Crash City Compilation

The Ghost of Mayonnaise and Kisses (30/49)

party down the road
i can’t remember
a novel’s title
white light swooping up
an old brown bookcase
you said she’d never

dressed up in the thrift store style
friendly with a foreign tongue
certain sense of belonging
you said she’d never but she
in all her white laced glory
she swooped down on me and did
filled me with the kiss of life

Rhythm (13/15)

jack under bebop
came to aid
a flailing drummer

follow these cold calls
direction of dream
headset falling off

Snowangels (29/41)

scraps of standard oil
make a kind of new design
just slip in cassettes
when the AP reads all wrong
light a smoke and drive

listening to jazz
with the windshield wipers on
and it dawns on me
we’re just snowangels baby
angels in the glow
it’s nuclear wintertime
and we’re snowangels

Spider (14/10)

spider hovers in blade one
with a shotgun microphone

picking out the pearls
from crosstown traffic

Edge of Crash City (20/21)

snarl of metal barbs
cold river’s blue edge
a black and white sign
stop! danger! poison!

under flourescent moonlight
frogman from the desert side
swallows up to the surface…

Sandusky

Rollercoasters (30/49)

Watching from afar
The rollercoasters
A faraway land
The gorgeous sunsets
Down on I-90
Somewhere near water

Pris’nor to the hands of time
Personal evolution
That comes with many sunsets
Pris’nor of anxiety
But today is a good day
Hold on to your sexy hat
Imagine rollercoasters

Jack of Clubs (13/15)

Rummy 500
Holding hands
Missing jack of clubs

And I remember
MMA laughter
Over chicken wings

Show Myself (29/41)

Bump our way along
Through the good times and the bad
I regret nothing
Except occasional tears
Just the business cost

Show myself to you
In the strokes of math-based poems
Show myself to you
Across lines of U.S. Mail
The rhythm of you
Wrapped ’round the rhythm of me
Show ourselves to us

Red (7/5)

Hold you tight in my red heart
Gently let you go

Photos (20/21)

Sip coffee with cream
Finger my cell phone
Look out the window
I want more of you

All of this will come in time
While I’m forced to imagine
Photos that aren’t coming through

Autumn Hymnal

Threaded Story (30/49)

the end of my rope
this journey over
far as i can go
these old spectacles
this old prescription
is working no more

no more room to move forward
and i can’t go back in time
in my imagination
i envision a new rope
woven from the stuff of dream
today i grab this new line
in good faith will where it lead

The Compass (13/15)

what lays by my feet?
everything
what is in my hand?

what trucks in my head?
hero g.p.s.
satellite inside

M.A.B. (29/41)

my silent partner
buying boots for the winter
she judges nothing
leaving room for me to grow
she expects nothing

at nearby tables
tutors are guiding students
gentle mathematics
and with luck i might devise
a brand new program
with golden variables
methods and functions

Run Time (14/10)

a new star interpreted
inside peaceful peaceful fields

from the clearest sky
static falls like snow

Lazarus Rail (20/21)

an old train builder
grandpa used to be
deep in my mem’ry
stories told to me

travel facilitator
acceleration and mass
thundering to tomorrow

Didactic Afternoon

Didactic Afternoon (30/49)

fumbling through the dark
odd noises abound
sound of my own feet
clanking so foreign
metal cylinders
like helium tanks

let me take tiny refuge
by counting the syllables
and spreading out my cold thoughts
across a stretcher of words
the economy of strength
reclining in these blissful forms

Hexagon (13/15)

the mind is a box
and escape
is key to all things

the chill of nightmare
beauty of a dream
everything made up

Split of the Prism (29/41)

lines in an orange sky
from the earth to the heavens
a kind of lift-off
happens almost every day
right around this time

from rock to weightless
i can’t explain the science
doesn’t damper rise
can’t explain color theory
but that doesn’t stop
the miracle of white light
split of the prism

Convergence (14/10)

look forward down the highway
i love the parallel lines

future convergence
point is a mirage

Reverse Horizon (20/21)

promise of the night
a relaxing meal
good cocktail or two
orange bands revisit

then curtain of dark blue hues
wrap around me like a scarf
again i let my feet lead

The Mechanics of Transition

Hall of Mirrors (30/49)

the hall of mirrors
watch body language
listen for the cues
say okay and dance
fitting into place
the things that I do

in the end is it just that
you be me or I will be you
smile at jokes that make no sense
floating along the surface
to keep shallow waters still
day to make my great escape

Minister of Interior (13/15)

