smiles at me, and says,
"Can I hang out with so and so?"

Cutting back on the cat

One cat is eating
the food from two dishes
because the other cat
does not like
the cheap cat food
that I am now feeding them.
Doesn't the cat realize
that there is a recession,
that times are tough,
that we all have to cut back?

3 to 7

I don't want to take a shower,
but I must, or I will look like
a homeless guy, when I punch the clock.

Playtime

We play like, I imagine, a bickering brother
and sister do, picking at each other,
hurling insults, trying to find a soft spot
in the other one's hard veneer.

We are the toughest of our sexes, each of us
in our own way.

Consent

He was banging his daughter,
or she was banging her father,
however you look at it
when they are both consenting
to the act.
I bet that the father never thought
that the daughter would go
on a national t.v. show
and tell everyone what they had done.
He used to be famous for his songs,
now he is famous for banging his daughter
with her permission.

Destination

Does it matter where the bullets land
as long as the tank is not pointed at me?

Permission

Do we only care about ourselves
except in such intimate affairs as our children?

You know it's not so

Eat meat.
Beat people up.
Crash your car.
Get drunk.
Don't eat meat.
Be peaceful
Get a new car.
Stay sober.
Ha ha ha.


Dialogue

We all make our choices,
some of us find our voices,
that say...

Sugar Oh My Honey Honey

The dogs are happier
with the cheaper dog food,
which is weird; perhaps
they put sugar in it,
like they put sugar in
much of our food.

My filth bothers me not

If you keep other people,
primarily women, out of
your abode, you will not
realize how filthy you are.

Scum Dog Poverty Case

I had a long list of things
that I was going to buy,
but, after paying the bills,
I will have to shrink that list.
Money for food will have to come
before household cleaners.
That is o.k., I don't much clean
the house, anyway.

Gumpapa

He grabbed onto my beard
and wouldn't let go.
He reached for my sunglasses,
intent on pulling them off of my face.
He smiled.
He laughed.
There is nothing like having a grandson
to entertain you.

Man from Mars(or woman)

People look so ordinary
before the bottle gets them
and even then
some of them get away
with looking normal
but it is not long
when you get around them
before you can tell
that the bottle has them
people in the grip of the bottle
don't act like other people do
they are, I imagine, very much like
an alien from somewhere else.

Polyurethane

Pollute the earth.
Eat some dirt.
Fuck some AIDS.
Don't bath.
Stick it in.
Pull it out.
Run about, and brag.
On the rag.
Drive a car.
Try to be a Superstar.
Beg.

The March Towards The Time Clock

The clock is rapidly advancing
towards the time when I will
have to open the shower curtain,
turn the knobs, and step into
the shower.

Uninterrupted

I slept through the night
no need to visit the facility
no arthritis pain.
This does not happen very often.

Incest

I have a friend who is often critical
of me; she has a father who is often critical
of her. Funny how we do to others
what we don't like done to ourselves.

Theft

Today is stolen
in part by work.

My Pain

You can't wish certain pain away
you can't imagine it away
you can't pray it away.

Out of Gas(among other things)

She lives at the edge
not because she like it there
but because that is where she is.

I can feel that coffee in me

It causes me to be impatient
when my computer is slow.

Dog Traits

The dogs resist going back in the house
they like to linger outside
but, when they finally make their move,
the closer that they get to the front door
the faster that they move.

Phone philosophy

The phone can ring before one p.m.
but it is unlikely that it will get answered.
My work day, the construction of poems, primarily,
occurs during this time.
I have nothing to say to anyone until
the afternoon starts: friends and enemies(bill collectors)
are held a bay at equal distance.

Redirect your thinking

The leaves that usually so freely rattle
on the sidewalk, are, this morning, glued
to the cement.

Learning to share

Bundy has learned how to share the space underneath my desk with me;
finally. The hot tea hits the back of my throat making me happy.

Mostly Dead

Brain dead, feet not complicit to much.
I'll eat, then sleep, and see if the sleep
revives me.

Each bite and Lick

Each bite
of Tangerine Marmalade
Eack lick
of Raspberry Peach Jam
each bite
each lick
eack bite
eack lick
each bite
each lick
makes me
think of you.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 12:27 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
He might be soft because he has things

Can you be a real poet surrounded by luxuries;
a toilet that works all the time,
a refrigerator that makes ice,
a dishwasher, and a wife, or girlfriend,
a car, and the money to fix it, if it breaks down.

Can you be a real poet if you have money to eat out,
money to buy things for your wife or girlfriend,
money to put your kids through college,
more money than just having the money to barely get by?

Just what the fuck is A Real Poet?
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 12:02 PM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
Senorita: I read your poetry in notes, last night;
printed it, and I think I enjoy it so much
I am going to add it into my journal.
You've got a groupie! You love words, don't you?
Mikel K: I love where I have landed.
I come from drunk tanks, and mental institutions,
bar room brawls, and the back seat of police cars.
Senorita: And you are where you should be...
Mikel K: Yup. Yup.
Senorita: Miracles.
Mikel K: Yup Yup. "If you believe like I believe..."**
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 11:59 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
A simple thing

I like the feel of hot tea with milk
on my tongue; it gives me pleasure.
POSTED BY MIKEL K POET AT 11:01 AM 0 COMMENTS LINKS TO THIS POST
The Magic

It's not always there
when you want it
like ink from a pen.

