Hospital Procedural

Thursdays Procedure In The Cave Of Forgotten Dreams

The faint Syrian accent melts away under Diprivan

rising to the ceiling in a smoky double helix

my doctor abruptly rendered German

in manner, his mien

serious yet genial

unmistakable signs of

drug induced transformation

into Werner Herzog

topped in yellow hard hat

Petzl lamp beam drilling a hole

through absolute darkness,

leading me through Chauvet Cave

sweating walls

crawling with horse-like creatures

rendered in blood and ochre

bison and what looks to be

a sabre toothed tiger

in a collage of stone age hand prints

inviting a touch

my tentative hand stilled in midair

with a withering look from Werner

humming softly to himself

reeling the flexible tube

from that cloistered pucker

his features reassembling in the twilight

peeling gloved hands

arching an eyebrow

when I ask for his views on the state of German cinema. 

Art of the Bovine

Salt Lick

Amble up to the top of the pasture

crowned with the hundred year old tulip tree

commanding all approaches, barking out

warnings in a tongue of concentric ring

tones, a great shaded rasp for twitching flanks,

dark sword of morning shadow swallowed whole

in the bleached seconds before the boiling

sun unsheathes the blue blade to battle night.

Circle down to the nut brown button pond

when the field runs red and the air turns cool,

our abrading tongues twinning in concert,

transforming the white block of the salt lick,

abstract expression of utter cow-ness.

Black Ice

Camera Obscura

A room drained of light.

The spectrum in full flower

lush bloom in a vortex

spun to tiger butter

vanished, captured

by your crushing gravity.

Dilated obsidian disks

nestled deep in the gathers

invite wary skaters

lacerating blades

flashing in the light

of a thousand dying stars

winking out in inky depths

to peer at the world inverted

balanced perfectly

on the keen edge

of your black rage.

Lock and Load 2.0

The National Rifle Association broke its silence on the massacre with what it called an “important statement from the National Rifle Association,” saying that the organization, which has steadfastly fought almost any federal or state gun control legislation, was potentially reconsidering its position.
“The N.R.A. is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to make sure this never happens again,” the statement said. It did not offer details.

New York Times, December 18, 2012


Certainly worth the wait, here are the N.R.A. contributions to national efforts to stem gun violence.  Be sure to Like on N.R.A. Facebook page.

·        A partnership with Lord’s Resistance Army chief Joseph Kony to conjure magical spells that allow bullets to pass harmlessly though the bodies of LRA child soldiers.  “It’s worth a try and obviously he’s doing the Lord’s work.  Ought to poll good for the holidays”, said an N.R.A. spokesman.

·        A new line of N.R.A. logo hunter orange wear for children and adults.  “Hold Your Fire fashions look great while making you less of a target,” said an N.R.A. spokeswoman, wearing a fetching camisole and garters made from shell casings and the recycled socks of Republican House members.  Sold exclusively at Target.

·        Make crazy people wear thick Poindexter glasses to reduce visual acuity.  Possible product tie-in with Coke Classic in green glass bottles.

·        Gatling guns in every school.  Disguise them as lions, tigers and bears and adopt as school mascots.

·        Bring back running boards on cars.  Gangsters firing Tommy guns from outside cars are easier to hit. 

·        Redesign schools to look like barns.  Everyone knows the old adage about the difficulty of hitting their broad sides. 

·        New mandatory university seating arrangements modeled on the 18th century military tactic of massed broadsides.  All incoming freshmen will be armed with black powder rifles.  Students with Arabic surnames will be issued wet powder. 

·        Institute mandatory work place morning prayer beseeching God to allow you to live another day or at least take one in the shoulder.  Employers not liable for missed work days due to gunshot under the Act of God clause.

·        People kill people so outlaw people.  We suggest the President, liberals, progressives, humanists and Nuns On The Bus for starters.  Visit the N.R.A. website and cast your own vote from a list compiled by a committee of Republican Congressmen, Baptist theologians and Ted Nugent.   

Fish Story

A Life

“A memoir is how one remembers one’s

own life, while an autobiography

is history requiring research,

dates, facts double-checked” opines Gore Vidal

setting us free to set all of it down

bound only by the porous net of our

recollection hauled dripping from the sea

slack save for a goggle eyed mackerel

ogling a hard knot of glistening green

crabs tangled as grandma’s fake jewelry 

and plastic six-pack cuffs in great bristling

hanks.  Arrayed on deck to dry in the sun

reeking of brine, repelling all but the

hardiest of gulls worthless talisman’s

resisting all but the most inventive

gypsy readers, I paw through the meager

haul clad in my oilskins and nor’easter

fillet knife clenched in my teeth awash in

sloshing viscera as I gut the past

heaving chum to the silent circling sharks.