Tim Xonnelly: California Poets Part 7, Four Poems
Tim Xonnelly
July 1st, 2024
California Poets: Part VII
Tim Xonnelly
Four Poems
A Prisoner of Hyperbole
handfuls of pollen
buckets of mayonnaise
doors windows open to gales
in hope of saving glass
drifts of pollen border the walk
plantsex sparkle the afternoon
they came with bibles and bearspray
I wouldn't touch that cookie
how the cab driver know my name
her duffel bag gone
her clothes all over the barroom
Fishing Shallow Muddy Water with a Construction Crane
but what comes up is alien as deepest sea
bug eyed
white as death
size but not shape of a human baby
squirms arthritically
plopped on deck it rasps at low volume
this you may not do
this is not allowed
my curse my bile my worst on you
next up an egg
sage green with a veiny pattern
shining like ornament and sweet smelling
larger than any of the men operating the crane
oh you have to taste it
the white fish thing rasps if you lean in to hear
it will make you rich
Every Door A Tree
Pee Wee and Sinead
each cancelled in their day
both queer
at least on sight
been so long since I cried
at a famous entertainer’s death
last time was a twofer too
Carrie Fischer then her mother
Debbie Reynolds one day later
what my heart told me then
it is possible to die of a broken heart
if one has lived long enough
The White Hairs Come In Wilder
I did not want cha cha heels for Christmas
neither did I want compression socks
eyebrow hair spin off my face seeking
beard hair break from the cool trim hedge
born without melanie make a run for it coiled as a spring in a thought bubble
also meander satisfyingly
run zigzag in the active shooter drill
detour around the food riot
heed me say I wiry white worm
newborn from last century's follicle
don't need to steal candy
I'm grown
Author Bio:
Tim Donnelly has lived 30 years in Redondo Beach, California & 30 years in beautiful downtown Berkeley. He is a Special Education Paraprofessional and Union Negotiator in the Berkeley schools, semi-retired. His poetry is published in journals & websites including; The Oakland Review, The Berkeley Times, The Fabulist, The Racket, Milvia Street and the anthologies Cross Strokes: Poetry Between Los Angeles and San Francisco & 1001 Nights: 20 Years of Redondo Poets at Coffee Cartel 1998-2017