Each bite Each Lick

Each bite
of Tangerine Marmalade
Each lick
of Raspberry Peach Jam
each bite
each lick
each bite
each lick
each bite
each lick
makes me
think of you.

He might be soft because he has things

Can you be a real poet surrounded by luxuries;
a toilet that works all the time,
a refrigerator that makes ice,
a dishwasher, and a wife, or girlfriend,
a car, and the money to fix it, if it breaks down.

Can you be a real poet if you have money to eat out,
money to buy things for your wife or girlfriend,
money to put your kids through college,
more money than just having the money to barely get by?

Just what the fuck is A Real Poet?

Senorita: I read your poetry in notes, last night;
printed it, and I think I enjoy it so much
I am going to add it into my journal.
You've got a groupie! You love words, don't you?
Mikel K: I love where I have landed.
I come from drunk tanks, and mental institutions,
bar room brawls, and the back seat of police cars.
Senorita: And you are where you should be...
Mikel K: Yup. Yup.
Senorita: Miracles.
Mikel K: Yup Yup. "If you believe like I believe..."**

A simple thing

I like the feel of hot tea with milk
on my tongue; it gives me pleasure.

The Magic

It's not always there
when you want it
like ink from a pen.


I am glad to see people smile

I am happy for people who are happy
An old friend came through the bookstore, yesterday,
and he had a wife, and newborn child, with him.
They all had smiles on their faces.

"They" say search for your part in it

I don't want to whine like a little kid
even to myself
even to you here
some days are for shit
and such is usually caused by interaction
with someone who is a pain in your ass
Let it out
Let it go
Move on
Don't dwell on it
Let it ruin your morning, day, month
lifetime
Have a nice life
Find yourself a wife
and a white picket fence
Write a best-selling book
and retire.

U-haul

My ear itches
but not my butt
you really don't want
to hear that, I'm sure
but I might not have
much literary to say
this morning
I have a new neighbor
she seems nice
A co-worker was not
very nice, last night
but that is life
you move from one thing
to the next
finding some things comfortable
and others a pain in the ass.

Do what you came here to do

I want to ask how old she is,
thinking that she is writing
way better poetry than I was
at that age, if I was writing
any poetry at that age.

My father had grabbed me by the throat,
and put my writing arm behind my back,
suffocated, and silenced me, for nearly a decade.

Instead of writing,
I drank; and fornicated,
mostly in blackouts.

Living Ain't Always Easy

When someone picks on me
I get an immediate chip
on my shoulder; I start
to smolder, and try to
not blow my top.

That must mean something

I live inside,
most of the time,
like a withdrawn turtle.

It's not that I
don't like to play;
it's not that I
don't like to smile.

I wonder where
the near homeless man
who sat at the bookstore
all night will sleep.

More and more people
are asking for coffee samples
where I work.

No answer

It's all killing us
the cell phones
the cigarettes
the bacon
the soy beans
you name it
it is causing cancer.

I don't have an answer,
don't know how to fix it,
just get you
an isolation chamber
like M. Jackson had,
but, whoops, look how
well it worked for him.

Beyond the last ward at Wacko Hut

Sometimes, I take it like
it is unintended, and I get
offended, and pissed off.

Such a cost,
what a loss,
what a waste
of precious time,
and smiles.

I go for miles, and miles,
with a frown on my face,
out of place in my day,
disarray leading the way.

What a bummer man.

Nuclear Ambition

Busted in Switzerland
for fucking a 13 yr old
in LA decades ago.

I might not can walk well, but I can still eat like a champ.

That's all she's giving me tonight, and, well really, that is
all that I can take.

Ha ha how charade you are

We don't want
to eat healthy,
we want to eat
a fast food burger.
We don't want
to read a book,
we want to watch tv.
We don't want to drive,
we'd rather walk to work.

Out of sight out of mind

Hot sauce sometimes gives me a runny nose.
My left hip is bone to bone, and I can't
much touch my left foot's toes.
People in the USA are living in tents.
This month I have to borrow money from my son
to pay my rent.
I was supposed to be a billionaire,
but, somehow, I wound up here, wondering
if I should shoplift toothpaste, and coffee.

And these concepts were designed by whom?

Worshiper is a weird word,
and an even weirder concept.

And at the cat I didn't scream

Kobain just coughed up a hairball that looked like poop, and the worst thing about it is that he coughed it up, not on the filthy carpet, but on my bed. I had to remove the sheet(I don't use a top sheet) and put it in the washer right away. My animals are constantly presenting me challenges.

Atlanta Woman

Some guys need California girls
One man wanted him an L.A. woman
I'm looking for an Atlanta woman.

