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21.1k · May 2013
Mango Tree
Geno Cattouse May 2013
Granny.took a switch to me.

But I insisted on raiding the big mango tree.

The big rainbow  ones hung kinda low.

The sweet yelllow ones were close to the limb.
They would sometimes come down In a huge carribean gust.
And splatter.

The young unripe green ones. Were my favorite. Treat.
With crushed habaneros mixed in with some salt.



Or mango. Sweet mango ice cream.
Oh. Yeah let me dream.
Read ME AND AGUSTIN.
9.8k · Mar 2014
Jumble Liar
Geno Cattouse Mar 2014
Hey. I said I do to a sociopath.
No winey snivel.
No quibble.
No ****.

BPD= Borderline personality disorder.=sweet insanity.= submerged insecurity = indian giver = lifelong victim=child manipulator.
Slick as snot running below the radar.
Now.
Dropping pretty baggage
Finding perspective.
WOW.
Amazing what can reside in a mid sized cranium.
Disneyland in cog neat O.

Frued would have missed
This one.
8.1k · Oct 2012
Age of Aquarius
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
I had Joe Willie from jump. The Jets were off the chain
Baltimore benched Johnny U cause he knew the game. And played it too.

The AFL was full of bells and whistles.Speed kills
Three yards and a cloud of dust. Get real coach. We shootin rockets to da moon. High tops . Cmon pops.

Change the guard.
Them people ain't done nothing to me said Ali.
Da Nang ain't my thang.  He was the greatest. Still is.

The Haight was great.  Oh yeah Kent STATE.
1968. Open the gate to the house of the rising sun.
Joplin. And Jimmy. Marvin and Tammy.

The Doors and Hair. ****** in the air
What rhymes with Agent Orange...... Nothing.
Inevitably when I write I drift back to the sixties , seventies and even the eighties . Those times were scary and normal/safe at the same time. A convergence of many things that are  seared into my being forever.
8.1k · Jun 2013
Calculus
Geno Cattouse Jun 2013
You can't miss

What you can't

Measure.
Lyrics from a song I once knew.
Thanks for the memories Susan O.
6.6k · Sep 2012
The Nam # 2.5
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
The Viet Nam era was a witches brew.Mission creep in  Saigon
The evening news brought the ****** trips stumbling into
my TV dinner, kicking over my Tang.

Bouncing Betty went bang
Beans and ***** out the can.

Guys in my age bracket  knew it was safe cause 18 was the magic Number.
RESPECT
Simon and Garfunkel ,The godfather of soul.
What we.
Had Here.
Was.
Failure to Communicate.

We were reaching for the stars with one hand and
squeezing of rounds with the other. Bobby was in the crossfire
Martin would retire,
I remember.

Guys slinking back home with broken minds
Baby killers all. No love ,No jobs. COMBAT FATIGUE.           PTSD     Came later.
Got a monster habit, Nose running of  like a racetrack rabbit.

Oh yeah Asian Strain Gonorrhea.
Penicillin
Penishmillin.  ***

Hendricks.
5.3k · Sep 2012
Much Ado
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
Hip hop. Equals art stop. That crude **** stopped musical fusion
Right in its tracks.
When it first landed, it was still music with a lotta spittle flying.
Not naming names. I listened to a lot of it.
Then Gangsta rap hit. Oh ****

Cant accuse me of blind judgment, I still check it out from time to time
How do you say.Get diverse mud flappers. Know the history.
learn to play an instrument and read it so you can write it. Then come back an see me.

Who am I?.
John Q public.
Pavlov's dog.
Tin Pan Ali.
Long Tall sally.
Sachmo. Scratch less.
Yard-bird.
Donald Bird.
Stubborn ****.

Stuff out there is weak as thrice used tea bags. And cost more to get unless you  got
a peg leg and a parrot ******* on yer shoulder.
Lyrically, man my six year old says more about less with **** left over. What?

Flame out digitized No talent constructs that make me wanna hurl, url give a dog a bone.
Tin eared, tone def hoochies and synthetic cool cats. Not to mention the rough neks.
Looking like they pooped their pants six times and forgot how to belt up.

There are some real deal talents out there but it is like pickin peanuts out ****.

After disco died. Yes I said disco. It has been a circle **** in the cemetery after dark. Naw mean.

But I digress.
  .
was up late and goofy
5.1k · Oct 2012
CRED.
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
I cant write tonite  cause my head is out on leave. This is sooooo not like me.
But guess what this is a launch pad for me.Numbles I call it. My ***** it place where lazy minded magic happens. unfocused to absurdity. Oozy woozy just say what you wanna say. My mother hates that part of me but at my age what will change. No harm ,no foul.

My mother is eighty nine and still molding me. Man if she only knew the holes I have crawled in and out of Like the March Hare always running late. A day late and a dollar short.  *******. Back in the day. Pre crack but just barely. Saw the beginnings of the demise of dignity. kneeling down in dark alleys and between parked cars in blazing sun. Was not about to try that one. My nose was  an Oreck. That was fly enough for me.

Bright lites big city going through my head. I don't care cause you don't care.
I built myself a edge by hanging round Poco Locos, mind you round not with. Playing Russian roulette mad ******* mad dogs. Clowning With hard heads with nothing to lose. Those guys taught me not to blink by osmosis.

I didn't think I was tough just committed. Riding that diesel till the wheels came off.
Something behind my eyes I think or maybe something missing from them . More than a few Ride or die types just didn't trust what they saw. Man was I stupid.

