Hungry

To what, dearest one
May we interest your
Tender palate? I see
Your 'buds are not
Too picky.

Perhaps a touch
of Springsteen to
Satisfy a rebellious heart
And quench that spunky thirst.

Or maybe you feel
More in the mood for Mr. Charles?
A bit of ole time blues
And piano to tempt your thoughts
On love past.

Oh dear, you simply
Can't gorge yourself so!
The sweet richness of Presley
And the raw tang of Cash
Might give your ears
A happy stomachache!

Perhaps tonight you don't
Wish to feast with waiting
Souls, bodies stilled, spirits never
Silenced. Perhaps you would like
Instead to visit a quartet of bassists,
Banjo-ists, guitarists, and one drummer,
Two brothers, four kin
With the taste of memory and the sticky
Summer hint of knowing
Just what you wanted to hear.

May I interest you in dessert?

Fairytale

Once upon a time,
There was a girl driving
Her silver Crown Victoria
(18 years old, and christened Mina)
Through a world of absolute beauty.

See, it had snowed that day, and was
Still snowing as she drove, and there
Was a thick, wooly fog oozing over
The world like albino maple syrup,
And a werewolf's moon
In the sky.

So the road was white,
The fields were white,
The sky was white,
And the moon tinged everything
Blue, and instead
Of being scared
(As her father obviously expected)
She was thrilled to happy pieces.

She drove in silence, set in
Cruise control even though she
Knew she shouldn't
(because the roads got awful slick),
Admiring the sky and riding for once
Without the radio on, so she could
Celebrate the silence, and maybe
Talk to all the spirits
Who rode with her.

Joy

Joy is
an afternoon of Elvis
Singing every word and
harmonizing with the voice
Of an angel.

Joy is
waking up with a plump
Little cat asleep on my face
because his purrs are vibrating
My nose.

Joy is
dancing in the kitchen
To Bob Seger, praising that
Old time rock 'n' roll, and not
Caring how silly
I look.

Joy is
anticipating the return of
My dearest, sweetest friend, because
words on a screen aren't enough and
She can always make
Me laugh.

Joy is
living the life I have right now
With all its ups and downs and
Little nuisances and quirks that
Make it especially mine.

He

A child in a man's body
Sleek and sophisticated in a city-dweller's costume
(High black boots, dark skinny jeans, black thermal shirt,
Black hoodie, an old and worn black leather jacket, and
Soft grey scarf piled around his neck)
He walks with ease confidence, his step light and carefree
He's combed back his black hair carefully, with a comb
And water, but a lick of it caresses his forehead like
A mother's hand.
His eyelashes nearly hide his eyes behind a gossamer curtain,
The envy of any girl.
To look at you was to enfold you
In the depths of his warm, giddy brown eyes, the color of
Summer mud, and
He wears a perpetual tan, a gift from his Italian, Hawaiian,
And Navajo ancestors, and it is sweet to the eye,
Like a taste of coffee with just enough cream and sugar.
When he laughs, the hardest of hearts break down into
Happy tears, poets scramble for a bit of paper and a pen, and
Birds hush in the beauty of this most glorious of sounds,
Too low and sweet and childlike for their throats to mimic.

Omen

you pause as the trumpets die for a moment and you stare
your glittering blue magical beautiful chilling thrilling eyes
locked not only on millions of others who watched you for
the first time years before i was born but mine too yes me
seventeen years after you're gone twenty-one since you sang
that song that still gives me shivers down my spine and brings
hot tears to my eyes because i love you so much it hurts sometimes
and i can't even find the words to express it because i wasn't actually
there when you called thousands of people to arms competing with the
rat-a-tat-tat of the drums your jaw set your face determined and your soul
connecting with a soul you'll never meet never see never even breathe the
same air with but you will forever change in a way you can't possibly imagine
just twenty-nine years into the future.

Herbie Husker

You were
the first person
to come in all day
and treat me like
a human being.

I wondered after
you left
what made you so
happy, so happy
you glowed with it.

I must admit
I found you quite
Amusing, dressed
like a boy in his father's clothes;
Blue jeans, periwinkle blue
button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up;
and a bright red tie, loose at the neck, printed
with little pictures
Of Herbie Husker (because who can be proud of Lil Red?)

You laughed while you ordered
almost $40 worth of greasy food
And you bounced on your heels
Waiting for me to hand you
the THREE bulging sacks.

Then you grinned, face ruddy
And young. You laughed at
What I saw as nothing, and were off,
Off to spread your contagious joy
To someone as lucky as I was.

Dance, Dance

Now the hip!
boomboom
And look, your feet are dancing too!
clickclick
It's funny how he stays with you
uhhuh, uhhuh
Even after the suits are back on their
hangers.

A cheeky grin
watch this, y'all
As your body twists
yeahyeah
And jives and your feet glide
betcha can't do THIS
As if it's become second nature
yeah baby
Instead just something you do for
a paycheck.