Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
Pagan Paul Jan 2019
.
Jerrica had found Lost.
The treasure buried above ground.
The memory foam with dementia.
The quill with no nib …
she thought about feather pens.
Catching herself from falling
the swoon had caught her cold.
This **** ****** sword
was proving to be elusive
and now she was under sustained attack.
From a personal fetish.
It just wouldn't leave her alone,
creeping into her mind unbidden.
She needed to scratch an itch,
if only she knew what that itch was.

Trolls are magickally bound to their bridge.
Leaving it is usually fatal.
But Gyb had bones to gnaw,
and once he had his teeth employed
his mind was a captive onlooker.
A crazy plan formed in his head,
possibly avoiding the brain.
He took mud and formed a figure,
then some of his hair clippings
moulded into the head.
Then he took a leap of disbelief!
He looked into the river and … Click!
Snapped his fingers and fixed the image.
He cut it out of the meniscus
and attached it to the doll familiar.

“Did Achilles have damp ankles
or was he well heeled?”
Morfine had asked Choklut.
“Neither. He was the one who sneezed
and opened the Fête of the Suitors”.
“No. I think he was called Telemarketing,
he sneezed and they drew the tombola raffle”.
“Wasn't there a Goddess involved as well?”.
“Um … Yes, maybe the Goddess of Tissues?”.
“Snivel? No, she is more tears than snot.
I think its the one who turned her husband
into a swan, and made him ****** her handmaiden”.
“Oooo Nasty!”
“No, Nasty fell in love with his own profile,
and called things off with his nymph,
the reverberations can still be heard today”.
There was a brief pause … then,
“What are we doing Choklut?
We found a magickal sword and …
talking of which, where is it?”.
“I don't know. You had it last”.
Just then a serving girl gave them a note.
It said. Tomatoes, Peppers, Onions, Eggs …
“Not that side you dyk” she said.
Morfine turned the note over and read.
“Quick, no time to lose.
Someone saw the sword in the river.
We have to get to stanza 8
before it goes over the waterfall!”.
“Oh” said Choklut “I've never seen a stanza belly flop”.

It was true.
Contrary to the laws of physics.
Kelm saw the sword floating down river.
It looked like any other sword.
So he let it be, dismissed it.
He couldn't swim anyway.
He mused on the irony of that.
Nobody learnt to swim and yet drowning
was an undignified death for a barbarian.
If he could swim
he could find the fishes hiding places.

Jerrica had also been musing.
With a Poet.
That was during the last 3 stanza's.
But now …
she saw a sword floating in the river.
Something didn't quite fit.
Something was not in the right place.
She placed the Poet back in her breast pocket.
'If only he wasn't just 4 inches high' she thought
'he is rather handsome and intelligent'.
Bingo! She had it. But she didn't want it.
Armydiseases Principle of Liquid Dispersement!
It states!
Introduce a solid object into a body of liquid,
then the corresponding volume of liquid is dispersed
back to the nearest solid.
So, right now there is a very small flood
in the shape of a very small sword
ravishing the local area.
She decided, quite rightly as it turns out,
that she was feeding herself a red herring.

Slim stood on the bridge
staring at the churning water below.
How did it happen?
A stanza all of his own,
ruined by the intrusion of morons.
“Morfine and Choklut” he bellowed
“I'm going to eviscerate you”.
The wind carried a few of the words away,
but that was the gist of it.
“Hello” a voice said.
Slim had an accident, and jumped out of his skin.
And plunged into the cold water.
A strong arm pulled him out,
and he was face to face with a troll.
“My name is Gyb. I hate Morf Chok also”.
Nothing had prepared Slim for meeting a troll.
Not even the etti-queue-etti lessons at school.
'Would you care for afternoon tea?'
seemed rather inappropriate.
Gyb broke the awkward silence.
“Look! Sword floating”.
Slim didn't look.
Convinced the troll would eat him.
Thats their way. Distract and devour.
But he couldn't help it, he snuck a look.
And the sword slid on by gently bobbing,
tiny little runes glinting in the sun.

For its part the sword was serenity itself.
Chilled out to the max.
Resting on the water. Relaxing and reclining.
Life was good for the sword.
It had just passed a boy fishing,
poking his rod down a fish hole.
It had passed a young woman,
who looked confused and flustered.
It slid under a stone bridge.
A troll with a doll,
and a man with questionable odour.
And then he heard the roaring.
He sent out his senses,
no mean feat for a sword,
and 'felt' its surroundings.
Its image eye caught sight of the future.
It was an effing great waterfall.
And the future was the way he was heading.
For now.

Narrative Interlude

At this point in the story the author, Pagan Paul, is compelled
to inform the reader/listener of a complaint received
from Messrs Morfine and Choklut.
The substance of which amounts to the following:
That the said author is willfully under using their talent
as supporting cast and denying them access to many stanza's.
Furthermore they are threatening to expose the authors
'irregularities' in his relationship with Princess (name redacted).
The author, Pagan Paul, responds thus:
I should like to remind Messrs Morfine and Choklut
that, with astroke of my quill, I can eradicate them.
Drop them from the story all together.
And with reference to Princess (name redacted) -
'Its my Poem and I'll irregularit if I want to'.
Dear reader/listener prepare yourself for stanza 9.
It has a waterfall in it.
Maybe Morfine and Choklut will appear, maybe not.
They are the ones over a barrel.


Minutes after the sword floated by
something else caught her eye.
To boys on a barrel, in the water.
Boys barreling along or a barrel buoying along?
Choklut noticed her by the bank.
'funny place to have a cash machine' he thought.
Doing his best to impress and look brave.
Morfine waved and nearly fell off.
Suddenly the barrel lid opened
and Slim poked his head out like a tortoise.
“What the …?” said Choklut.
“Just repaying a debt boys” he said.
“But you owe us nothing” Morfine replied.
“Oh but I do” snarled Slim
“I owe you one times intrusion into your own stanza”.
He ducked back inside, and slammed the lid.
“Of all the fatherless ...”
“I blame the author” said Choklut.
“Yeah well, he is the one who's gonna be sorry,
we've just muscled in on stanza 8,
and relegated that waterfall to stanza 9” Morfine chimed.
“Morfine. Morfine! I hear the waterfall coming”.
“No! Not now. He has to leave it until 9 now,
we are about to cross the finish line on 8”.
The waterfall loomed.

Actually the waterfall knew nothing of weaving.
It just stayed where it was, pouring.
Spectacular, it was a very pretty waterfall.
It must be. It attracted tourists.
And it had fun!
It loved watching detritus tumble,
teeter on the brink. And fall.
Especially tourists.
It was over 300 paces high,
less than 40 paces wide,
its descent magnificent liquid ballet,
sparkling droplets shining like jewels,
forever transcending light refraction,
and plunging, plunging, plunging,
into a gorgeous azure puddle.
About ankle deep.



