K POEMS MARCH 2010
If we all had a big penis
By Mikel K

And how is my titanium hipped, pig meat eating, dog observing,
superhero poet man?

--Val King

Your poetry is amazing God gave you a huge gift inside.

--Michelle Wiley


A true poet does not bother to be poetical. Nor does a nursery gardener
scent his roses.

--Jean Cocteau




He just did that

I am mostly used to Bundy's threatening barks,
the ones that he sends out to people
who pass by on the sidewalk in front of our house,
but, every once in awhile, he will let out a yelp,
that sends me inches above my chair, mouth wide open in fear.

Working on bad livers

The band played on,
and at this one table,
in the bar/restaurant,
two gentlemen drinking
at a table, near the one
that I was sitting at,
got up to about then beers
a piece, and I thought
how one day they would not be
sitting in the bar, smiling,
if a bit crookedly, but they
would be looking for new livers.

As the band played on

The band woke the Sunday afternoon crowd up,
with their second set. People who had been quiet
in the first set, put their hands together,
and started hollering during the second set.
The bass player commented, "We must get better,
the more you've had to drink!" which was a funny
thing to say, but far from the truth; I think.

Should she show her underwear in class?

She text messaged me, and asked, "If I had her books?"
I texted back, "Yes."
Then she texted and said, "Can you bring
them to school for me?"
and I texted back, "Yes."
The usually polite, and friendly, lady
in the attendance office was stressed out,
this morning, and she wasn't friendly.
She told me that, "This was going to have to stop,"
that Scout was interrupting her classes,
by having me come and bring her things.
I was going to point out, that the other day,
Scout had torn her pants, and had wanted me
to bring her new pants: should that count
as interrupting class; do they want her to
go about showing her underwear, might not that
interrupt class?

Some reasons for no poetry

Poetry is easier to write,
when there is conflict in your world,
when you are angry about things,
when you are un-even kiltered.
That said, there is little to no
conflict in my world,
I am not angry about anything,
and I am pretty even kiltered, these day.

What I have to do

I needed a nap,
so I took a nap,
and when I woke from that nap,
I wasn't ready to rise,
so I lay there staring at the ceiling
feeling quite relaxed,
thinking about what I had to do next,
and there really was nothing
that I had to do,
which was a relief,
because I hate having to do things,
like punch a time card,
or pay the utility bill.

5 p.m.

Scout is asleep.
The dogs are asleep,
The cats are asleep;
it is only the turtles,
myself, and the dishwasher
that are not slumbering.

It's not my heart

She is depressed because
some loser dumped her;
she should be glad
that he has moved along.
It's so easy to give advice
when it is not your heart
that is broken.

Curiously calm on coffee

I was out of questions
for the moment,
so I drowned myself
in pot of coffee,
the world was slipping by me,
but I didn't care.
Instead of being curious,
I had decided to become calm,
I decided to observe,
and not sound the alarm.

Does it remind you of some men?

The female turtle seems to have purpose
moving about the aquarium
as if she is going somewhere important.
The male turtle simply follows her
about, seeming to have no life of his own.

A contrast of life styles

It might snow today, around noon,
the forecast said,
I have a doctor's appointment at two
If there is a lot of snow on the ground
I might cancel with the doctor
I don't want to risk falling
with this new hip in place
It must be cold outside,
but I am blessed to have heat
inside the abode
the dogs, cats, turtles and I are warm.
I think of winos on the street
some of them don't like to stay at shelters
they had to stay somewhere last night
or they would live to drink no more wine.

I'm a bit ADD, today; I can't really concentrate on anything. I know that I don't need Ridlin; I just need time for this to pass away. Perhaps there is too much caffeine in my system. Yesterday, I drank coffee, non-stop, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Most everybody where I was drinking coffee was drinking beer, so I bet that I felt a lot better, this morning, than the lot of them.

My dogs are acting weird tonight; they are sitting at my left elbow, and staring at me. I don't know what they want. Maybe Morisson hears thunder and lighting. He was at my elbow first; Bundy just followed him, as Bundy often does, because Bundy thinks that he is missing out on something. Mo might have to take a number two. He didn't take one this morning, or just awhile ago when we went out. I hope that he is not constipated; having just come through a bunch of that myself, while I was on the narcotics that they prescribed for the pain that came with my hip replacement surgery, I can tell my dog that it is no fun.

I ate pig the other night, the first full portion of meat that I have eaten in a year and a half; and when I woke up the next morning, I was very tense. I had the tension of that pig in me, the tension that it felt as it was force fed and pumped full of hormones, the tension that it felt from living in overcrowded cages, where he or she was forced to walk in its own shit. The tension that that pig felt as it was being killed was in me, also.

It was a horrible feeling.

Work in progress

Part of the process
is opening the blank page.
Sometimes, this is
more difficult than
filling in the blank page.
Filling in the blank page
is like approaching a woman
for the first time;
how I'm not sure,
but work with me on this.

Leak

Fornication will lead to 300 million people
living here by the year 2050. Can you imagine
if a hundred million couples used condoms,
how screwed up the sewer system would be?

Exempt

I eat toast rarely,
I raise a toast not at all.

Spring Cleaning

Electric is love/but if you don't pay the bill/it will leave you in the cold in the winter/hot in the summer/not able to blow leaves in the fall/if you want it all you might have to make a call to the maker. The maker might not be home, and you find yourself all alone picking flowers for your love but she says that that is not enough: you have to have a job


Enjoy your night

Enjoy your night,
cars honk at each other,
elsewhere.
It is quiet in your abode;
the dogs rest, the cats sleep,
the turtles chase each other
about their box, still silent
in the water.
Enjoy your night,
there is plenty that you could be doing
that would be unpleasant:
managers seeking bonuses wait
to hover over you
to create pressure in your existence.
Enjoy your night,
supper's almost made.

All you need is a little patience

Sometimes the poems rush out of me
like water going over Niagra Falls,
and other times they are slow to come,
like ketchup that you are trying to
get out of a near empty bottle.
When the poems are taking their time,
you have to have patience;
you can't start thinking, "Oh no,
this is it...it is over; I will never
write another poem again..." What
does a man do whose whole existence is
writing poems, if there are no poems
to write? It is too late to start over;
this is what he is.

Perhaps they are hiring at the fast food place;
slow suicide surely awaits him in many venues.

The concept of poems created in the middle of the night

There's not a whole lot that you can do
when you wake up in the middle of the night.
For me, though, it is an opportunity to write,
so I type poems that would not have gotten typed
had I slept the whole night through.
It is an interesting concept,
this idea of poems that wouldn't have gotten created,
if I had slept the whole night through.
Who or what is responsible for their birth?
Is it yesterday's caffeine,
or an angel tugging on my shirt waking me to work?

A friend in need

I woke up at 3 a.m. craving a cup of tea;
there was a note in my box from a friend
saying that she was extremely depressed.
There are two things that you can do
when you are extremely depressed,
you can ride it out, if it is situational;
you can go see a shrink if it is chemical.
I lived with depression for almost two decades;
I rode it out when I should have been getting help.
I thought that the booze was curing me, but it wasn't.
I hate to see my friend in pain,
but my hands are tied; she needs to make a move.

She'll love him for his paycheck

He's waving his pay check
because it's big;
he's sure it's going to attract
the attention of one he could love.

What he doesn't realize is that
she won't love him,
she'll love him for his paycheck.

He's got a big house,
and two nice cars,
that he bought with his paycheck,
got a kid on the way.

And down the street is a man
with a bigger paycheck,
who is waving his paycheck
at the woman who loves big paychecks.

He's waving his pay check
because it's big;
he's sure it's going to attract
the attention of one he could love.

One day he comes home,
and his love is gone.
She left a note that said, "Come on,
you just don't make enough."

One of the cars is gone,
and she wants half of the rest,
it just goes to show
that a big paycheck can
put love to the test, if that's how
you attract love to the nest.

One day he comes home,
and his love is gone.
She left a note that said, "Come on,
you just don't make enough."

A woman who

I have only my poems to give,
which I'm feeling woefully inadequate about.
It seems that I should be able to send her a limo,
or at least candy, or flowers, or something,
but am I looking for a woman who wants me to
send her things, or am I looking for a woman who.

Some things we have to do alone

For your eyes first,
not for your eyes only,
you tell me that your eyes
are feeling kind of lonely.

I whisper in your ear,
that fails to do anything.

Pat me on the back, will ya?

There is six minutes left until
the two banana breads that I am baking are done.
No whistles will blow, no bands will play
when I pull the breads out of the oven,
but I will smile a wee smile of satisfaction,
knowing that I have created something good
that I am going to give to someone else.

Rubbish

So much of what we think we need,
so much of what we think we need
to be.


Avarice Exemplified

Tomorrow, a million dollar corporation will try to stop me from getting $83 a week in unemployment benefits.

Up up and away

I'd like to fly like an angel,
but I'd probably land like a pig
thrown out of an air balloon.

How you look at it

Book sales are zero.
Love interest is non-existent.
Money in the bank is blank.
There's a war going on
in several locations,
which tells me that I am blessed.

