Certain Scoundrel

 

At the cocktail party

in celebration of

our thirtieth anniversary,

amid friends and relatives;

someone asks my wife,

who has never been

an overtly romantic sentimentalist,

what the secret

is to our longevity.

 

She holds her

pregnant pause

a little longer than necessary,

looks at me and says,

“Better the devil you know

than the devil you don’t know.”

And with that

gives me a wink

and a kiss on the cheek.

Acquired Tastes

 

To know the bouquet of wine,

You must first

Let it breathe

And then allow it

To escape the glass

With its unique perfume.

 

To know the flavor

Of wine

There must be a first

Time taste.

 

Then with that experience

Behind you,

The complexities

Of each varietal

Can be stored

In the memory.

 

And so it is

With you.

Gathering Essentials

 

Wednesday is errand day.

I find my keys in the rose petal bowl,

my wallets is in the carved wooden tray

and

my blue hat on the door hook.

 

I cannot find my phone.

I search, curse and research.

Finally I find it,

charging

in the powder room.

(Who charges a phone

in the powder room?)

There are two text messages

I sent myself with reminders to buy

strawberries and Dawn dish soap.

I would have forgotten them.

 

As I am backing the car

out of the garage,

I suddenly turn off the car

and hurry back into the house.

 

I’ve forgotten

your heart

and I never go anywhere

without it.

R. Gerry Fabian

gerryfabian@yahoo.com

 

Rejects

Children of despair

populate my land

increasing in numbers annually,

a criminal dividend

wasting youth, resources, the future

as an indifferent system

that does not care

who survives, flourishes,

those who could help

completely preoccupied

with profit and loss,

continuation of the disadvantaged

of no concern.

Gary Beck

 

 

Urban Woe

A great city

is known for many things,

some in the tourist guides,

restaurant guides,

entertainment guides,

and the middle class

still lives well,

those who have not been attrited

by loss of jobs,

other income shattering occurrences.

While the working class

and the poverty class

slowly submerge

into struggles for survival.

The homeless sit on many corners

cardboard signs proclaiming need,

mostly ignored,

too many demands

in a time of decline,

while most of the people

dwell in comfort,

immune to deprivation.

Gary Beck

Cold Front

Winter winds blow harshly

as people trudge unkind streets

heads lowered, backs bent,

walking an exertion

especially for the elderly,

aged bodies stiffening in the cold,

urgently intent

on reaching somewhere warm.

Gary Beck

 

End of Term

A President dies.

Some mourn genuinely.

Some pay lip service.

Most go about their business

as if nothing happened

that affected them.

Too many of us don’t realize

that although he is a figurehead

created by special interests,

some are more effective than others

in serving the nation.

Gary Beck

 

 Variant

A warm day in December

startles the city dwellers

out of winter wear

for brief enjoyment

of the daily routine

without heavy clothing.

 Gary Beck 

To-Do

 

 

 

Entire days go by

where I don’t think about you.

I wonder if you feel it                       

when you’re not on my mind?

Does your brain itch?

Is there a chill on your skin?

I feel tantalizing relief

that, fingers crossed,

it will lead into

a second day

without your haunting memories

besieging my countenance,

and if I could stretch it

into a week,

well, put candles on the cake

and let’s celebrate.

Thinking of you

seems to be a chore

I can never scratch off

my to-do list.

Maybe next year

when I get a new calendar

I won’t have to

pen your name in anymore

or at least limit it to

a few sticky notes

on particular days

without you on my mind,

and I hope

you feel that.

 

 

*****

 

 

Days in the Past

 

 

 

My restive mind

fights with the

soft music

for control of

my emotions.

The low synthesizer

soothes my veins

enough for me

to lay my head down,

but once on a mountain of pillows

trenchant thoughts

spike the calm

like bullets from a sniper rifle,

pinpoint accuracy

I never see coming.

A restorative voice sings

like a lullaby

so I can close my eyes,

trying to dream

of lazy days on the river

and her tan skin

under the sun.

I can always feel

the darkness lurking though,

a blind-alley trap

to keep me insomnolent.

A piano starts from the stereo,

keys pressed with a light touch

and a heartbeat bass

behind them,

and finally

I drift away,

the current taking me back

to the days I need.

 

*****

 

Now I Know

 

 

And now I know

where the river flows,

down stream

around the bodies

at the edge,

the ones who

took a chance,

got too close,

play the songs

in their honor,

write the stories

to enshrine them,

but don’t blame the river

for defending itself.

 

*****

 

Fertilizer

 

 

 

Roam the land

of white plant sticks,

deep in the ground,

roots soaked in disillusionment,

leaves stunted as buds

trying to bloom and failing.

 

Fields everywhere,

sowed, watered, fed,

watched over

by the universal eye,

languishing in the sun,

rotting under the mud of the past.

 

We drive the roads and paths

searching for growth,

hoping for an omen

but would accept

a sheepish look

as a beginning.

 

Roaming, looking, searching,

time narrows,

the universal eye blinks,

pledges from the stalks

crumble to dust.

 

 

*****

 

 

Sex Guitar

 

 

In song, Muddy Waters

once wished to be

a catfish

to have beautiful women

chasing him

through the sea.

When his records spin

I can hear

the desire in his voice

and the sex

in his guitar.

Out there in the ocean

among the pop stars

and punks,

the rock ‘n rollers,

country boys and

dance hall disco queens,

the girls

swim after the bluesman.

Christopher Hivner