© Pagan Paul (17/01/19)
.
3rd poem in my Strange World collection.

Part 3 out soon :)
.
Francie Lynch Jun 2016
On Sunday, my S.O. and I
Drove to see Chorus Line
At the Stratford Festival.
A matinee. Beautiful day.
We left the Refineries of Sarnia
For fine entertainment.
The Avon flows gently
Buoying white swans gracefully.
Blah... blah... blah.
All very real.
You can see why it's called, Stratford;
There could be no other name.
A good choice.
Best Shakespearean Festival in N.A.
She explained all this to me on the drive.
If contrary people suffer
From low self-esteem, I didn't help
The situation.
As we drove through rich, green farmland,
Grazing cattle.
She asked why some barns
Have ramps leading to the barn doors.
Well, says I,
The farmers, because of the economy,
Have to sell their livestock in parts,
So the ramps give easy access for the animals
Back to their stalls.

Huh, said S.O.
That's so thoughtful!
Timing is everything.
Sincerity in voice, critical.
Hurry on to a new topic.

Someday, for sure, she'll tell someone, somewhere
About the considerate farmer.
She will.
Timing.
Like the kick line.
Like a *punch line.
Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Brent Kincaid Sep 2015
The now has left my body.
My mind is emptying
Of all thought of today.
The moment is receding;
I feel my feet lifting
My arms are floating
As if in a pool of light
Like water, buoying me
With untouching caresses
Lofting to evanescence
And I know it is fine
This feeling of pleasance
Of no worries in me
No hurrying to be done
Nowhere I have to be
No reason to run.

I am centered in this,
A feeling of completeness;
Of needing nothing else,
A spiritual sweetness,
A relaxing kind of comfort
Surrounds and enfolds
By singing unheard songs
Deep into my very soul.
I am happy here, smiling,
Somewhere in the self
Where not even I can see,
That I am someone else.
I am someone loving
And kind and caring.
I love this feeling so
I wish I were sharing
The sense of a world
Where everything is right
And everyone is floating
In the same golden light.
Sarah Kunz Feb 2017
When my body is broiled with the crispening macabre glean of anxiety; I imagine myself to be a buoying loaf of cornbread in a torrent sea of acid.
my custard colored crust being licked away by the ravenous maw of the current, this is no terrain for a loaf of cornbread in the first place.
Ludicrous.
Perhaps if I joined the sun swept crystal island of idealism, I could be drenched in honey and bound frivolously in nectarous orchard fields.
But then, even here, I suppose a Raven may  spot me and adorned with a vulturous sneer gobble me up in my blissful state there.
So where shall my pappy crumbling loaf of an existence reside?
In the trenches of unbridled realization, lapping me up in a despair riddled prison?
Or the land of beatitude and glee unfettered from the brutalizing truths of reality...
Perhaps there's some bridging ground between these two polar opposites...
but how should I know?
I'm merely a cornbread I can't declare cognizance.
Dealing with OCD
is like losing your mind,
You can be in a room
full of people, yet all alone,
Noone can ever know
when the horrible thoughts
will come and what they will be
you just feel a buzz, a hum, a drone
in your head and you try to block it out
but like Sony Xperia apps
running in the background,
they are there, infernal
consuming the bandwidth of your soul
there is a fine line between delusion and sanity
a clutching at straws, a search for help
pleas and pleas fall not on deaf ears
but endure it you must
until it runs its course
tunnelling on, pushing you to the edge
straddling the fine line buoying
bobbing, dancing, fleeting-
drowning you in its wake as you gasp and gasp
OCD is horrible and misunderstood
why it hit me, I know not-
when it came part of me, I never agreed
I just woke up arrested, paralysed
by the most unutterable thoughts...
I suspect it happened when I met
the thin woman with the one eye-
I have known no peace since then
Paranormal paranoia rules my brain
and I am mooted, glued in the vile filth
of guilt, shame, anger, helplessness-
like a generator running on fuel,
incessant the tyres do not stop burning
alone, sometimes, I ask myself
why? why me Lord?
the cup is too heavy for me to bear
and ghouls have made my mind
an open playing field and I cant break free
at times I wake up and its gone
I smile and dress up-
try to think normally, eat and sleep
but itchy insomnia rages on my skin
beads of sweat and shaking, my mouth is dry
I am afraid, frightened and I cower
OCD is crunching my life, slowly
and sadly noone knows...they just dont know
why I say 'off' things sometimes
they suppose its the preoccupation
of a busy mind, and busy I am
wallowing, silently, stewing in the prison
it seems there is no escaping this
Inspired by a true story
Lora Lee Jun 2016
I have found it.
That certain
circular way of being
I was looking
                for it,
                     so hard
my soul in turmoil
one slight scratch
under smiling surface
and I would become
a sculpture
made of wax
                melting
at the slightest
wisp of breath
burning ,
               mercilessly
at certain words
                forming
from your mouth,
your mouth—
that has placed
itself upon me
so many times
on our mutual
faraway cliffs
that no-time-zone
meeting point
above stars,
in other universes
     and believe me.
Nobody can
live this way,
suffering for
the want
of an uncontrollable
urge to be
          so
            very loved
So I have found it.
My way back
to balance
it was in your voice
and my own
together mingling
clear lines of phone
cut through soul tingling

I now take this lotus,
planted in my being
since birth,
and hold my stance
prepare to
               perform
the sacred dance
a mandala-painted
halo around my crown
a holy stone
in each hand,
          buoying my spirit,
anxiety down
stones I will never
cast upon you
because you
are forever me
             even as I
take my heart
with two hands
and return it,
still aflame,
into
           my
                 chest
Monica Rose Aug 2010
Sitting, waiting, contemplating…
Is it time?
I watch the waves roll up as they kiss the sand.
A sizzle escapes into the air.
The hot, scorching fire put out
Hushed, quieted.
I’m dying…
The clouds float in the water, the sky
The gulls swim, fly
My skin is pink, my energy drained
The sun greedy, taking, stealing away
I’m dying...
I resign, no hope, gone. It’s gone.
I walk ankle-deep
The waves grab at my legs, tugging
“Come” the waves call “Come” they whisper
So seductive, tempting, easy
Knee-deep the wind rushes around me, tussles my hair
The water, cold, numbing, driving my senses
I’m dying…
It pulls, tugs, pushes up to my thighs, my waist
The cold, I **** in a breath, calm
Calming, the rocking, the swaying
I hear the whispers. The wind calls. It beckons. It’s hungry.
“Let go”
I’m dying…
It’s easy. I float, I surrender
The waves sweep me away, buoying me up
I feel light, weightless. It’s so simple.
Beautiful, the waves reach over me, embrace me
The cold is gone, no the heat rushes in, burns
But only for a moment
The dark comes, consumes, soothes
Nothing more, never more…
Finished.
Jeffrey Pua Jan 2015
My heart is cold and empty,
Love has sapped me of love
In all the right places, rooted in me.
Time nourished me.
And it would be lonely for you there.

