i want more

they get
the top to do
the most of few
the first of you

they get
to be desired
to be inspired
the you not tired

they get
blessed by you
the zest in you
the best of you

I get
what’s left of you

jwturner
6/29/09

Glutton For Punishment – A Haiku

you fooled me once, shame on you
second time’s on me
number three? simply painful

jwturner
5.18.2009

The New

i long for the new in you
the first touch of your skin
the surprise of your curves
the shock of your lips
i long for the unforeseen
an unexpected movement
an unpredictable moan
an unforgettable moment
i long for the new in you

jwturner
5/8/09

The Poem Store

Walking out of Moscone Center in San Francisco, our group happened upon Zach Houston’s Poem Store.

Zach sits outside with an old typewriter and pumps out poems on ripped scraps of paper. He simply asks what you want your poem to be about and you pay him what you wish. I had no cash, so I borrowed three dollars, including a $2 bill from Ira Serkes and polled the group for what I should ask him to write about. Ginger Wilcox suggested, “Love.” That’s one of my favorite topics, so that’s what we went with.

I was going to just type in the poem he wrote for me, but you really can’t get a feel for the poems he writes without seeing them. So here it is. Thanks, Zach.

wipe that smile off of your face

here she comes, walking up the aisle
the stewardess with the plastic smile
she’s moving at a turtle’s pace
a silly look upon her face
it appears to be glued just above her chin
that ever present, stupid grin
can’t she see i’m not in the mood
to watch someone else feel so good
she doesn’t mean it anyway
it’s just a game she’s paid to play
so, i think i’ll make my flight complete
and as she passes my prime aisle seat
i’ll trip her

jwturner
7/26/87
on the plane home

if i were a kid

if i were a kid
i’d get up right now
and go play
i wouldn’t worry
about a thing
i’d walk right out
and cozy up
with the first toy
that caught my eye
or the first person
who crossed my path
and we’d laugh
for no reason
and dance around
without any music
and shout
and sing
and act silly
and fall down
on purpose
and think it was funny
and keep laughing
until our cheeks hurt

if i were a kid

jwturner
2/21/2009

her first letter

her words were written on the page
but they had lips
and they spoke without the rage
that used to be us

i could hear her voice
inside my heart of hearts
so familiar i cried
for the first time since the end

for a moment
i wished she were near
holding me while i cried
telling me i had nothing to fear
making me believe it

but my tears fell on hardened ground
this heart of mine
and soon i couldn’t hear the sound
of her familiar voice inside my heart

it waits now in silence
ready to be torn apart
by more words from her

jwturner
7/1/87

after reading the first letter from cindy… after several years apart.

michael’s delusion

all around me are simple minds
simple minds draped in the glory of their ignorance
for them, this is truly bliss
happiness is relative
and peace is an abstract
that can only become reality
when the struggle for it is lost
for all around me are simple minds
draped in the glory of their ignorance

jwturner
at Central State Hospital, 1984
Indianapolis, IN
written from what i thought might be the perspective of a patient named “michael”

one of my lost poems

i find myself lost

i can’t find myself
when I find myself
wanting you
like i want you now
i can’t see myself
when I see myself
needing you
like i need you now
i can feel myself
when i feel myself
missing you
like I miss you now
i can’t find myself
when I find myself
lost in you
like I’m lost right now

jwturner
missing you

i need you now

i did not need you
when you burst into my life
but i need you now

jwturner
a haiku