There sat two glasses, filled to the brim,
On a rich man's table, rim to rim.
One was ruddy and red as blood,
And one was clear as the crystal flood.
Said the glass of wine to his paler brother,
"Let us tell tales of the past to each other;
I can tell of banquet, and revel, and mirth,
Where I was a king, for I ruled in might;
For the proudest and grandest souls on earth
......
Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deny'st me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea, our two bloods mingled be;
Thou knowest that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead.
Yet this enjoys before it woo,
And pampered, swells with one blood made of two,
And this, alas, is more than we would do.
......
BOOK FIRST.
I.
ALL valor died not on the plains of Troy.
Awake, my Muse, awake! be thine the joy
To sing of deeds as dauntless and as brave
As e'er lent luster to a warrior's grave.
Sing of that noble soldier, nobler man,
Dear to the heart of each American.
......
Kung walked
by the dynastic temple
and into the cedar grove,
and then out by the lower river,
And with him Khieu Tchi
and Tian the low speaking
And "we are unknown," said Kung,
"You will take up charioteering?
"Then you will become known,
"Or perhaps I should take up charioterring, or archery?
......
Strange now to think of you, gone without corsets & eyes, while I walk on
the sunny pavement of Greenwich Village.
downtown Manhattan, clear winter noon, and I've been up all night, talking,
talking, reading the Kaddish aloud, listening to Ray Charles blues
shout blind on the phonograph
the rhythm the rhythm--and your memory in my head three years after--
And read Adonais' last triumphant stanzas aloud--wept, realizing
how we suffer--
And how Death is that remedy all singers dream of, sing, remember,
prophesy as in the Hebrew Anthem, or the Buddhist Book of An-
......
The train moves
like a thought
you cannot undo-
smooth, deliberate,
cutting through snow and time.
Silk gloves held secrets,
and eyes behind glasses
watched too closely
or not at all.
......
The fire burning within,
of a once romanticized night.
The machete now lies in my palm.
The glistening of oozing red,
slick as the night’s rain,
Only to wash away,
the sin.
The hour resides, the cold shower,
to cleanse the heart,
and it sits on my shelf.
......
Cancerous urban decay…
It’s taking over my beloved city…
The politicians truly don’t care…
Collecting more taxes and sitting pretty…
The infrastructure is totally failing…
They kick the can down the road…
Our children’s children’s children…
Will be left to inherit the load…
......
They parked the car outside to get to her,
Put on balaclavas to attack her,
Climbed the gate they wanted her...
Tied her dogs to get to her.
They kicked the door they saw her,
She was already scared they didn't care.
One held her daughter to beat her.
Blotted blood they kicked her,
On her tummy they punched her,
......
Resting, peacefully...
Under the old oak tree...
That where you’ll find...
My hubby and me...
He went first...
I went a little later...
I choked on his meat...
He, on my tater...
......