Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
mean dogs barking brightly
vertical tails give false messages
as faces are what they love to eat best –
mange ridden feline aids victim
one eye and broken teeth
missing fur patch
shows damaged skin
all that remains from the barn fire of ’96 –
stained overalls with a blown out crotch
hang, damp, over peeling and faded porch railings
one rusty nail working its way free
tip coated with skin residue and 3 blue denim strings
flies buzz absentmindedly –
from afar the high threatened clucking
of the last layer hen
moving across the dusty driveway
seems the weasels have gained coup access
soon, just a mass of bloodied feathers
and the foul stench of fowl blood
cooking in the early Fall
will be all that lives within –
wind gusts pick up unfastened composition shingles
sending them sailing through the air
landing gently in an overgrown garden area
free from weeding, seedlings, tending
or love –

frantic fingers in February
frost bitten and fumbling the knots
forbidden fish frolic, unsuspecting
free fresh chum flows from the flower bucket
as foraging future fillets
flounder in the underwater foliage –
fallen leaves create the floor
frog feet rest in the funk
finch feathers float on the ripples
frozen fox prints dance fancifully on the fresh fallen snow field
freely, my friends and I frolic also –

there we were
staring blankly at the screen
the error prompt called for
immediate demodulation
but it may as well been written in Latin
or Sanskrit –
I grabbed ahold of the digitizer with both hands
and began to **** and pry
which of course was not ergonomically correct
leaving me with a sore back and tattered finger skin
I caught the faintest sound
and thought maybe I had inadvertently tapped
into an alien frequency –
slowly it came clear to me that mainframe
only held a single kilobyte
and that with such a limited amount of storage
we would never reach the stars –
again, there came a slight modulation
with enough force to be considered noise
I instantly compared it
against the relational database
and realized, suddenly, that this had the potential
to be the real thing…
unfortunately I double checked with another terminal
and began to understand
what I was witnessing
was just a simple
user-friendly
videoconference –

four months and twenty some days
the big 4…….Oh,          as they say
thinking of practically applying
a lifetime of research
for a more complete
version of myself
better to see
healthy 85 –
nutritionally
there are changes
ways in which I could
eat free of preservatives
chemical laden un-digestible
hormone fed environment killers
but that would be just one way of change –
I could also take up some form of regular exercise
once upon a time I was active and healthful
playing city league basketball and roofing
getting my sweat on as a lifestyle choice
now, less and less after the injury
which has become but an excuse
to allow fat deposits
to grow freely
extending
my belly –
it is always
just a choice to make
we all have that special power
to simply choose again, at any time
and recreate or earthly experience anew
this is the big truth the government hides away
locked in secret vault next to Hoffa and the Roswell UFO
humanities greatest gift from the universe is the ability to make choices –
the ultimate question is what, now, will you do with this information
will you examine your life and perhaps make some changes
as I have and most certainly continue to do
can I lead you to a new promise land
in which we all truly live free
it's really an easy answer
a simple statement
………………...
…………….
………..
yes –

irritation builds
slowly
heat fills my cheeks
i feel a slight reddening
chest becomes partially tightened
and cool sweat coats my back
i catch the eye
of the crybaby *******
her chicken head bobbling
over 4 minutes ……
if it weren’t so trivial
and from such a wrinkly ole bird
i might laugh, or
jump across the table and slam my fist
instead I stew
boil and brood
over her insistence
to mettle in my affairs
like I need a ******* babysitter
poufy hair looking like
a bad wig, or
the explosion of an dingy pillow
yellow and greying
like someone ****** on it before work
…..4 minutes
she can ******* –

election cycle returns
and the returns are in
no one gives a ****
about economic downturns
or pacific trade agreements
built to further gut
the Amerikkkan dream
Honey Boo-Boo lost eight pounds –
wingless welchers tirade over lost causes
causing the public to collectively *****
only racial injustice strikes cords
or the ever popular threat to children
outside of that, the general consensus
is to give the Dugger ******
a second chance –
guns for drugs
bombs fall on Bagdad
homosexual agenda
the imaginary scourge
melds with marijuana laws
giving the conservatives pause
but only until the Letterman finale –
sightless masses spoon fed by multimedia
millionaires
much maligned in the middle
misrepresented and mismanaged
mean well
but they have given over control
to the television set –

~



If I gathered all my bags
packed them lovingly and with care
folded neatly shirts and pants
taking extra precaution to carry spare undergarments

