Random 2014 Pix

Wiz with the Sciz

so much more than a haircut

entertaining
energizing
neuroses exchange

hip hop hipster

be-bop bipster
talk of the hood

banter spills out

fast, faster,
snip-snap snipster
clumps of bray hair
hit the black and white checkered floor

a quiet man listens on the zebra striped bench

chartreuse molding collects curlicues of dark hair

“Stigs” says the Wiz

my grandfather
the greatest ballplayer on the planet
he lived in Kingston
people said he was shit.

Small World

She knew she would be hit
she didn’t know how hard
she made the left turn
but felt, saw, from the side of her eye,
the blinding lights headed at her
no time to stop
or speed up
or re-think the turn into the library.

Rainy night

red lights of traffic glistening
all around her
the car stopped
the engine off
the radio off
acrid, dark smoke filled the car
air bag detonation.

The man appeared at her window

helped her out
are you ok?
then the police
then moving Opal off the road
then the tow arrangements
How to get home?
the man offered to take her.

She went to drop the book in the slot

her library errand complete
she got in the truck with the man
who’d just smashed her car
he was kind
they picked up his son
from Drivers Ed class
she mentioned she was a new Grandmother.

He asked her where she lived

sure I know where that is
the three drove along
packed closely in the front seat of the truck
She and the man who smashed Opal and the teenaged son
small talk
father and son talk
they got closer to her house

Right at the church

up the hill
a little further
left – here.
that’s where you live?
with JR?
small world
I built that deck for him 25 years ago.

Ole man Winter Bustin Thru

ole man winter bustin thru our wimpy autumnal defenses
nubby swirling capes with arms free, and smart berets soon will not cut it
where’s the dry skin cream hid?
where be the gloves, the leggings, the chap stik?
close up the windows
plastic, caulk, cover them
let no air in
line up the soups in the cupboard
empty the fuzzballs from the old boots

tomatoes sprawl rotten in the garden
yet the almighty and faddish kale

still stands tall and vigilant
the deer family roams slowly,

dressed in dark, dull coats
perusing the compost

nibbling on the tired rhododendrons

check the tires! the furnace!
the antifreeze!

ole man winter headin our way.
11/14/14

November Hurtles Past

a birthday
a wedding
a turkey
a wake
To be silly and seven and love
strawberry shortcake with blue frosting
and silly string in your hair and take a
long, long time to make your wish.

a birthday
a wedding
a turkey
a wake
love and joy and bounty of food
music for rockers, rappers and geezers
family and tribe sharing

joy and hopes
shaking hands at the seafood buffet, sealing up
the ten year crack generated by a garbage pail in the driveway

a birthday
a wedding
a turkey
a wake
a turkey for five, not eight or ten
thankful for the cancer free screening
thankful for those here and not here
not thankful for the death call in the morning
 
a birthday
a wedding
a turkey
a wake
why do they call it a wake?
the person in the box, the one you chatted up last week
you kissed his handsome nephew cheek

the one who shook hands and made the truce of the decade

at the wedding loud and playful
lies far from awake.
the small giggling boy, the thoughtful husband,

devoted father, smitten grandpa
so respected, so loved, so missed.
a birthday
a wedding
a turkey
a wake