I Dreamed of Hendrix
The white ones unwarranted,
hardly a one cared much for
a colored lad with long locks,
greedy for the guitar and
assorted girls, especially
during that goddamn War.
Ghazal at the End
It’s a hint toward conclusion: All will be okay today.
The newsman assured “at the end of the day.”
Eastern, Greenwich Mean, Lord Howe, AoE
“Anywhere on Earth”—all depends on the day.
There Was No Fire
this time or the next, no rules to ignore,
no chamber to load with one round and send
spinning, no knife pointing forward, no sirens
to duck, no people to swing at the head,
Ghazal for Grandmother
My grandmother kept a suitcase, hard & rounded
like a deep pink shell. I used to finger its rounded
edges & compare them to her deft, valleyed hands.
We Are Moved
I spend a lot of time in that part of the internet
where small beings are given the immoderate care
that all small beings deserve
where a fallen fledgling bird is hand-fed from a pipette and
a garter snake tangled in a bit of tape
At a Party on Ellis Island, Watching Fireworks
The man next to me sings God Bless America even though
he knows the Statue of Liberty is unsafe to enter.