you just get on board

warped in mind they emerge from airport swirl
we train along with other weary passengers
to the central station in Roma, the Termini
then got on a bus, it departs

looking back we notice not all of us got on the bus
Kate is standing there
good bye, goodbye, Kate, fare thee well
we’ll find you in about a month,

it’s a big city,
if we look for you
if you’re lucky,
if the gypsies don’t get you first and sell you

miracle of miracles, never have i seen this,
just as i wave goodbye
the bus stops, and waits for her
their vacation is saved

and now it begins in earnest,
we’ll run them, fun them
let them sleep when the vacation is over,
for this is a trip of a lifetime, more or less, we’ll see
i don’t want to exaggerate

poemcholia

at times after i write them
i want to hold them tight then,
not turn my pet mice-like poems loose
out of the sock drawer to scamper, taking flight

snap-like go-now puppies on the run
out on their own rolling
beyond my control
out of reach, out of sight

crossing the street
against the light,
a lone drifter may find them and take comfort
some blue dark eerie night

that’s okay, though It’s still not through
cause then, of my poems,
what is left will creep around
eventually, to snuggle up with you

so it’s all okay,
i think
therefore i am okay,
i think

thank

thanks for looking
attention is a starting point
for rounds beyond bounds, yes it is
thanks for being you,
you have something on your sleeve there

every encounter
your pleasant manner charms
i know it isn’t easy
there’s certainly plenty with which to contend
i thought someone was checking invitations

you do well
i’ve got to say
my friend, see you again
another day
that’s his mother’s coat i recognize it

when you don’t quite understand
what is going on
it’s always better
to keep one hand
on your wallet

walk with me

walk with me this chill afternoon for a stretch, a dash
to capture light between buildings on our waning grey afternoon,
giving change to this day, hiding away from cold light drizzle,
it is winter and we have become weary of the season

while in this ancient city, Roma, it’s a traveler’s duty to lurk
these miserable damp streets, grey stone lanes we know well,
above , lights cast gay walking shadows on fine lace draperies
in grand high-life quarters, of which we’re forever strangers

a dark hovel is our consolation, dreary chamber we can afford,
fragrant luxury is wafting from farther down the street,
there, anointed families that have treasured this area for generations,
while, as fate would have it, we measure as the unfortunate newcomers

briefly passing through this place, we are contending,
dodging history in the evolution of the extended saga,
as a smudged foot note, on a page in the chronicle of events
that will carry well on, beyond us, murky into the long forever

Shahjan

this waiter at Bufetto Due
immigrated from Bangladesh,
has been working here three years,
during pre- crowd time we chatted

a good and gentle soul,
observant to see a kindred spirit,
took time to exchange words
brought us a lemoncello in parting

though only an acquaintance,
and heaven knows they come and go,
i wish Shahjan well on the journey
and peace, and happiness, i surly do

learning to help

pre-Christmas two years ago
all was quiet, even the mice, until
i crossed the street in front of a bus
fell and broke my wrist in three places

by the time i made it home
M. had a fine evening meal prepared
so i ate, needing only one arm for soup,
it was delicious, then went to the hospital

considerate M. waited four days
before she fell and broke her ankle,
our first broken bones were a teaching,
as we spent the holidays helping each other

the radio on

the radio on while driving
matching wits with news makers
often winning arguments, yelling out the window
i go on auto pilot,

making new slogans for commercials
often forgetting to signal,
with the window open i get wet
persistence keeps me on the road

i have learned to turn the wipers on,
lights would be fine if i could find them,
paying attention while driving is a good idea,
but i don’t seem the type

if lost i keep going
as long as there is gas in the tank
i know i could drive a taxi
those that i assist will tip me

of time

as it should be
tomorrow is unknown
and will arrive
in due time

it is far more advantageous
to retread carefully
lessons to be learned
from yesterdays

snowfall joy / blizzard of Roma

snowfall joy
from warm looking out
see those flake giants

barging down elbow to elbow
churning thick
tumbling fat boys

elated, she got me outside
hat gloves scarf bundled
treading the rare blizzard of Roma

where Piazza Navona is white open,
a snowball or two launched in Campo dei Fiori
then all too soon, sun comes out

off center

oh, bus in the rain
i’m back again, do you hear me
feeling no pain
only a little, look, i’m riding

must be the cold,
i can do dreary, getting old, and consider,
combine that with wet, not complaining yet,
see, like i said, it’s raining

talked to a guy from the Congo
studying on about priestly stuff
when i heard and had enough
got off the bus, lead by pure inspiration

M. said to ask those mechanics three
it was M., them and me
they pointed to a place - across the street
it’s good, they said, where we always eat

and just as i heard them say
was a mighty fine buffet
with prices better
this quick bus ride away, slightly off center

open ended conversation

on the radio
some call to say something
others call in
to be heard

walking down the street some talk
on the phone a long time
without pause for the other
is anyone really there?

always there are those
on the bus ceaselessly talking
fogging the window,
and have no phone

out styling

walking up a block
on Victtorio Emanuele where ahead is
a woman glowing several opposing colors, long skirt,
shawl, head dress, conflicting designs, and bangles

shoes mainly bright purple
with sparkles and curling trim,
bent low, working on a bag
what is this?

gypsies have gone conventional these days,
disguised away from tradition to blend in
facial features, eyes and hair identify them
surly this throwback must . . .

the woman stands and turns my way
by her face and hair
i she is Italian, evidently a
fashion statement out styling

to genial grey shoe man

to genial grey shoe man
again this week, where fifteen euro
resole and re-heel the repentant,
i bid two pair

one pair unaccepted, condemned
to hopeless misery, mine,
sticker them -
caution, for home use only

along the return way
wood man on cobblestone lane
before his shop working a cabinet into being
in greeting for me spontaneously

sang a made up song
i’ll translate - “the situation with my sister
doesn’t go well.”
i laughed out loud

between buildings
slats of sun
dump warmth out of season,
most desirable

heard a sound

heard a sound
in bed
going round
in my head

thought
it odd
i said
and thought it out

‘til it was gone
turns out
i was right
it was odd

if you're really Dave

somehow i evaporated comments
for Mr. Hill and woodsmoke
guilty i am - and no wonder,
without a secretary who else to blame?

if you’re really a Dave,
and you’re really an Andy
that makes three of us
who are whom we say.

as world population, now 6.8 billion,
grows a quarter million a day,
though some die, mean growth is steady
and eighty percent live on less that two euros a day

my retired friend used her life savings
to put a down payment
on a small 300,000 euro apartment
and can’t afford a computer, who will cry?

my dear, very crazy, very intelligent friend told me
we're all doing the best we can.

offering recognition now, here's to Julie
do read this heart to love

and, to you all, thanks for reading here
the augmented verse i'll continue to offer

until i’m through.
and you know, i won't be the last
other have said, by God,
it all happened so fast

now i am one

times ago when a novice to Italia
went on the road two months,
a touring play with a dozen Italians
coffee together, every meal, every day

coffee in the morning, you say
i can do that, start my day
or so it seemed, so i’d say
yet when it came all was outlandish new

disorderly turmoil, without deviation
coffee with these, the experienced,
weaned by the ages, since the beginning,
habitual action conferred by generations

my patterns needed compromise to function
i watched, i participated, adjusting i learned,
how long it takes, precisely how it is done
many roads that lead to the one

not of my bloodline,
infelicitous and extrinsic
day after day, until now,
now i am one

Mr. Hill

Mr. Jack, someone said the other day
my minds eye brought forth Everett Hill,
fragile, thin, gray, well beyond retirement age,
stayed on the job as the sweeper

there was an agreement,
when the old owner/boss retired,
he left word that Hill, as we all called him,
could stay on long as he could push a broom

it was a large city TV station
where a regular evening crew
cleaned the offices, waxed he floors
and took out the trash

when someone would get angry and cursed,
if Hill was around he’d call out
“don’t chew be bitter now, Mickie”, or whoever,
light heartedly he enlightened us

