Charmed, I'm sure
darling do pass me another drink
im just dry as can be (whats
she wearing tonight) yes
it was such a charming party
(god what an ugly dress)
the drink is fine thank you
(it tastes like sin) oh i
devoured every word of that
book such a wonderful writer
(if you like big words and
iendless sentences) you know
he went to an eastern school
before he came out west
(big deal, not even Ivy League)
oh oh Claudia, dear,
how dazzling you look to
night (ill bet the damn
thing was sprayed on in
macys basement) yes isn’t
the weather just simply
dreadful (i must remind
peter to pick up my sun
lamp tomorrow) oh I haven’t
been doing a thing lately
(bored out of my mind
and you’re no help)
yes yes its so nice
to have time to do what one
wishes to do whats that
alex yes we saw it last
week with the van burons
(ill never forget that
little mouse pinching
my leg all evening)
whats that oh no thank you
peter and I do have to run along
it has been a
perfectly charming evening
Sophistication
black dresses
white pearls
glass heels
long feet
fixed smiles
refined steps
enchanting gestures
polished posture
ghostly nails
glossy hair
replucked eyebrows
strained eyelashes
locked jaws
capped teeth
puckered lips
curious eyes
throaty voices
discreet laughs
exotic perfumes
martinis only
one cigarette
(don’t inhale)
one grasshopper
(a vivid lip print)
one young coed
one fashion magazine
one decaying society
one winning woman
it
has
to
be
sophistication
The Pencil
The pencil: a bridge to the past
and a link to the future,
An instrument of expression unique to each
who lines or doodles or checkmarks words.
Some use it to point, to direct
or even to scratch their scalps.
Others tap on any surface.
No one gave more class
to the pencil trajectory
than Johnny Carson.
The pencil can be snapped
punctuating the end of
tolerance or patience or outright rage.
A small effort to gain
a degree of control.
The pencil recalls grammar school
thick, newsprint workbooks.
And ah! The smell of burning rubber
as answers are changed
or small fingers labor to impress my name.
The pencil connects to an age
of innocence and high expectations.
The Twenty-Third Channel
The TV is my master; I shall always watch.
It maketh me to lie down on Certa-Spring
Correct Posture Mattresses; it leadeth
me down the twilight zone.
Ben Casey restoreth my soul; it
leadeth me in Adventures of Paradise for
the program’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through Death Valley,
I smell no Gunsmoke; for Lassie is with
me; thy crew and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a quick-frozen TV dinner
before me in the presence of mine sponsors;
thou anointest my head with Wildroot; my TV
Guide layeth before me.
Surely commercials and ads shall follow me
all the days of my life;
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