Nobody escapes it

She's got a broken heart.
I'm broke.
Everybody's got something
going on
that is awful.
It will change;
things always change.
You don't have to sit
in the mud forever,
soon enough you'll come up
and dry.

I am having such problems
with my reading glasses,
they keep fogging up on me,
and then I can't see what
is going on in front of me.

I use a cleaner, it s a spray
but it doesn't seem to keep
the dirt away.

If anyone has a solution,
to this eyeglass pollution,
please reach out to me.

Helpless

Can you see my blemishes?
Can you feel my thorns?
Can you see me crying,
when I should be smiling,
angry when I should be laughing?
We are not what we show ourselves to be,
including me.
If I knew how to sacrifice,
to be perfect, I would be perfect.
I am like a lamb about to be slaughtered.

I am sad

My swordfish was too fishy.
It tasted like polluted ocean.
It tasted like what some corporation
felt was their right to dump in our water.
Some corporation ruined my dinner.

They are The Beatniks of now.

They follow each other about
like sheep, beer cans, a cup
of beer, a beer bottle in
their hand, smiling at each
other as if as long as the
party is going on that life
is good.

"Got a joint?" is their motto.

Indoor Plumbing

It's time to piss again,
the toilet is my friend.

I give thanks to everybody for this

I have my bad moments,
but they are pockets of discontentment
and not an all encompassing storm
that blows me away, and creates a hole
in the earth that swallows me.
This is an advancement for me,
and I am happy for it.

There is a gross separation between us, darling

My eyes are blue, deep blue
like the ocean where it is unpolluted.
Her eyes are gold, like what
she is after in life.

Sometimes, you got to make a move

The Jester crawled out of his bedroom window
when he was 14, and if he had stayed in that
house he would never have become who he became.

And it ain't me and you

Politicians can't pass a bill
without ulterior motives.

A perfect presentation

Hide your roaches
from the law
hide your roaches
from your in-laws
it wouldn't do
for them to see them
running across the sink.

We shall be free.

Well, aren't we free now?
It all depends how you look at it.
How do you look at it?
I don't look at it all.
Why not?
What good does it do?
You can't just stick your head
in the sand, man.
Too late.
Too late?
Yes. I have tuned out, and turned off.
Is there any value in that?
Is there any value in getting angry,
and frustrated about things that,
ultimately, I have no control over?
Should I go around perpetually
as an angry man?
You were angry?
Yes, I was angry.
Anger is not good.
No, it isn't, but if you are tuned in,
and turned on how can you not be angry?
I see your point.

Are the two mutually exclusive

The man on the cd is saving all his money,
so that he can travel to see his love.
I have no money.
I have no love.

The answer is evident

I'm a runaway from things that are bad for me,
I hide out in the bushes, and let the bad things go by.
I'm a coward when it come to things
that used to be for me routine.
I spend way less time with my head
in my hands crying out why.
I now know why; the answer is evident.

Hard days

Some days are harder than others,
but no days are as hard as the days
that used to end with me in a jail cell,
covered in blood, and my own vomit.

Those days were like reaching into the pickle
jar and having the glass break on you.

Today, life is like reaching for peaches
from a tree, and returning with a basket
of fruit in hand.

I run like hell

Sometimes it hurts to love someone.
There are many reasons for this,
a primary one being that they do not
love you back.
It gets easier for me, with age,
to realize what is good loving,
and what sucks.
And when it sucks, I run like hell.

Funny that

People come and go
I came
and soon I had a son.

Lose weight

Most of the women who work
in the doctor's office are obese.
You have to wonder what
kind of example they are setting.
Everyone knows that being overweight,
is unhealthy.
My doctor is constantly telling me
to lose weight.
I lost 20 pounds since the last time
that I was at my doctors' office.
I guess that I am being a good example.

I don't feel like cooking, tonight, so I am going to see if coffee, and banana yogurt with mixed berries will suffice for dinner. I set some fish to thaw in the sink, early this morning, and it is ready to cook. The yogurt might stimulate my appetite, and, thus, increase my desire to cook. The coffee may keep me where I'm at, basically skipping dinner for a night.

I lost 20 pounds since the last time that I weighed myself, several months ago.

A miracle every morning

One of the miracles of life
is that you get to wake up.
You never know what may happen:
one of your dreams might come true,
somebody might fall in love with you.

Synthesis

It'll work out, man.
It will all work out.
You don't have to run the show, bro;
it will work out.

Turn off the tv

Since I turned off the cable,
I have been less angry.
It is amazing how watching the news
can piss you off.
I still read the news, online,
but there is something different about it:
I pick the stories that I am going to read;
the "news" is not force fed to me,
with someone else's point of view
being shoveled into my head.

You sometimes have to ask for help

Can I ask you a favor?
You won't be put out will you?
I need a ride to the grocery store;
I'm out of food.
There are so few people who I can ask,
and it helps me so much that you can
help me.
I thank you.

Woah is me

I don't think that they took the trash,
this week, woah is me. I wonder why
they didn't take the trash, this week,
woah is me. The trash will overflow,
this week, woah is me.

Maybe I'm wrong. I hear my housemate
pushing the trash back from the street;
maybe he knows something that I don't
know, oh woah is me.

At the end

I used to have a cigarette
first thing in the morning
I'd start my day coughing
That cigarette was not
my friend,
but I would embrace it anyway
I'm glad that there came a day
when I could put it down.

Serenade #11 in E Flat

It has taken me 52 years,
but I get Mozart,
and I would much rather
listen to Mozart
than I would Van Halen.

Cheater

I am no Count von Walsegg
my words are my own.

Did Mozart die broke?

I'm not sure,
but he might have.

I like Mozart; he is, some how, mellow and psychotic at the same time. Just when you think that the violent roller coaster ride that he has just taken you on is over, he grabs you by the testicles and pulls you onto the flying wheel ride.

If you were on a ship, and it was capsizing, you would know what to do, but if your country was capsizing, you would not be able to act as certainly. In fact you might not even know that your country was capsizing, and neither would I. So there we would be, in a capsized country. What next?

Lillies in the morning

There are only certain ways
that certain things can be.
I wish you could see the joy
that flowers bring to me.

Thoughtfulness before certainty

The cat looks out into the dark,
and I wonder if he can see.
I know that I can Google it,
but I want to ponder it a bit
before I do.

Setting The Goal

I will submit to the push up,
accept the sit up,
not over eat.
I will have the body
that I never had, even when I was young.
It will be fun, a fun run, achieving it.

The walk

I walked from downtown to midtown,
this afternoon, and both my hip,
and my knee seemed to enjoy the walk.
Personally, I thought that the walk
was too long.

Anarchy amongst those preserving order

It seems that there are no rules
for the security guards,
here in this government room,
where I am waiting
to take care of some business.
The guards chat amongst themselves,
about the hours on their pay check,
and about their vacation pay.
They talk on their cell phone.
One of the security guards
is a very aggressive man.
I think that he wants to be
a prison guard but he is not tough enough,
so he acts tough, here in this room,
with people who are peaceful.
Cowards mostly pick their marks carefully,
honing in on those who they perceive to be
weaker than them.

A prayer for a daughter and her mother

There is always a smile on her face,
when she goes to that special place,
that is the memory of her mother.

Her mother passed away too soon,
she had much room left to grow,
but had to do it without her mother.

The Lord is not always fair,
sometimes he takes away
those that we care the most about
in the morning
when we are not getting home
until the afternoon.

God, bless mother in Heaven,
and God bless daughter on earth.

I am wanting to expand my audience by writing a national column and I have no idea where to start. Do you have an ideas? Do you know of a publication that might be receptive to a column by Mikel K Poet? If you do, please let me know. It is time to get bigger! Also, if you like how I write, & you know a literary agent, please turn me onto them, or them onto me. I have three books ready to go to the top, baby, the top.

Thanks
Mikel K

It's about to be an embarrassing moment

I have a picture of her imprinted in my mind,
but I can't think of her name.

The concept of "choices," was alien to me. I just acted, instinctually from one situation to the next. Some said I was passionate. Some said I was drunk. When I was young, I didn't think that we had a lot of choices. Either you worked, or you couldn't get drunk. Nobody was going to buy your Jack Daniels and cigarettes for you; not unless they were as bad alcoholic as you; and in love with you.

Times have changed though. There is a lot greater freedom in existence in my mind. Maybe that is because my choices are better, and they are better because I am not making them drunk much of the time.

You don't have to be rich to have horses

She said that they had horses
at the house, and I said,
"Wow, you must be millionaires,"
and she said, "No, my dad
just bought us cheaper cars."
This poor kid had to go without
lunch, sometimes, so that
the horses could eat.
And then one of the horses
found its way to the swimming pool:
it took six hours
to get the poor horse out,
and then they had to put it down.
She text messaged me, last night,
and said that it was over.
Heck, nothing had begun.
She'd sent the text to the wrong guy.
I know what to expect now
if anything ever does get
started: what it would be like at the end.

Or maybe not

I could be anything
other than what I am; maybe.

