dark night of vengeance, part 4: falling leaves

phil still existed and the universe insisted that he get up every day with his role to play he had no excuse his head was in the noose but something impelled him to his destiny, however dim phil went down to the street despite the fact that his brain was beat another day of desperation beckoned then something happened on which he had not reckoned for the second time in 24 hours a stranger felt empowered to approach phil without prelude or asking if he was in the mood for direct interrogation as to his existence and station in this mysterious world of flux and flow in which things come and go the newcomer had eyes dark and bright in a face quite wrinkled and white that stirred a faint recollection in part of phil’s brain - the section triggering primal fear - my friend, it would appear the stranger began with confidence that by fate you have been sent to close a book that has been open too long to bring an end to a sad song to bid a weary traveler drop his pack to tell the prodigal he can come back to end a farce playing to an empty house to bid the panther make friends with the mouse to make a long story short, forthwith phil - you see before you bill smith! the insanity of youth has cooled by that nasty bitch emily brown we were both fooled by even demons of lust we were ruled let us no longer be their tools phil could not believe what he heard inside his brain a strange motor purred was he a ship that had never sailed? he gaped as bill resumed his tale i ran into whitey black last night he had seen you with his own sight when his words a message to my brain did send i knew my quest had come to an end they say revenge is best served cold but even better left to shrivel and mold we have only one race to run beneath a single fading sun why waste our lives in silly contests when time is a river that never rests and the sky is an empty page that never records our joy, despair or rage with these and similar remarks bill regaled phil - a few sparks landed on phil’s befuddled brain but he would never be the same again come, said bill, let me buy you a drink let us nor care what anyone thinks whether our so-called honor was lost or won how is that the business of anyone? phil followed bill in a daze no bystanders were amazed or made of them any mention their reconciliation attracted no attention bill and phil became great buds and sat on park benches watching the floods of embattled humans roll on by as leaves and raindrops fell from the sky in passing, we should mention that in another dimension emily brown in time’s web was caught but never gave bill or phil a thought i hope you found this poem uplifting but now my brain is drifting down a river on a cloudy day i have nothing more to say

wild

i used to be wild, i used to be free i loved everybody, and they loved me i was the king of the road and the queen of the may and woke up with a song in my heart every day i had a message of love in my heart and took to the highway the message to impart friendly strangers in volkswagen bugs gave me rides and i gave them hugs it was time to turn the page and greet the dawn of a new age war and hatred belonged to the past the new kingdom of love was built to last life was one long celebration of the gathering of the tribes and nations one night in the throes of ecstasy i passed out on the shore of a shimmering sea how long i slept i do not know but i woke up covered with snow the night was dark and covered with clouds i sat up and cried aloud where have all my comrades gone where is the rainbow, where the dawn what is this ice that covers my bones where is anybody - am i alone? i forced myself to get to my feet rain fell on me and then sleet i had no hat upon my head and wondered if i was not dead then i saw a light in the distance and summoning some persistence and a desperate flicker of hope through the darkness i did grope to make a long story short i ended up in court charged with murder in the first degree oh what, i thought, will become of me i saw and heard the judge from afar as he cried, o prisoner at the bar what have you to say in exculpation of your exercise in widespread desolation will you show a sliver of repentance before i pronounce sentence? but i had no reply except to hang my head and cry poor boy you’ve got to die poor boy you’ve got to die dawn lights up the jailhouse and rain falls from the sky

dark night of vengeance, part 3: the smiling stranger

phil tried to pull himself together and asked if it mattered whether at this point if he lived or died he was almost at the end of his ride how much worse off had he been than other children of sin who had dreamed and loved and lost and on the scrap heap been tossed phil sucked in his gut if bill found him, so what? all bill could could do was kill him and his existence was already dim o so easy to say! but one more, one more day! one more day without a prayer - but on your skin the living air phil stopped and looked around silence was all he found the dark streets neither friendly nor cold had heard every story ever told his panic was suddenly gone it was almost dawn he had run through the streets for hours ignored by all cosmic powers on the corner was a little cafe with a sign - open all night and day phil went in and took a seat he was suddenly totally beat he ordered a cup of joe as the world around him spun slow and a slice of blueberry pie which tasted a little dry phil had totally given up staring into his coffee cup with a dull eternal shame when someone called his name who could it be ? he was lost but he was free though his guilt had been substantially accrued he could enjoy it in solitude phil turned and saw a face in which there was no trace of anything but good cheer brought on by oceans of whiskey and beer aren’t you phil, phil jones? asked the bum who used to play steel drums in a vacant lot behind kaiser park at night, when it got dark? that is not i, said phil smiling with a desperate will my name is neither phil nor jones and i walk the earth alone the bum responded with a shrug peace descended on his scarlet mug his response to phil was muffled as away into the night he shuffled phil was in a state of shock he felt like a pool in which a rock had been dropped from a great height as ripples expanded in the light of an exploding full moon phil’s brain played a screaming tune who was that stranger so affable with his implications so terrible? phil had been recognized he thought he had been so wise drifting faceless beneath the tide had he ever been able to hide? time goes by, phil told himself everything gets dust on a shelf the bitterest memories finally blow away in the breeze was bill still alive? and if he was did he thrive? had he forgotten emily brown? was he the mayor of his town? phil asked himself these things he knew the night would bring dark and twisted dreams unlit by moonlight beams

