Trap - by Rand

Ad
mi
ra
lA
ck
ba
rs
ai
di
tb
es
t

Abstract - by Rand

This poem begins by recounting the history of the abstract, from early Medieval times to its modern academic usage. Several lines are devoted to specific examples in disparate academic disciplines. Practical advice is given regarding the composition of abstracts. Special attention is paid to the increased importance of abstracts in the 21st century world of online citation indexes and full-text databases.

Rare - by Rand

How I order
my steaks
but also
how often
they are
prepared in
that manner

Old - by Rand

Like my favorite shoes
I know how they look
but they feel great

Encounter - by Rand

I knew I should have
written it all down
because the further
I get from it the less
detail I can recall

But somehow the act
of writing seemed
to be a betrayal
Like a photograph
of stained glass

Complete - by Rand

I refuse to place
the final piece
onto the puzzle

So long as it
remains incomplete
there is mystery

The missing piece
could contain
anything

Rich - by Rand

Like so much else
it depends on where
you are and who you
compare yourself to

Alien - by Rand

Every tale of
alien abduction
contains one lie

When removed
all that remains
is an abduction

Paint - by Rand

For years now
I've been painting
bowls of fruit

Not pictures of
bowls of fruit
That would be dumb

Whenever I see
bowls of fruit
I paint them
different colors

Most recently
I painted a
bowl of orange

Blanket - by Rand

as a toddler
i didn't have
a bankie
or
a binkie
but rather
a blue walrus
i slept with
and took with me
wherever i went

the last time
i saw him*
he had one eye
and a tusk was
barely hanging on
to his smiling
blue face

*many years ago

One - by Rand

I'm sorry Harry
Any number is
more lonely than
one

if that one is
set apart from
the other numbers
or
the relative complement
in a Venn diagram

Now one may be
the most alone
number
but that's different

Scandal - by Rand

How did the media
miss the opportunity
to refer to the bungled
response to Hurricane
Katrina as Floodgate?

Action - by Rand

Don't wait to hear
the word from
the director or
worry about
the wrap party

Just continue acting
and assume that
they will get
the footage
they need

Miles - by Rand

then you put down your horn and spoke
in a voice that was somehow more
distinct and haunting than
your sweet playing style

Floor - by Rand

In the past
that would have
floored me
but these days
I'm much more
grounded

Unclear - by Rand

I can see
how Uncle Ar
was unclear
but then again
if Uncle Ar
was unclear
how could I
see him at all?

Search - by Rand

What is sought
must be stalked
like an enemy
or a rabbit
after three days
without food

But what is sought
cannot be known
until it is found

Ink - by Rand (with apologies to Mark Strand)

If my tongue and teeth
are stained dark blue

is it only because I
have been up all night

eating poetry again

Here - by Rand

I'd rather be
right here

but not

necessarily
right now

Story - by Rand

I live on
the third floor
I used to live
on the fifth but
that's another
story

Walk - by Rand

If an alien's first view
of life on earth was
you walking your dog

tethered to one another
by a leash with her leading
you this way and that

and you stooping to pick up
her leavings with a plastic bag

whom would they assume
owned who?

Dancing - by Rand

I woke up with the catchiest and
most upbeat song I could possibly
imagine lodged in my tired head

Immediately I knew that this
masterpiece of rhythm and melody
was not a song I had ever heard

I wanted to grab pen or guitar
or recording device to capture
the song's pure perfection

but I was too busy dancing

Rage - by Rand

cannot be understood
or held in my hands

not to be engaged or felt
experienced or considered

like a charging rhino
avoid or be destroyed

cannot prevent or impede
only save myself and wonder

if i'm contemplating
your rage or my own

Tomorrow - by Rand

and?

Difference -- by Rand

The difference is

that I said

it might have been

better if things

had been different

and you said

it might have been

better if things

hadn't been