Scars bridged all fate I have,
Altogether. My poems--
Buoying me to the river
Of my mind, and out to finding you.

My heart is cold and empty.
So bring the world with you.
Your dream, your soul, your pride.
Bring the photo of your dearest smile,
The pallette of your eyes, that is
Also water, and sun, and sky.
Your discoveries and doubts--
Dear, take them with you,
For there would be many, there,
That are not. All is shadow within,
And burden, and gravity.

You would know what its like
To be the light or the feather,
A star, or hope
To one that is hopeful.
You would feel what it is
To be one, and being one,
And being all
With me.

You would kiss, as though
To love yourself. Embrace, as though
To set one free. And journey,
As though to settle on my heart,
Realigning all that is whole
With all imperfect pieces.

Now, live,
Love in faith.
Go after dreams,
And silly things,
Fail. Learn. Act.
Feel.
Drink coffee.
Sing Karaoke.
Be crazy.
Ignore poetry.
Believing,
That way,
Somehow,
You are loving me.*

© 2014 J.S.P.
Ilene Bauer Mar 2018
Once in a while I wish I could dial
The day back to right where it started.
I’d then reconcile with things that did rile
And left me despondently-hearted.

It isn’t the norm but some days just swarm
With episodes rank and annoying
And in such a storm, it’s hard to transform
A dejection into something buoying.

Still, all things must pass and greener the grass
We will spot on our side of the fences.
We’ll relinquish the crass and begin, smooth as glass,
With a fresh start when morning commences.
Sarah Kunz Jun 2017
We were Impervious:
Two perfectly poised bodies buoying each other through the **** of life

Then the mass Conflagration:
A fire consumed and incinerated what I thought we could be.

I should have realized worship isn't a vessel of transcendence , but a ship fettered in servitude eagerly waiting to drown me.
Sarah Kunz Dec 2016
I hate to admit it, but I want to feel special.
I entomb myself in the reality of mundane dribblings but truly my heart is wrenching as it can smell the fantasy.
The thought of someone wanting to know my favorite movie and memorize it like their sacred duty.
I'm soft; a kettle brewing with pang splintered yearning.
I want the waves of people to pander to me surrendering at my feet collapsing with poised beauty whispering "you are worthy"
I want to feel special, yet I know that I am not. I am amongst the innumerable flesh ridden boats of existence buoying about in angst and desperation.
I am alone and am pleased in this pod of solace.
But a broad stroking mansuetude hand that may caress my face and help proliferate the love I hide within myself.
Well, I guess that may be nice...
Sarah Kunz Jan 2017
Every story requires that character.
The zany tenacious fellow brewed so fervid in the condition of human.
Their genuine existence so present it almost feels incompatible in our world so driven by the lacquered shell of "image"
As I watch the corners of your lips lift in fluid motion, my body is splintered in waves of awe.
You are the broth that adds substance emboldening all the buoying ingredients amongst it.
Unbridled by the delusions of society you make the simplest things ignite with magic.
You are the character enchanting my story.
You are the character who is teaching me how love can flourish organically.
You are teaching me to become the scintillating character I want to be.
Thank you for helping me accept the unadulterated character that is me.
Julian Feb 2023
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/l8njruxa73yee9b0jzmhd/The-Ultimate-Unabridged-Guide-to-Esoteric-Working-English-2.docx?­rlkey=kunoar7ghpfkb7fjk5xkdgx95&st=i84ornny&dl=0

