Contents

MORE THAN ONCE UPON A TIME 9
POWERS 10
BUZZ CUT RAPUNZEL 11
RAPUNZEL SAYS IT'S FINAL 12
RAPUNZEL AND CONDORS 13
SAMSON, MEET RAPUNZEL 14
RAPUNZEL'S GARDEN 15
RAPUNZEL'S DINER 17
RED RIDING HOOD AT 22 18
RED RIDING HOOD AT 25 19
RED RIDING HOOD AT 30 20
RED RIDING HOOD AT 33 21
RED RIDING HOOD AT 48 22
RED RIDING HOOD AT 50 23
RED RIDING HOOD AT 51 25
RED RIDING HOOD AT 55 26
RED RIDING HOOD AT 62 28
RED RIDING HOOD AT 67 29
RED RIDING HOOD AT 71 30
RED RIDING HOOD AT 80 31
PRINCE CHARMING 32
SNOW WHITE UNDER CARE 33
PLEASE, BARBIE SAYS 34
GHOSTS DROPPING IN 35
BEOWULF 36
ICARUS IN THE LABYRINTH 37
FAR OUT ICARUS 38
CENTAUR 39
LEAPING LI PO 40
BASHO SAYS POETRY IS A FIREPLACE IN SUMMER 41
VIKING WOMEN'S GRAVES 42
THE SISTINE CHAPEL 43
DANTE IN HELL 44
WILLIAM PLAINE 46
HAWTHORNE 47
SEPULCHRE 48
HUNILLA RETURNS TO PAYTA 49
HUNTING WALTER 51
WALTER, OH WALTER 52
E.A. ROBINSON AT SIX 53
ON A LINE OF E.A. ROBINSON'S 54
FALLING FRUIT 55
SANTAYANA 56
HEMINGWAY 57
JEAN RHYS 58
MAY SARTON 59
AFTER SURGERY 60
ORPHEUS AFLOAT 61
VERN BARNINGHAM 62
PAUL KLOESAN 63
ROSEMARY'S BABY, GROWN 64
FRED C. MARTINEZ, JR. 65
TYRONE'S POWER 67
TOMMY 68
REMEMBERING CASS ELLIOT 69
WHEN JACKIE DE SHANNON SINGS "PEACEFUL IN MY SOUL" 70
LISTENING TO JOHNNY RIVERS SING "RIGHT RELATIONS" 72
BOMBSHELL 73
BARBARA PYM 75
LEAH 76
AUNT RUTH 77
SUMMER OF THE DAUGHTERS 78
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 79

Excerpt

REMEMBERING CASS ELLIOT

So enormous some called her a house, roomy, especially her spirit-always someplace to go and relax when she sang, where the dead grow faces on dahlia petals and an innocent yard hides grassy secrets. Bodies go under earth or up in flame, but her voice, so large, death can't get a butterfly net around it.