true story

everybody has a story to tell everybody has something to sell a story has a beginning and an end that does not mean you are my best friend i was mistreated as a child and so i started to run wild and took up with a bad crowd but then i heard a voice from a cloud saying, ————, you are unique a fate-appointed freak you are not like others you have no sisters or brothers of the universe you are the center it is your kingdom they must enter if you decide that they can live that is in your power to give this message gave me hope that i was not just some mope that people were right to despise and to fame would never rise i proceeded down the street with a new bounce in my feet but suddenly i was not alone a gentleman with a microphone said, i don’t want a nickel or a dime but just a moment of your time if you could spare a few words for the members of the human herd now that you are the ruler of the world with your teeth so white and your hair so curled will you allow humanity to flourish or do you in your heart still nourish an implacable hatred of the miserable race that has punched you in the face and knocked you down and on your face put a permanent frown or will you find it in your heart to give the planet a new start - as the man with the microphone continued to blather a crowd around me began to gather and then the people in the crowd started to chant my name aloud and all their faces began to blend into a road that had no end and i was walking down thew road toward a sun beginning to explode and then awoke to my true story - a rat in a laboratory professor smith smiled down at me little fellow, i’m glad to see you looking bright this happy morn are you not glad that you were born?

disappearing act

“did you find the guy?” “yeah, i found him.” maury plopped himself down in his favorite chair as the big guy glared at him. “then were is he?” the big guy asked. “he didn’t want to come. he wants you to come to him. he says he’ll talk to you, though.” “well, isn’t that nice of him. you didn’t try to persuade him to come see me?” maury shrugged. “i could have. i made a command decision, in the field. it just did not seem worth it. i think you should go see this guy. it won’t kill you. you should get out more, anyway.” “you think?” the big guy glared at maury, then laughed. “all right, see him where? some bar? where did you find him?” in a dunkin donuts. on third avenue. that’s where he hangs out.” “this guy hangs out in a dunkin donuts? i would have expected someplace a little more … mysterious, you know? or out of the way.” “it’s where a lot of people hang out these days. america runs on dunkin. by the way, there was one thing he wanted me to tell you.” “and what was that?” “he said there were plenty of guys who could do what you wanted. “ “yes, well he was the guy i was told about.” “so, do you want to go see him?’ the big guy sighed. “sure, why not?” he got up and grabbed his hat and put it on. “let’s go see this magic man.” * the magician was still sitting where maury had left him, in a corner of the dunkin donuts, beside a window where he could watch the world go by. an ordinary looking little guy, not getting any younger. he wasn’t wearing a cape or a top hat or anything to show he was a magician. a small empty styrofoam cup sat on the table in front of him. the big guy sat across from the magician at the little square table, and maury grabbed a chair and sat down between them, facing the window and the street. “this is the gentleman i was telling you about, “ maury said. “the one interested in your services.” the magician just nodded. “you understand what i want?,” the big guy tried to look the magician in the eye. “i think so. you want to make somebody disappear. “ “exactly. totally disappear. i don’t want any body, i don’t want any blood or guts or evidence, or screaming or shouting, i just want this guy to disappear into thin air. can you do that?” “easily. and you could go over to joe’s joke shop on thirty-seventh street and find a dozen guys who could do it, too.” “you don’t say so.” “i do say so.” the magician looked down into his empty styrofoam cup. “then if it is so easy who don’t you ever hear about it being done?” the big guy asked. “because there is a problem - a possible complication.” “ah. a possible complication. and what might that be?” “there is no guarantee you won’t make the whole universe disappear. you might not, but you might - the whole universe and everything and everybody in it. me, you, the pope, the king of spain, everybody.” the big guy nodded. “i can see where some people might not want to take that chance.” “but what about you? “ the magician asked. “are you willing take the chance?’ “listen,” the big guy answered, “i have wanting to get this guy for forty years. he did me dirty, like no man was ever done dirty before. thinking about him has been eating away at me every day for forty years, like a cosmic green cancer, like a mountain of red ants whose ravenous hunger can never be appeased. yes, i’m willing to take the chance.” the magician nodded. “does this person have a name, you got a picture or something…?” “i got this.” the big guy handed the magician a small photo, a black and white polaroid at least thirty years old. the picture had been taken at a beach, and showed an ordinary looking man in a bathing suit with a little smile, an ordinary looking woman in a bathing suit with a big smile, an ordinary looking little boy in a bathing suit with no smile, and a dog. “you need anything more?” the big guy asked. “no, this is all i need.” the magician put the photo down on the table. “so, you’ll do it.” “yeah, i’ll do it. i just want one thing.” “and what is that?” “a frozen strawberry banana smoothie.” “coming right up!” the big guy nodded to maury. “get the man what he wanted.” “which was?” a frozen strawberry banana smoothie, ” the magician repeated. maury got up and headed for the counter. “so how soon can you do this?” the big guy asked the magician. “as soon as i finish my smoothie. but i want to make sure i get every last drop.”

ars poetica

take a piece of paper write some words upon it look at what you have written - it’s a poem, doggone it! mary had a little lamb johnny had a panther alice did the crossword puzzle but didn’t know all the answers it rained on billy’s birthday mary didn’t go to his party henry wanted to drink champagne bur settled for ale most hearty the world is filled with humans and also cats and dogs some folks climb up mountains others fall into bogs that is all the wisdom i have for you today meet me on the sabbath morn and we will kneel and pray