**** this ****

we need to take our own land
build a house and live off the grid
no one gives a **** about the law of the land
we'll fight the law and well, we'll win

there's an old saying:
if you build it, he will come
and we'll be waiting
in our house with our rifles
making a sea of blue blood

i like writing best when i
subject you all to esoteric subjects
subjective glints of my subpar world

but to make one's poems universally translatable
one has to make them inherently relatable
a subject that i find quite debatable

because where's the fun in poetry writing
if i can't write about my old-man-sighting
wielding a lighter in hand, he tried lighting
spilled gasoline, which was quite frightening!

i think he was on crack

a man came up to me at a party and said
"i don't know how to talk to people"
and with a drunken laugh and a nod of my head
i responded, "bro that's SO relatable"

i invited a non-binary friend
on a 3-day cabin trip
and on the first, they said to me
"this has made me realize
i can't recall a time where i've been truly content.
this is the happiest i've been in a long time"
they put a hand on my shoulder
"you're a good friend"
and with that, my year was made

walking in the mall, between a Sephora and a Lids,
"hey buddy! you wanna help feed Haitian kids?"

"why, sure!" i said, "you're in luck!"
strolled over to his booth and gave him five bucks

"now am i able to ask you another question?"

"sure bro" i replied, "you seem pretty ni—"

"DO YOU SUPPORT THE LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST?"

"what..
no sir, but i just try my best to be a good person"

"WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE?"

"well logically there isn't any evid—"

"im gonna stop you right there. let me share a little story"

"man im really just tryna buy a skateb—"

"ALRIGHT SO EVERYDAY ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO I WAS SMOKIN' CRACK *******.."

sitting with a friend after dark
a car pulls up alongside the park
a young man walks out alone
"hey guys someone stole my phone!
i was lying in the grass when it fell out
i asked someone to help me out
he called it, called it, and called it again
then found it and ran
******* it man!"

"**** bro that's a tough blow
did you happen to recall his info?"

"well i remember his car and i believe his name
i'm just going through a lot and i'm sick of these games"

"do you think we can call it?"

"he powered it off..
stupid ******* *****," he scoffed
"guys i just don't know what to do. im going through a lot of mental health issues right now, and i don't mean to get too dark but i've seriously considered killing myself recently. that phone had a lot of personal videos of me documenting my thoughts and whatnot. this is driving me crazy"

"hey man trust me i've been there before
you gotta find someone to help you through the door
my case worker helped me a lot with that
my suicidal thoughts are a thing of the past
now do you think we could perhaps call the cops?"

"well it's late, i'd probably be stuck here a while right?
i'll just drive to my moms to spend the night
**** i wish i'd found you guys first. thank you"
and he drove off

my friend then turned to me
"i should've given him a hug, man
i feel like if i asked him if he wanted a hug, and started walking towards him with my arms outstretched and just did it
he would've started crying
that would've helped him more than anything"

at the Topsfield fair i saw my friend Karen
"oh hey Karen what're you doing here?"
"oh you know, just fairin'"

at work
one rainy tuesday night, busy as can be
managing manchildren, yet the best one said to me:
"ryan, some are here for a paycheck, others are here to make money"

perhaps foreshadowing, i went home and made an apple turnover

the effervescent ebbs and flows
of the prepubescent testosterone shows
over phosphorescent nighttime snow
dreaming prescient futures that nobody knows

they say you gotta learn Python to be in the know
pandas, numpy, and tensorflow!

it's like the whole path's been java-scripted
but the iceberg's there and you've not yet tipped it!

the kids on the streets all write ACAB
you gotta get them beat and write in MATLAB!

