first gained my reputation
as leader of the pack
with one punch knockouts
five punch TKOs
best dressed
best dancing
best looking
cool assed mother fucker
those east podunk
high school kids
had ever seen
now I'm the front runner
the leader by leaps and bounds
the unchallenged champion
of the looney bin
still the master of the one punch knock out
five punch TKO
but now it's my mouth's the lethal weapons
my hands for wiping sweat from my brow
greeted by cheers of "Oh Al, You ain't right!"
and I know
and that's my charm
you can take that to the fucking bank
Where I Am
I'm right where I am
I am like dog shit and god
I'm all over the place
all over time at the corner
of Pike & Delhi Street
kissing Rose Marie for the first time
at the foot of an elephant
smelling the odor of its shit
combined with hay at Light House Field
where I once played baseball
hit a single turned in the wrong direction
and was tagged out
at the looney bin north of Princeton NJ
watching Carole dance the dance
of the psychotic break
in the snows of the Acme parking lot
off Tenth Street
in the attic of Levittown scraping the snow
off fiber glass insulation
at the military induction center at 401 N. Broad Street
at least four different times
before they decided I was even too nuts for them
I have been to the mountain
and stepped in bear shit
more times than I care to admit
in the past and in the present
scooping up the future like a snow plow
and turning it to cinders for those who follow me
A Year's Work
tried to do a year's work
yesterday
getting caught up on notes
from individual sessions
in anticipation of the annual
PAPER WORK audit
that determines if we are doing our jobs
PAPER - key word
PAPER that will not be read
PAPER that will not have
a fiddler's fuck to do with
the human beings the PAPER is about
PAPER that will not be looked at
by anyone after the audit
PAPER that no one gives
a flying fuck about
except for PAPER inspectors
who never sit in on a group
who never visit an individual session
to see what goes on with the real work
that impacts the life & death struggles
of flesh and blood humans
Long Lines
Of late I've noticed my lines are longer now
lost all discipline for rhythm cadence
the natural flow of language music and wonder
most of all my strings unstrung my springs unsprung
lost every last bit of elasticity
my cannon fires long streams of smoke
no mirrors nothing else at all
all direction gone and now no direction home
My Guys
From 390 lbs
to 5 foot 2
they are
my guys
and one gal
all 19 of 'em
addicts
who am
parole and
probation
eeze
and this
night
in one
great quiet
symphony
they painted
their feelings
on to
9 by 11 inch
canvases
a great hive
busy
focused
concentrated
relaxed
looking
inside
and bleeding
out
shamelessly
