A Response to Poet Marina Tsvetaeva'a "The Appointment"

Her beautiful blues that used to roll back in laughter

Are now fixed upon the street

They rise with moisture and pain

Skin in between the cotton sheets

No longer holds any desire for me

only memories

What she needed, I can no longer give

I stand before her now

Wrinkled and lonely

The vacancy sign above, flickers as if to signal

In need of not this woman

But only a body to fill my time

My shackled hands must release her

Like a butterfly

But it is too late

She is now a white moth

Headed not to the blue sky, but only to a flame.

Japanese Tankas: I am feeling cultured.

The sun's heat beats
sweat dripping from her brow
a smile to fit in
she says not what she feels
fixed to play the part

Tanned weathered hands
grip sharpie cardboard
the sunshine dreams
blind all my sympathies
There is no change today


more to come...

How many licks...?

Sounds dirty right? Hardly dirty in any way, other than the cavities that could be building up in my mouth as I write this.

Sitting at a day job can make one restless and anxious. No windows either. What is going on out there in the world? Is it raining? In San Diego--- I find that to be very doubtful. This is what makes it even worse. Sunny San Diego, and I have an inside, day job. With no windows. How depressing.

So, what else to do in a time of boredom? Slowly, I reach for the little plastic-wrapped goodness on my desk. I reach slowly because a good part of me knows I should not reach for my tenth piece of candy today. However, my sugar-addicted taste buds and self entertainment rely on it! What else can I do? My mouth is watering. According to a very unreliable blog, 75% of Americans are "chronically dehydrated."

After two cups of coffee and ten jolly ranchers, I would say I might fall into that shady category. It is not even noon yet. That makes me sound like an alcoholic. But honestly, what else can help people get through the day? Some interesting ideas would be extremely helpful. For I fear that jolly ranchers and tootsie blow pops will leave me with more cavities and less sensation in my taste buds.