somewhere

between worthless and priceless
lies a sea of men
but most just float in water
until they sail again

vapid in their own desire
not but a single treading squire
would overlook and then retire
their needless urge to just acquire

now nothing floats here anymore
nor carbon frame
nor lonely oar

and the bluest blue above
which offers us
nor pull
nor shove
reflects below and colours water
as to seem
that touching pallid distant blue
is not to leave behind for dreams

believe me or refute my claim
maybe you even heard my name
but i,
a raftlord, can provide
all you could ever need besides,

what more could you need?

575

one more wasted day
that i spend this way – writing
these second rate lines

i need sugar pills

i made them for her special day
and so she wore designer bruises
and in a very special way
she was the favourite of my muses

we frolicked in the city lights
made oh so poignant by the dark
it was the favourite of my nights
except the morning had been stark

id lie to me if i believed it
but never will i see again
its just that all ive left to offer
is a schizophrenic with a pen

Baby Noise

The hitchhikers in cuba line up on stops along the roads
where a trained government official
will direct them
to the nearest available empty seat.
Further north a loud colic pierces nightmares
that seemed like a relief in contrast
to being awake.

I am an unanswered ringing phone

We’ve long outgrown the age where
we name our kids after movie stars,
now were just trying to revive
those dead movie stars

I am spit that stains white clothing

Light taught us all to hate mirrors
they’re so deceptive
and everything is further than it seems;
especially self confidence.

I am the brass keys in a golden bowl beside the fake leather pants left behind by god
only knows who

How can she expect him to pay attention to her
when shes in the same car
talking on the phone
a conversation he’s not supposed to overhear?
Perhaps there is nudity out the window

I am bad bananas and poetry that was forgotten because the pen was missing

Maybe one day I’ll be something.

Tanks

last night i slept on scissors
and dreamt of tanks
their long shafts bellowed and shook as they shot down men
from a distance
while smaller men laughed inside

I would wake to leave the dreams behind,
but their rapid rolling treads are hard to escape in the dark
so I lay back down on scissors
and I dreamt of tanks

push men push the sergeant cried
so no one turned their back to the rolling stampede
they ran shooting metal at metal
and when all else failed
they shot with their blood

the field is nearly empty now
just immobile tanks
sleeping
on a bed of men


______________________________________________________________

last night i slept on scissors
and dreamt of tanks
tanks that showed no mercy to the faceless men they shot from afar
and no emotion to the faceless men within

I would wake to try and leave the dreams behind me,
but visions are hard to escape in the dark
and when every direction i ran in lead the same way,
i sat back down on scissors
and dreamt of tanks

push men push the sergeant cried
so no one turned their back to the rolling stampede
they ran shooting metal at metal
and when all else failed
they shot with their blood

the field is nearly empty now
just immobile tanks
sleeping
on a bed of men

Sphinx

When the sphinx was once lost in a storm,
neither Ramses,
nor wit,
could recover her then pallid form.
Once begotten through linens, and now torn from her place;
it took twelve slaves nine ages to reassemble her face.
They had shined off her mane,
wiped the snow from her eyes,
yet irreparable thaw,
showed her spirit demise.
Now when travelers come, and demand to be asked
what it is they must answer, in order to pass-
The great cat shy's away
and drops one solid tear
an icy cold snowflake
she resents that she fears.
Still in dreams when she rests
we hear liquid within,
by the time the world sees it
its just frozen again.

stanza

i saw him running to catch his bus;
he ran by four passing ambulances
and a firetruck.
in a city of seven billion, one death didnt matter him
and it'd hypocritical of me to judge anyways.

she wanted to know what i kept in my pockets
but only because i wouldnt let her reach in.
i would only zip them up,
when people started asking.

i hope one day they meet

Flower

today i met the richest man in the world
he shook my hand and i shook his before we sat to down to talk.
he was buying me for his home
and needed to make sure i was just right so
he tested my wit,
then my strength,
then my patience.
from what i could tell he has one of everything
packed away inside display containers at his home
the location of which he refused to share,
but from clues I could discern that it is far.
neither him
nor i,
nor the blonde short waitress,
found what we were looking for at that coffee bar table.
smiling politely we exchanged farewells.
no hug goodbye,
i wonder if he is happy.

Devil

I woke up late last night,
With the devil at my bed.
I know I should have stood up but I went to sleep instead.
Last night I dreamt of progress just some that has now ended,
All spick and span precisely, but in no light can be mended.
The change to day was not abrupt;
Too much was on my mind.
All ready to erupt, and leave itself behind.
Slowly following my rhythm,
both sore eyes fluttered to,
and when I saw my singed walls
ideas came, construe.

Assimilation

It came from the skies
Black, red and blue
Landing unevenly across the fields where it would morph and
Assimilate

Slowly it overtook the plains
Scattering the animals
And engulfing the vegetation
The crops
And the sandbag blockades

Towering at the city edges
With resonance it beckoned
For humanity
To join its cause

Faced with death
Or the unknown
It was the hardest choice
Any of us had to make