A Tale of Two Women
This girl . . .
Bright eyes, light eyes, shy smile.
Say hello, walk slow.
Hair the color of warm sand,
Straight as sticks and shiny.
Head held high, eyes ahead, don't trip.
Photos on her desk tell me nothing
That I care to know.
The office question box can't
Hold my queries, that's for later
Seems later never comes.
So hard to decipher, is she just being nice?
Or really being nice?
Those eyes sparkle at me so I freeze,
A deer in the headlights,
My face so red, did she know?
Those women . . .
Dark eyes, dark minds, accusing scowl.
Who, what, why?
Warmth of a dead engine,
Open as a sealed vault; why look down?
Just to see what's underfoot?
Snuggled on the couch, awake enough to
Hate me as a woman.
Even your liberal attitudes have
No room for a girl like me and
My self-confidence.
So hard to be friendly.
Was it something I said, or something I am?
When that hatred flies at me I defend;
My identity is not your concern.
Two separate sides of the far left.
Inside our own sub-culture we
Can't even get along.
Who the hell am I, and by whose standards?
I don't want to wear your label.
I don't want to be known better.
Where is the solace of two souls connecting?
Where is the strength of holding her hand?
Why so we torment ourselves so earnestly?

Teaser
Quiet now baby so I
Can tell you all about
The broken princess who
Never kissed a frog.
The damsel in distress who
Never saw her knight ride up.
Hush for a bit,
You'll really want to hear
Stories of her growth and
Conquest of her fears.
Tales of her life and
Discovery of true love.

A Thanksgiving Prayer
Thank you for letting my ancestors
Rape and pillage this land.
Thank you for making the natives so naive
And letting us slaughter them all.
Thank you for creating slaves to
Prepare this bounteous harvest.
Thank you for the machines that
Demolish and kill so efficiently.
Thank you for the plagues that
Kill off the undesirables.
Thank you for giving parents freedom
From responsibility and blame.
Thank you for the knowledge that
We really are better than them.
Thank you for widespread ignorance so
The poor don't rise up in revolution.
Thank you for the taboos that
Keep incest and abuse private.
Thank you for justice to
Protect those who can afford it.
Thank you for the democracy that
Let's us blame the other guy.

That Gurl
that girl called her voice faltered
just wanted to tell me things
always wanted to tell me things
never could tell me what she meant
never could say what i wanted to hear
never could admit it was wrong.
that girl called to remind me i am cruel
just wanted to be vivid in my mind
always wanted to be foremost in my mind
never could share my attention
never could accept my impatience
never could admit it was wrong.
that girl wanted to hear a catch in my voice
just wanted to know i am still real
always needed proof that i am still real.
never could sit and enjoy the ride
never could just slow down and let it alone
never could admit it was wrong.
she saw me shaking once and thought it was a sign from god
but i don't know who god is and I told her a thousand times
it would have been so easy just to miss
never could admit it was wrong.

threes
soft prayers uttered
my own words
bring warm tears
harmony in sound
bright colored glass
with dark stones
i find peace
a safe place
where i'm free
stars sparkle beckoning
outside my door
bring soft smile
crisp air breathing
sounds of life
with calming silence
i know life
a contented thought
where i'm loved

Those Days
I remember that day
Like it was 1,000 years ago.
Where I sat on the couch
Just being stubborn, headstrong.
You were so quiet I thought
You'd just hide in the closet, then
BAM . . .
Right in the face.
I never saw it coming.
It was so unlike you,
I usually saw it coming.
And the cop was so embarrassed
When he called me to the station.
Face so red as he stuttered, stammered.
He had to ask, he told me,
Just for the record
Could I please just tell him
WHY
Your back was all scratched
And welted and fresh.
So I told him the truth:
The day hadn't started bad.
I remember that day
Like it was two years ago.
That day I'd had enough,
And I'd been working out,
Lifting heavy shit all morning
While you slept fitfully alone.
HIGH - Is how I felt
When I knocked your ass out
And freedom came to me
With one simple phone call.
I was so proud in those
First two months as
I watched your car
Case my house until
OOOPS - It just didn't bother
Me anymore and
I knew you knew
I'd never be back for.

Transparencies
You are the white t-shirt on a big wet blonde
You are the old ratty blinds that don't quite close
You are that spot on my rug where everybody walks
You are the smoky haze in a crowded bar
You are the velum that my art teacher so loved
You are the plot to a block buster action film
You are the lies of three-year-olds everywhere
You are the lace tablecloth on my mom's oak table
You are the fair weather devotion of "poor relations"
You are campaign promises and political platforms
You are the emperor's brand spankin' new clothes
You stink like gossip and pettiness
Your life is not a pretty mess
I never look at you closely and yet
Still see more than I need to know.

Trial of the Little Prince
Whining little brat never learned when to
Stop touching things that aren't his.
He sits so nice in his little suit mocking
Her only chance left to live without
The dreams and the fear and the dirt.
She doesn't feel empowered but the
Weak little Prince begs to differ.
So she was in control.
He said she was asking for it.
She was the powerful one,
He said he couldn't stop it.
She's just pissed off
He never called her.
What's the problem,
It's not like he hurt her.
He's not the one who made her wear
That dress, no he's not responsible for
The vibe she gave off, and she dared
Smile at him openly, nay he says, seductively.
What was he to do when everyone knows
How they tease and make a guy work
For it, of course no means yes.
But if they locked him away
He might think he was wrong.

twisted
i must've twisted my arm all the way round
i must've looked pretty damn silly
squirming around on the floor like that
reaching and grasping at that spot on my back
it made my shoulder sore as hell
and earned me rug burns on my face
the battle lasted days and days
as i contorted with my determination
my burning drive to reach that switch
the
one
that
shuts
it
all
off . . .
but
. . .
i
did
it . . .