three years after the eruption
things ash brown gray and black
tempermental mothers fathers smiling through
age lost in a free mind full of home/houses
expert witness and a lynch mob ...triumphant!
stock footage strewn across the cutting room floor
tropical steam room lunches ...free lunch!
tender moment a boy and his dog burying the bone
lost and found sensibilities trading post deadlines
square pegs in square holes don't fit
batteries weak or dead picture too light (overexposed)
harvard doctors link liquor to sex ...brilliant!
textbook deliveries now run on time
the little brown box full of prizes/toys
four light squares illuminate rooms/blinds drawn
two chairs set in stereo/left/right/a common bond
red felt white pages, a government listing
who's been left out? friends? family? sex?
four legs in a bucket standing at the door
one upon three upon seven/plastic container
sun stained memories/fresh eyes ...greet them!
turn it down! it's 3 PM the dogs are sleeping
chorus variations up to speed fake wood
tin sheets blanket frozen mountains
while other children play fetch and darts
dinner plates thrown across thirty tables
napkins, spoons, forks ...no knives!
pin-striped leopards in man-skin suits
open doors for ladies and their loves
it is never winter here it is never summer there
it is never winter here it is never summer there

house in the country
june 1940
chairs tipped on two toes
on the veranda
sun sunk past rag time
singing a half-rhyme
hair stuck to soft cheeks
bare skin on wheat shafts
your dress made of cotton
was lost in the corn field