As far as possible, she strove for them all. Arching her small frame and grunting prettily, her fingers counting the roses in the wallpaper. Childhood whoring fitted her for deceit. Daddy had been a fondler. Soft lipped mouthings, soft lapped…
It occurs to me now, I never see you smiling anymore. Friends praise your humor rich, your phrases turning on a thin dime. For me your wit is honed to killing sharpness. But I never catch you simply smiling, anymore.
I got a piece of a job on the waterfront. Three days ain’t hardly a grind. It buys some beans and collard greens and pays the rent on time. ‘Course the wife works too. Got three big children to keep…
Tremors of your network cause kings to disappear. Your open mouth in anger makes nations bow in fear. Your bombs can change the seasons, obliterate the spring. What more do you long for ? Why are you suffering ? You…
His tan and golden self, coiled in a threadbare carapace, beckoned to my sympathy. I hoisted him, shoulders above the crowded plaza, lifting his cool, slick body toward the altar of sunlight. He was guileless, and slid into my embrace.…
I start no wars, raining poison on cathedrals, melting Stars of David into golden faucets to be lighted by lamps shaded by human skin. I set no store on the strange lands, send no missionaries beyond my borders, to plunder…
Skin back your teeth, damn you, wiggle your ears, laugh while the years race down your face. Pull up your cheeks, black boy, wrinkle your nose, grin as your toes spade up your grave. Roll those big eyes, black gal,…
Coleridge Jackson had nothing to fear. He weighed sixty pounds more than his sons and one hundred pounds more than his wife. His neighbors knew he wouldn’t take tea for the fever. The gents at the poolroom walked gently in…
You declare you see me dimly through a glass which will not shine, though I stand before you boldly, trim in rank and marking time. You do own to hear me faintly as a whisper out of range, while my…
Listening winds overhear my privacies spoken aloud (in your absence, but for your sake). When you, mustachioed, nutmeg-brown lotus, sit beside the Oberlin shoji. My thoughts are particular: of your light lips and hungry hands writing Tai Chi urgencies into…