Hill was a daytime fixture
in the lobby, if it seemed interesting
or, in one of two large studios
casually dragging his long handled push broom

our work was in the studio
getting ready, working a show
then putting our things away
Hill was always around, just around

Mr. Jack is what Hill called me
he called everyone Mr. whatever their name was,
the important ones he used the last name
we the workers were Mr. First Names

for as long as he could show up
that was the deal that Hill stuck to, often reminding ,
as he does now working with the heavenly crew,
with a smile and a shake of the head,“now, don’t be bitter”

wood smoke

i split part of a small bottle of Chinotto,
an Italian soda since 1949,
somewhat like coke, but bittersweet
M. and i sat talking and sipping

she said our flower girl, who was eight back then,
this week sent an email saying she saw
Claraville in the Sierra Nevada of California
and our old buildings on Google satellite

thirty years ago we were married amid the pines
on Piute Mountain, when we were young, before
Google, email and we'd ever thought of living in Italy
now flower girl has her own daughter eight

our friends Lonesome Al, Piute Jerry and Cutter Bill
have all gone off to some hidden mountain cabin
reeking of pine, sipping hooch and laughing
i am sure they all are all laughing

now and then, in contemplation, M. and i recall
those rollicking times, warm fires and adventures
precious, pleasant memories all,
filled with friends, long starry nights and wood smoke

a little sun

a break from the february cold
we're in reprise with good sun
from the window
i confirm fair weather

below, the blue coated white haired woman
over from seaside Ostia on a day trip
teetering along with her elderly daughter
to their smiles i salute with cheery greetings from above

out the door then we encounter Mario
the antiquarian in front of his shop working
a piece of furniture over a pair of saw horses
we nod as he keeps sawing

then Stefano, flakes of white plastered face and clothes,
greets us, he reports that in all of Italy there are
three cases of chicken pox, one of his small children
has it, ready to pass it to the other

high up the lady who walks her two small white dogs
is at her window in the arch
that spread across our tiny street
talking to a neighbor in another window

we say ciao to Franco One
then a step later ciao Franco Two,
both do furniture restoration
in their workshops on this street

Marjia passes next, just back from a month
visiting her mother in Finland
with an imperial salute she reports this high,
snow there is chest high

Marina the ceramic painter crowds through
in her auto, where one rarely comes by
it’s the only vehicle we encounter
in a half-block walk on this cobblestone way

finally, at the corner an old store keeper
sits catching sun in a rocker
her old husband is nearby talking with a friend
we good morning them all

then to the market, the Chinese side of the train station
loading our cart, see a tiny old woman, tall as my waist,
bent forward walking, her sailor’s deck-mop sheep dog grey and
white hair blows ahead in the light wind, and proceeds her

i take the cart the rest of the way home
while M. goes for a free Christmas ball from the Vatican tree, but
returned to report the tree remains dead, decorated and standing
usually it is down by Valentines Day

we have to be there on the day they are taking it down
no notice is posted, we keep checking
as in all of life
timing is everything

in a while

once in a while,
the very while
that occurred
this afternoon

it seemed learning
or along that vein,
had to do with
keeping mouth closed

when then we saw Bruno and Wendy
Wendy’s sister was there too
that’s what Bruno said, and better that i waited
instead of asking if this was Wendy’s mother

their two kids were also tagging along
ages seven and ten
we knew them before they married
not the kids - Wendy and Bruno

the kids we never knew
because they never were
when that ago time existed
once, in a while

day watching

day watching each slipping
gracefully along
nearly asleep walking
blinking then away

gone drifting
one moment droplets
in life’s stream, drip passing
to clear dark cool river

flowing steady beyond
lake to locks
becoming roll folding
soft blue oceans

whispers fog again
globe breathing
circling with fishes
gather mists

clouds building grey darker
all above sailing
over birds
on wings of winds

gradually reformed
now droplets
fall again lovely
light rain

january emptied out

making notes i am
sorting words, stacking cards
one dog barking

i glance up at dark blurs
some birds boring blindly
misted into running low grey clouds

on the hill above, the Gianicolo,
a cannon fires a wisp of grey into the chill
the city beyond hears the signal and knows it Is noon

we board a bus of content silence, scarves and caps
off for a bite of lunch, our own words begin, blend,
weave and overlap with the others

then a little walking
through the crowds
a lot of talking

don’t hear what they’re saying
making plans I suppose,
some gesturing, pointing

laughing young women
heads together
recount social victories

few small children pulling against their mothers
today many little wrapped ones in blankets
lulled to silence in four wheeled strollers

temperature is dropping
who is content?
some calm hangs poised over complacency

after evening buses slow, then cease
overnight becomes the soundless
when imagination is the only border

old Roma does survive

just a Saturday no account bus ride
to keep oiled the well honed skill of passenger
to just the other side of the Vatican sprawl
to the new/old Trionfale Market

home of vegetables and the like
all on the first floor of a new building
where underground is parking
above, space for offices

under control now
gone are the renegades, mud puddles and gypsies
law and order has, if not prevailed,
at least made it’s presence known

saw many stalls
so many,
compared prices
walked till tired

nearby stopped at a lunch place for lunch
food was good
prices were one third - i say a third - of those
in the tourist area

all of it proving, if taken together,
old Roma does survive
if you look
in the corners

went to the bank

woke with little cash
so went to the stone block grey bank
where green money comes out,
not enough going the other way

the newly installed door into the bank
is see through amber grey space age,
first push a small round steel burnished button to enter
a slender vertical box for one

keep arms and scarves close to your body
in the curved vertical box wait a second,
large size people in heavy coats with large purses
need bank elsewhere

zzzithppp swings a curved bullet proof plastic door
closed, vacumn sealed tight, until after a pause
opens another panel - zzzipp - on the other side
to allow access into bank proper, move quickly

space age, nearly silent the door
hhhhmmmpft it goes behind me
i’m sure some one found a ufo in a field somewhere
and reverse engineered the door

at times we see

at times we see
go by faces we know
somewhere out in the city,
folks from our long ago

strange how it can be
that we run into each other,
intersecting at the right moment,
by chance, without notice in advance

what a nice plan, accidents are
that good kind, the meeting,
the greeting of surprise,
in a fleeting moment of encounter

some leave our life
without a goodbye,
for a quirky reason they are gone
never to cross our way again

it’s no wonder why
and no need to be witty
to know, above all,
that’s life in the city

like a daqueri

can't talk fish out of a river
and writing story's another thing
but a few lines i can deliver
with a twist and bit of sting

where goes the Bard of Avon

if there is reincarnation
wouldn’t Will S. make an appearance
seems by now he would
he’d want another go

perhaps a scientist this time
or a grill cook who kept quiet
live solo in a trailer on town’s edge
or as female this go around

how about a sports star
there have been a few greats
maybe a horse racing triple crown winner
and i don’t mean the jockey

nearly striking fortune

when i was 19, 20, 21 thereabouts
i wrote a song "Milk and Honey
that is where we have been
milk and honey
away from the streets of din"
it was not a hit
in fact, no one liked it

i knew nothing about honey and milk
milk was for cereal
and honey went on graham crackers
never graham factors,
those being factors for determining ambiguity in U.S. patent law

and what was i doing writing about din
when the only din i ever heard of was Gunga Din
i should have been writing about
things i knew like
have you seen my basketball?
i left it in the closet but it isn't there

another near fortune occurred
when i came up with
outerlated insulwear
but couldn't put it together
a definite swing and a miss

ten thousand

ten thousand lives - nay,
ten million and more have seen
light of passing sun and moon and stars
giving this world a try

