Saturday, April 28, 2018

Golf ~ Saturday, 28 April 2018

Fuck the establishment
it's time the men in suits
got the boot to prevent

Unwanted tooth decay
to floss away matter
in the gaps may save time

Climate change is a fact
but what it means varies
from person to person

Killers in our Congress
sink a bill they dislike
as if they represent

Their constituency
we the people don't give
a fuck when they don't work

How is it they expect
to get paid for nothing
no effort zilch to show

Each citizen voter
what they do to perform
in our interests their task

Everyone in their homes
who care demand to see
their voting record crimes

Solved by detectives seem
more likely than the suits
solving certain problems

Trusted officials take
decades to recognize
problems even exist

As denial is built-in
hardwired in their circuits
they only see the perks

Buttered English muffins
a fresh pot of coffee
and watching the grass grow

Links made before noon hit
a bucket at the range
their deals if you should ask

Indeed take place right here
on the greens or at hole
nineteen should skies worsen

Should lightning and thunder
appear out of nowhere
Utopia with storms

Horns blast a tornado
alert all they can do
is drink and wait the twist

Mainly in martinis
made with gin or vodka
comes with chasing skirt hems

Even women in suits
get in on the action
which sets off no alarms

Nobody seems to care
this innocuous sport
offers the suits their share

To have of cake and eat
the spoils of bourgeois life
booty with time to spare

Nineteen ~ Saturday, 28 April 2018

What's the most difficult
thing you've done in this life?

I've screwed in a light bulb
with nineteen physicists.

Why did you need nineteen
physicists to help screw
in a single light bulb?

Because the janitor
left town for the weekend
and the only person
in the conference room
who knew where the extra
light bulbs were kept was me.

But why did you need help
from nineteen physicists?

I didn't. They observed
while I performed the task
and smiled with approval.

Why did they smile at you?

I don't know. But I think
it was an inside joke.

The most difficult thing
you've ever done in life
was this one single act?

Just how embarrassing
would it be if I failed?

Oh now I get the joke.

What is it? Tell me please.

All actions are futile
in the grand scheme of things.
If absurdity reigns
then all acts are pointless.

We were at a physics
not a philosophy
conference in the dark
so to speak so someone
had to get a ladder
a package of light bulbs
and screw in a spare bulb
while the physicists watched.

If you were in the dark
how could they watch you work?
How could you see them smile?

As you could guess that came
later after I screwed
in the light bulb. They smiled.
They're an intuitive
group who wait patiently.

What was the conference
about? Time and Distance?

The conference was called:
"How many physicists
does it take to screw in
a light bulb in the dark?"

Friday, April 27, 2018

Wild Rebellion ~ Friday, 27 April 2018

Living in uncertain terror at home
I sought as a child to make sense of hate
Vengeance is mine I will repay father
In death my fears vanish with you now gone
Nothing stands in my way nothing but love
Gaze from the stars upon the will of fate

Interminable life today bothers
No one more than myself to end this game

Terror to show discipline without gloves
Endless horror when fists and feet attack
Reels play repeat films in my head to stop
Reciting hymns of violence to thwack
Only second-born sons a riding crop
Reasons as well on horse as boy to tame

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Staves ~ Thursday, 26 April 2018

Like a scattering of sesame seeds
Against darkening skies during sunset
Night creeps silently upon the loud crows
Gawking at the pink clouds as one voice reads
Under cover of dusk the changing light
Ascertains the crepuscular chill threat
Gathers the others within the shadows
Empty branches offer before the leaves

Languish on the pavement below the night
Ages even the skyscrapers as sleep
Greets city dwellers soundlessly in dreams
Ubiquitous as pain as green clouds creep
Noticeably across charcoal skies streams
Attend to a tapestry the loom weaves

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Daimonion Rhapsody ~ Tuesday, 24 April 2018

