WHERE FEET ARE SUPERFLUOUS
I searched everywhere for the perfect escape
now that the giant lobsters were closing in I disguised myself briefly as a piece of kelp
and they scuttled by with red claws waving
eye-feelers waggling I changed my profession and became a rookie shoe salesman
just like my first High School job in downtown Oakland Zebras were the hardest to shoe
especially if they stood in front of zigzag black & white drapery Shoes are the underclass of the world
they serve and are thrown out when worn out Laceable or laceless they look forward wherever we go
and though they might be tempted they never
treat us like heels They toe the line and are always in step
and if they have tongues they keep them to themselves The more we trod on them the more soft-hearted
they become If they can fit our feet why can't we fit the
world as snugly? Some places people go shoeless and they are
brave and casual and won't get pinched
where they stand They feel the earth's energies coming up through their feet
direct and it makes them go lightly Angels don't wear shoes unless perhaps they're
impersonating someone in more formal attire They go on their rounds in various stages of elevation
and the ground is really beneath them
God doesn't need shoes though one of His
most devoted servants at the time of Moses
used to proclaim endearments by suggesting
he would dust them and care for them
especially well I thought of disguising myself as a pair of shoes
and walking away from the whole thing
leave the world behind while still in it But I must have not wanted it enough for
like Galileo I walk on the earth with gravity glad to God I still put one foot in front of the other
till the day of my death when shoeless I'll go
also gladly to where even feet are superfluous
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SAVAGE AND SILLY
Savage and silly by turns the poem puts on
a pair of silver shoes (the ones with the little fluttering wings at the ankles) to take us
on a guided tour of the thickest forest and the
most exotic medicinal plants and half-asleep
or wide-awake creatures uncurling from their
lairs at this strange hour for visiting But the poem while respectful due to its
loyalty to syntax however wrenched or displaced
also looks with naked eyes at the newborn zebra bursting from its egg
or a seed case busting open
to produce a living flame
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HOTEL DELIRIUM
At Hotel Delirium the guests never sleep
some at the excitement of being alive
others at the thought of death that hammers their minds The fish ponds at Hotel Delirium are full of croaking koi
and fogs that remain silent even at night The moon reflects in the Hotel Delirium pond
but the surface shimmers and shimmies constantly At Hotel Delirium there's no need for wallpaper
the white blank walls are screens for the most
appalling and enthralling hallucinations Some see God among the branches or pausing by the lake
other are terrified by the spiny and aggressive imps they see
propelling forward into their living space Hotel Delirium is always booked day and night every
day or night of the year
yet uncannily there's always room for more and
more always come Hotel Delirium sits on a haunted hill and tilts at an angle
or rather many angles its gables and turrets and of course
the owls and ravens that abound on its parapets But Hotel Delirium also abides in sun-flooded kitchens
in rainbow-hued interiors with all the latest gadgets There's never been a bomb threat at Hotel Delirium
in fact those who would threaten have a suite
all to themselves If you wake up at Hotel Delirium one fine day
wake up again
the horses outside the window are not on fire
and the trees are not torches A Continental Breakfast is served at Hotel Delirium
not for the faint hearted
comprised of world headlines baked in a pie Check out time is any time at Hotel Delirium
Take your stuffed fish and your violins and the
others of your clan No one stays forever at Hotel Delirium although
it's so much nicer to leave on your own two feet
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