Boscobel House And Gardens

"Seasons of the Mid-Hudson Valley"

Dancing Bears

"Seasons of the Mid-Hudson Valley"

An exhibit of photographs by 
Mohonk Preserve Volunteer Photographers

November 13, 2015, to Monday, January 4th, 2016

La Bella Pizza Bistro 

194 Main St, New Paltz, NY 12561

Opening Reception
 Sunday, November 15 from 5-7pm.

Grimm Expectations

I touched death's hand
and peeled back my crying skin
ready for death’s inspection
prepared to barter.

Take me instead.

I stroked death's supernatural chin
my screams
locked in the dead zone.

Death's white corpse
hovered before me
swilling foul fluids
noting my soft edges
hinting at frogs
and Biology.

I shrank
as death peeled back my lover
sliced by hot steel
selected without warning
on a haunted road
black as pitch
black as a bottomless pit
my love dead
by the splash.

I slept through my dark daze
a zombie
clasping
death's calling card
a calling card that read
Superboy is dead
long live Lex Luthor
Your life,
your journey begins here.
The card was signed
by a Mr. Grimm.

Hawaiian Time

climbs the Stairway to Heaven

taking in the view

finding plenty time fo breathe, cuz!

...

Hawaiian time

leaves Honolulu

on a late plane

to New York

it will arrive bumbai.

...

New York time

is waiting

on Hawaiian time

and promises

to chill

in due time.

New York time

thinks Hawaiian time

has two speeds

slow and stop.

New York time takes

a long minute

to change its

mind about

Hawaiian time

but Hawaiian time

doesn’t care

it expects New York time

will catch up bumbai.

Bumbai: otherwise; or else; later; later on

Hilda

was such a bloody bore

not cancerous

but a royal pain in the butt

I tried to quietly endure

Shush now Hilda.

The stress is almost over.

So dramatic

always gushing

apparently, she didn't have enough color in her diet

such a flood from one

so dehydrated.

In fact, Hilda refused to stop

her anal ways

felt attacked

when the doctor told her to cut back

on the ice-cream

cheese

groan, chocolate.

Poor damaged Hilda

so emphatic

cited the colonoscopy

as the final straw

causing her to spew

so profusely.

Doesn't she understand

that Doctor knows best

now he has to operate

to get her to stop

being so damned bloody.

I suppose the surgeon

and she will tie it together

finally,

giving her a chance

to sit pain-free

perhaps have Dr. Oz inspect her

bowel movements

enabling her to alter her condition

take new pride

in scribbling her S's.

Her flare-ups

soothed briefly

by the unflappable

Hazel, a witch,

who comes highly recommended.

The Unwanted

and destitute
crouch in a huddle
gasping at the dreaded discard aisle
as we sort through
the endless stacks of
brown, yellowed
and dusty volumes.

Some hide
dead cockroaches
insect poop.

Written on their title pages
are inscriptions to family, friends and fans.

A few hide old photos.

Delightful old bookmarks
are relegated to a particular box
later transformed into artfully decorated cards.

Now and then
we discover
a single bill
forgotten
between sticky pages.

We hunt to find a first edition
Hawaiiana
or any needy rare books.

We wipe away the grime
mend the tears
unfold corners
as I try to digest a mountain of data
intoolittletime.

The orphans
are then carefully priced
counted and packed into labeled boxes
their character
further noted
by the application of various colored masking tape.
Later carted away
by the truckload
to sit inside a warehouse
where they will wait
to be rediscovered
at the annual book sale.
The lucky outcasts
polished and poised
ready to converse
with us
again.


**Original version of my poem, printed as "Book Makeovers" Honolulu Star-Bulletin July 2, 2008.

Bonticou Crag