Martians

If we were on Mars
I would take your hand,
layers of space-age polymers in between
so I wouldn't really have your hand in mine
more like just the idea of your hand
because if we actually held hands
we would die.

We would go to Mars
to make love,
to be the first people
to make love
on Mars.

Why else? To do science?
No
just do me instead.
Let's do it on Mars
even if we would die.

We would die together
entwined
two bodies in space
attracted
collapsing
into one.

Little Lizzy

Look out boys! It's little Lizzy
who thinks her thoughts and speaks them freely
which throws them all into a tizzy,
her manner calm and resolve steely.
"Go back inside and stay silent!"
the boys all shouted, near insisted
their faces strained, voices almost violent.
Nevertheless, she persisted.

"Perhaps you'd enjoy another major
outside of strict math and science."
Her professor's eyes tried to gauge her
response, which could be seen as defiance.
Lizzy sighed, inwardly knew
it'd all be easier if she desisted,
that they squirmed as her knowledge grew.
Nevertheless, she persisted.

Now time's have changed (but really, have they?)
and Lizzy's no longer quite so small.
Yet even now when she wants her say
there are those who'd rather put up a wall.
But for today, tomorrow, and forever
against each foe, a Lizzy resisted.
When can she be done? The answer is never.
Nevertheless, she persisted.

Liberty

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp --
but it cuts off there, the rest illegible
rusted over or scratched away.
It's hard to tell what's natural anymore.

The plaque feels heavy in my arms
the corners ragged as clearly it belonged
to something bigger than itself once.
Not for a long time since some looter
or criminal or hooligan or Freedom Fighter
popped it off with some makeshift crowbar.

There are noises - or maybe there aren't -
but enough to stir me to flight.
I squeeze the tablet tight. An edge
cuts into my hand and I fight
the urge to shout or sigh
or lie down and wait.

Later in the semi-darkness
and half-safety of Home
I stare at the words, try to imagine a world
where they meant what they meant
where humans were free.

January 20, 2017

Stop
and try to hear it
on the outskirts
in the crossroads
intersections where we crash and collide
the drip dripping of an American Melt.

And to be near it
is dangerous sure
watch for the spatters and explosions
from the blood, sweat, and tears
that drip from the patty of pregnant expectation.

And the way to sear it
properly is to be watchful
and to flip it over and over
and over again, constantly in fact
but in a rush sometimes
the melt just gets pushed down
down until it drips.

And to be clear, it's
personal/historical/contextual -
the way you like your melt
is not quite how I like mine.
I know it's hard to walk in my shoes,
they don't fit you and they're
made in China.
But sooner or later
getting squeezed
and flattened
to cheers
means you start to believe it

and to fear it.

Possible Final 4 Words from The Gilmore Girls If It Was a Different Kind of Show Entirely

[Rory]

The rest is silence.

She dies, Paris cradling her head. Paris is in shock and shattered, but holds it together because someone must. The gazebo is scattered with bodies. A car screeches to a halt, doors opening to reveal Chilton headmaster Charleston. He surveys the carnage and shares an anguished look with Paris.

CUT TO BLACK

[Morey]

Now, do you believe?

Lorelai looks searchingly at Morey, who slowly puts his sunglasses back on. The world seems to ripple, if only for a moment. Lorelai looks over at Luke's, then back at Morey, but he isn't there anymore. Morey has turned into Kirk. As Lorelai looks around, all of the residents of Stars Hollow are turning into Kirk. All the Kirks begin running at Lorelai, who looks down at the coffee cup she is holding, which explodes into a cloud of unintelligible words (though we potentially see the word "poodles" in the mixture). The camera pulls skyward and we're looking down at Lorelai with all the Kirks about to engulf her. She bends her knees and takes off, flying right past the camera, her trendy parka flapping by and wiping to a blackout.

[Taylor Doose]

THIS. IS. STARS. HOLLOW!

His scream echoes across the green expanse of the town square. The warm breath of the Stars Hollow reenactment crew is seen in the chilly dusk, muskets at the ready. The boys are scared. The men are too, but have put on a warrior's face to mask their insecurities. A beat of silence, the calm before the storm. Then, the army of orcs rushes forward and war cries from both sides fill the air. The clash is inevitable and only moments away. Suddenly, a lone man rushes forward to meet them - Luke Danes.

CUT TO BLACK

[Dean]

It was a pleasure.

He pulls Rory close and the two stare at each other. They both want to kiss, but can't. This moment is too important. They settle on a deep hug. Rory walks over to the other terminal, key in hand. They both insert their keys, take a deep breath, and share one last smoldering look at each other. Dean nods, almost imperceptibly. The camera zooms out, past the bunker walls, past the facade of the destroyed diner, past the black helicopters circling Stars Hollow and holds as we hear the sound of keys turning and a growing high-pitched noise.

FADE TO WHITE

[Luke]

There's no more coffee.

Luke's voice trembles ever so slightly, but Lorelai hears it. She looks up from the half-filled cup into Luke's terrified face. Behind her, outside, a car crashes into another immediately causing a giant fireball. Word has gotten out. Everyone knows. Lorelai leaps over the counter, grabs Luke, and the two of them huddle together out of sight. There's the sound of breaking glass, screams, and an unseen body slumps above the two of them. Blood runs down the counter. The two kiss desperately.

