leap year

under this endless sun
the teeming masses
bloated
pale
frightened
Midwestern livestock
and
frail
decaying
snowbirds.

eating themselves
day after day
year after year
into oblivion.

I can almost see
their homes
sterileperfect.
their cars
shinygargantuan.
as they would almost have to be
to accomodate the waves of flesh
walkers and wheelchairs.

I can almost see the trinkets
figurines
decorative plates
as they pile up
in their luggage
and then back home.
spoils to be added to the coffer.

I can hear it in their voices
the mundane
bored
desperate
for anything to bring back the spark,
the magic
the reason
the LIFE
that is chased
lost
missed
and replaced
by another meal
a bigger purchase
something novel
almost feels
for one second
like the real thing.

all the time
more and more
replacements in the ranks
sitting in schools
readying for mediocrity
forsaking the dream
for the sure thing.

all the time
more and more
the cities
the beaches
the trails
the country
the dying seem to outnumber the living.

I wonder if it helps
or comforts in any way
today is leap year's leap day!
a freebie!
24 hours that you forgot to expect
plan
schedule
fear...
maybe this one could be spent
not squandered
relegated
avoided.

I can only hope
feebly
as the herd shuffles
lifelessly onto the shuttles
glazed eyes guide
blank stares direct
to the water
in hopes that a soak
in the mana
the prana
sun
for a day
could turn the whole thing around.

"where do you want to eat today dear? red lobster has a lobster feast for 13.99..."

life is sitting in your lap,
all day
even extra days.

hard to see if it's buried under a napkin.
I still hope.

Godzilla

ask yourself
what does it mean
what is possible
when you lose everything
everyone
your old way
even the very favorite tshirt
is consumed by the mess
of the rumbling masses
running for their lives
evacuating the buildings
houses and shops
heading to hide in the hills.

as the last stray dogs
head yelping out of the streets
and you are left
in the quiet
lonely
empty
streets,

ask yourself
why they all left.

something big,
has to be
giant
looming
apocolyptic
amazing.
its coming,
terrific
so why wouldn't you sit and wait it out?
just to see
what happens next.

a blast
tsunami
earthquake
meteorite
or better yet...

honolulu

back stage,
behind the resorts,
the production,
the show,
are the garbage trucks
dirty alleys
smoking Filipino chefs
blue eyed bums
with half full bottles
warm syrupy liquor
all they have to stave off the sun.
grit under fingernails
glass on concrete
brick walls addled with adolescent graffiti.
back stage,
off the main walk,
the beaten path,
real life is happening.
50 dollar blow jobs.Korean restaurants that actually serve dogs dog.
real life the way I've seen...
sooty
grimy
sometimes violent
fueled by the dream.
backstage
this morning
I crawl away from the cheapest
worst whore a man could stand.
I step into the early dawn
splintering brilliance
shade my eyes as they adjust
soak up the shining sky
and listen to the birds
as they lay down the soundtrack
to the beautiful show
we have made
in the alleys
the small rooms
searching
for another player
who loves to play.

glass eye

the more you're shattered,
reduced to dust,
the more is possible
when you put the whole thing
back together again.
peices have possibilities,
but dust is infinite.
at the end I always laugh,
when the last bits come settling down,
and I have the chance to look around.
from here is a girl,
a trip,
some trees,
backdrops and buildings,
empty,
full,
open,
closed.
dark.
darker.

what comes next.

the puzzle,
the path,
lost at sea
without a map.

some think it's a problem.

I thought it was the point...

couchroom

the only place i never snore
is sleeping on a couch

the years of training have finally paid off!

i am used to it.
i need it.
i want it.

i am finally a world class something.

couch surfer.

when i finally make it
in the books
the magazines
the records

or some long lost rich relative dies,

i will have a home,
a studio,
a car maybe,
some great women lounging around the brand new above ground pool i have just installed in the front yard to my neighbors dismay...

the bedroom will have a bed,
but that will just be for
fucking
sucking
screwing.

then, right next door
behind a solid
soundproof
wooden door.

will be a nice long couch,
that i will sneak away to
after i have had my fill
of whatever
whoever
has taken my bed.

even when i'm rich
it just will seem
to make more sense
that i sleep
with
the
dogs.

foot

broken bones
don't hurt so much
as
broken
hearts
loves
promises
plans
families
ideals
dreams.

they do make you limp and hobble.
in this strange city,
with a thousand miles of sidewalks
the gated steps add up
and make one think
a heart break
might be
okay.

acid

believing in another soul
is a bouey in the midst of this sea
of cynicism
and empty bravery here.

they seem fewer and far between these days.

my childhood friends and me
we would set
out to the far end of the schoolyard
past the swings
the baseball diamond
to the blank cold blacktop
away from the crowds
jeering ropers
the sports
who were always bigger than us
enough to be a problem.

standing way out
the farthest distance
afforded the greatest view
and space for us to think out loud.

we considered physics
science and philosophy.
we would speculate out loud
about the implications of which direction the falling of the snow took.

we were amazed by our prowess
as the incredible information effortlessly poured out our mouths
tumbling with snow to the ground
only to be replaced by another grand vision
and another
and another.

we believed so much.

but science and time would come to prove us wrong on most counts.

it turns out that atoms aren't held together
by small ropes,
not all animals are reptiles,
and the space program certainly didn't start
at the high school down the street.

many years later came the mountains of weed and lsd,
which would come to ultimately prove us right.

but not till after i had stopped beleiving.

not till after all of the souls around me became the water in which i was sinking.
flopping.
straining to stay afloat,
gasping for breath
as i scanned the horizon for just one.