To this day I cant say what it is . Pound for pound big guys would turn around. The exquisite buzz of hard liquor came trundling out of my mouth in seething cold poetry and they became less than nothing in the moment. Spontaneous malevolence. It was gonna happen for good or ill. Cats would look at me and do Chinese algebra. I could hear the abacus click. Maybe I wasn't worth the hassle. Maybe.

Dude I am five foot six never topped 200 lbs.
Dad never showed. I still love him. I look in the glass and he looks right back at me.
Only heard he was an oddity. Guess I garner it honestly.

Lucky in cards. Unlucky in love. I cant play cards it never interested me.
Love on the other hand. Nothing but sevens. I would not insult myself by claiming to have game. I think women liked my honesty. Honestly .If I cant say it without looking up and to the left then it aint worth the air. Besides I would rather you get your cookies off first and last. Just save me a nibble or two.

Mine eyes have seen the gory .
Wrong place. wrong time.Like moth to flame.
Oratory and pure abandon have kept me upright.
Lotta dumb luck too. Lots.

A small number of women are standing still where I left them.stricken in amber.
In my youthful irreverence . In my minds eye a tear.In my minds eye.
What would have been. I was to blame. Of that I have no doubt.

See. this is where the Numbles crumbles.
I scoop from the bottom and bring up the dregs.
Pretty soon the tale sprouts legs.
See Ya.
4.4k · Dec 2012
Gladiator
Geno Cattouse Dec 2012
The Brute in me is a gleeful beast.
The Trog is older now and mellow.Yet. Pull up a chair.
Just a minute of your time if you will. Sometimes,
I watch  him  ooze  through the pores of my skin and he stands there.

Myself and he apart
He always  walks down to the river's edge where I always find
him skipping stones. skipping stones and staring at the far bank.
He does not see me or it seems so. This never changed for years.
After some time in reverie,he turns and walks by me.
I can smell the potent odor of his sweat.
The brute is me at twenty three.

Later still he returns to his dimension
deep within my past,
Wordless, yes until one day.
The beast  looked  over his shoulder mid toss


A stone skipped and tipped the  universal
constants.

Pulling a pistol from thin air he shot me at point blank.
Two head, one heart. A bit of a start not mention
That was a bit rude but not out of character for me
at that age. No no don't get me wrong.The impulsive side
Not the homicide
Suicide. Hellofa ride.

Well. Well without further discussion, we casually
Walked back to the house an split a bottle of Stoli's
And. Watched MMA bloodletting on cable T.V.
4.3k · Nov 2012
Jamaican Pum Pum
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
sweet an nice.mek mi mash a pum pum
Like a lizad pon lim a goin mash a pum pum.
Me can't. Feel sewwt relief les I mash a pum pum.

Peaches an cream.
Cunnamon dream
Rock and come in
Fi go mash apum pum.

Drive yu wild when I masha pum pum
Lone free style fi go mash a pumpum.
4.0k · Oct 2013
venution dimples
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
Hate to see you leave. Love to watch you go

Pretty peepers on your hip.
Makes me waant to kiss you up an down.

Like that hollow spot. Between your collarbones below that swan like
Curve at the base of your throat.
Jesus.  So **** there.

So many little things. Pretty girl.
For me to appreciate about gods most beautifull creation. Bar none.
Woman.

I am a student of you have been all my life.
Lovely. Cradle of creation. Ectasy incarnate.

If he made anything better, he must have kept it for himself.
Or keeps it high on the shelf.

Woman.
4.0k · Oct 2012
humility
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
Be humble in word. And deed after all we all are constantantly in need.
The journey up can
be painfull or dizzying or tangled. Life hands out no rain checks.

Be patient in thought and motion.
Try a 5 count. Breath deeply. Think neutral.

Be humble in word and deed. Try carresing the soul. Yours and all.
Remember well that pride goeth before a fall.
4.0k · Jun 2013
Rice And Beans Gial ( Girl )
Geno Cattouse Jun 2013
Every day fare eaten with every meal
Stew beans and rice or rice mix with beans.
Pour lee gravy and a few chunk of beef
Rice and beans gial is every-man meal.

Rice and beans gial
Easy and fresh, just cianh seh no. She jus roll wid di flow.
My rice and beans gial suit every dish.

Stew beans and rice.Rice and beans mix-up.
Smell just like coconut eyle. (oil

Easy squeeze make no riot my granny used to say.
Bwai how you like it?. Any way da way. Just

Pass di onion sauce.  

Rice and beans girl ( gial )






Rice and beans gial steady and true
Mix up fi me,beans and rice fi you.
One size suits all
Rice and beans is Belizian staple food. Eaten 7 days a week. Always welcome. Never grows old.
3.9k · Feb 2013
My Family Tree
Geno Cattouse Feb 2013
Sprang forth with no branches or leaves. Small roots.
Bore mangoes, papayas,guava and bananas. Hybrid, mid limb grafting.
The trunk is a figment but it stands non less. You see
my family tree never was and always will be.
A roadside shade with low hanging fruit.

Was never planted.It was a deposit from the bowels of an exotic bird
of the jungles that sampled at leisure the offerings of the rain forests.
The Hardtack and marmalade came on ships with the kings business
Mixed with the Nigerian Fu-Fu  ,the Aztec maize the Mayan legumes.
and all points of the compass.

Old Joe Denegri, The Blancaneaux , The Cattouse, The Melado, The Pinks
The Flowers,The Orozco and more. And boundless from the ***** of opportunity.
Piecemeal and untethered. But it is the tree that I must cling to.
However rough the bark.

