W.S.B.

He occupied a ramshackle place

on the east side of town

with an entourage of cats, an arsenal of guns,

revolving celebrity guests.

Rumor circulated 'round the English Department

that he frequented The Bottleneck bar.

One November afternoon, I spotted him there,

crouched alone in a corner, pressed herringbone suit,

hickory-sword cane tap-tap-tapping to the music.

Our bartender whispered that he took tequila,

so I purchased two shots and approached.

"Pardon me, Mr. Burroughs.

I am just a B-I-G admirer

of your writing ...

May I offer you a tequila, Sir?"

"Why, certainly, young man."

We tossed back our shots.

I retrieved the glasses, and he eyeballed me

with his steely, cobalt eyes.

I fell into a trance waiting for him to blink:

These are the eyes that starred down

the barrel of a revolver

pointed at his wife's cranium (pow!),

eyes that peered unflinchingly

into a drug-crazed abyss,

eyes that crawled like an insect over

countless young male bodies.

The band lurched into a new song

and a curiosity sparked in my groin,

rocketed up my spine and burst into a dull haze

that rendered me speechless:

Is this old queen expecting a come-on?!

I'd have liked to impress the Godfather of the Beats

with tales of imagined literary exploits,

or regale him with a deliciously irreverent anecdote,

at least praise his influence on a moral code

skeptical of monotonous conformity.

Instead, I stood before the man an imbecile,

barely mustering an oafish smile,

which he met—bless him—with a kindly grin

that pierced my anxious fever.

I retreated to the bar.

"How did it go?" the bartender asked.

"Oh, brilliant ... Yeah ...

One for the memoires."

And some say it was William Burroughs,

not Thomas Lambert,

who brought the literary bona fides

to Lawrence, Kansas.

Iyla Grace 11.0

     Iyla Grace 11.0 arrives with some delightful upgrades, including a command of language and reading beyond her years.  This release is more independent and engaged with peers.  She talks on the phone with her "besties" every day who collaborate on short-film projects written and directed by You-Know-Who.

     Like her Papa, Iyla is most comfortable alone with her thoughts.  Daily, she walks the property carrying on conversations with herself, often experimenting with narrative and characters that will comprise her next film script.  To an outsider, this behavior may seem peculiar -- girl alone, talking aloud; to me, it is a showcase for immense, creative imagination.

    Happy Birthday, my Darling Iyla Grace!

Green Light

I reach for my daughters' hands

at the crosswalk.

Their miniature fingers orbit mine

in concentric circles,

landing with the force of a double sun.

"Look, Papa," the youngest says,

"Our hands are hugging!"

You might not be drawn into her gravitational pull.

Her light does not animate your solar system.

But, perhaps you have a child

or held the future in your palm

and felt the sting of her breaking away

before you reach the safety of the sidewalk.

Traffic rushes headlong like a meteor shower,

awakening the acute vulnerability

to which I am eternally enjoined.

These are my co-creations,

skipping undaunted toward the light,

propelling us through space and time.

I am bound to them

like atoms in a molecular waltz,

like light waves captured in the event horizon,

like comets on a collision course,

like galaxies hurling toward

the void.

Port Aransas, Texas (2023)

       The girls wanted a beach holiday before returning to school ... I found a cheap motel suite near the ocean in Port Aransas, Texas, rented a motor cart to kick around the island, and off we went for six days of sun, sand, and surf on the Gulf Coast.

       These little ladies are becoming great travel companions:  funny and intelligent, polite and conscientious, playful and observant ... My heart is full!

Eloise Jane 7.0

      Eloise Jane version 7.0 drops today.  This release comes with a host of technology upgrades, including her own apple account (so she can text Mama and Papa from her iPad), a talent for finding and sharing silly online memes, and her very first selfie (see photo below - melt!).  7.0 also comes with an optional animal companion, the Husky dog for which Eloise will not stop begging me to acquire ... I'm opting out of that feature.  

     For her special day, Eloise asked for a party at Urban Air Indoor Park with a few of her friends.  Iyla is not allowed to invite friends, I suspect because Eloise wants to ensure her big sister plays with her 😊.   Later, we are having presents and "cat cake with its claws out" at Mama's house, followed by a swim in Papa's pool and dinner menu of her choosing ... She will likely choose mac and cheese with roasted broccoli -- one of her favorites.

     Happy Birthday, Miss Eloise Jane Lambert.  You make my heart oh so very happy!