THERE'S ALWAYS ONE BIRD LEFT BEHIND

There's always one bedraggled bird left behind
when the flock takes off on its yearly
migration. A frightened pair of jeweled eyes
reflect the huge V-shape of departing wings,
then search the sidewalk for a piece of bread,
pecking at an old shoe left behind
by a man who was chased down Main Street
by a rabid bear, and will one day be President
of the United States of America.
He will tell the audiences at all his rallies
the story of his escape from the bear,
of how he lost one shoe as he ran,
and the audiences will laugh and laugh.
Their laughter will knock the birds
out of the sky. And he will tell them
how good it is that bears are now extinct,
that nothing is left on earth powerful enough
to make a man run down Main Street.
The bird picks up the shoe in its beak
and begins the carry it down the sidewalk.
The shoe is heavier than he is
with his hollow bones
that will make good flutes
for the savages inhabiting Main Street
several centuries from now.
It's 2a.m. in New Hampshire, and all his cousins
in the sky are going crazy.
at this point the town explodes upward
with blue towers of pulsating light.
The sky is a reflection of where he stands.

SHE HATES MY LOOKS

I want to charm a black-haired girl until she's wet
I hope she hates my looks
I want her to love my voice
buying her a piece of fur is suggestive
giving her a handful of popcorn is suggestive
reading the real estate of her palms and fingers
is totally inappropriate

filled green with hate, her dumpsters smile
from everywhere
the multiverse is a bicycle broken
at the edge of a driveway
in the light of a supermarket sign

THE RUINED POET

One night he fell asleep earlier than usual
and dreamed that he left his body
and walked around the street on which he lived
wearing the shadow of his usual clothes.
And he stopped at the houses of friends
and told them that he knew that he was dreaming
and wanted them to know that they were dreaming too.
And he asked them to stop by tomorrow morning
to wake him up, and tell him that they had seen him
in their dreams. He asked them all
to leave their bodies every night
and go into the dreams of their neighbors
and tell them that they were dreaming too,
and that it was time to wake up for a great event.
He himself did not know what the event was.
But this is what he would be doing for the rest of his life.