Small Craft Warnings

The angry slap of waves against the boat
in a sea both ominous and grey;
my brother, steering, worried and remote
at the helm, his face turned toward the spray.

The sky begins to dim and move in close
I hug myself as damp and chill move in.
We still have miles to go before the coast;
My brother grits his teeth and sets his chin.

A sting of first-blown rain assaults my cheek.
Our boat is sliding in fantastic swells.
My lips are now too cold to move, to speak
as all around I hear the buoy bells.

The waves are beating faster and have grown,
approaching like wet soldiers stern to port.
I close my eyes and try to think of home;
My brother's breath is coming fast and short.

Faint, through shades of rain, I think I see
lights blink off and on from distant land.
But such safe refuge isn't meant to be.
My brother wipes his eyes with trembling hands.

And as he peers into the darkening sky
I feel we have both been here before.
It's not the sky that weeps but he and I
always searching, searching for the shore.

Waitress in a Donut Shop

(For all my waitress friends.)

I'm a waitress in a donut shop
I make the cofee. I stock, I mop.
They make me wear pink which
isn't my color.

"Is the coffee fresh?" they always say.
"Well when was it made, what time today?"
Sometimes I lie.

"This isn't fresh. I only ate half,
you'd better give my money back."
Oh, lady...

They wait in line, I guess they snooze,
when it's their turn they cannot choose
They're only donuts.

I'm just a cipher to you,
a purveyor of Boston Cremes
But I'm a woman too and
I have hopes and dreams.
So give a thought next time you stop,
to me - I'm just your waitress in a donut shop.

June 5, 1972

United States armed forces have invaded Cambodia
as Nixon prattles on about peace with honor.
An eighteen year old boy was killed on the
New York Subway this morning.
Thousands of students are marching to
Washington to protest the draft
as illegal and immoral, and
I had a son today.

Nineteen persent of America's high school students
cannot read.
Footage from the 6 o'clock news shows
boys dead in Viet Nam,
because you don't have to read to be drafted,
just be a red-blooded, all-American boy,
young and scared and
I had a son today.

TIME magazine screams "Is God dead?"
as children's blood is spilled on
our nation's streets.
Big Brother is watching us all
and I think I want to run
far, far away.
I won't stop to pack because
I had a son today.

Manifesto

I don't believe in junk mail
low fat
or talk radio.
I don't believe in democracy.
I don't believe in grudges
but I applaud burning bridges.
I don't believe in busing
or forced integration
but I believe in racial harmony.
I don't believe in affirmative action,
an insult to people of color,
and I think the best way to get a job
is through perseverence and education.
I don't believe in networking
bureaucracy
catholicism
jurisdiction
mass production
stipulations
institutions
corporations
sly and covert operations.
I don't believe in the psychic hot line.
I don't believe in the welfare system.
I don't believe in trial by jury.
In these days of exploding populations,
I don't believe it's anyone's right to have as many children as they can bear.
I don't believe in anti-choice.
I don't believe in public schools.
I don't believe in smoke-free anything.
I don't believe country music
should have been allowed to escape from Nashville.
I don't believe in personal violence
but I believe in violent change and violent art.
I don't believe in television or recreational vehicles
or Oprah Winfrey and I believe
that both military intelligence and rap music
are contradictions in terms.
I don't believe in drugs but I do believe in
drug addicts.
I don't believe in marriage and have my doubts about monogamy.
I don't believe in lying, I don't believe in blaming your childhood,
I don't believe in saying "I can't" because I've found that
I can.
I don't believe in Florida or littering,
although littering in Florida isn't quite so bad.
I don't believe we were all created equal
but that doesn't stop me from wishing we were.
I don't believe in Black rage, White supremacy,
or Indian casinos.
I believe in William Burroughs, Hunter Thompson, Allen Ginsberg
and life imitating art.
I believe in rocking the boat
and upsetting the apple cart.
I believe in truth, kindness, books, and
solitude.
I believe in freedom of the press, freedom of speech
and freedom of movement.
I believe our only salvation lies in rock and roll
and a complete change in the way
we view the world.
I believe
in going home.

I Saw A Deer

I saw a deer in the yard today
at dawn
She took my breath away
so beautiful,
sniffing at some green mystery
at the edge of the lawn, she looked up.
Our eyes met
for a brief interlude
woman to woman
large brown to large blue.
But the gap between us widened
and she slipped silently
like love lost
into the wood.