Spark

There was no spark-

one
that could
set the whole forest on fire.

no spark, no fire
leaving the trees to stand

[haunted,
with the ghosts of
them]

the old trees
of past mistakes

the old trees
leaving deep roots inside me.

forming new rings around me
as time goes on.


I was hoping you could
set it ablaze-

hoping you could
free the land,
with the simplest of acts-

but there was
no spark-

no spark
to set
fire-

So the forest stands intact-
[haunted]

no spark,
not even to keep warm
or
to make the
ember
glow

just a cold breeze
then nothing.

09'

bridge to nowhere

She is a bridge to nowhere,

but i walked miles
in the sun
across rocks
and hills
streams
and
past snakes
to cross it.

walking
lost
alone
hurried and determined
to reach a bridge to nowhere.

there are things we choose
to do
and
things
we must do.

I had no choice.
it is a
such a beautiful bridge.

she is
bridge to nowhere
and
led me
precisely
there.


09'

volcano

They throw
sacrifice into volcanoes

to appease the gods.

my blood,
it burns-
it flows in the
chambers of the heart
patiently-
waiting.

the gods
let the heart rest
at ease while they slumber before an eruption.

but she disturbs my existence
with peace-
serenity.

in her eyes
there is the tranquility of water

clear pools

diving in-
profound,
taking deep breaths
and
I sink

in her eyes
there is the tranquility of water

there
i find the
opposite of me

the opposite
of fire-

extinguished
unable to act

except to
write down words-

Those eyes require sacrifice
to appease them-

should these words fail,
i don't know what will happen.

09'

hang

[she is new]
[she has my full attention]

she makes me feel like I'm walking on air.

but before i can begin-
[before we can hang out]
there are
certain things
I need to do.

I've been
tying up
loose ends

collecting
loose threads

so many threads
they tangle
until
I have a rope-

a rope is
a dangerous
thing
to have-

give a man enough rope and
he will hang himself
[by the neck -
leaving him]:

walking on air-

but not the way
I had in mind.


09'

the book

face book is
a holy book-

the
closest thing to
spiritual connection
there
is
without spirituality.

the closest
thing to being
there-
in the present
moment-

without having to try.

filling the need for
connection
via high speed connection

filling the void
with zeros and ones

Digitally
making us one

we are one consciousness.
one
artificial intelligence-

the soul an artifact.

information articulated

information:
instant
constant
insistent-

feeding the need for
connection-

feeding live
feeding frenzy,


face book
a holy book-
its telling a story
about a billion
lonely people

who

wanted a world with the ubiquity of god
without
him
in it



09'

mincing words

Ancient Chinese recipe for Tiger Soup:
"First catch the tiger...."



I was worried that I was
too easy to find.

There was too much of
myself out there.

I know you came looking.
but not just you,
the other one too...

There were too many
cooks in the kitchen.

I began to mince my words.

the poems suffered...

Blanched, Boiled, Braised
[(watered down)]

undercooked-
raw,

Too many cooks
have spoiled
the broth.


[she says]
If you can't take the heat,
get out of the kitchen-

But there is too much of myself
out there for you to find-

I have no where to go-

so the words and the poems
will have to do-

I will have to do-
You will have to do-

and now we're
cooking with gas.


09'

black out

there was a black out on my block.
it lasted all night-


the cosmetic company
and the bottling company
had
their lights up
first,

(because they weren't poor)

while I sat around in the dark.

Unplugged,
Disconnected,
Bored.

There was nothing to do but think.

The greatest minds
of our species
wrote in the dark
by candle light.

Rousseau,
Jefferson
Locke
Aristotle

fiat lux

Meanwhile
all I could think about was women.

the darkness was wasted on me.


09'

man about town

I've been going out more on my own-

a man about town

which is
something new

I'd be lying if didn't think about
what could go wrong-

yet

meeting people
is easy,

meeting the right people is a game of chance,

like poker,
like roulette,
or dice,

I've been meeting
more women.

meeting women
is easier when
you don't want anything from them.

I have become
escape artist,
scientist
fraud,
cosmic dancer,
crook,
mouse,
poet,
comedian,
eligible bachelor
the last of famous international playboys,
-and myself

a man about town
a man about to leave
about to go home

[a man about to go to sleep-
alone.]

09'

out loud

I don't even know why
I decided to approach her,
I don't even smoke anymore.

and

Yes,
when she told me her parents were
from Guatemala,

there was a part of me that....
I mean it crossed my mind...
I took it
under consideration-


I liked the way it was
going,
it reached a point
where you were taking me seriously,
and
she waited for one of us
to blink.

I blinked.

I let her off the hook-

I know Guatemalan's
I happen to be one.

and

Of all the Guatemalan men
I have met,
all but one has
let me down.

She seemed like a nice
girl,
why would I do that to her.

I would i inflict upon her
a Guatemalan man,
I would i inflict myself upon
her.

or
maybe I just spared
myself years,
and years of whatever the name for it is...

after all she is a Guatamelan woman.

although, then again, and
however-

I have come to accept that
one day I will have children
who might be inter- racial
mixed,
exotic?

meeting her-
well,
it gave
me pause.

I realized I
would like to have
Guatamelan children.


I told Bob
about meeting her.

He called her the idealized "one"

I cringed in
embarrassment-
not because it wasn't true-


There's
just something about
hearing your hopes
out loud.

09'

too much

"full of sound and fury signifying nothing"
- Shaka Spear ray



there was no need to prove
that
you've read a book
or two

no need to
talk about
every television show
you've seen.

there was no
need to
talk about a city
you no longer live in

I mean
you just came off
trying too hard, know it all jerk,

it was only funny at first.

only for awhile...

could the
silence be that
bad?

what scares you about that
silence?

who are you in the silence?

there was no need to pretend
not to be scared-

there was no need,
but "I" did it anyways...

09'

Two Haiku's

she said she was here
to enjoy a smoke, or two
i was just extra




she's got big blue eyes
and mine are darker than dark
a staring contest

09'