An old man is drinking
In the cool night
Beneath intricately scattered stars.
...
Don’t go downward
Into dark sunless thoughts;
Don’t remove tenderness
From your plans
...
In the early 1970’s
The singer Rickie Lee Jones
Was arrested in Detroit
For not wearing a bra.
...
I quietly walk immense, lonely streets
And think of a sullen girl
Whose eyes were always
Watery and sad,
...
World-weary girl,
Tears form in your eyes,
Confusion swirls
Like a virulent tornado
...
My heart is weary with a new hurt,
I’m disappointed with taxis
That fail to bring you home
On a dark night of cold rain.
...
Cloaked in disguises
In the alley of thieves,
I’m violently tested and seeking reprieves
From tortuous days
...
It is always a startling surprise
When the first fragile rays
Of another sunrise
Peak through the window blinds
...
I will be king of the flowery paths,
I will walk with you among the gardenias,
We’ll be barefoot among fragrant fields,
We’ll unclothe ourselves like ancient gods and goddesses,
...
You are a beautiful woman in a room of candles,
The aroma of jasmine drifts from the terrace,
I’ll sleep with you beneath the stars
And I’ll unlatch the shoes from your feet,
...