we the i the no i didn't
ridden, hidden, once forbidden
doom the habits of belial
giving inches walking miles
mango guava and papaya
cooling off the lost pariah
wandering and left alone
highway to the danger sown
seeds of anger cleft regret
meritocracy of debt
what was never done is finished
losing steam but
undiminished
Too many days go by untasted,
Too many chances bypassed, wasted —-
Too much love goes mute, unspoken,
Hearts without hearing languish broken —
All too often, our choice is thoughtless,
Heedless of all that life has taught us —-
Too many headlines stark and sprawled
For that one friend we never
Called
you were a habit,
but less like binging than
like breathing --
i saw you daily as
a part-filmed spirit
reflections on a lake
i'd never been to,
let alone
been in
but after years made
out of frayed yarn
there came an apple-day when
there, from a tree in
a lost backyard
we climbed a stepladder
our heads among the fresh leaves
and you
you could not have been
more different
the things we never think about
can shape our very lives
on shores of disappointment
that leave us cut edgewise
by cold and wind and bitterness
that flow in by extremes;
the things we never think about
that somehow formed
our dreams
The vale, the hidden tear, the secret cove;
The amnesty declared before the war --
The many nights you've knocked upon his door
In hope of finding one last treasure trove
The cry of seagulls far across the sound
Has brought you to this time, this place, this grief
And left you wanting someting like belief
And wind and sky where you've known only ground
My friend, no one should tell you what to feel:
Desires rain on heart and head and lap
With reason simply acting like a map
For where we all must go to buy, or steal
The measure of our minutes, with its span --
For lives are never really built to plan
People's tastes will differ.
I learned this very young:
We're all uniquely wired,
Or maybe better -- 'strung' --
My son-in-law hates pizza,
Which just serves to illumine
How tastes can differ widely
When one of you's
Not human
Pizza man, my nom-de-guerre;
Every style, everywhere --
I am sorry, you can't beat it;
If they fix it, I will eat it
Save for those with shoaling fish --
Those can spoil any dish --
Pizza man, my sobriquet --
I could eat it
Every
Day
hard to find
them made in this way
but worth it
chicago moved down
south for just
long enough to eat
School cafeterias
Strike a weird balance:
Constantly modernizing, but
Never changing.
Whether I was there as a kid,
With my kids,
Or now, with my grandkids,
There is a predictable experience.
People doing their best with
What they have to work with
For a marginally grateful
Or better described as
Oblivious audience
