and what became of the gypsy band?

A GYPSY BAND ABOARDED THE VAN
DREADLOCKED DAMES AND LIKEWISE GENTS
WITH FIDDLES MANY AND ACCORDIA, TOO
ABOARDED THE VAN TO CATCH THE VIEW

OF THE WILDRIVERS COAST TO ARCATA THEY WENDED...
THE STORY TOLD- THERE TO KLETZMER AND FOLK AS WELL...
AND MAYBE TUNE UP WITH A LITTLE BAR TALK OF THE
UPPER WEST SIDE OF HERE AND THERE- NEW YORK, MAYBE-

OR, WAS IT CHICAGO, SOUTHSIDE...AS IN HYDE PARK-
BUT ISN'T THAT IN NEW YORK...AND WAS IT LOWELL WHO WAS AT THE PARTY WHERE THEY WALKED BACK AND FORTH
TALKING OF MICHAELANGELO- HELL, I DUNNO...

IT COULD HAVE BEEN T.S. ELIOT FOR THAT MATTER...
ANYWAY SOME CEREBRAL DUDE OR DUDETTE WHO COULD 'RAP' IT IN A NUTSHELL SO CONVINCINGLY THAT HE COULD CONVINCE OTHERS SHE COULD DISTINGUISH BETWEEN

BARTOK AND BAR TALK...

IF I MAY BE PERMITTED A POETIC LICENSE TO VENTURE INTO THE "NOETIC" REALM: THE GYPSY ORCHESTRA OR 'BAND' CAPTIVATED THEIR ARCATA AUDIENCE...AND WAS LAST SEEN CAMPING OUT ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST, HAVING AT LAST DISCOVERED 'EL DORADO'.

Gotta get my sh-- together...

GOT TO GET MY SH-- TOGETHER AS I HAVE TWO FOUR-HUNDRED MILE DRIVES AHEAD OF ME.

GOING TO LEAVE MY GOODWIFE, Cathy, AT HOME, AS SHE IS 'INFLUENZED' BY BRONCHITIS AND SINUSITIS COMBINED...AND MY 13-YEAR OLD 'POUND DOG' Dunebuggy WILL STAY AT HOME AS GUARD DOG (SOME GUARD!- HE WANDERS UP TO EVERYONE
WITH TAIL WAGGING, ALWAYS EAGER TO BEFRIEND.)

ANYWAY, IT IS TIME TO VISIT MY 94 Y.O. MUM WHOSE MELANOMA HAS SPREAD FROM INGUINAL NODES ON HER RIGHT SIDE TO INGUINAL NODES ON HER LEFT SIDE.

SHE HAS HAD A BIOPSY, SURGERY (LYMPHADENECTOMY)...AND I WANT HER NOT TO BE BRAINWASHED INTO GETTING MORE SURGERY...AFTER ALL, SHE IS NO 'SPRING CHICKEN', EVEN THOUGH SHE IS REMARKABLY CAPABLE AT 94.

SHE SEEMS TO GET SOME SOLACE THAT I, TOO, HAVE HAD SURGERY FOR MELANOMA, THOUGH MINE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF RECURRENCE 2 YEARS POST-OP.

ANYWAY, IT WILL BE GOOD TO SEE 'ME MUM' AND HOPEFULLY SOME OLD FRIENDS IN THE GREATER STANFORD UNIVERSITY AREA.

RIGHT NOW I CANNOT DECIDE WHETHER TO HANG OUT HERE IN CRESCENT CITY AND WALK WITH OTHER "RELAY FOR LIFE" SURVIVORS IN OUR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE WALKATHON TONIGHT...OR, TO HIT THE ROAD AND TEND TO 'FAMILY BUSINESS'...

AS MY ABSENCE HERE WILL NOT BE NOTICED, I'LL PROBABLY GET GOING TO MY MUM'S PLACE AT STANFORD.

A Chance Encounter- Sweet and Chaste

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER- 'SWEET AND CHASTE'-
A MEETING MEANT FOR CYBERSPACE-
NO NEED FOR 'PICS' AND ALL THAT 'JIVE':
JUST GOOD TO BE TALKING AND TO BE ALIVE...

FOR WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE-
IMAGINATION IS MUCH MORE FUN:
'THE PERFECT OTHER' DOES NOT EXIST;
BETTER JUST A 'CYBERTRYST'...