If I wrapped my toiletries in tissue paper
steam-cleaned the toothbrush
collected equal miniscule amounts of
toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner
all medications labeled
deodorant in a special container  

If I had all the reservations and plane tickets
pre-paid
my printed confirmations with my wallet and cell phone
bags shipped ahead so nothing could be misplaced

then,



would you take me to


                               funkytown?    /

autumn winds send maple leaves swirling
giant limbs sway gently
helicopter seeds twirl to the ground
looking for germination
and a place on the soil
slight drizzle falls misty
giving the land a damp but clean look
and the smell of fresh green
three soaked deer await a break
standing motionless under protective branches
Oregon gives way
and the summer sun goes to bed –

icy breath sends neck hairs
to attention
frozen bleakness takes the shape of
crystalized dew
speckling the wall
twenty feet high solid concrete
concertina wire decorations
‘tis the season –
holiday bliss as reminiscent prisoners
wax nostalgic
and shift sad eyes when discussing
dry turkey
with beaten and battered cranberries
logistically, the state could not afford
all the trimmings for 3000
so donated feast materials
get the highest of praise –
raising toasts
to over-bearing guards
as the time of year
transcends fear and mere hatred
together they spend another Christmas
inmates and officer
blessed in an un-holy union –

morning sunlight danced across the concertina
diamonds glittering along the edge
of the prison walls
the prison walls
yellow finches played in the weight pile
chipping and bouncing
among the sweat and grime
sweat and grime
voices echoed down the corridor, shouts and whoops
yard will definitely be open today
all day on the track
on the track
rows of men in blue endlessly circling
some go home, new ones join the march
incarceration as industry
incarceration as industry
the inmates enter the education building and smile
for a few hours a day they are students not numbers
I use their first names
their first names
the sunlight brightens everyone’s mood
as it is the bringer of life
shining down on all of us equally
all of us equally –

~




after they were kicked from the garden  

and begat nations with the children of man

I found you in the desert

    we wandered hand in hand for an age



when they sacked Troy

when Rome fell

when Christians became the power

I found you in the northern mountains

   we sailed strange seas

          discovering lands before unseen



when a plague brought the darkness

   and inquisitive priests carried branding irons

I found you in the forest

where we shared boiled roots

and healing herbs



when disease ended paradise

and oddly colored faces filled with hate

massacred cultures

destroyed civilization in the name of god

    I found you deep in the jungle

        sleeping on a soft bed of giant leaves



when tubes fell from the sky

and exploded with the power of the sun

as bodies were carted away

       burned in warehouses

I found you in an alley

we hid in laundry baskets

        until liberators showed us light still existed



I found you in a shallow delta

            with terraced patties as far as the eye could see  

found you again in a protest

          as we marched across a bridge for freedom



I will always find you

     no incarnation can keep me from it    /

beauty fades to grey
foreboding storm clouds
pendulous
carry bigotry bolts
and the thunder of fascism ~

she tells babies
fanciful tales
leaving out the hot breath, sharp scales, and jagged claws
handing over a leashed dragon
for holiday /

a child walks through front doors
never stepping on a crack
plays nicely on fresh mowed grass
sheltered from truth
until the van pulls up
presenting brightly colored
sugar coated
reality /

The little pup sat near the log
And looked over at a small greenish frog
He gave it a lick
And then felt quite sick
And heading off to the bog

At the bog he ran into a hog
Who had a jar of delicious eggnog
They both had a drink
Then spit in the sink
Which instantly started to clog

They both sat with mouths just agog
Like that time in the ole Synagogue
When the Rabbi said “shoot”
and then let out a toot
That smelled like that stinky old bog

Well the hog and the frog with the dog
Ran away from the stank Synagogue
All the way to the bay
For some sunshine in may
And all sat upon a well-traveled log

distorted slop fed through a Marshall stack
attacking power cords with abhorrent abandon
random lyrics of pain based guilt
quilted the patchwork of ******* jocks
and played out arena rock
Kool-Aid dye job and slobbish hand-me-downs
earth tones, greens and browns
and drowning in the Northwest rain
insane solos played eating Rollo’s enslaved
to paved roads and dope fiend modes
Kurt’s hurt and flannel shirt
lifted the dirt off my heart
and set me apart from the sheep faced
high school mistakes
faking tans to look
totally Spring Break
holding onto hate and plating
fate next to kale chips and goose pate’
fame gorged but a porridge boy
knows no joy under the employ
of capitalism……
answer in hand the shot rang
and one million tear-eyed teens
sang
sad songs of pain and lament
replaying images
of a ****** prophet, heaven sent –

