souvlaki

[constantine]

charcoal
wisps of smoke -
cinders and ashes.

passing a bar on the eastside
it hits me square on the nose
the smell of souvlaki ...

crossing the Atlantic, my father:
"the Rock of Gibraltar!"
i can't visualize,
something so big flies
under a child's radar,
a fish jumps out of the sea
and curls in a silver arc
was it real - did it happen?
it did, even if it did not

the cafe, lanterns lit
colored orbs strung with wire
sea spray, night glistens
with effervescence
mom and dad, the wine
the memories between them
the waiter brings the food
smell of souvlaki and pita, they laugh
no vegetables for me - just meat and bread,
i was a purist at four

walking the underpass towards home
the smells linger, a different
time and place, memories reconfigure
the emotional equations
where was my brother?
what did he eat for dinner?
there, even in his absence

[stilltrucking]

i can't visualize,
something so big flies
under a child's radar,


no vegetables for me - just meat and bread,
i was a purist at four

I can't cry, once in a while I choke back a sob
but I have not cried in years.

But if I could cry I would
just to remember what a relief I felt as a child when the sobbing ceased.

walking the underpass towards home
the smells linger, a different
time and place, memories reconfigure
the emotional equations
where was my brother?
what did he eat for dinner?
there, even in his absence

that is cooler than a Bose-Einstein condensate
You have captured time


I don't know why poets write their poems
To take an ice pick to the frozen hearts of complacent fools like me

please pardon the ramble

[constantine]

always look forward to your comments, jack. i sure would like to meet you one day.

[stilltrucking]

Likewise
Me you

maybe
"Next year in Jerusalem"
Or Baltimore
Or Muleshoe Texas

[WIREMAN]

we do need a poet party........this piece is awesome dino....i be lookin' off to my right every morn watchin' for them sea monsters in crystal city @ old roaches run........

[constantine]

yes, a party is in order.

[WIREMAN]

party on......the word.....when ya comin' home for a visit dino?.....how was cincinnati...my brothers name is matty and he was born in cincinnati.....serious as a heart attack.......

[constantine]

late fall - when the quarter ends. got to get situated. definitely this year.