As long as I can tie a scarf 

around my bicep

then, later, fall down the stairs,

eventually, I'll come to

in a car crowded with EMTs

who steal heart attacks

from rich men who deserve them.

For money and power,

I gladly give up reality.

The Most Influential Loss

The glass plummets towards a sticky barroom floor

and shatters

with a suicidal sense of

lacking self-worth.

Swept up, the dust bin ambulance

whiles him to his dumpster mausoleum.

In black suits

and wire-rimmed spectacles

we mourn our front line soldier

under the neon red, white, and blue

of the Bud Light and Exit signs

at this barfly funeral.

With our whiskey breath

and vodka steps

we stumble over

barstools like grave stones

and leave flowers

by the draft-spigot tomb.

As I reach for a new drink,

"Hey, barkeep, read

a passage from that old book

you got up there."

The stoky man

reaches to the back of his highest shelf

and flips to a dog-eared page:

I do not even

pass judgment on myself;

I am not conscious of anything

against me, but I do not

thereby stand acquitted.

I raise myself up,

swallow two more shots,

then at the the door

I tip my hat

to my dear, departed friend

and stagger

towards the hospital

to see how my dear dad

is coming along.

Humans Come with Relationships

An elderly man stumbled

over a crack in the sidewalk.

His cane clattered on the ground.

Balancing on shaky legs

he requested of his grandson,

"fetch that for me."

The young boy stood still.

"No,"

he defiantly replied.

A bony finger, outstretched,

pointed to the cane

hopelessly collapsed on the ground.

Fire burned in his tired eyes.

"Pick it up now,"

he commanded.

The child took three or four steps,

knelt down and retrieved the cane,

shuffled back,

and placed it in his grandfather's hands.

...Not Help but Smile

Some nights we'd lay stranded

on our beach island hammock home front

where our words grew

around us like palm fronds.

You'd question me

and I'd till your reserved soil,

our free flowing foliage answers

were always well-planted.

We'd snuggle closer

and I'd learn your body

while you stared up

at the cloudless sky, thinking

those stars know you

before you knew yourself

but most of our twilight hours

were spent on our asphalt shore

where the high tide headlights

never rushed in too quickly

and we'd debate our potential

during which our worries were wasted

in misty smoke breath.

Each night

the luminous lamp light

rose with the setting sun

and we'd stare up, directly.

broken blind eyes

but only separation

could break smiles,

those elephant-ivory teeth

that gleamed serenely

like perfect moments

captured from time

your perfect moments

you're perfect

In the backyard

we were the natives

standing hand in hand

with our hearts in our palms

we never missed a beat

or a wave crashing

Eventually each grain of sand

is pulled out to the depths.

You followed along.

Interwoven fingers struggled

but those waves

swept you out into the back alley sea

and beyond--

ivory,

strewn about desolate pavement.