Big Time Pissed Off

So I take it that
(After all
Of these long years)
That Delores is still
Pissed off at me
Big-time
(I really can’t
Imagine why)

Maybe she still
Harbors a grudge
Against me
For leaving her
That time
When I thought
I was going to
Make Aliyah
To Israel
(I dropped the lease
On my Brooklyn
Apartment
Packed up all of my things
And shipped the whole
Shebang off to
A remote kibbutz
In Israel named
Shaare HaGolan)

Not surprising
(For me and my
Half baked notions)
The Aliyah experiment failed
And I was back
In the states
After only six weeks
No apartment
No job
No girl friend and
No prospects
Maybe that’s why
Delores still hates me

Could be
(You never really know)
What the fork
Was I thinking?

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

the sum of all my fears

Stranger Than Friction

All of my writings
whether falling into
the categories of
either
poetry or prose
are strictly
works of
Friction
a genre of writing that
I claim to have invented
which is a combination of
the ficticious with
the real
And as such
any resemblance of
the people that
I write about
to actual persons
living or dead
is strictly
coincidental

Well
anyway
that’s my story and
I am sticking to it

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

Biarritz Bay

There we were
just the two of us
Me and my
French professor
Herrison LaRoche
one old fool and
one young fool
both of us
poets
dreamers
schemers
hopeless romantics
in Biarritz
sitting on a bench
along the promenade
a cool ocean breeze
blowing in off the water
pen and paper in hand
scratching out some verse
the apprentice and
the master
discussing each
and every precious
line of each and every
precious poem
my first attempts at
writing verse
in French
the language of
my reveries
and of
my dreams

I barely remember them now
those first poems in French
except that they were all mostly
about little children at play
in their playgrounds
at the shore
under the prideful and
watchful
supervision of their
loving and doting parents

Herrison remarked on this
choice of subject matter
Encore les enfants
he noted
Toujours les enfants
Rien que les enfants
Ca ce voit comme
Vous aimez beaucoup
les petites
les innocents

Oui cest vrai
Mon cher prof
I am touched by
their innocence
I am touched
by their seeming
immortality
by their utter joy
in the most simple
of discoveries
a butterfly here
a crawling bug there
the sheer joy
of having made a
 new found friend

I also wrote about
their fathers and brothers
the fishermen
their boats and
their fishing lines
clearly visible
from the shore
as they plied the
placid waters
off of Biarritz
earning their livings
by plying their
simple and ancient trade
in their simple boats with
their brightly colored hulls and
pristine white sails
as they drifted
with the currents
parting the blue
crystal clear waters
where their fathers
and their grandfathers
before them
had made their livings
in the same exact way
while their children
could be seen
on the not so distant shore
enjoying their games and play
in their playgrounds
by the bay

Until by the late afternoon
arriving with the setting sun
the men returned to port
stinking of fresh caught fish
bringing the catch of the day
to the instant markets
that would spring up
along the quays
fresh fish!
fresh fish
for dinner today!

Today I have become
the old fool
and it has become
my turn
to show the
new young poets
how to find
their way
just as
Herrison had shown me
back in a more
innocent time
on a warm summer’s day
sitting on a bench
along the promenade
in Biarritz Bay

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

One More River To Cross

Oh, the good old chariot passing by
One more river to cross
She jarred the earth an’ shook the sky
One more river to cross
The good old chariot passing by
One more river to cross
I pray, good Lord, shall I be one?
One more river to cross
Gospel Hymn –
One More River To Cross

My co-workers like to tease
me at work
the closer I get to
actual retirement
the more I hear comments like
guess that’s the last annual report
you will have to work on
I usually stammer something
equally inane I reply
yeah, roger that or
yep, that’s a big 10-4
I am quickly racking up
a whole list of
last time experiences

It’s the last time
I will have to attend
a mandatory training
the last time that
I will see a regular
bi-weekly paycheck
the last time
I will be greeted
by the lady security guards
at the security desk
It’s a little like
I’ve booked passage
on an ocean cruise to
the Bahamas
(not a bad idea actually)
and all of my familiar moorings
have been cast away
It’s been a long time
since I’ve last ventured
so far out
of my comfort zone
will the natives be friendly?
will I be treated with respect?
will I still be able to
come and go
as I please?

