Read a poem by another poet written
on the same day:

Ford Thaxton dealership?
Never met the man but know he spins
a few records on weekends.
Would I buy a car from this man?
There's a special freeway crossing out [?]
but Victor doesn't use it. Likes walking
in the highway.
Ford has set out soccer balls
everywhere, in every parking lot.
With a big box that reads
"If you can kick this ball in the hole,
come see me."
Some marketing ploy.
doesn't really work.

sirens. a nightly occurrence and
sometimes lasts only a few seconds.
more sirens, just a few more seconds.
watched a black man get chased downtown
by white officers—
ran so fast he left his loafers behind
in the middle of the intersection.
   a park notorious for dealers.
Buddy Wakefield, in his goodbye Seattle
performance, says
"stop writing anti-white poems!"
he says "it's racist and I'm offended!"
sold his possessions and hit the road
for a two-year "tour,"
maybe try again to make
a Slam team somewhere.
champagne provided by the National
Poetry Slam,
we said goodbye to Buddy.
toasted him, toasted the volunteers
of the 2001 National Poetry Slam.
flawed and botched and ill-initiated,
I told someone that
even a car with no tires
will roll forward.
(I got laughs for that one.)
and so goodbye, Buddy,
a man I met only last night. goodbye.

I hear Victor Gato in the next room
jingling his bell, demanding
attention

a tension
a ten shun
a twenty shun
a five shun

discovered that the universe is playing
   tricks on me again—
someone switched the meanings of
   words around:
atypical now means UN-typical,
   not typical as everything else.
asexual means lacking
   genitalia—
the meaning of the prefix a- has
   been altered!
I stand here with egg on face
that will soon turn to omelet!

so much time
                    spent
                              using incorrect words.

T**** is single again.
Righteous.

Ford Thaxton plays soundtrack music on
   weekends on the classical station;
why would I dream of a dealership?
because the word FORD is in his name?
"Dude, anyone can put the soccer ball
in the box," I told someone.
"It's just a marketing trick."
apparently, he's full of them.