faithless samaritan

i don't believe in god or everlasting love
she can't save you, you can't save me, no peace comes from up above
doomed from day one
to lie in dirt graves
all we have is all we make
& all we do all night & day
do good. do well. make it work.

ORDER PIZZA

ORDER PIZZA

by, William O. Johnson

We have company coming over

and I don't feel like cookng,

it's late and I'm a little hungry.

Friends drop by unannounced, no problem ORDER PIZZA!

A sleep over with a house full of kids,

The game is on and no time for sandwiches.

The Boy Scout Troop has about twenty-five kids,

no problem, ORDER PIZZA!
What can I take to the party?
How many pieces should I bring?
I need a dish for the potluck,

no problem ORDER PIZZA!
Vegetarian, Cheese or the Works, it doesn't matter

neither of these will hurt,

Thick crust, thin crust,

Deep dish or that hand tossed stuff on TV

ORDER PIZZA!

It's a very convenient dish,

not just for you but also for me

ORDER PIZZA!

No matter what the occasion,

there's always kids around,

and if not you have a midnight snack,

now who could argue with that? ORDER PIZZA!
It will get you out of a jam,

trust me I know,

PIZZA IS WHAT I AM.

GO AHEAD ORDER PIZZA!

not longing haiku 70-76

she'll do anything
for kings & nothing for those
who need it the most

i want credit for
all the things i've done that you
pretended were yours

he is so low on
my list of priorities
his cries are not heard

you will suck me dry
you of razor sharp teeth &
the infinite maw

i may be laid back
but i'm not a pushover
give me what i'm due

my patience ran thru
i snapped & i stung you &
it's all a big welt

she is your twin and
you hate her more for it and
want her to be gone

balboa park february

"Dedicated to Ken Adelman
For his insatiable quest for learning
and his devotion to teaching
by Nancy & Alan Spector & family
'I say there is no darkness
but ignorance' 8/29/01 Twelfth Night"

(sign stuck in ground next to my bench in front of lowell davies festival theatre balboa park san diego)

two owners of two boxer dogs, dogs pull leashes
owners extend hands to dogs
not each other

magician had a crowd of 5 then a
crowd of 40 a few minutes later
doing tricks with big silver hoop rings
the children squeal & rock back on their
thick rubber soled tennis shoes

old old old people one with a walker
with two legs of the walker topped
with tennis balls to ease the skid
they must've been together
70 years by now what's left to say
sunday at the zoo go home take your
pills sleep dream of antelope & owls

older people still get dressed up
still wear "nice clothes" out in public
to museums & theaters
it must pain them to see the rest of us
maybe it makes them feel prouder

families everywhere huge bald headed
babies in strollers on laps on the grass
passed from arms to arms
if you catch their eye they see to
the bottom of you & look away

eighty degrees winter in san diego
please leave me be swingin grandpa with
kid in stroller i'm not interested in
conversation i'm just waiting for
a show to start

i learned it by watching you

i learned it by watching you
what the kid screamed at the dad who wanted to know
where he got his drugs in the 80's just say no commercial

i learned it by watching you
puts all the blame back on the dad
guilt regret pain punish

i learned it by watching you
can be the highest compliment paid a person
if what they learned is useful

set an example

snow day?

middle of the night
nose pressed to the cold glass pane
smells like windex & paint & dust
every exhale fogs up higher
how fast is it falling
how big are they
everything washed in light brown golden pink
like olden days pictures
can't see to the street it's so thick
hear plows go by leaving fat diagonal hatch footprints
so the commuters can get out
didn't do my homework
looks like it won't matter
snow on boots rubber will squeak through halls for weeks
i'm turning off the alarm

peace haiku 30-36

respite from the clock
released from the pressure of
time for a second

mind races finding
new categories spaces
then snacks interfere

evergreen ever
moist ever fresh every day
a garden to tend

how do we know it's
not lightning hitting ocean
creating cells life

sometimes dancing by
himself was the best way to
know he was alive

it's hard to work hard
on a tropical island
don't blame the natives

good stuff on sale &
cute boys from different schools on
good days at the mall

remembering dreams

thoughts like dreams like empty plastic bag in the corner of an empty room
if i rush at it the force of my wind will keep pushing it up out & away
if i inch closer & earn its trust i might be able to read it

