Electricity
They told me never to stick my finger in a light socket. They warned me about invisible forces capable of doing me great harm. Then I saw you and the light went on. I got this idea. I stuck my finger in the socket and you turned me on. #
Reverie
There are many realities. Dreams are one of them. Fantasies are another. I sit here looking at an empty bed and I wonder. “Will she and I ever occupy this space together? Will all the combinations of great locks upon time and space and other lives give way and open for this time and this…
Beauty and the Beast
“It’s taken,” she said. “What is?” he asked. “The title,” she said. “It’s been taken.” “I don’t care,” he said. “What do you think?” “I think you better ask yourself if that’s the smartest idea you ever had before you go asking me.” She stood at the bar, a very over the hill woman with…
The DDD
DDD originally meant Dead Dead Dead. I dwelt on defeat, depression and despair. Those made me sick. I determined DDD must stand for any three better words beginning with the same letter in any order. It’s my choice. Dignified At the senior prom I took wine, a red rose and two stemmed glasses from…
One Hundred Roses
Ninety-Seventh Rose Yes, my arms have held her. Yes, my eyes have lingered on her form. Yes, my thoughts have spiraled up and down the length and yes, the shapeliness of her. Yes, I forsook every other blossom and chose the rose. Ninety-Eighth Rose Will you marry me? Someday when we are old and no…
Recitative
This piece is introduction to The Shady Grove, based on my experience as a resident of the trailer park by the same name in Van Nuys, California. I lived with the gypsies. I fought with the Philistines. I lived with them three years, seven months and twenty-eight days. They taught me a lot. John
The Homeward Angels
In which the hero Delbert Bonner college age drops out to hitch hike across America with his friend Alexander Carmichael in the 1960s. To Hell with Life on the Mississippi.
The Shady Grove
It’s a wonderful place to live, but if you’re not poor they won’t let you in. JEF Happy Ending Our wedding took place on a brilliant day in May beside the statue of a black angel I bought for the table outside my Southern California door where the weather is perfect. There’s another memento from that time,…
One Hundred One Tangos
Tango Ninety-Eight Do not deny me. I am not the man standing before you. I am the spirit within yourself, the elegant, insistent, utter devotion to your pulse. Fast or slow, in or toward the stars. I am your self made whole. Tango Ninety-Nine Remain soft. Many men want to dance with you. Many…