Burros

rain rains on butterflies
rain rains on sparrows
rain rains on lonely men ..
messed for tomorrow

rain finds its way inside
each devilish sorrow..
it's a wipe-away
like sneezing
for a shaker-peppered burro.
delightful
long lasting
each shudder down the snout
is met with hind legs kicking..
and thunder all about.

rain rains on everything
those in and those devout
rain rains on sandwiches
that haven't found the mouth

It's the burro
always thinking
what's that plinking
and plinking?
it's the burro
who's got it
figured out

rain rains on hogweed
rain rains on gypsies
rain rains on lonely men
dressed for tomorrow

rain knows just where to go
drip a chin
drop a toe
wind a way to way below
and sit

tongue out
legs stout
on the burro.
open wide and let it slide
the greenflies
are all gone.
simple
satisfied
in the rain
out of sides

rain rains on chivalry
rain rains on vice
rain rains on cowardice
rain rains on might

burro wet with slick
burro slick with wet
burros simply satisfied
burro no regrets

rain falls on a lonely man
who may not know his place
rain rains on everyone
rain falls on his face.

Hummingbirds

I've been waiting on the hummingbirds
sitting on a cactus
mouthing words,
to the blue jays
and the world absurd
just waiting on the hummingbirds

 bizz and buzz and swirl

I held rubbers on red fingertips
I shook them to the sky in fits
mouthing words
and taking sips
to the world absurd
just waiting on the hummingbirds
to fly from Argentine

Are you gonna make the scene
or keep me wondering?
are you gonna dip and dart

catastrophe
 rhapsody
behind  the flutter flap

Are you gonna hover here
zig a zag
when I come near
turn the air
into a ballroomwhile I watch?

Tantalize and stir the sky

like a lifetime multiplied

dusky moments

colorized

ballerinas 

I'm waiting for the hummingbirds
I'm crimson , carved at cap
I'm up the tree
that spoke to me
and asked me to come up.
I'm waiting on the hummingbirds
my mouth is full of blood
I'm bath for you
I'm trash for you
I'm waiting , as I do.
Are you gonna hover near
zig a zag
I'm waiting here
make the air..
into a ballroom
while I watch?
I'm fading dear
I'm losing years
they're dripping down the tree
I'm waiting for the hummingbirds
to finally
see me.
I'm waiting for the hummingbirds

flying by

humming tamps the noises down

humming keeps the crowds at large

humming puts the hum

into the drum

ho hum ho hum ho hum..

to finally see me.

I’m waiting for the hummingbirds

They’ll dance

dizzy the tree

they’ll wake the air

from apathy

wing my dead face

of the fleas

I’m waiting on the hummingbirds

I’m waiting to be seen

I’m waiting on the hummingbirds

I’m waiting to be free.

Eels

my grandpa set his watch on railroad time..
he dozed and spilled his pipe
on the New York Times.
when he woke
he choked and choked..
in time with the Brooklyn line..
by the time
the train had passed
he was gone.
and the eels in the Sound
kept swimming on.

Eels are snaky creatures
they slither and they snake
they make an old man
grab a hold
make a grandson shake

Eels are slick & slimy
they wriggle , no mistake
they make an old man
use both hands
a grandson
shifts his weight

what's a 50 pounder to
a set of ancient knees
what's a look over the side
if he's trying to see ...
the struggle and the battle
of his hero
and an eel.

my lurch , his launch
his splash, my birth.
is what saved both of us
I pulled him in
swore to make peace
as he swore fisherman.

The Sound was silent
the eel was free.
flowing blood
both our knees

He laughed and gave my hair a toss
he gathered me
to be.
motor boat
headed home
smiling like the sea.

He asked me if I loved my mom.
he told me I should tell her.
he asked me to not smoke
the "pot" or drink myself
to ruin.

there's an eel that got away..
Long Island Sound
that summer day.
there's an eel
that's got a feel
for come what may...

maybe he squiggled home
told his kids he loved them
even though
they worked his only nerve
like it wasn't curved on curves

He smelled out his wife..
and spiraled her
snaked a kiss
reminded her
that he was lucky
to be green
watering the waterway ....

tightening the tightening
he hugged her close
and said he'd be
a father to her sons
a father to her girls
a father
to all needs.

I still wrangle with the ruin thing,
I don't smoke the "pot"
or do heroin
I love my mom
and my dad too
they know that
cause I show that
I'm trying to not rock the boat
no more.

My grandpa set his watch on railroad time..
he dozed and spilled his pipe
on the New York Times.
when he woke
he choked and choked..
in time with the Brooklyn line..
by the time
the train had passed
he was gone.
and the eels in the Sound
swam on.