The sap runs heavy and slow in the humid Belizean heat.To meet the earth.
Cool breezes blow a haunting disharmony. A sweet unity in chaos.
The soil is rich,pungent and forgiving.  Soon, A bell tolls  in the distance.
The Sea mists my dreams.

A stairway of coconut fronds to azure skies.
Nighttime smells like creation.
The still slackened pace.
The small rat race.
Tempest in a teapot.
Urban-rural.

Coolie gal.
Creole boy.
New Chinese.
Old African.
Ubiquitous Espania.
Garinagu. Mosquito coast.
Children of Mennon.
Old Basque faces.
Things we call races left with small traces
of what?

My tree, her tree, histree.
I am you and you are me.
I see me in your face and you see me.
We are  and will continue to be.
Blended.
a hybrid. An orchid wild.
Geno Cattouse Jun 2013
Blazing brightly in the night miles below on
Crete. Icarus plummeted. And puzzled.
The Phoenix shattered ablaze and battred

The phoenix Glances to the night sky.
As a bird of prey whizzes by.

Struck to ground.
Thundering sound.

Phoenix pauses beats his wings.
Flaming feathers burn and drift.

Rises slowly from the ashes.
Icarus crumbles in broken waxen wings.


Youthful tragedy. Never to rise.
No reclamation.

Silent hubris.
The dirge preceeds.
Then quietly

Receeds.
3.7k · Oct 2013
Mr. Joe Bangles
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
Joe of to the poky.
Joe off to the pen.

Joe of the  ***** wagon again and again.
Joe  fit shased and sailing, three sheets to the wind.

Joe swearing and cussing.
Joe  in the back seat.

Joe sits on  wrists. fingers all numb.
Joe tossin his cookies. Joe real  no count ***.

Joe know all the coppers
And breaks in the rookies.

"Hey rook" asks Joe " "can you loosen these up"
My hands been asleep since Henry was a pup.

Joe Bangles they call him and erbody knows.
That Joey cant get lit up  and keep on his clothes.

Institutional homeboy.
Going back to the house.

Three hots and a cot.
and wild  stories to tell.

slippers and tooth brush in an eight by ten cell.

Mr. Joe Bangles Dance.
The guy we all know or have seen in one form or another.
Stainless steel bangles are accessory of choice.
3.6k · Oct 2013
Pretzel Logic
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
She walked barefoot in the desert and wore desert boots to bed.
My baby was topsy turvy dipsy swervy crossed up curvy clean out of her head.
A cast iron face that kept the truth bound and shackled.
Deep inside her head.
Self deception was her stock in trade and every choice she ever made was reasoned Wearing blinders.The snake that ate her tail
Her logic was.
Circular in nature no ending or beginning. Which guaranteed her winning
Regardless.
But only in her twisty wheelhouse.
Crazy as aa ******* rat.
Twisting facts into tasty pastry.

Seving them up on shiny ware.
Neither here nor either there
Calculating slipknot tension
Telling tales too tall to mention
The daughter of the pretzel maker
Part deluded.Rabid faker.
Pretzel logic
Pretzel minded.
Twisted now and twisted later.
Down the road I go.
See Steely Dan.
3.4k · Nov 2012
Thanks Uncle Sam
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
That uncle with his pants pulled up high.

That uncle who would listen when you cried.

That uncle.

The one who always lauged at your jokes.
The one with strong and gnarly hands.
The uncle who could fix anyting. (Dad)

The generous one who always had time to talk.
That old guy who became stooped as you grew strong.

Well. Uncle is a bit forgrtfull now and shuffles
About.

Take his hand now.
Pay him back for all he did.
his dignity is at stake
For heveans sake.
Help the old guy
Show and tell.
3.3k · Aug 2013
Snowfall On Kilimanjaro
Geno Cattouse Aug 2013
The Ashes of a million souls drift down to the Baranco Wall and Moorland.

Seventeen thousand feet is All
Deep and dead is the cap on Kilimanjaro.

If a tree falls in the Forrest. you will hear it on Kilimanjaro.

Haunting stones on Easter Island whisper in the dead of night
and speak to Kilimanjaro.

Pitcairn Island far and lost.

Fletcher Christians mournful ghost wails and screams as the Bounty burned
a light seen from The  Kilimanjaro.

Supai City Arizona in the bowels of the gaping gorge
looks out to Kilimanjaro.

Oymyakon Siberia. Minus 93 degrees. chatter and freeze
akin to The Kilimanjaro

World ends in the stratosphere
Fight for breath face you fears.
Where minutes pass like plodding years

in grasp of Kilimanjaro.
This planet of ours is all we have to stand upon and call home.
It is a marvel and a wonder.
3.2k · Oct 2013
Punchline
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
In the square circle your reality is sudden you see
what is your intent ?
I mean when one has to face the inner , not winner or loser.
But brutal. no negotiation. No verbal Panzy assery.
How do you assign pain.

In the square circle that is. That is blood for blood.
Blow for blow. Most people tip toe. Dont wanna know.
We should all be made to go. toe to toe
In the square circle.. How barbaric say ye.

Talk is cheap. ink on paper a mere vapor.
Gladiatorial. All we are saying .. is give peace a chance.
There are greater tests. how does one best Cancer or say living on a stoop.
after days in paradise.No time to think twice.

Go take a dance in the circle. Pillar to post.
A brutal analogy. How would you be. Why would one bother?