^Decipher my words by using the above reference material^


DAVERING DIPPYDOS CONCEALED IN THE GELID WAME OF THE WANCHANCY OF SPODOMANCY RETICULATED AROUND QUESTIONS OF INTERRAMIFICATION WE COULD PROVIDE IMMARCESSIBLE CONDITIONS DELIMITED IN THE FORMANT MATHEMATICS OF OPERATIVE DURESS THAT QUANTIFY AND QUALIFY THE INDIVIDUAL CONSTITUTED PREROGATIVES OF CLADOGENESIS ORBITED AROUND CALVOUS CONNIVANCE THAT ITCHES IN YEUKS OF BEADLEDOM THAT THE SURMISED APOTHECARY WEIGHT OF THE SUPERLATIVE DISTILLATION OF BANDOBAST GUARDED IN THE BARRULET WHICH IS SYMBOLIZED MORE CONCRETELY BY THE INTERTESSELATED DETAILS OF THE SATARA OF A FEW KEY PIONEERS IN EVERY ORBITAL FIELD AROUND ORGANITY THAT THE UNSEELED PROXENETES MIGHT DEVOUR THE IGNOVIMOUS DETAILS OF EXTENSIVE BERLINE DIATRIBE EMBOSSED INTO CIRCULAR ACCLAIM. WE FIND THE FISSIONS BETWEEN THE SPORRAN ACCENTS OF INTERDIGITATED SEGUIDILLA THAT EXERT A LOLLOPING MAGNANIMITY IN CECUTIENCY OWING THAT THE OLASIN EPOCH JUST BEGINNING OF THE CELLARERS CAPACITY TO UBIQUITIZE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AT HAND TO EVERY ORPHANED CAUSE THAT WE MIGHT KNOW THE CHEVET AND ECHARD SIMULTANEOUSLY OF ECCLESIOLATRY AND WHEN WE SURMISE FIGURES OF APPROXIMATE RANGE WE AMOUNT TO A PETTY PRIVILEGE OF 7-9% OF CULTURAL CAPITAL. WHEN WE DIAGRAMMATICALLY SEJUGATE THE CASTRAMETATED NOOSPHERE WITH AN ETAMINE PROCLIVITY TO AVOID THE LAZARET OF ELASTANE BROMIDROSIS SURREYED IN THE SELCOUTH BURROLE OF CHAMOIS FILIPENDULUOUS IN CERTAIN DIPPOLDISM OF CURRYCOMBED VENDETTAS OF BOLAR VERSUS BOLTROPE AND THE NEGENTROPY OF AUCUPATION THAT YOU MIGHT ASSIZE A NEW EXPEDITED AREINEDAN ZEITGEIST WHERE FORMULARY EQUATIONS ARE HYPOSTATIZED INSTANTANEOUSLY TO THE LEVERAGE OF SATELLITE SARANGOUSTY EXLEX PROTECTORATES SORDORING THE CATHEDRA ONLY TO THEN CONCEAL IT IN A TACTICAL NOYADE OF DELIBERATE BASCULE FROM WEALTH TO PENURY OFTEN ASSUMED AS THE GOAL OF THE WALLFISH WALLETEER BECAUSE THE SPUTUM OF RADIAL GREAVES OF GRAVID IRONY DEFLECTS VERY NOTICEABLY THE CURVATURE OF KYMATOLOGY IN THE DIRECTION OF PRECISION ONLY IN THE ARBALESK VERNACULAR THAT IS SUBLIMINAL TO THE FUNDAMENTAL RUDIMENTS OF DISCURSIVE PATAVINITY OF ORRERY OROGENS OF ENNOMIC DISCOVERIES THAT HARK THE ELOIG N BETWEEN FAMIGERATED DISTANCE LAVEERED AGAINST THE PROGENY OF PETULANT CONTUMACY THAT FEWER HYPERTROPHIES AVOID IN SIMPERED MANNERS OF RHETORIC. WE BELONG TO A HISTRINKAGE GENERATION WHERE THE BRONCHOS OF NEURYPNOLOGY WAGERED IN NEUTROSOPHY FOR STANNARY NEVES OF NIVELLATION NIDDERING ON BATHOPHOBIA FOR SUCH A PROTENSIVE AND INDUCTIVE RIGOR AND ARDOR THAT THE TIRESOME TRAVAILS OF DEBUNKING THAT WEGOTIST HAUTEUR BECOME EXHAUSTIVELY CONCLUSIVE BY THE EMBROCATION OF THE FLUIDITY MATRIX DESIGN OF A SYNECHIOLOGY SYSTEM DEVISED TO COMPUTE THE PANMIXIA EVEN IN CONDITIONS OF ANTIPANGAMY THAT THE CYBERNETIC TORQUE ON THE SYSTEM IS THEREFORE INHERENTLY BINARY AND GRAVITATED IN SUBLINEATED CARDIOGNOST CAPACITIES IN A STALWART COUNTERCLOCKWISE DIRECTION TOWARDS A HETERONORMATIVITY BECOMING BASELINE RATHER THAN INVERTED. THE PLAGIUM OF AGES IS THE CARNAL QUESTION OF CIVILIZED DISCONTENTS BECOMING PROSTHETIC SPHERES OF PRISMATIC UNITY AMONG THE SIDEREAL ACTORS OF THE ABATJOUR OF THE ESSIVE ABERDEVINE CONSTRAINTS CONTECKING THE CONSTRINGED STRIFE OF MAGNALITIES SPAWNING ROTARY REACTORS OF ABREACTION THAT FUEL A GARBOLOGY THAT BORROWS HEAVILY FROM THE GLAMOUR OF THE PROGENY OF CENTROBARIC ******. WE THEREBY SEIZE WITHIN CARAPACES OF WOOLD SLOWLY IMMERGED BEYOND THE RANCOR OF JERQUED JERKINHEAD JANSKY FOIBLES OF PARASELENIC GERONTOLOGY THAT THE SENICIDE OF THIS AUDIENCE SKEWS CONTRARY TO THE BATHOPHOBIA WHEREBY IT IS BEING SCRUTINIZED IN STRABISMUS AND THEREBY THE BODACHES OF POINTILLISM MISS THE SUBTLE IRONY OF HOW GENIUS IS JUST INTERLOCKING CRACKJAWS WITH GOBSTOPPERS IN A NEVER ENDING TEST OF THE FINESSE OF THE SACCHARINE TRAITS OF THE CREAMERY OF CIVILIZATION. THE BATTALIONS OF STEEVED BOBSTAYS JOGGLING IN SALTUS BETWEEN PERIODIC ORBITS OF ZERO MECHANIZATION BUT FULL AMPHIGORY THE CHURNED COILS OF HYPERTROPHY YIELD A RECTISERIAL STRUMPET ECDYSIAST TYMPANY IF FUNNELED THROUGH THE ALMAGEST OF FORMER IMMARCESIBLE KNOWLEDGE THAN THE INQUIRIES OF MANKIND WILL CONVERGE INTO A CONCLAVE THAT THE SCORIA WILL ENUMERATE MORE THOROUGHLY IN THE WADMALS OF ALL WIDDERSHANCY AND THE INTERRAMIFICATIONS OF PRODIGY INTERPUNCTED BY THE ALBENTURE OF WILDING IMBREVIATION OF THE STRICKLE OF YARNWINDLE OF EXPERIENCE WE DISCOVER A BLETTONISM SO MAGNIFICENT IT INTENSIFIES THE IONIZATION OF THE AURORA AUSTRALIS JUST AS MUCH AS THE BOREALIS BOTH YEUKING FOR THE BETHEL OF ESSIVE ABATJOUR IN THE JURYMAST FOR CONCRETE STEPNEYS STEPWISE IN THEIR SCABERULOUS PLOTS OF DECISIVE INGLENOOKS BURROWED IN THE FIGURATIVE MOULINS VERSATILE IN POSITION AND MERCURIAL IN THE SPRITES OF THEIR TABACOSIS OF AMASTHENIC WISDOM MIGHT WE ENDEAR A GREATER GENERATION OF ARENOIDS THAT EXIST TO ELABORATE AN ARETAICS OF BALANCED ORTHOTOMY AND ORTHOBIOSIS GROUNDED ON BIOTAXY IMPOSED THROUGH THE STRIDULATION OF THE FEW GALVANIZING THE SUNBITTERN MOON AT A GLANCING ANGLE OF PRISOPTOMETRY THAT WE MIGHT FETCH THE DIRIGISME FROM THE DIRIGIBLE. IN A NEW HUMAN AND HUMANE FRONTIER WE ARE IN A SORBILE POSITION ANCILLARY TO THE SUPERPOSITION OF SUPEREROGATORY SEDIGITATED SEDERUNTS OF NEMBUTSU DOVETAILED EVENLY EVEN WHEN DISHEVELED IN CACOPHONY THAT THE BEHEST OF THE ALVEOLATE MELLIFEROUS PLANGOR OF PLANKWISE CORSAIRS IN THEIR SUPREME PRIMACY THAT WE MIGHT EARN THE TITLE OF TEACHERS AMONG THE LITTORAL ALLUVION OF DYVORS OF SUBDICOLOUS CONDITIONS IGNORANT OF THE SCORBUTIC YOUNGSTOCKS TRIGGERED BY YESTERTEMPESTS AND YOUTHQUAKES THAT JOGGLE THE SUBSULTUS OF SALTUS FROM BRITTLE BRICOLAGE OF PRESTIDIGITATION THAT IS INTEGRAL TO THE MACARISM ENVELOPING ALL ENVIED SOULS THAT ONE MIND MIGHT EMERGE AS A MAINPERNOR OF A JURYMAST TO ACQUIT A CORRUPT SYSTEM OF MONGERY FOR ITS MINOR MALVERSATIONS AND MALCONTENTS. WE THEREFORE BELONG TO A NEWER HIERARCHY WHERE THE SUBORNED PREDICATE PROPOSITION OF THE BARYEICOIA IMMANENT ESPECIALLY AMONG TIMES OF ESBAT AND CELLARER WE MIGHT DISCOVER THE FATE OF OLMS OF ELFLOCK THAT THEY MIGHT NOT EVAPORATE FROM THE TURGID ROLLICK OF A UNIVERSAL MAGPIETY THAT ENSURES THAT MACROPICIDE IS AVOIDED SO THAT THE DENATURED TWINGES OF PROPRIETY LIONIZED BY CREDENCE IN REGARD MIGHT ORBIT IN ELLIPSE AROUND THE OBLONG ORBIT OF ITS MOST PRONOUNCED FASCINATIONS AND PERVERSIONS AND LESS AROUND THE SUBROUTINES OF THE MALADROIT FRUSTRANEOUS ECHARD OF LONGEUR SLIPSHOD IN TIME TO EDGE ITSELF FURTHER UNCIALLY IN ANGSTROM AGAINST ANGST. THE CREDENDA OF THE DOCIMASY OF SQUAMATION MANDATED BY MANY URCEOLATE ARCEATE ARBALESK COVVENGERS MIGHT SEEM SUITABLE BY PRESUMPTION BUT THE MALCONTENT INHERENT INTO A SYSTEM OF SOURDINE AND SORBILE SORBEFACIENT INDIVIDUALS INTERRAMIFIED IN CODED LETHOLOGICA DUE TO ABORIGINAL EMOTIVISM SIPHONED FROM THE LAVADERO OF THE IMMARCESIBLE MIGHT BE A DOWNFALL OF STREAMLINED ****** TOWARDS A HEGEMONY CAPABLE OF THE TORQUE NECESSARY TO SURVIVE THE HEYDAY OF HESTERNAL PROCLIVITIES GOVERNED BY A MASSIVE ACYESIS AND ACYANOPSIA WHICH EVENTUALLY MIGHT SUBLIMATE THE GREATER BARASINGHAS OF WHIPSTAFF AND WILLIWAW ABOVE THE BRONTEUM OF BEREAVED COLUMNS BENEATH TORPID SKELETONIZATION OF SEJUGATED SOCIETIES THAT CRUMPLE INTO ABREACTION FASTER THAN THEY CONGEAL INTO SOLIDARITY WHEN THE POLLARCHY IMPETUS IS STRONGER THAN THE SODALITY OF COHESION. WE NEED A SOCIETY GOVERNED BY NOMOTHETIC NOMISTIC LAWS ERECTED BY THE NOMOGRAPHY OF A WORLD WHERE NOMENCLATURE PLAYS A PROMINENT PART IN DISSIPATING NEMBUTSU AND ARRAYING THE NUMBATS TO SURVEY THE GAMUT OF AVAILABLE ENDEAVORS OF ENTERPRISE SUCH THAT THE FINITE ALEATORY PROBABILITIES OF AN ARCEATE ARRECT SOCIETY MIGHT THRIVE EVEN WITH UNEVEN VOLTINISMS THAT THE LIMITLESS RHOMBOS NEVER BECOMES A CURGLAFF BECOMING OF A FAINEANT GENERATION OF ABSTERGED STATISTICS BUOYING A SPATTEE OF SIFFLEURS THAT SUSTAIN SPECULATIVE BONANZAS ABOVE THE PITFALLS OF URMAN PIRANHAS THAT ENCAGE THE DEFT CALCULUS OF IMMISERRATION AMONG THE BAILIVATION OF WROX IN WROTH. WE NOW KNOW A SOCIETY THAT ONCE GOVERNED BY ICONOPLASTY OF VULPECULAR GAVELKIND ALLOYED NEVER BY A SEMPERVIRENCE OF MAN BUT BY A STRIDENT APOTHEGM OF SCIENTIFIC SOTERIOLOGY THAT THE KYMATOLOGY OF INTERTESSELATED SPANDRELS ENVELOPING THE DIMENSIONAL ATROPHY OF SPACETIME PARAMETERS THAT WE MIGHT OBSERVE A CONGENIAL URGE FOR BONHOMIE TO ERUPT NOT INTO A BONFIRE BUT INTO A SOLIDARITY OF PURPOSE FOR GREGARIOUS WEALTH AGAINST THE LEVY OF THE PURPRESTURE OF THE MUNDANE SYNERGIES OF CRYPTODYNAMIC CHRONOBIOLOGY YET DISSATISIFIED BY THE HYPE OF YAFFINGALES OF YARNWINDLE OUTSMARTING THE WOODSHEDDERS OF SHIBBOLETH WHO POACH WITH TAXIDERMY THE ESPALIER OF HUMAN ENDEAVOR MULTIPLIED BY THE CURRENCY OF ALL FAFFLE MEETING THE FRICTION OF ALL RUDIMENTARY REVOLUTIONS AGAINST THE FORWARD PROPULSION OF A SOCIETY OF GRANDEUR GROWING IN PROPORTION TO THE STRENGTH OF ITS MAGNATES THAT IT MIGHT COMMEMORATE THESE HEYDAYS OF THE ZEITGEIST OF ZANYISM AS A ZABERNISM OF GROWTH AND HYPERTROPHY FOR THE SYNECHIOLOGY CONSTRAINED BY MORTMAIN OF KYMATOLOGY AS A FUNCTION OF BIOCENOSIS AND THE FIELD OF MACROBIAN ENDEAVOR VISIBLE TO THE VITRAIL OF ALL LORE AND LEGENDS SPRAWLING THE ANCIENT PAST AND ENUMERATING A PRECISE FUTURE BETTER THAN WE EVER DREAMED.
Dave Hardin Dec 2016
The Last Bed We Buy

