I read last Saturday in the
redwoods outside of Santa Cruz
and I was about 3/4's finished
when I heard a long high scream
and a quite attractive

we are always asked
to understand the other person’s
viewpoint
no matter how
out—dated

he said, “I was working in Hollyw
working in Hollywood and he was
the worst: he was too drunk to sta
end of the afternoon and so I had
into a taxi

there are worse things than
being alone
but it often takes decades
to realize this
and most often

we have everything and we have not
and some men do it in churches
and some men do it by tearing butt
in half
and some men do it in Palm Spring

the goldfish sing all night with g
and the whores go down with the st
the whores go down with the stars
I’m sorry, sir, we close at 4:30,
besides yr mother’s neck is dirty,

we had goldfish and they circled a
in the bowl on the table near the
covering the picture window and
my mother, always smiling, wanting
to be happy, told me, ‘be happy He

I can’t have it
and you can’t have it
and we won’t
get it
so don’t bet on it

these things that we support most
have nothing to do with up,
and we do with them
out of boredom or fear or money
or cracked intelligence;

the words have come and gone,
I sit ill.
the phone rings, the cats sleep.
Linda vacuums.
I am waiting to live,