I’ll pick up and move
just my soul
to grand new cities

bold transformations
be the minister
of interior

The Home For Old Souls (29/41)

creak open the door
become flooded with colors
swim strong through the hues
pick a spot if you choose to
just sit back and glow

sometimes you just know
sometimes it’s just a feeling
when people’s mouths move
but the words say different things
glorious to nod
because the home for old souls
is ubiquitous

Revolution (14/10)

we’re always on nothing’s edge
simultaneously spun

milky way’s center
is a big black hole

Old House / New House (20/21)

now on my key ring
copper occupant
for an old keyhole
existing no more

a warm sort of homelessness
the places that I belong
everywhere, nowhere, and here

Night Moves

Patron Saint of the Abandoned Bicycle (30/49)

it’s missing a wheel
it’s missing a seat
chained to the meter
simply cast aside
yet he is our man
to get the job done

all hail the patron saint of
the abandoned bicycle
he patrols the scene at night
bolt cutters and heart of gold
cruise the streets in rare cologne
giving to metal and chain
the gift of liberation

Sweet Pea at the Door (13/15)

she welcomes you in
rubber stamp
initiated

mmp sss mmp sss mmp
groove the night away
thanks to ink on wrist

The Man in Maroon (29/41)

glaring at his watch
his head shaking back and forth
looking down the track
soon enough the platform fills
anticipation

in ten minutes time
the sound of glorious bells
red lights flashing bright
and the train pulls up at last
everybody on
except the man in maroon
glaring at his watch

Middle Sister (14/10)

crushed at the end of the bar
no idea what she’s got

blinded by beauty
no man will approach

Invisible Journalist (20/21)

flies Pilot V5
precise rolling ball
taking photographs
developed in words

he’s everywhere and nowhere
head filled with shapes and numbers
heart filled with universe love

Urban Shuttle

Plane Maintenance (30/49)

the thrill of the dark
sounds around corners
sparks in the distance
try killing some time
in this cold airport
just plane maintenance

one time i heard a rumor
once i heard a loving song
but now i can’t remember
the secret of swollen lips
but now i can’t remember
the melody and the words
force create my very own

Tarmac (13/15)

the feel of concrete
rubber wheels
still going nowhere

pick a direction
dreaming of a film
on a cracked white wall

Concessions (29/41)

just find Polaris
when the world won’t go your way
embrace the earth’s tilt
you’ll see it’s going your way
surprise horizons

up on the third floor
metal gate, wooden staircase
where i found solace
one short week and one long month
living on the moon
left to my own devices
laptop and cellphone

CAPCOM (20/21)

nothing but static
then warm transmissions
north of the border
then from the left coast

alone but never alone
gallery of white angels
the coils in my radio

Splashdown (14/10)

the cusp of the stratosphere
my capsule is now nearing

prepare to adjust
body gravity

Elevator Mechanic

Bananaman (30/49)

keeps saying hi-fi
when meaning wi-fi
charging his phone up
so he keeps saying
numerology
to take us all down

I’m wishing like a turtle
in hopes of a stronger shell
to keep his energy out
labyrinth geography
talking about his two dogs
all this ’cause I’m just floating
all I need is a good plan

Sweet Relief (13/15)

going to Target
nicotine
in the form of gum

The Reveal (29/41)

would like higher ground
but I’ll take steadier ground
maybe just for now
bananaman just took off
poison words in tow

ride people’s elevators
either up or down
be your own elevator
know where you’re going
because sometimes getting stuck
someone else’s ride
can be very treacherous

Positive Charge (20/21)

a peaceful break now
these things I long for
positivity
the key to all things

shouldn’t be afraid to chat
operate elevator
friends going to the same floor

Swimsuit (14/10)

next time you feel the whirlpool
take some time and look around

very well might find
elevator rides

Splash Constellation

The Cave (30/49)

primordial flame
licking up the walls
hands in dark circles
beating off old drums
ancient rhythms pulse
pulling toward the womb

under flag of shadowplay
i lean over uttering
eat, drink, and have a good time
to your heart and from my mind
this is the end of the line
this is the end of the line
this is the end of the line

The Dream (20/21)

strange invitations
across my shoulder
splash constellation
(i must be crazy…)

all my sensibilities
overturned- somehow buoyant
small boats in a sea of light

The Journey (29/41)

i awake on fire
in the world that they call real
haunted by angels
after years of suicide
i fi’nlly ascend

terror from all sides
love and hell, ropes from the sky
thru the fire I climb
a trail of ashes behind
my naked body
collapsing in the new rain
cool mirrored diamonds

Birthday (13/15)

on the terra firm
being born
in a wash of white

tales of a new star
codetalkers whisper
lexicon of light

The Beginning (14/10)

evolution’s primer flies
on the wings of butterflies

gentlest earthquakes
from smooth golden flaps