A Wreath on the Wall
after Kristen Day
Scrolling down a
blackness of
wall
the names inscribed
are impervious
to weathering:
a wreath
tied ribbons
dried flowers
at Christmas-
one panel speaks
for all
the dead
and the lving
who come here
to visit
and
to stay
Nirvana
He looked as if some
one had appointed him
Group leader of Grey
Panthers for Kurt-the fan
club. His xxx loss leader
tee shirt touted some
signifigant phrasing from
the works of the Master,
something about The Light
going out when Kurt dies----
or, maybe, it was the concept
of Nirvana that totally turned
him on--a state he was rapidly
approaching, fast feeding
himself a strict diet of
donut holes by the box
full, washed down with
regular Green Mountain
black coffee mixed 50/50
with high test Anisette,
a slower death by far than
sucking on shotgun shells
and much less messy, a fact
his equivalent of Courtney
Love was sure to appreciate.
Pretty Baby in the Washington Tavern
I wasn't sure what
social circle she be
longed to where sucking
on a baby pacifier was
considered acceptable
behavior among friends.
I might have been out
of touch with college
life for a longer period
of time than I cared
to think about but body
piercings, expensive tats
and lip enhancements
seemed more appropriate
and commonplace among
the jet setting night lifers
more intent on running up
mommy and daddy's plastic
expense accounts than they
were achieving advanced
degrees at institutes of higher
learning-an aim that seemed
inconsisitent with finding
peace and harmony by sucking
on a molded plastic nipple;
all I knew was, she couldn't
possibly have enough positive
ID to prove she was legal
enough to drink in this state
or any other state-not as far as
I was concerned anyway.
Vampira
there's usually a good
reason why a woman
looking as good as she
does is sitting alone in
a bar--maybe she was
the kind that bit the heads
of her lovers off after
mating and they didn't
mind at all--maybe she
just exuded a kind of
sexual musk--gave off
an aura that suggested
promiscuous sex--to anyone
willing to take the risk--
the rewards were ecstasy
but paying the piper with
your life was a bitch--
maybe she liked the idea
of allure, sucking the un-
expecting into her lair
where they got to per-
form in the unjaded
sexual Olympics before
settling in with on
of her--- Kiss of
Death Cocktails--one
that induced paralysis
from the outer limbs,
in, while she sat filing
her nails, bored by the
whole thing, getting
ready for another night
on the town, a new lover,
a new body to dispose of.
One Beginning at an End
after Kristen Day
The hand is
not of
the shadow
though the fingers
are-cast as
iron sash weights
without windows to
fall into-
still as-taken
from life-objects
spread about
at random on
kitchen tabletop:
a scatter of
sleeping pills
an emptiness
of alcohol-
the glass
and the bottle--
all the evidence
that remains
