Season of revelation

Prehistoric perfume

bewitches the bees

who are working hard to fly

their pollen pouches

full as saddlebags

weighed down

with powdered gold

while spinach sprouts

from unsown seeds

multiply like magic

and the queen calla lily

unfurls her creamy robe

a royal pronouncement

that the season of revelation

is upon us

The Knee

I keep waiting for a recall

on the knee

with it's accident proneness

and misshapen design

all knobby and clunky

like a crankshaft

on a sleek Aston Martin

it is completely out of place

with the grace of the human form

jutting out asking for trouble

prone to bashes bangs and bruises

painfully attracted to sidewalks

and forever the mortal enemy

of the women's razor

Prisoner of Hollywood

The parking meter makes a face at me

judging me for hiding in a parked car

on a side street in Hollywood

Don't you see

all the pretty young things

in boots and cool jackets

crossing the street to meet friends

they are having fun

why can't you

It chides me while I retreat

feeling weak as rice paper

as everywhere I look magnifies

my puny state

the iron gate around the parking lot

the bouncer under the red light of a club

menacing in his mass

the bright neon sign that reads "WELL"

mocking me with it's inanimate health

the concrete

the buildings

the asphalt

the SUV's

all bragging of their strength

while a helicopter circles overhead

and suddenly I feel the spotlight upon me

the escaped prisoner

but they can not drag me back in

I am free now

free to be weak

in this place where strength rules

I will wear my softness as a shield

Parasite

How did the malaise

get in this time

I double bolted the locks

shut the windows

turned the Welcome mat face down

put a Go Home sign on the door

turned off the porch lights

and yet here it is

didn't even bother to knock

this radon of the soul

seeping in through the walls

unseen unknown unwanted

I keep looking online

for a malaise trapping system

something that hooks up to the sump

to pump the invisible intruder

back out into the cold

but it hasn't been invented yet

so the paralyzing parasite

keeps draining my heat

and sucking my energy

I wish I could burn it off with a match

suffocate it with nail polish remover

twist it counterclockwise

and pull the head out of my heart

Ocean Park Jam Session

The sun weathered trio

plays an impromptu gig

strumming beat-up guitars

and breathing harmonicas

into the salty wind

singing with the abandon

only history together can breed

Old timers in flip flops

with shaggy hair and ripped jeans

today they are twenty two

croaking out some Dylan

'cause chicks dig musicians

especially ones that are freewheelin'

breaking hearts just to mend them

They don't seem to notice

that their audience is a bunch

of pigeons on park benches

and restless toddlers

trying hard to escape

the prison of their prams

and exasperated nannies

It's all about the music

for these dudes

and you can tell by the way

they nod and sway

as they slap their thighs to the beat

that the applause of the palms

is all they need

It's not a cold

A cold is an inadequate moniker

for what happens when your head

feels like a brand new aspirin bottle

stuffed with unnecessary cotton

and everyone around you

sounds like a grown up

in a Peanuts cartoon special

and you yourself sound like

Kermit wearing a Darth Vader mask

if snot were a currency

you would use every last cent

to buy a new nose

you would be poor but happy

because breathing easy is priceless

it's not a cold

it's a bummer

Negligence

The movers say they've got it all

packed in boxes and ready to go

But on my final walkthrough

I'm shocked to discover

that they've left everything behind

The first kiss on the second step

The water stain on the ceiling

that looks like Mick Jagger's lips

The angel trumpet that we replanted

and brought back to life

It's actually blooming now

Then there's that patch of marble

that I was lying on when I learned

about the importance of a good neighbor

And I don't know how they missed

the scratches on the hardwood floor

from umpteen games of fetch

or the steam hearts on the shower glass

I mean how could they possibly overlook

all the Jason Mraz songs in the kitchen

and the sunset view from the balcony

If you ask me, it's blatant negligence

and somebody is going to hear about it