Sin-Cane Poems:
In Conversation with
Minnesota Photographers
Unchained Melody
after The Righteous Brothers
rivers
flow to the sea
to the angry arms of
the sea – I’ll be coming home – wait
for me
Held Captive
strings bind
me tight to you –
the music of my soul –
hold me in your hungry arms and
play me
Promise
meet me
alone – outside
our door just you not them
I will meet you there – one day soon –
some day
Calypso’s Allure
time stops
with warm breezes
sailboats – the laughter of
children – the mourning of one day’s
desire
Millcreek Ice
after Joni Mitchell
wish I
could fly back home –
river sticks and stone pucks
nothing lasts forever – bring back
the cold
Spirits Clacking
or Robin Wall Kimmerer
look with
two-eyed seeing
braiding traditions of
native wisdom western science
as one
Straight and Narrow
nothing
straight about it
see those dark clouds ahead
no conquest is ever easy –
numb skulls
Sweetwater Sea Monster
her voice –
ecstasy – bliss –
beauty and two-breasted trouble –
tempting
Wandering
listen –
can you hear me –
my yips and howls and cries
the twisting road home is spiked with
their lies
Honest and Capable Leadership
for Robert Frost
I know
what you’re doing
fake weaving – you and I
my hands on your shoulders will go
elsewhere
Protect Me
for Emmylou Harris and the Nash Ramblers
tell me
telemachus –
will you stand up for me
will you – if that is your desire
said he
DECEIT
not all
that keeps me from
you is what it appears
to be – lessons learned have made me
wiser
ALONE IN THE BOUNDRY WATERS
meet me
alone – in the
boundary waters just you –
and we will fish – side by side – for
nothing
LOOKING FOR A HOME
after Burt Bacharach and Hal David
for Ella Fitzgerald
crazy
game that ends in
tears no mistake we are
now apart but this room is still
our home
FIRE AND RAIN
Minnesota Anthem for Renee Good and Alex Pretti
renee
meets helen of
troy – helen greets renee
two gorgeous mortals black beauty
snow white
CADENCE
for Joni Mitchell
your name
penelope
haunts me with its cadence
weaving without end – going round
and round
THAT LOST FEELING
after The Righteous Brothers
orchids
wilted – sands of
time – captive heart returned
seven years lost – and now I must
make haste
SURROUNDED
swirl of
water rock fog –
like magic you appear –
reflections of a lifetime of
desire
BREAKING METRICS IN IOWA CITY
for Big John Birkbeck, poet and illustrator
dear god
cried the poet
to the sea – I’m as close
to twenty-one as I am to thirty-
three
DEEP UNDER
meet me
naked by the
waterfall – if you come
we will go deep under inside –
you – me
NOT HERE
move on
buddy – you can’t
stay here – remember – the
faster you go – the more you leave
behind
HOLD ME
dreaming
of you – your touch
your feel – texture – smell – taste
dreaming – praying – pleading that dreams
come true
IF YOU WANT ME
yearning –
they come for me –
longing aching – wanting
dark stubble and whiskers I hear
their howls
NO CASE AGAINST YOU
after Joni Mitchell
bitter
sweet is your blood
a case of feckless love –
I drink to you – my one my true
north star
NAKED IN THE NORTH WOODS
meet me
naked up north
even if you never –
come to me again – I will wait
for you
AT LAST
if this
be exile – I
say let it be so – for
exile will be our last chance to
run free
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