Updated February 27, 1997
--*--
A Cautionary Tale
He had a habit, Thomas Grey,
Which had a most
unpleasant bent,
For every hour of every day
His finger
up his nostril went.
It pleased him so to do a deed
That everybody else
deplored.
His parents cried "You'll make it
bleed!"
But all their warnings he ignored.
One night, when he was safe in bed,
His parents heard
an awful shout,
And, rushing up, they found him
dead
And turned completely inside-out...
--*--
sijo
Remembrance
I pick my way through weed and briars
across the deserted land.
Silhouetted against the grainy sky
a tall, stone chimney.
Standing alone, I wonder-
do you remember me?
--*--
Look at the destruction,
The chaos I have made.
I am sitting here alone
While they're all getting laid.
It's not because I am too large
Or my personality
It's not because I can not dance
It's just that I can't be
In touch with my feminine side.
-Chris Thornton-
--*--
The Mythology Of Air Travel
It's a book about
mythology and passion,
which are
the same thing.
Our flight time will be
one hour and two minutes,
approximately.
A man sits near me,
garlic and onion pizza
under
his jacket.
Aluminum glints
of sun through pock-marked
window
show me nothing new.
Attractive women
carry make-up boxes full
of
misdirection.
And yet I progress
toward my home-bound
passion,
who may yet be myth.
--*--
The Mountain Goddess
On the Pennsylvania turnpike,
an annual trip we've made for years,
alone together.
But this year with a new tunnel blasted through
the comfortable mountain landscape of our lives.
Cooing in a rear-facing child seat,
as we hurtle past the curious trees,
the Mountain Goddess,
in her new infant aspect,
can only marvel at a world so changed.
--*--
"Friend"
To my life you bought elation,
Your seed long since been sewn.
Though far away, and out of sight,
Your memory I own.
O'Kelly
c: 2/13/97
--*--
"loneliness has nothing to do with being alone"
I (like a boy racing across his backyard, trying to catch all the rain in
his mouth as it falls) walked across the room.
--*--
I'm In Your Heart
When you're feeling down and out
and things are going rough.
Don't give up, you must not doubt
stand tall and just be tough.
They will try and bring you down
they'll try and tear you apart.
But don't you cry, don't you frown
be strong, I'm in your heart.
--*--
Sea Oats
beneath the moon
sea oats bend and sway
with the
wind-
hands linked, we dance
young again, across the
dune
--*--
Brighid and Buddha
Argue with Jesus and
Zues--
Oghma doesn't know
{I'll bet he does. Just can't spell it out!}
--*--
Spring Waka
Beautiful music
Dances through the tree-filled woods.
Crickets chirp; birds sing
Sun makes patterns on the snow
Melting away my sadness.
Erica
--*--
"Mother"
The sun grows tired
And leaves her earth children
For a night of rest.
But then comes her friend the moon,
Who watches us as we sleep.
"Wintertime Hiking #1"
Footsteps in the snow
Develop a forest trail
For me to follow.
"Wintertime Hiking #2"
Trudging through snow drifts
My feet fall but avoid the
Path already made.
--*--
E-Mail Me, don't leave it there
hanging in the cyber-air.
An answer floating high above
grabbed for it with virtual-glove,
No reason to fret worry or greive
If I am alive why do I not breathe?
Send your word across the wire
to steady my soul and let me retire.
Eyes burn in the light of the screen
waiting for you to E-Mail Me.
Poem by Pomeranc
--*--
retlaw poems
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
--*--
UNWRITTEN RULES
Prancing pasta
Hey macaroni
noodles giggling
self luminating sphere
Woody Guthrie's rapping
variations on a theme
primordial types still roam
assaulting urban dwellers
machismo venison burgers
upgrade- official rules
menopause after fifty
well adjusted lesbians
stain removing sermons
earth-bound tragedy
no daddy
oval shaped lady in nominee for artist of the year.
--*--
Let me be the one
Who shares your sadness
And sorrows,
The one
Who brings you happiness
And satisfies your heart.
Let me be the one
Who takes you everywhere
In the beautiful autumn days,
The one
Who keeps you warm
In the cold winter nights.
Let me be the one
Who warms your heart
When it's cold,
The one
Who fills your heart with joy,
And let me be the the one
Who loves you forever.
--*--
luke warm shaving water
in popsicle form tastes like
my grandfathers past but i
often confuse that with my
own techno presence
i hold together with chewed bubble
gum
off the pavement and green aqua resistors
i snatched from my very own out of date
commadore 64.
--*--
it always does
she left me but she left her clothes
i knew she'd
never forfeit those
she was bluffing; yes she was
and
she came back; she always does
she left again; i had the blues
until i saw her
favorite shoes
she was bluffing; yes she was
and she
came back; she always does
she left once more; this time for sure
i even cut my
hair for her!
i can't believe how sad i was
but it grew
back; it always does
-claude prez
--*--
Kissing You
Your kiss
the key
Soft lip
on me
Can't stop
my brain
Kiss me
again
Janet
by Jan Tucker
--*--
Ozone
I am the hole above the earth
Each time I'm surprised
I hurt
Telephones cause me pain
I often love in
vain
I write to kill, I'm insane
Poetry keeps me alive
Line by line my will
survives
One day my heart will stop
Atmosphere
Some of me will go there
Earth
Some
of me will rot
Fire
Mine will go out
by Jan Tucker
--*--
A TEAR OR TWO
By Susan Hera
A tear for every hurtful saying.
A tear or two for
every name.
Another, for each accusation.
Angry words
bring tears of pain.
A tear, for all I do is wrong.
A second, for I can't
do right.
Another, for the tone in your voice.
For
this, I cry tears all night.
A tear in the morn, for the night before.
A second,
for all the things you said
Another, because my eyes are
sore.
Angry words, you don't regret