Certain cavities

Food is expensive
my love is cheap
take a bite baby
and you're in very deep.

In four days, his smile will have been with us for twenty one years. I had many days of sadness before he was born, looking for happiness in a bottle of beer, sunshine in a cigarette. His birth helped me put all that behind me.

Yard Sale

It was when I knew that I wasn't
a primary thing in her life,
that I walked away from her.
I'm not a piece of furniture,
to be dusted off at whim.

Overheard on the bus

It's what I do.
I kill people.
Just like someone else
waits tables.

I constantly write these reminders to myself,
and I don't even know consciously that I am
doing such.

Some fun

Let's dance.
Let's party.
Let's get fucked up,
and wind up in jail,
covered in blood and puked,
blacked out,
not knowing how we got there.

Yeah.
Yeah.
Some fun.

If you want to be with me

I want to see you.
I want to get near you.
I have no idea of who you are.
I'm a superstar.
Get near me.
Be with me.
If you want to be with me,
you'll be with me.

I don't want my history to repeat itself

I don't "party" like I used to.
"Party" is a misnomer: I drank alcoholically.
I was a drunk, even at a young age,
but at a young age I didn't know that I was an alcoholic.
I thought that I was having fun,
and for a long time I was,
but the bottle caught up with me pretty quickly;
by the age of 22 I was a mess:
hungover, depressed.
I didn't know what was wrong.
I didn't tie the depression into the bottle.
I thought that the bottle was my friend.
I didn't sober up until I was 34.
It's 5 a.m. on a Monday.
I don't know why I am thinking about being young,
and drunk.
It never hurts to remember where I came from, though.

Maybe I'm going up,
and maybe you're standing still.

Every once in awhile I get attacked.
The attacker is usually male,
and they are attacking my poetry.
Why they bother reading it,
if it sucks for them, is beyond me.

Blow out the candles

There are some things that are
as much fun when you are seventy
as they were when you were seven,
and one of them is blowing out the candles
on your birthday cake.
We held a celebration for my son's birthday
on Saturday, and the look in his eye
on this his 21st birthday
was reminiscent of when he was a small boy.
My heart became young watching him.

Go with it

Our house is getting a paint job;
the landlords have been about
with paintbrushes, and cans full of paint
making this old house look new.
Often, when someone paints their house,
especially if it is a rental that they own,
it means that they are going to sell it.
I like my landlords, though, of course,
I wish that my rent was cheaper.
Change is good, though, and if they sell
I will just have to go with it.

I am trying to figure out
if listening to Mozart
at 5 a.m. would be too much.
They say that silence is important,
and if you structure it right,
there is a lot of silence at 5 a.m.

Appetizers before breakfast

Kobain, my cat, sits by his bowl,
from the minute that I awake,
whether I wake at 5 a.m. or noon.
The dogs gather by my desk,
at the same time,
trying to figure out what is happening.
The turtles could care less
that I have awoken.

I'm not asking for much

I like hot tea with milk
add a little chocolate
to the experience and wow.
Place some fresh flowers
on the desk in front of me,
and it is like nirvana.
Put your arms around me
and tell me that you love me,
and I am in heaven.

Hail Mary

It was too cold outside,
so I blew off my walk,
and I blew off the walk
that I was going to give
the dogs after I got done
with my walk.
I feel a certain guilt
about this.
I need to lose weight,
and I need to
work out my new hip.
I will not lose weight,
nor will I work in
my new hip
by blowing off walks.
There is always tomorrow,
and, I suppose,
if I still belonged to
The Catholic Church
that I could do one hundred
Our Fathers, and fifty Hail Mary's
to get off the hook,
but I don't, so I will just have to
suffer until I take my walk tomorrow.

Hey baby, check out my new hip

I am able to get around now.
I'm not styling about in a new car,
I'm styling about in a new hip.

It is another glorious new day

Face the day.
Feel the sun on your face.
(When it rises, for now it is 6:30 a.m.)
Smell the flowers on you desk.
(They are wilting. Seek out more flowers.)
Feed the cats.
Feed the dogs.
Feed the turtles.
Feed yourself.
Smile.
(It is another glorious new day.)

When Mary Jane broke his heart

He was romancing Mary Jane,
fingering his blue poker chip,
looked in the mirror and said,
"What's up?"

His wallet was empty,
his head was dead,
his calendar was blank,
but he hadn't been in the drunk tank
for so very long.

He was romancing Mary Jane,
wondering if it would be the same,
as it had been at the start,
or if it would be like it was
at the end when Mary Jane broke his heart.

Coast to coast

I was always wanting to be somewhere
other than where I was,
and then, when I got there,
I found that I had brought me with me.

A hard rain used to fall

I am full of imperfections
as wide as The San Andreas Fault.
I try to keep them in check,
but, sometimes, they have a mind of their own
like a tsunami.

What does Beethoven have to do with sit ups?

Beethoven plays as the man
on the internet teaches me
how to work my lower abs.
There are so many theories,
about how to do a sit up,
and so many machines,
designed to lighten your wallet
claiming to help you do
the perfect sit up.

Spin the wheel

I guess that he was talking to me,
but it didn't really matter,
because I had heard all that claptrap before.
You do what you do,
and you can't please everyone, so why try?
Just do what you do, and let the cards fall
where they may.

It just takes one

It just take one agent
to find my book salable,
and I've got a deal.

It just takes one woman
to love me, and then I
have a love.

It just takes one song
that I've written
to hit number one,
and then I've got a house.

I just takes one poem
to be etched in everyone's mind
and then I'll outlive sliced bread.

Psyching Up

I am going to walk this dog
around the block, and then
I will be almost done with
exercise for today. I just
have to do some push ups and
some sit ups after the walk.

Rain will not ruin my day

Mozart is playing
as she tells me
that it is going to rain
on Saturday.

Rain will not ruin her day.
Rain will not ruin my day.
We will figure out something
to do.

Noodles, white rice, and porn

I love noodles, and white rice
way more than I should
love noodles, and white rice,
but then some men love porn,
which could be worse than
loving noodles, and white rice.

It's all evil, baby

My love is sure.
My love is pure.
My love is certain
not to be flirting
with other girls.

I love you.
I love you.
I love you,
he said over the phone,
as he banged the girl's best friend.

I am where I am

I could have been a millionaire,
but I'm not.
I could have been a serial killer,
also, but I'm not.

Reasons

It is almost time for breakfast.
Food can often not drag me
away from this laptop,
but having to piss can.

Maybe and maybe not

As she hits the piano keys,
I hit the notes on my laptop.
I wonder about my relation
to her in the whole scheme
of things.
She is recognized throughout
the world, as being great.
No one knows who I am,
but I feel happy, today,
and, maybe she is miserable.

My new discovery

It is raining and wet outside,
but inside it is warm and dry.
Bundy is curled up underside my desk.
We play footsies, though he is nearly asleep.
I am sneezing.
I will have to turn off the fan.
My new discovery, Martha Argerich,
is playing piano for me.
She is pretty darn good.

It is often fun to be a novice

There are as many classical composers,
as there are teams of Jaggar/Richards
out there; what a brave, bold new world
that I have entered into.

When the books sell

When the books sell
I'm going to get a personal trainer
and put a gym in the house.
When the books sell,
I'm going to buy a piano,
and get a piano teacher.

Those are the only two things
that I can think of, right now,
that I want, when the books sell.

Air guitar(variation)

I sing the blues,
without singing.

Normally I just pay the late fee

I was in my early twenties
severely alcoholic; didn't know it,
very far away from a blue chip,
and very far behind on the rent.
I heard a knock on the door;
it was a very unfriendly knock,
so I knew that it was the landlady
looking for the rent.
I needed a little bit of time
away from her so that I could move out.
I needed to send her away for a bit,
so I took off all my clothes,
and answered the door naked.
She screamed.
I never saw her again,
and I moved my things out
in the middle of that very night.

To be

Any more than a cup of coffee
tries to be,
don't try to be anything.
Anymore than the rain
tries to be,
don't try to be anything.
Anymore than a baby,
tries to cry,
don't try to be anything.

I have trouble typing

How they learn to do that
I don't know.
It's enough to move your fingers
up and down the piano fast and accurate like that,
but to think that they are remembering notes
that Chopin or Mozart or Beethoven wrote
is amazing to me.

How I got my ass beat twice in one day

I was walking back from some place with my dad
on some Saturday in my youth, around the sixth grade,
and this kid who didn't like me anymore started
calling me names from across the street.
Since I was with my Dad, I started calling the kid
names back, and was really getting into it.
The kid kept hollering that the only reason
that I was being so brave was because I was with
my father, and the kid was right.
Suddenly, my dad says, "Go over there and fight him."
I gulped.
I knew that I was about to get my ass kicked;
I had hung out with that kid for a while
and had seen him in several fights.
I walked across the street and got my ass beat;
I remember that he got his knees on my shoulders
and was able to hit my face as much as he wanted to.
My father was not very happy that I had lost the fight.
He called me a pussy, and kicked me in the ass
for the whole walk home.