Beyond the atrium
where the cross-country team
came Saturday mornings

to wake Casimiro
from his weekend slumber
to run miles with the team

his confused grandmother
overwhelmed by the boys
woke her sleeping grandson

Casimiro geared up
fast like a Minute Man
and left to beat the streets

they ran for miles for fun
nothing too serious
a light-hearted practice

only at the races
did determination
grit and guts come to play

freshman and sophomores ply
their trade as their skills build
but the varsity team

dedicated to win
with glory or to lose
with dignity honor

they ran their best as fast
as their bodies allowed
only one comes in first

Casimiro won once
for Edison High School
against Huntington Beach

he was reprimanded
afterwards by his coach
for waiting much too long

to use his kick to beat
the other team surprise
this kid has energy

and a secret weapon
hidden inside his legs
an arsenal of gears

and a strategic plan
when he's in contention
but now never again

Casimiro never
took criticism well
then the injuries came

broken wrist by Ronnie
playing a joke on him
pushing him off a ledge

and forgetting to grab
him before gravity
let him fall on his hand

at Sunset League Finals
Casimiro finished
in eighth place while the first

seven move on to state
championship races
they joked he ran his balls

off when the boys team came
to visit him in bed
after his surgery

torsion of testicle
he gave one for the team
after his depression

set in he gave notice
to his coach to play drums
with his band Signal Red

the lead singer gave up
running cross-country too
no college scholarships

their eggs in one basket
hope found only to lose
when they threw in the towel

Casimiro began
writing poems after
he sold his old drum kit

never to play again
always so heartbreaking
watching other drummers

play live during concerts
he looked back on his youth
full of wild decisions

reckless with rebellion
to understand and learn
about society

our social dysfunction
ingrained in systemic
structural hate machines

bio-robotic droids
that look just like people
and run like Usain Bolt

Casimiro started
running the marathon
in Chicago three years

ago but misses trails
nowhere near the city
he decided to call

home in his neighborhood
of Hyde Park a South Side
anomaly of wealth

within structures of hate
neglect and poverty
based on theories of race

class privilege and power
a shining example
of forced integration

desegregation based
on iniquity laws
created to uphold

principles the founders
themselves did not believe
Casimiro seeks change

Monday, April 23, 2018

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Chinese Aphrodisiac Snail ~ Saturday, 21 April 2018

"Chinese Aphrodisiac Snail"

Pedantically-motivated towards 
plethora abounding around 
ungarnished sweets...

...Kill it!

Friday, April 20, 2018

Fake News ~ Friday, 20 April 2018

What no one to this day
has put pen to paper
to state as argument

However misguided
against apparent facts
is the obvious case

As anyone can see
if they know history
the whole reason we fought

The first of two world wars
was a little known fact
that The Times made present

Notably in the press
the twenty-ninth of June
Nineteen Hundred Fourteen

On the day after shots
rang out around the world
as a death knell bell tolls

Only in remembrance
for Patrick James Foley
of Sligo, Ireland

Not for Franz und Sophie
murdered on the same day
Patrick James broke a vase

Entering Nirvana
or as in his own case
Heaven or so we're taught

To believe after death
we meet with Saint Peter
and have a round of drinks

Over cocktails and lunch
at The Pearly Gates Bar
and take swigs of poitín

To celebrate our lives
or dance with the Devil
at The Jolly-Good Bowl

Hell being an alley
where we all bowl ten-pin
get drunk on dirt-cheap bland

Insipid uninspired
watered-down piss-water
never bowl strikes or cheer

Sober alcoholics
go to The Limbo School
of drunken jigs and reels

Dance steps for sloppy drunks
lonesome housewives and bored
riddle solvers The Sphinx

Asks to answer puzzles
enigmas or questions
never distinct or clear

Yesterday her hunger
ravenous as a beast
rocked Death back on his heels

Reason Works Its Logic ~ Friday, 20 April 2018

The only way
anything gets
done in this world
is if someone
decides to take
the time to make
something of worth
and importance
happen. Values
don't suddenly
appear unless
someone stands up
and decides not
to till the soil.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Gravitas ~ Thursday, 19 April 2018

