They Found Him Naked

High in a western hemlock,     swinging by his knees

they found him naked

singing old train songs

flashlight up his rump

pants in the street

the rest of his clothes scattered throughout the 

trendy neighborhood

They said it started when his car refused to start

the day after his favorite TV show was canceled

when his dog died

as his wife left him

because he was coming off the booze

because he fought in WWII

because he was a retired marine  b-cause e wuz gey

The Bel Air cops tried to coax him down

His neighbor,  old Manny,  even turned the hose

on him

3 am

but he just sang louder and looked as if to fall

as the cats wandered through the back yards of cheaters

and streetlights hummed the songs of gorillas

He wasn’t pushed and he didn’t jump

It was supposed

that he simply fell into the cement

and merged with the morter

as if it were his

guitar shaped swimming pool