East (housemaid) meets West (rowdy boy)

33. Miekosan One





Miekosan—I
Tortured her every day she
Worked, trying to tame
My wild heart, tempestuous
Mind—cried me to shame.

Let lying dogs sleep.

32.



Dog on chain, sleeping:
We—child eyes skyward, chasing
The swirling above
Of vultures—ran into the chain—
Rousing the dog to fury.

Butterfly Soul Collection

31.



Like little spirits that
Dennis had pinned in his thrall,
Lepidoptera
Stuck to the back of his case:
Shells of once live anima.

For What I Am Thankful

For What Am I Thankful?

I am thankful for the parents I had, for they set me on a path that is morally and ethically valuable.


I am thankful for the words of Jesus Christ and the Buddha, which have taught me the purpose of life and confirmed my moral and ethical choices.

I am thankful for having been born in the 20th century, which although frightening and disturbing at times, opened the world of democratic enlightenment to many more people and gave them hope.

I am thankful for having been born in the United States of America, which in the 20th century was primarily responsible for the great democratic enlightenment that opened the world to many more people and gave them hope.

I am thankful for my parents’ generation, which was primarily responsible for the great democratic enlightenment that opened the world to many more people and gave them hope.

I am thankful for my generation, which took hold of the democratic enlightenment and invited more people in, not only through expanding civil liberties and human rights to all races and genders, but for the new global, electronic technology that invited the entire world to participate and enjoy the democratic enlightenment.

May peace be with us all.

childish foolishness

30.



My sprained arm was the
Result of clambering up
And through the matrix
Of wooden bleachers, hurry-
Ing past infant delusions.

brash crasher

29.





Jeff Majors’ bicycle
Was bigger, faster than mine.
I threw mine his way:
An ambulance took his wound
Wound—in trouble again: me.

experimental tickling

28.



Billy James, subject
Of vile experimentation,
Laughed out loudly when tickled.
So I tickled him
Until he cried—excessive.