When I was younger I once woke up on a couch in the house next to the house where I was supposed to be on the couch. Looking up at those folks who wondered who the hell I was, and why I was on their couch, was truly a weird experience. I had been drinking, heavily, the night before!

Fame is spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to attract people to you, and then, once you have, figuring out how to avoid them.

I went to The Horror Show, last night, and I was standing in front of a cage that held two men covered in blood, who were cutting up humans, and eating them. As I was looking at this very morbid scene, one of the men looked up from the arm that he was gnawing on, reached his hand through the opening in the cage, and said, "Hey Mikel!!"

I'm listening to the new Melissa Johanna cd, "Box of Stars," and I am thinking about how I want a garden, but my home doesn't have enough sunshine to support tomatoes, and other vegetables that I could chew on; so I plant flowers, but flowers disappear too fast, and make me sad when they are gone, so, now, I have ferns, and, today, I just bought a dracaena sanderiana, and a unidentified leafy plant. My plants make me happy, like my pets; if only they could bottle the feeling that they give me.

The world owes me nothing because I'm here.(I really have to keep reminding myself of this, over and over. I love to sit on my pity pot. When you laugh, the world laughs with you; when you cry, you are fucking crying alone.)

She took the phone that she had given me, but left the flowers that I had given her. It's all becomes a blur, and soon you don't remember what you were pissed off about, but you realize that the fact that you kept getting pissed off means that she is not the gal for you. I just met a nice lady; she is broke, bi-polar, hears voices, and is a year off of crack.

I often walk about the city attached to dogs in one hand, and a bag of shit in the other.

Is outraged pacifists an oxymoron?

I love it when my computer is moving FAST!!

I am going to make chili, today write some great poems, and go to Yoga class. I will love on my dogs, cats, and turtles, and give praise that I am alive.

Everything might be better if I knew how to play the guitar.

Today, I want to be somewhere else(I don't know where),
but I haven't got the price of admission, so my mind
will have to carry me where my wallet can't.

There is a lot going on here, that isn't going on there.

You might tell me that I can not do something, but I won't listen to you, and I will do it because it is the only thing in this life that I have ever wanted to do. I have dreamed it. I am living it, and you can't take it away from me.

I am standing in the kitchen. The Cure are playing. As the singer sings, "I will always love you," I realize that Henry, the great Great Dane has situated his head under my hand, and that I am scratching him. I look up, and see Morisson, my dog, standing in in front of me with a somber look on his face, as if he is asking me if I will always love him. Yes, Morrison, I will always love you!

Someone gave me this really neat cat bed, but my cats never use it. I was just feeding the turtles, about to end the day, and I looked over and saw Kobain curled up in the cat bed! I'm glad that I didn't find another home for that cat bed. Henry has taken over Anna's bed, leaving Anna to sleep on the floor, which doesn't please me, as Henry is 2 years old, and Anna is 10. Respect your elders, unless they prove that they don't deserve it.

Up at 4:45. I have no wet cat food, so I gave the cats some cat treats. I am thankful that my cats are thankful for whatever cat food like thing that I put in their bowls in the morning. The dogs are still crashed, except for Mr. Energy Henry. What a beautiful day. Thank you, Lord, for this gift of life.

I'm listening to The Jefferson Airplane, and am watching the turtles. It seems like I should be doing more, like writing a poem, or making a million dollars, but I'm not; I am just listening to music, and watching my turtles, and I'm ok with that. The turtles are really fun to watch, and I love music. Love you.

Up at 7:22 I just caught Morrison licking one of the cat's bowls, which is a "no." Henry is home, next door, but he is barking up a storm, so I'll probably have to go get him, and bring him over here, which is why he is barking: he loves to visit us. I had the most vivid dream about my good friend, Dale W. Miller, and his family, last night. I'd love to fly out soon and see them. Today is a brand new day, and I am so glad to be here to see it. Amen.

I think that I have no right to get bent out of shape when my internet is down, when there are soldiers dying in the battlefield, when there are homeless on the street, when there are mentally ill who could be helped, but they resist treatment.

I'm starting my day with Phish, and coffee; music, and caffeine are often the way that I get things going around here. People have been asking about Kobain; he has settled back into the routine of this abode. What a happy cat he is; what a happy cat he has always been.

I think that bragging about your drinking is an incredibly boring, and stupid, thing to do. If you really drank too much, you wouldn't brag about it. Those that brag about it are rank amateurs.

I'm about to take the #2 bus into Little Five Points. I wonder if I will run into anyone that I know; I used to know everyone there. They called me The Mayor.

Just in from a quick trip to Little Five Points . My credit union is there.
I don t much find reason to hang out in Little Five Points, these days;
not like in the way past, where I used to sit on a bench outside the
pizza place, and drink quarts of beer from a bottle buried in a brown paper bag.

When you are young you never thing that you will be old. I am old, and can't believe that I was young, and survived it.

Dear Mikel,
Thank you for your email. Your order has not shipped yet, because your last name was listed as K. Our system rejected that. I have adjusted your name and forwarded your order to the shipping department.

Best regards,
Marita
Customer Care Specialist

I might start drinking my coffee without cream. I ran out of cream a few days ago, and I have been drinking it black; I add a few ice cubes, and some stevia is all.

