Altars

At the retreat -

These are the difficult 

Days -

All those who have 

Confidence and 

Aplomb

Express themselves with 

Eloquence

Concerning their 

Hatha Yoga and 

New age 

Living arrangements 

They come from here and there 

And are on their way to somewhere 

Exotic

On standby 

- they have found something 

On the Internet 

Which is 

A great 

Deal 

One comes from San Francisco 

And lives on the hill 

One lives out in the desert

But does it

Very well 

How can I compare 

My weedy garden 

And patchy paint 

( I know, 

Not good

To compare) 

But to me 

This is 

The place exotic 

The place I can barely 

Afford 

And hardly get to 

Anymore 

To each 

His own 

And mine is this 

I have within 

A little space 

I have prepared 

A little altar 

In the heart 

And I am not so much concerned 

Anymore 

With 

New age 

Poses

Enthusiasm

It's raining here 

The river rages 

And water 

Falls from the 

Sky  !

The trees are

Green 

And happy 

And I 

Have driven 

Far to the 

North 

Up above Sacramento 

-They say they still have 

Drought 

But it doesn't seem to be 

So 

The hills are green 

With grass -

And wildflowers 

Grow 

I have come so far 

To retreat again

From the world of 

Complication and 

Confusion 

It's expensive but 

They feed me 

And leave me alone -

To walk among 

Trees 

And to meditate 

As long 

As I want 

The enthusiastic person 

In charge of us 

Wants to make a plan !

To take us here

And show us 

There -

We both politely say 

Thank you no -

Not today 

For we have come so far 

To leave the planning people 

Behind for a day 

Or few 

Enthusiasm is what we 

Have come 

To escape 

So please, please

Find another outlet 

For your unbridled,

Positive, energetic,

Enthusiasm

Novocaine

Oh I want to be 

Dead !

Waiting for the drilling 

To begin 

Dead bodies 

Don't feel a thing 

So I'm told 

Beginning to be 

Numb 

Listening to the 

Oldies 

reminding me 

Of the clouds of smoke 

And

 Playing the guitar

And singing 

In the coffee house

Now the Valium and the 

Novocaine

Are kicking in 

Joni Mitchell singing 

And I heard she 

Had a stroke 

What's it all about 

I wonder 

Royalty

Oh dear - 

   -The dentist-

I am royalty now 

With a golden crown ! 

Not on my head but 

In my mouth 

Everything, they say, 

Is a lesson 

I hate it when they 

     Say that 

For - Today l learn 

About drilling !! 

The Wall

Tell me. 

Tell me 

     The good news 

This motley crew

And I am one -

Isn't it interesting how 

We all have our stories 

To tell 

Back in the day 

I went through 

Check-Point-Charlie 

And rode on the little train 

"Bridge of Spies" 

(Movie)

1978 interesting - 

They let us through 

We had lunch 

     Unremarkable 

In some old building 

With slow service 

I recall 

What must they have thought 

     Of us 

Kids 

From the states 

On a budget 

Tour 

They wouldn't let the 

Tour through 

As one -

Just individuals 

And 

The Wall was still up !

I remember changing money 

For the day 

And being told not to take any 

Away 

( I may still have some ) 

Back on the other side -

They took us to the place 

Where there were stairs 

And people could look 

At loved ones 

But never touch

We climbed up 

Some wooden stairs 

We waved at the guards 

Who were looking at us 

Through big 

Binoculars

From their watch towers 

Across 

The space 

Filled with 

Barbed wire 

And metal cross pieces

They had big 

Guns 

And

I seem to remember 

     German Shepards 

On leashes

A wide expanse of 

Sand 

And then 

The Wall 

And I grew up with 

The threat

Of the planes 

Of the bombs 

Of the nuclear weapons 

That would rain from the sky 

At any moment 

And now, they say, 

The threat is worse !

And "they" have 

Clothes police. 

(What would they say 

About my thrift store 

Stuff?) 

I would undoubtedly be 

Beaten for myriad fashion

Faux pas !

But I am older now 

And if the nukes fall from the sky 

I only want to be at 

Ground zero -

For I have seen your false 

Promises -

And I know how lovely life 

Could be 

If -

If only -

We'd stop 

Being stupid 

And mean. 

Destiny!

Feeling better -

And realizing that I 

Must be in charge 

Of my own destiny !!

Yeah right -

So the "positive people" say 

But 

What 

Has that got to do 

With a $1200$ 

Gold crown 

On an old tooth in 

This 

     Old body 

I can be thankful 

It is no worse 

     A friend was talking about his 

     Bone grafts and implants 

     $$$$

Hang together -

Old body -

For awhile 

Yet anyway 

Just because I 

Haven't had 

My coffee yet 

Is no reason 

To 

     Self destruct. 

Sarcasm

Some days,

One feels ones age -

102 

If it's a day 

And what a relief it will be 

To cease 

To exist 

No more bills to pay 

No more wondering 

If 

I 've said the 

     Right thing 

What did they mean by that 

And what 

Were they 

     Trying 

     To say 

Sometimes the Tango 

     Tangles us up 

     And sometimes it 

Flows 

This morning I was 

Wonderful 

And hopeful 

And then 

     A friend 

Who seems to have a knack for that 

Came 

And took it away 

Not my fault 

But I blame myself 

For every little thing 

I feel so betrayed 

And abandoned 

Left here 

To live 

Or die 

And to try 

And figure out 

Why 

The Gods 

have a sense of humor 

Even if it is 

Sarcastic 

And dark