Ever since the diagnosis
Bilky lost all his neuroses
And the carnival was in town
He’d finally go and get on
The Blaster of Sight and Sound
The night was dreary dreary
But the carnival lights
Splashed color about
And the air was quick with laughs
And bawdy shouts
He forgot he had aches
And tremors as the ticket taker murmured
He headed directly for
The bizarre purple shuttle
Not noticing the under puddle
_
To be continued
She’s wiping off her lipstick
With the napkin
Discarded in the hotel room bin
When recovered the code
11091
Just below the peach shaped smear
It could be anyone
It could be any 1
She seems to have disappeared
From hotel, street, city, country, world
Was she free or imprisoned
By the code of non-division
He begins tremblin
Upon hearing the song
Cigarette danglin
Unshaven cheeks
Waves from radio crashin
It doesn’t look like his flesh can take it
Lashes lit with tears
It wears him to a gutterin candle
Then the dj destroyed by wild boot and stompin
The radio guts wirin fizzlin cracklin
Teds were churned out
He told the facts to me
But they weren’t the whole story
Teds without mouths
Teds without toe 1-3
But how is this any different
Than originals
There’s only one Ted
With residuals
Ted grinning with shiny cheeks
Ted disappearing for weeks
But worming back in
And still smashing at backgammon
Ted so full of it
Till a crucial moment
When you wondered if there weren’t
Another Ted option
He said, “Here is a trick
I learned in college
Not many people know
You can pop off the top
Of your skull
Poke to the right
Poke to the
Left
And you’ll see
A huge
Rainbow
Pop it back
On
And you’re
Ready
To go.”
I said,
“What is
The meaning
Of this?”
But then
He grew
Wistful
And never spoke
Of it again.
Red hat in the snow
Did you see the red or the white
Or hear a wind through a hollow
A fat man strolls through
But he is unimaginable