A long journey Joyce Kilmer Park in the Bronx To his home in New Brunswick, New Jersey Walking the way A pilgrim’s quest I come Gateway to his mansion Behind and above An enormous red oak Towering God I marvel The one tree I pass the gate Go back Wrap my arms as far as…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
My Life as a Fraction
“My Life as a Fraction” Fraction: “I tell you, it’s hard being 9/2 (that’s 9 over 2) because everyone is always trying to convert you. I mean, I don’t want to be a Mixed Number, I want to be myself. Some people even go so far as to call me 4 and one half!!! Can…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
A Companion : the translation
A Companion This companion, is a long-distance bird, a bird of long journeys, a bird of many changing colors and many clothes. His small body is simply carried off by fierce onshore winds. Persistently thrashed till rain-soaked to the bone, is this fragile bird. In blustery winds, full of anger, the forces mean nothing to…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
If you pay attention, nothing is trivial
If you pay attention, nothing is trivial Running her fingers through her hair Primping her hair Brushing hair from her forehead Glancing at her fingernails Looking skyward Nervous laughter Darting eyes Shifting her weight Forgetting to eat Drinking more Twisting a ring Turning a bracelet Fingering her necklace Laughing at nothing Running her finger around…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
The Women I Love
The Women I love One is a widow who closes her eyes. One makes love with fractured English. One talks in her sleep with foreign tongues. One mistook me for a sane man. One is divorced for too long. One is married to a grumpy groundskeeper. The other ran away with a gypsy. Another is…
Bamboo Shoots Submission for Year of the Dog
Full Moon at Sunset
Full Moon at Sunset After the nuclear explosion, light filtered through the clouds’ soft focus, an exquisite, violet sky darkening to rouge at the border of the hills. The surface of the water, grey-pink perturbed Japanese silk, folded over and lapping at the bodies, soothed the shore with tremors. Our buildings glowed with a sterilized…