POEM - Nothing Changes on New Years Eve

Destruction of property

Occurred early in the day

Without benefit

Or assistance

Of any illicit substances

Of all the homes

In all of this neighborhood

Where large amounts of alcohol

Would be ingested

And many idiotic things would be done

The initiator was this guy

I shook it off just in time

To walk into the kitchen

And nearly slip

On a unfortunately placed

Banana peel

A cliché just waiting

Hoping beyond hope

That the guy

Who put his head

Right through the porch

Would make it a twofer

Of pratfall hilarity

In the evening

It was time to cart kids

To parties and fun

Whilst I was destined to sit and wait

Count the time

To drag my weary, wounded carcass

Out into the dawn of a new year

My oldest only lasted thirty minutes

At the party the rednecks threw

I waited, anticipating his departure

Watched as the aerial rockets

Went lateral more often than was reasonable

All of them getting in as many as they could

“Before Obama takes ‘em away”

Oh brother!

But after what I’ve seen tonight

He probably should take them away

At least from you

POEM - Tempe or Bust in 1987

I was ready to go

When the news came

Dad was getting transferred

Back to the land from which

We had been exiled

Just four years previous

I was insensitive to some

Too excited for another change

To care which bridges were burning

Which hearts I was breaking

But the climate had become harsh

On a purely metaphysical level

And my Gypsy blood

Had been percolating of late

Seeking the change of scenery

The breaking of bonds

Loosening of well tied knots

That would free me from Tucson

And my longest home town to date

Besides the fates demanded

That I arrive back in Tempe

That particular summer

With that particular outlook

Breaking free of the past

Looking for a future

I was early to the dance

Like I always was

She was early too

Like she never was

And I caught her eye

And when we danced

It was exciting and new

Pure and drama free

No context

Simple

We returned to the same street

Just a block over

And we had a pool

For the first time

Since moving to Hell’s Doorstep

And when I invited her over

Oblivious of the burden

That a pool party implied

She came any way

Stayed and talked

Watch me skateboard

Displaying tricks

And self-absorption

She saw through it and stayed

A little longer still

POEM - 1986 Was That Year That

It was that year

Where we finished the house

We had been building

And finally moved in

To our third and final

Tucson residence

The year I took the challenge

To strip all of the paint

Off the old kitchen table

Each and every nook and cranny

When I settled into the routine

Of playing Frisbee with Joe

On the deserted backside

Of the old main building

Talking philosophy

And laughing at the stoner couple

That invaded our solitude for a time

To spend their lunch hour

With their lips suctioned together

It was learning

Never to fall asleep

In study hall

            Not ever

And then learning how to relate

To all the future felons

In the class with me

Finding new ways

To get in and out of school

Without the benefit of permission

For those days

When being in school

Didn’t really make sense

And all of Tucson was waiting

Just outside the chain link fence

Begging to be explored

Waiting to teach me

That the smell of punk

Is clove cigarettes

And Nag Champa

While Bookman’s stocked rebellion

In musty print and discount vinyl

If you were just willing to look

POEM - I Soar, Distracted, and then Descend: 1985

I.

I was on top

Skating through school

From the computer lab

To the Journalism class

Doing very little

Getting credit for much more

Being courted by the best schools

That the Tucson valley had to offer

I chose the easy way

Because I really couldn’t see

That I would ever do homework

I hadn’t so far

I didn’t see the trend ending

If I could help it

II.

Summer had more to offer
Including a delay

In the onset of reality

As I jetted to Cali with Burg

Living the beach life in SoCal

Then off to camp to run wild

Interrupted gladly by fireworks

This year featuring the incineration

Of ‘A’ Mountain for a finale

Then off to Flaming Gorge

With Uncle Kim in Peugeot

To run wild and free again

Through the outdoor wonderland

Surrounding my grandparent’s cabin

Never a thought spared

For the trials around the corner

III.

Ah, this is high school

Was not ready for this

At all and in no way

Whatsoever

I think these teachers

Might not succumb to my charm

And might make me do actual work

Don’t they know who I am?

