“Mall of America,” “Literary Property,” “Where There’s Smoke,” and Other Poems
Mall of America In America, even the old are expected to work. No rest for the wicked. Even in retirement, one goes to bed exhausted. There’s no…
By the Bay, By the Bay, By the Beautiful Bay, Part 2
Rich drove fast. We were cruising on occasion at 95 MPH. He is a superb driver. Some people can do it. Some even like it. He loved to take the curves…
By the Bay, By the Bay, By the Beautiful Bay, Part 1
I lived on Potrero Hill not far from a grand Victorian owned by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. In a little closet I slept, rented from an activist who drank…
“Castles Made of Sand Are Called Sand Castles,” “Miss DeNiro’s Headdress,” “Bullet Points,” and “Crime of Understanding”
Castles Made of Sand Are Called Sand Castles I am a rentboy living in a ramshackle apartment at the Champs Elysees Complex in downtown Dhahran in the…
“Spaghetti Dinner,” “Cincinnati,” “White Studies,” and Other Poems
Spaghetti Dinner I, too, only cook once a year. I, too, cook for friends and family. I, too, leave a mess for my wife. I, too, am hated. It’s not the…
“Maximum Madness,” “A Good Paddling,” “Dancing on Graves,” and Other Poems
Maximum Madness I was five and she was six She played the fiddle, I fooled around We hid beneath the floral covers People thought we’d become instant…
In the Shadow of Watts Towers, Part 2
III. Our principal, Dr. Rawls, was an aloof WASP, choir leader at his San Fernando Presbyterian church, and some sort of alderman in an all-white…
In the Shadow of Watts Towers, Part 1
I. Teaching isn’t easy. Certainly not in Los Angeles. I might as well say it at the start: I hate it. It’s hard to be among the young. The first day…
“Does it Need a Title?”, “Street Theatre,” “Literary Property,” and Other Poems
Does it Need a Title? There is nothing sadder than an old elephant at the zoo. All alone, the color of tarmac; a gigantic mouse behind bars. She…
Nights in Shining Armor
A true story: The Baltimore Orioles had just beat the Red Sox in ten nail-biting baseball innings. But there were no joyful cheers that day. Instead…
