Assemblage

Martin brought the white faces,

Without his shoulders 

Barack would have had no place to stand,

And there would have been no “YES WE CAN”.

How many improbable events worked in Obama’s favor?

None, that a less talented man might have seen or used effectively.

How much money did he raise beyond his competitors?

Enough, so that he could lift spirits with “YES WE CAN”.

Large crowds, New Years Eve in New York, have gathered before.

Now many come to celebrate, or in the hope of a better day.

On this day though the assembled were the message.

The eloquence was in their numbers and their faces.

From wherever they came, they brought hope 

But there was more, much more.

This time the gathered witnessed

The extraordinary confirmation of an unprecedented event.

In this speck of time,  the most improbable coronation

Of a thought was vouchsafe, 

A thought beyond the reach of pundits and celebrities,

That brought brilliance to the cynic.

There may be little reason to expect we will rise further,

Perhaps this day does not presage  a new beginning,

But for this instant the myth of the parting waters was experienced

And millions of people knew Man’s potential: YES WE CAN

Another Start

No escaping the race.

A moment, from 60 years ago

Recaptured by an old neighbor,

Who brought word of success and death.

Morty has been dead 10 years,

Marty’s been retired to the Hamptons as long.

Herb will send me photos from 1950.

He stopped being Herbie in 1953.

I’ve recently taken to party politics.

Maybe it will be a learning experience,

Being president of a small, local

Democratic club.

What’s to be accomplished?

I’m not a preacher

And the members are not revolutionaries.

Maybe the purpose is fellowship.

Perhaps resolutions are overrated,

And real value lies in dialogue.

Invective promotes victory.

Discussion promotes understanding.

Alone

 It was over.

So many dreams fell into the pit that had been my center,

Confirming again, and yet again, that if hope is essential,

Life will have its tragedies.

I had come to revive the spirits of a diminishing congregation.

My wife and I, heavily invested in the church teachings,

Believed we had something worth sharing and a marriage worth saving.

8 months later I sit alone,  in this mockingly happy hotel room

Bright, newly repainted, pinkish walls, earth tone furnishings,

Wondering about the business career I’d abandoned

To bring others a measure of enlightenment.

The arrogance!

I am old enough to know that eventually the pain will pass,

Young enough to know that with the passing will come new

Dreams that will lift my spirit,

And self absorbed enough to recognize times passage will not help today.

 I will call a friend, my friend, who might listen

And offer something that questions my uselessness.

Allow me, with an embarrassment of tenses, to tell you what my friend said,

“I will come and get you”.

America On Video

America stretched.

3,000 miles and the clock disconnected.

Mountains, white only above 10,000 feet,

White-water rafting from California to the Saint Lawrence.

South of the Canadian glaciers

Late spring had captured the day.

Sweet cut grass smells pervaded America.

Woody Guthrie’s lyrics cascaded

From the 100 foot redwoods, through the high deserts,

Passed the ancient Indian ruins,

Into the sweet and sour

Of the cities.

Large cities with caged windows,

Small towns with libraries,

All part of the landscape.

What do I remember most

Of six weeks of exploration?

The beginning:

25 minutes of mistakenly filming the car’s dashboard!

What would I recommend?

See every thing, go every where,

With the possible exception of Butte, Montana.

Along Came Woody

“A genuine hero” according to Jimmy Carter,

John Wayne has an airport bearing his name.

A truly ungifted actor who always looked the hero.

He presents one pole when mistaking size for substance.

His antipode can be encapsulated as a neurotic nebbish.

Woody Allen’s movie appearances always  lacked two things:

Galoshes and acting.

I can see Duke and Woody as a dance team.

Duke would lead, destroying Woody’s feet

In the first thirty seconds.

Woody would complain for the next hundred years,

They are truly nightmares that keep on giving.

Speaking of the breadth of America’s possibilities.

The long and short, good-lookin and ugly,

One seeking the bottom of the bottle, the other

Looking to crawl back into the womb.

Duke was always saving the day

Woody was always losing his way.

No Yin and Yang here.

All Gone

After a losing battle with a chocolate ice cream cone,

“All gone” was the cheer that marked the cessation of hostilities.