The question arises
why would a writer ask
somebody not to watch

Her favorite TV show
or go out with her friends
to the movies or drinks

Even prefer this book
to a night on the town
to stay at home and read

Quibble with a boyfriend
a husband or a wife
a girlfriend and her snatch

Ugly as it all sounds
words don't make for good times
except lyrics in songs

Everyone must decide
whether or not reading
is just a waste of time

Still nothing could compare
to champagne and chauffeurs
cognac and trips abroad

To Europe to Asia
not a care in the world
but anyone who thinks

In the air on a plane
from one place to the next
with no rest at full speed

Or on a cruise liner
sailing from port to port
is life at its ideal

No one says I don't feel
things get under your skin
that chef holding those tongs

Staring at the noodles
as if in a battle
with ramen against crime

Ask him if he would trade
a career in cooking
for a life in Riyadh

Noble a Saudi Prince
born into wealth grandeur
living in a desert

Still he goes where he wants
for business or pleasure
money is no object

When does this prince struggle
to not get his own way
to feel this world is real

Even if he begins
to feel life is absurd
whether an introvert

Reading some poetry
or as an extrovert
he is his own subject

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Janus ~ Tuesday, 17 April 2018

In April the snow falls
lightly it sticks a day
or two not thick the wind

Sweeps it swift as a breeze
if you sneeze you miss spring
flower petals and skirts

Twist the ear of a boy
his favorite toy in hand
he won't cry he will punch

Recklessly at the air
wasted effort and skill
never learned so rescind

Initial offers made
to find a champion
your son is no winner

As winter abandons
all hope to entertain
six months of cold weather

Chicago feels the heat
around the bend summer
sets the whole town ablaze

Only if you can gaze
long enough at the sun
does it turn blue the hertz

Ultraviolet rays
offer minimally
clad women at the beach

Notable for their tan
leather hides worn like skin
over their flesh and bones

They live to worship God
as a stellar fireball
with luck a beginner

Youthful novitiate
burns less with more dark cells
melanin leaves feather

Ripples off a duck's back
water splashes their skin
the cancer waits a phase

Endlessly as we wait
for spring to just begin
Quann laughs and smiles in bed

Given a hospital
is neither Istria
nor the Dalmatian coast

Italy to the west
the Adriatic Sea
washes pebble-sized stones

Over the feet of men
who watch crabs in tide pools 
their backs turn lobster red

No sunscreen to protect
their skin from the sun's rays
later at work they boast

The National Anthem ~ Tuesday, 17 April 2018

I wish I were the one
instead of you you beat
me to the punch I fell

Flat on the mat the crowd
cheered while I took a nap
I was down for the count

I wish you didn't go
away I lost a friend
while you tasted success

Do you still remember
when we talked in the park
and then I heard the bell

I was still in the match
they expect me to fight
but you already won

Even if I were great
and not just a loser
did I choose this failure

How will you remember
me when I go away
as you look back on life

Even if my success
is just integrity
not first place my account

Well-known among critics
by those who don't aspire
to write plays to confess

Only to my own crimes
misdemeanors and plans
which amount to nothing

No one wants to purchase
a script no one will watch
the value of a gun

Two shots into the back
of the head is a dream
for no one to procure

For my life means nothing
now my dear friend is gone
to overcome this strife

Only to seek an end
to commit suicide
she beat me to the punch

Remember Jennifer
no one cares once you're dead
but while I live they show

Greatness when they can show
their hate to hate others
foreigners makes them sing

Even my own brother
shows me his ignorance
full of contempt our lunch

Two beers no food just drinks
he hates whom he gave up
on here in Chicago

Monday, April 16, 2018

The Future Is Unwritten ~ Monday, 16 April 2018

Touch vinyl from the sleeve
my first at age thirteen
Combat Rock by The Clash

Hot from the Netherlands
with a poster inside
Topper still in the shot

Even with the return
of Terry Chimes the band
couldn't last Tory Crimes

For instance couldn't keep
internal politics
from making a mad dash

Until there were but two
Joe and Paul made a hash
of the band's last album

Try again fail again
fail better the magic
all but gone fairy dust

Unwritten the future
Strummer erased the board
the writing on the wall

Relax take a chill pill
but that wasn't his way
no drugs but pot he got

Everyone the message
he was in charge the force
to reckon with the times

Indeed come full circle
then explode into stars
at least for Mick he read

Smoke signals the Young Turk
blew his way should he stay
or should he go in sum

Under contract he played
guitar hero then left
when he saw no more trust

Nothing lasts forever
even Ali the G.O.A.T.
must retire got the call

Wonders never cease peace
finds the world through struggle
battles hard fought the cost

