BY

DAVID SPALVIERI-KRUSE
AUTUMN
windswept leaf rattle
gold light on honeyed branches
shift to slumberland

MORNINGS
empty money dawn
frost bitten auto howling
lonely hallway light

SUSHI
red lanterns glowing
bellies anticipating
soft bites of raw fish

BLUE WORLD
blue light on cold ground
late moon hooked in morning sky
day comes in to roost

OCEAN
Sea foam between toes
slow thoughts in the misty air
ocean souls live here
HALLOWEEN
hot fire pumpkin scowl
screaming terror of wind at dusk
moon lit long shadows

ENGINE
clunky mess of math
hot metal croaking machine
beating engine heart

NOVEMBER RAIN
in November rains
the grey pitter-patter reigns
supreme like a lord

VOTING
hope in an oval
chances for change like seasons
tension and desire

THE SCIENCE ROOM

humming fishtank aura
sedated calm of science
potted fern hanging
90’s INTERNET DATING
expression as font
internet heartache squalor
arial narrow

TROUBLE
sleepless for a night
false accusations haunting
I will find you first

LANDSLIDE
swift change of season
wrinkles form over creased brows
all at once the new

THE WARM ROOM

life in the warm room
never learning the cold way
the hot-minded fool

SNOW DAY
robes until noon time
sudden storm with sudden snow
the joy of a child
RELIEF
come to me quickly
howling lungs seek hard release
in and out at last

MARIA’S
dim warmth of bar lights
hot pierogis and cold beer
crack of a pool cue

FRIDAY
leaving the building
stepping towards a world away
where we can feel free

SCHOOLS
gutted, stretched, and poor
help the kids, protect the mind
hardly surviving

WATERCOLORS
afternoon dreaming
pink and blue flow in water
watercolors dance
IN BOOKS
pink river dolphin
amazonian creature
you look nice in books

CANDY JAIL
candy addiction
pull and peel destruction slave
got holes in my teeth

CHANGED
you put yourself in
the wide jaws of the machine
now changed, job’s don’t care

SNACKS
dinner is over
no chips, licorice, pretzels
goodbye to my snacks

MASTERS
pawns line the job pews
masters to eat the masters
forever hungry
BIG T’S
dinner on my mind
a hot food celebration
amber lit cold beers

CHEESE
milky morning sky
blue food color dairy clouds
creamsicle moonlight

GOOD MORNING
crazy man outside
standing in the winter rain
saying good morning

THE QUEEN
everyone’s gone
lone survivor now the queen
small kingdom you have

THE SICKHOUSE
December sickhouse
the oldest boy with strep throat
poor mom with a cold
RACING
racing down the road
pumping heart passing country
time disappearing

3 BEERS
one night and three beers
perhaps two beers too many
fresh morning headache

DESIRE
desire alive
a yearning passion that burns
human enjoyment

SUBWAY
Subway in Hartford
“sorry for butt-bumping you”
fresh hot subs so fresh

BACK 2 SCHOOL
fourteen days away
my body reborn unclenched
today new stiffness
TONGUE TACOS
after many moons
I return to your table
excited to be

THIRTY-ONE
thirty-one years young
a princess becomes a queen
a feast of raw fish

VACATION WATER
bubbling hot tub
quiet blue pool room aura
vacation water

DO NOT
do not be fearful
don’t lay down or roll over
believe in your mind

LOGAN’S
the birthday dinner
a whole family surprise
steak and peanut shells
COWARD
the bravest coward
too strong to know when they’re wrong
can’t face the inside

CHOPPED LIVER
to be chopped liver
hard working low class liver
shit systems of life

NAP TIME
down on the blue cot
memories of sleeping peace
kindergarten dream

DINING
to dine all alone
at the table of the mind
some real nutrition

THE JOB CLOCK

here again softly
the waiting room of life
the job clock ticking
ERASE ME
some people let go
as if it’s delete or drown
erase me to breathe

ANIMAL MOMENTS
my blood flows hotly
mind racing with primal thought
animal moments

