A.G.E's Joint

  In the Devil's Quill Conference Room -Arlington VA. Marty Mammon is giving Lucious Beezelbub his weekly update before the rest of the Executive Staff gets in. "Marty. Have you received the latest report from Topside?" "Yes, Mister Beezelbub. I'm afraid it's bad news. Zuckerberg, who we have had so much hope for, is slipping in his UX and KPI metrics." "Marty, I know I'm old, but could you bring me up on the newest lingo they're using?" "Certainly. In plain language, they are initials meaning 'User Experience" and 'Key Performance Indices", or how he's turning souls into DQ converts." "Like the old 'Primrose Path' deal with virgins?" "Indeed. Our whole process is deceptive walking.  We think part of the problem is Zuck and his team are trying to overautomate the process. More and more Mortals are seeing through the ruse and pushing back. We are hoping we can get him to go back to t...

  Walking hand in hand Gulls cry overhead Breeze sandpapers our skin As we say our hellos Our goodbyes Under the sunflower mural.

  Crescent noon man In the Crescent City Lying forlorn on a Couch Buck Moon band Sound drifting across Esplinade While daiquiris are recycled Making more Crescent Moon Men AI Test New Orleans is Purgatory

  Red Fruit On white plates Eaten by tiny hands Band singing together An American tune As blue and yellow bombs Eplode overhead

Recently, I was looking at a horse trainer’s Facebook page where all the King’s horses were being put through their paces. It got me thinking about something that happened when I was about six or seven years old. We lived in a subdivision and beyond our street were mostly small horse farms, with a few cows interspersed here and there. There was a creek and an abandoned rock quarry.  In other words, lots of places for a kid to get lost in and have adventures.    One morning during the Spring, my mother was cleaning up the kitchen after everyone had left the house. Given there were four kids and a husband, this was not a small task. I was home sick from school, so she had me to deal with, too. She was also seriously hungover, but that seemed to make the time go faster for her.  She was finishing up the sink when the phone rings. With a cuss, she snarches the receiver off the wall. It was the next door neighbor, Mrs. Rowan. "Teeny!” My mom had always been call...

Shambling alone Concrete jungle Screams Banana mush In the gutter Of dust and bones.

  Calm river Clouds cast a melancholy glow Over the abandoned brewery. Vesper call The riff-raff clog the street Chasing the last streetcar Into Marigny How does the rain get made? Cheating hearts And saucy tarts Send the wetness To the sky