COYOTE

running dog press 2006

little sparrow

saw a show on tv

a while ago

said your grandfather

was a dinosaur

a while ago

please accept

these sour cream and onion

potato chip pieces

as tribute

as payment

as rent

your family

has been here longer

long enough

to get a running start

and jump into the sky

_____

home

this new chapbook is made up of poems about Native Americans, dogs and the death of my father. I think Jerry Lewis makes an appearance, too. I guess all the poems are really about me, as all literature is about the author. It's 30 or so poems, pretty good poetry, continuing to document my adventure, my growing and growing older, my transforming and transitioning. It's not as diary-ish and journalistic as it sounds; I think that's part of the challenge of good poetry:to be personal, be sincere in a way that makes sense outside of your own head. That applies to lots of forms of communication, but with poetry, one also has to choose every

word

oh

so carefully

and then rewrite.