Grateful not to find myself
disembodied hovering high above
this stark cake of soap, gazing down
laboring to put names to faces, the couple
so familiar, side by side, palms down, still as

miller moths displayed on pins, I drift off  
to the drone of Bill or Ted, rumpled as
a morning after motel king intoning
soft or firm versus memory foam
or pillow top, hypoallergenic …

the last thing I hear before we fall
fast asleep spooning on a plush queen,
not too soft and not too hard, but just right,
satiny raft to ferry us the last stretch of river.
Waving like the Queen we float past the last new

roof over which we will preside, nod in solemn
recognition of our high efficiency gas furnace
apt to burn on years after I’m gone, applaud
politely what jolly well may be a farewell
drive north through the Tunnel of Trees

some biting October afternoon, weep
softly for our old squirrel chaser sawing
soft imprecations to hips gone tender some
blustery April night dog years from now, blow
low Bronx cheers in a fond adieu to life mediated

through screens. Even Bill or Ted knows that grace
lies just ahead around the next oxbow, leaves us
to dream, two dormice cupped in a leaf, rills
and eddies bearing us seaward, buoying us
downstream on softly rolling shoulders.
(pronounced – u jai yah)

The following haphazardly cobbled together some few years past (initially as a reasonable rhyme), nevertheless sustained discipline yours truly mather of fact doth cotton metaphorical gin still spins (yarn not gonna believe poppycock) within livingsocial as outcast of poker flats pun gent, whereby I strive to meditate successfully daily upwelling groovy sensation some hours doth last balloons within me buoying airborne courtesy spiritual blast.

