The Wabi-Sabi Writer

The traveller has my rabbit skinVelvet smooth desire widenssinks deepin the gapeCraving my indifferent fingertipsseekthe back of my neckI shouldn’t explore this luscious terrain on a slow Sunday afternoon sitting alone in an empty cafeAm I seenas I run my fingers acrossmy wristsbegging loudlyfor a tender grazing of teethso much of meuntouched for yearsI have let things gofleshfullyet unfulfilledby the ravishingthe knowingof my rabbit...

Fill the long cracksmade wise waitingfor the rightdirectionDecisions hangslack souringin the turbid bellyof balanceIt is timeto catcha glancea toe-holda break fall overthe fucking high no...

Tucked deep inside a belief A shell  layered with thick pearl and pain Bound and gagged by all the yarns woven Inseparable without boundaries Locked-in Here  I wait weather  neglect watching unseen Knowing I will  survive&nbs...

Timetables and ticker tapeiphone itinerariesand a standing dateall predicted, promisedproposedthe arrivalof the inevitable trainthe steel snake rattlingalong slick tracksa child’s penny fancycould derail the whole thingall for a flattened coppersouvenirFare hikeslabor strikesand the misguidedwave of a drunken conductorits a wonder if the train would ever get herelet aloneon schedule Yet at the eleventh houron the 30th dayI could see itas I...

A sultry night in the cityfills the sidewalks with outside seatinggirls in sleeveless tops and maxi dressesmarch down the streeta flock of pink pigeonsset free to feedoff our platesThe turn of the century walk upswith their Edwardian charmand constant disrepairthe only thing that is controlledin our inflated existenceof 60 hour work weekshappy hours, weekend binges,recovery brunches is the rentso we, like the rusted chandelier in the...

Voices carry methrough the wide open doors where I set up camp at The Shop Easy eaves dropped on the crammed in tables percolating conversation  poured over coffee I am wedged between beauty and revulsion trying to evade  being recognized for the spy I am Beauty wore muscles and a tight t-shirt today Revulsion is at my side in the reflection  I avert my gaze and look instead with my ears  There was a race through wilderness...

It is easy to sayas I strolled along the cobbled wayslooking for owls and cats on rooftopsThat things could have been differentThat I should have knownFive years later I would be back where I beganwith the sysiphean determinationto start againand again not find the satisfactionof a desired endThat happened long beforewe wandered the narrow alleys of Vieux Niceexplored the metro labyrinth of ParisWe weathered nerve wracking turbulenceThe rattle...

My thighs flattenon the seemingly hard surface I am collapsing bit by bit  into the heap in a last ditch effort to findmy backboneI try to levitate  to rise out of the days quicksandFor a fragile moment my spastic thrashing opens a sliver of space  leaving a precious first impression of my own weightlessness Until I am sucked back down a hundred unborn hands griping my ankles my painted toes pointing the way I am what is left ...

These pageslike myselfbroken in by a mistakeno matter how artful or judiciousone tries to correctto cover upit will be knownWeave many threads togetherto explainthat unfortunate gap in judgmentOr maybe line by linepull the thread apartand reveal the raw torn momentfor what it was.Let it bleed all over the sheetsglorious evidence of what wasblank beforeCelebrate itHang it out the windows with the chinatown laundryfor all to seeThis was the...

The writing is on itBut not everyone can read it even if you insist, loudly with haughty derision It was built high and crooked with each trust betrayed the promise to come back, to be there to keep you safe forgotten sliding another brick in line against the last the moratorium childhood sealedWe scale them, climb thembuild them around surround ussurrogate parentsforce fields against the memoriesthe mealless nights and...

Cooking Woks and ShineCoy she keelswhy bite? That mash Am I doing a badMoon and shiek  Car or No?Nah neither you nor core at allKokin Wakashū 571 Love 2Koishiki niwabite tamashiimadoinabamunashiki kara nona ni ya nokoramuTranslation:If in despair of lovemy soul should wander,am I to be rememberedas one who left(a corpse) in vain?-AnonymousUsing today’s prompt: the homophonic translation. Using a poem in a language you don’t...

It all begins with... A good morning for a spot of writinghas some basic requirementsa spot of sun a swish of tale  in the tea  a stretching sprawl across the pages where there will be drool and beans spilled in the morning journal A good evening for bit of dance has some basic essentials well waxed wood spinning ankles and pointed toes Fur flying frolic until the dramatic final flop to the floor A good night for sleep has some kneedfulschicken...

Wine silencesThe criticAnd amplifies the dreamer'sPensive voiceUntil the witching hourThen the critic tirelessRavesRants Echoing down the hallDriving youTo give upcomfort to scoldThen pleadFor peaceOnly then does the dreamerDreamAnd reluctantlyIn daylight wak...

It is timeI head the call  of brackish waterand fading blue silvery scale memories and grand adventures I am pulled pole to pole  heart strings plucked  towards the crescendo, the big bang we all know. I leap and fly over falls missing curled claws and hooks to find the turbulent shallow clearing and lay my intentions down My energy is waning moment by moment leaching out with all I am worth my salt and the bright glow  only...

Too bad for the reputationfor you have a such a lovely sound Popped cherry corks  Long stemmed crystal toasts the hard  surrendering  sigh Filled full with all the promises and mirror shadows of untold curses  but what if that  is just a rumor a wicked lie spit and spread  on the rank locker room walls the sooth speaks of an unequal bittersweet whisper laying claim to what was  already said &nbs...

I miss youwhen the wine  sinks in to my hollows and swishes around the sighing distance between when we were one and then not The longing leaves rooted truffles cellar corners and sodden newspaper in my mouth But I don’t swallow Knowing it had gone bad Instead I pour the black mold flecked regret down the drain&nbs...

I can only hopethat when the trout are dropped from hundreds of feet above water That they are not  afraid That their fall feels like flying and the impact feels like coming home.&nbs...

I was conceived in the backseat of a white truck during a late summer thunderstormMy mother trembling in her soaked sundress deathly afraid of lightening that cracked from sky to earth Had locked herself out of the house and had taken shelter under the willow treeHe smiled when he saw her jumping and squealing with every growl of thunder, every forked tongue strike Get in, he said reaching over to unlock the truck door.  She pulled her dress...

There was a murder on union streetI am the one who finds himLeft behindOn the cold sidewalkMotionless shadowHis black blending into the darknessOnly the sheen of cheekGives him awayDid anyone watchfrom the wirethe half closed windowsin this sanitary section of townYet remainUnseenBy Those stumbling throughThe 2 am hourI stare down at himthe disheveled heapsprawled at my feetAn untouchable A crushed velvet disgraceHis cracked blue-black mouth A...

What if she didn’t leave?What if she insisted they try something else? What if they found it? What if he lived? What if I kept dancing and went to private school? What if I never knew the dark corner of the abandoned shed?  What if I was never asked? Do I want to touch it? What if I waited because I wanted to? What if I studied and applied to ivy league schools? What if I studied abroad? What if I kept walking past the glass doors? What if...

I never knew youas that, only GramWho lived on the other sideof the house with sprawling double verandasas if Dorothy's tornado travelshad brought a souvenirfrom the deep southto a dead end streetnamed after a jokeI see you in long flowered housecoats tending long flower bedssummer afternoonsI see yousitting in Your chairat the kitchen tabledrinking teawhile we watched your tvas you most perfectlywould deliver the set upto our...