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"clerks" poems
the lady has me temporarily off the bottle and now the pecker stands up better. however, things change overnight-- instead of listening to Shostakovich and Mozart through a smeared haze of smoke the nights change, new complexities: we drive to Baskin-Robbins, 31 flavors: Rocky Road, Bubble Gum, Apricot Ice, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Mint... we park outside and look at icecream people a very healthy and satisfied people, nary a potential suicide in sight (they probably even vote) and I tell her "what if the boys saw me go in there? suppose they find out I'm going in for a walnut peach sundae?" "come on, chicken," she laughs and we go in and stand with the icecream people. none of them are cursing or threatening the clerks. there seem to be no hangovers or grievances. I am alarmed at the placid and calm wave that flows about. I feel like a ***** in a beauty contest. we finally get our sundaes and sit in the car and eat them. I must admit they are quite good. a curious new world. (all my friends tell me I am looking better. "you're looking good, man, we thought you were going to die there for a while...") --those 4,500 dark nights, the jails, the hospitals... and later that night there is use for the pecker, use for love, and it is glorious, long and true, and afterwards we speak of easy things; our heads by the open window with the moonlight looking through, we sleep in each other's arms. the icecream people make me feel good, inside and out.
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195.8k
The Icecream People
there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay in there, I'm not going to let anybody see you. there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I pur whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke and the ****** and the bartenders and the grocery clerks never know that he's in there. there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay down, do you want to mess me up? you want to ***** up the works? you want to blow my book sales in Europe? there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too clever, I only let him out at night sometimes when everybody's asleep. I say, I know that you're there, so don't be sad. then I put him back, but he's singing a little in there, I haven't quite let him die and we sleep together like that with our secret pact and it's nice enough to make a man weep, but I don't weep, do you?
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52k
Bluebird
To the tweaker who just ate lunch On the side of a 55 mph highway I'm not staring because I'm judging I can judge without looking I'm staring because I want to know If my eyes can slow down your limbs Like the arms of a fan So I can see that you're still somebody's daughter I'm staring because I understand Never mind the gawking eyes of midday traffic Never mind the glares of the gas station clerks I understand You're just having lunch I understand The bugs, the tics, the needs You are not a stranger to me You are who my sister used to be You are what the father of my niece Is trying not to be anymore You are every shady character Who ever knocked on my door asking questions I do not know your name But I know you I know you were once somebody's daughter And I hope you still are I'm not here to pass judgment Definitely not here to help I know all to well there is nothing I can do I just want you to know I know And so does any body you're trying to hide it from And they'll be waiting up for you Whether you come home or not Your mom hasn't had a full nights sleep Since the last time she saw you I hope for her sake It was this morning And I know you won't believe this But grown woman and all Your dad just wants to bounce you on his knee But what I know most of all Is that your little brother Can't go two hours without crying He's got ulcers again And he misses you You probably see him the most But he hasn't seen you Since you took your first hit He misses your advice He misses your hazing And all he wants is a sober hug And I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear During your picnic But it's everything I wish I could've told my sister Even if she wouldn't have listened I'm not staring to judge I'm staring to care And I don't presume to know what addiction is But I do know how it feels I just watched you barely cross the street I can't imagine you making it Wherever you're going tonight So if you die I hope there's **** in heaven But if you by some miracle don't I hope rock bottom's not to far down And that one day you get clean And start to make amends So you can remember what it's like to dream And if that day ever does come Do me a favor Sit on your father's lap Sleep in your mother's bed And hug your little brother Because there's a girl he could use some help with No matter what you've done Or how much pain you've caused Through the twitching The nervous glances The weight loss You're still somebody's daughter I know you I understand you Enjoy your lunch
