Your Scent
You walk by,
I sniff you
I pick up on your scent
And from that very same scent that you distribute
to your co-workers and lovers and friends and family alike
I can tell
what you had for breakfast
if you like it up the ass
and if you own a dog or a pussy
I can tell
the last time you visited the doctor
and the last time you had sex
I can tell
if you like peppermint or sushi
if you like strawberries or blueberries
if you prefer preserves or jam
I can tell this all
just by passing through your scent
your smell
the scents you carry with you
in passages you take,
crossing my own
I can smell you
and with those smells
I can tell
the last time you bathed
the last time you went to the sea
the last time you slept
the last corner you turned
the last beverage you drank
I can tell this all
just by smelling you
your scent
I can tell if you are clean
or dirty
I can tell if you use generic or name-brand products
on your hair
or on your teeth
I can tell
what detergent you use on your pillow cases
or the thread count of your bed sheets
I can tell if
you day dream or if you remember your nightmares
I can tell if
you looked at yourself in the mirror that same morning,
critiquing your image
I can tell
if you planted flowers recently
and what your favorite bloom is
I can tell
if you lied to your previous lover
Just by smelling
I know this all
I know where you live, where you work, where you sleep and eat
I know where you were born where you are going to and where you bought your shoes
I know everything about you
Just by following your scent
The smell emerging from your armpit and your mouth
The smell emerging from your vulva and ass
The smell from your hair and feet
The smell that you deliver and manufacture
I can tell all
Just by your scent
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.07.23.16:18:32@1515NYC
TraLurning & FndLurning
At age fourteen I learned an important lesson
At age twenty-something I learned another important lesson
At age thirty-something I learned a very important lesson
And now, ageless,
I apologize from the depth of my heart,
For being a man,
To you, specifically,
I am sorry.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.07.11.08:21:06@296NYC
July 10th
Everyone has gone
They have left the green grassy hill
Seen the rain come down and wash away the dirt
Umbrellas retracted
Sunshine opening up behind the dark clouds
All have dispersed into their own daily events
De-constructed paintings lie on the fresh mound
No words spoken or exchanged previously
Only broken down tears
Everyone has gone
No one is coming back
Don’t dig me up, I’m gone forever
© 2002 David Greg Harth @ NYC
02.07.10.10:10:10@NYC
Happiness
Everyone was expecting me
The guest of honor
To be at the event of celebration
Instead
The first was to find me
Alone among her beauty
Found me in a pool of red
Soaked in the grey floor
Of my street address
The second to come down on in
She walked in and heard the soundtrack playing
The score of death
They were not quite sure when it happened
And the third man of beauty arrived
Took things into perspective and placed a few phone calls
The fourth and fifth arrive
Not knowing the horror, they have found
The sixth phones the studio
The seventh comes without any I AMs
But with greenbacks to trade
With a man who lay dead
Eighth walks in with Sixth
Out from the warm street
The Ninth in love, now bows in sadness
Tenth and Eleventh come with unexpected Twelfth
Tears pour into the pools I lay deep in
As Thirteenth and Fourteenth and Fifteenth do not show
Sixteenth is gone
Seventeenth has not phoned
Eighteenth comes with a drink in hand
No scotch by my side
A paper Will in the cabinet
A collection for you, and a collection for you
Nineteenth and Twentieth
They all arrive, the music changes
Valentine cards done, in the head
A fan rotating overhead
A poem of sorrow, a poem of hope
A poem of laughter, a poem of memory
Twenty-first and Twenty-second,
They file in one after the other
Hugging and gathering
Coroner long over due
Police come in; I remember that September
True ones never said hello, only have forgotten
The celebration is today
The funeral is at a day’s notice
Pack your belongings and say goodnight
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.07.10.03:09:21@296NYC
I’ve Failed
You asked me to love you,
and I could not
You asked me to provide
and I could not
I have failed.
I tried my best,
but I was unable to deliver
I couldn’t get myself out of this trap of loneliness and pit of sorrow
I deeply apologize
I’ve failed.
© David Greg Harth 2002
02.07.09.10:30:39@1515NYC
Falling Apart
4:23am
My nose started to run.
4:38am
My nose was bleeding. First a slow bleed, then it began to seep out even quicker.
4:47am
My finger nails and toe nails begin to fall off. Crack and chip at the base and eventually just flake off.
4:53am
The hair all over my body grows rapidly outwards. Falling to the floor and filling up the room. My hair quickly gets longer and longer, first inches, then feet. I’m among the bushels of hair. All of my hair surrounds me quickly, covering me deeply in it. Finally, the hair, in a matter of minutes, turns grey and white. And grows as much as it can until all the hair on my body falls out.