Next time you see a dumb pug with cauliflower ears and a rearranged mug.
Think it through. How would you do in a moment of truth facing the brute
He wont listen to reason He wont negotiate.

Next stop. Normandy. Pork chop hill.The Mekong.Baghdad......

The square circle takes many forms just wont conform to the norms.
Havoc will be imposed. on the open mind or the closed.

Real men die for reasons why ?
Fodder. Step through the ropes for a thrice
Feel if you have the  fire or ice.

Then take a warm shower and slide behind the wheel
to a warm meal and Dancing with the stars.
3.1k · Nov 2012
Onion
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
Had a flashback.just now.
Sitting in the diner. Eating eggs and toast.

A girl walked in wearing painted on jeans.
Guy across from me squinted as he stared
At her from behind. Thought he
Was going blind or was about to cry

Got something in your eye? I asked.
The onion he said.
Oh yeah. Said I.
3.0k · Mar 2014
UNU. Just one word
Geno Cattouse Mar 2014
A single tear.from mother.Africa.
Igbo ?
Kenya.
Jamaica. The.Caribbean diaspora.
Warm.and.easy.... Belize....coool trade winds.

Banana republic. UNU..IS WE
UNU IS YOU.
UNU is unity.
Unu is a word I used as I child in Belize. Did not know a legacy was attached. Like so many others in the dialect.
3.0k · Jun 2013
ELIXER
Geno Cattouse Jun 2013
Three words

Spoken with

a Cockney chop.

Riddle me the title.
3.0k · Oct 2012
Marley
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
What was it exactly about this rasta.
He seemed so to be out of time an oddity then.
He stroked the gong that resonates still

Nothing can dim his light
His message still reverberates
With all who hear his call.

A natural mystic sinking tap roots from far out.
Kaya budz meets Buffalo soldier and they journey to Transendentia.
Dread lion with Dread locks . Earth shoes and soccer socks.

Ras Nesta walking through di concrete jungle.
Nevah know what sweet rest is in disya concrete jungle.
When you think it's  peace and safety.A sudden destruction
Collective security, for surety.

From the Tenement yard to  a Pimpers paradise .
Lining up to run in the rat race.
Live if you wanna live .

Glazed over Duppy conqueror. Seeing past all limitations
Rastaman vibration. Positive.
3.0k · Feb 2013
Flight #44 from delusion
Geno Cattouse Feb 2013
The runway begins to blur as the nose goes up slowly.
That sinking feeling invades from head to toe. Taught  knuckles engage.
Fight or flight in mid air flight. Hope instruments checked.
my how far we have come.

A pathological liar is like bank of mirrors that go on to infinity
nothing there to stop the infinite delusion. This poem is about s friend of mine
I almost dare call name. She is an infinitely interesting study. like
watching a Mugging in slow motion. Just say the thing when you
get the notion then deny with a smile.

A fine girl hard working driven. but to what and by what.
Her light blue eyes give away nothing at first .Her laughter was honey dripped,
One day the scaly beast did flash as I rubbed my eyes  to focus but it was gone.

Years past and the thing sprouted tiny wings and flitted
about like a moth  and later landed  with a thud. Belligerent and  claiming
space at my table.
Amazing that delusion can have weight and occupy space.  of itself by itself and for itself
I did love her once but she is no longer.stronger forces have laid claim and I cannot call her name for

fear of my heart falling to the abby's, to which my friend has gone, Never to return I fear. She
A victim of life's tortures, Succumbed to the demon there deep asleep in strands of DNA
gather round and throw the flowers on the gleaming   glass casket for she has passed on but just as lovely
She smiles up at me from the grave then turns her back and fluffs the pillow defiantly. I wipe a tear and wave. looking down on the dear departed.
Six deep still awake but lost forever. My words go unheard, my tears fall like raindrops on the crystal.
Lost in delusion the lies soothes her confusion.

A beautiful ghost now.Taunts me.
Nothing breaks the spell. The fall is a graceful simulation of flight.
my hands reach out still but she folds her arms across he *****
lies to me in gesture. tortured circular contortions that put me back at the start
not enough breadcrumbs retrieve her way.
I guess 44 was her number. The sweet insanity did come then
though I hardly noticed at first.
Well No one told me about her
Daddy knew. so did Mom
as did all. The skeleton , found the skeleton key and let
itself free from the inside with hardly a noise.
Dangerous and lovely.
swept away forever.
My darling. Take my hand  
one last time.
She did reply."Nevermore."
I pray that is a lie.
2.9k · Oct 2013
Banana Republic Yucatan Pen.
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
not since nor silk.
Mother's milk for the generations.. yes she was .

Greeted Lindbergh on touchdown.
Society clone. Rich ******* could not leave her alone. Tall tale teller.Paperback
construct. Stepping into the ball with no invitation and stopped the music and conversation.
Pale skinned poser.
Gettin over.
Her daddy was a man of means.
Hired by the Majesties to count jellybeans.
He loved the local **** to the tune of
Poppa was a rollin stone.

The magistrates and potentates in the republic of bananas. Pinkys up tea sippers .
Could not get hold of collective zippers.

Faded portrait. long dead poser.ball buster. Pretty as crystal.Tough as pig iron.
She was high flying flapper. Cutting a rug. Charleston,Jitterbug. Short skirt flirt. Grandma ?

Smokin hot and  smokin when women did not dare. C.O.P.D. and a hacking cough came the pipers toll.                                                            ­       The Wages.
                                                                ­                           Just keeping it real.
                                                           ­                                                               Sl­ip sliding away.

