ODE TO T.V.
Friend
Plug in
Turn on
Pounce upon my knee
Salivation upon my face,
And fingers
A little yelp
And a bark
I understand your language
I do
My friend—
Friend
Run and play
Balance hind leg
Rest yourself next to me
I am, too, exhausted
By the folly
And a bark
Shall remain an eerie howl
From the past
Vanishing into an escaping sound
My friend
Friend
Seat yourself proud
Stand above the crowd
Where balance is askew
Odd values brought forth
Through a fear
Approached but left
Fictional lives often retreat
Into memory
Well, perhaps once in a while
My friend
Friend
Paw the remote
Turn on turn off
Change the channel or not
Peer out the window
When the vision hits home
To catch a passerby
Moving too quick to keep
Or to bury like bones
In a grassy yard as Paradise was
My friend
Friend
Charge the bowl
Quench your thirst
Madman in a clever disguise
Melting within your mind
As he has in mine for years
Sad, angelic eyes
The right one wet, the left
Attempting to shut yet fail
'Fore this canine returns for he is
My friend
Friend
Appeal to the mass
Make new friends
In a different park of pups
Than the one I took you to
On long walks under the sun
Twilight laundry room
The strange, early morn after
To wash you clean of ills
You contracted from cold
And I looked after you
My friend
Friend
Resist the confuser
It may even kill you
If that is what you let it do
Environment of sterility
There, we once lived together
In the famous dog house
I designed, you built
Music videos kept us company
Blue radio microwaves
My friend
Friend
Predict the future
Whisper the bitter answer
In my better ear if you wish
Random stabs in the dark
Carried to a new day of existence
Knowledge of the unknown,
Doom-laden tomorrow flattened
Cruel imagination's weight to prevail
Like an anvil to crush our plan
My friend
Friend
Forget the fame
Forfeit this losing game
Unless to lose is your master plan;
To inflict pain on oneself,
Horrifying enemy eyes perpetuating
This voyage into the abyss
Forever to scout the escape route
Where fear-driven explorations
Ceased to exist long ago
My friend
Friend
Drift away, hide yourself
Stare into agony, face to face,
Suicide's embrace is cold yet befitting
Tragedy to behold and remember
Enslaved tho' denial be near its highest peak
Into chains, swallowed the key
Misfortunes torn apart into drivel
Photocopied onto tricky values
Deadly poison we drank
My friend
Friend
These bleeding words
If you think them less than sane,
Close your eyes & ignore the blackest ink
As your power be kidnapped and sold
I recall that icy basement occupied by the two of us
Our eyes fixed on the warm t.v. set
This li'l creature astride my soft lap
Now gazes into these brown eyes of mine
This eternal link, me to you
My dearest friend.
Portland, 2007