It's all rock n roll to me

She doesn't listen to them, anymore,
and would never ever go see them, again,
if they ever played live again,
but I still listen to them a bit.
She hooked me on them, when she was twelve
singing every word of every song
on every car drive that we took.
At that age, I was her chaperone
to concerts, so I saw them live.
She has moved on to other bands,
but I have stayed behind a bit.

Some times it's not enough

Some times, it's not enough
to eat fresh baked cookies
that you make at home.

Sometimes, it's not enough
to have a nice home cooked
meal.

Sometimes, it's not enough
to walk the dogs.

Sometimes, nothing is enough
when you are doing everything
alone.

She asked me to define God

That was easy: "God is the white guy with the white beard
in the sky who gets all the money that we put in the basket."

The color of her hair

She is blonde; I think
I don't know, I've never met her.

K: On writing

I'm looking for the high,
which is why I do it.

Sell Sell Sell

Craniums yapping, oh well,
the pressure comes from above
the man with a Mercedes
wants a villa in France,
so you dance at minimum wage,
like a slave,
you know you are,
but what can you do,
not everybody can be free.

I was facing a long night ahead of me

And then I realized that I have control of my night
so I fixed myself a cup of coffee
and I sat down at the keyboard and started to do
what I do: type poetry.
The night does not seem so long
once you create purpose for yourself.

Certainly not supper

Surround yourself with yourself
and who do you come home to?

Adrift

The smell of her is obscene,
it sends me into a frenzy,
every time I get in too deep,
with this woman,
I put out to sea,
without a life preserver,
just barely make it home.

Our right

See many on the floor,
few sleeping in beds,
those in the beds say,
"It's alright,"
for those to sleep
on the floor,
"It is our right to
sleep in the beds."

Diabetic Butterfly

I'm free
like a butterfly
listening to Martha Argerich
it is raining out
but I don't need an umbrella
because I am hiding out
where it is warm not cold
that's where I have to be
because I'm a diabetic butterly
and the cold is bad for me
flutter
flutter
flutter
here I go
the rain is over
and I've to go.

If you can Google it and Wikipedia has a listing for it, then it is true!

Sometimes I feel like I am up against
a brick wall. That is just how I felt
trying to write an article for this
online group call DemandStudios. I know
how to write.

A cup of coffee can't last forever,
and neither has any love that I've ever had
in the form that it started out, anyway
I've got a few sips left of this cup,
and the rest of my life to find a love.

He has a good wife.

Sanity with a smile on my face

In the morning I place a handful of pills
in my mouth. These pills keep me sane,
and healthy. Before I had the pills,
I had Jack Daniels, and Budweiser,
who did not keep me sane, and happy.

You have enough of your own

Most of what I write, this morning,
may never see the light of day
because it reflects a slight depression
that I am going through and I don't want
to burden you with my depression.

Such is life

If a good looking girl posts poems to the internet,
a long line of men line up to give her praise,
and forgive me for wondering if they are lining up
because they truly dug the poem, or because
they truly dig the chick.

Of course, this thought probably reflects some jealousy
on my part, because there is not a long line of women
lined up to praise my poetry.

You can't be happy all the time

But you can be happy most of the time;
the key is to watch who you let in
to your world, and why you are letting
them in.

Romance is out.
Friendship is in.

Please go spend time with them

People often offer up opinions
that are useless at best,
and detrimental, at worst.
Who cares what kind of poetry
I write, or whether you think
that it sucks.
If it sucks, why are you bothering
to read it?
There are a million other poets
who you could be spending your time with.

The same old me

The birds are whistling, outside my window,
and I have thanked God for letting me see
another day, and yet I am not fully ecstatic,
this morning, I have allowed the behavior
of another to get under my skin.
I used to be very thin skinned, and maybe
the problem is that I haven't changed very much.
Maybe I haven't grown at all, like I have been
thinking that I did, maybe I am the same old me
that I always was.

"We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected
by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic
fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

-- Herman Melville


Oh yeah, watch me, Mr Melville
watch me be a hermit crab.

Spring Forward

My computer said 7 not 6,
so I moved the two clocks
in the abode forward an hour.
My phone still says six;
though they are always on time
with the bill, they are behind
the times with the time.
I've lost an hour, but the sun
will set a little later,
giving me more time to smile
at the world.

Inebriated Thought

You don't know who God is, honey,
where have you been in your 50 years,
head buried in a bong?

Goal

I have to write 14 articles
which pay fifteen dollars a piece
to make the two hundred dollars
that I need to pay my heat bill.

Head banger

Sometimes you bang your head against a wall
and the wall gives just a little bit,
but your head hurts, so you think about it
and you don't bang your head on that wall anymore.

The wild scramble to keep the heat on

Pursuing a buck takes me away from writing;
it is a sad sick world that we live in
where they want to cut off my heat and electricity
next Thursday
Don't they realize that I have been without a job
for months due to getting a new hip?
They don't care: I've talked to them
When that cutoff time comes, the reaper cuts you off.
I've started work for this online company
that pays you to write articles for them.
Right now, I'm probably making a dollar an hour,
but I figure that I will get faster with it,
and better at it as times passes.
I need to set goals, I learned, tonight.
My main goal is to keep the heat on.
Amen.

You a cheater with your words

Someone turned me onto this site
that pays you to write;
I turned in my first article,
and they flagged it for "plagiarism."
What a slap in the face.
I have never plagiarized anything.
The computer that made the accusation,
now turns my article over to a human.
I will be interested to see
what he or she thinks.
I hope that their thinking is clearer
than that of their computer.

Our choice of words, or mine, are important; very important. I am slow to learn some lessons, still, but as long as I am living, I am blessed to have the near day with which to learn, and grow, and smile in. Today, I am writing things I don t really want to write, but I am learning from them. I now know how to convert a motorcycle to an electric engine, not to say that I could do it, but I do know how it is done.

I got a form letter from Demand Studios saying
that I plagiarized, that their computer
had caught me using someone else's words.
It is certainly not a nice
thing to have happen to you in your
afternoon, not when you are expecting
a letter from them saying that you will
soon be receiving payment from them for
the article. The heat gets turned off
next Tuesday, not a pretty thing to be
facing. Plagiarism my ass; when you research
an article, on a subject such as,
"How to build a portable basketball goal,"
there are only so many words to be used to
describe the project: basketball. goal.
portable. There...he's a cheater he used those
three words. What a fucking pain in the ass.

Mentally, it was a lousy day. Last night, I got into an argument, of sorts, online with this woman who I was interested in, and it threw me off, today. I de-friended her on FB, as a result of the argument, and then, later in the day sent her a friend requeat: some mushy stuff, really.

This could point out that I am not ready for a relationship with a woman, or it could just point out that she is not the woman for me to be in a relationship with. Either way, I got far too imbalanced over this whole thing. It is a tendency that I used to have, and I am working very hard on not having this tendency these days. I am not perfect, though; every day will not be perfect.

Sometimes I feel like I am up against
a brick wall. That is just how I felt
trying to write an article for this
online group call DemandStudios. I know
how to write.

A cup of coffee can't last forever,
and neither has any love that I've ever had
in the form that it started out, anyway
I've got a few sips left of this cup,
and the rest of my life to find a love.

Sanity with a smile on my face

In the morning I place a handful of pills
in my mouth. These pills keep me sane,
and healthy. Before I had the pills,
I had Jack Daniels, and Budweiser,
who did not keep me sane, and happy.

You have enough of your own

Most of what I write, this morning,
may never see the light of day
because it reflects a slight depression
that I am going through and I don't want
to burden you with my depression.

Such is life

If a good looking girl posts poems to the internet,
a long line of men line up to give her praise,
and forgive me for wondering if they are lining up
because they truly dug the poem, or because
they truly dig the chick.

Of course, this thought probably reflects some jealousy
on my part, because there is not a long line of women
lined up to praise my poetry.

You can't be happy all the time

But you can be happy most of the time;
the key is to watch who you let in
to your world, and why you are letting
them in.

Romance is out.
Friendship is in.

Please go spend time with them

People often offer up opinions
that are useless at best,
and detrimental, at worst.
Who cares what kind of poetry
I write, or whether you think
that it sucks.
If it sucks, why are you bothering
to read it?
There are a million other poets
who you could be spending your time with.

The same old me

The birds are whistling, outside my window,
and I have thanked God for letting me see
another day, and yet I am not fully ecstatic,
this morning, I have allowed the behavior
of another to get under my skin.
I used to be very thin skinned, and maybe
the problem is that I haven't changed very much.
Maybe I haven't grown at all, like I have been
thinking that I did, maybe I am the same old me
that I always was.

"We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected
by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic
fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

-- Herman Melville


Oh yeah, watch me, Mr Melville
watch me be a hermit crab.