Drove a Jalopy.
Aiee Pahpi chulo. Bestin May West with a smaller life jacket.

                                                        ­                  Turn the century.
                                                                ­          Trench warfare.
Over the top.The war to end all ? shiiiit.  Great Grandma
was a show stopper. To the very end.
Retrospective on my great grandmother in Belize In the early nineteen hundreds. She was an extremely beautiful woman who was independent and bold in Colonial British Honduras. She was a ground breaker and fearless. Had wealth and lost it all. But remained strong.
2.9k · Sep 2012
The Nam #1
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
1968  I remember 1968..
The land of milk and honey.
The war was still cold but not
The Tet. That ***** was hot.

1954 I made my debut. Lotta my boys did too.
** chi Minh amped up his crew.
Can't. We all just get along.

No way LBJ. Young guys all over town stressin the lottery.
The randomness of body bag.
Friday hip deep in rice paddy.
Monday a letter to your moms.
2.9k · Oct 2013
Forgot my toothbrush
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
Oh. sorry for disturbing you but
I forgot my toothbrush.

Oh I am so sorry. I left my spare keys on the mantle.

Oh my bad. Could you look in the closet I forgot my heavy jacket.

Oh dang. I forgot my purpose.

Oh by the way. I forgot to love you.

Goodbye my love.
2.9k · May 2013
Belize
Geno Cattouse May 2013
Where the sky is as blue as CG special tinting reality to a sharpened point.

The seas are. As warm as the womb.AMNIOTIC shock when I dive in.
I can smell beauty in the cool trade winds. My god made paradise here
Carried it away to parts unknown.
My god.

My lover set me free many years ago but I never returned to her tender
Arms. I had forgotten her charms even while laying in her four post bed and running my hands slowly over silken skin. The thrill was gone.

She is forgiving
                       She looks at me with eyes that glisten.
In the starlight. But time is not my ally.
Soon I think she will deny me.
A lover scorned.
2.8k · Sep 2012
Indian Giver - In Pidgin
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
When I was just a little lad
I never knew my mom and dad
My big brother was my hero.

He raised Pidgins as a hobby.

One day he upped and promised me
a pidgin of my own. Oh goody.

One day a storm blew into town and blew his pidgin
coop aground.

The sole survivor of the storm was one pathetic squab.

Here little brother says my sib.He's yours.
so I fed him,and built a nest for him, and
hugged him, and pet him,  and loved him.

He was me and I was he my little buddy Pete.
and every day I wouldn't stop to play but run
home to my Pete. Oh my brother George is my hero.

One day I ran home  to my Pete and found no sign of him.
I asked George where my Pete boy was. He said he had no clue.
I found out later That sum-***** sold Pete.
That rat ******* sold my pidgin.
2.8k · Nov 2012
Sin Spinner.
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
Can the spider play a tune,? no but she builds a lovely harp.
Oh the  strings how they do quiver.

A dirge played by the sinner,
The Reckless dinner.

Now trapped .
Now caught,
all for naught.

Neither judged by twelve
nor carried by six.  Soon.

The refrain comes almost imperceptible.
Arachnid eyes with wide angle lenses.

No malice or feeling .
Nurse ratchet with a ten gauge needle.
"Your cocoon sir."
2.7k · Jan 2013
Danny
Geno Cattouse Jan 2013
Hey Danny, I droped it twice but this one is just as nice
On the fly a small hummingbird on flittering wings just dusting the room
With dann dust and goodwill.

A quiver filled with curative pin point healing
She is wheeling and dealing
Danielle I presume is the full story.
Acufeel good. Feelgood ancient curative
Sent from the far east.

Miniature
Magic whipping about in sea blue scrubs
All good news .
Never gave me the bluesy tude.
Cool runnings miss danny.
Nuff respect.
A short poem for a big spirit. In. Small spirit
Country.
Seek and ye shall find I am inclined to believe
She has a good vibe.
Cool runnings hummingbird.
See you at the water cooler
2.7k · Sep 2012
The Nam #2
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
Fourteen years old on sensory overload.
The evening news.
Burn baby burn.

Da bomb. Sauteed mushrooms.
Drop drill in all the classrooms.
Lesee. If I crawl under this wooden desk with hands over head then
I wont end up toast ? Outa sight.

Puff That Muthfkn dragon. He still got a condo by the sea ?
I remember thinking how  privileged and exciting to live in the USA.
But. Burn baby burn.

Watching late night reruns till the station signed off. No CNN then my fren.
The Duke.
Abbot and Costello meets The Mummy.
Free T.V.That was a first for I.
No T.V. In Belize. None. No gun violence either. Hmmm.

My Lai.            The Panther Answer.
2.7k · Jun 2013
The Nam Again
Geno Cattouse Jun 2013
Still today
Danang. Saigon.Tet.
Mi Lai. ** Chi min trail.
All and more on reverb
The unwinable in black body bags.
Dam.

Just like Cronkite's musdtache goimg on and on
Drafted into the  wood chipper
The buzz saw. for what.
Then the embassy buggie.
Choppers listing into the sea.

Half baked. Blood on ground.
For what.

