Have You Ever Loved?

by Violet Tiara

March 4, 2002

Have you ever loved
like the whistling wind
of a barn swallow's nostril-hole?
Have you ever lived
like a merchant prince
on quiche and curry dumplings?
I think not.

Have you ever stared
into the face of time
like a fearless mutant hunchback
with a huge sword and a locket around his
neck that contains a picture of a tulip?
Ha, I find it truly unlikely.

Have you ever sung
the song that meal-mice sing
when the stars line up
and form a picture of
deposed Chinese dictator Quang-Sin-Joon?
I don't believe you.

Have you ever dreamed
the way that oceans dream
of ice ages and black holes?
Have you ever smelled
an odor so complex
it carried the secrets of the universe?
Not as long as I've known you.

Have you ever danced
on an enchanted morn
with Irish water spirits
and some kind of bizarre
half dog-man who's always
carrying a freshly cooked pizza?
I'd like to see you prove it.

Have you ever pulled
your own throat out
through your mouth and
then played your intestines
like a bagpipe?

Really? I could barf!

Milestones

1994: Omar Bricks arrested after setting a statue of the Virgin Mary ablaze atop the Ferris wheel at the State Fair. Gets off on a technicality that goes down in legal history as the Proud Mary defense

Now Hiring

Flamenco Dancer. Leggy Latin beauty needed to, well, you know. And dance. Must be disease-free and light on the orthodontia. Garden hose-based qualifications a big plus. Mus- wait. Really? Then what the hell's flamenco?

Most Painful Music Lawsuits

1.	Christopher Cross vs. Kris Kross (1992)
2.	John Fogerty vs. John Fogerty (1985)
3.	Warner Bros. vs. Pri.. The Ar.. That Guy Over There in the Pastel Pants (1994)
4.	Michael Jackson vs. Insane Kahlil's Rhinoplasty (1987)
5.	The Ghost of Nat "King" Cole vs. Natalie Cole (1991)

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The Land and the Sea
The land is in love with the sea, you see? And drinks it in nightly and day (time). When the land it breathes in, The ocean runs to him, And when he exhales The sea runs away. His doctor says "Ocean! You stop this at once! Your sodium... (2/4/02)

When I Was Nine
When I was nine I had a very fine time and a very fine time had me. I bothered no one as I high-fived the sun and I slept in a mulberry tree. When I was eight I went on a date with the moon and the stars and the Venus. We went out... (1/21/02)