1. 
   

Pollyanna space thrill

a cup full of wastrel

the finger lingers

hovers above the dyke

waters rise nonchalant

landlubbers are drunk

how do I stop it

this vitriol

this waste from the font

how do I cop to the

the fight and the pace

illuminated hate spills into Times Square

white rage

and the umbrage 

that will reverb like hot phlegm

it makes me see rage

it makes me see them

when, in my bunny slippers, robed and asleep

I choose to count warriors

instead of sheep

it’s a Pollyanna

thrill

I am in the first car

when it returns to the base

I’ll re-ride the black star

the cyclone hits again and again

I’m fucked if I lose

I’m fucked if I win

there you are

here I am

in the midst of a war

there you are

here I am

this is it so far

even then

uneven time

even then

the salted wound

even then

the men, the men

and the women were something to fear

even now

the memory post it

even now

given grace by a story

the knowing look

away from the stage

where you have chosen to be

where you will age

even then

uneven now

even then

departing gloom

even then

the men, the men

and the women are something to fear

Help

the dying goes on and on

like a waltz undressing a song

the windows are open

birds leave their wires

alignments betrayed

and the dying goes on and on

help me I cried

give me reason to live

while the dying goes on and on

like a monk with a lotto win

manifest your future

you silly old cow

she says with a wide apple grin

help’s on the way

make your intentions clear

the dying goes on and on

the living take longer to win

there’s a bird on the wire

with a message that comes

none too soon

manifest your future

take charge of the fire

don’t follow the rest

plant yourself on the island marooned

scrape the sand from your heart

uncover the jewel

leave your life in the hands
of this big poochy moon

For Maria

I can’t remember your name
which doesn’t mean I didn’t love you then
it does not negate my mean in those times
I was a falling down human
I was a falling star
the people I hurt
are in this glass now
at the bottom
who will rise to the top
tears are for queers
and straights and angry
and funny in one liners
in so-called undefiners
I can’t remember your name
and one time you seduced
me and ravaged me
I was a fairy a nondescript
until you saved me
like all the bosses of
my body and my soul
I can’t remember your name
like me
like you
that is all
that is all
she says you were born to be loved.
maybe, maybe
I was born to be a slave
maybe, maybe
I can erase
maybe maybe
the time has come
maybe maybe
I am home in this place

how to be a woman

it’s harder than you think

so many inconsistencies

trip the female on her way

where to go

what to be

in the cold light of day

how to handle expertise

how to sound like a woman

it’s simpler than it ought to be

many sins notwithstanding

it causes females to duck and sway

a winner’s grandstanding

when the no fly zone

is tempting

where to check hairdos

in orchestrated  debates

before lying onstage

before coming of age

you have been groped

you have been raped

that’s understood

you have twisted that hanging rope

of every male who has

fucked your sweet hope
you have gritted your teeth

under a duvet of lies

being a woman is easy

with compromise

wear your heart on a sleeve

that leaves an arm fully bared

ready a punch or caress

the grin or the stare

how to be a woman

it’s easier than you think

trust your strength

send the clowns to the corner

make them stare into the brink

mine your worth

write your lyrics

be a woman

be earth