sunlight creeps from behind intermediate cloud cover
above the stratocumulus, trails crisscross
giving a geometry to the affair
a barley discernable silver thread
reaches out from my belly button
and stretches into the heavens above –
feeling myself fall backwards to the ground
I am simultaneously...instantaneously
shot, as if from a circus cannon, up
recognizing my three-hundred sixty degree field of vision
I helplessly watch my body fade from view –
surrounded in ermine fur softness
and basking in a warm orange light
I visit the cosmos
travelling beyond relativity laws, universes collide
birth themselves and form life again
all the while a nagging distracts the journey –
strobe light ****** inside a mirrored room
flashback acid trip melted Datsun at sunrise
fathers body, emaciated and lifeless
wall of flesh filling double French doors  
not a crack or fold to be seen –
cold dog nose pushes my hand and brings my back to what we perceive as real
smiling to myself
I think about the amazing things I will see when dead –

victimized by happenstance
the moral majority leans
crumbling faded pages
fall disjointed
the bible has slipped to light bathroom reading
and those betrothed to Jesus
cry themselves to sleep –
wringing clasped hands
and looking skyward for answers
they watch in helpless dismay
as true equality and individual freedoms
crushingly stomp values
based on 2000 year old desert stories
the dried tears
turn into salty anger
and systemic hate
based in fear –
gays proudly wed in churches
once maligned for witch burning
taking turns carrying each other
over middle-class thresholds
adopting impoverished babies
and the unwanted immigrant children
only to be blasted on mass media
for their ****** and unholy lifestyle
it seems to me
American Christians
have lost sight of the work
Jesus actually did –
Avidly reading and researching
the world’s religions
seeking eternally for the reasons
some semblance of an answer
as to why gods of love
would instill so much hate and fear
in their constituency…
their flocks ……..
those blind to reality
and subject to irrationality
because someone once told them
this book is the only way
and without it
salvation and peace
are bad jokes –

saggy eye bags remind me of another sleepless night
what in my subconscious only allows four hours uninterrupted
flashing images
whirlwind of despair
crashing reality
the past still exists –
youthful transgressions
a wake of damaged feelings
and her
a daughter
innocent and abandoned
left behind like so much ****** baggage –
sweet sixteen with no father, just like all the others
can forgiveness exist in the ignored
very few miles and less through facebook
the failure is mine
I sit waiting
still –

swinging frayed rope
holds a rotten board
thin grain shows dark
between mold and grit
worn smooth imprints
     babe buttock

howling precursor
black horizon
fat droplets shift dust
pacing hound bays
rattle-trap ford
        crunching gravel

sizzle of fried flour
distracts mud pie designers
one less hen
late Saturday dinner
grandad’s pipe
       cherry tobacco smoke tendrils

low tones from behind a fire
pine burns hot and fast
sweat droplets fall
drink for dark earth
woodless floor, uneven
carries years of sweat
       and tears –

awaiting the next dynamic pandemic
I look to those surviving with AIDS and think….
we need to start letting death run its course
why feed the starving
either abroad or on our very shores
when the writing on the wall
is clear
7 billion humans were never meant to be here –
Bird flu, swine cold, mutated viruses
all working with such diligence
and we…or should I say, our scientist
biochemists,
those bent on immortality
or at the very least, a healthy populace –
be ****** I say!
There is a reason people die en masse'
there is a need pestilence and disease
there is a definite place for mass suicides
and the systematic destruction of cultures and races
we simply don’t have the space
concern
or reserve of resources to facilitate
all of these mouths…
and there are more on the way –
so much energy in giving the gift of children
to those born barren
as if we know better than nature what needs to breed
I have seen the mountain top
and I have seen the other side
and people, most of you are dead
probably me too
as it should be –

T, is the way time beats on me
And I
Is for the way I internalize this line
M
Is very, very macho, malignant, and much maligned
E is for every extra entity erupting forth from England proper
Time
Is just a thing that stops my life
And time
Is just the thing that will take my wife
Oh time drags on and on and
Time
Takes everyone and
T
I
M
E
Can’t you see and just believe me
T, is for the way I tread on it
And I
Is just a little indiscriminate
M will show the rest
That M truly is the best and E
Is entrenched in Roger Eberts egg salad sandwich on Easter
Time
Is just a way to stop
Traf-fic
And time
Can make your mind act
So frantic
Time takes not one prisoner
And time creates an arthritic finger
Just go figure time will shrink you when your bigger
Time
Has so many applica-tions
And time
Works best for
Mummy preserva-tion
Time is tricky and can be so sticky
When you quickly have to move
Mrs Brisbee
Time is fleeting non discrete and
It completely ticks intrinsically
TIME!

