Smile in a Bottle

Bottle a smile,
Send it afloat
Down a river of tears
Right past the moat

Of an aging castle
At the edge of hell
Guarded by demons
Who from heaven fell—

They stole all the happiness
That exists in mankind,
Locked it deep in a cage
That no one could find.

They counted out souls
And sold ‘em to nations
Who controlled the people
For generations.

A bottle sent afloat
Down a river in time
Spreading cheer to the people
One at a time

Creating colorful bubbles
To leave in its wake
All the despot leaders
Their egos to break.

Floating over buildings
Condensing into fountains
Smiles reach the furthest peak
Of all the highest mountains.

Joy becomes the daily norm
As smiles are set free…
The entire world resonates,
“Ha-ha, hee-hee-hee!”

My Lovers

I forgot about my lovers.

I left them abandoned on the white lower shelf
inside the white bookcase
inside my parents white and green living room.

I left them abandoned on the white upper shelf
inside the white cabinet
inside my lonely bedroom.

There were lovers that I did not yet know existed.
These lovers resided on the musty white shelves
amongst multitude strange books
inside the Brooklyn Public Library.

I forgot about my lovers
until a bright lad pointed out
that my lovers didn’t forget about me.

They were still there waiting— pining away for me
on the white lower shelf
inside the white bookcase
inside my parents white and green living room.

They were still there waiting for that all engulfing kiss
on the white upper shelf
inside the white cabinet
inside my lonely bedroom.

They were still there waiting for destiny to take its course
on the musty white shelves
amongst multitude strange books
inside the Brooklyn Public Library.

I gingerly approached all these white shelves
and it was as if magnets were attached to my fingertips—
instantly remembering my forgotten lovers
and recognizing the ones I didn’t yet know I had.

Tears formed in my eyes and wet my cheeks
as a waterfall of memories hit me—
bathing me
cleansing me
caressing me in the embrace of:
Walt Whitman
T.S. Eliot
Robert Frost
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Stephen Crane
Leonard Cohen.

Song of Myself
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Mending Wall
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon
Suzanne.

Butterflying

Little People dance—
Over mountains, through blue skies
Dropping gumdrop raindrops
That change to butterflies.

The butterflies are purple,
Orange, green, and yellow—
The little people mix these colors
Into scrumptious jello.

The little people eat this feast
Of scrumptious mixed-up jello
Made from butterflies of purple,
Orange, green, and yellow.

Lights go on and off and on—
Shining from the bellies
Of all the little people
Stuffed with jello-jellies.

Their stomachs glow so strange, indeed
With orange, green, and yellow,
Lots of purple all around
From butterfly mixed jello.

The little people stare real hard
At the strangest things
Growing from their arms
Are butterflying wings!

The little people wave their arms
Up-down-too-and-fro,
The little people wave their arms
And woosh… away they go!

Flying, flying, flying
Over mountains, through blue skies—
All the little people
Have changed to butterflies!

New dishes on the way...

I'm on vacation in wonderful Pleasanton, CA.
Haven't had the chance to serve anything new,
been too busy eating my sister's food,
but I'm in the process of mixing up lots of interesting batters
which I'll be serving as soon as I get back to New York on Sunday.
Until then, try not to spoil your appetites.