All my bags are
almost packed
and I’m ready to leave
this time there
really is no
turning back
no time to grieve

At this stage of life
I now know more
people who have
gone on before me
and I can see them
standing on deck
leaning over the rails
waving at me
urging me to join them
for the voyage of a
life time
I look up at them
and I recognize their
shiny faces
I wave back at them
and I slowly
move step by step
Inching my way up
slowly along
the gangway
taking my place in line
with my fellow travelers
as the ship’s
steam whistle blows
a warning to all
the other ships
and tugboats
in the harbor

It’s a clear and
starry night
and the seagulls are
out in force

I am ready for the voyage
come what may
I have been a
landlubber
for far too long

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

We Are So Not The People That We Hoped We Would Be

It’s really too bad
kind of a shame
if you ask me
hard to figure out
why it had to be
but honey
it is plain to see
that we are just
not the people
that we had hoped
we would be

Who am I talking about?
well if the shoe fits
(ain’t that the usual way?)
But when it comes to our family
it’s one size fits all
and that’s all
I’ve got to say

I’ve tried hard
to pretend
that it was all just
in my mind and
that all of our
insults and slurs
were just a figment
of the times
but honey
I was so wrong
(all that bullshit
all that trash talk
came from us
all along!)

Trust me
I feel real bad
about it
(and I’m sure
there’s enough
blame to go around)
But like the proverbial tree
that falls to the ground
if there are no witnesses
to hear it
did the tree
make a sound?

All I ever wanted for you
was to wish you the very best
(No need to pick up the remote
this won’t be on the test)

Now all I can say is
when they tell me that
the apple doesn’t fall
far from the tree
is that it is so
plain to see
that we are so
not the people
that we had hoped
we would be

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012

Here's To Looking At You Kid

Hey kid
I’m looking at you
(yeah you!)
and my
don’t you look fine
stretched out in
the chez lounge
alongside the pool
sunlight from the water
bouncing off your long legs
while you turn
golden tan
sun reflector
under your chin
catching the last
summer rays
before the autumn
leaves begin to fall

And to think that
I practically had to drag
you out here
that I had to bribe you and
cajole you
to get you to leave your
beloved dull old Manhattan
practically deserted now
for the last big weekend of
the summer
everyone having
beaten a hasty retreat
to get away from
the steaming pavement
and the concrete heat
desperate now for a soft
ocean breeze
before buckling down to
the serious business of
figuring out how to survive
yet another cruel winter season
in the city that never sleeps

We took turns driving
the long distance to the
very end of the
island that they call long
with the top down
and the wind
blowing in our hair

It took several hours
but we finally made it
driving past all the
little towns and hamlets
of the east end
the south shore
past the quaint
gingerbread houses and
the windmills of
Watermill and
Bridgehampton
while I pointed out
the places that I had
frequented as a boy
the Candy Kitchen
ice cream shop that
still served the world’s best
banana splits and
the next door
penny candy store
with its cornucopia
of sweet caramel
and chocolate
covered treats

Soon enough
we were pulling
into the driveway of
my summer rental
the gravel growling
under the tires
announcing our arrival
to the denizens of the trees
and hedges
as a pair of grazing rabbits
hopped to get away
the honeysuckle still
dangling on the vine
the wild huckleberries
thick and ripe for the picking
we can have them for breakfast
in the morning
with some fresh hot coffee
and some heavy cream

The early night air
is surprisingly cool
and the fresh breeze that
blows in from the nearby ocean
carries with it
the taste of seaweed and brine
I ask if you are hungry
You say yes

How do lobster tails
and champagne sound
I ask
and you just laugh

Tuna fish sandwiches
will do just fine
you say
and this time
I know that
you really mean it
the miracle that I had
dreamed about forever
has actually come to be

We are finally
going to be
alone together

We have finally
found our way home

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2012