They've got a flashlight up your ars

I don't know how
the billionaire marketing geniuses at Google
decided that I was into Jethro Tull,
and that I would see their ad, and buy some Tull cds.
I've have never been into Tull,
in fact, I've always found Tull dull.
These same marketing geniuses have decided
that I am attracted to very good looking women
with large breasts.
I'm going to leave that one alone.

Thoughts on who is free and who is not

Perhaps a chain of fools glued to sadness
is the madness self-created or induced
by the greed of others?
They've got me by the balls, too;
I'm part of the machine, and there is
nothing that I can do.
I like my oatmeal, for breakfast;
got to have electricity,
and, of course, cable tv, wifi internet,
and a cell phone, are a necessity,
though I can't afford my dear,
dear sushi right now.

Submission

I salivate like a Pavlov's dog
when you ring my bell,
oh well, there are rewards
for running to you
punishments too, but I overlook that
when I'm looking in your eyes
when I'm rubbing on your thighs
I salivate like a baby
but it's o.k.
I was never taught to be the Alpha Dog,
anyway.

Bundy, the dog, will snap at Jaggar, the cat, when Jaggar dares to stick his nose in or near Bundy's food dish, in the morning. Yet, the first thing that Bundy does, when he returns from his a.m. outdoor visit, is to run to Jaggar's breakfast bowl, and try to wolf down whatever kitty food that is in it before I scream, "No," at him. He then runs off, and hides beneath my desk. It is a game we play, a morning ritual, with Bundy usually emerging the victor, the animal with the most food in his gut.

Monkey, the stray cat**, has taken to rubbing up against my legs when I take the dogs outside to use the facility. I don't think that he is wanting to be held, and petted, because Jaggar does the same foot, and leg, rubbing thing, but resists being held or petted at all costs. I say, "stray cat," in regards to Monkey, but, really, these days, Monkey doesn't stray very far from the bowl that I fill with food every morning for her.

Catastrophe

I forgot to buy milk tonight
so the world will soon end
because I don't have milk for my tea.


I don't know about this Face Book crap; I got home from work, tired, grabbed a bag of peanuts, and a bowl to put the shells in, sat down to the puter, and found that I had 11 messages on FB. This should be fun I thought...11 messages is good. Not one was good, they were all responses that someone had made on a string where I had made a comment, or comments to a string that I had not requested to be on. I hate when people include me in their strings. Anyway, I'm tired and pissy; work was a pain in the ass, again, today... under staffing becomes stressful when you get busy, and there is no one to cover your back: the man saves money on labor costs, but you grow older with stress as you constant companion at near minimum wage per hour. I know, I know there are options, you have choices, blah, blah...

Maintaining that good attitude

I hate when my computer turns itself off: it goes to black, but the blue on and off button is still on; what's up with that? When I get a call from my oldest kid, early in the morning, like I did, this morning, it means that my job has called him, wanting something, usually for me to show up early, because someone else decided to take the day off, and because they did not reach me on my phone(I was asleep with the phone turned off, as it always is when I sleep.)

I'm a cynic; I think that it's rare that someone is sick enough to miss work(I think that that was programmed into me by my Irish immigrant working class parents.) I mean I don't mind if you are sick, or if you want to take a day off to lay up with your boyfriend, or look for a new job, as long as it doesn't affect me. Me, me, me...we are talking me, here, dear. I try to help out at work, whenever possible, by working to fill in when they need me, but I just don't have it in me, this morning. My head feels very groggy, and my hip is giving me a lot of pain. Should I feel guilty for just being able to work the shift that I was assigned?

I am in a piss poor mood, this morning. I like to wake up slow, sipping caffeine, typing words onto a computer screen, not be rushed into existence with harried phone calls. Dig?

The dogs pretty much chose to ignore me, this morning, when we were on our morning expedition to the front yard, and places not too far beyond, not heeding my, "Go home, Bundy; Go home, Morrison, when I thought that it was time to go home, preferring, instead, to languish in the, now, cool, and, still, wet grass, sniffing; enjoying one of the first cool mornings of the new autumn.

Monkey, the sort of stray cat, was hanging out front when the dogs and I arrived there, this morning. Monkey likes to say good morning to the dogs, rubbing up against the dogs like they are lovers preparing for a kiss. My only hope is that her loving manner doesn't give the dogs AIDS. I'm kidding, and I'm talking fleas kids, not acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Another cat showed up, wanting I'm not sure what; perhaps to share in Monkey's breakfast that I had just put out, but the dogs chased that cat off. I was glad that one, or both of the dogs, did not run off into the distance chasing the cat. Morrison, especially, used to have a problem coming back to the house after he ran off for any reason, and chasing a cat off was an especially good reason to head out into the hood for several hours.

Writing this has been good for me. I don't feel so stressed out anymore. People get sick, people call in when they are not sick. I should be glad that I have a job that thinks enough of me to want to bring me in early: there, the good attitude is back.

--Worker Bee K

Atlanta Woman