many years have
passed since the promise of
Civil WarS; yet, I wonder if time
has healed the wound that
left you scared
of course, a
tree is best measured when it is down
(down to ground down) and not even the
revolutionary Einstein could replant
nor cause to grow that which was
uprooted or cut down
In la-la land
the wooley fireplug did decree a pleasured home
he deemed: the Gloria Swanson garden
arms apartments, prematurely air
conditioned bar and grill; Norma Desmond
towers (too pretentious for a cowboy, it
was, after all, just off Sunset) later, Einstein
came along and stole his line (great minds and
all that crap)
one, two,
three...one, two three...one, two, three, four... girlfriend,
Lucinda, God bless that Child, was dancing,
dancing back and forth snapping them
fingers on three, three,
then four,
like she
couldn't quite make
up her mind; well, what the
hell,
she was about to catch the millennium
express
to and fro, up
stage, down stage; she was a busy girl,
counting, hopping and skipping; damn near wore
me out;— glad she wasn't chewing gum; two
hundred thirty-six skipping rotations;
upstage, downstage, watching and waiting for
something, anything to happen,
suffered one
lung kidney cramp; couldn't hold it no more,
Lordy, I had to go and right away emergency double
negative eagle plumbing left one kidney
nice plump, firm, laying there, on the ground in
indo-china; VC bullet hole you could see
right through; didn't get to tell it so long, sorry,
or bury it, didn't get to kiss its kidney-ass
goodbye, just walked away looking back wondering
how I might live without it; would it miss me?I pray it didn't
miss me
and died a peaceful death;
sure as hell
miss it but I remained alive; Hell, no time to
fret the small shit who knows? That
girlfriend
(childs)
probably be skipping into next century rushed to
semi-convenient comfort station (relief plus
tears as spittle drooled down chin) now that's the
way I spell relief
returned to
Einstein's relative reality he was correct,
by God, I had been gone (long-gone) what
seemed like an eternity (yet, there was
that child) still snapping them fingers and
dancing while Glass's raging ragas
kept noodle-come-doodling along; asked a
friend upon return: "Miss anyhing?"
“Yeah, lots,—
the fuck'n train moved an inch! I
think Childs pissed her pants."
bored me once,
bored me twice, then bored me once again,(but
then, my friend), it was a long, long time ago,
light years ago; hey, okay, I'm older now;—
I see things differently, not much better,
but different
I recognize
Einstein
for the masterpiece he was; it was after
all, after all,
Einstein's repeated message; message
repeated;
repeat, repeat, repeat anything over'n over
again; until the brain
overflows
with vapid familiarity.
deja vu,
carried
to the umpteenth power, even past light
speed;
do it again;
next time we'll
get it right; familiarity is
charming, maybe, but it breeds
with contempt
slow your ass
down to light speed (c'mon, you
wanna' play catch up?) remember?
chrominize our clocks
back a notch, you and me, we did our time
in southern
baptist bible belt prisons,
free spirits incarcerated;
warden satan dwelt secure
with many keys strapped to his sententious,
unctuous hips
we dreamed of other realities from
masks we hid behind.
I timed you in
debates,
watched you scurry about gathering
copious notes
to get your shit together; sometimes,---
you
were even good
don't give a
shit you're semi-famous;
Hell, your
fifteen
minutes spends quick as my dimes
worth (Mr.Death said to his
gorgeous
blue eyed boy) all I got was
invitations to the big apple (computerized
donor potential The Old
Watermill restoration
and art attack prevention) and
one nice card from Denmark
No surprise, your Latin homework,
nunc et tunc, never read quite right,
lost its soul within a black translation hole.
Eller Osborne
silently condemned us
over her rims; licked her leaded stylus,
slowly made her mark within her book of life;
who died; who survived
to live another day.
Big Daddy Dumont (Helen) was her
husband;
thought they was real cool likenobody knew;
prayed, no
one guessed, they were secure;
how cute, how naive, their students giggled. 'sides you were
always so damn fey; is it true, you blew Don
Higginbothem
in seventh grade? Damnation!
he
had a nice big dick; how'd it taste? Wish't I'd a'
sucked it when I had the chance; he
was forever waving that damn thing
in my face (me a starving
hypocrite)
I was a God fear'n Christian
for Christ's sake!
Old Don, he was a good ole boy, begged to
booger me in Galveston,
he did;
was so proud
of his manhood;
he had a right to be, it was a nice one
brought it to school with him one day
for show and tell; he wanted to share
with his less fortunate classmates. (Mr. Bojangles,
Mr. Bojangles, Mr. Bojangles) It, it was, it
was trees. It, it,..it was trees; your savant, his
sacred rhyme,
worked overtime (I noticed these
brightly colored bathing caps some were red,
blue and green,— and while I was not
tempted to buy one I was reminded I had been
avoiding the beach) repeat.
(it, it was
trees....
it, it, it, it was trees, Mr. Bojangle,
Mr. Bojangles,
Mr. Bojangles dance!)
savants are prolific, but
they ain't too profound,
the genius was your choice. I never
understood
them clap-trap theories about relativity; Hell, my
relatives were so fucked up
I eighty-sixed them son's of bitches
years ago; they're probably still thumping them bibles back
in Texas singing
what a friend they have in Jay-sus;
Lordy, Lordy, if the holy man saw them hypocrites, the way they
live their lives, he'd climb back on his cross; Yes, Sir! Them
folks be as
extinct to me as the dinosaurs; I sometimes miss
the dinosaurs
I could be
wrong, I was once not long ago, but it seems
clear to me, Einstein's theory was, the closer you
come to the speed of light, the less anyone
cares;
Einstein
predicted it, you proved it, Darlin'; but, you know
what still worries me?