C with a hashtag and C double-crossed
get to Swift swiftly or you'll be at a loss!

pirates say "arrr" but coders say R
PHP, Ruby, Kotlin, and Dart!

so when you get discouraged, just remember these words:
coding is fun, and it's cool to be a nerd! :)

two birds circling, unsure
one only sides by the stoners
how do i tell her
without digging the seed
that just this past week
i've quit ****

wrapped up in a two hour daydream
thinking of what the future might be
needing to tell others but neglecting,
the world doesn't need to see that part of me

remember that cute girl at the grocery store?
the one you didn't say anything to?
ok now roll that back and imagine..
because what else is there to do?

spiraling thoughts lose all purpose
can't talk to people, can't be alone
yet my happiness depends on making others happy
a skill i don't think i've yet honed

because my whole being is the epitome of empathy
if you don't care about yourself,
well, you're cared by me
such is the life of an INFP-T

im sorry

stirring pots at Big Lots
adding lots of Motts and rotten apricots!
neither of which ever got bought
workers don't know i do it a lot
stealing groceries is pretty hot!
telling corporations they got got!

enslaved by fire
forced to watch, our souls
collective masochism
hive mind tragedies
the hand that feeds
whose existence is ceased
singing no more
melodies, somber
softly if any
a wince in the ether
beacons deceive her
ripples of light
rorschachs of sky
tearing our pages
erasing guests
laugh at,
meaningless

dead leaves ground-bound
look like tiny stegosauruses
i stop running for a second glance
the drugs put me in this mess

and the reflection of the streetlights on Lynn Shore Drive
makes another runner appear in front of me
and i'm always behind
still, i alter my mind

and on the drive home i saw four kids pushing each other in a shopping cart
to show them how real life could be art
it brought a tear to my eye to notice that sight
i turned away and decided i'd try Molly tonight

Sometimes I wish I was a cow
Blessed with ignorance
Unaware of sorrow
Of anger
Of violence
Of remorse
Sometimes I wish I was a dog
Incapable of rage
Forgiving to a fault
Free from the burden of regret
Sometimes I wish I wasn’t at all.

It's been a year
A year since
Since the start
The start of the pandemic

And now I return
Return back
Back to the office
Back to my khakis

james was a solo loner
he made friends with the local stoners
met a girl named beth
who sold him some ****
and now he's got a *******

james has got **** in his mind
he's discovered people of his kind
two in the pink
one in the stink
and "Oh, what's that from behind?"

james stood up from the floor
he impatiently walked to the door
the half-life grew nearer
as he looked in the mirror
and said "**** man i need some more"

'du er vakker'
is what i say,
but,
'jeg elsker deg'
is what i think

a half century ago,

a child is raised
to have one of his own
it's life's funny way
of keeping me unknown

connected is the family tree
branches held so tight
won't break so easily
no matter all my might

maybe i'll be a science ****
or a mathematician
whatever it is, they say that
i'll be just like him

i said i have to come clean
i'm not who you want me to be
so i bought a can of gasoline
to burn this family tree

after the flame, after the ashes
the light starts to dim
i think, maybe my son will hate me
just like him

got beet by the slaw
raabed a bank in arugaland
endive into your brain
reveals all that romaines
"lettuce break free!"
"it's not that chard!"
but until you turnip
the money for bail
you'll be stuck
in kale jail

"what else is new?!"
yelled the fast food crew
watching some ******* dude

put his ******* mouth on the ketchup dispenser nozzle

i deserve a life sentence
for killing all this time
writing these sentences
that occasionally rhyme

Softly fluttering through the sky
Black polka dots atop a body as
Red as the pictures of my dog's eyes
Break from your flight

Legs pitter pattering
Over the plastic
Seeking a smattering
Of grape essence

Can you comprehend
What you're walking on?
Do you understand how
Bad it is for the environment?

No, you can't
Cause you're a
Stupid ***
*******
Piece
Of
****
Ladybug

get off my bag of grapes

the future is near!
with ultra-mega-sonic trains
and computer chips up in our brains!
who takes pictures with their phones?
we have cameras in our eye cones!
old zoomers may not like the aesthetic
but think, would people be more empathetic?

photos showing exactly how people see

videos and livestreams right from their eyes

one's own thoughts being able to be heard

unfiltered perspectives shared across the world

the current justice system rendered null-and-void

with streams from all the future George-Floyd's

so just take a chance, and you will see
how the future will have more empathy!

if you had bought the TSLA calls i wrote in the notes of: https://hellopoetry.com/poem/4448684/rectangles-and-lines/

you would've tripled your money.

