Lacrimosa ~ Wednesday, January 24, 2024

God, where did I leave my keys, I believe
oblivion lived on dreams, reams of paper tigers, streams
drain to the ocean with no emotion

where, my upper sleeve, in order to grieve
help me cry a thousand tears, one a day, less than three years
even if the seams in my jeans break, teams
repair the notion of torn, a potion
even Anya wouldn't drink, Wonderland, boy, did it stink

did I make your ears burn, God, all the fears
in the world, I pray away, yesterday
did you imagine my lack of faith was real, just a craic

I forgot today was Wednesday, they say

limits turn you back, don't forget the smack
even if the ballpoint ink runs dry, my tongue licks the pink
artichoke of hope, feathers, just a trope
visions of black plums, stuck between my gums
even if Emily met Anya, your death is my debt

murdered yourself, dope, in the dark, I grope
yet, I cannot feel memories, I steal

kisses, you, when the time comes, in your coffin, goodbye, chums
even your lips, [beat], bet the world you forget
yesterday, you died but I had not cried
still, on my dad's reel-to-reel player, I listened to peel

I tasted your juice, fresh-squeezed orange, truce

belligerence ends, seek lasting peace, friends
even Anya shows the deuce, fingers not meant to seduce
lip service, she sends a message, defends
inside, open, pried, her grave, how I tried
ego aside, screams stifled, off the beams
visions, what do they achieve, sorrow cannot but deceive
even your death seems empty in extremes

Columbus ~ Sunday, January 21, 2024

I was born elsewhere, not anywhere near

where different people do things differently than people here
as I was not born anywhere nearby
sometimes I get stares, people need to clear

burning forests from their eyes, paradise with no way out
otherwise known as a foreigner, were
reason to account and I from Mumbai
no one would ever question, their minds always full of doubt

even the mirror makes them lose their clout
left alone, I feel safest, far from eyes
subjected to false judgments, ideas based on their own lies
even if language informs their goodbyes
wonders never cease to inform their spies
how to describe other's race in terms believed most devout
enter the new world past the ocean blue
reincarnate flesh, from Renaissance births
exit the depths with Dante but not with his guide, Virgil

now, I am aware how racism flew
over a child's head, easy to abuse
treat the Other as other, his weight in salt lacks worth, worse

anyone who prays, who dares keep vigil
not with the angels, nor with demons, sends
yet, a different message when ancestors, easy to lose
waiting for a child to witness the dead
how once forgotten, they become harpies
ever imaginary, raptors snatch and seize the dread
remember we came from elsewhere to seize
each day a wayward child must make new friends

nameless nobody, they chose to test, fourteen ninety-two
every answer wrong for I did not know
a boy from Bombay should know how to grow
remember, I never heard songs about the ocean blue

Absence Makes the Heart Founder ~ Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Against the river, the flow of traffic
be afraid, very afraid, consequences and effects
swallow humans whole, blue serge, the bird prince
enters karmic streams, surveys cuts, graphic
noblesse oblige, the prince blows a kiss, a bubble, his art
cuts against the grain, swirling, a vortex
emerges, pushes, artists must convince

Make the heart founder, capsize, leaky valves, defects and holes
anxiety, blood pulses, art must start
karkíne, claws raised, against the maelstrom
entitled to feel privileged, emotions burst forth, pure lies
sever artifice, bang a crab-shaped drum

touch ventricular myopathy, spies
hone cleavers in the kitchen, chicken kitten shoots three goals
embolic hat trick, sclerotic plaques scrape

Honor, dignity, integrity, sin
empires founder, ancient dust, ground to a halt, nations rust
affective, old crab, actions beyond rape
report works and deeds, the police insist
turncoat, the bird prince devours angst from the fetal dustbin

Forgotten children abused, cut the crust
objections aside, chartreuse makes him sick
under magenta nimbi, delight in red skies, resist
naval gymnastics, exercises keep
dreams in check, mated in chess, take your pick
emerge from the urge to shake the bird prince awake from sleep
red flags, vermilion emits from the beak

Cold Case Solved ~ Monday, January 15, 2024

I was not murdered

well,
    at least, I had that going for me
        seems better than the alternative

not being murdered
    of course, seems better than being dead
        then again, I may be wrong

murder seems so heinous
    until you add torture and abuse
        really, stuff you never get over
            deliberately ignorant
                even if they can't solve the crime
                    reason takes its time
                        even after three decades
                            decent people know better

Accountability ~ Friday, January 12, 2024

Annoying people never consider
not how annoying they are, they think they are in the right
nothing is further from the truth, hidden
objectively from conscious awareness
yet, obvious to others, like a blind spot to vision
impossible to remove without help
no one notices until it's too late
given past mistakes, hubris hides the facts behind closed doors

people never know how when they describe
each person they see as in a mirror
only mind observes itself through descriptive language games
people remain blind and live in the dark
language allows us to see mind clearly
even in the dark insight lights a spark to the gateway

nothing but the self as a block to mind
even with access, otherness prevails
versions of the self, the same, arise as they block the view
ever-present, mind is clear as daylight
remember the sun, far beyond the clouds

consider the mind guiding each person to choose the good
obviously, greed, delusion, and hate
needlessly get in the way of the path
still, this one sacred lifetime seems to be never enough
if to walk the way to pure clarity
difficult to climb to such brilliant heights
each person thus endeavors to simply live until death
remorse always comes to mind in the end

