CHANCEMET

Perhaps this is God Himself 

Lying on a scrap of cardboard and 

Confused when you wake Him. Why not?

He's not bound by your expectations 

Perhaps He's weary of fear telling him

That she loves Him or love asking

That He refrain, at least for now,

From lifting His hand against us

And sweeping us all away.

AMONG THE GODS

Strictly speaking, the God of Penn Station

Should not have thunderbolts. His remit

Does not include smiting people; at most 

He's allowed to cancel trains, block stairways,

Post confusing signs and grant wishes.

(Wait. The God of Penn Station grants wishes?

What sort of wishes? What are his rates?

Is their a discount for small wishes or

For those who wish to wish in bulk?)

RESPONSIBLE

The God of Penn Station hasn't met

The God of All Things but he's seen Him

Speaking at conferences and conventions.

Apparently, He isn't busy these days

And accepts invitations to gatherings

Of lesser gods. He sits on panels

Telling stories about His youth. Due

To inflation, these stories have grown complex

Not one Eve but troops of her; not one Adam

But an entire kickline, and some that sing bass

In harmony with sweet tenor snake voices.

At a Q and A session the God of Penn Station

Asked for advice on the pigeons who have colonized

Tracks Sixteen, Fifteen and Twelve. God said

Pigeons were not His fault but had been left

From a different creation altogether which,

For obvious reasons, no longer existed.

FOREIGNOR

My grandfather Joe didn’t argue

But went quiet and then quieter still

Until his silence made it difficult

For speech to exist. The animals

You’d have said he most looked like

Was a fox, bright eyes glittering,

Or an unusually kempt crow

Keeping his thoughts to himself

Pulling them out late at night

With only the moon to see him

Counting them, giving them names.

MAINSPRING

When Joe tied a tie with his eyes shut

The ends came out exactly even.

He was bent but worked hard

To seem reliable, respectable.

He could fix any watch or clock.

(His set of beautifully precise tools

Were, I think, for show. I've seen him

Fix broken watches with a butter knife

And some matchsticks.) He knew he'd 

Been overwound and that nothing 

Could be done about it. Put him in

Particolor tights, give him a slapstick 

Set him dancing on a charlatan's stage;

You will say that Arlecchino's older brother,

Glum and desperate, has come back

To demand his place in the commedia.

STARS

Alice the Goon and Ham Gravy,

Bit players in Thimble Theater,

Were for years the stars 

Of a small indy comic. There,

Alice isn't mute but eloquent;

Ham calls himself Harold

And sells strange merchandise 

From a tiny store crammed

Beyond all reason. Everything 

That has ever been lost

Can be found there. Once,

In a classic sequence,  Alice

Found several versions of herself 

Living in Ham's storeroom.

On days they're not playing in Krazy Kat

Offisa Pupp and Kolin Kelly

Offer incisive political commentary

While playing a never-ending game

Of Shaolin dominos.

REFLECT

Drunk, he

Tried to kill 

Himself by

Shooting at his 

Reflection 

In the mirror.

He missed but ever 

After his

Reflection glared

At him even 

When he smiled

Engagingly.