Approximately three plus decades ago, I became ambitious to learn Yoga Asanas blow pesky mind chatter away (postures) despite inflexible body non coe whopper rating adamantly refusing to bend doe like (no just at the knee), but essentially flow wing stretches, while uncomfortably seated go wing to floor.

Mine physique experiences non Joe veal extreme difficulty involved simply seating stiff - NO can do sitting, whence, bony **** versus slightly more addy Poe posterior padding (viz junk in trunk) at present. The status quo mutter hoof act honest to dog cross my heart ambition roe bust lee expended to do more than sit on floor. Even slow lee sliding downward muscular flexion quite, a temporary restraining order i.e. TRO figurative and literal stretch.

Nonetheless, this persevering Lake wobegon soul lowered slender body, (when eye attended class) at Yo Yo ma intentional community within Sumneytown, Pennsylvania named Kripalu Yoga Community, where residents adapt macrobiotic diet under too till edge via auspices of cherished founder (Amrit Desai, i.e. Guru Dev).

Before entering sanctified space everybody removed their shoes often (now and again) guests welcome to partake regimen at said rue **** men tree idyllic retreat offering general public an opportunity true lee worth effort to experience this alternative lifestyle.

Though “U” might already be a pro unlike me, who didst barely progress as aye re: view memories toward greater flexibility minimally made one lasting whew benefit constituted of deep breathing asper you dull lies segue-way into light trance intended meditative zooming into mindfulness away from rat race. Even to this day, an effort gets made to set space aside time to transcend cares and concerns trace sing worry lines from uncertain future, and vase a versa if conditions favorable induce lightness – erase sing major concerns of being if perchance, face shill contortion asper body doth trite hoo easy and grace full flowingly, gently, harmoniously, indubitably lace limbs one into another - joyfully, kinesthetically, at comfortable pace.

Ewe experience lambent maneuvering naturally, optimally, peacefully, quietly, surreptitiously, et cetera into deep sleep of a hilly Edenic mirage tenderly controlling inhalation, and exhalation might seem silly, sans breathing hopefully remains sustained.

As a novitiate practitioner with ***** Wonka, this magical, modality (qua zee moat *** modus operandi) regarding, striving toward ultimately vast wrestled xfinity, yielding zestful fling away global concerns all the while grappling dutifully attaining jingling mystical state of consciousness, (perhaps mental experience a king dome all to itself, similarly venerated, vis a vis basically comprehend ping pong per positive phrases analogy, asper anyone who reads and understands this ring gull ling communique) as I attempt to describe mesmerize zing, mindset mosaic explicit words seem da fish hint.

Thus analogous self induce hypnotic cerebral deep minted experience possibly more clear to envision without stinting the reeder. Nonetheless, the conscious, deliberate guided “high” kickstarted courtesy Ujjayi breathing, which tint head breath comprises breathing technique employed in different
variety of Taoist and Yoga practices.

In relational mash mich hug gun flint sparking neurons to ascend Yogic exaltation, where mindset doth glint within casting glowing countenance whispering the ocean breath.

The length and speed of breathing aid did, controlled by diaphragm, strengthening braid did mental fiber which purposefulness of ujjayi without being fanatical, an effort gets made daily meditation teasing envisioned in laid within wafting warm waves (comprising grade “A” leased half hour, but no more than twenty four). If time constraints un war rented ala limited restraints disallow currying pour forth, the course fostering, inducing limned score arching relaxation merely practicing to open a door slow prolonged breathing bonjour can deliver (pizza pie) energizing feel akin to flying like Icarus above urban jungle roar.
Over saturation with Yuletide
drenching world, web, wide
equal and/or greater
effort demands energy tide
to global warming,
lest apocalypse doth ride

high and mighty mandating,
inculcating, buoying... pride
toward planet Earth, the
apathetic, demonic, horrific,
plastic... malleable passive
can no longer run and hide.

Results elucidating, forthcoming,
groundbreaking courtesy of 23andme
nsync with network of
newly discovered cache of relatives
which painstakingly diligent
(joint) effort helped

map our family tree,
though her ardent effort
completed many months past I re:
visit substantially detailed
information about our genealogy,
this time (December)

of every year prompts me
now with particularly increased clarity
to conjure, imagine,
order summon... glimpsing
mine Jewish ancestry,
yet nary handy

dandy blues clues,
not even one iota subsequently
qualifies yours truly to identify
with persecuted peoples be
leave me you,
a sudden fiery conversion
to immerse myself with Judaism fee

bull, nonetheless chronology
to broaden knowledge
base shockingly woke
greater awareness (i.e. truncated limbs)
regarding Holocaust soak
king unrepentant perpetrators

with blood on their
hands doth provoke
sadness more aware about
Eastern European distant
cousins bore yoke
of anti-Semitism

spiritually, figuratively
incises, didst stoke
albeit time delayed
vicarious pain, no matter broke
ken spirits long since
turned to dust, whereby

former ignorance (mine) linkedin
with smattering generations
of yore besmoke
horrors indelibly stitched within genes
comprising every bone
and sinew (mine).

Said heightened awareness
noticeably pronounced sudden
agonizing psychosomatic sensation
that did further blind,
hence painful to open these brown eyes
already afflicted with severe myopia lined
with so called "floaters" necessitating

custom made bifocals, where Ophthalmic
laboratory technicians (manufacturing
opticians, optical goods workers, or kind
optical mechanics) deftly grind
cut, edge, and finish lenses according
to instructions provided by dispensing
opticians, optometrists, or ophthalmologists.
entrapped within webbed wide world
weft as a **** pulled stilts skein
at warp speed exhibiting
my heroic trumpian wiles
cuz he (johnny come lately) a then
exemplary hedonist, narcissist,
and polygamist dons
comical, farcical, illogical, lunatical...
offal dolled up endearing guise,
when inconvenient truth broached

particularly determining paternity,
no matter countless progeny sport windblown
swiftly tailored mimicked
matted coiffure of mine
resembling hirsute trademark
of appalling though
revered forty fifth president,
nevertheless harried hair styles
in tandem with fabrications riles
the madding crowd - myself included

into frenzied ******* state,
no matter yours truly upholds
voluntary penitential platonic
marital modus operandi
suddenly as one celibate sexagenarian
absent physical *******
intolerable as hemorrhoids or piles
analogous to flat footed
yardbird schlepping miles
joining the long line of exiles.