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Jan 4, 2010
Jan 4, 2010 at 10:26 AM UTC
Somebody's Daughter
To the tweaker who just ate lunch On the side of a 55 mph highway I'm not staring because I'm judging I can judge without looking I'm staring because I want to know If my eyes can slow down your limbs Like the arms of a fan So I can see that you're still somebody's daughter I'm staring because I understand Never mind the gawking eyes of midday traffic Never mind the glares of the gas station clerks I understand You're just having lunch I understand The bugs, the tics, the needs You are not a stranger to me You are who my sister used to be You are what the father of my niece Is trying not to be anymore You are every shady character Who ever knocked on my door asking questions I do not know your name But I know you I know you were once somebody's daughter And I hope you still are I'm not here to pass judgment Definitely not here to help I know all to well there is nothing I can do I just want you to know I know And so does any body you're trying to hide it from And they'll be waiting up for you Whether you come home or not Your mom hasn't had a full nights sleep Since the last time she saw you I hope for her sake It was this morning And I know you won't believe this But grown woman and all Your dad just wants to bounce you on his knee But what I know most of all Is that your little brother Can't go two hours without crying He's got ulcers again And he misses you You probably see him the most But he hasn't seen you Since you took your first hit He misses your advice He misses your hazing And all he wants is a sober hug And I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear During your picnic But it's everything I wish I could've told my sister Even if she wouldn't have listened I'm not staring to judge I'm staring to care And I don't presume to know what addiction is But I do know how it feels I just watched you barely cross the street I can't imagine you making it Wherever you're going tonight So if you die I hope there's **** in heaven But if you by some miracle don't I hope rock bottom's not to far down And that one day you get clean And start to make amends So you can remember what it's like to dream And if that day ever does come Do me a favor Sit on your father's lap Sleep in your mother's bed And hug your little brother Because there's a girl he could use some help with No matter what you've done Or how much pain you've caused Through the twitching The nervous glances The weight loss You're still somebody's daughter I know you I understand you Enjoy your lunch
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83
The lady has me temporarily off the bottle and now the pecker stands up better. however, things change overnight-- instead of listening to Shostakovich and Mozart through a smeared haze of smoke the nights change, new complexities: we drive to Baskin-Robbins, 31 flavors: Rocky Road, Bubble Gum, Apricot Ice, Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Mint... we park outside and look at icecream people a very healthy and satisfied people, nary a potential suicide in sight (they probably even vote) and I tell her "what if the boys saw me go in there? suppose they find out I'm going in for a walnut peach sundae?" "come on, chicken," she laughs and we go in and stand with the icecream people. none of them are cursing or threatening the clerks. there seem to be no hangovers or grievances. I am alarmed at the placid and calm wave that flows about. I feel like a ***** in a beauty contest. we finally get our sundaes and sit in the car and eat them. I must admit they are quite good. a curious new world. (all my friends tell me I am looking better. "you're looking good, man, we thought you were going to die there for a while...") --those 4,500 dark nights, the jails, the hospitals... and later that night there is use for the pecker, use for love, and it is glorious, long and true, and afterwards we speak of easy things; our heads by the open window with the moonlight looking through, we sleep in each other's arms. the icecream people make me feel good, inside and out.
