MAY I

May I say, may I
chanting by the may pole
in my sighs and allergies
for the lilacs of spring
as I sneeze on the back porch
here in Vermont
you need not decide
anything today,
just say May I
in any variant of language
across the soccer ball fields
with screams and shouts
in spring's first game
by the morning salt marshes
as you put your back up
it's not your fault or blame
for wanting an enlightened shield
from the insects
on the potted plant
your friends have bought you
as you wonder at the bench
at the French brunch
with a day dream all winter
to enjoy all these gifts
of spinach croissants and cheese
since on the ski lifts
here in Burlington
with this rain and thunder
on the open pavilion
as I play a few jazz riffs
and ask my motionless lips
to let this dawn just play out
and take up all my needs
as sunflowers are falling in
with butterflies
all over the ground
as Linda, a student
of English next door
asks me about a poem
she just wrote and can't ignore
tells me it's like love
an adjusted
and carefully timed atom bomb
yet she fears to attend
the junior prom tonight
going with Vincent
the boy next door
who out of a lame shyness
of his dyslexic syndrome
masks his real fears
and may be a no go
she is sorry for bothering me
an old friend of the family,
as she starts to cry
wanting to go home
blaming herself
as we eye Vincent
with the soccer ball
who manages a goal
and a magnificent win
for his team even as I tell him
his human choice of a wish
will succeed in athletics
despite his anguish of language
that he will be distinguished\
as he asks for a more fluent voice
which makes for more discipline
as we wish Vinnie well
knowing at his masked age
how self confidence ranks high
when Linda and Vincent thank me
and we all say goodbye.