be it fresh fruit and friends
warm nights and soft breeze
or bitter cold and high winds
starting young, bending like trees

while growing daily older
honor both the day and night
hats off to home and loved ones
work long and hard to get life right

here we stay ready
to go again tomorrow
through life’s cathedral
blessed be the harmony

if in a slip stream through time

if in a slip stream through time
to pop up more than a decade ago, behind myself
just walking out the door. dressed for the day,
then on the road where traffic flows the same

a stop for a coffee in an old bar
that hasn’t gone modern, then to enter
the appointed place at the appointed time
with a last look toward the sun as i walk in the door

only half wondering at the time
if ever will i think about this day again
bring it back, this pleasant air, happy i am,
a least knowing, what a gift it is to be here

sad poems

some poems are unhappy
sadness need not be sought
or brought out as the printed words

let’s leave sad sleep in peace, shall we.
we’ll do other things. women can watch the men
and man can dream of girls

we will live quietly, wait and have fun
enjoy the silence and the sun
sadness will seek us out soon enough

stone

stone street narrow ways
give strength to the noise
echoes rolling
in ricochet

images of friends
acquaintance memories
evaporating, barely holding on
not enough to make an image

open the windows
nearly hear the dampness
on grey stone walls
absorbing life, a drop at a time

yet the blade sharpener still comes by
calling out for all above to hear
as he pushes down the street
here for your service i am "arrotino"

time like olden days

time like olden days
lives on little lanes
off main crowded ways
when it's sunny or it rains

a lone sturdy woman
shorter then we
and rounder too
in lengthy dark country dress

carries a covered box in her hands
and a large open cardboard box
piled high with clothing
balanced atop her head

steady duck walking
oblivious to us she ambles by
showing her skill and no concern
in a manner that tireless practice has endowed

until you get it right

all the dead and wreckage
poor with nothing more
than hope
in the news
far away
the destruction of Haiti

next door Donny, body like a penguin
legs like a rooster
in the can for making cash by
selling pot to his cousins
come on by, cousin

one year throwing firecrackers over
our very old wooden house and into the tree
i had to go out to speak with the drunken clan

another time party drinking three a.m.
music louder than passing trains
where are the cops tonight?
i went over to speak with them again

always a party
always Donny in the thick of it
cars on the lawn
seventeen is the record
always drinking, always noise
they hear on the scanner the cops are coming

then they are silent, trying to act
as if they were napping on the lawn
all fifteen of them
some on their feet
others in chairs, or on tops of cars
all with beers in hand
they promise to be quiet

another eve we wake to shouts
on the street at two a.m.
bending forward, hands on knees
taunting his opponent to take his best shot
then his mother runs out there trying to stop them

everyone yelling, it’s chaos, until they shout it out
then it’s calm, then he hugs the guy and all wave goodbye
we hear him call, “i love you, man”

pneumonia at home, goes to bed
geeze, Donny, you were only sick
couldn’t you do anything right?
you were only thirty-five
when we get back in ohio
i’ll have to go over
and speak with them

mr. moon mixes his days

coming out of trestevere
see Giancarlolino Benedetti Corcos
used his full name cause he’s up an coming
told us to come to his art show by Porta Portese
but it was last night and i forgot

then at Ponte Sisto ran into Mark Kostobi
the artist with promotion in his veins
has a tv show now where the audience names his paintings
has a studio where artists paint his pictures

the Pope motorcade was coming by in a few minutes
Mark did a sculpture for him, it’s all on his website
asked Mark if the Pope was going to
slow down and wave

friend bill the cook met the pope three times
his picture with bill is on bill’s aunt’s mantle
bill has no money, no papers, no web site or cell phone or TV show
and 40 years cooking for various embassy events
is so inconspicious that people see the photo
and don't even notice that guy with the pope

walked by our street parked car
hasn't been damaged yet
three coins were on the drivers seat
mr. moon moved the car last week
M. provided disparaging words
but i’m working on my pockets, i said

stopped at shoe man
sent us two doors down to shoe lady
bought an insert, cause two days ago
i bought two shoes, two sizes too large

can’t take them back they say
she’s a mean shoe lady
won’t exchange them
everyone says

maybe next full moon i’ll take the other pair
walk back across Ponte Sisto,
ask and hear it myself from
the horse's ass, i mean mouth

fictitious facetiousness

the clocks are wound just right
making time with perfect pendulation
yet i had to take them back
to clean loose ends, and i'll be damned, they did

remembering a night
that didn’t go my way
my lips were too light
the look on her face

it didn’t seem to matter that much
at the time
kept true to some oddness
holding near my love

that saw light in me
and who knows what else
i have no idea
i wasn't aware

my path must be worn
like ages old stone
getting us home
were we belong

so why would i trip
when i know these stones so well
in the cold walk through hell
be darns ya, be darns ya

b.

make the frog sound like a loose banjo string
let him sing all night for all of us
it’s heaven calling
don’t you hear it

be darn ya
there are only distractions on the way
you’ve got to stay wound
to keep ticking

come on, lovergirl
we have to get going
they find us here and that's bad
this beach is closed on moonless nights



addendum:

when they were putting English together
who ever thought it was a good idea to
spell wound – as in wound the clock
and wound - as in injury
the same way

these poems

these poems are
a sturdy little cabin in the woods
just a bit more than you imagined
where wind outside hums gentle hush
a rushing in and through the trees

now pause, take rest
enjoy evening's quiet time
before bears and birds
and others prowl about

do, sit now by the open stove
a light warm shawl around your shoulders
and an inviting wooden rocker
with a colorful clean soft cushion

a fresh sturdy length of log is added on the leaping fire
sparkling red and orange glowing coals
dancing reflections, crackles in the quiet
all smoke goes up the chimney
perfect in every way

a cabin rustic and reminiscent of times past,
call them the good old days.
a warm drink?
coffee, tea or beer, also liquor if you prefer

good crackers and cheese
the like of which you have never had,
a taste that will surprise you
delight you, just right

we can sometime be a ship
at sea in good weather
sunshine
sure the wind is always at your back,
a pleasant rolling, dolphin, soaring gulls

the right air breeze
ripe sea splashes
pleasure for your taking
enjoy the space
at your pace, my friend

we may talk a bit and laugh
eat a good bite
chocolates or a sandwich
an excellent soup of modest design

while you tell a story, or I will
and moonlight shines
the morning sun will rise
pastel sky and clouds fill the skies

soft music on a guitar,
maybe a piano in the next room
all things, all ways,
just right
in this cabin in the woods

terror

terror has no warning
while good or bad
life itself
is a lucky streak

expanding like the universe
all is chance
do the dance
nothing lasts forever

the end of an era

thinking about my mom when i woke today
her memory lives
in many ways

M. and i got on a 60 bus, out
one of the old gates of Roma
beyond Porta Pia,
on Via Nomentana

M. had a plan
so we went
to a spot, once in the country,
now in the city,
a quick ride away

to a church built in 400
for the daughter of Emperor Constantine
the sarcophagus is empty now
the body was taken to the Vatican
she had connections you see

in an adjacent church
as we enter a service ends
they carry out a coffin
another story ending

