The Zero Hour

The only time
we could ever make love
would be
when the clock turns to
0:00
we'd exist on another plane
slip
into a parallel universe
where there are no rules
no time at all
when we dream
but you'd have to be quick
0:01
is too late

Pranayama

Eyes down to the floor, up to the ceiling. Breathe slowly to the count of four, one for the abdomen, two three four, thorax chest shoulders, hold one count, exhale smoothly. Pranayama. I used to tease Catherine, if she’d just do that she wouldn’t need to smoke. It’s the same thing, calm your frazzled nerves with deep controlled breathing. Controlled breathing I don’t like that description. Regulated breathing, managed breathing, I don’t know, but controlled breathing sounds too, controlling, something. 

Eyeballs up, down, four times. Now side to side, breathe, concentrate on breathing, count, one two three four one onetwothreefour. Diagonal, down left, up right, one two three four, one, onetwothreefour, two two three four, one twotwothreefour, three two three four one threetwothreefour, four two three four one fourtwothreefour. Eye yoga. Down diagonal right, up left, breathe. 

Toes. See if you can separate each one individually, one by one, breathe, one two three four one onetwothreefour. Power yoga, not for me. so antithetical to bliss. And Hot Yoga, what’s up with that, we have to suffer to improve, or just endure. The Marine’s motto ‘pain is weakness leaving the body.’ What, are we preparing for war. Breathe one two three four.

-Vitals?

-The same.

-Too bad, we could use this bed.

-Let’s wait till tomorrow, I saw some eye movement that wasn’t totally random.

-Hm. Okay, let’s go. I’ve got to get home. Let’s move quickly through here I don’t want to have to answer anyone about when they’ll get out of this corridor into a real room. 

-Did you get home okay last night? 

-Yeah, there were only three checkpoints, night before there were five. Had to make a detour at Fourth, the school was hit, demolished, must have been some meeting point. Had to stop though, to check vitals on some guy. 

-Okay?

No. Dead. Mega-tased, like that one in there. They’re brutal with these protesters. 

Rhetorical

Is cussion
To percussion
As percussion is
To repercussion

Futility

Trying to forget
Like trying to relax or
Try to be spontaneous

vanquished

epic battle 

with bureaucracy

done

implacable 

imbeciles

intractable

idiot

eradicated

dagger sheathed

lance

hung

gloves

laid

looking

to the horizon

into
the void

Retracing our footsteps

A 13 hour drive
North
Through snow
The windshield wipers worked
This time
Your son
Drove
As the scenery
Flew by
I
Watched our lives
Pass before my eyes
I listened to your brother
Connect with his nephew
And heard you
We dined with your daughter
Your ex Brother
And sister-in-law
And toasted
You
Driving south
Waves of emotion
Crashed over me
As we drove
Past our house
Your work
All the places
We'd driven by
So
Many
Times
So this last time
You were with us again
And we made the round trip
For you

Oakwood Avenue West Hartford 1965

Enter a square kitchen
At the southwest corner
Due west
An enamel stove
At WNW
A doorway
A bathroom
Sink mirror clawfoot tub toilette bare lightbulb cracked buckled linoleum
North west
A low sink chipped porcelain
Above it
A glass front cupboard
Peeling pea soup green paint
Due North
Maybe a sash window
Northeast a glass front cupboard
Above
Cupboard below
Doors hang askew
Southeast a doorway
Leading left a basement stairway
Right a porch with open sash window
A clothesline on a pulley
Due south
A short stocky refrigerator
In the center of the room
A gray speckled formica and chrome
Table
Some ripped red naugahyde
Chairs
The table surface obscured
By dirty dishes piled high
Dried moldy milk glasses
Open the fridge
A glass bottle of
Milk
Hamburger meat
With maggots