September 2007
All work
copyright the
owner.  No
reproduction
without
consent.
POEMS


Poems by Duane Locke.


E MAIL TO DAMNISO LOPEZ
(Motion)

The motion
I feel
When I put a finger
Through a strap
To pull off a boot
Is like
A red, red rose.


E MAIL TO DAMNISO LOPEZ
(Sandal)

The toe of the sandal
Touched her nude side,
The sunbather.

Her face inside
Tanned folded arms
Saw only gray pier boards.

But her mind could imagine
She was growing older.
Her mind saw wheelchairs.


E MAIL TO DAMNISO LOPEZ
(November)

Again, November.
The cypress cadenzas
Are red
Like the flags
That overthrew the Czar.
But cypress
Have no politics, no bread lines,
No millionaire’s yachts.
Or religion.

So cypress provide limbs
For birds to build nests,

Do have revolutions,
Or do not kill
Or ostracize those

Those who have different beliefs.

Cypress are the chosen race.


E MAIL TO DAMNISO LOPEZ
(Caress)

The caress
Came from
The fingers
Of  Australian ferns

For days
Green stayed
On my
Jaw and cheek.

So I roll
Down my collar
Spend my time
Before a mirror.


E MAIL TO DAMNISO LOPEZ
(Rain)

Rain heavy,
Wind-shield wiper helpless.

So downtown Orlando
Looks
Like
A Jackson Pollock painting.