"For there are brighter sides to life, I should know because Ive seen them.

But not very often"

The Smiths-"Still Ill"

1.

my relentless village idiot stability

is getting the better of me

the cake has so many candles

and goes straight to my ears

2.

holidays are hateful-whole cities die on holidays

X-mas streets roll with tumbleweeds

and half-empty houses

make it difficult to wake early

3.

my friend used to say-

"obliquity is the reason for the season"

somehow I dont think finding Jesus

will make me a better person

4.

hope for the universe is dropping-dropping

like IQ points and Nielson ratings

like acidic vistas

and boxer shorts from drunken men

5.

strolling the shopping mall

one am-a California moment-

I felt sure he would leave me-Alone-

near the pre-fab 1950s theme diner

6.

I remember when kitsch used to be a good thing

that was before I learned

one of the saddest things in life

is an aging hipster

7.

destiny is for people who have trouble

admitting when theyre wrong

somehow I dont think prayer or meditation

will get me to stop worrying

8.

cars on Interstate15 roll like hills

steadily-wish the radio would stop its shouting-wonder

why people say poetry should embrace things eternal

why not vacuum cleaners and freeways-sex toys and Lil Debbie Cakes

9.

cars on freeway 163 roll like dromedary hump

Ive got strange sacred-cow thirst

bent timeline hunger-an incredible appetite for justice

but only pocket change with which to buy it

10.

my heaven is a restaurant that gives out

complimentary pairs of golden maracas at each table

where all the waitresses wear black

and a TV constantly reruns The Golden Girls

11.

actually that sounds like my parents house

slightly warmer for the central heating

home to my mother

who hasnt set foot in the garden for years

12.

every year I become more like her

all the women in my family gray early

and become too tough to die from cancer

but not tough enough to withstand time

13.

I sometimes wish for hands

with 1000 stories printed on each knuckle

this would eliminate my need for books

and unsolicited advice

14.

he writes urgently-asking

"where are the girls who walk around

in the world like giant middle fingers?"

I dont know-

15.

perhaps theyve crawled off campus laps

to become owners of digital phones

and swanky handbags-perhaps theyve died

and their lips have cooled from silence

16.

I can offer no solace for your inquiries

just my complaints-and maybe a little bit of baggage

the one with center yellow stripe that looks

pretty much the same as all the others on the carousel

17.

flashback to my hometown

where the greasy cafés are filled with aged men

who grumble and lament

that the A-bomb has ruined the art of war

18.

time passes quickly here too

every year young families

break open their American dream babies

and drive up the cost of living

19.

the pond is overcrowded yet they divide

man-woman-son-daughter

man-woman-daughter-son

Dante was right-hell is cold

20.

some fool put up gated luxury communities

over places I used to get stoned

and opened bistros in places

that used to host punk shows

21.

the same rat-bastard is making a modest living

off my memories-off my hope

paving over the garden

my mother has never stepped in

22.

I have the fear of love dying

and hate everything that takes him away from me

buses, cars, holidays, trips to the bathroom-

everything-meals, sleep, work

23.

he waits to spread appendages radiant

wants to fly

wants to crash

like little Buddy-Holly-killing airplane

24.

wants to pocket the inner child

cave-in its head or throttle it in the cradle

how could I possibly resist devouring

that Swift Proposal

25.

some of my darkest days are in winter

it hasnt snowed around my parents house

in quite some time-I still wonder if dad

wears the same cowboy hat with his cop uniform

26.

cars on westbound Highway 52 roll

like deep Sargasso sigh

I am almost there-almost there

his house lies at the edge of the continent

27.

here is where the world speeds up

spins faster-dipping daylights

delicate fingers

into thick air and buildings

28.

getting closer but not to the end

of the journey-the drive-

a long trek through familiar lands

things that mean very little now

29.

in the end we are done in

by our own stubbornness

somehow believing in nothing

is its own comfort