M. whisper asked about Claudio
a woodworker who married a Polish lady
we’d seen him a week ago
said they were moving to Poland
we'll not see him again

bused back near the termini
for pizza at Rocco’s
worker Caudia was there that morning
is pregnant, felt sick and left

no, she won’t be returning
that is the Italian way
out the door, we don’t know why
and gone forever,
that’s for sure

gone for always, like my mom,
like the one they carried out of the church,
like the daughter of Constantine,
like the body in the catacombs,
like Antonio to Polonia

first it's today
and what was yesterday,
is swept up,
given to the ages
the end of an era

so long, Claudia
here’s wishing you well
though we didn’t see you go,
or say good bye,
we’ll remember you
in good spirits
as you were

in good spirits

bus driver for the dead

less than two decades ago
buses in Roma filled with chatter
a plethora of voices
and every two speaking with each other
at the same time

like televised news segments
showing typical Italian disorderly debates across a table,
commonly there is no pause for the counter view
both speakers vehemently argue their point at the same time
each trying to talk louder than the other
this is both unbelievable and it is true

in those good long ago days past
yapping voices on a bus
like pups in a kennel
rattled the bus windows
in jocular and obtrusive good spirit

now with cell phone, there are times of the year
when everyone is on the phone talking
no one is listening,
i long suspected there is no one on the other end
in some of these long winded conversations

today, cold and wet miserable,
post holiday winter sales over,
the faltering economy generally down,
no one speaks – absolutely no one -
silence pervades

the bus driver is a driver of dead spirits
wait – some voice in the rear of the bus
ah, teens – well, they’re out of step,
and no one listens to them anyway

over on the dark side

over on the dark side of town
whizzed by the big charcoal gray stone church
santa maria maggiorre, or saint mary major
one of four Papal basilicas in Roma

it’s just over from the train station,
we splashed in the fountain there
one fun night years ago,
only now it is morning

passed the church on the bus
to Esquilino the market – the big one
jammed packed alive crawling like
mice over rice on the run, alive i say, alive

had a coffee, then half of cold thin pizza
to carry home, along with our shoulder bags
laden with three pounds of clementinas,
two pounds of polenta, peas and pistaccios, and pane
(which is bread – but pane starts with a P
and this is like happening poetry)

presto we were out of there
busing home with our booty
on two expired tickets
looking for ticket checkers all the way

we made it – wait
some one is lying in the street below our window
it’s Leonardo again – the guy
who was on fire last week

lying now in front of Mario's store
Mario was there, his nose broken by his
stick swinging nephew, little Manuale
also last week

went out and helped keep Leonardo comfortable
shortly an ambulance came and took him away again
i think his burnt leg gave out,
i know he did

Mario is doing okay
he has a good attitude
mind if we take a break now
enough action for one day

repetition

writing something
waxing the table, learning a skill
like riding a bike

follow the masters
take instruction, sharpen and hewn
then you do it, over, again and again

ten thousand times over
with care and attention
find joy in repetition as means to an end

learn well, this is your life
do the job ,
do it right

poor violin

in the piazza again, plays without giving
without tempo, lean, shabbily dressed
sans feeling, songs run together
effort expended is to show up

three minutes pass, the repetition pauses,
passes into the crowd, no one looks up
extending a paper cup, seeking coins
he just got there, most ignore him, now he is leaving

moves on in his round, they don’t see him go
to the next outdoor café, few notice,
repeat motions of the last hour, the last day
there is no end, melody fragments the same

months pass into seasons, some give coins for no reason
as years slip by, he has a poor violin, not quite in tune
faces at the tables revolve, he need not notice,
does his rounds again, plays the violin heartless

un altro giorno in paradiso

looked out the window, checked the weather
then off to the market by the Vatican train station
returned home once for umbrellas,
weather from the window can be deceiving

then out again to that outdoor market under partial awnings
to get the names of ingredients in a vegetable mixture
a wonderful assortment of greens we bought yesterday
and now want to duplicate ourselves
careful now, we don’t want to duplicate ourselves
just that mixture of greens, stay with me

now home where M. is reading of old Roma
Bernini getting an obelisk in 1636
it nearly went to a collector in England
ended instead at Piazza Navona

M. reads aloud while i wonder
what note i didn’t jot down this morning,
rolled over in bed instead of getting up,
another idea lost to the ages

now hail is falling this afternoon
i didn’t have to say falling on the outside
cause i know now you’re reading carefully
aren’t we about finished?
can i take a nap?

wait, commotion down below
a fight broke outside
must be thirty-five people out there
it’s franco’s family, all of them
and friends and onlookers,
the usually sedate wife too, screaming

Manuale beat his uncle with a stick
three cop cars pulled in and broke it up
little Manuale split before they got there
he's the little prick who set off a half stick of dynamite
on new years eve in campo dei fiori
another day in paradiso

beam me

years ago there was a TV commercial
that said – bite me brother,
i’m a chunky

that was a candy bar commercial
that got laughed off the air
and went the way of
free willy

now,
back to now again
i saw three separate ladies

naturally they were separate
there were three of them
it wasn’t a tricycide
or a threeoid

one, two and the other one
not together
just shopping where I could see

absoluteway, there were three
women fortyish
they each wore blue jeans
that is the thing, the jeans

now,
twenty brief years ago
not now twenty ,
then twenty

well, they weren’t brief years either
just seemed that way
say zip

way back then,
there were no supermarkets in Roma
just open markets and small stores

that brief time ago the women
would have worn dresses
and their aunts,
and their sisters,
and Uncle Henry - uncle Henry? what the hell
get him out of . . . oh, he was just trying it on
and the next door neighbors
and their cousins
and their mothers
the lot of them

but now
it’s all blue jeans, TV and cell phones
a new world, baby
paper or plastic?

so beam me
somewhere, please
it’s your pick

i’m set
my jeans are packed
i’m ready to go
ciao ciao, john denver
see ya'roun, clownie

2010

i read on Andy’s blog
he is going from two thousand and whatever
to twenty ten, stream lining,
coming of age, me too then

nineteen something
was an old man on a crutch
twenty ten is a compact
with lubricated hinges

i’m stepping lighter already
head up, walking tall
come on down the line, new year
i’m unpacked and ready for it all

no technician has to fix it
Mr. Modern Guy has got it all(that's me)
all I need's a Chinese restaurant calendar
on the refrigerator or the bathroom wall

hoppng along

hopping along
this little bird
quickly sorting, checking
for what’s edible, i suppose

doesn’t turns it’s head
to look at me, keeps working
of no concern, although near
i’m not worth a glance

in this world, on this edge
who sees reality
and how much is apparent
to the bird or to me?

cold, wet january humanity

bused to Piazza Barberini
to our car insurance office
to see what we pay this year
where nothing is easy

took forty minutes
this afternoon a friend
will try online
to find a lower cost

stopped for lunch at Pasquali’s
sat at the common table
with the headcount
chatted with the regulars

the driver from the Maltese embassy,
another regular is curtain maker
for Rupert Murdock,
someone said i was a retired actor

so i mentioned working with Francis Coppola
Italians like to hear of Italians in Hollywood
and old folk drop names to keep face
at the common table

numerous they are
on varying paths and stages
through this maze
of humanity

Rupert Murdock’s curtain maker
i liked that, worth repeating,
first to my friend Bill who for forty years
has cooked for various embassy events

two day review

I.

sun bright
cold light
quiet Sunday
gentle anticipation in the air
saturates the walking gentry
tasting environs

II.

