The Sad Hippo

Most of us have never seen a really bad zoo,
But they are indeed out there, just like bad Santas.

Kazakhstan, free from the Iron hand of the Soviets,
Landlocked, in turn land locking some poor beasts.

On a rare good day the smell of water from the
Caspian Sea is carried over on a teasing breeze.

On the bad days, the children of men conquered by
Mongol hordes in the 13th century laugh, point at you.


_____________________________
Photo courtesy of Micah Montague

The Magic Tambourine

They found you at Altamont,
Left you at Max's Kansas City.

TV band had you, MTV band did too.
Soap opera star made it thanks to you.

You missed the two great ocean crossings.
German bands played loud, for naught.

You never found the hand of Axel,
Nor the sacred palms du Cobaine.

No boy bands could use your full tam.
Madonna could seduce you, but not play.

Clyde Jackson Browne and the Asbury Boss
Mastered your rhythms better than the rest.

Thirteen Popes knew not this sorcery truth,
Pure music that rockers sculpted so deftly.

Bow the bassman, bow the drummer,
Bow the cowbell and triangle ringer.

Fairies sing the night fantastic, summoning fate,
While tambourines play under the mushrooms.

Ode to the Heroes of The Battle of the Pelennor Fields

The Ides of March for the third age of man
Went unmarked by any Caesar or Brutus.
The Battle of Evermore was the greatest stand
Mankind had taken to affirm his right to rule.

Aided by an Elf, a Dwarf, a Wizard, and
Two Hobbits unafraid, the seige of Minas Tirith
Destined to be overcome by the forces of
Good, and the return of Isuldir's just heir.

The Witch King of Angmar found his destiny,
Not at the hand of any man, as was foretold by
Glorfindel years earlier, yet his Black Breath was
Smothered by the swords of two fierce hearts.

Éowyn, battle disguised as Dernhelm, a man,
Drove her sword between the Dark Lord's
Crown and mantle, felling him after the
Stabbing thrust of Hobbit Meriadoc Brandybuck.

The Rohirrim and Aragorn's Rangers of the North,
Along with the Dead Men of Dunharrow,
Secured victory after this turning point of the
Nazgûl's death delivered by a pair least likely.

Sing the song of victory to the souls surrendered
On the day the sun was blackened out by Sauron's
Dark forces upon the Pelennor Fields. Hear echoes
Still resounding off the walls of The Prancing Pony.

Landmines

Thirteen steps into the field,
Susan ran after the frisbee.

One hundred accident free games,
Shot straight to hell.

Now the girl became the villan,
Not the Russin soldier mining.

The UN will get even,
Raising the cost of KFC.

The Impetus of Mondays

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,
It can't be! Not so soon!


I am in hell.

Orange Kool Aid

Rubbers or sweets,
Wow what a choice.

The best public service is
True public service.

But how do we choose,
When given the choice,

Between two titans of instinct,
Sex and candy.

The Blue Decelerator

Too fast,
Too fast
Too fast
Too fast
Too fast, oh what's that color?

STOP.

The Last Words Uttered by a Minor God

Red? No one told me about red...

Three Rivers

Winding quickly down from the north,
Waters warming, sustained.

Flowing ripples from the west,
Cooling yet determined.

Rushing waters from the east,
Fated to prove mankind's worth.

Refelctive Sticker On A Backpack

No on knew where Henry ended up.
One day he was cutting his grass,
The next his car was gone with him in it.

Everything was left pretty much intact,
According to his ex-wife and bartender.
The only thing missing were his books.

Twenty years passed before any word
Came concerning his possible whereabouts.
Grand Canyon authorities issued this report:

An black backpack was found today in a cave
In the north side of the gorge. There was a
Fluorescent orange sticker across the top.

It is believed to belong to the long
Disappeared Henry 2B555_KL223.
The contents are listed as follows:

One copy of the George Orwell book 1984
With the words "no longer relevant"
Block printed on the cover in red ink.

Three new biographies of Elvis Presley,
A "Cooking and Spying with Julia Child" apron,
And lastly a Frank Booth fan club ID card.

Bottle Caps and Coke

Kids come and go
Forever in the stores .

Treats bought with
Money from their folks.

Shared in child courts of
Innocence, unmarred laws.

Pets, neighbors, insects-
All welcomed with open hearts.