My Quantum Psycho Killer ~ Friday, January 12, 2024

"We are vain and we are blind 

I hate people when they're not polite"*

If you meet someone by chance, chances are
nothing of importance comes from indirect encounters
still love may happen at parties and such
if you believe in talismans, by far
given your proximity, you might be dead by midnight
not that that always happens, he counters
indeed that he met his girlfriend as such
fictions do occur by luck but most of the time, yeah, no
in a heartbeat, you might get in a fight
cause of death, murder by mishap, the blur
as time always shoots forward with poisoned arrows that land
not on target with the bullseye, drunks slur
their words, the past long gone, you watch the sand

over and over drop down from high, as if the stars throw
through relative heights, darts from a distance
how spooky actions of entanglement
entice people to find love as if schemes were heaven sent
reach out, the hourglass needs a tap, let's dance

---

*"Psycho Killer" ~ Song by Talking Heads

Songwriters: Chris Frantz / David Byrne / Tina Weymouth

Psycho Killer lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Σῆρες ~ Wednesday, January 10, 2023

Σῆρες

I just want to die but for some reason

juvenescence keeps alive bodies of the young at heart
underhanded rogues guide the ship to port
still the role I play engaged in treason
triumphs even over death, this metaphysical strife

wastes the will to live with struggle, an art
agents of the dark conceal outside court
no one but daimonion, the ferryman of lost souls
takes the time to stab, goading with a knife

to make sense of pain and perceived torture
obey all the given rules, unspoken and unwritten

death, after this life, in want of future
intrigues, uncertain, curtains fall, kitten
even if I could just cry but this lacks sense, attain goals

bittersweet chocolate, I drink with black milk
until I escape this life where I dwell
taken away from my home, inside this prison and work

for some how easy, they wear Chinese silk
obey since childhood the rules and the law
rote actions done right in mind arise no question of hell

success comes easy, work they do not shirk
obviously, lives lived with no mistakes
money, capital, riches, a perfect world without flaw
entitled privilege, property, control

rest in other's hands, thus, my punishment
even my made-up status, as a scapegoat, takes its toll
ask me if I care, for why was I sent
so far from my home, is this just the breaks
over and over, I die, in this life, I cannot cry
nothing left old man, now why even try

Predetermined Arbitrary Randomness ~ Monday, January 8, 2024

One day, he woke up; in his hand, a cup
not that this was any worse; his life was a little curse
even the coffee tasted like toffee

different, not himself, someone else, a shelf
absent of books he would read; he saw tall trophies instead
yesterday, he slept until his wife wept

he woke, she was gone; my God, what went wrong
each sip he took, he felt great; but whose life was this mistake

winter, he was warm inside, he felt calm
only, it was night; they had had a fight
kiss and make up, now, no chance; with whom would he learn to dance
each moment felt strange; he longed for the grange

underneath the skin, his flesh, it seemed thin
perhaps he would soon awake, as himself again, no shake

in another world, a red flag unfurled
no one ever knows how politics goes

he, too, soon awoke, a joke; why in God's name was he broke
in his hand, a rope to hoist; what a dope
sucker to the charm; to raise the alarm

how to make sense of the change; how they make to disarrange
ask himself but who; the state has a clue
no one but the state who decides his fate
decides, without any choice; no one ever has a voice

actively resist, no one would insist

create sense afresh, but now he must thresh
until the blue corn husks fall, he found meaning, he felt small
pray tell, his dimple, his chin, so simple

Caught ~ Monday, January 1, 2023

"As if to behave means the world to save"

Neutrality wins over past sins
over political hype, men who rape
teenage innocence, morbid without sense
hide in rubbish bins, their quivering chins
inside filth, silent, in tears, hearing cheers
no moment to wipe their eyes, or escape
guns of violence rule by militants

Caution, murder rules the day, watch the fray
how to settle fears, as ignorance nears
angels and heroes observe these zeroes
nothing changes before death, take a breath
gossip for scarecrows, this world, no one knows
enter the fray, stealth shows the way, Lethe
sick recurrent dreams, do they go away

on New Year's Day, war in Gaza, they bore
needlessly, the hate, political weight

New Year's Day, shattered windows, rubble, crows
emptiness, no more compassion, we swore
wickedness must end, justified, we send

Young willing soldiers as bait, ravel fate
entertainment shows a grave no one knows
a party, a rave, the lessons we crave
reason itself cannot mend what they bend
sanity and dreams, all they hear are screams

Diplomacy works, fits and starts, time shirks
as cries shake the rafter beams, rip the seams
yesterday, our quirks make us look like jerks

Nothing Changes ~ Monday, January 1, 2024

Forget yesterday, the plan for today
is to watch college football, oh the gall
remember your plans, feed the ducks, hold hands
suck his cock, hooray, touchdown, swallow spray
transcend the abuse, my love, hand in glove

Dick in your face, call your mom and dad, bawl
as you suck his glans penis, pots and pans
yes, my love, put in the wash, lest he bash

orders from above, keep the peace, my dove
forget tomorrow, only more sorrow

tragically hip, what a life, as his wife
he makes you borrow money, so hollow
entertain the knife, plunge it deep, such strife

Yesterday, you show some flash for some cash
each day it gets worse, who drives in the hearse
as his wife, you say you have rights, portray
reality, as you curse your small purse