“Are you of the belief that these dreams/nightmares are just residue of the day?”
—Bernie White, 2/24/09

Cities separated by wilderness,
the American buffalo migrating again

the European buffalo migrating again.

“Lighten-up,”
a critic’s response to
ALL THINGS MUST PASS.

*

Some dreams

firing synapses without meaning—

I called my mom Sunday
to check early memories:

“We rode in a plane that was shiny chrome
and had 2 propellers under each wing.

Dad was in the backyard with a white-and-green car
wrapping chains around stumps, wheels spinning in the dirt.”

She said:
“We flew together in ’63 when we moved from Rochester to Sylvan Lake,
and again the next year to Aunt Nat’s wedding.

Yes, the car was a Ford, dark aqua and white,
and he pulled stumps with it before seeding the backyard.”

*

Couple Tigers I was hot for:
Lou Whitaker, Ron LeFlore.

You know I met them both right?

When I met LeFlore
he was wearing a raccoon coat
a beautiful woman on each arm.

He signed my strip of paper.

Remember how he lied about his age?

When my parents were paying for college
I didn’t know it was a recession.

Money poured in.

I mostly wanted books.
Two pair of jeans was enough

and Rose made nice patches.

When young men smoke
it doesn’t look like they’ll get cancer,

it keeps them young and thin.

One hand shields the wind
while the other flicks a lighter.
They are dreams

*

If Lennon got skinny, Harrison got skinnier.
If Lennon grew his hair long, Harrison grew his longer.

*

I hallucinated a rat the other day in my room

running under my bed.

Don’t remember what he said
other than the conversation was pleasant
and about my spirit and God.

*

You’re prey,
if she’s full,
a curiosity.

—for Bernie White

Craig Cotter was born in 1960 in New York and has lived in California since 1986. His poems have appeared in California Quarterly, Chiron Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Court Green, The Gay & Lesbian Review, Great Lakes Review, Hawai’i Review, & Tampa Review. His fourth book of poems, After Lunch with Frank O’Hara, is currently available on Amazon. www.craigcotter.com