Vice president of United states
gifted with maiden name Harris,
whose surname same as mine
one I feel like a proud boy to profess,
cuz ma late polymath
papa jack of all trades
self taught handyman skills
as an A1 roofer who repaired
and raised the entire roof
from stem to stern

never contracted shingles,
nor did his prodigal son - yours truly - me
experience the bane of painful rash
that can appear as a stripe of blisters
that wraps around the side of the torso
and caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV),
the same virus that causes chickenpox,
hence Preparation H
best over the counter ideal balm
to ameliorate painful ****** itch

and thwart bummed out uneasiness,
enjoying consummated adultery
avoiding using uncomfortable prophylactics
(prickly prohibited topic dejure)
though riding *******
doth severely aggravate,
complicate, impregnate, and vitiate
surrogate domestic policy
putting a modern spin
on Anna and the King of Siam

with intent to create aery vision of utopia,
where videre licet barenaked ladies
essentially gamely frolic
in the autumn mist
fomenting one after another
to tease out rock ribbed ready *******
with premature ******* for excitation
Harum-scarum fidelity be ******
bordello supplants "city on a hill"
buzzfeeding ******* bunnies

with fourteen carrots to squire
then politely escort each
to their respective boudoir
in a blatant, explicit effort
to foster and grow caliphate
at the expense of electorate qualm
impossible mission to keep
brood of squired earthlings in the balance
portends especial ominous nightmare
if Project 2025 implemented

also known as
the 2025 Presidential Transition Project,
constitutes a political initiative
published by the Heritage Foundation
that aims to promote conservative
and right-wing policies
to reshape the United States federal government
and consolidate executive power
if the Republican candidate
garners majority of votes

making first day on the Somme
feel like kindergarten tussle
as anarchy rears up across
United States of America
pitting (olive him nonetheless) despicable
unnamed despot wannabe
analogous courtesy unsettled Leviathan
surfacing from the deep cyber sea
against cherished inalienable
constitutional rights buoying

the land of the free
and home of the brave
renting the country asunder,
with incendiary vitriolic rhetoric,
which similar fate befell Vietnam
thanks be partially
to hydrogenated, and promulgated
American foreign policy.
as highlighted below
to recaptcha wretched colonialism.

The (shameful – my input) about United States' foreign policy in Vietnam was shaped by several factors, including the Domino Theory, the Vietnam War, and the legacy of the war:

The Domino Theory
The U.S. foreign policy after World War II was based on the idea that if one country fell to Communism, the surrounding countries would follow, like dominoes.

The Vietnam War
The U.S. supported South Vietnam against North Vietnam, and fought in the war directly. The U.S. trained and assisted South Vietnamese forces, and conducted ground operations, river and canal patrols, and more. The war was costly and divisive, with estimates of over 3 million Vietnamese deaths and around 58,318 American deaths.

The legacy of the war
After the war, the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Vietnam and severed ties with the country. The U.S. believed that Vietnam had violated the Paris Peace Accords and had not accounted for American prisoners of war. The embargo lasted until 1994.

Normalizing relations
In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton began normalizing diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Today, the U.S. and Vietnam have a relationship that includes maritime security assistance, and partnerships between Vietnamese universities and U.S. higher education institutions. 

The United States' foreign policy in Vietnam was shaped by several factors, including the Domino Theory, the Vietnam War, and the legacy of the war:

The Domino Theory
The U.S. foreign policy after World War II was based on the idea that if one country fell to Communism, the surrounding countries would follow, like dominoes.

The Vietnam War
The U.S. supported South Vietnam against North Vietnam, and fought in the war directly. The U.S. trained and assisted South Vietnamese forces, and conducted ground operations, river and canal patrols, and more. The war was costly and divisive, with estimates of over 3 million Vietnamese deaths and around 58,318 American deaths.

The legacy of the war
After the war, the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on Vietnam and severed ties with the country. The U.S. believed that Vietnam had violated the Paris Peace Accords and had not accounted for American prisoners of war. The embargo lasted until 1994.

Normalizing relations
In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton began normalizing diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Today, the U.S. and Vietnam have a relationship that includes maritime security assistance, and partnerships between Vietnamese universities and U.S. higher education institutions.

Before concluding this poem,
I wanna hammer home,
and nail laughable
personal misperception of
suspecting that roofers
specifically plagued with shingles
constituted from the following materials.

Asphalt: A traditional choice
for homeowners, asphalt shingles
made from a fiberglass or paper mat
covered in tar and granules.

Composite: These synthetic shingles
made from a combination of materials,
including recycled materials,
slate, laminate, and wood.

Wood: Wood shingles and shakes
made from logs of trees like Western Red Cedar,
Cypress, pine, or Redwood.

Some pieces are treated
with preservatives or fire retardants.
Lodged squarely upon corporeal property
(i.e. necessary soft tissue)
of Amelie Beth Harris-McGeehan
mine eldest sister,
when medical technician informed
aforementioned unpleasant tidings
earlier today February 25th.

Utmost grievousness grips
analogous to invisible
strong hands strangulating
"I can't breathe"
while grappling trying to process
apocalyptic forebodings
(impinging on mine corporeal
fifty plus shades of gray matter).

Impossible mission
(insync with absent impetus),
thus renders feeble attempt
crafting poem,
yet unbridled (hyperbole
employed to accentuate emotion)
regarding brotherly love
upon being informed
most unpleasant tidings.

Laughter and sunshine
eradicated in one fell swoop
absolute zero peace of mind
until fortune teller
peers into crystal ball
and invokes divine intervention

whereby life, liberty
and pursuit of happiness
buffets thee along
countless additional Earth orbits
around the sun
granted second lease on life.

Auspicious signs of
early birds taking wing
(in an effort to feast
upon diet of worms)
to celebrate advent of Spring
will be uber twittering
glad tidings of your
clean bill of health
ditto chattering squirrels
buzzfeeding unearthed

soil, mushrooms
and animal bones,
while yours truly delights
reading within partially secluded
outside triangulated nook,
(a favorite alcove of mine)
to bask under sheltering sky
feeling restoration of vitality
courtesy Herculean strength
of Mister Sun's powerful solar rays.

