Kicks Retired

Climbing aboard the

Dusty orange bus with

Squealing brakes,

Carbon monoxide

That covered every surface

Within range

Calling out to a

Sense of adventure

Open road, clear air,

Clearer thoughts,

Feeling of freedom that

Appealed to some feral urge

Within urban constraints

Stepping onto

Dirt ridden steel steps

Lunging forward

With the clink of the

Glass fare box,

Sweat of the driver,

Pre-air conditioning

Aromas of summer humans,

Rose perfume,

Yesterday’s corn chips,

Stainless lunch boxes

Sitting on brown vinyl

Next to

Finger smudged windows

That neither opened

Nor closed

Without a fierce struggle

Like all those fates

Aboard

The Route 66

Heading toward a

Perceived paradise

Just as adventurous

As the historic highway

For a kid who never before

Left the south side

Of the city




Author's Note: microbanshee.tumblr.com/

Cooler Heads

Last Saturday night

At the Peace and Love convention,

Uncle Ben

With the red eyes,

Bulbous toe

Chronically infected

With cherry licorice

Had a few words with

My old Uncle Paco

With the black eyes

And perennially blooming teeth

About the proper method

Of removing genetically excessive

Knuckle hair from their

Right and left pinkies.

Uncle Ben pushed his method

Of shaving all but

One inch of hair

Then methodically tweezing

Every other follicle

On every other day

While Uncle Paco insisted

That it is imperative

To massage your feet before

Doing the exact same method.

Uncle Ben’s red eyes

And toe turned to flame

While Uncle Paco’s charcoal eyes

Seared and charred his

Green dental foliage

Until Solly, the man who

They both claimed

As their best friend

Who always wore lavender oil

To the Peace and Love Convention

For obvious reasons,

Stepped lightly

In between,

Calming the two brothers

With his loving aroma

Of mediation,

Tears his eyes,

Solly explained how

There was no difference

Between their knuckle hair

Removal methods

When you looked at the

Larger scope of life

As long as their knuckles

Eventually were hairless.

Uncle Ben and Uncle Paco

Shared a brotherly

Understanding in their eyes

Before they both punched out Solly’s lights.