I’m the one the teachers like

That gets to roam free

Flash a smile

And get away with doing almost nothing

By the way

It also doesn’t help

That my desk mate in Earth Science

Is smoking pot

Right in the middle of class

And blowing it out a window

Like it is no big deal

And the teacher never notices

And I am awkward and distracted

And I’m not quite sure

How I’m going to explain

That there are 2 A’s and 4 D’s

On my first report card

Let’s look at the positive

Man! I wasn’t ready for this

POEM - In Search of Big Brother, 1984

We didn’t even have the technology

To make Orwell a prophet

Just barely arriving into homes

Were devices years behind

Predictions from all trusted sources

Computers had begun to shrink

But they were mild devices

With limited abilities

Which I found out

Firsthand

As I sat starring at the screen

Watching my Commodore Vic 20

Come to life

With 20K of awesome computing power

Less than my wristwatch has today

And a clunky cassette drive

And programming in BASIC

I think the new microwave

Was a bigger threat

Than any new home computer

So I used the Commodore for games

And the microwave for popcorn

And frozen corn dogs

As I waited to watch movies

On the brand new VHS player

That we rented from the video store

Along with a couple of movies

The world was changing fast

But not that fast

And it still seems like the good old days

Before cell phones and internet

When most of the TV stations

Would still shut off at night

And you answered the phone

With no idea who was calling

And technology was a novelty

And Big Brother was still waiting

For the world to speed up

POEM - 1983 Old Pueblo Style

Too soon

On the move

Dad got transferred

To the Old Pueblo

I was reticent

My previous experience

Had included a long drive

At night to some old college friends

They lived on or close to the airbase

And had ended in a trip to the movies

To see Xanadu

Not my favorite road trip

In day light it was different

And the lazy summer days

Poolside at the La Quinta

While we looked for a home

Were almost exotic

And Tucson was charming

Which is a nice talk for old

Tucson is an old place

My dad’s new office

Was in an historic home

In an historic neighborhood

We ended up in the foothills

On the West side of the city

Where the roads were built

To replicate a rollercoaster ride

Whenever and wherever possible

Which made the drive

Always a little interesting

But the new house was cool

A custom built number

We were living a new life

A little further up in the world

Almost upper-middle middle class

That didn’t change the fact

I was starting another new school

And I was self-conscious and nerdy

And my whole life was about to change

Because teenage years are relentless

And Tucson has its lessons to teach

And its ghosts to set free

From the barrio to the desert

4^th Avenue to Mount Lemon

And each bumpy twisting road between

POEM - New School Politics of 1982

When my dad quit

Being the cartographer

For the aerial survey company

And got the State job

Doing water resource management

We moved to Tempe as well

To make the commute into Phoenix

A little easier

            And to finally get out of Mesa

I landed in a new school

A new church

And a gang of new friends

It just so happened

There was a massive quantity

Of eleven year old boys

And I was just one more in the crew

Which meant no special treatment

Either negative or positive

By the time sixth grade came up

I was in with the smart kids

Got bused to the gifted program

Every week or so

But we had fun everywhere

Writing stories in creative writing

Trying to outdo each other

One more outlandish than the other

Would I write about Horace

The headless hot dog

That my dad use to spin tells of?

No, I would forge my own path

It was “The Toenail that Ate Chicago”

That was my opus of the era

Recess was more of the same

Coming up with variations

On a theme of tag

From line to robot to swarm

Each with a complex set

Of rules and expectations

Perfectly understood

And justly self-governed

By all the eager participants

Each day began

Precisely where the other ended

Games changed at correct intervals

We the game masters

Responsible to keep things fresh

Took our role seriously

Never let the game run stale

Boredom assaulted

With the intensity of war

The passion of religion

POEM - They’re Here!

Last year there weren’t any deer,

And then I said, “Oh dear, dear, dear!”

I had a fear

The deer would not come next year.

I sat down near here

The night was clear.

While we were trimming the tree,

And dimming the lights,

I saw the deer, they came into sight!