0
Jan 29, 2015
Jan 29, 2015 at 5:31 PM UTC
The Icecream People
Broccoli in a white lamp shade cast shadowy face tattoos to mark the unjoustly. The festival in background is throbbing in directly contrasting sound, to the art nouveau it's sleeping with. Each vegan burger stand vomits exquisite neon. However the collage itself is apologetically brown. Theatre masks and DJs, VR and a Just Dance floor set, a sprint before midnight, a sprint after discount ethanol; so I gaze and perhaps ponder for a friend. And yet when counting the heads, I find I needn’t more than my own to hands for the few middle-aged supermarket clerks
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Sep 29, 2018
Sep 29, 2018 at 4:01 PM UTC
Consumer's Solstice
On this day 70 years ago they stormed across the sand Boys of many nations to remove the tyrants hand Heros all those boys so young who shed their blood for us In that ****** fight for freedom Across the sand they struggled neath a hail of shot and shell Never glancing backwards as around them comrades fell Fear was in their eyes, terror in their hearts Many never made it and twas on foreign sand they died Yes they died to give us the freedom that we have got this day They died to free the world, for us they made the play Boys from ever walk of life crossed the beaches there Office clerks and farmers and the ones who cut our hair Yes they were heroes all who gave their lives for us But lets not forget the few who made it possible The girls who made the shells, the men who built the tanks They were the unsung heroes They have also have earned our thanks Without their dedication to the task they had in hand Many more would have lost their lives on that shell torn blood stained sand They to can hold their heads up high, they knew they did their bit In bringing freedom to the masses when they broke the tyrants grip
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Jun 6, 2014
Jun 6, 2014 at 3:31 AM UTC
NORMANDY. ..D Day 6th Of June
And all your heros are gone, but you refuse to take off the mask. A loudmouth, a capitalist, with greasy hair and a golden toothpick, he is your enemy he is your oppressor and he sits upon a throne of coal and blood with armed security and a nation built for him, to protect him and his money, a police state, pat downs on the corner, murdered in the street, your daughters gotta eat. He grows fatter and fatter still, he loves complacency, he loves contentment, he invests heavily in both. He knows we are strong, he knows we are many, he knows he must divide us to win, he knows we're his greatest weapon, so he created Fox News, he created TMZ, stealthily, we didn't even notice, he created NPR and KVIE, he gave them masks that look like ours. They look poor, they look starved, they look like us, but they have a different master. Our master is the earth, our master is our coworker, our neighbor, our mailman, our dishwashers, our bus drivers, our minimart clerks. Our masters are not the TV, our masters are not the radio, our masters are not the New York Times, they are not National Geographic, they are not BP, they are not our principals, our administrators, our policemen, our CEOs, our investors, our bankers, our insurance providers, these people hate us, they hate us because they can't squeeze blood from a stone, and the rivers are running dry, the factories are standing still, the people, our masters and our friends, they're in the streets, they're shouting "BLACK LIVES MATTER" they're shouting "NO JUSTICE NO PEACE" "NO MORE WAR FOR OIL" **** THE POLICE" "DOWN WITH THE 1%" and soon and soon, The False Gods will grow so fat and we'll have nothing left to eat but them, and on that day we'll sit down to dine and it won't be civilized and it won't be pretty, their blood, our blood, will feed the rivers and their flesh will feed our hungry children and their money will burn and warm our chilled bones but we can't wait, we can't wait for this to happen because everyday they grow stronger, we grow weaker and the river becomes dryer. The Bourgeois is our enemy, they say 'All Lives Matter' they say 'Work Hard and Your Dreams Will Come True' BUT THEY LIE
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Jul 12, 2016
Jul 12, 2016 at 4:54 PM UTC
Untitled
