Gogyohka 12.06.09

Does anyone
hate prison
more than
Johnny Cash?
Born with bars

Still haven't
finished
the mix tape
of my heart
not enough tracks

The birds perched
on the highest branches
of the tree
outside the housing projects
are singing in unison

I don't live
near whites
I live
in a slice
of chocolate custard pie

Gogyohka 12.04.09

my outward expressions
have been made
so many times now
they're lined into one
heart's river keeps flowing

such a razor's edge!
cynicism's sneer
or staying not naive
seeing the wounded bird
forgetting the wounded bird

December Brooklyn
People singing
and dancing
even if
they don't know it

Gogyohka 12.03.09

we asked him what he wanted
to do for a living
"I want to lay in a hammock
with a glass of wine
listening to jazz"

The bright blue sky so warm
it makes me delirious
I set my head down
walk fast on the sidewalk
Past the drunk fingering his bottleneck

Gogyohka 12.02.09

The bare botanic garden
lets me see the reflecting pool
Seems so much closer--
an oncoming winter
promises intimacy

Something she likes
standing before the emptied pool
with an island
of dead cat-o-nine tails
Something the scarfed old woman likes

Lost in a waterfall of faces
and wanting to be
Only one way to avoid
achieving yourself
Easy to hide shouting alone, too

Walking the streets
could get hit by a bus
for all I care
Facing strangers without fear
Filled with riches none can rob

the sweet reeking potpourri
of brown leaves
gathered by hand
stuffed into shopping bags, tied tight
just like my landlord wants

Gogyohka 12.01.09

outside
I see my breath for the first time
smell the sidewalk drying
mixed with the heating oil truck
Apples rotting on the tree

Spraying the tiles
thinking about
which store sells
the cheapest bleach
I fell down in the bathtub