All Poets Are Failed Musicians or Dancers

1. The Circus

I watched a bear get fed up
with riding his bicycle,
drink a clown's fifth of gin
for courage,
maul a young boy's popcorn
and an old man's face.

He turned to the crowd,
muzzle soaked with blood,
and explained how he had wanted
to be a musician.
All of it was in tents.


2. The Whaling Party

I was invited to a whaling party
and I came with Narwhal and Greenpeace members
in tow.

The Greenpeacers were in charge of the music,
which was a poor choice because all they wanted
was Phish.

Narwhal took everybody's keys and made sure
there were enough sober people to act as
D.D.'s.

I was in charge of the ship-to-whale missile:
Something I never thought I would have to use.
A pod

of people in a station wagon drove by,
blasting music so loud that everyone stopped
dancing.


3. A Pity Get-Together

You must
be wondering why I have called you few here.
Why there is only enough punch for one man

about
my size and thirst. Why all I have to eat is
a salt lick, a log of cheese, and a sausage

the size
of a small whale. I'm going to read a poem
about how the arc of my life has not peaked.

I would
like it very much if you all applauded
when I am finished- even if you didn't

like it-
because I wanted to be a musician
and this seemed to be the next natural step.


4. Trendsetter

I cracked the spines
of my old journals,
looking for answers,
then marked each page
with a number
noting my mood
in relation
to a sense of place
and diction employed
to express how
sad I was at
night when I wrote.

6: Ate popcorn,
4: A party,
4: A party,
2: A car crash.

It slopes downward,
which leads me to think
I am on the cusp
of an upswing.
Maybe I'll write
a poem about
a happy person
who is a dancer;
whose dream is to
write a poem.


5. Traffic Jam

I arrived on the scene too late.
Six cars lay
in a heap
of smoldering loss.
Everything was soaked in blood
and I wished I had been
a doctor.

One mustard-yellow station wagon
caught my eye.
I whispered through a crack
in the windshield that no
one was watching
and they could all get up.
Then I turned on their radio
and started to dance.