250 -95 leaves 155 needed to keep the lights on.
I'm selling my cd's on Thurs. Say I make 55, that
leaves 100 needed. Can you hook a brother up,
and put some money in my tip jar? I will give
you an e copy of both of my books, "The Delivery Guy,"
and, "Did you write the book of love?" both of
them memoirs, from two very different times in my
life: one a crazy time, where I was getting sober,
and the other a happy time where I am content
to write poems and raise dogs,cats,and turtles,
because the children don't need me anymore. Also,
I will mail you a copy of The Mikel K Band Cd,
"Don't Say Hate." This is Mikel K Poet doing his poetry
with one of the greatest bands in the world.
K was voted best spoken word performer for his work
on the, "Don't Say Hate," cd.
Posted by mikel k poetat 5:08 PM0 comments Links to this post
I'd sell my body if someone would buy it

I'm gutting my cd collection
to sell the ones that will sell
to get money for my utility bill.
Posted by mikel k poetat 4:32 PM0 comments Links to this post
Money in the bank
money in the bank
you got to have some money in the bank.
If you don't, your kid is going to drive the man's tank.
Posted by mikel k poetat 12:25 PM0 comments Links to this post
They don't care what color you are

Guy on the radio talking about
how he got to hustle,
to pay the cutoff notices, too.
Maybe I don't need to feel so blue,
there are other folks out there
going through this, too.
The power company don't discriminate.
Posted by mikel k poetat 10:17 AM0 comments Links to this post
Denial

Make me sweet.
Make me some sweets.
Show me your rules.
I ain't no fool,
I ain't no fool in love
I ain't no fool in love,
in love,
in love,
I think that I'm in love.
Posted by mikel k poetat 10:16 AM0 comments Links to this post
If you don't really love me

If you don't really love me, babe
just turn around and walk out that door.
If you don't really love me babe,
don't be hanging your hat here, no more.
If you don't really love me.
If you don't really love me.
I can take it like a man.
If you don't really love me,
if you don't really love me.
Don't mean nothing to me.
It don't really mean nothing to me,
just turn around and walk our that door
if you don't really love me,
don't be hanging your hat here, no more.
I can take it like a man.
I can take it like a man.
A grown man dont't get down on his knees
and cry.
A grown man
A grown man
A grown man
got to take it like a man
if you don't love me
if you don t love me
just turn around and walk out that door
yeah, walk out that door
walk out that door
walk out that door
and shut that door
shut that door
shut that door
I don't want you to see me cry,
no more.
Posted by mikel k poetat 9:41 AM0 comments Links to this post
Don't need no woman

Don't need no woman
telling me I can't dance.
Don't need no woman
telling me she don't like
what I got in my pants.
Don't need no woman.
Don't need no woman
coming down on me,
don't need no woman,
don't need no woman,
can't you see,
ain't been no woman
who's been good to me.
Posted by mikel k poetat 9:38 AM0 comments Links to this post
White boys can't sing the blues

I know I'm going to catch some criticism
but white boys can't sing the blues;
wait that's a stupid statement,
it's like saying that black people can't rock n roll.
You're not going to catch me
saying either of those things.
Posted by mikel k poetat 9:13 AM0 comments Links to this post
So, I'm in the tail end of this depression, because I'm considering mysef to be a desperate loser who doesn't have a "real" job, and who is about to lose the lights, and heat in his house in about a week, and I get a call from Rick Booher, singer songwriter, hairdresser to the stars.

"They just mentioned your name on the radio, bro." It's weird that I am up this early, today; but Rick has just made my day. Danny "Mudcat" Dudek is in the studio that Rick is headed to in his car, and Danny has mentioned my name as participating in the big blues benefit that he is throwing at a club in North Atlanta this coming weekend.

Turn the engine off that car in the garage, darling.

You can have value in certain circles, a high value at that, and yet, in other circles, you are just a piece of dog dung on the bottom of someone's shoe.

I was born to sing the blues.
Posted by mikel k poetat 8:04 AM0 comments Links to this post
Usually, it is Morisson who stands out front when I am in the kitchen, with Bundy in the background, both dogs waiting to see if I will throw them a slice of banana, a piece of bread, some ice, and even, sometimes, a real doggie treat; but this morning, for some reason, Bundy was out in front of Morisson, staring at me with hopeful eyes. The chances of the dogs' getting a treat, this early in the morning are none, because I just fed them from the big yellow bag. Still it is cute to see their enthusiasm.

I have been trying to write for this site called demand studios and it is going to give me a nervous breakdown, it really is. They pay $7.50 for some articles, and $15.00 for others. It would seem stupid to write a $7.50 article, when you could write a $15.00 article, but some of the $7.50 articles are far more interesting than the $15.00 articles. I picked this $7.50 article entitled,"What food will make a rat grow faster?" It seemed like a straight forward enough subject, I thought: a couple of searches on Google, and I should have the answer.

I have learned just about everything about rats. I have learned that in captivity, they will be incestuous. I have learned what they will and won't eat. I have learned how old the female will be when she stops having babies, and I have learned that it is breeders of rats for feeding purposes who would want their rat to grow faster, and that rapid growth in rats can cause cancer and all other sorts of health issues.

But, I haven't learned what makes the breeders' rats go faster, and I have spent three days on this story; three days for $7.50, and I still haven't chalked up the $7.50.

Writing for demand studios makes me feel like I don't know how to write, like I am a pathetic loser. I also submitted this article, a $15.00 one, about how to convert a motorcycle to electric power. The "editor" came back and said that I had not gone into detail enough, that I needed to consult a motorcycle manual. For fifteen bucks you are not going to get a write that would take some Ph. d in mechanical engineering to write.

You take out the gas engine, and the gas tank, and any wiring not needed. You put in the batteries and hook them up, and, bam, there you go: you have your article.

You, or at least I, have to pick your fights in life. I am not cut out to do many things on this planet, and one of them is to write for demand studios. The utility bill is due, but I am better off going living with candles, than going crazy trying to make a buck in arenas that I am not capable of making a buck in. With all that I have learned about rats, though, I might like to have one as a pet, one day, and I don't mean catching one in the kitchen.

--Mikel K
Posted by mikel k poetat 6:38 AM0 comments Links to this post
TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010
My back is starting to hurt.
I feel like a jerk for complaining.
Posted by mikel k poetat 8:14 PM0 comments Links to this post
I can't always have a smile on my face.
It isn't always peace and love.
I've got to bitch sometimes,
even if it's only in my mind.

Gimmee a break
let me make a brake
from the rat race
I got to get out
of this place.
Posted by mikel k poetat 8:12 PM0 comments Links to this post
Judy's a punk

I am wasting a night of my life
worrying about something that I
can do nothing about tonight.

This seems silly or stupid;
a huge waste of time, really.
So, I am going to put The Ramones
on, and see if things change some
for me.

Morisson came to my side
as soon as the first song came on,
and started pounding his tail
against a chair.
Posted by mikel k poetat 7:47 PM0 comments Links to this post
Maybe it's time to see what's on the other side

I feel bummed out, depressed
I'm a worthless piece of shit.
Everyone else has money to pay
their bills, and I don't.
Everybody else has a job,
and I don't.
I don't really like the world
as it is.
I don't really fit into it.
It would be stupid to kill yourself
over a two hundred and fifty dollar
utility bill, but I might,
because, you know why,
for the fucking rest of my life
there are going to be utility bills
to pay, and jobs to have, and
you have to crawl around like some
useless piece of shit to fit into
their jobs, and grovel to get the money
to pay their bills.
There has got to be something
better than this.
Posted by mikel k poetat 7:42 PM0 comments Links to this post
Some fish.
Some cottage cheese.
Some fried potatoes.
I will eat this bad mood away.
Posted by mikel k poetat 6:40 PM0 comments Links to this post
She's kind of a bitch
I don t know if she was born that way,
or if circumstances drove her there.
She is quite unpleasant,
not anyone who I would want to be around.

That seems weird to me

This lady is having a play,
and only women can attend.

Have you got your ticket?

I'm a leading man,
but my play hasn't began.

Leave your desk and go outside

I believe in love.
I believe in the dollar.
I believe if you ain't got the dollar,
you are going to have trouble finding love.
I believe that it is a beautiful day, outside,
and that when I am done drinking this coffee,
I am going to go outside with these dogs.

If I woke up at a soup kitchen

Foreclosed upon flowers fight for life on the front lawn
of a house that the owner was somehow robbed of.
You fight for your dignity in a world where dollars and cents
make the most sense to most everybody.

The Night Before

I need some medical marijuana
so I can self medicate make
these yucky feelings go away.
They told me that pot would
lead me back to liquor, and
there I would be again, covered
in blood, and puke in the drunk tank,
emerging from a black out to
wonder what I'd done the night
before, what to tell the judge,
once more.

Things that are bad for me

I love salt, but it's bad for me.
I want to love me a woman,
but there is no woman in sight.
I used to love to fight, kind of,
sort of, but it landed me in jail.
I love oatmeal with peanut butter,
and I'm eating some right now.
I love hot tea with milk.
I love coffee.
I love my kids.
I love my dogs, cats, and animals.
This poem started of with a little bit of salt
and ended up as a reminder of all the love
that I have in my life.

I haven't seen her in 35 years

My mother taught me how to
eat a grapefruit,
she taught me how to fry an egg,
she taught me how to tie my shoes,
and she taught me how to cry.