this is not a joke. i AM a financial advisor. listen to my ******* investment advice. the SEC can lick my taint

if i won the lottery
most folks would ask me
to share
and to their dismay
i would say nay
turn and walk away

now the ones who ask nothing—
the ones who enjoy my company
walk to the lighthouse
get coffee with me
the ones who know what it means to be
genuine people

they are the ones
who'll receive my money

is wondering why she always texts back when you're thinking of her

until you realize

it's because you're always thinking of her

Armstrong gets all the credit
before long she'll have her fair share
she beat him i tell you!
months before the supposed "first steps"
she jumped in her rocket
and brought her instruments!

maybe one day i'll meet Lucia
build my own rocket and fly away!
we'll sing and play and color all day
oh me oh my we'll be so glad
to show the moon people records by Stereolab!

some say she died in a hospital in LA
but i know she's still up there,
enjoying the day!

limping Lynn could never get a win
she drowned her sorrows in pounds of gin
then one day
she went to AA
and now she knows where to begin!

wooden cabin of the nowhere forest
front door barricaded by snowstorms
icicles glistening beneath windowsills
through the panes, a faint light

the fireplace
oh, the fireplace that provides
us with warmth from the outside
illuminating the outline
of the marshmallows that lie
atop cups of hot cocoa

and on the couch we lay
in each other's embrace
in these sweaters that keep us
from ever leaving this place

as the fire hums lower
embers orange-red
i wonder shall i get
dry wood from the shed?
but why disturb the moment
a moment too good to be true
tonight the couch is our bed
and i rest here with you

Today, let's do a 10 minute meditation
To help keep you in your present situation
To focus on the now, and ease your mind
Now keep calm, let's see what you find

Sit up straight, that's the first step
Then close your eyes, take deep breaths
Release the tension, let go of it all
Feel the calm, and heed my call

Find a focus point, I prefer my breath
But if you wish, focus on your chest
Notice the rise upon inhalation
Let it out, keep your concentration

To help stay grounded, here's a mantra for you
"The future can wait, the present is your view"
Repeat in your head, don't pause or quiver
To help even more, here are sounds of a river

"Woosh woosh woosh, glug glug glug"
No that's not my voice, are you on drugs?—𝘉𝘈𝘕𝘎
What was that you ask? That's the sound of my gong
It reminds you to focus, is that so wrong?

Now just stay quiet
It's almost the end
Just sssssshhhhhhhhhhhh
And when you're ready,















OPEN YOUR EYES
OPEN THEM NOW
LOOK AT ALL THE PAIN
THERE IS ONLY SUFFERING

YOUR PARENTS HAVE LEFT YOU
THERE IS STILL NO MILK
YOUR MONEY IS GONE
THE ROOM IS ON FIRE

HATRED IS EVERYWHERE
EVERYONE IS RACIST
EVEN THE ELEPHANTS
THAT WOULD BE THE CASE IF THE ELEPHANTS WEREN'T DEAD

ALL BABIES HAVE TERMINAL CANCER
THE TREES ARE CUTTING THEMSELVES
THE WALLS ARE CAVING IN
YOU HAVE AN ORAL PRESENTATION DUE TODAY







alright, that's the end, thanks for listening
have a lovely day

****! ****! i need ****!
enough to feel a sense of death!
adderall's not the same at all!
if you've got the real **** pls gimme a call

Sideline standing
I can see
Ink crashing down
So gracefully

Line after line
Letters arise
Melding into words
Without compromise

Oh my god
When will he stop?
He keeps writing
He won't stop writing

*******
HE WON'T STOP
THIS IS INSANE
JESUS ****

He's almost at the end of the page
Wow
What happens when he reaches the end?
I should've brought popcorn

Wait

What is he doing?
Oh I see

He's letting me climb onto his pen!
Front row seats!

