Mother Nature is not usually vindictive towards men,

except when she bows out of the way for storms.

Maybe she was written out of the plan for land domination

when the sea and the wind chose to combine forces.

Harvey did have a score to settle with his big sister Katrina:

If she can do it, I can too…

What was he trying to prove, this mad tropical storm,

that he was the bigger man?

Like the rest of the named hurricanes, he didn’t care

about lives lost, properties destroyed, families uprooted,

land waterlogged, changing the fabric

of the Texas & Louisiana shorelines forever.

His destruction tendencies, shown in hundreds of miles,

his crowning achievements, his wrath upon innocent humans,

was nothing but a blip on radar,

a bloody feather in his cap,

an aged diamond drowned in the deep.

The forest holds slim-picked animals 

(for money)

even for one family 

when all the children are starving.
Each brother is hungry 

for his own section of fresh meat

from the same animal,

bleeding fast & profusely 

upon the green
Will they divide 

their shared kill evenly?

Or will they sharpen their blades

against their own flesh,

so to gain a higher tribute 

from the elders?
If one has to face the ones they love,

those growing distant over time,

and their taste of water is now 

different from where 

they came from,

coloring their tongues in new

traces of metal,

so they talk and taste 

so different now…
Remember the love you had shared,

and don’t let the new blood

grow cold, thanks to

your indifferences.
Let your armor be of leather,

not of metal.

Let your gloves be velvet,

your arrows be sharp & sound,

let them fly true.
But don’t produce wounds

that can never ever be healed,

for they are also your blood.

The worst of blows

will cause pain to radiate forever.
Be careful what you do & say.

Sometimes the best offensive move

is to do nothing.

Does it fit oddly
like knives piercing
in your gut, 
only in odd moments 
where liquor is abundant,
and when hormones 
cause you to weep
over adorable children,
yet again?

 Or it is constantly moving
like the thinnest, tiniest 
Möbius strip, 
only you can see or touch?

 It will age you prematurely,
pickle you in bitter brine,
make you holler & whine
during odd moments 
when you look 
your best or worst

  The curse of comparing yourself 
against others, without compassion 
towards one’s self, is exhausting,
so why is the drama of it intoxicating?

 I have things I am proud of,
but they haven’t come by easy.

I can carve words from imaginary oceans,
but my messages are only heard by a few people,
the ones that swim freely
without university influence
(in composing)
and people don’t like complainers,
but I’m not really complaining…

Even in my destitute state,
creative musings are rich in my mind;
they taste sweet as golden candy,
as the stars feel ecstatic,
my moods elastic 
between every time I’m kissed.

You can celebrate anything you want.
Amen, Amen, Amen;
this is most certainly true,
and at any time you want as well.
 
You can penetrate any place you go,
just remember where’s it been
and where you are going…to put it…  
 
You can radiate everything you are.
Are we all capable of forming such positive energy always?
Or, will the energy we give off
sometimes seems more nuclear?
 
You can imitate any one you know,
but hopefully it won’t be for forever,
because you are far too luscious
to be like anyone else.
 
You can indicate everything that you see.
That is the writer’s predicament,
knowing what elements to accurately describe for the reader
and when to lie outright, for the sake of a good story.
 
You can syndicate every boat you row;
sailing alone is possible,
but without the efforts of a dedicated crew,
reaching shore again might be impossible.

Ripple

Good deeds can indeed punish the body;

baking sweets threw out my lower back

until I was bowlegged on my birthday

The ripple of pain was constant while walking.

I still had to be a wife even on drugs.

The Menorah Ripple doughnut masterpiece

waited for us in Chelsea on Wednesday,

when the pain was the worst.

(Why did he need me to come along?

Can he do anything without me?)

Free chairs, hot chocolate & Aleve

were my closest friends,

especially when my frienemy, the pain

was rippling away, like a serpent

electrocuted, traveling up & down my legs.

In the taxi, he rattled away

with the huge doughnut package on his lap;

I slept a little, with his words

rippling away; I wish I was

a million miles away….

Today, I stood up straight

and marched slowly/briskly up the hill

and down corridors in the subway.

Thanks to the tail end of Aleve

and my meditation exercise,

that taught me to embrace all discomforts,

and the sack of goodies

(the co-worker gifts which gave me this in the first place),

I returned to work, unaided,

as the rippling pain

turned into a dull groan;

I’ll see the doctor tomorrow.

This is for me today

This eve, or penultimate day
before the winter solstice,
I captured the setting sun
with my sight while on the 7

And the looming buildings 
of Manhattan were black as pitch;
the sun was golden,
cutting through the matter

As we rode by on the elevated train,
I thought I would never see
this light ever again this winter,
but it was all mine, for a moment, again…

I see you standing close,
watching the dying light with me,
even when, like the dark, faraway figures
were also just a dream

When we weren’t dying,
we were free, after the snow
& the coldness would show 
off all traces of crying

I was stronger then, before you.
I am still strong, even when I do remember you,
& while this is my most favorite
part of the day,
the sunset does reminds me of you.

The sounds of the first-ever 
major stadium rock concert
were deafening, the songs 
were actually transmitted on 
old PA systems and the taller
VOX amps hardly did 
the original music and film
any justice 
(now all re-digitized in three countries, for 2016)

These favorite boys from 
across the pond for several years
(they were still in their 20s!),
couldn’t hear a thing 
thanks to the screaming of
thousands of fans; thanks to them,
the mega rock stadium shows started on that night;
they were ACTUAL MUSICIANS 
caught between two monsters,
playing mechanically, eyes crazed
as they sweated for a heavy 30 minutes, bowing to the machine 
they were responsible for, 
but playing as an unit, in perfect 
time, giving a great show, despite 
of the other nonsenses 
set on the road,
they could do no wrong
on that historical night.

The light within us,
the love within us,
it will never expire

Even when the snows fall,
and the darkness descends
in the holy forest,
we will save ourselves 
for the light

And even when
each star is covered
by clouds and fog,
the power each of us holds
within ourselves 
burns brighter

Even when we 
don’t know the source
of it, we can feel it;
its strength 
will conquer evil;
its expiration 
will shake the heavens,
& the light 
of love will touch
and cover us
forever,
before & after
every upcoming storm.

First time & taste

(needed some vitamins);

it was like a

luscious jelly, heavy

with sugared fruit;

the proof is in the pudding,

so they say,

but in this case,

I was faced with a 

tangy ambrosia 

Deep pocketed 

in the crust,

with lattice lines

like bird tracks;

the axis of my co-existence 

is now at an equilibrium 

Since I’ve tasted this,

I don’t need the usual 

accompaniment of

chocolate;

it is satisfying 

in every measure.

Soundless

Sometimes 
we leave this world 
soundless;
helpless, like the
babies we once were,
brain swelling 
as we remember 
when we were babies,
sleeping to our
old nursery rhymes 
that did soothe us 
once upon a time,
& we used to soothe
our babies
when they were small;
we grew up tall
& by the end of this time—
when the light
finally fades from our eyes,
as we leave this world 
soundless;
far, so far from sleepless sleep,
cutting out stars
from the blackest sky,
blotting out the curses
of longer lives
without love or lust,
but life is often kind
& generous,
love & lust is affordable 
sometimes,
not so soundless,
as we try to creep
carefully, soundlessly 
into the light.