And all your heros are gone, but you refuse to take off the mask. A loudmouth, a capitalist, with greasy hair and a golden toothpick, he is your enemy he is your oppressor and he sits upon a throne of coal and blood with armed security and a nation built for him, to protect him and his money, a police state, pat downs on the corner, murdered in the street, your daughters gotta eat. He grows fatter and fatter still, he loves complacency, he loves contentment, he invests heavily in both. He knows we are strong, he knows we are many, he knows he must divide us to win, he knows we're his greatest weapon, so he created Fox News, he created TMZ, stealthily, we didn't even notice, he created NPR and KVIE, he gave them masks that look like ours. They look poor, they look starved, they look like us, but they have a different master. Our master is the earth, our master is our coworker, our neighbor, our mailman, our dishwashers, our bus drivers, our minimart clerks. Our masters are not the TV, our masters are not the radio, our masters are not the New York Times, they are not National Geographic, they are not BP, they are not our principals, our administrators, our policemen, our CEOs, our investors, our bankers, our insurance providers, these people hate us, they hate us because they can't squeeze blood from a stone, and the rivers are running dry, the factories are standing still, the people, our masters and our friends, they're in the streets, they're shouting "BLACK LIVES MATTER" they're shouting "NO JUSTICE NO PEACE" "NO MORE WAR FOR OIL" **** THE POLICE" "DOWN WITH THE 1%" and soon and soon, The False Gods will grow so fat and we'll have nothing left to eat but them, and on that day we'll sit down to dine and it won't be civilized and it won't be pretty, their blood, our blood, will feed the rivers and their flesh will feed our hungry children and their money will burn and warm our chilled bones but we can't wait, we can't wait for this to happen because everyday they grow stronger, we grow weaker and the river becomes dryer. The Bourgeois is our enemy, they say 'All Lives Matter' they say 'Work Hard and Your Dreams Will Come True' BUT THEY LIE
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66
It was down in California Where the light hurt my eyes I couldn't hear my thoughts or find a reason why It was down in Louisiana Where all my friends were now When something went black and escaped into the south So I went into the city Of whatever state I'm in I can't tell if it's New Orleans or if I'm drunk again I buried all my secrets In a tarnished leather book At which only me and the universe can look   Thank god for himself For he's given me pain And if it's someone else You can erase them with blame So I jumped into a truck Driven by border clerks But halfway down to Mexico, I knew this wouldn't work They had it in for laughs At the expense of broken hearts I know they meant no harm but they were tearing me apart The flag above my head Only made me feel sick Someone tried to sell me love but I knew it was a trick But when the sun finally fell And the stars shined on me I understood what people meant when they told me I was free
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Mar 4, 2016
Mar 4, 2016 at 11:49 AM UTC
A Weekend in the South
It was not, by any means, a loss of faith; Indeed, her devotion was a boundless, unfettered thing Beyond proscription, beyond rote chant and catechism, And what she found as a novitiate Were shuttered gates and gossipy confessionals, Standoffish priests, pig-eyed and pinch-lipped Sisters who thought life’s commerce No more than mechanical prayer and spotless linens, The whole enterprise Smacking of the exclusion of Heaven’s bounty. So she demurred when the time came to take her orders, And she returned to the world of pavements and lesser pieties, Free to seek God on park swings and barstools, In pleasures of the pastoral and the profane, Though her faith is no Dionysian walkabout, As she is passionate to the cusp of maniacal When it comes to the Book of James’ admonition upon works; She is often found among the sisters she once tiptoed alongside At food pantries and clothing drives (She is scrupulous about ministering to only secular needs, As the Bishop is not happily disposed towards those Who choose not to take the veil, And the specter of excommunication is a prospect Too awful to contemplate) Afterwards clambering onto some vaguely roadworthy MTA bus Back to her studio apartment in Green Island, Where she often walks down to the Erie Canal lock nearby, Praying for those who have travelled  near and upon the water, Convenience store clerks and ragged Irishmen fleeing famine, Feral kittens and insufficiently mourned mules.
