But The Dude abides
Spinning, twisted,
turned around,
looking every which way
but at the truth.
Page 17 of 39
Vision quest
Sometimes I imagine myself
like a ragged black cat
in a room full of sheep
wearing fine vestments.
Zephyr ex machina
I spent all day listening
to the swirling, whirling sound
of artificial breezes
struggling to imitate
the comfort of a real one.
Summer air
I wear the sky:
like a sheer robe;
like a second skin.
I bear the sky:
like a breaking wave;
like a suit of armor.
Mind’s eye
An exuberant child,
without restraint or modesty,
singing, dancing, and making merry.
Round and round they go,
sometimes for hours on end,
inside the skull-shaped room.
And that’s on a good day.
Scales of fate
I see the road before me,
so many choices left to make,
and see the road behind me,
marked by all of my mistakes.
I know what I have to do
to pull my foot out of the grave
but I’m not sure I’m strong enough
or that there’s enough left to save.
Brother
We traded words and we traded barbs;
we traded stories and we traded cards.
We’ve known each other for many years…
through childish play and warranted fears.
With luck, we’ll see plenty more
and relish all that’s yet in store.
Sensational
I do not know you.
For when I see you,
it is by the merest flicker of candlelight
dancing along the edges of your skin,
ignorant of the depths of your curves;
when I hear you,
it is only the quietest whisper
that hides between the sheets of a midnight tryst
wishing for the timbre of a boisterous afternoon guffaw;
when I touch you,
it is reminiscent of a polite museum visitor
who wistfully desires to more fully experience
the magnificent grain and texture of every frozen moment;
when I breath you in,
it is a fragrance that teases me,
like rich spices wafting through the air
promising a meal that always leaves me hungry for more;
when I kiss you,
it is a sweet and salty hors d’oeuvre
lacking the depth of palate of the ocean
that I can feel in your arms as they try to drag me under.
I do not know you;
not the feeblest shadow of a shadow of your radiance
but I look forward to learning – with earnest, attentive enthusiasm.
Marshmallow sky
The ocean of the sky
streaked white with foam; stirs in me
a quiet hunger.
Insomaniacal
These long nights are quite the burden –
wearing me down, tearing me down,
taking my sorry ass to town.
I need to get some rest, rest, rest –
need to creep, creep and get sleep, sleep
buried in covers so deep, deep.
A (wise) man of two faces 