Find

crafting the wind in marble
casting the breeze in stone
catching a zephyr in the moment
sculpting transience alone

raw and rough the rock begins
the sculpture starts undifferentiated
unworked, unmarked, uncut, simply
rock. and a blueprint in his head

and a chisel in his hand. struck
chips fly and chunks of white
veined with grey and green and
hues and streaks fall to the floor

delicate detritus litters the workshop
floor. the figure emerges slowly
rough at first, but lines begin to
take shape. limbs begin to

appear. revealed, created or found?
the stone begins to breathe. the shape
starts to shake, to live, movement
in the corner of his eye

he sleeps in the studio. constantly
aware of the eyes he watched arise
float to the surface of the stone, drawn
forth by the paintbrush chisel.

marbled whorls of color in his cheeks
life leeched into silent stone with quietus
just out of reach. peace
is the cessation of obsession

oblivion is the end result of creation
oblivious, he keeps on sculpting a son

No one ever knocks anymore: A Noir Nocturne

gum on the shoe of a man with a gun
         that and a nose for trouble, head for booze and eye for 
               the kinda girl who can make a crowded bar sweat
condensation beading on lips
                                         even the glasses can’t look away

in a red dress and heels she walks in
                                             what else. dames. every one acts like
she’s the first case walked in here all
                                           week. can’t remember the last time
head pounds hangover, lip curls to cut.

“Hey Dollface…”

but
        this one’s different
                                           she has a gun
                                                              too

hammer cocked back .38 cyclops wide primed against
     anvil of recognition. ACME printed on the side.
                   chest caves in memory implosion
                   Wile E Coyote flat in the wake
Roadrunner in red raises one black brow
       over
      those eyes
                          ice blue diamonds glitter

“you have the most beautiful eyes…“
in a sundress and a straw hat she poured cheap wine
seedy celebration for a job well done
wicked smile dances

well, never thought I’d see you
                again with the gun? you always had issues with
                                 trust me. I know what I’m

                         gun handle pole axe stun temple desecrated
            floored. fade to black. oblivion
     as welcoming a sight I have not

               seen the plates on the getaway car. feet staggered to
                              running down the dingy stairs, two at a time
                                          tires squeal, ignition catches. sputters

“stop it. you silver tongued….”
a kiss, a glance, frame a moment .
two thieves at the top of their game

engage. pursuit. not again you siren
          wails, screech, dodge the fuzz, speeding
                    to conclusions. she must have come

for the empty band of skin on a white knuckled hand on the wheel
for the fingers, so fragile. love is a femme fatale with a knife in hand
for the memory of better days, the broken knuckles of a brawler, a drunk, a

“A toast. To us. To the best thieves in this damn dirty…”
city lights wash out the stars but all he sees
diamond eyes reflect the streetlights halogen glare
backlit billboards set the scene

thieving witch, this is what I get. never trust a
     fool and his money, funny how cool the breeze
             clears the air. breathe in clean

she always did have nerves of steel and
                                            curves in the road betray how he feels
his way in the darkness, car parked a block
                   away she ran but tabs kept. bolt hole motel can’t run

gun in hand. gum on shoe. hands of a man who knows he won’t shoot

“here. I want you to have this…”
dive bar at 3AM, heads packed with sand, hearts full
a pull from the bottle, a neon love song
married to the thrill of the chase

just to see her one more time can’t trust my own mind
         can’t turn her in but oh through the
    window pane ballet, Venetian blinds broken

she looks at a glint of light in her palm.
tears fall like shell casings the last time
fingers curl, clutch like churls for lust

       woman in a red dress. legs to here and pain for years

“two halves, one heart. two diamonds….”

aquarium

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQBUjY-LK4Q


swimming in / aquarium
we can’t see / what holds us in

even fish / evolved to fly
we can learn / to touch the sky

blissful fish swish through the sea
listless witless kiss the screen
batter away at what you cannot see
transparent barrier made of screams

clear as glass / we barely see
walls around / hold in the sea

the city is / the sea we see
barriers / transparency

living in an ethereal prison
tangible invisible walls are prisms
we seek to break machine precision
cannot escape industrial partitions

acid skies / the end of time
come alive / don’t live a lie

free your mind / don’t be a slave
lets believe / don’t be afraid

but there is an exit in the sky
to be free one must learn to fly
fish have done it so why can’t I
gossamer wings made of lies