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Nov 16, 2017
Nov 16, 2017 at 10:39 AM UTC
the thursday nun
look me in the eye and tell me that you love me or was it all a sad story that you unconsciously believed while you raided the fridge and fornicated wildly too late is not really an acceptable position and later on is usually an example of indecision and sometimes specimens reject their predicaments especially if they are eventually going to be your dinner i am sure that i am here to usher in a new authority resurrected like a phoenix i must be stronger than before so even if forever is often equivalent to never and september is the month of seven (or was it nine) serpents that are to be reborn in the dawn of Time's obsidian as our minds have spent oblivion in the forges of turgidly engorged shores, torn from their former continents as forms are always gripped in hands who choose intolerance  take administrators, lawyers, bureaucrats and clerks; as examples of this; par excellence
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Sep 6, 2018
Sep 6, 2018 at 3:21 PM UTC
too late for dinner
When I look out from the smudged and cracked windows of home, I know there's no place quite the same as right here; No place I could find that quite catches my ear, And no place quite the same that can swallow my fears, To the depths of this heated and comfortable box, In which I am protected by numerous locks, From intruders and bandits, Salesmen and clerks; I am the legal intruder, And for me, that's what works. Yet I'm here when, in fact, I am meant to be there; Not far from my home, I'm meant to be learning whats fair. I am meant to be learning what's right and what's wrong, Yet 6 hours of my time a day seems quite long, To be spending on verbs, nouns and pronouns, On algebra, fractions, and abnormal word sounds. This life is not theirs; this life is all mine, Such an old and used system would appear to be right, Yet I beg to differ, as revolution now squeaks, To push through the systems cracks and cause leaks, In which free-thinking filters the words of the old, Who believe themselves better, for they're trained and so bold. When I look to society, what is it I see? Is it a throng of a thousand people who seem to be free? Not quite, yet at the same time, that seems quite close, They are free in a box, in which authority is the host. *"Civilization has to be defended against the individual, And its regulations, institutions and commands are directed to that task."** Quite an obvious command, And it seems that at last, Man is learning to embrace what they each see as free; And it does not simply stop at being free to simply be, It goes beyond such in mind, matter, soul, and in trust; For it is the systems denial, Towards which I lust. The institutions, and nations, Corporations, news stations, Stateism, classism, all attempt to control, Who I am, what I do, where I go, who I meet; They tell me to relax, and just take a quick seat; Yet I know what I want from life is free feet, To be who I am, And take all the heat. To do what I do, And ignore what's 'elite.' To go where I go, And control, as such, my feet. To meet who I meet, And next to them, take a seat. I am not a name, And I am not a number. I am always awake in my mind, As I slumber.
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Oct 18, 2010
Oct 18, 2010 at 10:58 AM UTC
Fractal Ambivalence
When I look out from the smudged and cracked windows of home, I know there's no place quite the same as right here; No place I could find that quite catches my ear, And no place quite the same that can swallow my fears, To the depths of this heated and comfortable box, In which I am protected by numerous locks, From intruders and bandits, Salesmen and clerks; I am the legal intruder, And for me, that's what works. Yet I'm here when, in fact, I am meant to be there; Not far from my home, I'm meant to be learning whats fair. I am meant to be learning what's right and what's wrong, Yet 6 hours of my time a day seems quite long, To be spending on verbs, nouns and pronouns, On algebra, fractions, and abnormal word sounds. This life is not theirs; this life is all mine, Such an old and used system would appear to be right, Yet I beg to differ, as revolution now squeaks, To push through the systems cracks and cause leaks, In which free-thinking filters the words of the old, Who believe themselves better, for they're trained and so bold. When I look to society, what is it I see? Is it a throng of a thousand people who seem to be free? Not quite, yet at the same time, that seems quite close, They are free in a box, in which authority is the host. *"Civilization has to be defended against the individual, And its regulations, institutions and commands are directed to that task."** Quite an obvious command, And it seems that at last, Man is learning to embrace what they each see as free; And it does not simply stop at being free to simply be, It goes beyond such in mind, matter, soul, and in trust; For it is the systems denial, Towards which I lust. The institutions, and nations, Corporations, news stations, Stateism, classism, all attempt to control, Who I am, what I do, where I go, who I meet; They tell me to relax, and just take a quick seat; Yet I know what I want from life is free feet, To be who I am, And take all the heat. To do what I do, And ignore what's 'elite.' To go where I go, And control, as such, my feet. To meet who I meet, And next to them, take a seat. I am not a name, And I am not a number. I am always awake in my mind, As I slumber.
