Andy Hardy Gets His Motorcycle Going

o thump grew to voice of his many heads
 are you an eyebrow?
 are you a twitched
 hungry     eyebrow?
the knack of worry produced an insatiable grunt
 luck     sailing against itself in a balloon
 in its suit     shined shoes
 bright cuffs and a handkerchief
 four proper vowels     five obedient consonants
 pink eyes     rabbit shuddering     another try
 at an answer that takes several centuries to enunciate
against the night sky past red locks of hair paper-clipped to trees
blue clouds energizing their moon of a hot conjurer’s eye
the wind of self scudding its secrets of life science and ecstasy
and the fast and hallowed progress of the bright momentum of sleep
 the motorcycle grows smaller 
        while the camera’s wonder remains huge
 in wonder the small child must stay at home with his pillow
 as the characters come unbidden
 in the rough reliefed plaster of his bedroom walls
there are fantasies i remember from years ago
bread trucks     wood-sided vans     the whirl of orchestral strings
as the hero slowly walks the dusty street of the movie set
followed by ambulatory pistols that line themselves up like ducklings
 can you see the motorcycle in his pocket?
 no     he’s just glad to see this part of the movie
          he’s still riding it
      it’s still a hilly road
            this part of the road is still
       under his feet

from Oedipus' First Lover (2009)

Heart Wolf Poem

let me keep your wolf in my heart
where it can eat its fill of movement

i can stand the pain
i have a whole pack of wolves
in hearts all over the city

for some kinds of wolves
coziness equals smothering

the wolf will grow

my heart     if it doesn’t grow too
will someday get too small for it

the wolf will be chewing     chewing
chewing as much as it wants to

but i will be the one out walking
the one out with my own pack of friends
in the sweet cold snows of the park

from Oedipus' First Lover (2009)