Star Smelled Like Milk

He would look forward
To seeing her
Every time he had to visit
The Bronx with his mother
To see his aunt Lilly

Her name was Star
A twelve year old
Fifth grader
Who lived across the hall
From his aunt

Star was the most beautiful girl
That he had ever seen
And the only one
Who ever noticed him
Let alone spoke to him

Star was from Puerto Rico
And everything about her was exotic
Her name, her hair, her eyes, her voice

Sometimes when his mother was busy
Talking to Star’s mother and his aunt
The two of them would sneak into Star’s bedroom
To curl up into each other’s arms
To cuddle and to share their first kisses
Over and over again

It was heaven
It was paradise
And Star smelled like milk

Her gentle kisses
Made him flush with a kind of fever
He loved to stroke her hair
And her slender arms

Such adventures were always a secret
And only lasted
Until their names were called
By their suspicious keepers

And then it was off to roller-skate
The two of them
Hand in hand
Down the steep hills of the Bronx
Their steel wheels growling like jet engines
Sending sparks of stones and gravel
In their wake

If times like these
Could only last forever
Wouldn’t that be grand?

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

Untitled

She sells her body
On the street
For the price
Of a Taco Bell
Or White Castle…

When the police find her
Her face smashed and purple
The handiwork
Of some ham-fisted goon
She manages a painful laugh
And says through swollen lips
That it was a Big Mac attack
Officer…

Or whatever his name was
You know
They all look the same to me…

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

A Day at the Beach

In the roiling surf
A trumpeting herd of
Sea froth elephants
Raise seaweed
Trunks and tusks
To the turquoise
Ocean turtle sky
Pebble and beach glass
Legs akimbo…

With the next hissing wave
A herd of spotted giraffe…

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

Sidewalk Buddha

Homeless sidewalk Buddha
Sitting lotus posed
Wrapped in billowing
clouds of steam
King of your sewer grate throne
Though the swirls of vapor
Be thick as cotton candy
No cloak of choking smoke
Can hide your nation’s shame…

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

A Yiddish Melody in Swing

Were you there for the wedding
The night Klezmer married Swing
When Goodman’s clarinet
Taught the Rambam how to sing
Cheery beery bim bom
On methamphetamine?
At a night club in Harlem
They danced to Yiddish Swing
Only in America
You get to see such a thing!
By Mir Bist Du Shoen!
Maxene! Patty! And Laverne!
The first big Yiddish smash!
They were raking in the cash!
Sung by the ganse velt!
They were swimming in the gelt!
Ella! Judy! Louie!
Even Norman Felt!
Hear it play!
Start to sway!
Boychick Bennie
Take it away!
It don’t mean a thing
If it ain’t got that swing!
Swing Heil!
Swing Heil!
Swing Heil!

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

We Fought All the Way Back

We fought all the way back
From the hospital
That cold October day
That our newborn daughter Amy
Was brought home
to our shiny new house
for the very first time

I have no recollection
Of whatever it was
That we were arguing about

I just remember
That the words
Were bitter
And angry

Amy was in the backseat
Snugly wrapped
In her swaddling clothes
as she soundly slept
Blissfully unaware
That her parents
Were on the verge
Of divorce

We had been married
For all of five years
When Meredith
Gave me the ultimatum
“I want to have a baby
or I will kill myself” she said.

Did she really mean it?
Was she just bluffing?
I was terrified
What kind of madness was this?

Not wanting to admit
That my marriage was over
I meekly complied
With her wishes
And one year later
Almost to the day
Amy was born

“I am happy” said Meredith
as she held Amy
in her arms for the first time
the one and only time
that I had ever heard her say the word

In those days
No one ever said the words
Post partum depression
In those days
It was even rarer to hear the words
“I want a divorce”.

Why have babies
If you knew all along
That you were planning
To divorce the child’s father
At the first opportunity?

If all she ever wanted
Was a convenient sperm donor
Why not just go the nearest sperm bank?
I guess that was my role
I guess that was my job
Last hired
First fired

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011

I Love the Way

I love the way
The sand feels
Between my toes
Whenever I walk
Along the water’s edge
At the beach
I love the way
That the wind feels
Against my skin and hair
As the beach flags
Snap and crack
With every gust
I love the way
The salted sea air smells
Like jasmine and citrus
And gardenia
I love the way
The piper birds
Dodge in and out
With every wave
Picking off the sea brine
And crab eggs
From the bubbling sands
I love the way
The fresh air
Fills every corner of my lungs
As children laugh and play
And build their special sand castles
Under the watchful eyes
Of nervous parents
Ever on the alert for trouble
I love the way
The ocean envelops my body
And makes every nerve tingle
As I revel in being alive
Feeling rejuvenated
I love the way
The powerful waves
Crash over my head
And push me down
Into the frothing surf
Until my lungs almost burst
For want of air
And I come bobbing to the surface
Like a porpoise
Like a leopard seal
Like a beached walrus
In search of some sun drenched rocks
A place to take shelter
To bask in the glorious sunlight
To dry my skin
To stretch out my body
To hear the seagulls
Calling out to each other
Until the sun
Finally sets
And everyone goes home
Waiting for tomorrow
For another majestic day
To dawn

j.h.markowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011