Nature is a soapy sponge

Nature is a soapy sponge
squeeze the water
let it wash away
the chalk stains of thought
and the choking dust of worry
until the board is blank -
clear and clean and ready
for the next lesson

Anis

It starts with a migraine
which you curse as you tell your friend
you must leave her celebration dinner
and then walk two blocks in heels
praying for mercy in the shape of a cab
When one pulls over for you
the yellow is too bright
and you must put on your dark shades
telling the driver to take La Cienega
You ask if he has GPS
he laughs and taps his head
then passes right by the place
you told him to turn
"I will tell you a secret," he says
pointing across the highway,
"That is your La Cienega
there are six lights we would have hit
but on this unknown parallel street
we will fly past them all!"
His eyes sparkle in the rear view mirror
knowing he has surprised you
He tells you his name is Anis
you wonder if he was named after the spice
"No," he turns serious, "it means honest one."
You tell him that your name means "friend"
and he smiles, it is a good name
You take off your glasses
and are able to see the shadow
that passes over his features
when you ask where he is from
"Somalia" is his one word reply
You tell him there is a Top Chef
from Somalia but he says it can't be so
You insist it is so, checking your i-phone
only to discover you are wrong
You tell him that you are an idiot
the chef was from Ethiopia
He laughs, "We do not have Top Chefs
we have War Lords, have you heard of War Lords?"
You nod and then feebly mention
Black Hawk Down
"That is just a movie," he says,
"the truth is much worse."
You wish you could say you understand
but it is clear you do not
He asks you what you do for a living
embarrassed you tell him you are a writer
but he is very excited at the news
"Could you could write my story?"
You say you don't really write drama
"Good," he smiles, "My story is a cartoon.
It is about animals and love and courage --
the things this world needs."
There is passion in his voice
so you encourage him to write it
but he looks ashamed
explaining that English is his second language
and he is not so good at writing
"I will tell you my story,
I know I can trust you."
You ask him how he knows
and he reminds you of his name
"You must be honest to know honest."
He slows at a corner and adds,
"I know you are real because you look me in the eyes."
You think maybe he knows he is real now too
your eye contact proves that he is here
and not back there
When you get to your stop he wishes you well
takes your hand in his and tells you to look both ways
and it isn't until he has sped away
that you realize your migraine is gone
and you believe it is very possible
that some angels come from Africa

Weedwhackers and Wordsworth

I note a cloud regatta overhead

the white sails unfurled

in a fast flowing breeze

and can't help but think to myself

Wordsworth would have put it better

of course he didn't have to contend with 

the metallic buzz of his neighbor's weedwhacker

I wonder what the solitude of sitting

high above Tintern Abbey must've been like

before diesel powered leaf blowers 

outdoor power saws and riding lawn mowers

before the noise of type-written words

hurdling through space in every direction

before the neurotic itch to check Twitter 

every thirty seconds was acquired

If only I could rip the fabric of time

like a well-worn pair of jeans

I'd climb through the soft tendrils of cotton

back to those Wexford county hills

where I could devolve into the silence

broken only by a jocund chorus of daffodils

Drink up the honey and dance

The bee knocks at the window
and waves his antenna
knock and wave, knock and wave
turn upside-down and wiggle

Hey you in your ergonomic chair
can't you see the radiant rays of sun
dripping like honey over the earth

Why do you separate yourself
behind a pale wall of glass

Your wings may have shriveled long ago
but you still have a butt to shake
Like this: knock wave turn wiggle
Come dance with me, go ahead and try
that's what two legs are for

Oh -- did you think they evolved
to hang limp and useless
over stain-resistant moisture-wicking seat fabric

How long before your toes and calves
go the way of your wings and tail
before evolution turns to entropy

You can halt the march
just follow my lead
drink up the honey and dance!

Climbing clematis

It looks dead and gone
the bone dry brown twine
wrapped around an old pipe
beside a frozen fountain
Winter has unkindly stripped
the life from a once vivid vine
left a withered skeleton in its place
But all is not as it seems on the surface
for when the robins return
to pull the fat worms
from the spring soaked earth
tendrils of green velvet ribbon
stream forth from the brown branches
and by the time the wood ducks
lead their parade of chicks upstream
that ancient pipe is a thing of beauty
cloaked in a constellation
of bright purple stars

Walking to Walmart

Looking up at the Coke bottle universe
with its effervesence of stars
the crisp clear night slakes my thirst
like the miraculous cup of cola
that was our salvation one July
when as kids on summer break
we decided to walk to Walmart
because there was nothing better to do

and because we did not know it had closed

O how we despaired of those locked doors
the dark windows denying the hope in our hearts
the spirit of adventure shrivled like wood shavings
scattered and blown away by the hot wind
despair setting in with the realization
that the journey would be doubled

how had we not considered the return?

We would've laid down right there
on the molton lava asphalt, become
another set of abandoned parking bumps
had you not spotted the sign
lit up red and green like early Christmas
Grinder's Family Restaurant -- Open
redemption in the form of a cool blast of AC
and the deliverance of unlimited refills

Dark chocolate

Break open the chocolate bar
boasting 72% cacao
and it will teach you
that darkness is to be savored

Do not bite the bitterness
let it melt on your tongue
until it gives up its sweetness
slowly but willingly

In youth you could not handle
such richness of experience
you needed sugar and milk
to lighten the darkness

But with age you have learned
too much sweetness corrodes a smile
but the right amount of dark
can strengthen the heart