Poem for the Day

From Jim Daniels' Revolt of the Crash Test Dummies.

you bring out the boring white guy in me

you bring out the boring white guy in me
the Ward Cleaver in me. The Pat Boone
in me. The K-Mart in me. The Slurpee
in me. The boiled hotdog in me. The mac
and cheese in me. The Tang in me.
You bring out the Hamburger Helper
in me. You bring out the Twinkie
in me. The Cheez Whiz in me.
You bring out the bowling trophy
in me. The student council in me.
The parliamentary procedure in me.
The missionary position in me.
You bring out the canned vegetables
in me. The Jell-o in me. The training
wheels in me. You bring out
the lawn edger in me. The fast-food
drive-thru window in me. The Valu
Meal in me. You bring out the white
briefs in me. You bring out
the cheap beer and weak coffee
in me. You bring out the 15%
tip chart in me. The sad overweight
weekend golfer in me. You bring out
the ex-smoker in me. The jumper
cables in the trunk with flares
and the red flag to tie to the window
in me. You bring out the Tony Orlando
in me. The canned situation comedy
laughter in me. The elevator music
in me. You bring out the medley
of TV commercial jingles in me.
The Up with People in me.
I've come to a complete stop
at the stop sign. I've got my
emergency flashers on. My doors
are locked, baby,
I'm waiting for you.

Poem for the Day

From Night with Drive-by Shooting Stars


Strip
Jim Daniels

She danced in front of the window,

snowflakes glowing behind her

under the streetlight. The blue silk blouse

slipped off her arms and floated out of sight.

Black slacks into a shadow, then

the quick shiver, the beautiful awkward gesture

into nakedness. Her skin startled me--

luminous or pale, depending. We didn't know



each other well, but it was my turn,

so I raised my arms above my head

and tried to shake. We both wanted to know

something about somebody. My clothes

piled beneath me in a clump.



The striptease didn't do much

for either of us, but by then

we were chilled and fell against

each other's skin.



Snow under streetlights landed

layer upon layer.

           We fell forward,

then fell apart against the sheets,

cold again, and wet. She whispered

in my ear, and I pulled the blankets

up over us. I knew her name,

so I whispered that.