RUN

I am going to sand the edges of the board

They are so full of splinters

sharp and like a rose's stem

I am going to touch the smooth parts of a stone

taken from the beach the way a bird picks up seeds

hurled into the water

SPLASH

I am going to note the melody of the Thaikovsky violin

let it soar through my ears

like a clothes line

or a kite string

cleaning out all the wax

I am going to go to the wax museum

look at who I used to be

painted and in costume

push over the statue

and

RUN

I am going to catch my breath like a baseball

in a mitt

slamming into the ivy wall

then twisting myself into a ball of paper

thrown into a trash can

at the library

I am going to read the smooth pages

drink the coffee

ride the wave

of silence

ask propaganda to spill the beans

grow a beanstalk and meet the giant

and when he roars I will fade

like smoke

I will slip under the door like water

flooding in a mood

steaming up when I boil water

and then absorbing into the food

digested and removed

then sailing

around the world

to return like Magellan

all these character traits

I tried to strip of their color

removing the dye

that had been cast

and scrubbing it clean

the spots from the leopard

the stripes from my shirt

I ended up passing out instead

of changing the world.

Masterful at Something

The subsequent pain left over from the rain has found me in a bubble of blame

languishing in classical music grinning at the moon, drooling like a dog

humming a tune, ravishing a radish, masterfully minding my own business. 

Take This $20

Take this $20 bill and start a new life.

You are standing in the dark doorway 

of the storefront in the shadows

sheltered for a second from the rain

looking at me with wild eyes

fiercely 

like you are held in chains

Who are you and what are you about to do?

You stand still like the ground is holding your shoes

You are captured by the rain

in a cage

staying dry

So I say to you

Take this $20 bill and start a new life

don't do wrong, make sure you do right

start fresh

not in a mess

Take this $20 bill and start a new life,

do make sure you do right.

I'm not just giving you money,

I'm giving you advice.