Stupid, Old Cigar

Why did I light
this terrible thing?
must be a year old

parched and sour
lying in that case
old corpse

touch it it falls to dust
put it out now
& go on licking

sour cadaver 
off my lips
broken and hot

in front of these teeth
lousy Sun
what'd he do today?

work the winds into a lather
nearly blew my hair clean off
made time to cook lips

you were busy
smoke lays there
looking down my throat

like a kid dangling his
legs into the rest of his life
won't make a difference now

so I'll go on sucking at
the damned thing
til my cheeks touch

make myself like it.

Pretty Ordinary

A dream came true,
I'm telling you it did
a little thing
next to theirs.

I'd stand a ways off,
see if I was tall as them.
what a fool!
Made the puny mountain small,
made the one next to it look like it 
broke 
into outer space
like when the dream was just a strange jewel

Over there where I'm pointing.
My body will turn to trash 
all the same
I fumble in the black for loved ones.

I still sit on the porch
some nights, listen to those
whatever they are
climb onto the rotted leaves,
break the tiny stems,
crawl all over the garden,
but I can't see them.

they're pretty ordinary I'm told,
I just can't see them.

Spring Came

Spring! Spring!
My non-believing eyes see 
green plastic stars

up and down the branches
The tree is a shy kid
softest hands made my head tingle

I thought you'd never come!
Bless your heart
I'm sorry for

what I made in my head
I thought you'd never come
I'll laugh now

with the laughing rains
Spring! Spring! 
You made it

I told myself I wouldn't
get sad at the winter
I did good this year

I really did
My friend, he didn't make it
the winter was alright, I thought

but he didn't make it.
You're the miracle I needed
I read the Bible in your

new leaves
I see Jesus Christ
up and down the branches

he says the world is broke
the world is broke
Cry with the weeping rains

It's broke
but this should cheer you up
and it did.

About The Weather

Little kids play their game,
get awful mean after a while.
Well a person is all the stuff
they scream in themselves
How loud and frightening
that voice is 

All alone in its own head.

better smile and  
shake hands,
talk about the weather
(used to make me fierce

Now I think it's all we got
what keeps us from going
into 
 the 
   black 
      sea 
& 
Not coming out.)