09.29.06
Love Poem
I saw a pair of fat red lips
on the marble floor
and, though your lips
were never red like those,
or as voluptuous,
I thought of you.
It may have been that
you were already there
somewhere in the back of my mind
waiting to be thought about.
You, who used to call me
and make me think you needed me.
You, who let me in on all your little secrets,
ones you said you never told anyone else.
You, who weren’t quite lying.
You see I had never felt so preferred,
so elected by another to serve with such purpose,
and you were needy.
I don’t know who you talk to now
or, maybe, you’ve grown
to keep your own counsel…
the lips on the floor were as silent
as you are on the subject.
copyright 2006
09.18.06
When You Remember Me…
When you remember me
forget that undertakers painted my face
to quicken me for onlookers;
forget the sightless spasm that ripped across my brain
and left me with just a fragment of faded genius.
Just remember transitory hyacinths,
clutching horns, unredeemable desire,
dropping-down pleasures,
and the rare hysterical kyrieof the doves.
copyright 2006
09.12.06
Faces Barbados
In Bridgetown
I swim in a sea of black faces
and wonder who they think I am
if they think of me at all.
Why do I expect a smile
on all the faces on the bus,
acknowledgement, acceptance of me,
an obvious interloper?
Singled out
by the shop owner
he beckons me to the front of the line,
his arm making a sweeping arc,
as if to say
“No white face waits in my shop!”
I should have objected
and stood my ground
but I didn’t.
He acknowledges me
with a “thumbs up”
and a smile when I order
jerk chicken and salad.
The smile on his face
is genuine, I want to believe,
making him appear younger
than he must be.
Who lives in those pretty houses
behind solid white walls?
I’m afraid I know…
Who lives in those tin-roofed shacks
behind rusting, rotting autos growing in front yards?
I’m afraid I know…
Ought we depend on their being satisfied
with their lot?
I think not.
copyright 2006
09.08.06
“The Donkeys of Kona” and “Big Island Haiku”
The Donkeys of Kona
The sign on Highway 19 says:
“Donkey crossing
next two miles,
dawn & twilight hours.”
Curious.
The girl at the Bad Ass Coffee Co.
tells me the donkeys were once used
to haul coffee beans
down the slopes of Mauna Kea;
but now they are wild, and free
to roam the lava fields;
to graze on tufts of straw grass,
the only thing that grows there;
she tells me they’re in trouble now,
developers want the land
and the donkeys have to go;
each time we pass that sign i look for them.
And then early one morning
there they are,
five of them, gray & brown,
walking single-file,
heading down to the shore
to spend the day dreaming,
and looking out to the West.
Big island Haiku
Driving to Hilo
Mauna Kea draws my eyes
toward heaven.
Wild donkeys of Kona
cross the highway at twilight
to graze on tufts of yellow straw grass.
Snorkeling at Kahaluu
this time I watch
big, lazy turtle!
Black lava fields,
clusters of palm trees at ocean’s edge -
oases of green civilization
Sunlight flashing on
Kealakekua Bay -
reef fish enchant me!
copyright 2006
09.06.06
“Things Change” and “Pink Grape Nail Polish”
Things Change
i like change;
i like the unfamiliar;
sameness bores me.
That’s why i live where the seasons change,
That’s why i don’t spend lots of money on clothes or furniture.
Old values are just old,
Time-tested ways narrow my options.
That’s why i live in the city,
that’s why i visit strange places.
What’s interesting is what’s not like me,
what’s entertaining is exotic, alien.
i like eyes that are not round,
skin that is not white, languages i don’t understand;
That’s why i stay in a place where immigrants settle every day.
That’s why i’m not afraid of what this world is coming to.
Pink Grape Nail Polish
(from a NYT news item, 7/7/95)
The words echo across the river
and valley of the Brazilian rainforest,
“Avon calling!”
Women in tiny villages sweep shanties
to prepare for her coming.
Today maybe a hot cinnamon lipstick,
or a pink grape nail polish;
or a scented candle to light
the family table at dinner tonight;
the tiny star earrings
may be just the thing
for the festivale next month.
she’ll want a cool drink when she arrives;
it’s hot on the river and the path to the village
is dry and dusty.
Will she take a chicken in payment today
Or will she insist on gold dust?
she complains when we can’t pay
because she has to pay Avon
out of her husband’s fishing money.
she says we are lucky to have her
because the river is dangerous,
full of piranhas and poisonous water snakes,
and she could fall in,
just like the Avon lady before her.
copyright 2006
