Poems for Loners
23 Loner’s hope is revived through freeway culture Speed through the future A river flows Alone in the car A cloud captivates Turn the radio dial Find a song that suits the cloud
10 One white balloon
in one blue sky
on one green lawn
my body does lie
21 Monday I watched the day disappear outside my window
napped on and off with my shoes on
didn’t go outside because the museum was closed
88 Thursday I was cloistered at the Getty in Los Angeles This museum is a monastery atop a hill This museum is a flight dream made of Roman stone I took the Appian Way to the sea
28 Notes from the Graveyard Shift:
There isn’t much difference
between night and day Both are lit by stars,
as any space traveler knows
63 Notes from the Graveyard Shift:
We are known to see faces in the clouds We came late to the facts of life In fact, we must maintain a list or we lose our way The list usually goes something like this:
What is a fact? A fact is not a theory A fact is reality The facts of life are God, Love, Death, Hunger, Thirst, Sex Sometimes when we see faces in the clouds
we cross Death off the list
64 Gazing out his office window
one rainy day, loner thinks:
What does my computer have to do with those clouds?
58 In this part of time be gentle Then comes pain In the next part of time, be gentle still
60 Because I’m a human being, for example,
I enjoy a fragrant bouquet of balloons I also enjoy the scent of a tire shop
and a bicycle shop I enjoy the smell of rubber;
gasoline, too
69 Loner went to the aquarium
and secretly cried
when he saw a frowning fish
83 The tallest tower is a glorious achievement,
but it stirs up the winds below
93 Whenever loner receives a kiss,
centuries of kisses flash before his eyes Awkward loners with melancholy eyes
and fear in their bellies, lashing out for affection Whenever loner receives a kiss,
it is difficult for him to maintain his composure.
