I was hoping to be happy by seventeen. School was a sharp check mark in the roll book, An obnoxious tuba playing at noon because our team Was going to win at night. The teachers were Too close to dying to understand. The hallways Stank of poor grades and unwashed hair. Thus, A friend and I sat watching the water on Saturday, Neither of us talking much, just warming ourselves By hurling large rocks at the dusty ground And feeling awful because San Francisco was a postcard On a bedroom wall. We wanted to go there, Hitchhike under the last migrating birds And be with people who knew more than three chords On a guitar. We didn't drink or smoke, But our hair was shoulder length, wild when The wind picked up and the shadows of This loneliness gripped loose dirt. By bus or car, By the sway of train over a long bridge, We wanted to get out. The years froze As we sat on the bank. Our eyes followed the water, White-tipped but dark underneath, racing out of town.
Gary Soto
Friday mourning, I'm dressed in black Douse the houselights, I'm not coming back For years, I warned you Through tears, I told you Friday mourning, there comes a time Before that breaks this very smug mug of mine
This dawn raid soon put paid to All the things I'd whispered to you At night time And I will never stand naked in front of you Or if I do, it won't be for a long time
Look once to me, look once to me Then look away Look once to me, then look away
And when they hold me down And when they kick me down the stairs I see the faces all lined up before me Of teachers and of parents and bosses Who all share a point of view You are a loser You are a loser
Friday, Friday mourning Dressed in black I won't be coming back
when the doctor came on a monday he looked at my mother and said there's something seriously wrong here - she's had a stroke - she's almost dead
it must have happened on thursday why wasn't i told before the busy rest home shook its head we thought she was drowsy - nothing more
she only came to us a week ago she was angry and violent and bitter we drugged her some and settled her down then she started to joke and chatter
it was thursday when her husband came with a daughter and a son we've given her a nice warm bath we said she's in her room with the tv on
we were busy and went up later we were given such a long deep stare the husband and the daughter were crying the son - he was just standing there
the old man was showing his birthday cards he was wanting her to recognise her eyes were lost inside themselves if deep pits can be said to be eyes
then the old lady began to mumble like stones dredged up from a well she was really a long long way away but a stroke - how were we to tell
it was only yesterday we became alarmed she seemed eaten away in her sleep - it's too late now the doctor said she's leapt where i cannot leap
my mother died the next thursday as the new moon was borne above her stroke had lodged a twig in her mouth and her face was the face of a dove.
RG Gregory
hooray say the roses, today is blamesday and we are red as blood.
hooray say the roses, today is Wednesday and we bloom where soldiers fell and lovers too, and the snake at the word.
hooray say the roses, darkness comes all at once, like lights gone out, the sun leaves dark continents and rows of stone.
hooray say the roses, cannons and spires, birds, bees, bombers, today is Friday the hand holding a medal out the window, a moth going by, half a mile an hour, hooray hooray hooray say the roses we have empires on our stems, the sun moves the mouth: hooray hooray hooray and that is why you like us.
Charles Bukowski
Thou shalt have an everlasting Monday and stand in the moon.
The moon's man stands in his shell, Bent under a bundle Of sticks. The light falls chalk and cold Upon our bedspread. His teeth are chattering among the leprous Peaks and craters of those extinct volcanoes.
He also against black frost Would pick sticks, would not rest Until his own lit room outshone Sunday's ghost of sun; Now works his hell of Mondays in the moon's ball, Fireless, seven chill seas chained to his ankle.
Our Moz's current tour has been a fantastic extravaganza and going on quite well. He has been receiving rave reviews and the crowds have been huge and enthusiastic. Our Moz is looking great and his voice is absolutely superb.
His stage show has added some lighting accoutrements that immediately caught my eye the first pictures and videos I saw from the tour. They are lighted shields or badges that are part of the light
show. Mozza always has a stunning light show to accompany the music. My first thought when I saw the lighted shields was they reminded me of the former symbol for British Petroleum. Is that weird or what? Sorry, I can't help I am odd.
Well, these shields triggered a memory from my childhood. When I was around 7 or 8 years old, I was friends with the kid down the street from us. One day he called me to come over to his house and play. We were going to play policeman, When I got there, we went down to his basement and decided that we were going to break up a robbery at a gas station. He had a desk and table arranged as our police car. Then another part of the basement was the gas station. We got on our police gear, hats and plastic pistols and got in our pretend police car. I looked over to the fake gas station and started laughing uncontrollably. My friend had drawn the BP symbol on a cardboard box for the gas station sign and it was all awkward and terrible looking. I could not stop laughing. I tried to stop by looking away but it didn't help. I would look at it and giggle away. My friend was very upset. He couldn't understand what was so funny. I tried to explain but I was laughing too hard to make sense. He then started to get mad. I couldn't play the game because of that stupid symbol. I said let's do something else through my laughs. He was so pissed about it, he made me leave. Needless to say, I wasn't invited back for a very long time and we never played policeman again. In fact, we were never really very good friends after that. The sad thing is, when I think of that badly drawn BP symbol I still get a chuckle and laugh about it. I am truly warped.
