Here Together

dress the armature in porous fabric
let the boundary be soft it is diffuse
the body is not more than the soul
but how else can we live than here
together while we still can breathe

Short Pants

he long story hides in short pants
inevitable outcomes disguised by
details in phrases masquerading as
sentences swagged across time you
are too young to understand except
you do and never will forget what
you learn not looking or knowing
how much chance predicts your life

Nothing Happens

on a day like this nothing
happens I am too busy to
do anything but think and
write apart from regular
obligations I have to eat
then suddenly it's all over
a little progress is enough

No Future

as if what they do is real
what we do not really
and maybe they are right
I mean what is at stake
we're old so nothing is
no future to be decided
our questions answered
yet we are still alive and
deserve to be noticed if
only for the sake of now

Other Ideas

before you go is there anything else
you need to tell me or be told about
we mentioned every possibility of
improvement and why we doubt it
someone else will have other ideas
if they dare to reveal their thinking
I won't argue but add a sharper angle
similarly arbitrary and ill-informed
best to make a joke of it and keep on
doing the most the situation allows

Many Places

where are we now not South Carolina
with the snakes and smiles or anywhere
we lived before we knew much music

so many places on the map and people
making the best of desperate situations
enjoying the fruit falling off the trees

I don't begin to grasp all the variation
only go along and marvel that it works
at all and anything keeps getting done

True Story

a dream is not a poem
unless it is a ridiculous
disparity of ages a dirty
toilet a crisis at the paper
and nowhere to park my
motorcycle while I am
thinking how to tell a
different true story eyes
blurring from the screen

Always Cold

all that words can do
leaps to life at a touch
we are in Portugal it is
winter I am always cold
wars occur by accident
the universe is tired of living
words take it apart and fix it

Still Friends

did I say what I meant
too little or too much
or what I thought I could get away with
and still be friends
not stir up old rivalry and animosities we
want to let lie
a little vodka a nasty cold
releases me from narrow habits
and I speak my mind

Lost Poem

I keep trying to remember the lines
I composed while I was meditating
trying not to think in words I forgot
on purpose then regret the lost poem

Better Now

did I ever know
what was going on
not really didn't I
often miss the point

am I better now with
all this experience
and less distraction
probably not but I try

Just Life

do I feel this way because I am old
or because I am me
or because something bad happened
or not even something bad
just life as it is
an exhausting houseguest
days of no work
a mistake with the chickens
a sore shoulder
smoky air
and what am I to think
knowing time is running out
still figuring

Golden Dust

driven to document
self-improvement
self-branding
surveillance
showing off
desired reflection
cult of . . .
productive pleasure
taking time off
productive leisure
happiness's uses
self-confirmation
golden dust

Seven Hens

my seven hens came running
as they saw me coming with
treats Lady White the eldest
three each red and silver lace
now they have gone to join a
larger flock and I regret them
goodbye funny chicken friends

Natural Disasters

I barely dare to look at the news
something might have happened I
mean apart from natural disasters
poverty hunger continuing wars
and the collapse of civilization
I really don't care about New York
restaurants real estate celebrities
the arts as entertainment loved by
millions relentlessly manipulated
going along with whatever it is

Not Here

grape juice fills the closet shelf
red and pale green lunch all year
apples ripe on the tree for sauce
tomatoes blanched and frozen

nights are cooler air clearing up
despite fields and forest burning
hurricanes flooding other griefs
not here but here in our hearts

Not There

quickly now yes no I didn't say anything
about it no yes I know I kept my promise
you were not there I forgot what I thought
I meant to say something specific but what

you do what you have to do having decided
long ago everything fits together to be what
it is whether it is what you wanted depends
on how well it worked out if you are honest

you can take credit for what you make does
service count only if someone is producing
something useful diverting unique explicit
description of what might be unmentioned

Tummy Ache

how you feel is all there is
to go on or not accordingly
your tummy ache may be
nothing or a sign of worse
to come dessert a mistake

how you are likely to feel
at a certain time tomorrow
determines what you think
will probably happen if you
pull yourself together and go

The Usual

a few large animal heads make an impression
however sincere their provenance as if frozen
in life eyes glittering thinking about eating in

turn away or you will see what you'd rather not
not likely benefit from distressing emotions or
fill in the resultant void with seasonal bouquets

I would clarify if I could and retain penetration
fully expecting to be misquoted or seen through
I avoid commitment to the usual magic rituals

which isn't enough to explain what I really mean
to translate chance revelations into some familiar
land forms childhood memories or tacky symbols

With Care

not knowing anyone
I am invisible
like a pet
or a wild animal
seen only from outside

not a dream this
common experience
this natural condition
can be managed
with care

Blown Away

for Diane Fisher

I kissed you and was blown away
by the softness of your lips and soul revealed
womanly traits I didn't know what to do with
thinking I was gay

What You Know

the future is now as much as the past
the present a random transitional node
as we just happen to be where we are

so don't let memory claim it counts
more than what you know is to come
discounting the probability of surprise

feelings come and you have to go on
thinking the story must have a direction
when it actually is one whole thing

Still Breathing

we shared an oh dear but the air
didn't clear the sun rose red again
the blue overhead vaguely white

painful dream but the day arises
I rise itching but still breathing
knowing it still what I expected

Whole Minutes

tingling itching aching
doesn't do it justice
then something distracts me
and I forget about it
whole minutes at a time
John Ashbery dying
reminds me to read him
and the browser balks
the Times staggers on
and then I remember

Nothing Normal

smoky moon says something bad is going on
fires floods nuclear tests pleasant as it is here
though hotter than it should be nothing normal
I breathe it all in send out love peace justice joy

Also New

keep it moving
and it comes around again
everything the same
also new this time
we are together acknowledge
the other existing
making our lives matter

Love Letters

nothing hanging over me
except our own mortality
bodies gradually beyond repair
collapse of empire chaos pain
degradation of culture planet
and further writing to be done
books love letters this poem

Even Bach

depending on the hour even Bach
can stupefy in an entertaining way
leaving me dazed a singing night
waiting for the obligatory words

I no longer worry about thinking
of something to say I always can
and do if not in the early morning
then now before I put myself to bed