Obit For the Twin Towers
A lesson of 9/11
is not to assault heaven.
It is necessary to keep
a low profile
to survive.
It is arrogant to assault
heaven, as the World Trade Center
and myself
have done.
Therefore I have not thrived.
The towers were emblems
of wealth and power,
but the victims were mere humans.
I grieve for them, and me..
We come from the same country,
which I have sometimes
treated as if it were Babylon,
but like to gaze upon.
To disarm these enemies
who fanatically hate us,
love them; and explore
whence their grudges stem.
But again I'm not keeping
a low profile.
It's OK to smile
at my conceit
in this inadequate obit
for the Twin Towers
of Manhattan,
and me.
I had been there many times.
What Is Life
Life is struggle.
Life is a rainbow.
Life is suffering.
Life is desired.
Life is tangible.
Life is moments
of ectasy and truth.
Life is short.
Bliss Is a Kiss
Your kiss is sweet at night
as richest liquor
when I say good night
under the faint light.
I have kissed
another and another,
but when I strayed
you always were my rudder
to bring me home
to my favorite port.
Bliss is a kiss
with my beloved.
Down and Out
Down and out
in Waukegan
and Wisconsin.
I made it the title
of a chapbook
I published later,
but, at the time,
it was niggardly fare.
Scrounging around
for places to sleep
and shoes to wear.
The homeless man
became my brother;
for I was one with him.
And now with prosperity
I have forgotten.
The Absurd Void
I'm not a complete Void,
since that would be a Totality,
I'm a void with cracks
which let a flicker of light
shine into the dank weeds.
A flashlight would reveal
nothing special.
The true Void
is the Incomplete Void,
and into this Emptiness
which is unpretentious.
I beg You to shine
like a blazing sun.