FISH ON A PLANE

 
I am an overweight codfish
struggling with the seatbelt
on this stratocaster airplane.
A parrot sits on a shoulder 
three rows upstream
and that makes no sense to me.
He mocks my fishy words
which sound like gasping to these predators
surrounding me, smelly bipeds,
tricky bait handlers.

This one dangles
a pyramid scheme in my face
like a doomed worm.
He looks me in the eye
where he
can see sharp instinct
ready to bite.
In the other,
a human codling stares wondrously
my colorful scales rendered
dull in the dirty air.

A gold Mercedes
pretty trinket fun
page of wonders
sparkly diamond watch
flashy spinner earrings.
I will not bite.
I will not bite.
I will not bite.
I smile and nod.

"In a year," he says, "you could be
president of the company."
Thank you, but for now
I shall remain
A New England codfish
In the belly of a bird
windows to the world
somewhat unlike a submarine
of the air which, for my own
comfort, I imagine it
to be.




LISTENING TO SPANISH LEARNING TAPES ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK YESTERDAY MORNING


The morning chilled

misty suds
on slow focus
the sun turned upside
down and flat against the door.

The cost of my constituency
a soft and silent weight
policies and procedures bear down
like bricks on the back
familiar as forefinger to thumb,

the crushing face of a highway sign
the word prohibit shouted
in the face of a shivering doom
structures submerged in a bay of commerce as yet

uncommenced.

There is little substantive difference between renting and owning
a few letters between knowing and owing
there is security in the mortgage
               for 
          the blind man
and his shoes.

These and other thoughts random now
and then in the dusk of dawn
learning a new language is like
driving into a
          fog of culture 
     and slowly
a clearing.




WALKING TO THE DENTIST’S LAST TUESDAY
 

The birds; barren trees like
twisted vines no melons
thoughts out of my head
teeth dropping soft
like pebbles on the cracked
sidewalk, slowly reminding
there is no fulfillment of desire
only loss
and more loss when there is
but lettuce
left to
gain.