Revoice
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,
he came back home instead.
Mink Mange
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 cat know
we’ll no longer be needing his services.
I’ve buried baby’s teddies
as a symbolic gesture,
and donated your questionable
fuzzy bedroom slippers
to some conscienceless charity.
Fur is murder, it seems.
I hope I haven’t gone too far.
Peruvian Shoeshine
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 whiskey’s served
in boxes, men will kill you
for a gold tooth,
for your new boots,
or just for fun.
A Peruvian shoeshine
means you’ve been found
socks up, polished off.
Pencil Dust Devil
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 on the level.
He’s the pencil dust devil,
a voice like Aaron Neville.
He whips his pointed tail.
I wish I was in jail.
Don’t wanna go to hell.
This isn’t show and tell.
I broke my pencil’s point.
I smoked another joint.
And now I’m drawing God.
He’s got a lovely bod.
I’m through with Beelzebub.
My pencil is a stub.
Fuzzy Specs
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 the rotating crop.
The growth of industry
is laughingly out of proportion.
And shouldn’t the horizon
properly extend to the sky?
Polish the sun a little brighter.
Hide the blasted wiring.
Drop a wild dog or two
into the wasteland.
And do not go gentle past go.
Perhaps this prescription is outdated.
The road least taken
appears to be closed.