Odd Poetry

These are the poems that don't really have a
catagory.

SEATTLE SONNET

SLUMLORD

THREE TRIPS IN SOPHIE, ART CAR EXTODANAIRE

WAIT

FEAR OF FALLING

SEATTLE SONNET

I dreamed of you and Seattle last night. Capital Hill called to me, Queen Anne admonished me, "You've been gone too long." Joyriding down Pike without the breaks on, I smell the pungent odor of patchouli, the reek of thrown fish, And the sticky sweet smell of baklava that mixes perfectly With the hawkers' cries. Small silver bells on Afghani beaded belts Tinkle softly as my hands slip and slide through sensuous mountains Of silk scarves in that little hole-in-the-wall shop. We dance down Broadway on numbered bronze footsteps imbedded in concrete as if To mark the passing of Fred and Ginger's Technicolor ghosts, While a six foot two dragqueen in high heels and feathers serenades us like Billie Holiday. I wake to bitter Boise snow and begin to wonder how Much it will cost to get to Oz without my slippers on.

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SLUMLORD

My front door's falling apart, My backdoor's nailed shut. The doorknob's fallen off twice And the landlord has spent more trying to Save money by fixing the old door Then a new door would've cost. Now it doesn't want to lock And when it does I can't get back in. The veneer on this hollow core Piece of crap splits and peels like A dried up mud puddle every summer. And I have to paint it With what ever I have Just to keep it together Screaming flamingo pink, Slothful green, Baby shit yellow, Teenybopper blue, Lead paint orange, And a Petulant purple. When I move I'm gluing it shut

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***This is a true-story/poem about a wildly painted hippy car I use to have. I miss that car SO much

THREE TRIPS IN SOPHIE, ART CAR EXTODANAIRE

TRIP I Sweet steel rainbow rolling 'cross country On retread tires and seven cups of coffee Bells sing out little prayers as they hang From the cracked rear view Safety safety Oh don't hit that pole Safety safety Sage goddess and a random storm of colors Cover your once golden hood I laugh and sing as the Washington Rain fails to wash away my masterpiece It steams away from the heat of your engine In vaporous clouds every time we stop Bumper stickers proclaim peace and Condemn the dominant paradigm while Vinyl butterflies try to peal off The window in a futile attempt to fly Seattle sunset adorns the driver's door Painted while sitting on a busy street corner On Capitol Hill in front of the Pink Zone Where bronze dance steps wait For queer punks in day-glow ball gowns to Trip the light fantastic while the panhandlers Beg change to pay for their next java fix TRIP II Hands of lovers, dreamers, hitchers and friends Dipped in mottled paint caress the roof Like children's finger paintings taped on the fridge door. We stop in the desert half way to Winnemucca And dance on highway 95 to the howls and Cries of Janis and the cold desert wind Joking about the antiseptic tang of sagebrush Surrounded by miles of nothing but soft hills And the joy of freedom while our antics Scare the yuppies as they speed past us On their way to Reno to gamble away Their daily boredom on the cha-ching of dollar slots And free vodka shots TRIP III Cops in every state stop us Just to see who would drive A mobile art gallery like you They smile when they see that my hair Matches your hubcaps and ask me if The pink will wash out anytime soon Little shiny yellow and glittering pink Fish swim on metal Between purple and green Impasto saguaro cactus From your passenger door To your gas cap making children giggle We laugh and hum from here to Galveston As Texas cowboys and Dallas Businessmen point and grin As you and I break the monotony of Their three martini lunches and Houston Storm days as the rain turns everything on The 610 the color of gray sorrow Except for Sophie and me

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WAIT

Knock lightly, Please. Chances are I'm not here And the cats are sleeping. Knock softly, Please. The doorbell has never worked And the door is falling apart. Or don't knock, OK? Just sit on the step until I get home or come out.

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FEAR OF FALLING

You ask me if I am afraid to fly to try to throw myself into the wind to fling myself from the wall to dance the razors edge You ask me if I am afraid to fly No I do not fear the heights I do not need sweet earth beneath my feet I will dance the wind that cuts deeper then any blade But I will not face that wall the one I built around my heart But give me a chance and I will sink my fingers in and pull your walls down I'll rip I'll tear I'll rend to find the you deep inside and you will thank me tonight but what about tomorrow will you thank me for pulling you out into the light and throwing you to the wind No I am not afraid to fly are you afraid to try You tell me no "I am afraid to fall" is that all falling is the easy part But landing is a bitch

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