THE WINDOW
one day with grandma
locked out of my parent’s house
stone shattered window

FREEZING RAIN
call for freezing rain
sing for a frozen wasteland
stay at home all day

TOOLS
momentos of time
tools to enjoy and love
objects to forget
HARD
hard to imagine
the loss of a parent’s life
don’t ever leave me

PAUL
Paul and his blue ox
our American folklore
a tall tale culture

A SHADOW
a flickering light
in the old empty building
a shadow moving

THE MODE
stubborn persistence
an engaged mode of defeat
your thoughts create this

SNAPSHOT
snapshot of my mind
one brain many archetypes
dancing flesh container
TOUR
time ticking away
soon a week on the road, but
five nights left to book

TEASE ME
tell me a tall tale
excite me then pull the veil
tease my notions

MILHOUSE
an institution
years of home and concerts and love
I will miss you true

DISRESPECT
what is disrespect
does it look you in the eyes
stare them down firmly

FUMING
interrogation
a rude way to start the day
no trust no respect
PREPARE
it’s that time again
if you drag me through the mud
prepare for goodbye

THE GENERAL
when the general
is able to take control
emotions must cool

JAR SHOWER
car is in the shop
propane ran out on Sunday
a hot jar shower

PROPANE DREAM
we spent the day cold
propane dream on a snow day
space heater camping

DRUMMER MAN
drummer man garage
smell of wood and burnt fuses
a man’s legacy
WINTER GRILL
grilling in winter
night sets and wind rattles earth
red meat turning pink

THE EARTH
when the humans leave
the earth will not lament it
most species will cheer

A ROAD
if not an equal
what thoughts could be guiding you
a road to nowhere

HER ITALIAN BLOOD

arrhythmic heartbeat
her Italian blood made thin
spirit burning hot

MY SPECIALITY
my speciality
to contradict your nature
joy of yin and yang
NEW
decomposition
breaking down to fall apart
become something new

6 AM
my morning email
the threat of a school shooting
time to go to work

STONE
deep in Kentucky
sitting in towers of stone
to be so graceful

ECHOES
after the party
glowing lights that fade away
empty house echoes

REWARD
spirit of power
what and how much do you crave
who will you reward
HEY
a buck in the yard
I rolled down my window HEY
confused little deer

A DARK ROOM
can you recognize
who you are in a dark room
what’s inside and out

HERE
mind on the future
while trying to still be HERE
the contradiction

FOR JOBS
one day for Earth day
then it’s back to business
preparing for jobs

IN THE EYES
look’m in the eyes
then speak with a directness
don’t fear a master
P.P.D.
pizza pie divine
cheese dripping on sultry dough
simple fantasies

GLOWING
in the dark corner
pink light glowing on my skin
this quiet moment

COMFORT
snow in late april
brings a strange kind of comfort
winter will return

BULLDOZER
in the face of it
plowing like a bulldozer
every moment

1 DONUT
one donut today
make the morning great again
quiet coffee haze
RESPECT
the art of respect
sometimes a game, sometimes real
learn the difference

SNACK
no peanuts allowed
commanding students chase me
solitary snack

WE DANCE
with no self control
we dance like foolish monkeys
the animals laugh

SKULL
showing up at work
pounding headache pulsing skull
bright light burning glow

VOID
my life in the void
sometimes that’s the way it goes
floating in black space
A SAD SONG
when it bleeds it sings
pain can fill and take the mind
a sad song that burns

BALANCE
allure of money
futures to choose or reject
where is the balance

SORRY
bleeding opossum
hunched on the railrod tracks
I am so sorry

MY JOB
dying animal
all I wanted was to help
I drove to my job

A DANCE
conflict and chaos
a dance in the fiery flame
emerge or falter
WORDS
some throw barbed wire words
others let words fall like rain
I stack words like logs

WATER
gasping in the heat
water is the only love
how could I forget

AUTHORITY
marching all around
telling people what to do
stand, order, demand

BLACK
these days are ending
losing grip on fading light
burnt out sun to black