Visit Vietnam. A travelers paradise. Half price
now with great accomodations.
Cambodia too.for the price of one.
Kamir Red.
How many dead?
For what.
2.6k · Mar 2014
Sunday Morning Sea # 1
Geno Cattouse Mar 2014
I remember from my first memories with all senses humming waking up on Sunday mornings to the squealing seagulls. The smell of briney sea air was sharper

On most sunny sunday
mornings I would awken and lay in bed wake..dreaming for what seemed like hours.
The smells of grandma's rose and flower garden mingled with the smell of sunny Sundays.
The BBC wafted in through kitchen and bedroom windows.Mozart and Sinatra tag teamed  against The Ink Spots and, Stan Getz.  The Swallows flew back to Capistrano on yearning wings.
Then up and out on walk and sprint to the Caribbean sea, a gem coated shimmering twinkling dancing blanket of rising sun meets amniotic blue churning as froth and mist drifted in a sunday sermon from the water's deep and shallow.

A bubbling embrace as sprint turns to
Swan dive into the Sunday morning sea.
Seven day ritual baptism in the Sunday morning sea...at one with and free.
Now.
A sprint to the bobbing fishing boats that never drew fish from their restfull retreats of the morning Sea.

Breakfast
The sounds of tinkling teacups another ritual as granny stirred brown sugar and condensed milk into a carmel swirling with Johnny Cakes and coconut oil fried eggs waiting and wafting out
To the Sunday morning sea.
My Puppy and me then down through the flower garden.
Of we scampered with cares falling away and secrets to share while throwing stones into
The Sunday morning sea
My puppy named Ranger,barefeet and knee pants the hot sting on my ankle from a chastising fire ant rudly stabs at my reverie
As far as the horizon will let.
My imagination flees and unfetters to shores unknown that kiss and caresses my Sunday morning sea.
2.5k · Sep 2012
Obeah. O-BEE-AH
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
Old women sit around in smokey rooms
Pulling on Stinking cigars. Lights turned low
The red  ends glow like big bloodshot eyes.
They wink in and out.
Murmuring chants and singing in low oblique tones.

Your soul is in question your will directed.

Have a cure  with your man's cheating ways
Obeah.
You been having a bad streak of luck. One thing then the next.
Obeah on you. Go see lady cross town. Bring money.Obeah

You strongly believe someone  Put Hudu on You. You been sick
for some time now and the pills just wont do.Obeah
Somebody put bad eye on you too. Obeah

If you believe then all things are possible Not true? Obeah Chicken blood
and the root to suit your condition. Now sit still and listen to her( premonition)
Obeah.

Let the spirit have his way.Draw the cancer from your bones
But you have to give yourself to the spirits of the dead. Obeah

The Zombie walks around at night snatching souls from  the sleeper.Leaving the empty husk as witness.
Sleep light my friend and keep. Keep your poultice near.Do not abandon fear.Obeah.
2.4k · Sep 2012
Yeah,whatever
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
The old man said to me "son, timing is key"
I said, "old dude you look like a man who heard about rythym".
Old felines  like you come a dime  for a dozen, always poppin of yang about isms and schisms .

Naw fresh meat. This buds for you, If I really knew then what I thought that I knew
I wouldn't be grading your papers with exes and checks but I see in your eyes that your vision is short.
You think you hot **** but aint all that smart.

FYI pops I think that you reading me wrong.
You cant see my dimensions nor fade my intentions.

So you think they broke the mold. you have this thing down cold.
This has never been done before you.
Here ,wipe your nose.

Hey Senor senior if your so informed,then please pass along a few high value pearls.
How bout the one telling about what women want cause you really cleaned up in
the female department .

The old man just smiled and said "pearls before swine.
Just drop a few breadcrumbs to find your way back".

Off is the direction I want you to truck he said.
Don't  forget Wonder is the best kind of bread he said
You must be slow or just light in the head he said.

Yeah, whatever.
2.4k · Oct 2012
What Is It?
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
What is the thing in us who love to pluck the strings of our imaginations
and try to create resonance with the words that float to the page. To create something from the
nothingness .
We paint our pictures in tortured hues or opaque clutters of expression. At times the palate will surprise even we who mix and stir and strive to find a unique shade or texture. We trawl and dredge and send up pretty balloons  in hopes they will return with answers. Well I do

I am odd in that regard. I think all who strive to express , to be heard, to hear to see to grasp and
be ambushed by sudden revaluation. To make sense of it all. to look deep within and waft on the wind at once are kin.

What is it for you?
To wash away pain.
To turn your face to the pelting rain and feel the value of your existence.

What is it for you?
To say the things your mouth cannot express, untie your fettered tongue.
Do you dream in color.
Does  your poets voice speak to you in hushed tranquil tones
or rumble and stutter or whisper softly from dank and dusty places.

What is it for You.
A way out of your suppression if not expression.
The rubbing of a soothing salve over the aches and pains endured.
The betrayal acknowledged. The Key finding purchase in the  rusted lock. The key falling from your hands in the pitch dark once again as you wake up and find yet another door to open.

What is it for you. For me it is validation that my mind is unique as the neurons fire and
speak a language spoken not by many. We are seekers. You and I.
I do not fit the profile. I am rough and hard  my facade has bonded with my skin. But look within. I am bookish and brutal.Loving and glacial. Witty but slow. Volatile but pensive . A walking talking conundrum. I do it just to **** withum.

Why do you love poetry.
What leaks out of you mind.
What goes in.
What is it ?


.
2.4k · Nov 2012
Myopia
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
Ah here sits the stone on the ground
The shrub on the hill. A
Natural state of affairs if you will.
Retched Earth, abominable stone

Why the nerve of the rag tag tree
To perch ones self in stark relief
Blocking the skyline, space invader.
Thief.

Why the unmitigated gall.
Of the rain to fall on withered
Pate..

Tis the empty barrel that rumbles profusely.
The shallow stream that muddles  at the bottom.