Riches can't relive those scenes,
You only get to live one first time.

The Lost Patrol

Music played
too loud, too often.

Tracks faded
In the dark.

Forest eyes
Watching sadly.

Birds hushed,
Playing the fool.

Tobacco urge,
Discovered, purged.

Three men in,
One man out.

Sniper smiles,
Officer shouts.

Back to Skrool

Note to self:

Expect ten events to top last year's best.

1. Baptist minister trying to convert a Frenchman in the library vestibule.

2. Bridget Gray's poetry slam.

3. Anthropology class with a real nice guy that played football too.

4. Marilyn Kallet's dreamworks poetry class.

5. Shuttle rides from the Old City after midnight.

6. Mary Moss the happy wanderer.

7. Buffets in the Dark Tower.

8. Gays vs. Haters.

9. Gravimetric maps.

10. Cassie and those magic mushrooms.

Bowlers

All the lanes were busy
On a Saturday night
When the school kids
Noticed the five older guys.

They were wearing camo tees
With the 23rd Psalm printed
On the backs, their names
Embroidered on the front.

Those guys are strange-
Became the kids general
Take on the quintet neighbor
Pin knocker squadmen.

A1, Bo, Leadhead, Jackie, Owleye.
The kids had no way of knowing
That forty years ago Uncle Sam
Taught bowling on troop ships.

1st Air Cavalry Division.
Five men among 450
Airlifted by helicopter to
Ia Drang Valley to seek/destroy.

Three days saw half the G.I.'s
Dead along with 1000 Charlie.
The five bowlers lobbing hand
Grenades down tropical alleys.

They watched each others back
Over 72 hours nonstop, often
Drinking and pissing in the same
Position, gazes fixed like radar.

Rotated back to the real world,
All intact and able bodied, each
Man packing a fifth of Wild Turkey
From a grateful Colonel Moore.

Now they play cards on Fridays,
Bowl every Saturday, and pray
Every night that no other boys
Grow up in a hell like the Nam.

Sand Tides

Desert dreams
Often involve
Water waves
Rushing, covering.

Known mirage
Welcomed anyway.
Kind diversion,
Inferno escape.

Sands ripple,
Surge inwards.
Flowing bodies
Washing fear.

Drink haze,
Shallows rush.
Dream fogs,
Sphinx smiles.

The Zero Gravity Golf Course

Thirteen teams
Get going.

Winning a golf game
in the outer rim,

Is almost meaningful,
And certainly spiritual.

Milky Way bars sponser,
NASA provides transports.

Tiger Woods IX banned,
(Subspace substance abuse.)

Sometimes the gallery
Is hit by a wild drive, or comet.

No one minds, the food is free.
KFC stays fresh forever in outer space.

Sometimes there are intergalactic Amber Alerts
When stray red haired girls play around event horizons.

Everyone finishes under par, even the cleaning staff of the Motel 6 module.
No one looks too closely at the leader board, the real attraction is at the hole-in-one bar.

Lost balls are never found alone in an Ingle's parking lot.
Lost balls are never found.

Tree Stump Jack

Ole swamp breathes heavy,
Birds gossip in hushed tones,
Snakes slither in tentative arcs,
Tree Stump Jack holds court.

Fox Sam, Boar Ed defendants.
Rabbit Ralph defends the two
Charged with disturbing the gloom.
Creeper Vine Joe prosecutes.

Witness Bird Jay takes the stand.
"Did you hear a disturbance?"
"Yes, I did, last Monday night."
"It was Fox Sam and Boar Ed."

The prosecution rests.

Witness Cricket Kim takes the stand.
"Did you hear a disturbance?"
"Yes, I did, last Monday night."
"It was a will o' the wisp party."

The defense asks for a mistrial.

Judge Jack calls Fox Sam, Boar Ed
To stand and receive his verdict.
Suddenly two will o' the wisps
Drop off a low branch, wrestling.

"Order in the swampcourt, order!"
Fox, Boar masks float forward to Jack.
"I find Fox Sam and Boar Ed innocent,
Banish these two from Drear Swamp."

Will o' the wisps brothers Oliver, Ted,
Ask, "Where shall we go Judge Jack?"
"I'm sending you to a loud place suited
To rude, disruptive talents-Humanville."

