(1987)
Reprinted with permission of "Hellas," Vol. 8
No, birds are not lizards; birds a… I’ve seen a grackle rush from here… for no apparent reason. I’ve seen a lover-loser stab the earth with tiny beak,
At breakfast my microwave appears to heat, electrons clearly humming; container, though, remaining cold, oatmeal cooling rapidly.
Don’t shock me with your atheistic… God gave us all a book that proves… And serves us as a guide for all w… excepting parts that don’t make se… God serves us like a good psycholo…
The Inmate (a sestina) My parents, souls revering freedom… took turns at serving as my jailer to show me how constraints are rig…
Higher Powers From birth to death some others mu… You see, as infant, round-faced, g… Above the crib, to serve you, need… Precluded by efficacy of sobs.
Coffee Table Books A coffee table book’s not there to… it’s there to stupefy your curious… who read the titles surreptitiousl… to sneer in secret at your shallow…
A Teacher to a Boy with a Center… While you turn red at my approach,… Your nails and shift your eyes abo… Attempting all the while a saving… I play the teacher’s role: I set…
Aesop as Existentialist They’d suffered through a devasta… And many larvae died from lack of… The queen, as well, grew thin for… Thus forcing all the workers to co…
Poesy’s Progress My rhymes are gone, at least quite… my lines are stop– ped just anywhere. The meter is, no doubt, unconscion…
. . . and after they had torn and… The earth, and passed the tons of… Through frightening fires until it… And then unloaded it upon the shor… Of Black Detroit, where it was fi…
Boundaries Tracing writhing streams, circling alpine wastes, tickling out a finger nudged between two behemoths,
Anthropomorphism Two pigs copulate above The legend “Makin’ Bacon”; A lobster sports a chef’s cap, beckons with big red claw;
In wines my wife prefers the red, While I like white the best. And so we drink rosé instead, Which both of us detest.
Sex Education Concealed, disguised, deceptively… These mists are slowly cleared by… Across a playground, thrilling tru… Or theorized through older sibling…
. . . And after they had torn and… The earth, and passed the tons of… Through frightening fires, until i… and then unloaded it upon the shor… Of Black Detroit, where it was fi…
