I GAVE UP

i gave up booze
i gave up smokes
i gave up chewing tobacco
i gave up harley davidson
i gave up fast cars
i gave up chasing women
i gave up porn
i gave up ice cream
i gave up soft drinks
i gave up jelly donuts
i gave up red meat
i gave up sugar
i gave up white bread
i gave up chat rooms
i gave up politics
i gave up shopping
i gave up religion
i gave up television
i gave up group identification
i gave up painting
i gave up reading
i gave up writing
i gave up

SWAGGER

sitting in airport kiosks
smoking cigarettes
drinking scotch
picking up girls
on their way to nowhere
i had swagger
in those good old days
when gas was cheap
and i was young
wearing a pinkie ring
on my way to vegas
when america walked proudly
and the slots went cha-ching
and hookers were angels
who ate at the free buffet
with me for friendship
two top-shelf Chivas's
for a buck
and free breakfast
at the stardust
when swagger was supreme
and the juice was flowing
and we swaggered onward
losing a bit each year
'til it was no more
now staring at vacant faces
in the mirror
looking at lost youth
hopes and dreams
cast aside
for the realities of today
no more swagger
anymore

MY UNCLE DICK

uncle dick served in WWII
he hung communication lines
on the outskirts of manilla
i believe.

he climbed the poles
as japanese soldiers took pot-shots at him
he climbed every day
saw his comrades fall
their life expectancy on this job
was really low
he did his duty anyway

my brother told me he cried when dick left
for the big war
my brother jim was just a boy
dick told him he'd be back
not to worry
dick did come back
shell shocked and shaking
he had a hellish couple of years
with the drinking
then he pulled himself together

when i was born
my brother insisted
that my mom and dad name me after dick
i am proud to have his name
i call him every veteran's
and memorial day
he is 87 years old
my brother jim,(fifth army) would have been 76
jim passed away, but i still have my uncle

i think of all my veteran friends today
my brother jim
my grammar and high school pals
the ones who've died
the ones who've survived
and i thank them all
this is my duty
bless you all.

DISCOVER ME

discover me, little girl
search my mind
ask me questions
i see you emerging
digging hendrix
bob dylan
reading bukowski
share it with me
let's talk
i'm open 24/7
maybe we can find
common ground
after all these years
a daughter and father
finally on the same page
this is my hope
this is my dream
discover me
so i can discover you

SCREW IT!

i like saying, "screw it!"
get pissed off
sneer at your enemy
throw down
put the gloves on
stand eye to eye
make a stand
throw your bill cap on the ground
face the clown
posture and postulate
angry ways to harm
let fists fly
get hit
and come back for more
screw it!
it feels good
better than dying inside
like a bookworm
living life in anaesthesic bliss
like a slug
no chances taken
hiding in a closet
of perpetual bliss
and taking it up your ass
with a smile on your face
this is dying my friend
screw it!
be hard
be mean
but do it for the right reasons
stand up
shoulders back
head erect
i tried serenity
anger works more efficiently
and gets more done
when the walls come in on you
kick back
and say screw it!
it's time to take a stand

TITHE

the corpulent priest waddled to his pulpit
i sat in my pew eyeing a vixen's legs
a week before christmas he made his pitch
"five-hundred dollars a family"
to keep the boat of catholicism afloat
i knew right then and there
i would excommunicate myself

this irish alcoholic
drinker of fine single malts
driver of new cadillacs
smoker of cuban cigars
taker of vacations to ireland
rome and other exotic places
wants more than i can afford
i knew i would not tithe
or believe in decrepit mythologies
not anymore

so i broke my elderly mothers heart
when i told her i would never atttend mass
ever again
so be it
and so it is written
and so it was done
and i never went back
and i don't regret my choice

because in the news yesterday
i see the church stands on the side of misogynists
who seek to take the rights away from women
who seek to control their own bodies
and conceive when they want to conceive
ain't no hail to notre dame for me
anymore
i see where the church takes its stand
and i absolve myself from catholic guilt
finally

i stand on what is right
i choose not to stone the infidels
those harlots named by rush limbaugh
are my compatriots
and all that is holy
is not so holy anymore
and if my soul burns in hell
so be it
because hell must be a holy place
where tithes are fair
and democracy hails
for everyone

OLD DOGS

old dogs started the day with an eye opener
a shot of whiskey and a tall can of beer
at four-in-the morning
it made the bones feel better
for the day's work to come...
and a greasy breakfast
in a greasy spoon
eggs, sausage, and lotsa coffee
then to the job
welding, wrenching, craning, laboring,
grunting, sledging, moving dirt and steel
old dogs did it all.

but wait...
we were young back then
and the joy was that
we thought we never were gonna' die
we were immortal
the money was never gonna' stop
the booze was gonna' flow forever
the cancer would never get us
so we lit another camel
and drank more shots-and-beers
and closed the joints

old dogs didn't worry about AIDS
or alcoholism
or taxes
or stocks
or dying
or occupying
just the sports book
and even then
we were happy

it ain't like that today
sadly
i must admit
the halycon days
are over