October Boo Man

October 2019- My reruns ran me over in retreads

Recycled from October 2014 in redux

In the End of October

The day had been the kind of grey
that elected itself spokesman
for the afternoon.
The voice chilled with a certain
knowledge of pale blue diluted
into a chilly white that promised lassitude.
The voice is saying the seasons
are in collision and we are in the locking in.

Fall has spent weeks gathering on the ground
and Winter as of yet is disinterested
in the whole business
refuses to go to work
so the ground shuffles the leaves like
a card shark ready to
deal ice cube deuces for your hand.

The time of the mask comes and goes.

So the night fills and drains costumes.
Stalking Quick Bank; Celebrity hero murderers,
Syntax gender victims seeking damages; Purple
suited stunt person blubbering compassion and
politeness; decapitated rock stars, mutilated
millionaire ex-cheerleaders and just plain folks
caught in the crossfire, carjacking drive-by
random acts of brutal insanity of choice or chance.
Legions of green, yellow, red, black and white
three foot high grunting kicking punching power
midgets morphing into respected connected influential
public officials and politicians that are shaping the
course of personal liberty in your lives.

The traditional allotment of vampires, ghouls, demons
and blood thirsty fetus snatching liberal aliens.
What freedom the night affords.
All the secretaries become waitresses, the waitresses
begot actresses, the actresses begot whores, the whores
begot Raggedy Ann princesses, who begot
gypsies and then as the dawn breaks they all turn back to
secretaries.

The great hangover of our self-deception on
all souls night.
I watched you swim the twilight
while the trees are stripped of their delicate garments.
You are swallowing the dusk in buckets
drowning in a swirl of mad flight as the undertow of
the wind sucks and pushes brittle leaves dragging
their finger nails along the sidewalk.

On the way home, I’ll buy you a pumpkin
and we can carve a face into it and take turns
guessing whose it is.

Another Rubber Eden 92

Taken out in the American Trash
1471 1st Ave. NYC
Halloween 10/2010

I was standing at the urinal
in the Men’s room in American Trash
and the devil strolled in and positioned
himself next to me and unzipped
and I glanced over and said

Hiya Satan.
Long time no see
How’s the old demon tonight?

He coolly regarded me in the mirrors
reflection in the mortal image in front of us
and corrected me saying,

That’s Lucifer to you son.

He asked me what I was supposed to be
A beat writer I replied
He smirked.
Finished pissing
vanishing in a plume of fire and brimstone.

And I thought,
“What….no deal?”

So I retreat back into the barroom of humorless costumes
as the night of masks passed with a the dead captain singing
with a ring toss dildo attached to his loins
that love won’t keep us together
when Bad Barbie strolled in
still in the box
with a five o clock shadow
and unlit White Owl Tiparilo
ordering a drinking next to me at the bar.

And of course.

She had a proposition for me.

-Sometimes Grief 2012

October Nocturne

(for the Phil & my son)

Even Damnation is poisoned with rainbows

-Leonard Cohen

October evening in the railroad earth

Were Wolfe and Jack once rode

Split this month in half

Between Summer and Winter

And allow the days to Fall

As they May.

Earlier in the afternoon when you showed up

On the sidewalk in front of his apartment

Looking so lost and beat

The brother from another planet

Grinning at you with amusement said

So what do you think you’re doing cursing for Sailors?

Tonight I sleep in the arms of St.Mark

This place where you cut your

Beatnik teeth over on E 7^th forty years ago.

Back then you knew how to get to only

Two places in the City-

Hess’s apartment

And Veryonna across the street.

So with the Ancient Mainer and my son now a full grown man

We kibitz, mug and joke around on the stoop in front of Phil’s place

Thinking the three of us are like Matt Dillon Mickey Rourke and Dennis Hopper In Rumble Fish as we head for the bar around the corner to

Over beers try and figure out just who is who tonight.

October 2018

Osculating with the Ocelots

When we filter our words

We strain out thoughts

Away from the desired intent

And then attempt to hit the

Dartboard of coherency

With these dull verbal flechetts (Fa-chets)

And even worse aim

Depth perception.

Meeting Geo the Wheel

I remember years ago

Running across him at the bar

After some poetry reading

And the lapdog barfly writers

Were crawling all over him

Circling him like the sharks

Had hung a pork chop around his neck.

The Art of the Wink

Can I ask you a question ?

When was the last time somebody winked at you ?

Better yet- when was the last time

You winked at someone ?

Now consider this

Has the wink become a lost art ?

