StarPoet Newsletter Vol. XII, No. XLVI

I lived in a valley where each morning
I saw the Sierras on my way to college
And, based on the snowline, decided whether
I wanted to go to class or Lake Tahoe
A couple hours east up fifty from Sacramento:
Sometimes Tahoe won, sometimes Dr. Bertanasco.
It was a grand four years and two more for my masters
With nary a knee operation or foul paper to remember.

I marvel at those brave warriors
Who drink decaffinated coffee before 7 A. M.;
What twists the sinews of their heart,
What fires burn deep within their brains
To frame their fearful symmetry?

I have seen grand drag queens strutting their stuff on stage,
Had drinks with them afterwards, sharing tips on music and make-up,
Watched their young children watch their fathers perform,
Passed messages to them in their dressing rooms while they
Were still in whiteface and all gaffs, corsets, and padding,
Learned to like them individually but grew bored with them in groups,
Finding most performances repetitious and condescending to women:
But work is where you find it and who am I to ever say that deep
In the second great depression, the girls shouldn't earn a living,
Even if I should think that their time would be better spent
Teaching young boys how to read than showing them how to dance.

The spiders in my mouth
Have gotten in my head,
Pouncing on my thoughts,
Wrapping them in threads;

Hanging me from the ceiling,
Spinning me round and round,
The spiders in my mouth
Have captured me and bound

Tightly each neuron and synapse
As I desperately struggle to escape,
Break free from the spider's grasp
And return straightway to reality.

The roar of airplane, the rush of ship,
The bright explosion of star and galaxies,
The endless spaces between here and then,
The moment grasped then lost again:
Our transluminal desire drives us out
Towards the rim and beckoning Andromeda,
First stop on our trans-galatic tour
As representatives of the Milky Way.

Have you ever taken a small shaped charge
And used it to carve up a pumpkin?
Have you ever walked on Tranquility
And watched earth rise upon the sea?
Have you ever loved two people at once,
Pick up on one and let the other one die?
Have you ever made love using all your orifices,
Then lost count and the names of your lovers?
Would you be willing to leave Earth forever
To sail across space to Tau Ceti or Centauri?
Would you give up your life for what you believe
Or would you rather coffin yourself in silence?
Tell me your secrets, tell me your lies,
We once around the planet and then we're gone.

The Croup


When I was a child, say ten and under,
I would come down with the croup
Which the doctor would then diagnose
And recommend a mentholated vaporizer.
When I got older, the honks became wheezes,
And the diagnoses changed to hayfever
Or borderline asthma, as the doctor may be;
Treatment was antihistamines, as many as it took,
Sometimes one pill, sometimes a handful,
Over the counter bought in quantity.
Now I have new meds, the state of the art,
To calm my lungs, my eyes and sinuses
Until death do we part.