My father taught me to fight.
He tried to teach me how to fish.
He taught me how to clean the toilet,
and he taught me how to cry.

Watcha Doin' ?

I wonder what everybody is up to.
I will never find out sitting here
at my desk.

I'm staying in the closet

She said that I should talk about it,
but I don't want to talk about it.
I want to hide it away so that no one
will think that I am evil.

Someone feed the dogs.

It's just my twelve hundred thousand nervous breakdown
I don t like to get caught without an umbrella in the rain
If you see me dancing naked in front of the state capitol
you'll know that I've gone insane.

I just survived a nervous break down all alone

Pressure gets to me
Stress will kill me,
like it did my Dad.

When opportunity wants to knock you out

I met this guy said he had all the answers
and he was going to share them with me
if I would just work for him for a little while.
And what he was doing was cheating people,
so I left the business and never found out
all the answers.

Tick Tock

I may have too much time on my hands,
too many thoughts on my mind.

Keeping the lights on

I am no longer plotting revolution
I have succumbed to a utility bill.

Clocked out

The flowers that stood so tall this morning
are now drooping; it is as if they have worked
a twelve to fourteen hour day, and are now tired.

Ain't that funny

Your kisses smothered him
he almost chocked on them,
but now that you are gone
he misses them.

What I'm doing

I'm soaking my foot in water;
after that I will do my pushups.

Bundy the wonder dog

The dogs are strewn on the floor.
Morisson, and I, went for a walk
to the store, earlier.
Bundy barked, jealous,
because he couldn't go.
I can't take Bundy to the store,
because he barks the whole time
that I am shopping.
He has an extreme case of separation anxiety.

Coffee

A sip to my lips
and down my throat it goes.
Susceptible to song

Susceptible to song

"You're beautiful," she sang,
and I felt beautiful,
and if she had sang,
"You are a scumbag,"
I would have felt like a scumbag,
susceptible as I am,
this morning, to song.

High School Flirtation

She put out a feeler
checked me out
then decided that
I wasn't the one for her.

This is life

What I am living is it,
not what I fantasize it might be.

I was going to say that at 5 a.m. the dogs are still asleep, but as I am about to say it, Morisson wanders up to my hand. He doesn't stay near it for long though, almost immediately laying down on the floor.

The email says that someone wants to buy my timeshare. I don't have a timeshare. I don't take vacations. Maybe, if I had a timeshare, Debbie who loves me so much and I could get together.

"Never kept a dollar past sunset.
Always burned a hole in my pants."
--Keith Richards

And don't try to pet me

I'm like a dog
that has been kicked
into submission.
I will always cower
at the sound
of your angry voice,
even if you are not
yelling at me.

Trading places

Morisson did not interact very well
with other dogs, yesterday,
when we were at the park.
Dogs would come up to say hello to him,
and he would explode on them.
I think that he has been hanging around
my other dog, Bundy, too much.

Most people work on Friday

The park was full of people, yesterday,
but it was not saturated with folks
like it will be today.

I see her bag more than I see her

I see less and less of her
She drops her bag off here
most mornings,
and sometimes picks it up,
in the evening.
She is on the soccer team, now,
and that eats up a of her time.
She is a teenager, now,
and that eats up a lot of her time, also.
In two years, when she graduates
from high school,
I will have no purpose,
just like I had no purpose
when each of her brothers graduated
before her.

"Ya know...I have been holding back, but because I love you I am going to say it...all your posts are about your pets or taking pictures of your dinner...people want to your poetry....you're slacking Mikel... Get back into the groove...we know your dogs name, the cats name and all about the turtles and what you had for every meal...give us what we want and that is your poetry."-Diana Carson May-Waldman, Poet

I didn't stand a chance

Everybody wants to know
about the girl on the bus
who I thought was pretty.
I'll never see her, again;
she was just a passing infatuation.
Black women are never interested
in me.

At two bucks a cd I'm keeping mine

Even though I'm broke,
and I need the money,
I'm not going to sell
my c.d. collection
like I was planning to.
The man at the record store
said that they had more c.d.s
than they needed
so they were only paying
two dollars per c.d.
I figure that it's a recession
and everybody has been selling
their c.d. collection
like I was planning to.

Justification

I hope it's not considered stealing
that I took packets of sweetener
from the free coffee area
at the grocery store, yesterday.
I don't steal anymore, but they have been out of
my sweetener for over a week, now.
I am out of it at the house,
and I can't go without it; I just can't.
I mean, it's not like stealing a car,
or ripping people of on their credit cards,
or houses, is it?

Positive affirmation from one above you

My father told me that, "I would never have a pot to piss in,"
but he is wrong: they gave me a pot to piss in at the hospital,
when I was there getting a new hip. I am a broke bastard, though,
I wonder how the old man figured out that I would spend my hours,
my days, my weeks, my months, and years writing poetry instead of
chasing a buck like he did.

Not like grandma used to make

I baked better in the beginning.
I think that I followed the recipes,then.
The blueberry muffins, so far tonight,
are turning out to be blue.
I think that I used too many blueberries.
I dumped the half of the bag that I had left,
into the dough, at that point
when you are supposed to dump the blueberries in,
but I had trouble getting them all to fit.
I'm going to let the biscuits bake
for an extra few minutes.
That might help, or it might burn them,
which really wouldn't matter
because I think that they are already ruined.

More piano please

The violin irritates me.
I clicked on the site to hear Martha play,
and this guy is trying to steal the show,
but he can't.
He is wanking it,
like a drunk bass player will do,
forgetting his place in the band,
trying to get everyone in the audience
to look at him.
The violin player makes me feel like
I am dragging my teeth on a chalkboard
back in school.

Don't let it bring you down

It's ok, you hit another lever
became the true believer
put down your fast food
started eating from a local farm
thought that you could change
the world.

But you couldn't,
so you became Abbie Hoffman,
and died,
or better yet you remained
true to yourself
found others like you
and changed the world.

It's just a waste of money to me

It's the beginning of the world
as I know it, and I feel like shit,
that's just how it goes, sometimes.
You can't win the lottery every day,
in fact I've never bought a ticket,
why?

Paralysis

You're mumbling; the edge is clean
but they want the interior square.
You only signed up for the position,
because you have a kid, didn't think
they'd want to take your heart and soul.

A worker takes pride in his work,
you don't fit in because you don't
give a damn, don't carry a big lunch box,
and a tool bag.

The pay check comes it's not enough
you got problems at home,
your back is starting to hurt
from the work that they have you do.

They've got the workers brainwashed,
because they need a pay check, too,
We're all in this together,
but there is nothing any one of us
is going to do.

When you've gone through my eyes

When you've gone through my eyes,
when you're not standing still
in front of me, anymore.
Then, I ll put myself to sleep;
I have gotten in too deep.
When you are out of my reach,
I'll put myself to sleep.

You came in too fast,
and you left too slow.
When I was younger,
and had better taste,
a woman such as you could not
have laid a man like me to waste.

I think that I'll put myself to sleep.
I've gotten in too deep.
When you are out of reach,
I will put myself to sleep.

I'd rather be alone
than waiting by the telephone
plans changed but you never told me
you think I'm going to get old
with you laying next to me
lying through your teeth.

I think that I'll put myself to sleep.
I've gotten in too deep.
When you are out of reach,
I will put myself to sleep.

In over his head

I'm waiting to put myself to sleep
In too deep; I got in too deep

If we all had a big penis

If we all had a big penis
Vietnam would never have happened.

If we all had a big penis,
there would not be war
in Afghanistan, or Iraq.

If we all had a big penis,
men wouldn't beat their wives.

If we all had a big penis,
there wouldn't be a need
for those pictures of starving kids
on tv, with a famous actress
asking you for your money.

If we all had a big penis,
pharmaceutical companies wouldn't charge
so much for things that people need to live.

If we all had a big penis,
major corporations wouldn't have polluted
our air, and our waters,
and be allowed to get away with it.

If we all had a big penis,
when I was a kid,
I would have felt like my dad loved me.

If we all had a big penis,
Wal-Mart wouldn't be suspect
of not liking black people,
and of all the other things unscrupulous
that they do in the name of a buck.

If we all had a big penis,
making a buck wouldn't be
the most important thing
to most of us,
peace and love would be.

If we all had a big penis,
those ads that come to us
in the email saying that
we could have a big penis
might stop coming, and oh
what a perfect world
that would be.

If we all had a big penis;
If we all had a big penis.



Self-analysis

My therapist is going to have to adjust my meds, when I go see her, next Tuesday. Something in the mix is not working. I have been thinking that life would be better than death for about a week now, and that is not how I usually feel. I am depressed with there being no reason to be depressed: bills are always due, women are always rejecting me.

Who's been good?

I normally will give Bundy, and Morisson, only one snack that comes from a box at a time, and that snack is one that is mostly broken in two. I figure that those snacks are probably not the healthiest, so I try to keep giving them to my dogs to a minumum.

