the november afternoon turns to chilly twilight at 4 pm
darkness falls on browned pasture
the river glides and swirls
but does not run

the naked trees are silent
smoke rises
from a chimney in the distance
the cold of the land
grips my bones
in an arthritic death hold
and sets my flesh shivering

the long night
the starless blackness
the shapeless horizon
the cold Canadian winter begins its chant
and i am hypnotized

you put chocolate sprinkles
on my bowl of neopolitan
ice-cream girl i want to take you
home to meet my cat

there are many advantages to having a heart
and there are many different types of hearts
there are very beautiful ones
but they are often brittle as china tea cups
there are some that bend and sway like giant willows
they dig deep roots to keep from falling down
some hearts are like dandelions
all white and frilly until they are blown away
some hearts are like squawking crows
others scavenging seagulls
some hearts are broken down, gutted
and left like abandon old trucks in the barnyard
some hearts are cheesecake ready for the eating
some hearts are sponges
while others are blazing fires
some hearts are like old Harlies
they need a lot of extra attention
some hearts are children
some lecherous old men
some hearts need to be probed and prodded
before they'll make a sound
some hearts never shut up
my heart's an emergency parachute
but it never works this close to the ground
you must have known i'd fall on it

i do not like this lonely sport
this detailing every emotion
this examining every thought
this not being able to let things go

i do not like this lonely sport
and long for the day
when the last word is scrawled
the last idea digested

i do not like this lonely sport
these hours of seclusion
this muse so fleeting
this hunger so excruciating
demanding more and more and more

i do not like this lonely sport
and wish i'd put the effort
into something more congenial
like banking

dreamed i got drunk
it was scary
i haven't got drunk
in over 10 years

dreamed i got drunk
then pretended i didn't

dreamed i got drunk
and had to start all over again

dreamed i got drunk
then woke up and realized
i dreamed i got drunk
but didn't