Pyramid craniums, issues forth babble.
Slackjawd mouth-breather.
Knee ****, Buffoon.

Perched in perpetuity,howling
at the moon.

The my way or the Highwayman, astride a cocked horse.

The cant see the beauty of  the  Forrest for the treeman.

Bull headed, Ram goat Salty old ******.

Failure to Communicate.
Rush to excommunicate
Monolythic seer

Cotton eyed joe

Constipated thinker.

Oh the comfort and surety
of riding in the ruts.





.
2.4k · Jan 2014
Slipknot
Geno Cattouse Jan 2014
did you ever do Bojangles at the end of  a social rope.

stretched out on an ant hill looking up at the slate gray skies of Babylon.
Slip a notch.

Hop scotch...
give a dog a bone.
Peas porridge hot Peas porridge Cold.

Slip a notch...no porridge at all.
2.4k · Dec 2012
Self Control VS Gun controll
Geno Cattouse Dec 2012
K.C tragedy.
Young man overboard.
His girl pulled along. Brutal.
Common. Mundane. Columbine thread.

Dead with witnesses the ultimate narcicist.
Prime time with a twist. Can't miss.

Gun or man.Man or gun. Morals.
Conscience.will. ****.
Inanimate, cold steel versus human choice.

Guidance.
Reason.
Hope.
Right.
WRONG.

Tool versus cruel.
Nine versus mind.
**** versus will.

Man up. Own up.
Sorry. Get grown up.
Still the impulse.
Curse the trigger finger. Not the trigger.
Amen.
2.3k · Feb 2013
Me And Augustin
Geno Cattouse Feb 2013
would walk out of the city on Sunday afternoon after Sunday Mass
Dinner at noon was the custom. then the city would slip into  Sunday coma.
Mantovani, Acher Bilk, and the BBC wafted from the Television less homes we passed
on our way to the river.

Old chocolate men reclined on rickety old wooden porches smoking hand rolled
whatever as we strolled by giving us the lazy eye. All knowing , know nothings.
Sun beaten and calloused to lives of hard labor. every now and then one would just give a
jaundiced nod and look away/ Live to smoke another day.

Half paved tar and gravel roads simmered and writhed in the distance.
but our bare feet.
slapped in rhythm .cut off knee pants and skinny bare chest attested to sparse living but we
never knew it cause the mangrove jungle was minutes away and big
unwanted catfish to hook and throw away. Disdainful (Kiatto).

Off the simmering road now hopping toads. Johnny fiddler ***** for bait .
The canoe awaits us two small school boys in our natural state. One seven one eight.

Pelicans survey slowly above where the river meets the sea A small ripple and down he goes. He knows where school is in for mackerel and terrapin. Bone fish too.
We small boys with no fear . Innocence a pole and cork. One hook apiece is our gear.
Knee deep in mire as we push of and jump. A paddle apiece as we stroke against the tide to traverse the emerald river wide. The far bank. My Aunt Doris's shack.

Man over board to tie of the. Bow.

A snack of tortillas and beans then up the river no fear. Fun and the fish
Sun and the wish for an endless Sunday. We hate Monday. Back the priests and nuns.Slate writing board and times tables.
Let's fish.
Let us dream.
Tied off in the mangrove shade.
Swatting horse flies quietly. Quietly?

Like bird dogs we study the floating cork.
A wiggle, a bob. A bob. Set the hook and out comes the prize.
Then more. More flapping underfoot.we can hardly.walk. The glee
A bonanza.
All fried up and crisp.Catch and release. What madness. Catch and consume.

Day is done in the Carribean sun.
Home eastward. The pitch road is more forgiving on bare feet now
with the September sun at our backs. A leisurely stroll back to the
house. No worries,

A bath  and change for the Sunday evening show.
The Thief Of Baghdad or  maybe El Cid.
The Duke Audie Murphy in a double header.

The walk home along the moonlit seaside.
To start another Halcyon stream.
Another time and place rooted firmly in my memory.
Read  THE RIVER ROCK. More from Memories of a childhood in Belize.
2.3k · Nov 2012
The Kiss-Kiss
Geno Cattouse Nov 2012
Thumb and index.
Snare with caution.
To hold you firmly and into crocus  sack .
Land crab beware. Hungry Belizeans on the hunt.

The Blue land crab rises with the rain and fiddles
forward seeking feed.
Or flooded out from his cavern.
The night brings silence then
an eerie crashing and clacking
by the hundred thousands they run.

The season. when I was a boy.
The art to catch the big one.
Stalk and wait as he travels afar
staking out territory.

Cornered now in fighting stance
back against the wall. a finger
was the bet to get one by hand.

The cowards choice was the
coconut thong that fell from a dying tree.
The Kiss-Kiss two feet long.
The thong.

That was my choice and into the boiling ***
he goes. the  cauldron bubbled with a few
And maybe even crab stew.

I still have ten fingers five a hand.
The Kiss-Kiss my friend to the end.
I was chicken but the blue crab
went down the hole with ease.
No worries. The coward's way out.

Kiss -Kiss Rule.
2.3k · Oct 2013
Idols On crosses
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
Kneeling on the very end, first position just by the isle
closer than I had ever been Looked up at the man of sorrows a crown of thorns pierced his brow.
His eyes are half shut in pain and downcast.
                                   A crimson trickle starts going south
                                   His lips are taut against a cry.
And I wonder Why.                                                   A ragged spike or nail stand in bold relief
                                                                                   Mid palm both hands. another crimson testament
                                                                                   Begins to speak.

