Red Tin Noodles

Back from the dead, he landed on his head, and from his mouth words bled: "There’s nothing to be said." He’d walked into the light, prepared to be contrite, but when the light turned red, … Read more

I hope you’re not too angry that I shaved your old fur coat. The protesters got to me. Fur is murder, it seems. So I’ve disguised the dog as your arthritic uncle and let the … Read more

Pickled desperadoes litter the Andes like mileposts, way stations, altitude markers. Two grams gets you this high. Four grams gets you dead. Above, the peaks beckon like cocaine sundaes. But in the cliffside towns, where … Read more

In a whirlwind of lead, I fled inside my head, imagined myself dead, and met the devil. His horns were pointy red; "Your soul is mine," he said. I wished I was in bed. That’s … Read more

Quit shaking the scenery, Fuzzy. Distorted dimensions distress me. Why is the cow under the moon lowing? And have the leaves of grass been mowed and raked? Eliminate that giant flapping and pay heed to … Read more

If you tell me what you’re missin’, I will tell you what I found. No one out here seems to listen. There just ain’t no common ground. Everything the poor man visions, seems the rich … Read more

To make the jump to frog the mind must polliwog. Would we could all transform and ribbit be the norm.

Sore heels slog through mud-slung meadows. Vested verities abide toasted variations. Slug lines drop and bob in the print morass. Plausibility gives pause, paws at the conscience. Malignant manipulators march in a mean parade. Truth … Read more

Soles in suds on the pub floor as the men all talk of war. They just heard the radio say forty bombers on the way. Drink up, it may be your last. Enemy approaching fast. … Read more

I stalk this region. I’m the rule that runs this game. Like darts of icy wind I whistle through your brain. I drive you to the street with eyes red and insane. You might do … Read more

Jack Ruby was promised a big boat for his deed, but got sent up the river, a patsy, too, indeed. His killing of Lee Oswald was an undercover job. But never trust your cover when … Read more

He elbowed his way up to the bar and said, "Bartender, can I have a coke?" He wore a suit of crimson like a star and said, "Excuse me, can I bum a smoke?" I … Read more

There is no future left in transformation. You’re met with insolence and condemnation, the awful tearing sound of separation , and constant knocking causing bad vibration. Too late to move, there’s just too big a … Read more

Honor hunkers in the alley of the apes, eager to commence her new withdrawal. Anytime violence bleeds the people, she’s on a train, lit out for parts unknown. She covers the land like a hesitant … Read more

A kleptomaniac takes things and won’t give back. A robber often uses force and risks a stint in jail, of course. Pickpockets stick to wallet stealing, in your pants without you feeling. Thieves now don’t … Read more

She used the office fax machine to reproduce her parts. Her arm was just magnificent. Her leg was off the charts. She sent a xerox of her foot to some guy with a fetish. He … Read more

At last there was a sorrow we could not throw a rope on. The barn burners left cuff links in the ash. The funereal nimbus appeared. This was the ticket no one wanted, a nightmare … Read more

Another departed holiday is all over the cellar floor: the miniature tree, plastic holly strands and boxed effigies. Stockings once hung with care and the odd ornamental ball, all dead to the mind until next … Read more

All file cabinets look the same to one in the shoveling game. I was yanked off the main land, fitted with a tight armband, ordered to alphabetize words I didn’t recognize. If I worked for … Read more