Real lives lost disappear
forever gone for good
for better or for worse

In music as marriage
all partners must be all
in no heroin dead

Trigger fingers shoot blanks
Nicky got the memo
got clean of junk lives lost

To smack an endless scroll
the roll call the call-up
to kill to die the hearse

Enters the cemetery
to drop off a dead soul
the spirit takes its leave 

Nothing left but a corpse
put the black vinyl back
return it to its sleeve

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Unworthy ~ Saturday, 14 April 2018

Why do I drink? Because
I'm an alcoholic,
or simply put, the son
of an alcoholic.
Not unlike royalty
but lacking in title.

The Court Fool ~ Saturday, 14 April 2018

So help me God, poetry requires wit. As poets, we never need to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This forum is not a court of law but a court of literary tradition. It is enough to show the tip of the iceberg to know the substance hidden beneath provides ballast. No matter how horrid or terrifying the truth, it is unnecessary to use in poetry. The reader only needs cues or hints to interpret the real from fantasy for herself. Therefore, a sharp mind and a quick turn of phrase are best to write fun yet intelligent verse. Humor is not just for court jesters or stand-up comedians. But poets who cannot fence and better off as blacksmiths than knights who battle for an age of chivalry long gone, possibly dead.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Heroine ~ Thursday, 12 April 2018

I'm all over the place
in my dreams with cries
and whispers on my bed

Against the hard headboard
my man likes when my screams
make our neighbors think twice

Maybe love unlike rape
isn't pure violence
but our sex feels that way

Ask me if I regret
hooking up in the dark
every night getting fed

Leftovers all sloppy
seconds stinking like week
old fish no I don't mind

Leave it to some beaver
to build dams between me
and my man if his hands

On another woman
earlier in the day
I got him drunk at night

Very much I enjoy
my drunk bitch ass nigger
bringing me home fried rice

Even if his dick smells
like some woman's pussy
I might know everyday

Real men need to feel loved
by more than one woman
with or without a glove

Turn a blind eye they say
he must experience
women I feel unkind

He has needs I have mine
sometimes he smells of ass
sometimes he makes demands

Eyes on the prize he looks
at both women and men
sometimes we argue fight

Play as if I'm worthless
no better than a whore
a kept woman too poor

Literally to leave
living like trailer park
white trash once you go black

Ask yourself if this life
is what you always thought
possible Lord above

Call me to pay respect
to brothers and sisters
if I must just to score

Equally well on tests
my man demands I take
to give head and buy smack

Circular Argument ~ Thursday, 12 April 2018

Why do I hate myself?
Because no one likes me.

Why does no one like me?
Because I hate myself.

Writer's Block ~ Thursday, 12 April 2018

Why do you hate yourself?
Because I cannot write.

Why is it you can't write?
Because I hate myself.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Villanesque ~ Wednesday, 11 April 2018

Ancient twisted karma since beginningless time
Nothing else arises to take its place two hands
Crumple a sheet of blank white paper for each crime

Is its own private hell but the first remains prime
Even as each grain slides along the glass the sands
Never lose their tempo since beginningless time

Tumble down the hourglass to the bottom a dime
Takes no time to drop down the coin slot if it lands
Wistfully on its side write down years for each crime

If I can't remember exactly the bells chime
Simply to make me think about how many strands
Twisted into a braid since beginningless time

Even her pony tail blackened with grease and grime
Describes little but fate tossed in a pot she stands
Kissed by karma actions up to date for each crime

Actions without desire fire silent as a mime
Repentance for mistakes made cover foreign lands
Mistakes happen ever since beginningless time
Ancient twisted karma limitless for each crime