Lucy quickly bit the dust / an electric shock to her ****
Her life was nasty, brutish and short / squeamish lovers of mice retort
But those in homes with mice who fume / must insist upon her doom

Blackbirds flit, berries sway
Red with beauty, health, abundance
Many feed the few

If only...
        If only they hadn't gotten sick
                and lost their jobs and their benefits
        If only they hadn't been abused as child
                they wouldn't have landed in juvey and been a criminal
        If only they were strong enough to never reach for relief from life's problems
                never drink
                    or drug
                        or have *** with strangers

    If only they were perfect, like me.
    And didn't waste their resources on dinners and drinks and casinos, like me.
    If only the never quarreled with their family over things past or get fired, like me.
    They wouldn't have any problems, just like me
    So why should I be told to care?

Why should I care?

Just like being gay, they choose to be homeless.
Do they ever consider the problems of not being normal?
I wonder as I pass the debris of Occupy Seattle.
Besides the cold and hunger…
Besides being wet and frozen…

They have the problem of what to do with their jar of ***.
Passing by I saw five lined up atop the red brick retaining wall, and I wondered.
When you *** into a jar, your hands get splashed, the bottle is *****.
So how do you keep clean and fresh?
And how much weight can you carry every day anyway?
       And where can you go to get rest?
Even finding a place to sit and rest is a problem.
No one wants them around.

Did they think about these things before they decided to become homeless?


But why should I care?

Be normal. It can’t be that hard to apply for a job without a computer.
To clean up and get to the interview.
I’m sure they could afford a cell phone to get their messages.

And if they have a phone, then they can call or ask for help from all their family and friends.
Everyone has friends and family who will help.
Everyone normal.

So why should I care?

It’s their own fault, if only they hadn’t. If only they weren’t
Then they wouldn’t need my help
And I could keep it all
My work, my taxes
My reward for following society’s rules.
For being normal

Why should I care?

If only they hadn’t gotten sick
Then they wouldn’t have lost their jobs and their benefits.
If only they hadn’t been abused
Physically, sexually, mentally
Then they wouldn’t be damaged.
If only they hadn’t relieved their pain
Then they wouldn’t be addicted to drugs, *** and alcohol.

If only they hadn’t, if only they weren’t,
then they would be perfect, like me.

I would never waste my resources
By eating too much,
drinking too much,
spending too much
I would never quarrel with my family and friends
And use up my all my social credit, my goodwill by needing help
You will never have to worry about me.

So why should I care?

In Iraq teenagers are being killed over a hairdo
Protecting God from Satan

In Uganda, men and women are being ***** and killed for being gay.
Protecting God from human love and diversity

In Turkey children are burned alive
Protecting God from a book called Satanic Verses

In America abortion doctors are killed
Protecting God from those who **** babies

But no one targets the Department of War
No one protects God from the killers

Haircuts, Books and Love
The nuts rattle against the pan until, over heated,
they explode

But only against the weak
Never against those who promote war
or those who communicate by torture

How do you know you are God?
By the ache in your heart and the love you have
for the good, the bad and the nutty

No. 1
Bend curl straighten soothe a restless metalsmith's willpower
tortures restless atoms into new shapes
A metalsmith decides the boundaries and limits
Their willpower rules another's world

No. 2
Red accents in air, in hair, floating with a stroke of a pen
The trees hair getting a makeover
with the stroke of each season
Changed again with a pen into indelible images of fall