Wait, where is he going?
The window?
No don't put me outside please
nonono

NO



windowsill standing
i can see
sun setting down
so dreadfully

where can i go
where i can be free
when all the other houses
would've killed me

Hello Mister Sun
It's been twelve hours since I've seen you
I haven't slept since then
But it's good to know
Someone will always be there for me

nutmeg ned sheds his bed-head, upon signing he said,
"elephants lament lamont's amendment
so i smirk, smile, and smugly smoke
for i, ned, am a newlywed ****-head"

when the rungs of the ladder break from above
only the strong-willed and agile can cling to the sides
and keep on climbing

mother's womb
is a trap
parent's home
is a trap
cheap apartment
is a trap
my house
is a trap
hospital bed
is a trap
coffin
is a trap
the concept of freedom
trap
the word "escape"
trap
thoughts
trap

no escape

bugs are scary

creepy crawly legs
trek up my own
biting my skin
feeding on my blood
for nothing but sustenance

when it comes to
bugs,
and me,
and the meadow im lying in
there simply isn't enough room
for all parties involved

so i took shrooms

there is no pain
i feel no bugs
yet we see all bugs
all bugs are dancing
in a constant state of dancing
they dance and they eat
we dance and we eat
in the meadow

for the meadow is home
there has never been another home but the meadow
the meadow encapsulates all beings that matter
the bugs
only the bugs

for i am the bugs
WE are the BUGS
THE BUGS ARE US
WE ARE THE CHILDREN
WE ARE THE WORLD
WE WILL SING UNTO
YOU, THE MEADOW
ANCIENT HYMNS FROM THE UNDERGROUND
LISTEN WITH YOUR SOUL
WE ARE DANCING

and we have danced
we danced until the sun stopped setting
for the sun can never rest
will never rest
in the presence of us, the bugs
the beautiful, beautiful bugs
we love the bugs
i love the bugs

bugs used to be scary

he's got a farmer's tan and a southern drawl
always picks up when his mother calls

lives and dies inside the coal mines
gives to charity in his spare time

hunts by himself for wild game to eat
because he can't stand industrialized factory-farmed meat

wears a leather jacket with a gold stitched title
looking ready to **** riding his motorcycle

and it's electric

they think
i'm their therapist
that my advice is gold
but they don't know
i'm trying to see
at 19 years old
if my hairline's receding
or if i'm just being told
by the chemicals in my mind
that i'm not worthy of my goals
that i'm not worthy of the folks
i've met along the way
the ones who claim to respect me
not meaning what they say
and the girls try to flirt
i stand poker-faced daydreaming
nightmares of how i'll be hurt
should i shave my head
to lose weight
or will the stress take it first?

"...out onto the concrete apron, where the Credit Card elite are tanking up and stretching their legs and tweezing their undershorts out of the aging waxy folds of their scrota, and I am out there carrying a Shell oil can in both hands like a bladder totem, around the corner, to the toilet..."

bridgers bridges binging pigeons bringing
phoebe's folk-rock fusion for epiphany-flinging
supreme shape-shifting sad song singing

i like to think we evolved from plants
and once we roll up our sleeves
we can photosynthesize sunlight
if we just believe

vices, vices
for some it's devices
you ask what the price is
think of time cut into slices
hindsight, life wasted
dragon, you chased it
pepperoni allocated
alabaster brain created
power washing neurons, water
from Lake Huron, sought her a crack pipe
till he fought back on the hard life
now we heard through the grapevine
come round to Becket and you can get
the finest joint rolled by a priest from Sarasota
at the highest point on I-90 east of South Dakota

plastic bags sadly sag
when filled with food that people snag

cause even though shoppers are enthused
the bags are sad knowing they won't be reused

in a world where statements are judged
through the lens of a microscope
how does it feel
to be right onstage?
to be picked clean of all your cherries
to be a pawn in the infamous journalistic cycle
processing those cherries
feeding them to consumers
who eat too many
and complain about you
as the journalists win
they always do

yes, severe illness is more common amongst overweight individuals
yes, vaccines help
yes, government is too focused on treating symptoms rather than root causes to health issues
yes, the global economy would save trillions if healthy habits were more commonplace

but,
it is well known that everyone is awesome
it is well known that CEOs ****
it is well known that journalists are trustworthy
it is well known that you've lost a few customers today

because in a world where facts are opinions
and opinions are facts
maybe you should just shut up
and stick to the salads, jon

we don't make the rules