Monday contending
cool light winter rain
a light charcoal gray street sheen
umbrellas out for an airing
no hurry day people
all walking with care
cobblestones are slippery

horses

on Sundays Carabinieri in formal uniforms
patrol the center on their mounts
a morning treat to see
as old church bells toll the hour

upon waking we hear them,
look down from our window to see the slow passing,
two mounted officers ambled along
the stone narrow cobblestone way

the scene brings a warmth to my heart
in nostalgic alluring beckons of clip-clop
a connection with another age
to this sunny peaceful Sunday beginning

up predawn

up predawn
and i like it
nothing is going on
the ringing in my ears is me
straining to hear something

when i open the window
i swear i hear sweet dampness
on grey stone walls
from overnight rain
the city sound is not a hum
it's near rain dripping
humidity from damp January

there, a church bell
counting seven
not that early now
it took a while to start writing this

got up an hour an a half ago
arranged engravings on the wall
set the lights a new way
played the piano and got into it

don’t get excited, it’s only improvisation
quiet, dramatic, eclectic, i take my time
musically looking into how i feel
how it sounds to me
what i can imagine

headphones, electric piano
used audience concert hall settings
so it sounded large to me, distant
but all was quiet in the room, not disturbing
she is asleep in the other room

gray and white gulls on roof tops down the way
off a few blocks
or could be over the river
i haven’t been out at this hour to see if they’re flying
or just sitting above somewhere conferring

a friend used to tell me how much gulls and pigeons bothered him
always making noise
he lived above all
and i envied the light he had, the view
i can only imagine
this building is empty, only she and i

thinking of the top floor
i’d like to take a look from there
roma, the church tops, far hills and obelisks
the sky change, pale dawn light
i can only imagine

first light now, sky change
up there
while here it is mid street
half way up
between buildings
mostly quiet at this hour

make that very quiet,
i have to listen carefully
to sort the emptiness
to think of things to hear at this hour

there, the dragging of a suitcase over the cobblestones
now that reminded me of old times
early morning hand carts of the market vendors
taking out their carts from storage areas
beginning in pre dawn

but that was twenty years ago
now they start much later,
fewer in number
the market is fading in the advent of supermarkets

a door closed somewhere up the street
the only hum of the city is from the refrigerator
some voices talking down the way
it starts slowly, another day
building blocks in the story of the ages
i'll make coffee now
day has begun

the New Year in Rome

few buses were out
walked to forum then up Via Cavour
more or less, had a bus part way
we thought of riding to the end of the line

good thing we didn’t take a long pleasant ride
buses stopped after noon,
we would have been stuck
we’ve done that before

as it was, we went to a fine Indian restaurant
we agreed it was better than our Christmas meal
had curried spinach, chicken and rice
entertainment was a bit overpowering
singing and dancing full volume
on a TV video

near Piazza Vittorio
if you care to find it look for it by name
seek an establishment called Indian Fast Food
M. broke two forks that were quickly replaced
at no extra charge
they don’t make plastic like in the old days

no buses after, not a car
or a truck, a motorbike, bicycle or taxi
we walked the alleys back, way back
down hill, way down
then flat on home
it was very, very far

stopped at Saint Pietro in Chains
to see Michelangelo’s statue Moses
seventy people were patiently waiting to get in
but the church was closed
we saw written in Italian what the tourists didn’t
that the church was on closed on holiday schedule

it is fine to exercise a bit after a meal
weather had turned to cold and rain
no traffic,
only many wandering tourists
all on foot
waiting for non existent transportation
we found it too windy to use our umbrella

blue moon end of december

out late morning walking
to Trastevere in sleeveless vest, no jacket
warm yellow weather carressing my shoulders
why has winter gone hiding in wait?

light clouds, turning, whirling
in bright sky blue
i squint toward the sun
gull on wing over the river

crossed my favorite old stone bridge
exchanged hi and smiles to the Sunday accordionist
on Ponte Sisto working early this week
in preparation for the holiday

at the corner by the gray church
Giacomo calls down from his balcony
went up to his place for coffee
his son James there but for a minute
always in motion planning

returning toward home
along Lungo Tevere
blurring traffic running in tandem
ten thousand destinations
patiently moving in saunter
no blasting crush today
folks on foot in good number
treading in passing
a hurry about them with no commotion
chatting in flocks
some solo on cell phones
clutching it to their ears
children on holiday drag along, skipping

the cannon at noon
thumps once on windows a mile away
a piece of pizza bread from the forno
to carry home, enjoy slowly
with greens and cheese
where from window open
over slow sipping coffee
church bells call the quarter hour

in the clangs i hear the undertone
telling all it is new years eve tonight
make good plans with friends ,
do it well now
the new year begins,
be ready,
stay alert
to celebrate departure of the old
and to welcome into being
the formidable, erratic circle of the new

mid week

cloudy dark rainy cool mid week
our lane up and down
more than a hundred yards end to end
and thousands of years back to the beginning

our building rooted five hundred years ago
yet there are far older for sure
nearby is a building from the twelfth century
painted, cracked and redone countless times
the old salt road of pre time is nearby
how far have the old ones gone?

tonight night lights are few along the way
all is still, even breeze so light
buses are resting
cabbies are reading, waiting, near sleeping

no one out this moment,
no one walking
no dog, no cat
through narrow alleys
silent dark walls, cobblestones
still puddles barely reflecting dark gray
can’t begin to imagine a part of
what has taken place
on this brief length of Roma

home to so many over the centuries
in fights, in love,
birth and death
chickens, cows, carts, pigs and horses
dogs and cats birds, bugs, and rats
soldiers, drunks, candles, thieves and beggars
papas, mamas, priests and nuns
singers, poets, police, officials, the dandies
and nobodies
most of all
plenty of no bodies at all

a treasure of life
that endures

enough jack

there was jack london
and jack kennedy
course it started with
jack the baptist

i know they called him that
oh, yeah, i almost forgot where
i was gong with this
i’m changing my name

you can call me nabisco
it was either that or shell oil
i didn’t want to work to make my name famous
thought I’d start known and work down from there

my choice of name was made carefully
more than my parents did when they named me
late comer, number three
they already used their favorite boy name and the girl name

i was nine years later
lucky they didn’t call me the first thing out of their mouth
“You’re What?” or
“Holy Shit”

bused up

bused up
on the little bus
to the hill over Rome
where the noon cannon is fired

ever since the pope back in 1847
wanted his churches to
all know what time it was,
at least once a day

a crowd gathered to hear it
the cannon is loud
wasn’t precisely noon
should have covered my ears

then walked warm weather down
to old Trastevere
where our new favorite restaurant
was tried and confirmed

while walking back traffic was stopped
a helicopter hovered overhead
we waited to watch
something was about to happen

one cop called it a VIP cortege coming by
his word not mine
some Italian cops are literate
glad to hear it, anytime

fifteen cars and as many motorcycle police
and more police afoot every corner
all the way home they go to the Vatican
because the pope king went out for lunch

event over, we walked home
didn’t stop traffic
and didn’t cause any trouble either
as we shuffled along, all the way home

my cell phone has a clock on it
i could have told anyone the time
but no one asked
they must have heard the cannon

bumps

if you’ve seen
no bumps
you’ve no time
on the road

if i could

if i could write each poem
as a precious drop
warm sparkling clear
i surely would

instead, with my back to the rock
surrounded, i reload ready to run
like Butch and Sundance
into freeze frame

as the great theme grows under
the credits roll on the screen
lights come on, people go home
with proud steps and good memories

when you’re in the game
you take the pieces you have
and create with them
the best you can

vigilia, the night before christmas

rode with Roberto from the center
cross town to Parioli for Vigilia
eight thirty in the evening, no traffic
surreal tranquility in the city

more parking spaces than usual
many Romans are out of town
it seems even birds had flown
home to see the family

we wore light open jackets
on the evening of soft rain
unseasonably warm for Christmas
it was different to drive the city
without stop and go
no pressure from too many out there
a rare lazy meander across town
while at the Vatican the Pope was knocked down
some one was making a fuss

after dinner with Paola and Sandro
it was well after midnight
when outside the Vatican
workers had slipped the infant into the Nativity scene
as we departed our dinner with friends

in the same quiet we returned home
even buses had stopped running at nine p.m.
adding to city silence by the noise they left out
silent night, holy night

no snow, clouds over fields
no blue light from the Christmas star
drunks counting sugar plums asleep in doorways
even gypsies have taken holiday

electric bus

hopped on a whirring electric bus
that soon turned down an alley
then suddenly stopped stuck there
cause it couldn’t get by

a car was parked in that alley
protruding out into the lane
our way forward was finished
while cars packed us in from behind

a lot of horn honking ensued.

a quarter hour later the guy showed up
that got in that blue car, and then
like taking the lid off a pressure cooker
we sighed off our steam and all drove away