When was the last time you lost something

Fragile, dear and precious

In the wink of the eye ?

Do you remember your last favorite wink ?

(and what it meant)

And how about the most disturbing wink ever ?

Clearly much like a good laugh-a pregnant pause- a fleeting deep glance

What has become of the Wink ?

But I will tell you this much-

I never want to have to think either before or after a wink.

Academic Smirk Alert

Coming out of the Film Analysis class he had just taught

That early winter morning as the hallway flooded with

Shafts of sunshine the hallway abruptly faded as this little dark

Cloud in a mini-skirt, knee high white go-go boots sashayed

Towards him moving in the opposite direction

Spotting him glowered lowering her brow

To avoid eye contact

And sending the clear message-

So this is the asshole I keep hearing about from Professor McPricker’s school of disdain.

He shrugged, sighed and sadly shook his head

Thinking why in holy hell did he still manage to attract this kind of sophomoric horse shit.

He let out a rather conversational assessment of the encounter in exasperation saying

Whatever

And immediately she echoed

Whatever

Well now he thought-

I guess we’re in agreement about that.

Narcissus Echo

(For M A O’Hara)

They were home in bed after an evening out for dinner and drinks that had progressively degenerated in the sullen silence now between them. He didn’t know it yet but this affair was having its walking papers being processed-

After he had some observation about how lousy the restaurant she had picked for them. She sat up and shook her head saying- You are some Narcissus-He had heard all this before- a kind of default negative character assignment when his relationships were going south. Usually he just let it go- but not tonight.

They had the following exchange

So if I’m Narcissus do you know what that makes you who ?

Who ?

Narcissus/ girlfriend Echo

Echo ?

Yup. Not only that but everybody seems to have him pegged, but very few seem

To know anything who she was

Who She was ?

Echo was a very good looking Wood Nymph. She had one annoying characteristic

However she was bather mouth- would talk the ear off anyone she met.

So one day Zeus has come down from Olympus to frolic and knock off a few

Stray Nymph’s in the woods. His wife Hera (also known as June) was very aware

Of her husband’s salacious hobbies on earth and followed him to catch the old lech

In the act of his indiscretions and she might caught him too….but she happened to

Run into Echo. As you can imagine Echo wanted to talk to the Goodness about everything.

She ran a blue streak babble detaining Hera’s pursuit of her wayward husband, Zeus seeing

What was going on escaped clean away back to Olympus.

Later on Hera figured out that Echo had purposely distracted her. She was pissed.

So Hera took away Echo’s voice and pronounced from now Echo could only repeat

The last words spoken to her. So in one respect Echo would have the last word forever.

A rather ignominious gift to round out the punishment.

So Echo is wandering the woods on day and sees young Narcissus rather spoiled very

Good looking teenager out hunting with the boys. Now all the other Wood Nymphs thought

Our boy was to die for- But he wanted none it.

Now Echo sees Narcissus and goes nuts. She wants this beefcake in the worse way.

But she can’t speak to him first. She starts stalking him. He gradually becomes aware

Of this and is kind of cheeped out- a yells out go away beat it and of the course hears back

Go away beat it. This goes on for awhile till Echo can’t stand it anymore. She sneaks up

Behind Narcissus and knocks him flat and straddles him. He intentions are very clear.

No Dice. Old Narcissus isn’t into this sort of thing. Yells at her I would rather die than

You have me. Echo humiliated in tears replies Have me.

Echo continues to follow him till he comes to that pool of water. (which was created by the

Gods to punish this rather vain teenager). Truth was Narcissus wasn’t very bright to begin with

Anyway. His birth and been as questionable as Echoes- (but that’s another story) A Seer named

Teiresias had told his mom (Blue Nymph) that her stunning son would ok only if he never Knew himself, Get it ?

The stupid bastard probably never knew it was his reflection in the pool. Ok so you should know the rest by now- Narcissus withered away and died because of a lost love and Echo did as well a few feet away pinning away for him.

Back in the bedroom she was getting dressed getting to leave and said

Well that stupid story proves my perfectly- Our relationship has some very serious issues and rather discussing that you tell me that stupid story where you actually defend and try to justify that guy – no wonder you spend most of your day when you aren’t working watching Porn and drinking beer.

Know what ? You are Narcissus and you can forget that bullshit about Echo

He shrugged as she walked out the door and called after her Goodbye Baby

To which she spat over her shoulder-

Goodbye Baby.

Humoresque

And John Garfield just told Joan Crawford-