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Sample Poems by Chuck Joy


Too Young To Go Steady

a diagnosis will not save you
love is all you need
a can of worms

a diagnosis is to dehumanize
thank you, Jacqui
love is a curse

truth is lies
few tall trees, plenty of forest
a diagnosis might make you a celebrity

a diagnosis is not music
the list, already long, just grows
spring can really hang you up the most


Dream Date

1.
let's meet at the Moonlight Lounge
I've loved the blues since high school

a shaggy snow sifting down
snow between me driving and the pine trees
the rise of the boulevard
the golf course then the city blocks
my destination, the Moonlight Lounge

snow filling the early evening
driven by an east wind, fluffy snow
McCabe and Mrs. Miller all over again
I want to throw my arms around the whole shebang
find nice parking right away
low attendance has its benefits

if I could articulate even half of a popular daydream
we would be retired to France
as it is, I see you in the Moonlight Lounge
seated at a small round table

you rise as I approach
we exchange a chaste kiss

me, I never took one poetry course
you were an English major
half a double major in fact
college a long way to go, backwards
almost as far behind as high school
mine right here, yours elsewhere

we see others as they are
we see ourselves at every age
and all at once

2.
we face the stage
both of us audience tonight
silence pleasant between us
audience of two

not counting the bartender
she had already impressed us with her obliviousness

thump bump de bump bump
short cat under a baseball cap
sits at a drum set
a lanky character enters, plugs in a bass

backstage, something crashes
we alert, darting glances
speakers buzz and snap from near the bar
spotlights flash white around the stage frame
a woman walks on, slapping a tambourine against her leg
Is this a blues bar? she asks us

Yeah, we answer, us

the woman gestured toward the two musicians
Play the blues, she ordered, extending an opened hand
the two launched a satisfying groove
lift off with the first notes

you and I, we drank whiskey
shared a couple small plates
bobbed our heads and our shoulders
making faces, talking difficult, the music loud
that woman right on the money

when the band took a break
you leaned into me, patting my ears
asked me, Heard enough?
smiling, your tongue pressing your lower lip
an eyebrow raised



Tuesday

Tuesday, it's a monument
a monument to assertiveness
making things more my way

Tuesday, Tuesday used to be
the pain fullest day of my week
took awhile to notice
the blues I sang every Tuesday morning
finally spoke to me

Do something, I heard
it was my voice
nobody else was speaking

I identified a change
it took months but I was patient
and I was right
now Tuesdays are fun again
I'm proud of me


San Antonio

1.
me, I'm a black-haired bug-
eyed sentimental Caruso
wearing corduroy jacket and jeans

that they expect me at the airport is reassuring,
today must be the right day

me, in the manner of the hermit poet
I shall name myself Sandy Beach
a prominent feature of a shoreside environment
where I am naturally found

you know it's poetry
when you read too fast
you can't help yourself, the message
the words, taps on the drumhead, percussive
surprise in the line breaks
passing, blurred
a view from a train

you know it's not poetry
most of the time, especially in school
in class, math class, especially Calculus
even when the professor is a Sean Thomas Dougherty
of Calculus
unless it is

2.
you can dress us up
but we are all here naked
every single thing we say or draw overdetermined
our loved ones most subject to our best efforts
what is love?

remember this: serenity
all those rules, you choose
you, your number one

you, present
me, Sandy Beach
engagement an opportunity
an invitation, share serenity


3.
so many people, people everywhere
cities swell with 'em
people fill every stadium, and then some

consider San Antonio, many many people
hotels, filled
one in particular
here's who we are
here's how we're cool

one thing though
these birds are real assholes

4.
reality never fails
to disappoint, a single person
several or a crowd
best always manage expectations

life is suffering, no doubt
the absence of desire a blessing
detachment essential, the analytic stance
Dr. Freud meets Mr. Buddha

friendship temporary
four nights at best
accomplished professor, eager resident
if gone a bit far, they'll get over it

me, Sandy Beach, I'm back to baseline
goodbye, Madame President
goodbye, every relationship

life, what we live between trips to the toilet

I leave reassured with my competence and distance
many of you would be happy with me, not everybody

here are some numbers: 3600, 12:15
thanks for listening