Sunken with ribs protruding
Nails driven through doubled feet.Not where the ankles meet.. My Lord ?
Why hath thou forsaken me.

The statue of sorrows nailed to a wooden T.
Is pipers fee.. Paid in full for me.

What sin then must I atone for.
To avoid the wooden cross or the eternal fire ?

Six years living. I need forgiving ?
For what ? Even then.

I could not be a true believer.
so fire and brimstone for me.
Cast down in the pit.

Perhaps.
Geno Cattouse Oct 2013
R.I.P. tatoo  Just below the right knee
one more down in the concrete jungle.

chalk line washed fading in the night wind.
Yellow tape flutters in the breeze.like break away kites
caught up  in the trees.

Rat a tat tat. brings rat a tat tat.
Young mother wailing on buckled knees.

Firing line drawn in blues and reds
claiming turf with a bandanna head.

Rat a tat tat brings rat a  tat tat.
Head stones  lined up. waiting for the dead

R.I P. in faded ink. Live by the sword
hey what did you think.
Rat a tat tat bring rat a pay back.

Cactus flower sprouts around thorns
Beauty nestled in blood red sun.
Live by the gun and die by the gun

Rat a tat tat. Brings rat a tat tat.
right down to the ground. the ground. The dust.
a conversation with a mother of three. widowed by Bang violence
inspired this one.
2.2k · Aug 2013
JASMINE
Geno Cattouse Aug 2013
A silent space
focused and diligent.
Jasmine and clover.

A long long petaled  flower
sweet all over.

Fragrant delivery in the name.
Unique in space.

Constant and beautiful.
Jasmine for the minute or the hour.

A tall cluster. for the minute or the hour
Euphoria and calm
Sweet where it is warm
2.2k · Sep 2012
Icarus In Pidgeon
Geno Cattouse Sep 2012
Some days  yu know, mi just don't andastan
How a man can do di tings him do, an see himself a man.

Him seh  dat god give im good sense a will and a soul
to know right ting  fram wrang  ting, to know pit from pothole.

But im covet an steal an shed blood
like a beast. Then im walk inna church
and pray god give im peace.

Is a human condition  an a weakness a flesh
Is flaw in im naycha, a thorn in him breast.

But we human creecha, ought betta than best.
Ought draw a distinction from fish and from fowl.
Ought rise above avarice , greed and the rest.

But sometime I feel sure  that the writing on wall.
will  come to fruition and mankind will fall.

Is a small part of hu-man sunk deep in we core
what comes up and sprout wings and carry us shore.

Is that thing there, part spirit, part will, part divine.
What pull us  from struction then skitter, then soar.

Then beat wings in hubris  like Icarus lore.
This is written with a mild flavor of west Indian/Belizean patois.
There is still no real dictionary for the way we speak. but some have tried.
2.1k · Oct 2012
siren
Geno Cattouse Oct 2012
Beautifull
And
Lonely. Encased in timeless
Lore. The
Siren sits at waters edge and sings her love
Ashore.
None so far in centuries have
Dared to
Answer call
Lest he become another fish
Like countless gone before.
2.1k · Jan 2013
The Park Bench
Geno Cattouse Jan 2013
There in the corner resting silently the old wooden bench
reclines beneath the billowing sky. Peeled and pale much
the worst for wear.

"A couple of young fellas  down at Kitty Hawk flew like wounded ducks". Did you hear?
That was a humdinger. "Somebody swiped the Mona Lisa right under their noses"
Tick

witness to it all has heard the deepest of dark secrets whether tumbledown in solitude
or passed about in chatter.

"The Titanic went down last week ,What a pity." wasn't that thing impossible to sink"
well I'll see you later The Trolleys are running slow today.

There's  this young upstart playing at the picture show this week. Chaplin I think his name is
Moving pictures,oh what will they think of next.

I got a letter from William fighting in The Somme. Dont know when or if he is coming home.

Nights are cold in the rain. Tick

Bathtub gin.  A little nip every now and then can't be a sin.
The Lucky Lindy is the latest swing.
Tock.

Mickey mouse meet sliced bread.  The birth of a nation
Bring the kids out on Saturday The can play awhile.

Heard That ****** Trotsky got shot. What do you think that  will bring
Guess Adolf bit off more than he could Chew cause  that big air war in
Britain made him tuck tail.
Tick
The greatest generation has come and is all but gone
The park bench sits and awaits the dawn
past Y 2 K and on and on
till today, this very hour
waiting for another story to tell
like a morning flower at sunrise
Beautiful petals and leaves
No one grieves for the passing of time.
The park bench sighs and
Then reclines.
2.1k · Sep 2014
Tail Gunner
Geno Cattouse Sep 2014
I dont know how to say goodbye to a man I never knew.
Clifton. Tail gunner ,Lancaster bomber.
1942.

I tried to write his story but I came up short. Black man fighting to free the world in his Majesty's air corps.
1944

A man who answered the call.
One of many. One of a kind.
A man from the colonies..Belizean..
Family man, father, patriot.

Has fired his last round.
R.I.P.
2.1k · Jul 2014
Grounding
Geno Cattouse Jul 2014
The days ticked by like the audible second hand of her watch. A quick and halting surge and pause.Each one unique holding for the next.
She lived the moment
She loved the lights.

Breathing in love, exhaling
Hope.tomorrows stuck to the refigerator door with doctors appointments
Prescriptions and pills and potions.
Still there
Yellowed paper now
Reminders of her before the grounding.
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