flattened skunks

flattened skunks

riding in 1952
in my uncle's chevrolet
he stopped
saying,"take a deep breath
some day there
won't be any
dead skunks
left to smell"

Uncle Vic later
sat on his white couch
in front of the white drapes
in his snow white livingroom
put a shotgun in his mouth
and somehow pulled the
trigger

Vic had gallons of silver dollars
three perfect
strange daughters
Diana Lee
Susan Lee
Barbara Lee

and knew the
dead skunks smell
we all did.


----------------
Now playing: Bob Dylan - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
via FoxyTunes

It is difficult

being zen when you live in a zoo. That of course is the beginning of a metaphoric exploration of the similarities between my life and the life as lived by those who live in the zoo. It promises the profundity of a cliche because I know little of zoos. It is one those phrases that a lazy muse floats into view. Here consider this:

"It's Hard Being Zen While Living In A Zoo"

The monkies are awake
swinging in the branches
on monkey island
the zoo in San Francisco
of course

old grey gorilla
sits pondering flea bites
and grapes

lions roar somewhere
where they echo
give me this day

some kids got
eaten by tigers

in the air
the seagulls come
and the seagulls go

out my window
it's turkeys snow
and crows
some deer
opossum
coyotes
owls
our chickens
and flattened rabbit
cardials
and chickadees


monitor to the front of me
monitor to the left
around the corner largely
a projection television set

satellite reception
disappears in the storm
ove them til they're
done
they let us out
for public viewing
prodding
for
food and
fun.

.

Fall Scale 2008
Category: Writing and Poetry

This is a scale poem; a song I sing looking over my desk at the woods through the window of where I am and where I have been.

Fall Scale

snow cold wet leafless
branches slender trunks brown and
white dead daylight lace

brown means dying
black means dead
stand your father
on his head
dig it deep
root deep
gone

black and white
checkered shirt
fingers on the keyboard tapping
mickey mouse and
white gold ring

oceans surf
and cold fog
sand and driftwood
art on the cliffs
a song in the middle
of my chest
aches

cold is cold

time is up
run out
your lawyer doesn't care
no money there

no golf ball
flies that far

snow snow
cold and cold
rubber heels slip
to break my bones