Made it through Atlanta security without getting the obligatory lecture about the safety of the full-body millimeter wave scan system that the TSA guy in San Diego told was now ‘mandatory’ to say to any one choosing to “opt out” of the aforementioned security screening. The woman at ATL just shouted “Male assist!” And told …
Author Archives: author
Surfeit of Emptiness
The gifts of our nameless age, The junk mail which must be shredded, The stolen hours of flights delayed, And the technological void between our hearts.
Poetry?
You call this poetry? she said, Why, a child, I say, a child — Perhaps it sounds better than it looks. Read it. Read it! Aloud and in a voice Speaking of gold and purple banners, Of the soaring falcon above his prey. Dont just use your usual voice, And dont slump your shoulders. No, …
Two Sandwiches
The sandwiches made with love To comfort on this long, strained flight I’ll never eat. The mad rush to get the bags, To stand in line sullen and weary In shoeless feet, pockets empty, And I forget, standing staring nowhere, At the motionless bags before me, The other shuffling lines of security’s counterfeit. I forget, …
Friday Vocabulary
1. impervious — not capable of being affected or influenced Like all comic book heroes of the Golden Age, Jack Hardaway was impervious to doubt. 2. impermeable — not allowing fluids to pass through His impermeable cape also protected him from prying eyes and suspicious minds. 3. gangly — awkwardly tall or thin The gangly …
The Woman Who Lied
We’re waiting in line for the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7.2 My daughter has been here with her friend since 11 o’clock, which friend was here from 8 in the morning. I had to talk our way in – my wife and I, and my daughter’s best friend. I’d been trying to talk the …
The Journey To The East
Full flight imperils Carry-on. Checked in at gate. Aboard, empty bins. Barry Goldwater Terminal, flatly bright sun. Inside, mild delay Beastly hot gangway Metal tube flies onward to Georgia thunderstorms Indicators show Lavatories are half-full. Dumped? Not dumped? We sit That crap is fixed but Now weather in Atlanta Kicks us all off plane In …
Sonnet
The honeyed carrots introduced with voice Of patient nutriment distract the frown, Enthrone the smile anew, as if no choice Devolves, returning up without a down. The servants wheel about the little king, Their happy labor to perform each boon, And though their tireless melody makes sing The pampered prince, his courtiers call the tune. …
Why I Write Poetry
God knows.
Flying Into Oakland
Flight over dark Bay. Lightning flash in distant clouds. They forecast no rain. Lights of Oz below. Gray covers to mask the ground From old loneliness. Another stark ride To a room empty and clean. No solace nor pain.