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jimmy tee Mar 2014
i sat down to write a poem on how the Tao messed up my view
i was to mention that if Yin shot Yang, there was little we could do
and prove that unseen balance could fall on a turn of a *****
for all i saw was cocked and tilted with injustice shot clear through
how, despite my darkness, the nights breath starry hue
and days of rain outnumber the skies of summer blue
while the desert sand replaces the books of Timbuktu
i said, ‘the Tao removes our human passion, and vainly substitutes
a zero sum philosophy, our lives an I.O.U.’
but the words came doubly hard as the forced rhymes flew
i could feel a vague resistance that pulled my thoughts askew  
the tug of the Tao was strong and clear throughout this weak review
jimmy tee Mar 2014
we could teach our kids
for the better tomorrow to come
and fix some roads, clean up some water
help our brothers and sisters
who don't quite think or act correctly
[for a lot of reasons that affect us all]
there’s some leftover to cut taxes too
and you can never have too many clean parks

then the next year you could also not make one F - 35
and send us the two hundred fifty million instead
then next year do the same thing
we could teach our kids…….
jimmy tee Mar 2014
99
everyone lives ordinary lives
a list of similarities
found typical among us
would be very long, indeed
the fourth line proves the first
the very small widgets of ourselves
that are truly unique
become magnified to a large degree
when exposed to the theatre of this world
and has set about an order to permit ceaseless
displacement of the memory of past mistakes

it is always a war against something
and even an imaginary peace
cannot be created
jimmy tee Mar 2014
there was never a clue
that I was awesome in any way
until it was mentioned to me
by just under two thousand different people
in all walks of life but mostly
waiters and waitresses
art gallery attendents
convenience store clerks
other short lived acquaintances
I have seen awesome sunrises and sunsets
and other skyview phenomenon
I have witnessed other awesome views of the scenic earth
I am not awesome in any way
I have never met any person who was awesome
please oh please stop using that word to describe anything short of God and His saints
jimmy tee Mar 2014
well, we’ve never had a lay off
and we’ve been here since ’44
when you see how we run this place
you’ll run screaming out the door
when you find your 8 hour shift
has ballooned to 14 or more
the labor is repetitive
with carpel tunnel galore
we bare no responsibility
when you slip on greasy floors
our health benefits
bought at a discount store
you see our business plan
treats you like a prisoner of war
until you wonder what is wrong with
being young and free and poor
jimmy tee Mar 2014
there is no reason to expect
that todays state of affairs
would be any different
had history been changed
in some way or other

of course, the big picture
magnifies the small lies
inside each and every one

we moved away shortly after
my fathers death and within
a year my mother came to visit
we saw some sights
and spent time talking
while sitting outdoors
on fair September evenings
while in the kitchen
whipping up a ragu
I felt the burn of her stare
as I coursed back and forth
slowly realizing that I was now
the closest thing she had to her husband
my reach then extended
to the afterworld
jimmy tee Mar 2014
practice the utmost care
form a vigilant style
peep around corners
be alert to possibilities

develop awareness
study what lurks in shadow
prepare for surprises
hone your senses

visualize potential scenarios
pay attention to the probable
spy through keyholes
listen through thin walls

dis-believe dormancy
list your suspicions
weigh all prospects
refine distrust

cross examine sincerity
swim in the sea of mistrust
suspend all gut feeling
deny altruism

question fact
support skepticism
increase misgivings
keep eyes wide open

bet on failure
indulge at peril
compile odds
rely on doubt

push a fuzzy brand of cynicism
label everything
marginalize what you don’t understand
be conscience of fraud

perceive through narrowness
downplay experience
recycle ancient lies
apply rhetorical loops

reduce all to the absurd
promote jealousy
revel at weak spots
blame impossibilities


design decision trees
ferment rebellion
create false alliances
initiate rumor

draft complex plans
generate half truths
produce unreachable ideals
fashion anger

establish favorable ground rules
start a corporation
coin a catch phrase
invent an argument

launch a promotional campaign
confirm nothing
invert the discussion
determine outcomes

verify the enormous
market greed
prove conflicting arguments
ascertain needless worth

uncover falsehoods
locate the correct word
detect limitations
counterattack always

deliver disadvantage
attack any and all flaws
educate with nonsense
promote vulnerability

assign bogus titles
fabricate counterfeits
rely on fictions
deceive the masses

compose a reason
construct pain
assemble wild games
dismantle the individual

move mountains
consume independent thought
cause penance
gestate chaos


nurse turmoil
outflank righteousness
muddle the message
confide in darkness

plant upheaval
nurture vanity
ignore any mayhem
misname disorder

cultivate hesitation
praise ambiguity
rejoice for indecision
celebrate vagueness

dance as a marionette
venerate a suckerpunch
insult pride
pay tribute to silence

bend any principle
admire baseness
respect behind closed doors
award deceit

erase distinction
cook up conspiracies
diagram secrets
format the unbelievable

lust over possession
outline an escape
draw excuses
strategize sin

parcel desires
aim toward the crass
object to feelings
target the sordid

commit to the improper
corrupt all souls
mock religion
root out the wise

increase loneliness
pigeonhole solidarity
rupture the will
insert schisms

shout down dissent
pound out inferiority
supply sadness
stand toward folly

seek out dependency
crush mild opposition
carve a new standard
delay action
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