PostScript: my humblest apology
if word first choice constituting title
caused undue agitation,
cuz only genuine expression
courtesy unwavering optimism
insync with sixth sense intended
to trumpet Taj Mahal high hope
buoying your body,
mind, and spirit triage.
Forty acres and a mule is Rueben’s stake,
in sandy-soiled pine-country
by a stream fed lake;
There he plants cotton, corn and ‘taters,
a patch of melons, beans and ‘maters;

Centuries of struggle landed him here
through rough sea-voyages fraught with fear
to endless lost days of pain and tears
brought at the hand of cruel overseers;

Freedom now is the clarion call,
a trumpet resounding
down Congress’ hall;
A chance to prosper in the un-chosen land
and to raise a family by his own sure hand;

With joy and goodness he buries the hate
unloading his burden and buoying his fate
beyond sheltering pines and the wooden gate
of a cozy house he’s built of late;

Children freed from that forbidding plight,
help with chores
and play with delight;
while Mother loosed from unspoken shame,
nourishes them there like warm summer rain;

Plow and plant, then nurture, then reap
skills developed when labor was cheap
are now built-up in freedom grown sweet,
as the tide of change begins its neap;

Wily carpetbaggers with big cash to spend,
use guile and trickery
the rules to bend
twisting men’s minds toward vile obstruction
while ****** the Law of Reconstruction;

Rueben prospers in this miraculous scheme
there in the forest by the fresh water stream
revering each day a freedman’s dream,
then wakes one night to a low, anguished scream;

The scene is horrific outside the front door,
his mind gropes madly
for a safe sandy-shore;
so he shuttles his family to the woods out back
while listening to the sounds of an awful attack;

Horse-mounted specters with torches ablaze
set fire to the barn and trample the maize
then gallop a-whopping as his old dog bays
at a burning cross where the dead mule lays;

They hide in the pines through a dreadful night
allaying kid’s fears
and the old dog’s fright;
Then return to the farm under a red morning sky,
to find the promise a smoldering burnt lie;

Jesus suffered again on that cross, it’s plain,
as sure as if Pilate had taken rein
leading hate-filled men on a satanic campaign
‘neath fear’s hood and white sheets of shame;

Madmen imagine their cause to be just,
leaving innocents moldering,
mangled in the dust;
With swords blood rusted and Bibles in belts,
they shout fiery sermons, as small worlds melt;

A hundred years flash by in slow fury,
history being written with no trial or jury,
It’s the same baleful, sorry old story,
thems doin' the tellin' gets all the glory;

But history sometimes reshuffles the deck,
And deals a new hand
to ruffle the stiff-necks
of modern raiders who race to the fore
to stanch the tide of progress once more;

Blind to their trail of ****** mistakes
and ignoring slimy vipers let loose on the take,
They go scape-goating—thrashing for snakes—
in sandy-soiled pine country, by stream fed lakes.
due november fifteenth two thousand nineteen

Yours truly long time
satisfactory Verizon customer
i.e. namely this monsieur
breathes easy, cuz within noggin
contentment doth whir
billing agent pleasant as
Mister Rogers neighbor.

Great relief pending bill
$148.80, she did defer
'pon my explaining
lack of adequate funds
I did forthrightly inform her
social security disability

electronically deposited door
ring first week of next month
and without dad dough of shout for sure
upon being told, I got no cell phone,
she (courteous billing representative)
waived attendant fee
reflexive generous extempore,

such simple random act of kindness
suffused within me to core
of central processing unit
circuits comprising fatherboard decor
*** lit up analogous to Christmas tree
generating sense and sensibility of euphoria

buoying spirits in severe contrast wherefore
once pawn time... couple nights backs,
I got attacked courtesy small escritoire
after losing balance attempting to stand
from crouched position immediately more
than less unsteadily, veritably, wobbly...

fell back felt desk corner explore
right side ribcage felt brunt edge bore
ring into body, yet
dressed to keep warm
blunt right angle wood frame did score
jabbing, nearly goring thru jacket
feeling searing pain shoot pour

ling as if struck with lightning
resigned to crawl crablike fore
word bracing lower body
while daggers of agony
did not lesson, I did implore
in vain sincerely your deplore
hubble basketcase - reed
no repeat performance nor encore!
Philip Salt Sep 14
This blind ferryman has eyes,
Eyes he remarks to himself are for seeing,
His spaniel sits next to him, at knee height, and barks,
He adjusts his favorite wide brimmed hat,
He drives the setting pole into the shelf of the shoreline. Sometimes there is shallow water there. Tonight only coarse mud.

He is cunning in the ways of this river.
Uncommon currents are familiar to him.
He is the Master of this trip, an expert navigator.
As familiar with this voyage as the creases and folds of his favorite hat.

A deadhead crossing over the river Alastor, back to his ferry slip.

The blind ferryman has arms.
Arms to move his craft.
Strong shoulders and calloused hands provide for engine and grip.

He never slips, never misses his mark.
His feet are sturdy on the buoying deck of this barge.

His spaniel is his only crew. A caring, loyal, spotted creature. A friend at the ready. When his hat is lost to the temperament of the wind, sacrificed to the flow of water, his friend will dive, swim, and retrieve it. A precious possession for them both. Part of the bond between them.

The blind ferryman has worked a long day. Day has become night.
He feels the fatigue that he loves.
Hard work is his satisfaction.
Sore forearms from the rhythm of lift, place, push.
Soft agony and musical tension as his long back muscles are plucked in repetition.

The craft, his crew, and his body are a complete entity. They work as one.
One last time.

Something about the humid air, the temperature of the sweat on his skin, and the bitter taste in his mouth hints that this night is his last. Such a simple crossing will go incomplete this night.

The blind ferryman has dreams,
Dreams that save him from omens of death

He dreams lovingly of his family,
Father, mother, daughters, wife,
Nostalgia, heart and pride in step with the meter of lift, place, and push.

But he knows this is a deceptive image.

An image he chooses to dream instead of that which is more true.
More true, what a strange truth that is,
he remarks to himself almost loud enough to hear.

His memory has feelings that are not nostalgia, heart and pride.
Those good feelings are his light but they are at the center of thickening layers of opacity.

The inner places begin to reflect the outer ones.

He is out in the channel now.
Absorbed in fog with only the light of one lantern, atop a single eight foot mast.  Like that lantern he must cling to the only beacon left in his dreams to ward off the night and the nightmares.

Nightmares full of pain.
An escape to sleep that never brings resolution.
He tries to remind himself that his daily crossing is all he needs to escape the darker parts.
A simple thing for a skilled navigator.
Why then do I bring those parts on this voyage? he asks himself with a whisper.

He has ignored the long hours of service that kept him away from his now empty home.
The excessive **** alight in his pipe.
The pervasive drink stowed between the gunwales and the crates.
The things that have made true escape impossible.

No escaping that on this night.
He is no longer the skilled navigator.

What is incomplete never happens,
And his crossing of the river Alastor is not yet complete.
Life is all around. Present in sound, shape, and smell, but invisible to him.

He is a blind ferryman.
He is close enough to the slip to cast a mooring line but too far to dock.
All that is left is a simple connection
A connection not made

A splash
A favorite hat floating on water
A spaniel retrieving it
Blocked this one out but it got dark
Push off
Favorite item
Dog companion
Pole in hand
Clinging humid air mix with sweat
Callous
Deltoids reach
Forearms sore
Rhythm pattern repeat
Journey
Taste
Light dark
Hunger
Future
Past
Drive to finish
Voyage
Service
Family
Escape memory
Bad habits pipe drink
Routine important
Nostalgia and endurance
Almost there now
Dock docking
Life all around sound shape smell
Simple connections to finish
Routine mundane easy
Effortless
Incomplete never happens
Closer closer and never arrived
A hat floating on water
Dog barking

— The End —