Natale is Christmas in Italian

preparations for Natale
now the day before
a good day to begin

bought a desert pie for the night before festa, Vigilia
with a physicist and two professors
who all love pi and pie and their wives

at Feltrinelli’s bought books for gifts
called Giacomo to compare notes
my Roman pal who is quick, alert and ready

his son Alex’s group is leaving now
to play for cash outside the bookstore
in the hum of street activity

said hi to Franco outside the store
his motor bike was stolen last week
didn't ask how he got there

closer to home
sat down for coffee at a table
outside Angelo’s coffee bar

intense people traffic
here they come
there they pass

a pigeon just got by an electric buses wheel
as I sipped coffee to a, look around,
a persistent subtle whining sound

it’s the dog under the next table
saying his piece without
moving his lips

and art show tonight, got ta go
crowds shopping now
all on alert, hurray the day

a woman comes buy
dressed like Pinocchio’s mother
Christmas is on the way

Alberto's car

his worn vintage car quit again
on the cold rainy road into Roma
no one in traffic stopped to assist
Alberto pushed it two hundred yards

then opened the hood
tapped the engine with a hammer
tried the motor again
this time it worked

proving that as with some people
now and then it’s a matter
of getting a machine’s
full attention

campo dei fiori

i know this campo
of flowers and markets
a circus in progress
many new faces in groups
slow walking and talking
some carrying sandwiches
now tourists Italian
all caps and dark warm jackets
slow passing non stop
through the piazza of Bruno
sun going down, lights coming on
many regulars out for the season
even beggars have rotated
near over the line, yet still in order
with just above freezing
no tickets or towing
cars, motorinos and bicycles
visible police and undercover
overflowing action no on can follow
too cold for mime or musicians
in season’s chill December
four days before Christmas

Leonardo

stepped out this morning
suddenly a guy yelling for help
limping on fire to the knee
flames leaping waist high

i put him on the ground
put out flames with my hands
windows opened above, shouting
soon an ambulance came

i calmed him, said he was Leonardo
a street person with a small fire
keeping warm under the arch
next time he’ll remember me

the ambulance took him
put lotion on my hands
i had stepped out for a smoke
not to burn merry Christmas


I have repeatedly posted this as Leonardo, then changed it to Leonardo Burning, four or five times in the last 24 hours. I like the title Leonardo Burning, but don’t want to offend the worth of this street person Leonardo by seemingly trivializing the event; and the poem ends with a burning reference and I didn’t want to lessen the effectiveness of the poem. To burn merry Christmas is a swirling mystic somewhat ambiguous reference and I wanted it left like that, unrestrained.

Maybe I’ll have to stand back and let time pass before I can make final cuts.

As it is, the energy in there. It happened, I came upstairs and wrote it. At this point the poet is too close to the event to judge what has effectively transpired in the writing.

tre marias

late morning coffee
near Santa Maria in Trastevere
mainly Italian tourists about
quietly milling this tranquil day

then beyond the fountain in the Piazza
for Chinese food with our friend Maria,
where yet another Maria
operates that restaurant

though not a true Maria
she was made in China with another name
but found it easier to be a Maria and go along
swiftly as the river flows though Roma

make a list

passed Monica
said high a little
she was gone

see her twenty-three times a year about
talk more or less a minute each time
and of all the people i know
she is a good one

dresses neat, stands up straight, cheery
how are you i am fine that’s it
she gets a gold star in my memory

so if i made a list of everyone i know
she’d make the good list
once, years ago when i was sad
i made a list

why not try it
make a list of everyone you can think of
everyone you know

see who’s there
the list is privileged information
and you have a right to know

going about

going about in Roma
we have a car
and use it to get out
traffic clogged and lost

there is a slowing way down down
a large van is holding everyone up,
as we pass we see her reading a book
while texting on a cell phone

in circles by catacombs on Via Appia
old high stone walls so we can’t see
where we wander, which way we're headed
cloudy, so can’t tell north from south

then stopping for coffee, always a good idea
somewhere out of the center
where people get human again
we asked directions

sempre dritto, keep going straight ahead
that’s the best and favorite response
you’ll ever hear, no complications
they must teach it to children

strange, yet it works
for as all roads lead to Rome
inversely, when you are there
all roads will lead out of Rome

so no one is ever
really lost
only slowed
by traffic congestion

i've had it with you, Roma

i’ve had it with you, Roma
and refuse to be your fool any longer
two decades of chaos is enough
pushing, shoving, and oblivious pretentious aggravation

i’d rather pull my puppy’s ears
drag him out of the tiny box
from under the leaky sink
where i’d make him sleep if i were you

but to leave you, Roma
would be most difficult
to compensate for the loss
of aggravation

should i run stumbling against bulls in Spain
take lunging rapids in a leaky wooden boat
or walk in traffic blind folded
do please allow me to suffer longer

i know you lie and cheat to get your way
but loaded with art everywhere
you are noble, though distant and aloof
leave me unattended to wander in awe

scorch and boil me in summer’s cauldron
winters cast me out chilled into cold
treat me hard all seasons
if you must

but to turn away and leave you
as if you didn’t know me
would be more than i could bear
your tears would heap more agony on my anguished soul

allow perpetual suffering to continue
perhaps near the end you’ll cradle me
giving peace at last in knowing
that once you cared

for certain,
at the moment of torment’s end
my beloved,
i’d rather die in your arms

stolen horse

in light late afternoon chill rain
M. went to Standa to pick up things for diner
she’ll make pasta carbonara
carried a shoulder bag and an umbrella

bused up a few blocks
temperatures were dropping
she wore a hat pulled low
in gusts i started out to Alberto’s studio

along the way a couple called out
asked directions to Via Corso
i told them, pointed, down that way it begins
by the large monument at Piazza Venezia

then i walked out into heavy traffic
i was waiting for the light to change
must have forgotten, was distracted
from both directions cars were honking

made it calmly without incident,
and some embarrassment i digested
at that time
M. was carrying her loaded shopping bag

walking back across the bridge of angels
in front of the old castle San Angelo
there was an art show this weekend
Alberto told me his wife couldn’t go

because their five year old son
had homework to do
he said always there is too much homework
on the way home i saw Franco, age 67,

an Italian born in Libya
a persistent worker who lives miles away,
we crossed paths at the same corner in piazza Campo dei Fiori
near where he does inlay and waxing

fine detail in centuries old wood work
bought him coffee at the corner bar
he said a week ago gypsies stole
the cover for his motor bike

the evening before it disappeared
he saw the father and son checking it out
this weekend his motor bike,
his ride to work, was stolen

devastated, though tried not to show it
thievery is an invasion that strikes at the heart
i said it was like someone stealing his horse
he agreed, sadly, he agreed

we parted, i wished him well
by the time M. made it safely home
i did also, under city lights
and yes, her carbonara was outstanding

just say no to shopping

women don’t really want
hubby along slopping
always in the way
forever incompetent

to say they’ll take him
is only a scare tactic
a threat meant to show man
how brave they are

fighting fatties on electric isle-crowding carts
while finding the real bargains
checking what’s the latest
ahh, my queen of hearts, i know you’re da greatest

making a list

making a list
or soon will be
nothing serious yet
in my head at first

have to get things in order
i’ll jot notes in a minute
when i get a few ideas going
i’ve just gotten started

right now, i’m looking out the window
and there, she is in the yard
head down, pulling weeds
doesn’t stop, ‘cept to wipe her brow

black birds and robins fight in the bird bath
nothing overly untoward, only showing who’s tougher
and there she keeps going, pulling’ weeds
i wonder what she’s thinking now

she had better wrap it up soon
come in and clean up
you know she ought to be
making a list

the best

Zachariah makes the best pizza
he’s why we go there
house red amid pre crowd quiet
that’s a friday evening meal

