black-headed egret sticks out her neck

black-headed egret sticks out her neck

reveals her graceful curves

sees further up the River Han

beyond gifts and adulation

wiser than a Christmas magician

when her wings spread wide to fly  

head tucked into her heart

in aerodynamic need

folding at Godspeed

she understands not a word of human flattery

like the alkaline rusting of an old battery

taking off and swooping to the next touchstone

integral nature in her buoyant bones

bewitching in a common river 

like Moses among the reeds

raised by sun-bleached Egyptian 

this black-headed egret fulfills life’s mission

parts the waters to Sinai with her beak

spilling out Taiwanese dreams when she speaks

December 26, 2017 

for Samantha 

Asia Winter Baseball League

the home team is Taiwan against Japan

like anywhere else, they win if they have more runs

the naked ballgame

removed of all the gambling players

the lazy bums

that wound up going through the motion...

i balk at go-go girls on the dugout roofs

p.a. barkers with headache-echo sound effects

L.E.D. technicolor screams 

sore-throated game-enders...

but in Taiwan there is baseball during Hanukkah

the miracle of extra innings burns

on a gentle evening breeze flagging right field

free admission first time families will not forget

a foul ball in the hands of a joyful child

whose parents cared to take her out to the ballgame

a change-up thrown to new hometown fans

buddies, couples, and solo score-card statisticians

who enter the stadium with bags unsuspected 

no one taking attendance

such is the beautiful game of diamond rules

in any language school

playing hooky’s cool

for your information

for my entertainment

not for some teachers’ presentation

the blues and whites in uniform

written on their backs in cuneiform

our hitter in the pinch of time

a salve for a stiff brain

sees us winnin’ every game 

December 14, 2017 

CD Lover Blues

(sung to the tune of "Third Degree" by Willie Dixon)

press her start-up button

my baby likes to play

shocks that came a-jarrin’

stopped her along the way

refrain:

bad love, turnin’ bad love

the kind that was a-thrillin’ me

when her spinning disc came rollin’

is now only killin’ me

i could ride her up a river

fetch water for the day

her juices kept on flowin’

now she never goes all the way

(refrain)

from analog to M>P 4 her

it kept our love alive

but the highs and lows were muffled

i guess we could survive but…

(refrain)

i had a notion to replace her

Phillip-ed out with a new black face

but when the L>E>D said "No C>D"

i had to put her back in her place

(refrain)

i was sorry that i'd left her

in silent inner grooves

i packed the black to give it back

but when i got home she done moved

(refrain)

so i play my babe defective

she sings for me when she can

can’t stop the shocks that closed her shop

but she is still my only woman

refrain:

bad love, turnin’ bad love

the kind that was a-thrillin’ me

when her spinning disc came rollin’

is now only killin’ me

December 3, 2017