Word of the Day Poem 6-10

Word of the day Poem 6:
Pedestrian

slowly moving
through your
indecision

i move, wanting
to break the cycle
and you,
you continue to
kill me
sluggishly
deep
on the inside
instead of making it
fast
swift
dignified
respectful

instead,
it goes on and on
and
slowly
the clock ticks
it tocks
it rocks at my foundation
cellular piece
by
cellular piece

cracking at me

and
your lack
of imagination
baffles me still
as i watch you
chase your tail
from across the
street

your lack of imagination baffles me

so
pedestrian.
------------

Word of the day Poem 7:
Tetchy

on the way home
in this entrapment
of a metal box
your leg shakes
with nerves
with annoying
vibration
a reminder
that you sit
too close
and take up more space
than you should
next to me
and i
let it roll off my shoulders
try to let it go
not to be
tetchy
as many of my fellow riders can be
for no reason at all
other than sheer selfishness

you vibrate
you smell
you're rude and
cough without covering
your fucking mouth
and
you read the post
arms outstretched
legs wide opened
as if you hold large luggage
between your thighs
and i
think back on step 6
and say to God
to remove all character
defects from me
as i day dream about
snatching the paper
from your hands and
beating you with it.
-------------

Word of the day Poem 8:
Elucidate

I took a breath
sky clear, blue like the bottom of the ocean
near Cancun
the clouds dancing
and shaped like
the elephants from
dumbo

I inhale, avoiding
smokers who walk
like slow moving giants all about me
I always manage to get stuck
behind their smokey bodies
but this time
i maneuver
i dash
i avoid
to keep clear as i inhale
as i exhale
as i clear the air
to keep me from screaming

so that i can elucidate
manifest
make this situation clear
of everything and anything
that may be assumed
to keep the panic
clear from my voice
as i tell you news
that seems horrible to me

i took a breath
and surprisingly
i didn't crumple
into my tears and dissolve
instead
my chin lifted to the sky
and i
i knew that sometimes
even Queens
have really bad days.
--------------

Word of the day Poem 9: Florid

Shining bright
her golden brown arms and legs
wrapped around her own body
and on the floor
through the air
along my soul
contorting
flexing
her florid
dress
vibrant
like fire
like love
like passion
like blood
bright like the blush
of my cheek
as i watched her thrust
her hips in my direction
oceans of fluid motion waving along her
skin like dreams of
mothers womb, soft comfort
watching this woman warrior
this dancer
this lover of color
of movement
of life
move her soul
through dance
through fire
through me.
-----------

Word of the day Poem 10:
Veracity

The other day, I walked along
Mott street being struck by memories
like tiny wings of truth
brushing along my cheeks

Heavy bags full of pictures
and cardboard holders
made the blood in my hands rush
to surface as I waddled along
hoping my smallish hands wouldn't
give out

To my right, dark dead ducks
hang by their feet in a shop
my Aunt Vicky and i use to buy honey pork buns from,
by the dozen in my early teens

Down the block from that
was an ice cream shop I passed
the day of the black out years ago
when I taught a creative writing class
on 34th street and walked with several folks
down to Wendy's house in Chinatown in
the August heat

On another side street, after Baxter,
was a small massage parlor my ex and I went to
one Saturday afternoon and the next to it, the shop
where he bought red pills called "Tiger Penis"
which were supposed to be a natural sexual stimulant
but made him sleepy instead

One block down from there
a Catholic church that I shot footage in
over 10 years ago, making a film with CreateNow
called Snap Shots
The musical soundtrack, a song I wrote and played
on guitar, lost in memory
lost in old age
lost in my smiling teenage face
a distant and gone version of me

Across the street from the church
my final destination
to drop of those damned heavy pictures

Once I saw the place I thought I remembered
from a delivery, I realized I remembered it
because my ex and I had had duck there, years ago
when Saturdays were our days to be,
just be,
to bask in each others bodies
planting small kisses on each others faces
before a late breakfast
showers together
and
a ride downtown, away from the tourists and
annoying sidewalk blocking people,
to explore the city
to be
with each other

I stood in front of this place
the final destination
before my ride back to Queens
flooded by years of memories
some available, some lost along the way
hoping that years from now
the memories would continue to come

I stood remembering his smile, his smell
the cameras we used to shoot our movie
the massage oil
the smell of pork buns
the look of melting ice cream in a black out
my addiction to remembering
and the desire to always have it.