Night parachutes through tree canopy.
Tree stump Jack ponders eerie silence.
Fox Sam, Boar Ed quietly hunt supper.
Will o' the wisps find Mankind revolting.

Seven Daisies

Daisey Walker raised six children on her own after
Husband Felix was killed by an artillery shell during
The Civil War.

Daisey Rashomon ranched in Prescott Arizona after
Her father's demise at the Battle of Manila Bay during
The Spanish-American War.

Daisey Buchanan continued to quilt even after
Losing her sight due to a bomb explosion during
World War I.

Daisey Fuentes painted barns for a living after
the loss of her mother on a hospital ship during
World War II.

Daisey Pierce was committed to an asylum after
the death of her son on a carrier deck during
The Korean War.

Daisey Ingram marched on Washington after
Losing her brother in a Cambodian jungle during
The Vietnam War.

Daisey Duke was given a life sentence for murder after
Her son was killed by friendly fire during
Operation Desert Storm.

Landfill

Bottles and cans,
Clothes and washers,
Cameras and VCRs,
Melted doll face.

Cloud cries,
Birds gossip,
Trees frown,
Earth digests.

Missed.
Late.
Forgotten.
Early.

Ode to Ringo

Little boy placed in a fairy circle,
Sickly, weak, far removed from firm.
Magic twinkles, sprinkled in his eyes,
Kept Richard Starkey among the alive.

England's war baby grew up amid
Bomb concussions. Young man drawn to
Drum percussions. Became a Beatle
Before achieving a hard day's Knight.

Toured the world, carried Liverpool
Heart, glint in his eyes forever sparking
Love and Peace, no prima donna, no
Professor of despair, just George's pal.

Music makers make music, not drama.
Ringo could fly without aeroplanes but
Never crashed back hard to terra firma.
Sprites worldwide dig his vibes delight.

Sixty Days at Sea

Smiles are hard to see now.
Men keep looking out to sea,
Searching with a haunted gaze.

Father tells me to keep quiet,
Mother stays in our cabin now.
We are eating beans twice daily.

A whale chase happened Monday,
Some exciting tag game ensued.
Captain's crew in a longboat, shouting.

They didn't catch Jonah's captor,
Men cried, such was the disappointment.
Father made me go below again then.

Mother has stopped eating her meals,
She claims to be tired of the beans,
Makes Father and I eat her portions.

After dark, I slipped out to topside,
The men were drinking and shouting
Things about our rudder master, and food.

I tell Father. He takes his flintlock grimly.
We find the Captain near the longboats,
Sword points guiding him aboard one.

Father, grabbed as he fires, drops first mate.
Then, gored by a rapier of fate, Father's
lifeblood drains. I Become half-orphaned.

Captain rebels, gets his foot hacked off.
He, Mother, I, and the bad cook set adrift,
Float four days, rain for food, and that bird.

Shored in our sleep, on our new island keep.
Captain Crusoe, hobbled but able, now pegged.
Friday, I think, is the day we make fire, smile.

Orbits

Every life flirts with contacting so many blurred others.
Yet many people never quite achieve a real touchdown,
Instead feeling celestials that are close, but never too close.

The sad thing is that it isn't even realized at the time,
Usually only in a reflective episode of pain or grief.
Then the Eureka! moment surfaces, sadly already expired.

Walk into a store today and just really look at everyone.
You'll see at least one person that you have in someway
Marginalized, whether it was by either accident or design.

Make the conscious decision to leave your inconsequential,
Stationary, revolving and land upon unexplored countries.
Realize hovering never solved a riddle nor enriched a soul.

Shades of Hay

There once was a man known as Fern,
Who stripped nude and would get so sunburned,
On a day late in May,
Haystack begged him to lay,
But there wasn't a needle he learned.

Mp3 Island

Forget Hawaii and the all of the rest,
Mp3 Island is hands down the best.

There's Beatles Beach and Metallica Bay,
(It doesn't matter if you've nothing to say.)

Go to CCR Cove or the Led Zep Lagoon,
(Have more fun down there than the man in the moon.)

Visit Radiohead Reef, then Foreingner Falls,
(Please find a palm tree for when nature calls!)

When the holi-days end and its back to home times,
Just remember to smile/sing your vacation rhymes.