POEM - Life in Mesa: 1981

The life in Mesa was different

I had never considered

That a desert was a place

That people would think of

As a place they would live

But there was plenty of evidence

From the large swaths of cleared land

To the half constructed houses

Dotting the empty dirt fields

On every side of our neighborhood

I liked it because it was fun

To run through the stark hills

And play on the bulldozers

Earth movers and backhoes

The smell of grease and diesel

Like an inviting and alluring sent

That year I watched intently

As the space shuttle shot up

Straight into space

Only to miraculously return

Three days latter

Knowing that interstellar flight

Must be just around the corner

But I didn’t waste a lot of time on that

Mostly I beg for a quarter

So I could go to the public pool

Or a dollar on special days

So I could ride up to the Circle K

Get a slushy drink or two

Then casually ride home

Sipping the frozen confection

As a protection

From the warm breezes of summer

POEM - When the Mountain Explodes It’s Time to Leave: 1980

We lived in the right direction

The cloud of ash went east

Eventually circling the globe

We were watching

From the Southern side

Only a dusting

Of mineral rich volcanic dust

Instead of getting choked out

The dusting made our crops grow

Much larger than the year before

I would sit out in the front yard

Watch the plume shooting up

 Filling the sky above

Over the belching wreckage

Of Mount St. Helens

The perfect vantage point

And as cool as that was

It couldn't keep us in Oregon

Summer found us on the move

I got to ride alone with dad

In the big yellow Ryder truck

Over the rolling hills

Of Interstate 84

We skirted dangerously close

To the wilds of Walla Walla

Before diving Southward

To cut through Idaho

On our way to Utah

Dad had a line on a job

A teaching gig in Salt Lake

So we hung around

Just long enough

To start fourth grade

Before deciding to pick up again

High tail it to greener pastures

Which was more figurative

Than actual

As we ended up in the desert

Surrounding Phoenix Arizona

That people foolish called a city

And despite the oppressive heat

We stuck around finally

Made the wasteland our home

Started slowly laying down roots

In the impenetrable caliche’ 

POEM - The New House: 1979

It was a new house

On the cul-de-sac

And I was getting my own room

I even got to make choices

Got to pick my own wallpaper

The one that looked like an old map

It seemed adventurous

I was fascinated watching my dad

Pour the concrete for the front walk

He’d let it set for a little bit

Then wash away a top layer

So the walkway was all bumpy

Exposed little pebbles and such

Bane of bare summer feet

But it was cool to look at

My culinary experimentation began

In our new kitchen

It was the first appearance

Of my trademark sandwich

Peanut butter and jelly and mustard and mayonnaise

It was better than you’d think

Probably also the start of a few other things

Like my iron stomach

            My all-flavors-play-lead cooking style

                        My desire to gross out people

Did I mention the time that summer

I tore off my big toenail

With the front door jam

And I saved it for my grandma

In a little ring box

Like some psychotic engagement ring?

Classic!

The house was excitement and adventure

One day after another

Shortly after moving in

We were welcomed by a total eclipse

I think it meant we were to remember

And to make memories

And I collected as many as I could

From Doberman pinschers

To six foot tall model rockets

To sleeping in the back of a pick-up

Watching the glow of the big city lights

On the ever present clouds over Portland

POEM - First Grade Frenzy of 1977-78

It was a beautiful summer day

In sunny Southern California

Only tainted by one small thing

I was in year round school

At the grade school

My mother had gone to

We’d just arrived from Oregon

Hanging out until my dad got a permanent job

Working at the docks in LA

For his parent’s trucking company

The best mornings were fog mornings

So thick we played hide and seek

Right on the open field

Excuse me, I must correct that

I went to first grade in Corvallis

Bundled up in coat and goulashes

Shoving my gear into the coat room

With all the other gear

Then dressing again

For the walk home

Wait, I mean I lived in Philomath

And I was bussed to school

To be bussed to another school

Now just a second

I was in Philomath

But I stopped being double bussed

And made it a few months

But Philomath was a temporary deal

OK, Gresham, yes this is it

And I am getting bussed

Out to the brand new school

With the nice new classrooms

Past the school in my neighborhood

Then one day we heard  on the news

A girl had been kidnapped

That lived in our area

The next day the closer school called

They had an opening

At my sixth and final

First grade school   

POEM - The Star Wars Generation: 1977

The big theatre in Salt Lake

With the huge speakers

Lining the walls

Was worth the trek

All the way up from Provo

It was worth a quick remedy

My first taste of Coke

To settle my stomach

Stop me from having the pukes

Whatever it took to get there

We were on a mission

When we settled into the ornate hall

With the plush red velvet seats

There was a sense of awe

That it had all been worth it

My dad had told me what was coming

It was better than the hype

The space ship stormed in

Almost making me duck

Only to be dwarfed

By the massive star cruiser

In hot pursuit

That really made you duck

I instantly became a nerd

My world became Star Wars

You have to understand

There was nothing like it

It shaped my generation

It some theaters it even ran

For a whole year

It wasn’t replaced

There was no competition

So complain about the script

Bag on the special effects

Comment on the costumes

And the proliferation of feathered hair

I am deaf to all critics

A devotee of the Force

A trading-card-carrying member

Of the geek generation

One of the wide-eyed devotees

Of the venerable George Lucas