Alphabet City

I remember when I was a child,
before I could speak, I could feel
the earth fall in orbit ’round the sun

How frightening this sense of terra
less than firma

As well, the rotation of the planet was apparent,
a careen around celestial hairpin-turns
en route to sunset and tomorrow

Since then I have acclimated,
developed counter-balance to allow
me to deal day-to-day with the topsy-turvy
flight of our bumblebee

Similar to seeing life
right-side up

I am a silver surfer
atop a hallowed plain
hanging ten

Chagall 2019

Inspired
but tired

Chagall 2019

Last night it dawned on me,
quite vividly, that we must
be alone in the multiverse,
otherwise our poetry would
not convey such great wisdom,
nor our existence such ultimate
irony.

Chagall 2018

alone at the window
she ties up the sash
the street below

one flight down
so close
she can touch

the slow night life
in passers-by
the time strides by
two-by-two

a pretty girl with flowered hair
from a balcony tosses beads

Dulcinea above petals that waltz
rains down from the fire escape

in wonder under melted snow
she beckons a frosted kiss
icicles melt into rivulets
that run her chin down her neck

refreshing sips
sunlit water
still so calm
too deep

a wooden bench – a frozen lake
vees of faraway flyers dip then soar
in echelon back to home

I have loved her in the wind
among tall grains we ran to flee

I have quenched my thirst with a long draught of rainwater
sipped from the taut concave of her abdomen,
the rhythm of her arc ebbs the flow
of a drink akin to tart citrus ade

one-flight up from the street,
a tenant is neither here nor there

how many nights I still walk off the ledge
into mid-air

and in the late hours
I relish the first-floor’s rarefied gas
the omniscience of feet on the street

Chagall 2018

Silence
…did I ruin it, your
silence?

I intrude.

But, hold on
…how long can we
breathe underwater?

Come on…you c’mon up for air!

Chagall 2018

The art of wrapping gifts is
ample space, sharp scissors,
3 parts origami, 1 part luck,
plus a strong will to succeed,
to assert one’s mastery over
colorful inanimate objects.

Have I told you of my
handcrafted calligraphy labels?

Ladle a nog, let’s talk!

Love, Chagall – 2018

I wake up and pray
there is still enough time
to love you more

Chagall 2018

incantations
in darkness

on the edge:
creation

a benediction
for all that is, will be

a whisper, a tremor
a wind

the word:
beginning

a handy sleight
of mind

Chagall 2018

earlier today i brushed my forearm
against the wall of a 500-degree oven,
and by yelling out the F-word
loudly, emphatically, and repeatedly,
i was able to stave off grave injury

Chagall 2018

I watch stars collide
Light pulse throbs deeply in space
All await the sound

Chagall 2018