After the Street Party

long walk
down the long block
after the street party

can't tell the difference between broken pottery
and the abstracted angles of moonshadowed trees

dinosaurs roam the lawns
in front of castles formed by moonlight
still you keep walking

     all of the street barriers disappeared at nightfall
     none of the common-sense predictions came true
     at the end of the block there's a new park
     you can see it now     dusk's mists are gone
     the party is history     important as any
     the name of the park is yet to be recorded







(2012)

Influenza

all the doctors of the world
have come to your bedside
to analyze your influenza
they gather like flies at a stadium
to watch the game
discuss
concur
and shrug:
given the choice
the body chooses to remain fat
the great men rise and shake hands
promise to use the money
to study warfare on the moon
pose for photographers:
dragging their dead chickens after them
the doctors file into the street







from The Troubles (1993)