Given name Samuel but you can call me Sam was driving by the vestibule when I had to yell ******* Saw this little fresh dressed fool trying to run a scam and pushed him down the stairs at school Broke his ******* hand, I ran into the record shop looking for Manfred Mann ended up picking up this Book about the Son of Sam, a crazy killer from NYC shot women in the night got his lessons from a dog Who spoke with Satan’s bite. That homeboy is so crazy and just maybe is also right we got too many Idiots hanging in plain sight maybe we should pin them down under water bright until they give up and Lay still, you know, just give up the fight…but murders wrong unless your Snoop and then it’s just a case You overcome and get let off of by selling off your face, see Snoops a pawn deep in the game making Money off you ***** acting like he still the **** quacking like a duck any of you still following rappers Actors and sports stars are probably drowning your tears in a series of bad bars you remind me of Chris Farley Fat and drunk and dumb acting like you are the **** reminiscent of a *** or homeless man stinking of Gin old milk and mistake fake *** brother taking money from your mother hitting on your brother’s wife Trying to start another fight, its all-right, cause you white –

~



The morphine undissolved upon his dry and cracked tongue
Mother frantically grabbing and sobbing
asking 'why' even though cancer
had been devouring him for years

I slid a silver ring off his cold finger
feeling the thin and frail culture
I thought back to massive hands holding wide leather belts
who would be able to discipline me now

More pills swirled around the toilet bowl
everything that wouldn’t get mom or I high
sank and disappeared
I think I flushed my feelings that day too

Fading images play in my mind
his braided hemp cord necklace woven around a tiger’s eye
the black heart earing that I lost almost the same moment
they wheeled his body out into the day
mom collapsed like a dying balloon
in dad’s chair
her red watery eyes looking up at me
still holding the same questions   /

leaning bamboo


                raindrops make
                                   branches heavy



                                             ………..              also,     my      heart     sags /

157 minutes away
seems an eternity
for those of us suffering
from being poo shy –
I slide over slightly
placing the un-comfortability
onto a different aspect of my left cheek
a gurgle rises
my hand flies to my belly…
hold on old friend –
why did I eat Taco Bell for lunch?
when will I learn what works and what doesn’t?
I have had this body for many years
and still I am in total shock
when I load up on hot sauce
then have to go back to work –
two long hours
until my toilet
my semi-interesting book
and a peaceful colon..
waiting for release
is not all it’s cracked up to be –

besmirching the Presbyterians
all dolled up
pretending they don’t drink
and fornicate
for dollars
down at the stop’n’save,
a low chuckle rises
the pits of hell never heard such a guttural and robust howl
my face distorts at the hypocrisy of their lives
small narrow-minded hate-mongers
doing everything they can conceive
to impose their will on others
to force their beliefs
down the hearts and minds and, yes
the throats
of any culture they come in contact with
invoking “god’s work”
while spreading disease and poverty –
blame the Baptists!
it was they who confined the natural people of America
to starve on barely habitable plots of desert
until uranium was discovered
then pushed them to the very edge of extinction
for a few more corporate dollars
in the collection plate…..
heathens rarely tip –
Smash the seculars!!
they continue to punish their sons and daughters
over genetically predisposed lifestyles
while touting grace and faith
in the most high authority
which basically means
they are above man’s law
having forgotten, it was men
who wrote god’s law –
oh hypocritical little lamb
your head and *** do not really belong together
in a perfect union
they should be separate
you know, like the founders intended
with the state and your *****, *****, churches
the same churches
where young boys are *****
for Jesus –

a long slow exhale sends my med of choice swirling around the candlelit room
everything comes down half a step and a smooth calm surfaces
irritations fade and the Wu bumps me free
thin smile passes across my eyes as shoes tumble
little tan Pit rolls over and sniffs the cloud
leans partly against me and partly against the soft brown couch
both of us stare off into space
eyes glazed
fully medicated –

broken handle
   setting in the grass
bleached

how many holes?
     how many holes?
scrapping ice
transplanting flowers
holding soil

white fibers lay in the green grass
      the shovel
has become
handle less –

clad only in flannel sheet
her supple ***** partially exposed
gave me pause
as I gathered gear for the work day at hand
in the delicate pre-dawn glow
her pale skin seems a perfect hue
both enticing and entrancing
my eyes lingered ~

