Tenderized by life (followed by a footnote on LOW and thoughts on the writing of this poem)

There was a dog in my dream with 6 legs. One of the dog’s legs didn’t work. He didn’t need that leg. He had 5 perfectly good legs. This dream is interesting to me. There is a part of me that doesn’t work. This could be a real problem if I was a different person. …

The Martian

My sister invited me to an arts festival In her small town in Connecticut. We spent all morning dropping in To open-house studios of local artists. My sister is a potter. We had lunch at her studio. She said, I have to stay here But you should check out the Martian. The who? She laughed. …

Dropping the shield (followed by an autobiographical note on the writing of this poem)

A memory held in the back Of these aging eyes Is probably more than a memory More like footage of a lost film, The quintessence of A story never understood Until now. There is young so-and-so And another scamp and me In a sandpit Ecstatically undermining The great cuts Left by a backhoe Where the …