that have hardly been
properly ridden
Just me gently allowing
the air to escape
but saving that good rubber
Just me bent and crying
admitting the truth
We’re not going anywhere
Thank God
for Monday Night
Football
FAME
(for my former Football-playing student)
When Fame comes knocking
At your door
You’ve got to do Fame
And something more
When spotlights up
Your telephone
You’ve got to answer
Then go alone
It’s good to have money
It’s good to have friends
But when you add Fame
Then the trouble begins
You’ve got to have sense
To go with the dollars
Know where to fence
Value the hollers
When you open that package
Of fortune and Fame
Keep your sanity
Keep your good name
You’ve got talent
And good looks too
And now you’ll need
To change your view
Control your family
Control your friends
’Cause this is where
Your new life begins
As Fame comes walking
Through that door
Sure—do the Fame
But have something more
DUETS
I don’t do duets
Even as a kid I didn’t like
Sharing
I would just as soon
Let you have it
Than cut it in half
I sing solo
Because I’m not good
With harmony
I remember my sister
Wanting to borrow
Some thing
a sweater
skirt blouse
whatever
She could have it
My tennis shoes
Had holes in them
Kept together
By safety pins
I made it cool
To be poor
In another age
I would have been a vegan
I don’t play doubles
In tennis
Don’t bowl with a league
If I was a fat lady
I alone would sing
At the end
And listen
If you don’t
Come home
Soon
I’ll be
Very
Disappointed
BOILED BLUES
(for the Mississippi Delta)
I like my blues boiled with a few tears
On the side
I like my men a little crazy
And my women to be good friends
I like my sons bold
And my daughters brave
I am the Mississippi Delta
I like my people black
Nobody understands why they stayed with me
The folks who drained this basin were as mean
As a rattlesnake waking up at dawn
You do not have to take this
Seriously
If you take it seriously
You will sweat the magic
You will blind the magic
The magic will not sing
I want mud on my breasts
And honey on my toes
And something really great
Against my thighs
Come on baby
Come on baby come on baby
Dance with me
Does a nudist wear an apron
When she cooks
I like my water on tap
My beans dried
And hot sauce on my chitterlings
If were a shower
I could saturate your hair
Work my way over your lips
Across your shoulders
Around your waist
Through your knees
And back again
Warm wet salty
Sweet
But I’m a River
Started because an ice field fell in love
With the sun
Started small
You can jump me
In Minnesota
But I ate well and grew
I am the Delta
I am black
And unafraid of the wind
I caress the Crescent City
I bring the blues
This time
I’ll take mine fried
LOVE LUTHER
To not love Luther
Is to hate blue skies in summer
Is to disdain the tears of a baby missing her mother
Is to prefer screw top to cork
To not love Luther
Is to want to be bitten
By a rabid fox
Or chased in the night by a hungry mosquito
Or to prefer the silence
Of growing grass
To the mellow voice of love
If the Isley Brothers were the Outlaws
Between the Sheets
Luther was our Mountie riding
The Rolls-Royce of our Dreams
If some insecure Rap moguls
Called us dirty names
Luther elevated us
To Princess of Passion
They say Romeo and Casanova
Were the sultans of love
With a secret technique to drive
Women crazy
Luther knew the main ingredient
Is just to say Stop for Love
A man’s smile is aphrodisiac enough
Love, Luther?
We all do
Just as we love Montana skies
With all those shooting stars
Just as we love the smell of rosemary
We have whisked across our pillows
Just as we love the voice that so classically told us
Love
Happens first
Between the ears
A SONG FOR YOU
I sing for you
Out of tune
Off key
Forgetting lyrics
Remembering longing
I perch
On your heart
I whisper in your ear
Tiptoeing lightly
Across your lashes
I steal a kiss
You flick
And blink
And flick
Again
I fly away
Leaving my song
doo wop doo wop
doo wop doo ditty ditty wop
FRIENDS IN LOVE
Times change
Jobs change
Friends remain
Forever
We age
We sage
Friends laugh
Together
We sigh
We cry
Friends in love
Completely
Hands and hearts
Tied up as one
In this package
Neatly
NO TRANSLATIONS
the smells of a pot roast from the oven
turnips garlic onions
potatoes celery parsnips
tomatillo yucca root
Jack Frost painting
the windows
my cold feet
your warm back
“It started in New Orleans
but now it’s everywhere…” Pure Jazz on your dial
chocolates coffee
a good red wine
18 degrees and falling
high winds
maybe a power loss
giggles laughter
sweatpants jeans
I speak to you
in the language
of love
no translations
necessary
TWIRLING
Grits with Vermont yellow
cheddar cheese
White toast
with that single pat of butter
in the center
A pounded pork chop
or two
Dandelion greens
(I wish mustard were in season)
Radishes gently sautéed
in a mixture of olive oil and chardonnay
with just a splash of balsamic vinegar
And you
in the center
Twirling
’round and around and around
Dance for me, Baby
The pig feet haven’t even
unthawed
GOOD BOOKS
When I grow up I want to be a book. I want to be a blue sky with white fluffy clouds and lots of pretty flowers. I want bluebirds and redbirds and mother robins flying by. Maybe a lazy kitten swatting at butterflies that light on her nose. I will tell the stories of little possums making friends with Mr. Snake. Everybody thought Mr. Snake was mean and grumpy but he had a small cut on his side and he couldn’t put a Band-Aid on it. When Zip Mouse and his friends discovered the problem they were brave and helped Mr. Snake. Grandmother will put me on her lap and read my stories until the children fall asleep dreaming peppermint dreams. They will learn to be brave.
