THE BLIND

I can’t see what’s in front of me,
but I’m sure you’re all there.
The space between raindrops
constitutes a massacre.
It’s what I call, “a blind.”
A dark spot behind the eyes
and way past a prayer, it’s
both cataract and cure.
It’s where the story begins
and ends, it’s when you can’t
see what’s right in front of you
but you’re sure it’s all there…

FRONT

Out my window are the sounds of war,
cacophonous explosions over the East River
and I wonder if NYC is under attack
at this late hour, but then lightening flashes
and the rain comes seething down
and I realize it’s just a storm front
blowing in, a furious story
to suddenly overtake us…

SHAMWOW = FAKE DELIGHT

Shuck and jive, shock and awe,
take the bait and then look
at all the pretty lights.
The cripple looks down
the corridor, and wonders
how much he can absorb.
We are legless for convenience,
but that only increases our advance,
a soundless stampede. Our eyes
give us away, the prisoners’
leaden teletype that says,
“We are home, but that home
has been hollowed out from us.
Please let us stay…”

NERVE VECTOR

I am the sum of my parts, and then some.
I am often called William, though that
is a misrepresentation, recalling
my essay, “Myth-Making on the Back Burner”
but we’ll save that lesson for another day.
I am less than I am, but more than you.
When we get close to the center,
I’ll make sure you pass through.
A needle-eyed hindsight
so certain it’s pure…

LIP-SYNCHING TO GOD

….can lead to a very smite-able
contract dispute, where the dotted line
is dashed with dawn-of-time and all
attendant baggage, and the heavenly
choirs are talking trash behind your back
in perfect harmony, and you can count
all the angels you want on the head
of a pin, until the needle drops,
and you’re left standing,
mute and pure as milk, your only
line from an already minor production
suddenly excised….

ADVANCED KINGS

…already put the kibosh
on the word-of-mouth,
and just when you were done
worshipping the end of the line.
Your allegiance spells dust.
You can’t say the first word
of forgiveness, the dead
are swept under the chalice,
but still, this is the realm
you’re most comfortable in?
Remind me why I’m blind…

MEET YOUR MAKER

Hello. You seem to be
holding up well. Are you
the worst for wear, do you need
any special mommy-coddling,
or a credit for a free dinner?
Look at you. You’re a bag of bones,
unformed, a bent fetal Hail Mary,
delicious. I’d name you Clay,
but that would be redundant.
Look at what you are
in my hands….