Misdirection


As the number ten bus
bumps down Humboldt,
I see Lisa rub peanut butter
and jelly on her forehead.

This action distracts me
from staring at her breasts
for just a moment.

I’m not ashamed of my staring.

This is the first time I’ve seen
Lisa’s breasts fully clothed.

If there is such a thing as sacred geometry,
Lisa’s curves possess it.

Most men would seriously consider
worshiping at Lisa’s feet,
but this whole peanut butter and jelly thing
dissuades most of them.

It is an effective tactic for Lisa
to keep the riff-raff away,
prevent them from committing
verbal acts of sexual aggression.

Once, in Chicago, a man on the bus
who was about to be mugged
pissed himself, wet his pants
down to the cuffs.  The attacker
walked away in disgust, leaving the man
unharmed.

The golden ratio is approximately:
one point six one eight zero three three nine—
Stradivari is said to have used this ratio
to create his violins.

The bus comes to a stop and grounds itself
at the corner, so the elderly can embark
and disembark with ease.

Lisa steps off the bus, heads toward work
at that peculiar institution
Art’s Performing Center
which, not by chance,
is just up the block
from my destination,
the Performing Arts Center—
a violin evening
of Isabella Leonarda.



c2005 Kenneth Gurney

"Helen and Margaret in the Milky Way" Scott Odom