As I grow older I will be a bigger book. I will gather all the words and definitions for words and definitions of the defining and people will come to me when they need to know something. I will have pictures and examples and maps and formulas. I will show them seven continents; I will present riddles (Cup and saucer. Saucer and cup. Where does a hole go when it’s filled up?) I explain there are seven seas and two big oceans. There were glaciers and dinosaurs. Alexander the Great thought he had conquered the world. He didn’t even get halfway there. Earth thinks it is the only life in the universe, we haven’t been far away enough to know. I will ask questions: Why do we have wars? Why are people hungry? There will be times people will not like me. I will be banned and forbidden. But I will be brave. I will stand for light and truth.
And when I am old I will be the oldest book. I will sit on Grandfather’s lap and tell The Greatest Story Ever Told. The children will be dressed for bed and I will sing a psalm or recite a proverb. I will try to always be a good book. And the children will dream good dreams of good people trying to do good things.
GOT A MINUTE (TO FALL IN LOVE?)
what I’m trying to
make clear is:
I’ve saved you so
much stress and strain
I saved time and money too
I talked
to your secretary
and checked
with your schedule
I brought coffee
to your assistant
and sent flowers
to your mom
I keep jerky
for your dog
lint remover
for your suits
And even a neutral
color shine
for your shoes
I always have
a nail file
and musk lotion
for your hands
And did you notice
the brown leather chair
for you to relax
in when you stop
by my office
Stick ’ems
and stop ’ems
Clarify
Consistent
I am perfect
for the job
I save you time
and money:
Got a minute
to fall
in
love?
WHERE DO YOU ENTER
Where do you enter
A poem
At the same place
I enter you
with balance
and trust
and a jazzy sense
of adventure
Painting outside
the lines
wearing clothes cut
against the bias
with spices
among the flowers
A poem unfolds
like a baby bat
testing her wings
or a kitten taking
her first steps
or a good dog
moving arthritic limbs
toward the door
There is sadness
as well as loss
in the promise
of love
We begin a poem
with longing
and end with
responsibility
And laugh
all through the storms
that are bound
to come
We have umbrellas
We have boots
We have each
other
If I may quote Labelle:
Voulez-vous coucher
Avec moi? Ce soir?
TOURISM
I am always a tourist
No matter where
I am
At home
Or abroad
An American
in Aruba
A Black
in Oxford
A woman
in Baghdad
Alone
cruising
The Panama Canal
Cold in Alaska
Comfortable only
when the plane
Lands
Never sorry
Yet never safe
In your arms
or out
THE SCENIC ROUTE
MapQuest is
No help there
Are too many
Bumpy back roads
That they call
The Scenic Route
And not enough four-lanes
To quickly come
To conclusion
I follow the curve
Of your smile
You turn flicking
Your signal
And I
paying scant attention
Go straightaway
Past the Detour sign
Though I am
Drowning
You never
Look back
Didn’t you notice
I was following
you
TREE LINE
We live above the tree line
If we stand
Tippy toe we can
Reach into the Milky Way
And run our fingers
Around the rim
Of that chocolate pot
Others call the Black Hole
This night is made
For walking
Holding your hand
Having a crescent moon
Laugh down on us
There are things
Flying around
Even at this height
Where it should be
So cold only ice
And snow grow
Yet there is something
Evergreen
About this love
That I
Offer you
THE ARTIST
And so it comes
To this
The sun beating
Down
The people indifferently passing
And we…out
Of breath
In a pool of salty
Sweat
Laughing Happy
In each other’s
Trust
That once again
We gentled the stone
All the way down
And will now
Push it back up
But we will wait
Until the sun sets
We will wait
Until the stores
Close
We will wait
While they put their ga
rbage bags
In the streets
We will wait
Until the dogs and rats
Sniff their choices
We will wait
Until the street cleaners
Push their brooms
And the women offer their wares
We will hope
The men are kind
We will salute
The moon rising
We are Sisyphus
We write the poems
We paint the portraits
We sculpt the statues
We quilt the blankets
We set the tables
We make the beds
We wipe the tears
We rock the anger
We hold on to tomorrow
We push the rock up
And we gently bring it down
We were promised
Only a gift of light
You keep me
From being
Lonely
A FISH OUT OF WATER
I know how
The mermaid
Feels
You give up
Your gills
So you can’t