Ribald Swell

Buoys of dirty old men bob and chortle,
the regular circles here, in Lauderdale swell
Pay little heed to new cold water
Of just passed storm, routine their time
Unobstructed, unwatched nattering
Like boardwalk seagulls on a lost french fry
Salt water hair slicks, frame stories ribald,
Boastful wishes of ass to slap.
Gold chains harbored on matted chest hair,
Fading gray over forgotten bypass
Unapologetic in aging speedo, shame
Has no place except in bets unwagered
Vulgar without repent or self-awareness
Yet true to course they live sincere
God, Mom, and legal tender reign unquestioned,
their lot secure in tailored track suit
Everyone else, an unclued fool.

Hablett Park

A distant playground guards my childhood
Two iron swingsets and a jungle gym
All we needed for an empire endless
A stadium, an audience of eucalyptus
Cricket pitch and wheelie conference
Skinned knees compared over smuggled Kool-Aid
Aussies, Yanks; it didn't matter
The sun shone hard on all of us.

Scope of Love

Lovestruck sniper plies his trade
In broken perches of former glories
The final sting of distant Congress
Lethal indifference pays his wage
Two thousand feet per second
Of Death by taxes
His sweetheart waits on Skype tonight.

Stalemate

Bobby Fischer died, discarded
American Hero
Turned rabid by genius
Sixty-four squares
The only boundary
Worthy of respect.

The Box

A box is just a box
or is it five pieces
of wood, bonded
together to serve
a greater purpose?

Whispered Lure

Words can be found
Skimming a wake of grass
From tangents of bark
The whispered lure
Of knowing the unknown
In a moment
Ephemeral yet certain
Brings us a path
Inside ourselves
As we have always known.

They Know Not

Simple America, so revered so reviled
dusty denim livin' no readin' necessary
Git her done, shoot first, question never
march before God, our omnipotent quarterback
He is never wrong, how can we?
Borders secure against our cousins
Screw you, we stole it first
Book of Peace used as weapon or a lawyer
For everything but the peace it holds
Christ's pleas drowned out by Holy Touchdown
Forgive them, they know not what they do.

Hash Browns

Eggs and bacon, keepers of normal
Blessed newsprint frames the day
Coffee sidekick carburetor on idle engine
Thank you Waverly, you are a friend.

Dunk Tank

Doubling down on a jester's wager
resolve reduced to chance, a giant moon
their only witness, spectral solace
to a smitten scoundrel, his wayward art
sold for change on a Sunday stoop.
Her lips the prize, a carnival of trust
the weighted balls of his past, a curse
another rigged game, a sleight of heart
His future fidgets upon the dunk tank
Awaiting her throw, the straight and faithful.

Flip Flop Algorithm

With blanks to fill, the free spirit in flip-flops
retreats to the study, finding faith in words
A google map of the soul, decisions predicted
In easy monthly installments by keyword and cookie
they follow and sort, easy templates of life
created by preacher and programmer alike
Which comes first, the wealth or the control?
We are the watched, we are the watchers.
Put down the remote and follow the wind.

Gate B22

Hungover at Gate B22, I stare with stale cheer
stowaway starlings flit before the wheelchair
stoically, heroically parked at vacant gate
it is quiet like a discarded newspaper
grey, flat eyeline broken by flight 87
knitting slowly across the tarmac
bound for Cheyenne, Spokane or maybe Flagstaff
tray tables locked in plastic conformity
tucked into sleep by the FAA, the TSA
A thousand rolling wheels that leave no mark
Ephemeral, transient paths set in motion
By distant business or familial obligation
Life reduced to gate-checked certainty
An economy seat to the American bland.
Bartender, another please.

Galoshes

Chafing at the clock, like lost seconds
Were picked from our pockets by its hands
We huddle in the drizzle of our discontent
Instead of splashing smitten in our grace.
Dreams minted with Hope's young ink
Can only be cashed from within
Memories bend and arch to give us lift
Stolid wings of committed being
Land again in life's galoshes.

The Drifting Need

Swashbuckler of faith, a life jacket of lead
He grieved for his fate and never believed
That Will, so light to our unknown winds
Howling before it, cannot be carried
On the doldrums of safety.

On Game

The ears of a hound, bent and alert
A varmint approaches, tasty unknown
Her nose set a' twitchin', tail to the sky
Paws on gravel, she waits in game.

Morse Code Romeo

Unholster your heart, fair damsel a word
My breath please return, the deposit is spent
I'm exhausted in chase, my cape has gone limp
No more guesses or ruses, just tender the truth
Do you favor my smile?
Do you adore or abhor, my gaze
So entranced, so lost to your cause
Do you dance to my name, or
Like a stale donut am I dunked
in your mug of contempt?
Morse had a code but I'm willing to bet
Where he dotted, she dashed
Leaving him broken and tapped.