Tongue Sandwiches

Tongue Sandwiches

Telling you the tongue sandwich story
I realized it wasn't funny, it was sad
As if I were dragging my guts behind me.

And when you joked that I cry more
Than you do, I froze up. You said,
"What's wrong?" I said, "I used to cry a lot.
He would say, 'Stop crying. If you don't
I'll make you cry. I'll give you a reason.'"

Ramón and I

Ramón and I

I dreamed you were taller and your hair
Fell in golden rings around your shoulders.
You told me about the man you were meeting
Later, the man you love, and I was angry,
I said, "Wait, but what about me..."

I dreamed I lived in a house with people whose names
Kept changing. I told them I was Ramón
So I could put his suits on. They sent me to his
Meeting at eleven but at the last second
I said, "Wait, I can't go. I'm not Ramón."

A giant dinosaur head looked through
Your blinds, and I was so scared I woke up
And told you my dreams. Of course I couldn't explain
What was so straight in my mind.

Of course my dreams make no sense. The details
I know stand alone, the setting and plot
Still need to be worked out. I don't even
Know what to call it, I need help for that.

Helpless

Helpless

You drown in your pillow,
Shaking with sobs.
Holding your soft flesh, gently,
My hands are useless, empty,
I am helpless.
The next day I'm anxious,
Worried, distracted, watching
The clock, waiting to see
The proof of your fears-
"There there," I tell you, and
"Tomorrow will be better."

Headaches

Headaches

Massaging my grandfather's head
With a damp hand towel, I think how easy this is,
A moment under the sink, pop it into the microwave,
Hey presto, perfect for warming your skull,
Pushing heat into your forehead, relieving
Some pain (but not all) of your migraine.
Gently I move it around; he says "So good, so good."

Is that really all it takes?
Could I have solved everything that way?

My ex-wife's migraines were so
Bad she'd claw at her eyes, put pencils in the sockets,
Scream at anyone nearby, cry, attack the furniture,
Cause fights, break up plates, bite.
What if I had tried dampened, warm towels, would that
Have made it right? Nine years of marriage, and
That I never tried?