4:56am
My nails are missing, my nose bleeding, all of my hair grew out and fell from the pores of my body.
5:02am
My teeth fall from my mouth. Some I choke on as they go down my throat. I feel the stomach acid eat at each tooth. The acid rises in my esophagus and conquers my tongue. It burns my tongue away and leaves holes in my throat exposed to the air.
5:07am
My eyes melt from their sockets. Turning to a jelly like substance with the iris sliding down my face and chest and leg.
5:09am
My ears take a dive off of my hairless skull. Slowly the intricate assemblages are gone.
5:12am
My skin all over starts to blister and my genitals turn black and blue like a major frost bite. Quickly the blisters all over my body begin to form water bubbles and sockets of puss. Bleeding and rotting quickly, flies from the nearby market rush over and lay their eggs on my raw skin.
5:18am
Faster and faster, I rot, and now the speedy fly eggs hatch with little larva and maggots screaming and eating at my open flesh.
5:23am
My elbow and knee joints give and I feel incredibly gummy not able to stand or sit in any structured position.
5:34am
Lying there, on the floor, still for the last few moments. Bloody, infested, smelly, numb, and fading away.
5:41am
I can feel the throbbing of my central nervous system. All of my nerves and the synapses connecting them, pulsating in an unusual rhythm. My brain swelling and my spinal fluid becomes unbalanced with abnormal protein levels.
5:48am
I regurgitate my stomach acid and my bladder gives way and busts open. The urine pours from the holes in my throat and my anus explodes in an outward fashion. I lay in my own pool of shit, piss, and blood.
6:02am
The sun begins to rise outside. The sunlight scatters into the room in which I lay. The new sun burns the remaining fat on my body, as the epidermis layer of skin has disappeared. Motionless I lay in the mixture of everything that I was made of.
6:11am
I cannot see or hear or smell my death. But I know I am dead. Completely fallen apart.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.07.06.06:29:15@296NYC
Two
Every night
I sleep alone
Every commercial
I see you
And I smile
I think of you
And I sink inside
Feel warm inside
I walk by a new mother
And I smile
Because of you
I’ve got to go on
Forever
To see you grow
Older and older
And see your laughs and smiles
All so very fine
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.07.01.12:08:58@1515NYC
Franklin Delano
Oh, Franklin Delano
How I love you
I see you on these streets every day
Hot humid New York City days
You walk pass me on my left and right
Sometimes directly in front of me, in white
Franklin Delano
Catch you on the subway
Franklin Delano
Catch you up the escalator
Franklin Delano
Catch you in the lift
I see you walking with pride
Determination is set in
Ignoring placed advertisements
Passing by the wet tongues
Franklin Delano
Electrifying
Franklin Delano
Glorious
Franklin Delano
Mysterious
Franklin Delano
Suggested
Franklin Delano
Sculpted
Franklin Delano
Luggage
I see you traveling these warm seas
Follow you through the streets
Route back passed the fire
Communication none, today, after one hundred grand
Franklin Delano
I love you
Franklin Delano
Kiss me
Franklin Delano
I’m soaked in your shadow
Franklin Delano
I’m heated skin
I see you swallow the moisture from your parted lips
Think about the way to snort the high life
Listen to the plants in your pockets
And phone me up on the telephone, please
I see you loving the imagery
Not significantly sharing the wealth of ivory
Keeping it for that home unit air conditioner
In this City heat
Franklin Delano
Give me the rope, and I’ll forget
Franklin Delano
Give me a hand, and I’ll grasp
Franklin Delano
Guide me in, and I’ll be back
Franklin Delano
Guide me, and Ill set you free
Franklin Delano
I love you
Franklin Delano
Let’s go dance
Franklin Delano
Live with me
Franklin Delano
See you tomorrow
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.27.15:41:48@1515NYC
02.06.29.03:01:11@296NYC
September 11th 2001 (Version #2)
I remember:
In the months September and October
constantly turning a corner on the streets of New York City
and running into a funeral procession of bagpipers and fire trucks
draped in black. Seeing firefighters salute one of their own, draped
in the American flag. Even before I would turn that corner, the
bagpipes would echo a haunting reminder through the corridors of
the tall buildings and city streets. The beat of the drum, the tone
of the bagpipe, the rhythm of the march; all a reminder.
I would glance up to the sky and wonder. My wonderment would only
be interrupted by a constant pair of F-15s circling the skyline.
You would hear the swift screech and shrill as they passed the bitten city.
I remember September 11th. I could not communicate with anyone via
the telephones or cell phones. Every try ended with all circuits busy or the constant busy signal. Whether calling in Manhattan or Brooklyn, or upstate New York, Long Island or New Jersey. Florida or Virginia or any other state. You couldn’t get through. I found that email was the best way to communicate.
