LIFE IN THE TRENCHES: Romance, Rebellion and Running Amok

WAITING AT LAX FOR INDIANA JONES

yesterday i found out that my sister's vacation turned into a not so vacation.
the part of the world she was in was hit by a cyclone.  it's been an ordeal
for everyone in the family.  she got the worst of it. 

today she got into lax.  there was a bit of confusion as to where she was
going to emerge but once we figured that out my dad, with his bluetooth
in his ear stood right at the yellow line and waited for two hours.

he didn't budge. his toes were flush with the inner edge of the line.
i fell in love with him.

my mom sat down and waited.  she knew it was going to be a while.
she played it cool.  she said that the people that were coming
out were dressed wrong for fiji.  she said that my dad is
getting slow. 

i sat with her. 

i went out to smoke a cigarette and kept an eye on my dad.
he was in a tan vest. 

i went inside and bought a bag of chips.  combos. 

i sat down and shared some with my mom.  seven
have 175 calories.  she thanked me for putting
the phenomenon known as combos into the
vernacular. 

leave it to you.  thanks. 

people started coming out.  i got up to take
a look.  she sat there.  my dad started looking
around to see where we were at.  i noticed
my mom got up and went to the railing at
the absolute entrance to the terminal. 

i stood there in the middle and waited.
some girl came out and her face lit up
and some slick fella had a big yellow
sign that said, "i'm looking for the
most beautiful girl in the world."
it was huge. 

there was a commotion.  clapping.
they're getting married. 

i started to tear up.  it was pretty
1980's romantic but i thought
that something like that isn't
natural and i wondered
what the watched on
television and how
long she had been
gone. 

my heart started to get the best
of me. 

i stepped back and looked at my
dad who wanted to be the first
face she saw. 

i looked at mom and saw that
she wanted to be the first
person to see her. 

transparent.  overtly.  

as much as i wanted to be in both
places i knew that this was theirs

like my place was mine.

mine was in the middle.  watching the whole thing

go down.  in my own space i sat there

and waited to see everyone
happy.

THE THING ABOUT THE LIFE OF A PEACH

it’s nice to have a home again. 
i’m thinking about
what it took to get here. 
i’m thinking about where
i’ve been. 

i haven’t done it alone. 

at this point it’s like being home
but not completely as i exercise good
judgment and think about karma
and other regulatory things. 

i wonder about what they meant when
they said, “family.”

there are beautiful creatures everywhere
and pages to burn everywhere.  then there
is your father with a red face 
and the entire world
on his shoulders. 

the one who made you
is worried about
the end.

the mice have betrayed him. 
they have grabbed their toes
and stained their lips with shit.
they are in a state of panic
and have perfect symmetry.

if i could i would. 

i saw a flyer today calling out
to the community to do a fundraiser
to save the stray animals. 

it said, “when times are tough
our animals suffer.”

for me it either about our animals
or they way our animals fuck like
animals and are hungry like animals
and need to eat like animals and
how nobody wants to white knuckle
their baby carriage while taking
a sunday stroll.   

nothing else matters for the
feral other than bringing the
peach home. 

the thing about the life of a peach
is at some point one realizes that
this life right here has become
the recreation.

inverted in some ways.
under thwarted in others.

shit fuck and the disco ball muse is dead. 
the pining is denied. 

again, i wonder what they meant when they
said, “family.”

the mornings are mine. 
the evenings are mine.

i refuse to deface your place of
business. 

i wish it was different and regress.

i wish you were here
with me now.  calm.
drunk as usual but
warm this time with
a glance that knows
that none of it
mattered. 

or

i will smoke here until
until ejected, replace
my sharpie with glasses,
light the fuse and thank
god for public transit,
environmentalists, the
ability to learn and
the internet.   

his red face was red. 
his blue suit was flashy and blue
and he told me that it was
time for him to come up
with a plan.   

he said, he should have done
it a long time ago but life
is full of surprises.

son, stay strong and follow
through. 

ok, pop.
it is sunday and i am soft. 

BILL AND DIANE PRICE

mom a surviivor. Preteen snuck with little brother to S. Korea. Lot of story in between that. Any kid born here out of
That era has a story tell. My father is a missionaries son who
Would drive from the base insan diego
To la to sell
Shoes for the family.

I want to tell you (all 5) how much I love them. They will never understand some things and I will always be quicker about a lot of things but I got a good girl friend called Babycakes that is goingnthrough some physical stuff
Right now without a crazy street kid and cheerful bill price to think of every angle to
Help me get better as quickly as possible. And the funny thing is her heads spinning to
Try and figure out how to help
Babycakes too.

I just wanted to tell you (5) that I told my mom that I knew I was lucky in a lucid moment and she said, "fine. Drink your kombucha tea you
Little whining baby". And I just said okay and let my head spin about the girl I love called babycakes at home.

We should be watching Indiana jones together.