Selected poems
Cat and man
he, the cat on my lap
me, the man with the cat on his lap
yellow light sliding through window
in the blank tv screen
i see leaves outside
they reach inside
the cat stops cleaning
i stop thinking
he, the cat on my lap
me, the man with the cat on my lap
are silent and still
the cat on the lap vanishes
the man with no cat on his lap vanishes
so do the sofa walls roof cushions books
everything
that which was known is not known for —
the knower has vanished also
Man with secret lives
I visit McDonald's and talk knowingly with the staff.
I have a comb-over.
Evenings, I drink large quantities of stout.
I am good at yoga.
I meet women and men for sex in their cars.
I give motivational talks in boardrooms.
I'm Mike Jagger, psychiatric nurse.
I have failed at every task
When I drink coffee I roll it over my tongue and remember
how I grew the beans myself
on my own plantations in Guatamala.
I hope my secret family there is doing well.
I captain this battleship in tight formation with destroyers and frigates.
My contemporary dance company is in constant demand.
We travel to festivals in Europe, driving audiences wild.
I am a busy man but I sleep well.
I walk daily in green forests and absorb the auras of giant trees.
I wake early and clean the floors of filthy kitchens.
My hand is steady.
My eye is true.
My hearing accurate.
I remember everything and forget what I choose.
I tell only the truth.
Boundless
If I keep searching, I'll find her
among these black umbrellas
and bright parasols.
She's here somewhere.
Black birds are calling us both,
so I know where she is headed.
Down this autumnal path, between these trees
with an easy gate opening before us to a gentle decline,
a coast and a beach and a ship with black sails hoist,
an attentive crew and a following breeze.
We'll step aboard, leave land,
follow the sea's blind arrows
to an horizon rolling before,
where boundlessness will be ours.