book launch!

The book launch is coming to a town near (some of) you!

Wednesday December 14 at the Western New York Book Arts Center

468 Washington Street

Buffalo, NY

6:30 PM 

$5

with readings from

(yours truly) 

Letson Williams

and

Mr. Patrick Riedy

Mr. Michael Koh

guitar interludes provided by 

Mr. Victor Lazar

Wines, Snacks, Conversation, Collusion.

Come one and all

facebook event

and then old fat god made it rain

she was far too willing to accept ‘no’

      as the answer

the smart one

      the littlest one

never gave up a single

      ghost

she loved language   the most

her temper was gone

      by the time the moon

turned blue

      which was about the time

she decided

      ‘it’s true’

and she never told anyone

                                          but you

((((breathe in   deep))))

she was the go-to girl

   for most of the world

             all

freckles   and curls

   don’t know if ya heard 

ya heard

the shadow in the sky

       blocking the sunrise

the one lacking rights

   is the one that’ll die

      if you fight

and clean up

      from last night

just do it   aight

     aight

she always said it best

            she said ‘heart-strong’

   she said ‘head-long’

she said

      ‘c’mon c’mon c’mon’

and moved up front

   with the people

up close

but what does anyone

   really know   about hope

except that maybe

      maybe

maybe it’s best just to leave it alone

leave it

      at home

      so

            empathy

the empathic bleeding love

for every   one

   from a place

full up

      and overflown

moving those blues around until

they get in line with the high notes

   on tenor saxophones

into a light where they can be seen

      and known

and if that really is just the way it goes

      y’ know

sam cooke sang

‘don’t fight it   feel it’

i mean feel it

not just hearing

or wearing the

                     t-shirt

listen norman

      not everything has to hurt

you scrawl it quickly

in the commuter lot

your eyes   your smile

   they’re soft

but your words

   are not

they’re hard

           hot

quick like gun shots so

go on boy

give ‘em what you got

even if you think

it’s not

      quite done

it is something

that’s not used up

   and that

is hope enough

   so

have another one

      order up a shot

and a beer

pretend the citywide

           made it all the way to

         right   here

like it

      learned how

to take the train

            and that is precisely when old fat god

   took the time

      to explain some things

when all we really wanted him to do

      was make it rain

Drawing by Mari Lee

the whole reason to cross allen street is gone

back then

back when there was still a reason to cross allen street

                                            back before berlin

 when she was red bone

 from buffalo       

when she was h i g h yellow            

when it was  ‘if you’re not a staylow then you gotta go home

 and that means you too jared leto’

back then

        one night

                 one little night

i heard a man

        one man

                 a book man

the man from the book store

he was stammering  stomping like he was coming straight outtacompton

       

          spitting and bloodletting

relentless

the first word came first

it came right on the first stomp

it exploded

he said ‘participatory’

yeah  he said ‘participatory’

and then he said it again

and again

and again

until it rocked with an uneven white boy rhythm that took its cue

from when the stomp came down

and that alone

                                   he said it again               and again

‘participatory participatory participatory

participatory participatory participatory

democracy democracy democracy’

yeahyeahyeah

he said

‘participatory participatory

democracy democracy

participatory participatory

democracy democracy’

then some of us started saying it

        and then more of us started saying it

then it was back and forth

‘participatory’

                    ‘democracy’

        ‘participatory’

                                            ‘democracy’

                

the man  said

‘participatory’

listen to this poem

there is no sitting still

an injury that did not result in death

well

not the type of death that you mean

the shifting landscape of a sad song

of someone listening

a phone call

nighttime wishing

you are either moving toward

or away from the change

standing still standing in sand

you are still moving

it is still moving

the earth is still moving

there is no sitting still

there’s no nine-nine

no west of fields

no more seven chinese brothers

pure tenor quality

the voice of harold montgomery

no more pretending

that the words mean anything

or are well chosen

well guarded

well meaning

nobody is winning

nobody is winning

there is nosuchthing

which does not mean

there is no right or wrong

you can sing the song

it’s not a question of can or can’t

it’s do or don’t

didn’t you know

i am an impatient man

prefer cake to pie

truth to light

inside to insight

with actual tigers

and intricate daydream designs

in the last of the graylight

last of the wine

summer flower dresses

that let in the light

a  joy shared is twice a joy

a sorrow shared is half a sorrow

true today true tomorrow

mine’s day

minion’s day

until the day

in the mines eye of carmelita

the song of chicharita

rose of the desert

the deportees

a statistic

happy june was nice while it lasted

     lucky thirteen

you know what  i mean

it started as a flat lie that we all could decide

       might just give way     become truth someday

how the outlook subtle and serious display

                                      just might reach out and touch you
                               one day

yeah      it started as a lie

                         now it’s a damned lie

soon enough     it’ll be a statistic

i have more metacognitions than i do actual ones (in three parts)

there it is          someplace in between

what i want and what is expected of me

now     why do i wait so diligently?

for a crumb     from a table                        try to make it a meal

so time and time and time again

i want to leave those tears          my friend

and i want to feel it                 not pretend

making pressboard feelings out of sawdust sins

i think soon has a different meaning out east of the road

that runs through the state of the known and unknown

that eat up ideas like straight jellyroll

and here we are   outside         the boys in the boat

taking everything      too          seriously

without one single reason to fly or be free

and give pause to wonder if i’m just talking      to               me

here it comes      there it goes    

onetwothree onetwothree

from here to there and back again

i used to revel in the ones i call friend

used to be enough,    but now              it depends

and it hurts so much more than  i want to          admit

billy was right and he couldn’t have known

to him it was him  but    to    me        __________________  

so, i just put the dictionary back in the hole

because it matters so little when i lose         the control

and the time that has passed is such a little amount

i’m ashamed to admit that i even keep count

and won’t feel the same until i turn on the sound

that is distracting so many but            it’s          sticking        around

i am american      distinguishing embarrassed from shame

and i cling to the thought like i cling to your name

and i wish there was more      to the whole           of the thing

like wishes              could ever be    changes      again

there is

me

diligently

crumb

to make

a meal

my friend

pressboard feelings

the state of the known and the unknown

the boys in the boat

taking everything too seriously

  

free

talking

onetwothree

admit

billy

so

little

ashamedsoundname

the whole

of the thing

changes

to him it was him  but    to    me       there

to him it was him  but    to    me       is

to him it was him but to me           me

to him it was him  but    to    me       diligently

to him it was him  but    to    me      crumb

to him it was him  but    to    me      to make

to him it was him  but    to    me       a meal

to him it was him  but    to    me       my friend

to him it was him  but    to    me      pressboard feelings

to him it was him  but    to    me       the state of the known and the unknown

to him it was him  but    to    me       the boys in the boat

to him it was him  but    to    me      taking everything too seriously

to him it was him  but    to    me       free

to him it was him  but    to    me       onetwothree

to him it was him  but    to    me       admit

to him it was him  but    to    me       billy

to him it was him  but    to    me       little

to him it was him  but    to    me       ashamed

to him it was him  but    to    me       sound

to him it was him  but    to    me       there

to him it was him  but    to    me       name

to him it was him  but    to    me       the whole    of the thing

to him it was him but to me      changes