Jack awoke in his usual pain, un-
daunted by it. We're all gonna die
someday is his morning mantra these days.
Isolate the variable, anything
you do to one side of the equation
you gotta do to the other. Practice
zen, eat less, an empty belly's holy.
These are the rules for old men waiting.

On the other hand, attachment to self
and to things to do. Clean the house, watch for war.
Count syllables, teach English to immigrants
from Slovakia or Syria.
Advocate vocational education
in the schools. Jack has much to do, a new
administration, low social security.
He goes slow as the day will allow.

By Arcassin Burnham


Men being afraid of other men is a joke,
Pretend to have a hard exterior from ****
that they spoke,
You seem to act tougher than the man
you brought with ya' but when he leaves
all those you said will just up and choke,
Men ain't men no more, they just come with a gloat,
For me its not easy to be a black man and
be broke,
Can say it two times , can say it three times,
If I don't get it the first time, its not gon'
work,
Leave my emotions and my feelings and my anguish and my insecurities to put a
troubled man under the dirt,
Manhood comes first,
This is a curse,
Wicked worlds worth,
How many men does it take to lift the earth,

Not intimidated by no man.


/


Sparkles don't last as long than an life expectancy,
Lashing my threats to my enemies,
I am nothing but holy,
I know I could peel the corruption from my skin, my soul,
A morning like this could take me out
of feeling old,
A good solid feeling from the this I've told,
Some days I feel my words are not enough and so,
Reap what you sow,

And so will they also be sold.

Singing up on the fly,
the sea touches the cloud.
Dancing on the ground,
it won't slip off the floor,
it won’t drop a drop!
Curiously algorithmic,
runs on the go,
leaps or dips, but never
is a gone goose!
Ah, holy smoke,
what did you drop?

They ask me why i chant Your name?
Is it to gather myself within?
For focus, clarity and mindfulness?

Is it a prayer to God above?
To reserve a spot in His Divine abode.
A place for my soul in heavenly realms?

Is it for my desires manifold?
Health, wealth and family
oh yes! And a little comfort too?

If truth be told,
        My Beloved Divine
I don't know why
         i chant this name of Thine
I chant it once
         And then again
And then again
        And again and again
                     It is so sweet.

You are there in air
rustling in leaves
whooshing in sonorous song
chiming in wind among the trees.

Even here on this silver screen
you beam key to key bouncing
exciting protons making small creatures
one character at a time.

You even whisper so quietly
in the daily hum of my life
I rarely hear or notice
the strong power of your love.

How can I miss the soft sound
hiding in the passages of my day
in my every breath
you traveling freely
in every molecule of my being?

I need to try harder
second to second
to listen first
to the sibilant sound
of you tiptoeing
in the background
your acoustic presence
in every step I take
every noise I make
every thought I conceive
you never never leave
me here or anywhere alone.

Sometime you seem nearly silent
until you roar back in the hymns
I can hear if I but listen
for you in the voices
of strangers, enemies and friends.  

You seem invisible
until I open my eyes
to you there in the creases
frowns and smiles
of every person I pass.

You are a symphony
and its composer
I can encounter
if I pay the coin of my attention
in the small moments of my day.

This day I hope
I can wake up
to the holy
all around
in every sight
in every sound
in the silences
tucked away
in between.

the moment
your heart
pounds in pain
because of the way
they refuse to love you
is the exact moment
you need to stand up,
walk out

and find someone who will.