The Man in the Grey Bogart Hat

Hello- It's me
Hello-I'm back again
Hello-Did you miss me?
Hello-I missed you -terribly

The flight went on and on from LA.
The starry night sky lit the way
from Singapore to Hong Kong.
My famous blue dress a beacon for
the man in the grey Bogart hat.
Thought I lost him... imagine that.

Followed me to Bangkok,
got off the plane- what a shock,
there he was at the baggage claim,
steel blue eyes, sinister and wild.
The man in the grey Bogart hat,
thought I lost him... imagine that.

Flashing lights, pretty streets,
surging crowds in the summer heat.
Can't escape, nowhere to go.
Made the contact with seconds to spare.
The man in the grey Bogart hat.
Finally lost him... imagine that.

Chocolate From Mars

They climbed upon a hill,
looking down into the valley below.

The sun was setting, time stood still...
the sky blue and apricot.

A warm scented breeze,
their thoughts turning inward.

When the time comes,
be there with me.

Hold my hand, just hold my hand,
and...

Give me chocolate from Mars...
chocolate from Mars...

Give me chocolate from Mars...
chocolate from Mars.

Francois and Catherine

She always liked doors to be opened for her,
never knowing why.

It's always been that way. Her way of life was something to get used to.

Orange blossoms and petitgrain,
fine silk and embroidery.

Do you love me... love me ... love me...
do you love me... love me... love me still?

Never on time, always late for the big show.
She said she couldn't imagine why all the fuss.

Peaceful and calm, always cool and never resentful.

Orange blossoms and petitgrain,
fine silk and embroidery.

Do you love me... love me ... love me...
do you love me... love me... love me still?

She loved him near and far and always and everywhere.
Never one to doubt,
but love made her uneasy.

She couldn't allow herself that peace of mind.

Orange blossoms and petitgrain,
fine silk and embroidery.

Do you love me... love me... love me...
do you love me...love me... love me still?

Yes, I love you ... love you... love you...
yes I love you... love you... love you still.

VICIM

Near, where I live, is a strip mall.
Behind the strip mall,
near the dumpsters overflowing with trash
and garbage, is a
thicket.
In this thicket, the homeless go to sleep
and drink and do drugs.

In this thicket is a tree.
Someone has painted
the letters VICIM
on the tree trunk.
Vertically.
Each time I walk by,
I wonder what those
letters could stand for.

One day, I decided to
do a Google search.
VICIM is a city in Poland.
VICIM stands for-----
Virtual
Institute for
Chemometrics and
Industrial
Metrology
I have no idea
what that means.
VICIM is also a company
that sells innovative
mouldings.
There's a Portuguese
blogger named
VICIM.
There's a Romanian
company named VICIM
International SRL.
I have no idea what
they do.
I don't speak Romanian.

Then---I started to
think about it differently.
What if...
the person who wrote
those letters...
What if they merely
misspelled--- VICTIM...?

Roofers

Someone is getting a new roof in my
neighborhood.
The roofers seem happy.
They shout at one
another,
sing their songs and whistling too,
all in a language,
I don't understand.
They seem happy.
Is it because they
are high above the
rest of us?
Closer to heaven?
happy to have the work?
Have a job?
They seem happy.
With their snap, snap, snap...
and pop, pop, pop of
their nail guns.
They seem happy.

My Jacket

I like my jacket.
It's made out of wool.
"Dyed"
"Spun"
"Handwoven and finished
in the Outer Hebrides of
Scotland"
That's on the label
inside the jacket.
"Harris Tweed"
"Handwoven"
"100% Pure Scottish Wool"
That's there too!
Serial number 923064
"Tailored in the USA"

It's soft, comfortable and warm.
Small check pattern.
Mostly grey, with blue
and some green.
Mostly blue and grey.
It has a rip by the
right hand pocket.
How it got there,
I don't know.
I don't care.
It adds character.
My father liked wool
too.
He said it will keep
you warm, even if it
gets wet.
I like that.
I paid $3 for it at
the Thrift Shop.