I altered my policy on this, just minutes ago. I'm not sure why. A wave of benevolence swooped over me, and I succumbed to it. The dogs were sitting there in front of me, being so good, looking so wanting. You could tell that they were surprised; they caught the second snack in their mouths, and headed for the other room to consume them, as if by staying near me, I might try to take them back.

It is a beautiful day out there, and I know that I should be out there in it, but I just don't feel like it. I feel like sitting here at this desk like I always do. What's up with that?

I missed the gig

The fucking bus didn't show up
when it was supposed to,
was the driver smoking crack,
or taking a nap somewhere?

Untitled

The poems are coming this morning,
but not the titles,
so I save the poems on the computer,
knowing that I can come back to them, later,
and the titles will appear.

Keeping our clothes on

She acts like a dancer
but she keeps her clothes on,
when she hits you up for a buck.
It's o.k., I have hit people up
for a buck, in my time,
and you know that two wrongs
sometimes make a right.

Asana

She acts like she is a flower, or an open book.
The flower is a rose, covered with more thorns
than petals,
the book is one about fascism,
how to hide in plain site
all the mean things that you are,
and pawn yourself off as mellow.
You may be able to stretch
your leg around your head,
but you have not reached the higher level
of consciousness that you would like us
to believe that you have achieved,
but that is ok, you are who you are,
and I don't have to interact with you.

Dig deeper

I'm not supposed to write about the dogs, cats, or turtles,
because Dylan says that I am getting redundant.
I am only redundant on the cover page,
you have to open the book, and look inside.

Walking, swimming, push ups, sit ups, and Yoga

I keep telling myself to get up and write,
but the bed engulfs me,
the pillows pull me deeper in, this morning
My knee is bothering me,
my arthritic knee,
I shouldn't have arthritis at 52,
I tell myself, but I do,
and I have a new hip, also.
Exercise has become important,
and watching what I eat.
The people who I am descended from,
and the weight that I have put on,
have caused me to be where I am,
but I do not have to stay here,
I know that.

Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:23
Ya know...I have been holding back, but because I love you I am going to say it...all your posts are about your pets or taking pictures of your dinner...people want to your poetry....you're slacking Mikel... Get back into the groove...we know your dogs name, the cats name and all about the turtles and what you had for every meal...give us what we want and that is your poetry!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxox I love you, Mikel...you know I do.



Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:24
The poetry is in my notes, every day, darling.



Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:29
But, not on the news feed, MIkel..people glance the news feed.




Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:30
I put it there every time I put it in notes. I have to write the title and post the link, but I do it every time. Also, put it on opensalon.com

Do you think I write to hide the stuff!!???




Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:32
No, I don't.... never mind...you don't get it. Just know, that I believe in you and I want you to be the best that you can be....




Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:33
What don t I get? And thank you.






Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:37
You don't get that you are getting redundant and your fans want to hear more...what does Mikel K feel...what are his thought when he wakes up...what are his dreams...where is he going...give you fans a window into your life aside from Morrison, Bundy, Jaggar, the turtles and what you had for dinner.






Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:39
you re not reading in the right places






Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:43
I am reading the news feed and I read your penis poem today... I wan t Mikel to tell us how he feels when the sun is shining on his face and not just that Scout is napping..but take us there...what does the GREAT Mikel K feel when he sees his sleeping daughter...you have so much to say






Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:49
sorry that i no longer satisfy your needs but what you see is what you get






Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:53
Make no mistake about it...you satisfy me...you always have...even when you were a jerk to me...why do I think I still love you? Because you are the best...don't cop out on me...I frikkin' believe in you...but we all know, if someone loves you or calls you out or tells you that they care...you retreat...you will always be on my top list of people that I adore...you have no idea what your value is...you are the one of the most compassionate people that I have ever met. read it again, Mikel...I adore you...





Mikel K Poet 19 March at 23:55
yer killin' me!!!




Diana Carson May-Waldman 19 March at 23:58
No Mikel...I just want to love you and be your friend....fuck all that your Dad said...he was wrong..YOU ROCK...period...end of story. You are one of the best...every time I read what you write in your poetry..I see you ...the real you and who could not love you???




Mikel K Poet 20 March at 00:02
Hmmmmmm...



Diana Carson May-Waldman 20 March at 00:08
You just did it Mikel... I tell you how wonderful you are and you retreat..I refuse to spoon feed you bullshit...you are my all time favorite poet, friend...man, father...human...dog owner, cat owner and turtle owner..I just want you to be the best that you can be...in short,,,I want more and so does everyone else. What does Mikel feel when he steps into the new day, under the sun, with the warmth on his face...what does he see on his walk with the dog..what interactions does he have with the people that he passes...how does he feel when he sees his daughter sleeping or smells new life in Elliot,,,how does he feel when he walks with is new hip and how does he feel when he feel when he sits down to write...what moves you and what did you find attractive about the girl on the bus...do I read you every single day, Mikel???? It should be obvious that I do.




Diana Carson May-Waldman 20 March at 00:13
I am going to bed so I can wake up and aspire to be half as good as you are. I love you, Mikel...nothing more...nothing less. Believe.
SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010

Not in the countdown

She would have been
just a girl then,
so the song
couldn't have been
written about her.

I feel better when you look at me

Sometimes it makes me feel bitter
when you smile at him.

I don't have anything

I bought my gal a shiny diamond ring
she took it to the man,
he gave her some crack and she smoked it.
My baby smoked my diamond ring.
I gave the jeweler everything I had,
and now I don't have anything.

I gave my baby a diamond ring,
and she smoked it.

Good loving

You got your fingers around my throat
and it feels like good loving to me.
You got a knife to my neck,
and I don't need no sympathy.
You got your hand inside my wallet,
and all I can say, baby, is take some more.

I'm hooked like some fellas are to heroin.
I'm hooked like some men are to crack.
I'm hooked; I'm hooked baby,
and I ain't never coming back.

I don't care if the sun don't ever shine again,
I got a woman who says that she is my friend.

He's got a cement life preserver

I owe the New Jersey bankers my pay check for the next 27 years
but I got a career yeah I got a career
I ain't never getting out of here
Mom and Dad are happy, but I feel like a slave
Student loans are like noose around my neck
but I got a job and everybody else would say what the heck
are you complaining about
I'm complaining that I ain't free.

Somebody was looking out for me

I guess that I've been through hard times,
but I lived through it to see the smiles
on my children's' faces.

I've been many places,
and one of them was jail;
never had the bail,
but always got out somehow.
There was someone around
who loved me, when I didn't
love myself.

If some pretty girl would kiss me

I shouldn't have the blues.
I already paid my dues.
I should be happy,
but I feel like
somebody slapped me in the face.

Somebody slap me in the face,
wake me up to all the good
that I have in my life,
three beautiful children,
no nagging wife.

I shouldn't be pissed,
I need to make a gratuity list,
think about all the girls I've kissed,
and not about the one that I'm missing
kissing, today.

I am missing kissing, today,
That's all I got to say.
If some pretty girl would kiss me,
the blues would go away.

We all need something

I need a good hearted woman,
cuz I'm a good hearted man.

Time out

I've got the blues,
and the only one
who I want to talk to
is my pillow.

How do you learn how to play harmonica?

Do you go down to the harmonica store,
and get you some lessons?

Whispers stained in white

Big time; bittersweet,
my work is never done.

I was born to raise my kids

I was not born a rambling man.
I wasn't born a beatnik.

And just see what happens

I really think that she is beautiful
but I would never tell her so
because I am scared that she would
break me in two.

I guess this is a fear of rejection, that I have,
but it is also the voice of experience
speaking from inside of me,
because I have approached a number of women
in my time, and told them that they
were beautiful, and they have spit on me,
metaphorically speaking.

I am not sure what to do about this,
except to keep on living my life,
taking things one day at a time,
and just see what happens.

Freezing my ass off

I found out that I can take cold showers.
I took one yesterday and it wasn't all that bad.
I certainly was awake when I came out of it,
but, still, I called the landlady, today,
because why take cold showers when you don't have to.

I wouldn't want to brush my teeth

Someone said give your toothpaste to the homeless,
and I thought, why would I do that,
the homeless guy wouldn't use it, and I need it.
I am pretty close to being homeless, myself,
and if some guy came up to me on the sidewalk
where I was living
and handed me a tube of tooth paste
I would open it and squirt it all over him.
I would want cash for crack,
or money for a Listerine buzz,
I wouldn't want to brush my teeth.

I want a job where I can bring my toothpaste with me

The church lady gave me several bags of food
and then I headed down to the college
that I had graduated from
to look at the job board.
The guy sitting at the desk
asked me what kind of job did I want,
and I said that I hadn't thought it out that far,
that I just wanted a job.
As I left he hollered at me,
that my toothpaste was falling out of my bag.
(The church lady had given me some toothpaste, also,
perhaps as some sort of hint.)
I was very embarrassed and thought
what a homeless looking m fer I must look like,
I'll never get a job here.

Laying around

The turtles are laying on their rock,
the cats are laying on my bed,
the dogs are laying on the floor,
and I am thinking about having some oatmeal,
and then going back to bed.