IT IS FROM THE VOID WITHIN
WE GARNER STRENGTH TO MEET EACH DAY;
TO PUT SOME PHONY CONFIDENCE ON PARADE
IS TO MAKE OF LIVING A MERE CHARADE...

FOR I- LIKE YOU- AM OF THE EARTH...
I 'QUAKE' INSIDE WITH EACH DAY'S 'BIRTH':
WE ALL ARE CONNECTED- OH SO DEEP-
EVEN AS OUR MIND DOES SLEEP...

AND AS "THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER"-
AND ALIGHTS WITH MY HEART FOR 'PLUNDER':
ARISING TO THE SURFACE FROM THE UNCONSCIOUS SEA
I SEARCH ABOUT FOR YOU OR ME...

COLORLESS, YOU SEE: a poem of mine from 2002

(Originally written by me in August, 2002.)


THE MOSLEMS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
SITTING IN U.S. CELLS - WERE
ROUNDED UP UNDER NEW LAWS PASSED-
AND JAILED - WITHOUT CHARGES...

AND, WHERE ARE THEY NOW,
IN THIS "LAND OF THE FREE"? -

WHY THEY'RE SITTING IN JAIL -
INVISIBLE - 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND LATINOS WHO TRIED TO PASS
UNDETECTED THROUGH THE "BARBED WIRE"
GATE TO PROMISE, HOPE, AND LIBERTY -

WHERE ARE THEY? SOME ARE 'HERE';
SOME SENT BACK - AND SEVERAL SCORE
EACH YEAR, NEITHER 'HERE' NOR 'THERE' -

THEY ARE DEAD -

AND NOW ARE 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND A 'GAY YOUNG MAN'
EAGER TO BEFRIEND--
FINDS 'PALS' TO BREAK HIS MONOTONY -

GOES RIDING ON A COUNTRY ROAD -
IS BEATEN UP AND LEFT FOR DEAD...

ALL SPLAYED OUT ON BARBED WIRE -

WHY, YES, HE IS DEAD - AND NOW HE'S 'FREE'
BECAUSE HE IS 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND MANY A MAN - AND WOMAN - TOO
SITS IN SOLITARY ON A 'TRUMPED UP' CHARGE
OR ON 'DEATH ROW' WAITING FOR THE FINAL 'CHARGE' -

TO PUT IT MILDLY, "FEELING BLUE" -
NO CONJUGAL VISITS, NO LETTERS FROM HOME...
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN 'THE LAND OF THE FREE'?-

HE/SHE IS ONE OF THE NAMELESS:

ONE OF THE 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE.

please bear with me

did you know that 'omg' means "oh my god"
and 'lol' means "laugh out loud"
and having read all of proust and joyce, nin and sappho
makes you 'literati sans pareil' (mucho literary)

hey i'm just learning These in's and out's
so please snicker a little more softly
i may be a naïf... but, hey...
this dog (me) is hoping to learn new Tricks...and

Genres
motifs
modes
styles
paradigms
idioms
Symbols
subtleties
gestalten
Weltanschauungen
la vie literaire
les belles lettres
la vida preciosa
la casa de la intelligentsia
l'imprimatur de la yada yada
l'insignificance de l'ennui
y mas yada yada

so please, s'il vous plaît,
bear with me

Cellphonespeak overheard at the supermareket

"hi"

"OH REALLY?"

"OH REALLY, OH REALLY, OH REALLY..."

"I MEAN: OH PLEASE! OH PLEASE..."

"NEED I SAY MORE?"

"OH PLEASE..."

"OKAY, THEN...OKAY..."

"WHATEVER..."

"OH REALLY..."

"OKAY THEN...WHATEVER..."

"WHATEVER..."

"bye"

Self-portrait

My hairline has receded some...and in the spot where saddhus leave a tassel of hair on their shaven pates, there is a noticeable thinning occurring.

I have let my hair grow, and I like the way it is starting to cascade around my ears and to form large curls at the base of my neck.

My nose still dominates my face; however, as I have aged, it seems to take up less space- perhaps because my face is fuller and rounder now.

My left ear lobe hangs slightly lower than my right.

My mouth, particularly when I smile or laugh, seems unusually wide. The teeth that are accordingly revealed are regular in shape and evenly spaced. Good teeth.

The cheekbones are high and somewhat angular.

My complexion is dusky.

My eyes look quasi-Oriental, somewhat almond-shaped, and of hazel hue. My 'crow's feet' suggest that I often squint.

My facial expression usually suggests an open attitude and spirit.