Zachariah, two things i’ll recall
at the end of my life
one is your pizza
a pause as he reflected

Zachariah then asked,
and what is the second?
silently i tight-lip grinned
then we both laughed

i am a writer

i am a writer
alive in these words
breathe in the spaces

my pores
absorb periods
that’s why you see none

a flicked bit of ash from
every time i smoked
like food over a fire

with a line into water,
waiting the next one
to donate himself to feed me

phish swimmings
what he does he says
feels so good

i write for no one that pays me,
feeds or gives me shelter
am happy at this moment

writing especially for you
it’s practically i am
like speaking to you.

oh, see that
a period
quick - ingest it

the balance

a leaning fence in a fallow field
pile all parts in a heap
the good over here
bad on that side

so when standing back
way far back to see
the resulting evaluation indicates
an evident perception

worrying excessively
over minutia
or insufficiently about
everything else

pasquali's for the holiday

M. thought like an artichoke
i mean she thought she’d like one
a fond memory
I knew what she was talking about

without family in Roma
holidays are our time to eat out
we walked to a popular locale in the ghetto
forty minutes before the usual lunch time

already a crowd outside was buzzing
all had made reservations the day before
the head man said they were fully booked
the doors hadn’t opened yet we were turned away

bused up the Corso through holiday crowds
then around the corner to Pasquali’s
a familiar favored haunt,
one we had found a decade ago

he and his wife work the counter,
daughter cooks, the son waits tables
they smiled when they saw us
as we smiled at them

we took our table again
one we had known and tested
ate pasta amtriciana
drank red house wine with our meal

all was as it should be
we ate among friends
it was like home again
for the holiday

not comets

comments

(you have to click on it
and i have to tell you
cause the colors aren't right.
like, i messed up the way i picked them)

what you are clicking on is a poem from april '08 called "i feel like you"
i read it again and thought you'd like it if it put it out again.

days off

a moderate, quiet tuesday
a catholic holy day
also a state holiday
they work together

monday was the ponte
the bridge between sunday
and the official state holiday
italians know how to take time off

walked to the ghetto
for an eleven a.m. coffee
plus a slice of thin crust pizza with
sweet red peppers and a light tomato sauce

walked back by the turtle fountain
built from 1581 - 1589
a beautiful, calming sight
for a light rain tuesday

sifting over time

couldn’t say
for sure
don’t know
if i was sleeping

it seemed
my brain remained awake last night
working, sifting, sorting
rather like that

thusly night went by
a least that’s the impression
i held tight
when i got up this morning

the magnitude of life

who could have imagined
dealing with the like
largesse peppered with surprises
some in joy, some in crisis

waking early with morning coffee
to find life going already, rolling steady
by warm golden window light
you know life’s a sweet package

variety you could not have conceived
and while not visible at first glance
something is going on, darling
perchance not always what it seems

growing day by day
born of dreams
hear the joy of life in bird voices
and in the patter of the rain

pigeon

here on a third floor
can’t see the sky, unless
i stick my head out the window
and look straight up

still they zip by this narrow space,
fifteen feet to the building opposite
a blur by my window
thirty miles an hour

seems fast enough
they’re been clocked at 59
and often they zip by
with a partner

good old computer
tells me how fast pigeons fly
when what i see is a streaking blur
outside going by

slip

when i slip through
a stream in the
wings of time

and don’t return
leaving nary a trace
fear not for me

understand
i’m off somewhere
having an adventure

the table

with three guys at the table
didn’t know who they were
in discussion most interesting
don’t recall what was said

some time had passed when i looked to the clock
it was difficult to read the red glowing numbers
had to lean forward
to a sitting position

i was lying in bed, there was no table
there were not three others
so with whom did i speak with
in this vivid dream

the wash

over there
pulled up a chair
talking to the laundry
the washer then the dryer
Obama sending thirty thousand more troops
to Afghanistan
the left is yelling
why’s he doing that?

well he is a politician that got elected
what do you expect
Ron Paul was laughed at like ufos
he wanted to bring them all home
from all around the world
no more policemen for the world
why guard our borders in peace
money, money money can be made with war

play the game you get elected
you want to bring troops home
you’re not making dough for the money people
makes the world go round you know

grease those wheels
pull the strings
you want to play
you’ve got to pay

it’s flowing in now
someone makes guns
buys the bullets
fantastic tanks
nice boots
sends turkeys to the troops for the holidays
pass me the haliburton, will ya?

back and forth, costs a lot
tax payers pay the money players
talking to the spinning dryer
who else will listen?

wave the flag
want a medal don’t you?
a picture of your boy in uniform
that’s him on the mantel
rate me fifty on foldin’ clothes
I’m just saying
heaven knows

ciao ciao

spoke to an italian friend on the phone
he was born in Tunisia
we speak mostly in English
says he has to practice
he’s my friend, that’s okay with me

when you close a phone call
you always say ciao ciao
it is a commonly used form of bye-bye,
or talk to you later, always used on the phone
as i closed the phone call i said choo- choo

i didn’t mean to
it just came out
i’ll pretend he didn’t hear it
and he’ll think he imagined it
choo -choo?

driving

held up stopped at a red light
by a red light for nearly a breathalyzer,
til he decided coffee in a dark glass jug
is not always moonshine

they are doing a jig saw jig
on the square, guys holding steel poles
where a bob cat’s running
tearing sidewalk

was called Mud Brook Creek there
now it’s just Mud Brook
when they put in a golf course
they removed the redundancy

pretty fancy
what a few bucks
and a bob cat
can do

not giving you the eye
i’m in line behind you, nightingale
you see, the light is green
that’s why I’m honking

national health care

i heard American Indians
have national health care
out there
somewhere

it is said to be lousy
does that surprise?
this is a poor example
for the system

isn’t lousy
the way
we’ve always
treated Indians?

if it were for the wife
of a politician
you know the same system
would work well

noon late november

sky blue noon late November, jacket open
as i crossed the new Ponte Sisto
a replacement for Pons Aurelius. 300 A.D.
renamed for Pope Sixtus IV , 772 A.D.
this new stone foot bridge was built 1473-‘79

on the middle of the span
a guy sleeping on one side
three guys begging on the other
haphazard semi -skilled professionals,
raggity lousy beggars really, too intimidating
real poor people don’t often enter Roma’s heart

saw Alex when i crossed to Piazza Trilussa
out posting flyers for his music school,
footwork keeping his dream a reality
one well- placed notice at a time

then, sat outside at San Callisto coffee car
near the main piazza, Santa Maria in Trestevere
had a latte and cornetto with James,
off booze five years ago
he’s planning to open a school for children

bought a vegetable sandwich for 1.60 euro
pizza bread, tomatoes, cheese, some greens,
costs 4 euro on the other side of the river

back across the bridge, flashing blue lights
on an emergency van
they took away that sleeping man
didn’t run the siren when they left
the blue flashing lights were off
a some body that won’t need rushing

fusion

i missed fusion the first time
like missing an exploding dinosaur
unless you were kin,
in the kitchen with it when it happened,
or it owed you money
it’s nothing to regret

outside the apple of the witch
with castle lights across the river
amid heavy traffic and exhaust
under flying clouds and half moon
running, as from a dog
Giacomo picked me up, took me to the Auditorium,
Rome’s fantastic new home of concerts

to hear his nephew with five others doing fusion
music on speed and steroids
melted glass frozen and shattered
then dark and mysterious
growing into a tyrannosaurus spitting bits of pterodactyl
morphing into a runaway locomotive
a turbulent nightmare
expect a giant Schwarzenegger Terminator to rip
through the walls
have a nice day
oh, and look both ways

armed and to the point

so elderly neighbor lady
sees M. outside
leaves house of disease
and saunters over

fumbling with her hands,
asks sotto voce
after checking both ways
if we’ll be leaving soon for Italy

then nods as if helping
with the anticipated answer.
M. says The Man has left
while she’ll go in another week

neighbor lady sagely nods again,
considers, and says
uh, call if there’s any problem
a long pause