CUT TO BLACK

[Miss Patty]

They all did it.

The assembled culprits try to protest, but Patty shushes them. The camera pans and lingers a bit over each member of the gang, as they exchange a glance with Patty. Luke is angry but proud. Lorelai is in shock. Michel is disgusted, but mostly with himself for getting caught. Sookie smiles, trying to make the best of things. Jess laughs and nods, giving credit to Miss Patty where it's due. The back of the police van closes on them and Miss Patty walks to her car. She gets in, starts it, and hits the open road. As she pulls onto the freeway, we see a sign telling us that she's leaving Stars Hollow. She pulls up a secret compartment between the seats in her car and a bag is seen, overflowing with diamonds. Miss Patty laughs to herself.

FADE TO BLACK

[Emily]

Time to go back.

She taps the screen, entering coordinates. A planet flickers up on the screen and though there's less landmass than normal, it is recognizable as Earth. A query blinks on the screen: CONFIRM? Emily looks around at her family. Lorelai rolls her eyes, as if to say, all right already. Rory giddily claps. Richard can't be bothered to look up from his paper. Emily sighs contentedly and hits the large button. We hear the sounds of the FTL engines spinning up. The camera zooms out from the control room, out through the door of Al's Pancake World, into the biodome above Stars Hollow, out into a wide shot of the exploratory fleet, just in time to catch each ship blinking out as its drive activates.

FADE TO BLACK

[Paris]

It's always been you.

Rory looks at her, sudden understanding in her eyes. She is flooded with emotion. We see quick flashes of many interactions that Paris and Rory have had over the past decade with this new lens. Paris is standing there, stuck, vulnerable, once again on the verge of being rejected. Rory shifts her feet, unsure, deciding. She looks up. She's decided. She steps forward, embraces Paris, and kisses her deeply. There's the sound of shutters as we see a photos from a photo album: a celebratory wedding, Lorelai and Sookie crying; Rory and Paris looking frazzled near a bassinet; an adorable toddler on Paris's shoulders as Rory jokingly offers the little one a coffee cup.

FADE TO BLACK

[Kirk]

It was always me.

He takes off the robe, the mask, and stands there, unmasked. It's Kirk. Of course it is, it's always been Kirk. His face is twisted in hatred and anger. He advances on the Gilmore girls with his machete, as they back away from him through the hallways of the mansion. Rory stumbles over Emily's body, and Lorelai grabs her, flings her backwards into the corner of the living room. Kirk is upon them, his machete in Lorelai's neck. She gurgles, then falls. A close-up on Rory, cowering in the corner, hands in front of her face. We see Kirk's legs as he steps into the frame, and the machete drops into view, still bloody. A droplet of blood falls onto the pristine white carpet.

CUT TO BLACK

Assorted Poems from the Past Few Months

Fall of a Sparrow

When I did chance to happen on this crew,
a team composed of stars pluck’d from the sky,
within my blood did fiery hope renew
to stake our fortune ere we all must die.

How noble was our work – how true, how swift!
Our sprints did show our speed from week to week
that all as one our many hands did lift
a motley matching mound to mountain peak.

But fickle fate did cleft our hearts in twain,
The ending sprawled before us that we see,
and no amount of hearts and hearts in chain
can realign to corp’rate strategy.

And yet our time, our team, the work begot
cannot be quick erased or soon forgot.


3 Limericks

We are living in times that seem dire,
like we're stuck in a great dumpster fire.
But when darkness takes hold,
inner light makes us bold.
May we all be Frodo of the Shire.

There once was a girl they called Ruby
who solved mysteries like that dog Scooby.
The hardest one she had
was the Dane who seemed sad.
She told him the answer was: to be!

There was once a young boy who did roar
when he was at the grocery store.
The strangers would all stare,
but they were unaware
he's a secret velociraptor.

What I'm Thinking When You're Eating Dinner

Leaning forward over the purple plastic plate -
It's like pink! It's close in the rainbow
and you buy it, you own it, you now ask for
sister colors where one can serve
as the other when your brother
demands the pink or moves too quickly
like the prince of cats
snatches, dashes, grins, guilty.

Leaning forward to scoop with your purple spoon -
It has to match! Of course it does
how can we even think of eating
if the spoon differs in shade
from the plate
what a catastrophe
a disaster, a meltdown
you can't imagine anything worse.
I can, of course, I do, but you
don't have to and if this is it
well, that's cool.

Leaning forward, the edges of your hair slip past your ears -
Oh no! My hair! And there's ketchup on the ends now
red drops clinging to the edge of you
and you scowl and point and yowl
for a paper towel.
How can we even think of eating
when there's ketchup in your hair
and it's a fair point.
Wiped off, you smile, I smile
you raise your spoon above your head.

Leaning forward, I stand because I cannot stand -
Avocado! What? I cannot stand how perfect you are,
how I sometimes want to squeeze you Steinbeck-style
a bunny, an innocent, a funny little girl
who calls me out when the hug's too long,
the kiss too strong.
How how how how from such meat
such imperfection such imitation as myself
were you made?

Leaning back, lips smacking contentment -
I'm full! And maybe you are and maybe you're not
and maybe I am and maybe.