I wish that I had something profound to say, today; but I can't think much past cats, dog, turtles, and coffee.

“The tendency to turn human judgments into divine commands makes religion one of the most dangerous forces in the world.”--Georgia Harkness

The phone that I washed, about a week ago, is working, again, tonight. Mind you, it is not working like a brand new phone, but it is working. Will it improve with age, from here on in, or get worse. Time will tell.

I made a new batch of chili, tonight. Upon first taste, when it was hot, I thought that I had finally failed to make a great batch of chili, but when it cooled down some, I found that I had a tasty treat on my tongue.

Up at 7:33am. Henry, once again, crawled onto the foot of my bed, and was my sleeping partner, last night. You have not lived until you have slept with a Great Dane! Kobain is adjusting nicely to home life. It is as if he doesn't even remember being a Huge Superstar for a couple of days. I'm going to see my young friend, Molly, play softball, today. I am really looking forward to that!

Tic tacs, and coffee, don't work all that well together.

I like to make circular coffee stains in the notebooks that I write poetry in with the bottom of my coffee cups.

Dunkin Donuts just sent me a coupon for a free coffee, which is nice. Why don't multi-billion dollar companies ever give anything back? Why do they just take, and take, take? Why does the butterfly whisper at night when nobody is listening?

Kobain is going to be a star. He was cast in a commercial that will be shot over the next two days. I have long seen the star potential in my cat, and I am glad that he, uh errrrr, I am finally going to get paid for it. I'm trying to think of something special to give this cat who is keeping our lights on this month. What do you give to a Super Star Kitty?

For Kobain, freedom's not just a word

"You might tell me that I can not do something, but I won't listen to you, and I will do it because it is the only thing in this life that I have ever wanted to do. I have dreamed it. I am living it, and you can't take it away from me."

Up at 6:22 am I scratch the cat for a moment or two, pet the heads of Dylan, and Morrison, who are waiting, wagging tails by the bed. For a brief moment, I feel dread, but I pray and the feeling goes away. I feed the turtles, and the cats, and my day is started. Amen.

This morning, I get so wrapped up in The Word that I forget about The Nectar that I have concocted that sits waiting patiently on the kitchen counter. The coffee needs to be zapped in the microwave for 45 seconds because I have neglected it. The beverage does not let me down when I push the button on the machine, pull it out, and put it to my lips. That first sip makes me happy.

Another day is starting; I realize that I am super blessed to be alive, and that any perceived problem is easily surmountable while I have the gift of life.

Kobain, the cat, was scratching on the porch screen trying to find a way out into the outside world. When that didn't work, he tried to roll under the small crack under The Love Porch door. Then he went behind some luggage being stored on the porch to see if there was a way out there. He is starting to whine, like he used to in the old days, to get me to let him out.

This experiment about letting him onto The Love Porch may have failed. Kobain has a strong desire for freedom, but I will not give it to him. I don't want him to get splatted by a car, like my Madonna did so many years ago.

This is part of a conversation that I had with a lady from Sindh, Pakistan, today, who is on my Facebook List. Her question as to why Americans are afraid of Muslims is not one that I am going to answer right away. I would like to see what you, my Facebook Friends, have to say about it.


A lady in Pakistan asks: "Americans are afraid of Muslims. Why?"

Rajper: Our onion crop is affected from the rain
K: Not good.
R: People are living on the roads; and animals, and people,
are dead in the large number.
K: That is very sad.
R: Do you know anything about Sindh?
K: I'm sure that it is beautiful.
R: Yes, Sindhi and its culture are 5000 old.
You can come visit it. We hate American Government
policies, but her people are innocent; we understand
K: Thanks, and I hear you.
R: Americans are afraid of Muslims. Why?


As I was walking a delicious cup of coffee from the kitchen to The Love Porch, I noticed Shawtie laying next to Dylan. Not only was Shawtie laying next to Dylan, but she was licking Dylan on the face. Often, Shawtie attacks Dylan, so I really wonder what has brought about this turnabout, and how long it will last.

I posted an ad to Craig's List, tonight, looking for an assistant. Do you think that I will get any bites??

Poet Seeks Assistant (Midtown by Piedmont Park)

Date: 2011-09-12, 6:49PM EDT
Reply to: mikelkpoet@yahoo.com

Poet seeks assistant. I need somone to organize over 13,000 poems that I have written,
and get them in a publishable form. I can' pay you, but I will let you walk my dogs,
and clean my office, on occasion. This is a labor of love; you must love my poetry.
And my dogs. And my office.

Thanks
Mikel K

PS You can find me as mikelkpoet on Facebook
(Won't that be fun!)

Goodbye Border's on Ponce; goodbye.

I was saddened to stick my nose on the window of what used to be the Border;s Bookstore on Ponce, yesterday, and not see a single book in the very empty space. For years, I had wandered the aisles of that bookstore, both as a customer, and as a person using the space as if it was a library, where I could read for hours in the coffee shop, and not buy a single thing; and then for a year as an employee in the coffee shop, dispensing coffee drinks, and smiles to other customers. Goodbye Border's on Ponce; goodbye.

All photos of Mikel K by Just Joan