Every 6 hours I would make sure I was at my studio to change the VHS tape in my VCR. I recorded the news stations from 9am Tuesday September 11th continuous for one week straight. I continued my archive of the video footage throughout the month of September and to the announcement of the WAR and following certain developing stories. I’m currently on tape #35 I believe.
I remember on September 11th. I saw the mass exodus of people walking North. As soon as I stepped out of my studio, I saw peopled covered in debris on Elizabeth St, hugging and walking together North. I was headed to St. Vincent’s hospital to donate blood. I offered them a sincere hug.
I was taking the A train home from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at 168th st (the last stop I attempted to donate blood at.) It was now late afternoon and some subways were running some routes. The mood on the train was eerie. All of the passengers had a unique look on their face. And all were talking of the earlier events in the day.
I remember on September 11th. Feeling helpless. I knew my family and friends wanted to make sure I was alive and well. Yet, at the same time, I’m sure they knew I was. Not because I didn’t work in or near the World Trade Center; but because they know me to be a strong survivor. I felt helpless though. I would have given my life for anyone of those that perished. Anyone. But all I could do was watch the rescue efforts and help in any way I can.
I remember.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.13.22:37:41@296NYC
02.06.27.01:27:09@296NYC
The Ultimate Crime Of The Century
Amazingly,
somehow, in some way
I got away with it.
I committed the ultimate sin
A most heinous crime
The ultimate crime of the century.
So horrible
So bad
So disgusting
So inhumane
And I got away with it
Mentions of burnt human carcass
dismembered human remains
misplaced joints
and scattered teeth
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.25.17:23:39@296NYC
Goodbye (Version #2)
We kissed goodbye
She went one way
I went the other
I knew that was the last kiss I would give her.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.25.16:32:05@1515NYC
Someplace
I know someplace
beyond the moon, the stars, this sky
beyond the lonely greens and blues
you are there waiting for me
with open arms of love
I just wish I knew where that place was
or how to get there
but still, like my eyes,
it remains a mystery
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.25.11:12:16@1515NYC
Love (Version #14)
It hurts so much
to not be in love.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.21.19:03:36@1515NYC
Moving Realism
Moving through the streets, the land, over the surface of the ocean
Hunting and being hunted by hungry cowards
Searching for the everlasting, making way to the far east
Moving quickly, smoothly, treading the dirt and the sea
Dancing and escaping to other worlds
Leaping from salt pillar to salt pillar
Moving beneath the fever and the diseases of humankind
Beyond the point of no return
Thirsting for the greatest quest knowledgeable
Moving in a forward direction, stimulated by the strength within
Waiting for nothing but to arrive at the established point of dreams
Letting the fantasy become truth as the others look on in awe
Moving to the kingdom to become crowned and loved
Look beyond the obstacles of today and attack the wounds
Be with the One while I grasp my tool of horse hair and wood
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.13.17:50:34@1515NYC
I Can’t Fall In Love With You
I can’t fall in love with you
because if I did,
It would be too painful.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.13.14:56:23@1515NYC
Ship
Ship
Split
side side
one, two, three
not, yes, yes, not
on the list, off the list
Ship
don’t know you,
don’t know me
Ship
annoying
not supportive
not understanding
blind to my structure, by build, my internal strength
Ship
bend
curve
lies lies lies
smut
dirty talk
Ship
silent wasted
watching
never thinking
bystander
Ship
ears closed, not listening to me
unspeakable
truths, unheard, told, yet not true
Ship
recalculated, rethought, prioritized
checked off
one two three, on, one two three
Ship
new one here new one there
not any more
elevated success
sign the document
die for the love
sail with
soar with
share with
learn with
that wonderful Ship.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.13.11:41:13 @ 1515 NYC
Hidden Thought
Say Something
Give me a sign
Say what you are hiding
Reveal your secrets.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.06.22:00:00@NYC
Addiction
I’m addicted.
I’m addicted to a nameless woman.
A woman with no name.
I’m addicted.
An addict to her passion, her desire, her lust.
Her sensual curves. her bed pleasures.
Her sweaty sex and stimulated clitoris.
I’m incredibly addicted to her.
Ignited from within.
I burn, burn, burn.
I’m addicted.
I admit.
I’m addicted to a love slave.
I’m in love,
I’ll tell you once, and sell you the idea later.
Since you’ve been gone.
I’m back on my feet.
Never left, this state of grace.
Holy ground didn’t escape from beneath my feet.
I’m still close as ever, addicted.
Because I still lick my lips, as I look for you.
I’m addicted.
I’m addicted to a nameless woman.
A woman with no name.
© 2002 David Greg Harth
02.06.05.17:42:00@1515NYC