Paul’s face would hold the remnants of the victor's army.

Good-Humor is no longer, but kids can still battle ice cream cones.

In cases of splinters, mosquito bites, or dark closets

That might hold evil creatures.

Salve, tweezers or a flash light

Could summon relief : “All gone”.

Sadly, life’s journey can’t sustain us

With “open sesames” or Dad’s incantations.

We cease running down hills because

Only children do that... pity.

When I was young I played with children’s toys.

Now that I am grown I miss the magic... All gone.

Al's Climb

Added to the smell of alcohol

It was the ten foot ceiling

That fixed the memory,

Easily recalled years later.

A single light bulb

Hung, on the end

Of 3 feet of electrical cord,

Over his narrow bed.

This may not have marked his low point,

(For the death of this alcoholic

Seemed a likely conclusion)

There was time for further convulsions.

There was to be another year

Of degradation, lies, false hopes and lost opportunities.

Another year of fear and drunkenness,

Looking into a small dark space.

No vows or resolutions,

(Those pathetic voices of the doomed)

Resonated beyond their initial utterance.

Al was disappearing.

If tomorrow Al were to drink

It would be the first time in over 30 years.

He had help, but not unlike the rest of us,

It was his sweaty hands that had to climb and hold.

Some might curse his sobriety,

Believing it makes their despair seem easily surmounted.

But Al works the program every day,

And personifies the possible.

Though he stands in the sunshine

He has not forgotten.

He reaches into the darkness

To help others.

Advanced Healthcare Directive

As my life has exceeded Abe Lincoln’s  3 score and 10

It is time to plan for my end.

My memory, always suspect,

Now requires a trail of bread crumbs

To lead me back from “here”, wherever  this is, to “there”, wherever that is.

In this spirit I state the following as my Healthcare Directive:

1. If I am ill cure me.

2. If my parts become dysfunctional  replace them.

3. If I recall events that did not happen agree with me.

4. If I wander from the path change my direction

5. If I smell use soap. If that does not work chances are I’m dead, and stop washing me.

6. If dead, points 1 through 4 can be discarded

7. If dead I’d like my body parts distributed as follows:

         a. Hair, to the Foundation for “People Wanting to Look Ancient”

         b. Brain, if located, boiled as a secret ingredient  in borscht.

         c. Skull, drill a 3/4” hole in the top & use as candle holder for romantic dinners.

         d. Eyes, along with corrective lenses, to a latent voyeur.

        

An Act of Love

I took one bite of  the Canoli.

One bite of my half, and put it aside.

Like that was  a heroically symbolic act,k

Save your stupid ass.

Why the fuck were you ordering a Canoli ?

Man, man that was really dumb.

What, you’ve got the other kind of diabetes?

You think all is bullshit ?

I don’t think so,

The folks at your school retirement,

Carolyn, the girls... me?

Listen .... IT IS NOT ALRIGHT!!

Last time you didn’t lose your foot, schmuck.

Wait, soon enough we’ll both face blank walls.

Right now its more funny then bad.

Maybe there are still a couple of hills worth climbing.

You think this is about you?

Dumb shit!

You eat fucking canolies I move up the list.

No one said you gotta wait until you crap in your pants.

You figure it’ s only your business?

John Donne wasn’t talking about you?

You get to the place you need out,

I’ll push.

In the meantime pay the price,

It aint that high,

Not even close

And in this game close counts.

A Fairy Tale 11/5/08

A Martian landing in Central Park

Is as likely as a Black man becoming President.

So I thought ... until last night.

Now I await little green men.

Obama’s skin tone did not go unnoticed,

Millions preferred a white man.

Millions decided that color was not enough.

Discrimination did not disappear with victory,

Our problems as a culture, nation, people,

Still here this morning, will not evaporate.

But today I’m proud to be an American!

Martin Luther King,  who gave voice to possibility,

Might have envisioned this election.

Three years ago I would’ve thought it delusional.

Today, before the Philistines trample on the parade,

Let’s hold the moment with the love of a parent

Telling her child “ You could be ------”