kitchen slice

cuts come not from
sharp knives but
dull ones
pushed too hard

sad boy

he had a party
and nobody came
the next day was sunday
went on all the same

he wasn't too ugly
old folks said he's cute
brown faced & round
thick glasses played flute

light in the loafers
with wrists giggly limp
whistling & clumsy
a daydreaming wimp

he sent out the invites
they said they'd all come
his mother bought streamers
and drank all the rum

carolaiku

late nite candy trips
to the circus room use my
meal card for pop tarts

joyner dorm all girls
nerd stuck up sorostitute
athlete bossy shy

run dark night late field
shower with your flip flops on
big robe change in room

dusty matted rug
not old cheap clammy a/c
high ceiling wood door

books in bags in piles
on floor wood desk white loft with
matching comforters

first week syllabus
how many can i miss &
get away with it

register for class
based on who's taken taking
easiest teacher

turn in book reports
don't raise hand teacher wrote she
sensed intelligence

cute boys on sidewalks
why aren't they in this class room
we'd have common work

dorm kitchen used once
everclear jello shots passed
out before noon bad

invisible ink

i see a red door and i want to paint it black
boiling over with impatience and pissy vitriol

not longing haiku 63-69

singer just a whore
sell her talents to takers
come one come all pay

each interaction
rubs raw the nerves on the back
of my neck shreds them

much too intense for
me to belive that you would
be happy as friends

the right ones just left
the others hung back vultures
they swoop for the kill

i'd tell him & he'd
fall & then we'd both be stuck
with dangling bridges

when you soar and i
know you've stolen my wings i
wish you shot down lame

hovering breathing
heavy snorting and grunting
like the pig you are

getting it

you reached out & said i got it
if i reach back i'm afraid
i'll get stuck
breaking yours
mine won't break
won't give it away
any more than i get
careful about one thing
and you should hate me for it
but never would

peace haiku 23-29

imagine them in
their underwear & know that
they want you to win

figs are full of red
sweet pulpy seeds to eat when
birds don't get there first

try best not to take
personally or assume
impeccable words

i hate your fear and
want you to be stronger than
i can imagine

push harder against
the tendency to just sit
there & do nothing

i'm sorry you cried
i tried to be honest &
gentle but couldn't

i can see past it
the walls of scars of blue pain
erupt swept away

not longing haiku 56-62

intentionally
bored lady is painful to
look at forced phony

i don't trust you to
execute my ideas
where does that leave us

you poured paint in my
garden poisoned all of my
tomatoes bastard

you can't have lust's rush
and love's security at
the same time for long

petty pecking for
three years learn the lingo pass
bar you're a lawyer

jealous petulant
obstinate au contraire mon
frere get over it

same thing as before
different cast of characters
same thing as before

restaurant waste

sell by today
or throw it away
make you some more
a big tub before
the trash men
come empty your tray

enough for an army
or family of five
served all to one
that old principal's wife
and she eats like a bird from benin

fold up your manners
remember your napkin
if asked to say grace
just say
thank you sweet garden
of heavenly bounty
a bountiful heaven on earth
here today
with you all
peaceful blessings
of health and great cheer
let's dig in

not longing haiku 49-55

ignorance is bliss
and yet we're still compelled to
learn at every turn

oh jesus christ god
almighty give me someone
to blame besides me

the toasty warm lives
i imagine for others
are cold & grinding

fertility drugs
blessing the rich with the curse
of the poor masses

if he could live that
long would all Holden's hair turn
gray eventually

cover your bases
with plastic foam padding &
you'll never get home

how long will you just
hide behind your bad choices
and pray for sunshine

not longing haiku 41-48

without tomorrow
should i save or should i spend
is a no brainer

to look like this is
my destiny what i do
with it is free will

wet empty sorry
evil danced in the shadows
it was a bad trip

lucky or perfect
if you're perfect you're lucky
not the other way

everybody's got
opinions but nobobdy
knows where they come from

the holy grail is
two faces together and
also the gold cup

to sleep means to dream
of concrete & dark & tires
rest these puffy eyes

it would be a crime
to live all these days & die
without yodeling

city livin

i go for a walk & smell nothing sweet
pounding fake rock with balls of my feet