February 6, 2006

on TV's
a man who looks
just like

Charles Steiner
(from my past
you don't know him)

except he's blond and wears
wire rim glasses but
everything he says

is said in earnest
and with dreadful
certainty:

he claims to know
all about
the Uncommon Cures

for Everyday Ailments
(everyday ailments?)
(uncommon cures?)

yup
that's
Charles Steiner

only younger
much younger
but just as earnest

I miss him
he had large hands
large feelings

his hands magically
could reach through
your jeans

and all of a sudden
you were swimming with him
in a frothy rawdy surf

coming with him
was like
riding a skateboard

through traffic
at midday
in the Financial District

on a Wednesday
in summer
holding a secret

in one hand
while scraping
with the other

accretions
of memory
from the self

-- Jeff Wietor