mystic of boom bang
identity of our gang
pounder of fire
ask Elvis how’s he’s doing
while leading Heaven’s house band
RIP Charlie Watts
Tanka
truth tanka
i will wait silent
body heavy with living
my head yet holds up
with equal amounts of tears
just as many crooked smiles
spread the WLS
bad brains tanka
dread locks dc dream
hard sounds real life scream and sweat
riff like diamond steel
pulse of nation under ground
old bones work natty haired girl
spread the WLS
Diego the flowers
Diego the flowers
that you painted on the backs
of golden skinned girls
farmed in mass inside buckets
now sold by broken old men
Diego the flowers
bloom no longer green and grain
just soak in buckets
on sides of freeway exits
food colored twisted blossoms
Diego the flowers
indigenous majesty
from a time before
the conquest of Silicon
with barcodes on their petals
spread the WLS
tanka for Anne Boleyn
in my head i’ll stay
the queens always lose their heads
heaven in her eyes
just before the tragedy
angels swoop to catch her soul
spread the WLS
prodigal tanka
*to Rob
nature in your soul
the light in your heart brightens
frozen in the wind
in low valleys of my world
your blue starlight captures me
spread the WLS
doc is gone
Los Angeles breeze
weary leaves heavy with dust
nails of my fingers
chewed down to bloody chipped stubs
agony and mind control
spread the WLS
cloister
here we are sisters
with foot firmly on the ground
our arms extended
to the north paying homage
wind take our prayers to God
spread the WLS
waiting for a bus
there is a brightness
cool and soft behind your eyes
dream weaver of skies
in this old industrial town
we slowly walk like pigeons
spread the WLS
Wm. Mead, holmes
Photo by Hunter Kerhart
the blinking sun saw
lines weighed with school uniforms
clothes of mechanics
kids pink and purple sneakers
mail boxes stuffed with worry
words less spoken 