Dango

Two Moons

I begged and begged my mom and grandma
to take me to Star Wars, I was all of three
and they worried about, what? impressionable minds,
needn`t have worried, 15 minutes and I was out--
Darth Vader heavy-breath`d, squeezing
the life out of a soldier in a basket hat

We would go to the park every lunchtime
bring our lunchboxes with superheroes
emblazened in primary colors
and settle down for a good
two hours of action figure play in the
crisp San Francisco light

Darth Vader of course, and Luke in his desert
garb, much cooler than the X-wing pilot
bright prison-orange jumpsuit Luke,
Sand People, peeking out of peaked hoods
Han and Chewie, the gentle long haired wookie
Greedo`s alien glare that somehow matched
the punk of the time, we had quite a collection

Later, after I moved
I recall hanging upside down on the metal bar,
surveying the first-grade playground, feeling
I was Luke Skywalker, alone in the desert
on a planet with two moons

a hero, of sorts

he strikes me as the kind of guy
I might just have known in school, hurt
and bleeding under the football pile,
might have extended a hand to help me up
with a swipe at some dust and a pat
on the back, good try

might have seen through
the things that set me apart in school,
acne and too many days
spent reading, gathering
information to salve an inquisitive mind,
walking in a hilly green and sensitive world
yeah he might have said, `oh I see
what you are saying and doing,
it makes a kind of sense

now, when all is said and done
as Bourne he is a modern day Bond,
though troubled, no ladies man, less confident
of the trappings of modern society,
something of a thorn on the establishment`s side,
running and pummeling, toughing his way
through stylish european days and nights,
always on the run, haunted by the memory
of a woman who picked him up in her little car,
herself haunted by this technological age,
a salve to his soul.

An Oath in Seven Shades of Blood

Pei Mei has inspired me and the tutelage
under which, famished, the Bride learned
to punch through wood and use chopsticks,
I will use as a model for perseverance,
cutting a bloody swath through underworld
gangs of Tokyo with cool names like
`88 Nintendo and Yab Yum Honey.

Nothing shall dissuade me or in any way
detract from my effort, men in black robes
shall bow before me and reveal their secrets
as to their maker, the chinese characters
arranged like insects on a griddle will
show their true colors, no longer a riddle
It is all part of my plan
and furthermore, my fate.