Hawkeye’s Nervous Breakdown

M*A*S*H was forced to be upbeat.
Sure there was a war going on and
Shortages of blood and med supplies
Constantly had to be addressed, but

There was never liquor rationing,
Willing bimbo nurses not sex eager,
Golf supply difficulties or inabilities
To smile triumph at death’s gloating.

The story got even with them all.
The last episode, highest TV ratings,
The everyman hero B.F. got pierced in
Big membrane and met war’s insanity.

It was lie glossed over, B.J. farewell,
Things ‘back on track’ happyhappyhappy.
Trapper John lived good life later,
Met Gonzo instead of sadly going.

“Seven Dead in Korean Vet Rampage”
Dr. Frank Burns, unidentified nurse,
Walter, Mother, Uncle Ed O’Reilly,
Dr. Sidney Freedman, Sister Mulcahy.

Hawkeye is flying earth circles now,
Clad in spotless white daywear, shoes.
Hidden away from all press, public,
Along with other war heroes gone bad.

Special to MVPL

The Challenge -by Tracy

I challenge you.

No more play. Stop being fake.
For once, give more than you take.
Pay your debt for all the broken hearts left in your wake.

I challenge you.

Step up. Say your peace.
Show yourself and the layers beneath.
Free yourself with an exquisite release.

I challenge you.

Speak creativity, be of purity.
Speak volumes of Divinity.
Walk with me strong by my side in faithful duality.

I challenge you.

Man up. Throw down.
Fight for that you seek, value what's been found.
Give me insight into yours so profound.

I challenge you.

Leave the game. Expose your intentions.
Get inside, hold my attentions.
If you dare to know true, loyal affections.

I challenge you.

Touch my soul. Set it ablaze.
Thrill me with your loving gaze.
Reciprocate the force of what our spirits crave.

Haunted High School Memories

Hate endures,
Halls channel,
Rooms contain,
Gyms exhort.

Doors refuse
Desired entries,
Exit needed.
Cafeteria fodder.

Locker thirteen,
Statue girl,
Redhead potter,
Dark passage.

Circle corners,
Spite checkpoints,
Prefs, race, weight,
Fear Differents.

Little theater,
Greek productions.
Wall opens for Junior,
Family education.

Cold girl screams,
Ball game score.
Bleacher support,
Unholy restraint.

Science teacher,
Parent molded,
Apes unwelcome,
Murder survivor.

Spirit rally,
Office outcries,
Phone home alone.
Bus back mountain.

Biology window,
Primal mating.
Mabel landscape
Valley golden.

Vocational bigots
Trained to use
Non brain tools.
Restrained, agreed.

Janitor closet,
Evidence hidden,
Red Riding Hood's
Cape and slippers.

Banquo cries
Murder to students
Deaf to reality,
Perfecting unlove.

Instructors, the bland,
Weak, money drones.
Doorknob ingenuity
While Ophelia drowned.

Ice water shiver
During reunion.
Whatever happened to
What's her name?

Moved? Married?
Pregnant? Army?
Dead. Smothered.
Despised. Colorblind.

Red skies intersanctum,
Choral note of warning,
Pale dead girl walks
Class to class on time.

The Avant Garde Proposal

Thirteen summers grace,
Pledge pledged solemn.

Stare Moonie, chant.
Wyoming altar gild.

Blood guarantor grin,
Aphasia muse twists.

Bark.
The receiving.

Bark.
The rendering.

Bark.
The turning away.

Bark.
The redeeming.

Bark.
The revenge.

Reaper reaped,
Speaker speaked.

Brokeback Harley,
Christopher Marley.

Carpe diem little Sim.
Tut, tut, avoid the rut.

High school, low school.
Learn not to burn fool.

Summer fourteen,
Realize the dream.

Glock rock.
ScreamScreamScreamScreamScreamScreamScream

(He always turned his work in on time.)

The Dream Labyrinth

Baby swaddled on the steps,
Spotted when wrong way quit
Because Noland was coming,
But he won't admit seeing it.

Soft gravel cushions tires,
Keeping Michelin from tracking
Away and leaving the lonely
Crumbled gray heart hollow.

Three baseballs left alone,
Beren gone, roadside burial,
No play at home base now,
Sliding, falling away subdued.

Black eyes looking upwards,
Surprised, frightened, sad.
Camping indoors, no Smokey
To prevent her forest fire.