if only to be late
or play sick
options pass through my mind
as her steady breathing
and barely perceptible
falling and return of her chest
invoke a myriad of delights
none of which involve
going to work today ~

pulling shoestrings tight
and buckling a leather belt
I glance, once again, over my shoulder
longingly gazing at a her sleeping body
in the back of my mind I hear
the tell-tale words of strength,
“it is only a few hours…” ~

inaudible sigh slips my lips as I close the door
her slumbering undisturbed
my heart full of love
I am ready for another work day /

crusty snot ring.. dirt coated
rosey cheeks and twinkling eyes
proceed to explain the intricacies
of the mole hill the dog was digging in
grimy fingers tell a different story
with grass stained knees to fill in the gaps
yet the excitement of the tale grips me
as I hear about the most giant gopher ever
and the fight that ensued between my ole hound
and a chipmunk straight from the fires of hell
I ask him to repeat the really good parts
thrilled, he explodes forth with all new details
seems giant squirrels have invaded my backyard
and only my rascally black lab can stop them
hearing gravel on the driveway
I envision the face of my daughter
as she spies the condition
survey’s the scene
at least this time grandpa is clean

~



deep in the recesses of slumber
dreams are influenced by external forces

we pulled the mattress into the living space
for a little impromptu camping
and being in such proximity to the dog beds
we found their licking and scratching and chewing
to be near unbearable

white noise fan blades breaking up the roar

it was a dream
at first the high hatted chef seemed normal
presenting plates of deliciousness
when at once he grabbed an ice pick
and went to insanely hacking on a large frozen rectangle

it might as well have been a mobster ******
chips flew and the pointed tip plunged deeper and deeper

my eyes opened to a steady rhythmic licking
as the oldest dog lay against the Stearns and Roebuck

close your eyes and dream
open your heart and let the
‘Sanders Spirit’ flow through you .........
         It’s easy!

just take a moment to help your fellow man
pause for a second to consider
being considerate

      show compassion
            to your brethren
                     with empathy
                           and care /

people get lost in dollar signs
thinking a socialist wants all
your personal property
this is of course
pure hogwash
spoken from lips of those locked in greed
folks
            who have forgotten their neighbors
                       first name /

forget Jesus…..
2000 year plus absentee specter
asking you to turn cheeks
so as to be hit again
think ‘Sanders Spirit’
and share
if nothing else
your love /

Salad, tossed face embossed got no floss chewin at all cost
Laying in the moss you know the forest but I ain’t no Gump
Or Trump tryin to destroy us filled with joyous boisterousness
Enjoy coitus with a moist ***** tied your *** to my truck hitch
Drag ya through the ditch, aint actin rich once I shot a snitch
Squealing like a stuck pig hooked him with a sturgeon rig
Took him to the reservation dig left him pining like a twig
We all danced a jig around the camp fire pulled out some plyers
Did my impression of Michael Meyers I started stabbing fools
With shiny dental tools took them all to school, then proceeded to break the rules
Splashed their face with jewels that others refer to as stool
Slapped them with my ****, until they were covered in it
Peanuts gleaming in the night, asked them if they wanted to fight
Told my little dog to bite, lit out til I was outta site
Alright –

Opened my eyes with a tremendous start
Racing in my chest, bursting forth my heart
Longingly searching filled with desire
Mind in a blur like the house on fire
This is the feeling of all of her love
Flying around me on wings of a dove

In dreams I hear soft cooing of a dove
moved by the song to a place of warm love
basking in the glow, bright winter fire
closed eyes to memory of desire
I opened them again with such a start
I thought the shock might stop my poor ole heart

Throwing a wedge of oak on the fire
A loud knock at the door gave me a start
My blood boiled with fleeting desire
in the distance the wingbeats of a dove
sent my hands flying up to clutch my heart
noise at the door could only be my love

But the sounds I heard were not of my love
but slapping frenzy of a dying dove
looking at her body, still beating heart
knowing only the pain of desire
inside I knew this could be a new start
only if I was to fan the fire

but I lacked the drive, need, or desire
to pick up, care for, the poor wingless dove
instead kicked it over by the fire
another stick, for the fire to start
but the motion stuck me deep in my heart
and I knew this was no way to show love

Picking it up, I pressed it to my heart
And prayed with all my heartfelt desire
Asking the creator “save this poor dove”
Then, all at once, I felt some movement start
I looked at its body, light of fire
I had the power to save lives with love