All my troubles went away

Yesterday, was a brilliant day.
I got a new library card,
and checked out three books,
but, more importantly, someone helped me out
with my past due utility bill.
It was an "association," of eight churches,
the lady told me, as we filled out the paperwork
that would lead to her handing me a check
made out to the utility company.

The association's office
was located in the basement
of a Methodist church;
the lady who processed me
said that she went to a Lutheran church.
I mentioned that I used to be Catholic,
and she said, "Oh yes, there is
a Catholic Church involved also."

I was surprised about that,
I was of the impression that most Catholic Churches
kept everything that was put in the basket on Sunday
for themselves.

Who was really doing the hallucinating?

It wasn't;
but the bus felt like
it was careening
out of control.

The bus driver had drank
mushroom tea for lunch,
and was, now, hallucinating
like a hippy at Woodstock,
was my thought.

I had to put the book
that I was reading down.
I was getting dizzy with fear.

Life could suck, at times,
but I wasn't ready for it
to end right now.

As she pulled into the station
that was my destination,
I breathed a sigh of heavy relief.

Leaving the bus, I thanked the driver,
as I always thanked the drivers,
but, this time, there was a special
significance to my thanks.

I mean I really meant it, this time;
it wasn't just a courtesy, a politeness.

It was a heartfelt thanks.

Paying the rent

Downtown workers; to where are they walking?
To mundane jobs.
To fast food lunches.
To cups of coffee to keep them awake.

I feel superior sitting inside this coffee shop
staring out the window at them, but I am not
superior: I am waiting for a church to help me
pay my electric bill. Downtown workers have
the money for their bills.

Quarry

What did I do wrong?
I only loved you.

What goes around

Riding the bus, the other day, I was reminded of
the time, not too long ago,
where the young lady gave up her seat
in the elderly/handicapped area
for me and my cane.
I thought that the act was special
at the time,
and I still think that it is special,
and, now that I have left my cane behind,
I will look for opportunities to perform
the same random act of kindness.

Not fully singing the blues

He was blues influenced, which meant that he wasn't fully depressed,
and didn't need to go see the shrink, and get pills.

Call me old fashioned

I got the blues
because the electric company
says that their money is due.
Yeah, I got the blues
because the electric company
is going to shut my lights off.
Yeah, I got the blues
because I don't want to read
by candlelight.

Love does not always come

Love does not always come
in the form of a kiss from a lover.
Open your eyes and you might discover
love surrounds you,
love is around you in places
that you might be too blind to see.
Love is that friend
who you thought had forgotten about you,
but she just came through for you,
now what do you do
but open your eyes to all the love
that is around you.

So what?

I went to bed at 9 p.m.
and woke up at noon.

She's killing me

Either I slept through it,
or the alarm in my cell phone
didn't go off, but I woke up
right on time to be catching
the 1:14 pm bus
to my physical therapy appointment,
which meant, of course, that I was late.
I called the office, immediately,
and my PT, a very nice woman
named Chris, said that I could
come on in, even though I was late.
When I got there Chris said,
"It is Friday, do you know what
that means?"
I didn't.
"It means that I don't kill you,"
said Chris with a smile.
Chris is a woman who is capable
of "killing me."
She can put me through
such an intense workout
that I can barely walk out
of the facility;
all with the purpose
of strengthening this new hip
that I have in my body.

Greetings to the Great Danes

There are two Great Danes on my porch.
Bundy is getting to know them,
by emitting a series of growls and whimpers
through the glass in our front door.
Our new neighbors are moving in,
and with them are moving in
two of the largest dogs that I have ever seen.
This should be an adventure.
I wish my new neighbors the best,
in their new apartment.
I have found this to be a great place to live,
and I hope that they will, too.

Chastity

Every poem can't be great,
just like every woman can't be pure.

Taste

The poems that one person doesn't like,
another person loves.

But it's already spent

I was looking forward to having
the extra money that my son's mother
was going to give me,
and then I realized that it would have to
go towards heart worm pills for the dogs.
You know that it is always something,
don't you?

The attention mongers

I blow kisses to the cat,
and the dogs come running:
their lust for attention
is incessant.

Two baby dinosaurs have moved in next door

I keep waiting for the pounding
of the Great Danes' feet on the hardwood floors,
next door, to disturb me, but, so far, they haven't
so much as kept me awake or awoken me.
I am aware of the two regal dogs presence,
but that is all.
Bundy is aware of them, too.
On occasion, he growls to signal this,
so really it is my own dog that has disturbed me,
and not my new neighbors' dogs.
I am used to having the apartment next to me vacant,
so I am spoiled.
I think that these folks who moved in
will be good neighbors, though.
I have never been neighbors with Great Danes before.

Danes so great

The are like giant dinosaurs
prowling around on our porch.
My cats and Bundy are assembled
at the glass door checking out
their new neighbors,
and a little kitty wanders up
to our door,
and I think how unique that
this kitty has two Great Danes
for roommates.

I changed my mind

I thought that I
was going to read my book,
here at this coffee shop,
but I'm not; I'm going to
go home and read it.

If

If I was thinner,
and I had more money,
I might select
one of the cookies,
or cakes,
that they have under glass,
in this shop, to be mine.

Uhhhhhhhh

Sell me.
Don't make me
make up
my own mind.

I am one to make judgments

Most everything is nice about her,
except for the pack of cigarettes
that lay on the table in front of her.

As I approach the coffee shop, I note that a homeless looking guy is pulling dog food out of a brand name can with a spoon, and is shoving it into a coffee cup. His dog looks more than ready to eat.

With this scraggy beard that I a sporting, I'm a bit homeless looking myself, but my dogs have a place to stay, which is being heated at around 70 degrees, right now, as I settle in to have my first store bought coffee in quite awhile.

I'm not sure of the point of all of this, other than a writer is supposed to write, and a writer is supposed to write what he knows, and I am a writer, and I mostly write about what I see around me.

The homeless looking guy just pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.
Can the truly homeless phone home?

All agents are still busy. Please continue to hold.

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Motive

Are you an egalitarian,
or do you just think you are.
Is it something that you do,
or simply something that
you aspire to, or want to
wear on your lapel?

I forget what the word means

Quotidian madness has left me.
At first, I felt alone,
but now I am comfortable with
the silence that has replaced it.

When I'm needed

I'm a good dad.
I am there when
I am needed,
and I back off
when I am not.
Older kids don't
need what younger
kids did. Sometimes,
I feel lost in this
new world.


A mind can be a terrible thing to inhabit

That guy has won a Pulitzer,
and that girl has written
a best seller, and all I do
is feed my cats, dogs, and turtles.

Be careful, Mikel, who you are
jealous off.
Be careful, Mikel, of jealousy,
in general.

Your day will be long
if you try to live it
in another man or woman's shoes.



She's not Jesus

She is neither Jesus i.e. perfect
nor a virgin i.e. all good whatever that is
but she did answer the phone
the second time that I called her,
which doesn't mean that she can
walk on water or anything like that
but it's a good start
though I am not saying that we are
starting anything.

Hairballs, too

Jaggar is puking on the carpet
maybe he had too many cocktails, last night,
but I doubt it; the poor thing
is coughing up hairballs
like cats so often do.
My beard has gotten long and scraggy,
I wonder if I'll soon be coughing up
hairballs, too.

A thought while having morning coffee

I'm in Atlanta;
I'm not going to run into a literary agent
at a cocktail party(because I don't got to
cocktail parties anymore, would be one reason).
I'm not going to run into one
at a coffee shop, either,
because literary agents don't live here,
so I have to figure out another plan
to get these books into the hands of one.
Part of me doesn't lack the confidence
to present the work.
Part of me says that I suck,
and that nobody would want me.

I thought you knew me

I thought that you knew
that I can't take criticism,
that I am not interested in it,
that those that can't do criticize.
Yet, I'm a bit of a critic myself;
what a hypocrite mother fucker I am.

Does that make sense to you?

I am having bouts of self-confidence doubts.
Maybe the meds aren't working,
or maybe it is a function of being an artist.
We can't be sure of ourselves all the time.
Everyone has an opinion,
and not everyone is going to like you,
although the comments that I get are mostly positive,
but there is this little voice in my head
that says you suck.
It could be dad still locked in there,
or it could be something else,
but I'll tell you this
I am going to ignore that voice,
and keep moving on,
getting to wherever it is that I am getting to.



Random Castles In The Sand

Cheap fish burps might keep me awake.
Ain't had a vacation in so very long
not even to the lake.
Some people still going out every night,
like I used to; getting loose now.

I ain't a hippy. I ain't a freak.
I don't stay out late like I used to.
You can have your nine to five;
I don't see how you do it.
Even when I was young I couldn't get
used to it.
You pick your path; you pay your price.
You pick your teeth; it would be nice
if the dentist didn't need
if the dentist didn't need to get paid.

Cheap fish burps might keep me awake.
Ain't had a vacation in so very long
not even to the lake.
Some people still going out every night,
like I used to; getting loose now.

Lord, I ain't got a doubt.
Every minute of every day,
I used to think that you
were away(to stay.)