Author: crow

I'm a writer and a dabbler. I live in Southern California.

Poem 20141211

crow

at easter
the kids hunted in the backyard
for eggs bill and i hid
the eggs had money in them
fluorescent pinks blues greens yellows
like a rainbow gone radioactive
in the comic book sense of radioactive
hiding in bushes and grass
and empty flower pots and the coiled hose
among the smooth river rocks
on top of the cinderblock fence in plain sight
we led the kids around until they found
the easy ones
then hinted by standing near
where the harder eggs
were hidden pointing with our feet
leaning against the wall
and carelessly exposing the egg
in its hiding place
and the kids knew what we were doing
and didn’t care
and filled their baskets
little victorious hunters

Xmas Song Day 10

crow

This is not a song that I own. Well, I own about four other versions of this song. But this version is from the movie Elf. I think that movie gets a bad rap, but the truth is, it was good for my family when it came out on DVD. My wife especially had really been hit hard by the flu and spent a lot of time in bed and ended up watching this film over and over.

“Buddy the elf. What’s your favorite color?”

Baby It’s Cold Outside, Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone

Poem 20141210

crow

with the hint of warmer weather
after a cool spring
i ate lunch on park bench
you found me there
walking with a mutual friend
who suspiciously had to go
so you sat next to me
we skated along the edge
of summer
our last year
while you educated me on
the various types of flicking
vicious, light, and the rest
i accused you later of
using magic to capture me
but you swore it was just
the flicking

Poem 20141209

crow

i want to fold paper–
origami if you will–
but something for you to wear
something that rustles as you move
and fragile
weak against the sweat on your skin
weak against the fire in your blood
weak against the touch of my fingers
something shiny and glittering
with gold filagree
and red chrysanthemums
hard to look at like the sun
impossible to look away from
like the full moon
in the winter sky

Xmas Song Day 9

crow

There are a lot of versions of this song. I have at least five on my computer, and just doing a quick search in YouTube returns a whole lot more, so many modern ones. But for me, you can’t beat Perry Como’s version. It has this almost unbearable melancholy to it, which this song should have. It was popular during the WW2 when so many American soldiers were separated from their families, many not knowing if they would ever return. But in the end, even the melancholy must yield to the glimmer of hope that one day soon, we all will be together.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Perry Como

Poem 20141208

crow

the police set up barricades
that didn’t stem the endless tide of cars
in and out of the neighborhood
just slowed them down
and we had to park pretty far away
since you wanted to get out and walk
which was the better way
to see the christmas lights

it was cold for a southern california december night
and talking with you
i watched my breath form vapor clouds
your breath came out like steam too
and our breath mingled
a miniature weather system
between us

i gave you my jacket
the long green overcoat
i had bought secondhand
and we walked close
like we shared ribs and organs and bloodflow
and we barely noticed the grinch and snoopy
the parade of lit-up wisemen
a hundred santas that burned
as bright as the afterimage of fireworks

when i slipped my hand into the false pocket
and found your skin
warm inside in spite of the cold
we had to hurry back to the car

Poem 20141207

crow

we woke up early
for a saturday
and drove not that far
from my house
i say my house even
though he lived there
at the time
in his own room over
the garage
an extra father in the house
always watching sports
or listening to ham radio
or playing his old giant wurlitzer organ
or arranging meet-ups with women he met at church
at the coffee cart after service
but today we were going out
to golf
i had never held a real club in my hands
never once set foot on a course that wasn’t
in some way
miniature
but today he wanted to take me
to the driving range
so we woke up early
for a saturday
and drove not that far
from my house
but when we arrived
because this was how he operated
how he planned most of his outings
they were booked up
or the wait would be too long
or maybe i didn’t have the right shoes
or maybe i didn’t have the right attitude
and he just shrugged
and we went back
and he got on his ham radio
and turned on a football game
and i read a book