16th
10-16
1
There is great pleasure
in great leisure—
In the crisp crackle
of a toasted bagel,
In the excitement
of an unknown answer.
There is great pleasure
in the arrival of fall
and with it, a chance
at something new.
2
Her hands tremble
perhaps from wanting—
or maybe it’s that she never let herself want—
and she tries vainly
to fish a dime from her pocket for the pay phone
Who will she call on?
Is there anyone who can answer
and give her what she needs?
Her hands tremble
thin skin shot through with
the knots and ripples of age.
From her stooped posture
she tries to rise
and look into someone’s eyes
Who will she see?
Is there anyone who can see her
and give her what she needs?
3
From up here, the chaos looks contained.
Neat rows of buildings stand static, silent
Never revealing the history behind the façade
It is all fantasy
The American Dream
is the New York Dream
of fame, of becoming larger than our small selves
4
The tea has long gone cold
and all the pages of today’s paper read
Still he sits, sifting through them
anticipating with dread
the moment where he will have to abandon
his well warmed seat
to an impatient mother with a toddler and
baby in the stroller
She needs this time too,
here in the coffee house
Away from the too-quiet corridors
of home life
They both need to be lost
in a sea of unfamiliar faces
To be cast out of time,
just for a little while
Until time itself seems less painful
because it keeps moving on without them.
He sighs, packs up his bag, knowing he can return tomorrow.
She sighs, unloads her baggage
Therapy in a cup once again.
5
It’s like 1988, totally
If I passed you a note
which one would you check—
yes, no, or maybe?
6
Tick tock
strikes the clock
time is running out for daring
time is growing short
to do the last of the spontaneous things
soon it will be time to settle up, settle down
and all that will be left are the memories
the tick tock of the clock
grows louder
like Hook’s crocodile
it lurks in shadows waiting
7
Why is it so easy
to fill our lives with activity
yet never really connect
with another?
8
Eight
its great
to be putting words on paper
even if I regret them later
Eight
9
Tell all the city people
the folks out in the town too
tell everyone you can think of
and all the powers too
It isn’t what gets said
but how
It isn’t what gets said
but when
So stage your show
and tell all the world
10
Puck, that knavish, devilish sprite
may have been mischievous
but definitely had it right
That love we cannot manipulate
without contriving all the world to hate
So let us just be patient now
And one another’s hearts allow
Some simple space to grow and breathe
lest we our own hearts deceive
