HURRICANE IRENE

8th
Sep. × ’11

I would most like to return
to a house of unsures
unknowns unexplored
unassumed space for love
all unfamiliar safe
untold as if anything
were possible nothing laden with loss
lost what once was

Winds only make waves
because you know what was
there once             no longer
things come and go
the going only beautiful
if you don’t know
this detached state of grace
the possible in place

so much is loss so much is
not now except our minds
which seem perpetually

unconnected by lacking touch
lacking taste of spit
would that fix it?
this itch wanting scratching
though it is no state of problem
just shocking
that it carries on

what wouldn’t I like
to feel in safety
everything and nothing at all

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On What I Meant to/Hope to Make You for Dinner

23rd
Aug. × ’11

Salmon Chowder 8/11
Cream you, creamy you, cream me, cream
a sea with mouthfuls of specialty

the everlasting treasure box undiscovered
spooning tips of lust of wonder

Eggplant Parmesan 8/12
Scents bubbling beyond the stove
patience makes the greatest potion

Marinating all afternoon
in each other sauce cocooned

No prepared meal 8/13 (Leftovers/Tofu)
Sad pale tofu squares
spruced up with greens

May we always spice
each other spectacularly

Smoked Tilapia Over Spinach 8/14
Extravagant extravaganza
superfluous superlatively

continuous decadence not to impress
but to sustain endless joyousness

Chicken Piccata with Mexican Sides 8/15
Many plates of many flavors
an artist’s palette for your tongue

favorite morsels labored over
let me feed you one by one

Pizza 8/16
A standard a favorite a tradition to foster
endless possibilities of toppings to order

mix it knead it and let it rise
warm it taste it let it inside

Chicken Breast Stuffed with Broccoli and Cheese 8/17
Warmth for when you’re cold
comfort in times of stress

completeness in a mouthful
at home, calm, at rest

Meatloaf 8/18
What but love
could turn a mound to bliss?

What but the lilt of your voice
could rest me to sleep?

Chicken Pot Pie 8/19
Patient individual pots await
allowed time to stew, to ruminate

Grant serenity to individuation
make similitude more invigorating

Shrimp Salad and Corn 8/21
Vibrant colors singing hues
picture perfect classic

Tossed then dressed never-ending unrest
in need of constant undoing

Beef Stew, Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus 8/22
The home of stories with a garden
let it brew, let it brew

The place for dreams to come awake
if you believe it will come true

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I Forgot About the Hills

2nd
Jul. × ’11

I forgot there were hills
up there where the air was supposed to be
clear never was, a condition, but an absence
I forgot there were tops of hills
in absentia of sky

Up there where the hills
weren’t supposed to be
I got tired or waiting to feel good
which never was as great
as almost

Hilltops are horrendous downfalls
the wait for the break, the tension of gears
missed down beneath the mechanics of gravity
formula so deep and prescribed.

Unbind me
make forces stronger
make hills
I cannot climb

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Dream in Spanish

2nd
Jul. × ’11

A teacher told me once
it’s possible to dream in Spanish

how beautiful to dream
to know what it is to be
to know what it is to be somewhere else

to return to a a place you know
to feel totally alone
to think your world into place

who gets let in
little do you know
about where my mind goes
little do you know
those thoughts behind smiles

it’s possible to dream in Spanish
of roses and lilies

and all things unknown

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Surfer Dude

2nd
Jul. × ’11

By all measures you should offend me
shoulders square and high

Misconstrued conceit can reek, building blocked
resentment made, instead of celebrated

Life is largely flattery meeting flattery
insecurity filled voids

But you square circles, make miles in minutes,
defy dimensions, teach time

on a planet of people with irregular borders
(rectangles imagined) we are a balance board

when surfing on people, you touch some
in the pool, skin tactile, connect, affect, allure

You make me want to overcome polite contrivances
tell everyone what they offer:

You make me feel collapsible
I like your cocky disregard.

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These Holes Open Up

2nd
Jul. × ’11

These holes open up sometimes
and you wish you were small
enough to fit in a doctor’s palm
and someone would rush
to struggle to plug
whatever leak maintained
instead it’s just you and

who is you
sometimes it’s me
you is whoever you turn to
these voids
where is self in them
I appreciate the sink drains
I appreciate the hands
the touch, the reality
and still I am simply absence
we are only interactions

I am what I am to you
I am where the refrain lacks
I am however much I can take
I am my resistance to alone
I am how much I let you affect me

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Chef

2nd
Jul. × ’11

We know each other like sprinkled garnish
separated from the mint plant it grew from
I do not know your siblings’ names
only where the apple landed—close or far

Separated from the plant from which you came
you are stronger or weaker
alone depending on circumstance

And I am here, mere puppeteer
concocting my increments of difference
hoping for spicing’s power.

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Responsibility

2nd
Jul. × ’11

I want to be sixteen again
in a shack at my cousin’s friend’s parents’ tobacco field
playing strip poker unconcerned
about anything except being caught

I want someone to want to catch me
to take control, someone other than me
to put the agenda on the board

I wish the adage worked
with great responsibility comes great power
rather than with great responsibility comes
a headache

Undo, undo, I mean not to complain
I see fruits too

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End of School

2nd
Jul. × ’11

Come the end we tend to over attach
seasons were not made to be everlasting
always wishing there were just one more match.

When teaching, it’s hardest to lose every batch
though mid year it seemed never ending
come the end we tend to over attach.

With time, to their quirks, we find ourselves latched
what once annoyed us now finds us laughing
always wishing there were just one more match.

Neurosis revealed nothing left to patch
limitations left for potential’s finding
come the end we tend to over attach.

Our only hope is to give them cache
to pursue what will be their best bidding
always wishing there were just one more match.

So hard to step back from what you’ve seen hatch
independence that hardest gift for granting
come the end we tend to over attach
always wishing there were just one more match.

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June in School

2nd
Jul. × ’11

During a dream, the world is exploding
who will save the day, keep calm, know what to say?
Two students emerge amidst a future foreboding
rescuing is done in many different ways.

Who will save the day, keep calm, know what to say?
when the day has its way with us and spirals
rescuing is done in many different ways
keep maintaining calm when piled trials mount

When the day has its way with us and spirals
Don’t give in to the urge to scream nay
keep maintaining calm when piled trials mount
you will just feel guilty later anyway

Don’t give in to the urge to scream nay
no one ever hears anything through shouts
you will just feel guilty later anyway
shoot yourself in the foot no success amounts

No one ever hears anything through shouts
in the moment it’s hard to see though rage
shoot yourself in the foot no success amounts
rather pen yourself in patience’s cage

In the moment it’s hard to see though rage
trust the remainder of effort frayed
better, pen yourself in patience’s cage
save the day, keep calm, know what to say.

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