The In-Break

now that its too late.
it's all my fault, not too proud

i'm sorry, i'm sorry
and mix with the blood and memories
yolk spilled, smile fixed, tears flow
floor, coming from his head.
love intermingle with the blood on the
honeymoon. Memories of better days, better
it out together, in Nova Scotia, on their
examining when she struck. They had picked
the whalebone flute that he had been
in her hands. And a carving in his hand,
and she sits on the floor, with his head

forgiveness, finally, he came back.
he turns, eyes open, pleading for
Connects with the side of his head as
(as he tried to teach her so many times).
and swings, stepping into it
she steps into the room, hesitates.
no time to see what it is looking at
crouched unwary, unprepared, distracted.
a fear, a shadow, a figure, a cutout
broken glass. A shape silhouetted.
the fresh air. French doors, opened, no
can feel the temperature difference, smell
the house, something that should not be
to ward off fear. she knows someone is in
she slinks down the hall, weapon raised

memory now, time for action.
so boring and static). No time for
the game, tried to teach her. she hated it,
friend from the softball league (he loved
examined, approved. A gift, from his
door slides. over-sized bat retrieved,
bare feet pad velvet to the closet
sheets slide silently to the floor,
and she will not let it be defiled.
This is their house, was their refuge,
explanation, strategy, ideas, weapons.
mind flashes, hyper active, seeking
cold sweat suit coats her pores.
through the canyons of limbs
eyes flash open, adrenaline flash flood

windows. cold air on her cheek
she hears the night's song, wind against
stupid, stupid sauerkraut.
food now, no ham or pickles or
refrigerator hum, full of only her
major, at the time). She hears the
ancient Aztecs (she was an Anthro
eight in the morning about
they loved, fought, talked till
first. In this house, these halls
he was her light, her knight, at
oblivion, void free of memory.
waiting for sleep, for blessed
lying there in the dark alone.

sweaty, restless unused energy
marathon. Jitterbug, full of
sheets tousled like, un-run
a king sized bed, half full.
fat ripe fields. satin sheets in
whys and why nots plague the
dreamland. A locust swarm
sheep in the pasture adjoining on
better life. Maybes outnumber
like they ran together in a
marathons of ifs and oughts
her mind is racing, running
can't sleep, can't stop
alone in the house she

Sweetsleep

Heavy patchwork corduroy quilt drawn
Freehand in black ink, sharp lines and subtle shading
A sketchbook page, easily flipped through
Holds an image of a memory, transience
Captured

Sleeping on the couch he twitches in his sleep
Mumbles, turns, pulls the quilt up under his chin
Dreaming of days long past, days when we
Were young and carefree, with all the time
In the world

When a weekend felt like a lifetime and
Summers were never ending ladders up into the sky
climbing into music, friends, drugs, love
debating truth and beauty in pre-dawn
jam sessions

eyelids flicker, memories montage past
shutters close, a bubble rises to the top of consciousness
pops, memory released, summer night
all nighter, sitting on garage roof
stoned

staring at the stars, thoughts so scattered
free style rap with no beat and no rhythm, just kids
pretending to be cooler than they really
were. Wanting desperately to know
why

dream departs, memory returns to
subterranean swamp depths. Eyes yawn like lions
morning’s light falls on the page
sketchbook open to an image of a friend
waking from sleep

free soloing - rough

there is no pity in this implacable face
there is no mercy in the wind’s whistle
there will be no quarter in this battle

in one corner stands the skeleton of the world
great granite salient spires pierce
from the earth like broken femurs
protruding raw from shredded muscles
the champ stands eternal, defiant
proud peak with a winning streak
longer than he is high

and in the other corner is the challenger
an upstart monkey who cut his teeth
on trees. thinks he can, dares, to climb
one who was when those pines were kelp
this ape seeks to conquer time, to place
his mark as high as he can reach
stone smirks silently, confident

to tell the tale he scales the shale
stony whale with flukes and barnacles
he rides the great grey humpback
over a switchback, carrying no pack
just lungs full and tendons taut
muscles strain without a thought
mindless journey into naught

man meets mountain, it’s merely madness
to try to pierce the sky’s fastness
Olympian castle wreathed in clouds
Promethean scale and upward bound
in the ascent he seeks a sense
of worth unknown on the earth
rising higher rarely glimpsed heights
rarefied air and starlit nights
breathe champagne bathe in light
in the struggle he forgets to worry
lost in the journey, falling up
sleeps like just another rock

aqua vitae

smooth translucent sphere
reflective glimmering droplet
elongates trembling, bonds stretch
break away from leaf’s edge

splash on the mossy ground unseen
eyelids damn inevitable rivulets
lashes wet with weeping rivers
seeping from orbs of green
and white. riven with red veins of pain
tracery reflected in tear streaked cheeks

tear blurred visions cannot see
unbroken mirror stretching ahead
glassy coin amidst unending foliage
trackless explorer, lost and alone
last of those to claim the globe
fleeing from the forests wrath
flew so far no going back
home is a dream bubble popped

perfect ovoids obey gravity’s dicattes
slowly wash down cheekbone channels
draw pathways through jawline tangles
freefall past the forests edge
mirrored miniature globe falls forever
diamonds shatter when they hit the stream
symmetry splatters, casting grapeshot
all reunites beyond the mirror’s surface

the fountain of life that he could never find
he dwells on failure, wallows mire
golden circle in his hand
last token of god hood foretold by
prophecy across the sea
lost all to chase a dream

knifelike perfection cleaves the waves
creating shattered space in his wake
droplets fly, birds alight
wavelets radiate, no other trace