Unlocking Pandora’s Box
A petroglyph
chiseled
into a
wall deep
in an
ice cave,
waiting
for a
flashlight
to shine
into its
startled
blue eyes.
Category Archives: poems & short jabs
unlocking pandora’s box
Filed under poems & short jabs
safe keeping
Safe Keeping
I’m thinking
about buying
a parrot
& having
it memorize
all my
Shards but
also training
it to
recite them
only for
me so
that just
before I
die I’ll
destroy all
record of
everything
I’ve ever
written &
when they
question
the parrot
he’ll squawk,
“Mum’s the
word, matey!”
Filed under poems & short jabs
sleep deprivation
Sleep Deprivation
Things are
moving so
fast that
the world is
full of
Rip van
Winkles who
haven’t slept
a wink.
Filed under poems & short jabs
two little mexican girls & klaus kinski
Two Little Mexican Girls & Klaus Kinski
Two little
Mexican girls
laughing &
chasing a
butterfly
across a
wide expanse
of grass
in a
city park
& I
just came
from watching
Werner Herzog’s
documentary on
Klaus Kinski
where Herzog’s
juxtaposing
Kinski’s
explosive madness
to his
own steady
iron will
gets demolished
in the
very last
scene,
a close-up
of Kinski
in the
Peruvian jungle,
disheveled &
smiling gently
into the
camera with
a butterfly
fluttering around
him.
Klaus lifts
a finger,
the butterfly
lands on it.
He lifts
his
finger to
his ear &
the butterfly
walks along
the rim of
the ear.
He brings
his finger
back up
& the
butterfly
hops
back on.
He brings
the finger
eye level &
he &
the butterfly
stare at
each other.
The butterfly
moves to
Klaus’ nose
its wings
fluttering &
Klaus smiles
cross-eyed
into the
camera.
Then he
brings his
finger up
& the
butterfly
flutters onto
it again,
then flutters
off &
circles Klaus’
head a
time or
two.
Klaus gives a
wave of
dismissal &
the butterfly
flies off.
Fade out.
Filed under poems & short jabs
the fruits of our labor
The Fruits of Our Labor
An 8-hour
window day
last winter,
wind howling
from the
get-go,
extension
ladders
crashing to
the ground,
fingers numb.
Toward the
end of
the last
job it
begins snowing,
the wind
gusting,
blowing
the snow
horizontal,
step ladders
going over
& skidding
across the
concrete,
screens &
towels going
airborne.
We laugh like
maniacs &
dance around
the courtyard
waving our
squeegees in
the air,
while inside
the lady
of the
house quietly
pulls
the blinds.
Filed under poems & short jabs
the return of scooter
The Return of Scooter
Scooter
the cat
who disappeared
when my
granddaughter’s
dog came
for a
visit has
started coming
around again.
For a
week she
came in
the front
door &
went straight
out the
back but
today she
jumped
up on
my desk
made a
thorough investigation
of pencils
& pens
the tin
cup full
of paper
clips &
rubber
bands &
all the
cords snaking
out the
back of
my computer.
Then she
dropped into
my lap
rolled over
on her
back &
with her
eyes hooded
began
to purr.
Filed under poems & short jabs