Indian basement, house romp.
Sister parades, trois enchantee.
Deux hershey kisses traded away.
Calm winds blowing silent adieu.

The Green Bean Queen

Schools and factories
Never had answers.
Vines and roots,
Stalks and fruits,
Therein lay truths.

Climbing up,
Looking ahead,
Seeing beyond p.384
Became the norm.
Halos don't fear rust.

Smile the vert prom,
Hula over the rainbow.
Oxygen clears vision
Often unnoticed,
But always rewarded.

Tagalongs

Everyone should
Consider broader,
Anamorphic picture,
Before grabbing
Unwanted extra.

Cheap riders,
Curious lookers,
Lonely others,
Accident brother,
Luggage eyes.

Clothing keys,
Meadow watchers,
Abstract barrier,
Echo mouthpiece,
Bitter additive.

Faded romance,
Friends, love.
Soured, tainted,
Expired date.
Gladly forgotten.

Witch Grass

Deep in the forest
There was a clearing.
Beside a granite slab
Grew a magic grass.

Woodland creatures
Ate this grass and
Lived longer and better
Lives because of it.

One day a wanderer
Was so hungry that she
Chewed some of the grass
After sliding off the rock.

She glowed inside then,
Revived, vitalized, able to cast
Spells, she built a shack on
The border of the glade.

Sick people began to come,
Word spread of doctor arts.
She gave to all that asked,
Happy to share Earth spirit.

Fear caused rum scented
Men to burn her alive at
Midnight Christmas day.
Birds and squirrels wept.

The slab sunk downward,
Like a frown, the grass soon
Browned and withered away,
Nothing now but memory.

The Real Good Ole Days - Fragment #8406

A true country store in purest form,
Ran by Rank Holcomb and his wife.
Sunday morning ride down there,
Buy the paper, pay in a cigar box.

Or during the week, buy some gas or milk
Or cigarettes, go in and talk a bit.
Rank didn't say much, but when did,
It was really interesting, not filler.

Sign inside "Guarded by a pit bull - with Aids!"
Rank liked to smoke little Italian cigars,
He first had them when he was in WWII.
He didn't talk about that, but his eyes would.

Drinking Lesson

San Diego is a hot place.
This bears notice when
Planning to try and get
A girl from there drunk.

Sherry's dad was on the
Bar code team for Big Blue.
Her mom and sisters, I'm
Really unsure what they did,

Other than visit relatives here.
We were paired up by some
Patti Stranger cousin of hers.
A drive-in date was then set.

Double-feature, looming sex,
Action, and dark car privacy.
Pilot stop for beer and chips.
Warning sign ignored suavely-

"Will that be enough?" she
Asked looking at the Coor's case,
Smiling as Miller longnecks made
Counter contact from both hands.

Drive in to the drive-in, metal
Band Accept "Balls to the Wall,"
Cassette playing, she smiled and
Said she really liked that song.

Date ends for me too early,
Passing out before last call for
Concession stand pizza, pickles.
She drives us back to her Auntie's.

Wakes me up and kisses me
Goodnight, smiling as she invites
Me out to California to visit.
Home James, I whisper inside.

Next day I go out to clean
My car, not a sign of last night's
Beer, chips, nuts, and fumbling.
Fuel tank filled, carpet spotless.

California girls, well one at least,
Showed me what it was like to be
"Drunk under the table," proper.
Zander's ex sure did it with style.

Meeting Soloman on Route 66

One day on my way to L.A.
An old man, he had something to say,
"Hold your friends with regard,
As you do poker cards,"
He said that, and then he walked away.

Heat Fashioned in a Smile

Mississippi perdition beyond Benjy's fury.
Waning days of summer vacation, blinking past.
A need for Oxford welled in my bones,
So a road trip ensued while OPEC laughed.

What makes a state but its people?
The landmarks, the history, the smell
Is not the tipping point of its essence.
The 'pians I met took me back, too far.

Roadhouse tavern had gallons of beer
Cheaper than motor fuel, and a barmaid
Holding Helen's beauty captive behind
Eyes like twinkling binary nirvana bound.

Offset by that bastard cousin hate,
Reared in realtree camo, uttered drunkenly,
"That nigger thinks he's a White man."
Man's damnation, the vilification of his brother.