wayfaring friends
wayfaring strangers
fare thee well one and all
Dave Wilson
waldomaui
For about 27 years my adult life has been enriched immeasurably by my friends and co-conspirators in the Maui Live Poets Society. It is through these exceptional folks that I've blossomed as a poet. Best of all, my loving wife Cindy Albers and I met through MLPS. Cindy--a truly accomplished writer and poet--and I both will be pounding out poems on our respective laptops here on the windward shore of Maui. (Already I feel the need for a nap.) Once again, thank you to Caitlin and Jacob and the other volunteers for this sterling opportunity! Good luck to us all! Big Group Hug, waldomaui (sometimes known as Bear)
Hour 23–Don’t Get Me Started
I want to live in a world
free of Karens
who might get their panties in a bunch
thinking about what toppings other folks
put on their pizza
Free of trendsetters
and influencers
Free of consumers
masquerading as citizens
I want to live in a world
free of programming
Hour 22–I Live Hawaii
Yes
pineapple belongs
on pizza
as long as you like
pineapple
on your pizza
Hour 21–Regressing
71 years old
First time being on the mainland in 13 years
First time in Nebraska
First time meeting some of my wife’s relatives
What seizes my attention?
That’s a rabbit!
A squirrel!
Hour 20–Noche
She’s my new routine at work
Noche
she has me trained
Sweet black kitty girl
Medianoche midnight
She’s trained me
to watch her jump up onto the table
trained me to offer my arm as she leaps onto the seat beside me
the seatback behind me
She’s trained me to allow
her to be trusting
slowly
but make a change to the routine
and
spook
Hour 19–How Can It Be?
A harbor with no ice? Is true!
What fishing boats supposed to do?
And residents with dying fridge
without the cubes we wish to bridge
across the waters of our thirst
our patience true about burst
we make our way and simply pay
we buy bag ice da kine Safeway
Hour 18–No Promises
If medication sorely helps
And keeps at bay my muse’s yelps
then I might perk a bit upright
to forge ahead into the night
through moonlight’s bite and midnight’s roar
aloft across our salty shore
that I may place a word or two
to help express my love for you
Happy writing, my love!
Hour 17–Driver’s Exam
Please complete the written portion of your driver’s exam as soon as possible, preferably by yesterday. Monitors are watching. NO GEL PENS!
MULTIPLE CHOICE
- When apologizing to a police officer one should always, A. Wear a mustache, B. Offer to pay for coffee, C. Speak in free verse, D. All of the above.
- Tire pressure must be maintained by law. Tire pressure maintained by a tennis pro is, A. A mistake, B. Subject to jury ruling, C. Iambic, D. Okay if tennis pro owns the tire store.
- Never park closer to a fire hydrant than, A. About yay far, B. The length of a ’78 Montego, C. One year, D. Parks & Recreation.
- Water boils at, A. 114 degrees Celcius, B. The bottom of my radiator, C. Will, D. Newark, New Jersey.
- Turn signal lever may be found on, A. Amazon Prime, B. Joey’s car, C. This exam, D. The equator.
- Safely enter a roundabout in what direction? A. Nonet, B. Rondel, C. West, D. Tasty Kreme.
- How much ethanol is allowed in gasoline? A. What the sign says, B. 40 gal. per million, C. How big Big Gulp?, D. 18 years of age.
- What does a YIELD sign mean? A. Triangle, B. You like stink-eye?, C. Carl hasn’t stolen it yet., D. C.S. Lewis.
- Not that you would know, but a 4-wheel drive vehicle has how many wheels? A. Spare, B. Split, C. Steel-belted, D. Lawrence Ferlinghetti
EXTRA CREDIT ESSAY QUESTION:
Please describe the formation of the modern U.S. Highway System, in correlation with the Post Modern poetry movement, complete with contemporary references.
Hour 16–In Bed Three Hours Prior to Start of Marathon
As one does, I wondered why one never sees black funeral crepe in museums. Wouldn’t that be a worthy keepsake of a passing head of state? A link with history, with the noteworthy days of old? Was the crepe rented? Used again? Discarded? I decided on the answer.
Abraham Lincoln’s funeral cortege moved by rail from Washington to Springfield, draped in somber black. All along the route mourners stood by the tracks. Waiting. Progress was slow. His final journey, not to be rushed.
Aboard the train with the precious cargo were stationed young boys dressed in black knickers tucked outside among the fluttering crepe. Each boy held a small pair of safety scissors, and with dutiful care, cut off small pieces to scatter along the tracks where come-what-may would find them. There was singing and tears. Ephraim couldn’t bear to watch.
He worked his fingers for as long as he could. Somewhere near Pittsburgh his hand gave out and he closed the scissors. He leaned back and wondered about his new prospects in Illinois and the uncle hired to care for him. He dozed and dreamed about the dark-haired pretty girl from school who smelled of garlic and carried a hand-painted lunchbox. In his dream he fell asleep and dreamed some more. The train continued west.
No documentation exists for this story. It’s a true story in my head.
Hour 15–Gone to Ground
My muse has gone to ground
along with my electrolytes
If I find her hiding next to the fox in his burrow,
I’ll join them and start an early, welcome hibernation
Ta-ta, tally-ho!