hammer

he had a hammer in his hand
so i knew
he was a carpenter

and he was a carpenter
so i knew
he was jesus

i asked him
why do you
have that hammer?

and he said
to make a nice smooth cross
with sharp angles

which will stand out
against the darkening sky
and attract the lightning

the rustler from rangoon

"yes, i rode with jesse james."
the tall lean yankee stranger leaned over the rail.
a herd of about twenty oxen were swimming toward the boat.
"did you ride with billy the kid?", prudence asked.
"no. i'm afraid i never made the acquaintance of the illustrious mr bonney."
prudence looked down at the water. the oxen were drawing closer.
"do you think mr roosevelt will want to shoot them now?" , she asked.
the yankee turned and looked at the door of the stateroom. teddy roosevelt stood in it. the setting sun glinted off his monocle, and his mustache twitched in the breeze.
"i think," teddy drawled, "these beasts must belong to some honest farmers who can be converted to christianity and democracy. there will be no shooting here tonight."
the oxen came closer. the lead ox was suddenly transformed into a beautiful raven-haired mermaid. her left hand touched the side of the boat and in her right hand she lifted out of the water a translucent green pearl.

joined

i was joined at the hip
with jesus
and when we walked along

people would see us and say
hey look
that guy is joined at the hip
with jesus

the most jaded
the most cynical
the deadest among them
would stop and stare

and then we passed
out of their sight
and they went
about their business

knee

i hurt my knee
it really hurt
it was all i could think about

i couldn't think about
paracelsus or chairman mao or eleanor of aquitaine or dinosaurs
only about my knee
and how much it hurt

after a while
it stopped hurting
and i stopped
thinking about it

i started thinking
about other things again
and walking along

micheline

in a dream
i was walking
in "san francisco"

there were no tall buildings
there were no cable cars
i couldn't see alcatraz
but it was "san francisco"

there weren't many people
nobody was singing or dancing
they were just walking
like me

i used to see jack micheline
walking along in san francisco
i never saw him singing or dancing
or shouting his poetry

he was just walking
like me
i never saw him
with another person

i saw a barber shop
behind a fruit market
and i thought
"i never knew that was there"

i lit a cigarette
but it only burned
down one side

fun, part 2

ok, but let's do it a little different this time.

fun

that was fun. want to do it again?

understanding/the end

understanding is the key to the universe. when we begin to understand that
understanding is the key then we are on our way to understanding ourselves and
when we understand ourselves we understand all living creatures and since
everything is perceived through living creatures we understand everything.
good night and thank you.

the emperors bequest

"extrapolate me"

deep waters

"tell me one more time, townsend, exactly why you attempted to blow up the sultan's aqueduct."
"to expose the templars insidious plot."

the hill

"hurry, harriet! we have to reach the top!"
'it's too high!"

and then what?

oliver smith bought a ticket to kalamazoo.

the clock strikes eight

"by the way, beamon, leave your pass with cathcart when you leave."
"but - couldn't you have told me when i arrived?"
the minister stood up.
"oh,we wanted your report first. an excellent report, by the way."

howard and imogene

"howard, how are you? you remember imogene, don't you? imogene, you must remember my friend howard?"
"yes."

super sunday

today is super sunday
the best day of the year
americans sit around the screen
their heroes for to cheer

the heroes are in red and white
and black and gold and blue
they smash their heads together
to show their hearts are true

the quarterbacks are christians
they sincerely praise the lord
but both can not be victors
one must fall upon his sword

mom and dad and sis and junior
and all their neighborhood friends
are transfixed by the spectacle
and all that it portends

from the flaming widescreen pod
a billion bytes invade the room
and swarm the happy humans
as they chompingly consume

millions of chopped up cows and pigs
who inspire not one tear
a mountain of potato chips
a galactic ocean of beer

bruce springsteen strides upon the stage
his words are heaven sent
in the hopeleful new america
with its great new president

i tried to write this poem
an american to be
if anything is not quite right
put all the blame on me