beginning like any other day I took my two feet and placed them on the cold floor
tongue and grove faux oak laid north to south in a diagonal house, pre-dawn quiet
flittering dust bunnies darted in every direction seeking the perfect hiding spot
a place with the ability to avoid the wild, free-range vacuum known for destroying whole families
toes stretched reaching for the opposite walls as if I might grow eight extra legs
and then I would really never know where I am going
the Pisces in me I suppose….
she slightly shifted her breathing patterns as my weight redistributed the mattress foam
inaudible mumbles and a soft sigh passed lips on the very edge of slumber’s embrace
the corners of my own turned up as hers is the voice my ears were destined to hear
straightening the comforter so as to snuggle her in tight until the snooze button
the blood within my veins seemed to speed up and flush my cheeks with rose
overcome with gratefulness and peace I cast watery eyes to the window
just in time to see a large red-headed woodpecker eyeballing our scene
hopping from post to post to seemingly get a better view, he cocked his head slightly
giving me a nod of approval….
at least that was my interpretation –

in the mindset
of an ole ***** spiritual
plantation style
when the long hot days
could only be battled
by singing what would one day
be called the blues
travel with me, all ya’ll
to a humid crop
circa 1837
with the hippest pickers
in all the region….
a little taste:

the foreman, a blue black
towering figure
bag slung
sweat dripping
starts quiet and low
but soon all join in:

masssa gonna whip up good
***** gonna whip us bad
***** gonna whip us smiling
***** gonna whip us sad
***** loves he whip

***** gonna whip us eatin
masssa gonna whip us starved
masssa gonna whip us easy
masssa gonna whip us hard
***** loves he whip

-----The field seems to move in unison now
as each member of the crew
feel the rhythm and sing along in time -----

***** gonna whip my woman
***** gonna whip my chile
***** gonna get a splinter
wont whip me for a while
***** loves he whip

masssa gonnna whip my skin raw
***** gonna turn me red
masssa gonna whip me so hard
make me wish that I was dead
***** love he whip

----The sun is setting now on the plantation
but the song carries late into the eve
as we travel forward in time we hear the faint echoes
from a troubled past ------

***** gonnna whip my po back
***** gonna whip my legs
***** gonna whip my momma
make me scream and make me beg
****** loves he whip

In the midst of human chaos
we might seek out the beauty
of celestial love.
Can I get an Amen?
A-MEN!

In the midst of celestial love
we might glimpse the power
of the unconquerable human spirit.
Can I get an Awe-women?
AWE-WOMAN!

In the midst of human spirit
we perceive the tenderness
of the eternal human soul.
Can I get an Aww-men?
AWW-MEN!

In the midst of the human soul
we might find jealousy and hatred,
the sources of human conflicts.
Can I get an Ahh-men?
Ahh.  Men.

In the midst of human conflicts
we might find the love and soul
to disagree in harmony.

Can I get an A-men?

your echoes die,
your voice is doused by life*

the minutiae washed away
and ground down to sand
dispersed in vesper tides

the feel of your touch
now just froth and bubble
food for fish and crablings


last words whispered on
the wind, whipped away

whilst i was busy,
making lists
and counting coins

oh to hear your shout
one last time
but no
you have left this place

and we must look to living
and leave the detrius
to the sea's forgiveness

parental idealism
and information sought
bucking the family traditions
or embracing long-held values
our first break from individualism
is being born into a pre-existing structure..
well-defined gender lines
and sublime reminders of the familial crest
through dinnertime blessings and dressing
in your Sunday best..
t ’is a tie, we find
seeking the second in line
winding through the mind of the bound concubine
eternally enslaved for simply misbehaving
the charade (long A) displays a case
for race mixing and fixing the broken capitalist system
as either the church of choice
or privately funded institutions
publically traded on wall street
take the reins and betray a nation
by infecting the most manipulation-able citizens
and treating them with poisonous nutrients
and filling open and willing minds
with lies about Jesus and George Washington
brain-washing them
embalming them
condemning them
to slow death….
before considering bringing
another human into this system
re-examine everything you have been told


……………………………….the advice truly is sound –