New page — “Recorded Readings”

Posted 6 December, 2011 in Site updates

I’ve done quite a few poetry readings over the past year, several of which have been recorded. I finally got around to putting them all together on one page — Recorded Readings. You can also access this page from the navigation menu on the upper right. Enjoy!

POEM: cotton candy

Posted 4 December, 2011 in My poems, New York City, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

/ / /

cotton candy

God was on the G train today
disguised as an Ecuadorian man in his 40s
He was selling cotton candy
dozens of bags of it like palm leaves
stapled to the top of a long stick
it’s a thankless job, being God
and also selling cotton candy
having to ride the G is a bit of a drag, too
especially on a Sunday
still, though, after all the years
pushing abstinence and devotion
cotton candy is an easier product to market
the kids like it, too, in a way they
never cottoned (sorry) to His book
at Bergen Street the Devil got on
selling blinky lights and flashlights
for two bucks a pop
he is the Light Bearer, after all
and let’s be honest, he’s a much better salesman
funny that after all the casting down and the weeping
and the wailing and the gnashing of teeth
they’re both on the same train
trying to make a buck

POEM: sorry, Larry

Posted 3 December, 2011 in My poems, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

/ / /

sorry, Larry

after being called downstairs
every four goddamned hours
I justifiably killed Larry
maybe not on purpose (quite)
rather seductively, tentatively
under very wan
xanthic — yellow — zinnias

/ / /

I’ve been reading Charles Bernstein’s Attack Of The Difficult Poems and decided to try some of the poetry writing experiments he mentions there. You’ll find them listed here. This experiment was to write a poem where each word begins with the next letter of the alphabet.

POEM: natsukashii

Posted 2 December, 2011 in Japan, My poems, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

/ / /

This poem is a combination of images from my past and images from the present.

natsukashii

genmaicha leaves
in a clay pot

Tokyo sounds
subway travels

tatami mats
against our legs

tangy curry
from little cubes

Tonari no
Totoro &

a cat who steps
on his belly

maybe you should
kiss me again

POEM: hiccup

Posted 1 December, 2011 in My poems, Poetry

Listen to this poem using the player above.

/ / /

hiccup

I’m not even sure how to spell it
hiccup? hiccough?
one of the body’s mysteries
a reminder that our agency
is illusory / at any moment
the physical can reassert control
stop a heart at the dinner table
collapse legs on a busy street
as a packed bus bears down
I could awaken tomorrow
having taken my last step
handwritten my last poem
are these words worth it?
in the constant glare
of oncoming headlights
I reach for
(my notebook)
(the phone)
(my lover’s cool white hand)

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