M. leans on the rake,
waiting her out
under long blue November skies

until at last neighbor lady,
fearing for M’s safety
clears her throat ,
quite serious now, glances askance
then looks earthward
to humbly explain

that if M. calls
uh, her husband,
the grumpy mid-octogenarian
will run right over
in the middle of the night (chuckle)
as he’s licensed to carry a loaded weapon. (OMG!)

this is the groundskeeper who mows
three times a day
with various loud riding mowers
because six of our vagrant leaves
have carried deftly his way
on the prevailing
autumn light winds

the field of flowers

Campo dei Fiori means field of flowers
that was yesterdays vision of the area
today in 2009 i had to stop and look both ways
to cross through the center of the field of flowers

i wore my heavy jacket
others had on t-shirts
from our third floor dungeon window
i have to lean far out only to see the sky

the market is jumping in full flavor and scents
traffic, food stalls, fruits and vegetables, pots and pans
musicians, tourists, workers and locals of every venue
and yes, three stands that sell flowers

living nearby i woke out of dream to a persistent car alarm
and thought of the keystone cops in silent movies
running, clamoring, bumping into each other in comic confusion
in silent films the words flash on the screen. this says - alarm

only no one ran today, nothing unusual happened
no one laughed
for an hour the persistent, clear-voiced, changing squeal sang,
echoed along stone buildings and cobblestone streets

i awoke after twelve hours sleep
now a week has passed since i flew here
groggy yet, my body’s clock
is wound but not set

the cannon on the hill fired the noon shot as i left our apartment
to rid myself of the alarm
better to enter the field of flowers
and look both ways

now and tomorrow

met up with an old friend on the street
said he was working with a friend who yesterday
was sitting in a chair calmly talking with his wife
and then died quite unexpectedly

i continued on my way to the Laundromat
the door was wide open when i got there
the fire department chopped it open
to get to the flames the night before

walking back home i stopped to see a friend
of my friend who last year had a stroke
on a cruise ship to Italy
was robbed when he got here

had planned to visit his cousin in Switzerland
she died the day before he boarded the train
not the family visit he expected
he arrived in time for a funeral

but i stopped to see a friend of that friend
i pass that store on my way home
they said she didn’t work there anymore
her last day was yesterday

it’s true for all of us
the last day we had was yesterday
generally we don’t think of it that way
what’s our concern is now and tomorrow

dusk on the way home

dusk on the way home
saw Alberto at Porta Blu
afternoon classes underway
seekers of art ability
drawing circles, mixing color
perusing modern ways

walking back in evening’s cool air
on a narrow way into Piazza Navona
i pass the minister of the interior
a glint of recognition in his eye
in dusk darkness and alley shadow
i see him only when we are face to face
he lives around the corner from me
usually his guards are in formation
and then it is easier to see him coming

leaving the piazza i was distracted
and forgot to look again at the beauty
passing earlier today i paused a while
in the sight and scent of that grand piazza
to admire Bernini’s work again
the two smaller fountains with mythical characters
the larger splashing waters in the center
tribute to four great rivers
topped by an Egyptian obelisk
reaching above all
tomorrow i may look again

now it’s to home
too cool without a jacket anyway
a few paces before Campo dei Fiori
the tune Autumn Leaves from the familiar sax
of a group urging coins from tourists
floats in the air, ricochets off cold stone
where, as years pass changes are small steps taken
seems that autumns are reluctant to come and go

your call

your call
will be answered
in the order
in which it was received

i called once
how much order is one call?
was I out of order before I called
or as soon as?

why can’t it be said in English
like, wait your turn on hold
until a human is available
or, is that like difficult?

the mail man

the mail man is gone
don’t mean he left his truck
hasn’t walked away
tossed his hat in the bushes

but he is gone, way gone
into a thousand points of light
unlike the evaporated pony express rider
this one still has a job, delivering advertisements

now he or she has become
21st Century’s - Postal Worker
look around, who’s next for renaming
Christmas Person?

ho ho ho
wash you mouth

jet laggg

rushed out of the airport
jumped in a cab
went seventy-five feet
the guy slammed on the brakes

wasn’t a taxi, picked up his mother
made me get out
i know mama liked me
as he squealed off, she waved goodbye

at forty thousand feet

at forty thousand feet
the cabin is warm beyond comfort

four people on this flight
are earning negative karma

aggression 2009 is growing
healthier than financial systems

two hours to Roma
i’m lighter than air

the leader

followed by his dad
a kid waddled by,
young enough
that you’d still tell his age in months

ask him anything
but don’t expect an answer
for although he talks incessantly
what he says is indecipherable

if encouraged to develop this skill,
smiles well and stands tall
this child could grow to be
a formidable leader of inestimable value

particles in space

i pay to put you in charge over me

a.

after i got my shoes back on
walked from terminal A
the long way down to C
then checked my ticket

C-5 was my seat,
my terminal is A
C-seat,
A terminal

error made walking
did the same last year

so i had a long trek back
the other way,
from where i came
this journey has begun

b.

Kevin runs the magazine stand
near gate 7 and 8
terminal A
Cleveland Hopkins airport

is fifty, looks thirty
bald, black, comfortable with life
we talked some, he’s been to Africa
says he likes his job

been there a month
mentioned five other careers
next year we’ll see
if he is there

who will remember
that we spoke?
i have my ways
i have my notes

c.

small plane seats are C,A,F &D
part of the new world order?
i notice they took out the rhymers B,C & E
why’d D remain?
please explain

d.

small plane
seems large enough

two guys talking
two rows back

in lieu of listening to loud babbles
i changed my seat during takeoff

e.

so high open flat
hills and clouds and the haze
way out into the curvature of the earth

below
a black meandering
all the way down
must be river

looking down for crop circles and pictographs
wavy planting that follows the hills
the dark creeks look like cracks

a maze of houses
village forever to the horizons
we were following a river

now a highway
over ball fields
now a quarry, more houses and trees

the pilot just said,
“good morning, we’re starting our descent
and it’s a beautiful November day”

corkscrew down
we’re coming to Philadelphia
at the airport could have ridden a train
into the city see Independence Hall

i’ll wait instead
as once a day is enough airport security

f.

from outside i see
a large woman would-be - girl
packed snuggly in pedal pushers,
up to her knees in tattoos,

weaved through the tables at a terminal restaurant
a bull circling for the kill
her hair long blond thin and frizzed
resembles someone jumping out of a plane

who has not opened the parachute
or similar to someone being electrocuted in cartoon animation
she must do that to herself
because she thinks it makes her beautiful

she’s has enough volume
and swagger
friends wouldn’t
contradict her

g.

they call to board
will fly all night
over the cold north Atlantic
on auto pilot
so those called Pilot
can sleep

bid peppers in Belize

in a clearing
on a corner
outside the jungle
in the sunshine
a large local woman
in a blue dress with flower prints
sells donuts and sandwiches
from a tall brightly painted wooden wheeled cart
and a few things to drink
like beer, like coke, like water

i’ll have a taco
bid o’ bidow peppers? she says
are the bidow peppers hot? i ask
she looks at me, shakes her head
does not answer
and repeats, bid o’ bidow peppers?
and i asked f they are hot
or are they sweet
she slowly repeats her question
wan bid or bidow peppers?
the brain wave light turned green and I got on
oh, bid, i’ll have it bid peppers

weather in

weather in Ohio’s
not nigh on to winter
without a jacket
mid November

known winter severe
have seen how it goes
driving with chains
doing battle with snows

changes come slowly
hereabouts, no doubt
take how it happens
great snows or without