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54
In my home city of Dhaka, there is an abundance of bananas. Their sickly sweet aroma hangs heavy in the air, mixing with the stench of human toil and chemical wastes to produce the true odor of despair. The lives of these bananas are relatively short. They start off in a poor farmer’s tree, dragged to market in a broken-down truck, and sold at a cut-throat price to the vendor. In a well-rehearsed play, vendor and consumer haggle over bruised bananas. The tired consumer brings the bananas home and hangs them in the kitchen where cockroaches stalk empty cupboards.                         The next day, we, the children, will carry the bananas in empty lunch boxes to school. Together, we will sit through vapid lectures, tailored to make the clock tick slower. Not once will the teacher pause to encourage us to achieve. During lunch, we will devour our bananas with unwashed hands. Despite our best efforts, we will be corralled into our parents’ lives and become the next generation of factory workers and office clerks.                 Sometimes though, a child manages to get a glimpse into the other world. I was fortunate enough to be one of these children. One afternoon, my father came into our tiny living room with a smile on his face and an object protruding from his shirt pocket. He told me that he had a special present for me. With a practiced flourish, he took out an orange from his worn shirt. My eyes widened with amazement.               To me, oranges were objects only celebrities and corrupt politicians could afford. They were luxury items, myths seen on television. Yet here I was, nothing extraordinary, holding a real orange in my palm. Slowly I peeled the orange, feeling my old impoverished self peel away simultaneously. As I tasted the first tangy slice, I heard the shackles of the banana chain fall. It was then that I truly felt that I had the power to become anything I wanted. That day, I was liberated from the vicious banana cycle.                From that day forward, I looked for positive events in my life, for signs of hope and change. One day, I saw my strict, condescending teacher discreetly hand an orange to a classmate whose family was unemployed. For the rest of the day, the child stood a little taller. For that day, he was no longer living in a destitute environment, but residing in the warmth of human nature.
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Jan 1, 2013
Jan 1, 2013 at 1:13 PM UTC
Orange is the Color of Hope
In my home city of Dhaka, there is an abundance of bananas. Their sickly sweet aroma hangs heavy in the air, mixing with the stench of human toil and chemical wastes to produce the true odor of despair. The lives of these bananas are relatively short. They start off in a poor farmer’s tree, dragged to market in a broken-down truck, and sold at a cut-throat price to the vendor. In a well-rehearsed play, vendor and consumer haggle over bruised bananas. The tired consumer brings the bananas home and hangs them in the kitchen where cockroaches stalk empty cupboards.                         The next day, we, the children, will carry the bananas in empty lunch boxes to school. Together, we will sit through vapid lectures, tailored to make the clock tick slower. Not once will the teacher pause to encourage us to achieve. During lunch, we will devour our bananas with unwashed hands. Despite our best efforts, we will be corralled into our parents’ lives and become the next generation of factory workers and office clerks.                 Sometimes though, a child manages to get a glimpse into the other world. I was fortunate enough to be one of these children. One afternoon, my father came into our tiny living room with a smile on his face and an object protruding from his shirt pocket. He told me that he had a special present for me. With a practiced flourish, he took out an orange from his worn shirt. My eyes widened with amazement.               To me, oranges were objects only celebrities and corrupt politicians could afford. They were luxury items, myths seen on television. Yet here I was, nothing extraordinary, holding a real orange in my palm. Slowly I peeled the orange, feeling my old impoverished self peel away simultaneously. As I tasted the first tangy slice, I heard the shackles of the banana chain fall. It was then that I truly felt that I had the power to become anything I wanted. That day, I was liberated from the vicious banana cycle.                From that day forward, I looked for positive events in my life, for signs of hope and change. One day, I saw my strict, condescending teacher discreetly hand an orange to a classmate whose family was unemployed. For the rest of the day, the child stood a little taller. For that day, he was no longer living in a destitute environment, but residing in the warmth of human nature.
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5
700 You’ve seen Balloons set—Haven’t You? So stately they ascend— It is as Swans—discarded You, For Duties Diamond— Their Liquid Feet go softly out Upon a Sea of Blonde— They spurn the Air, as t’were too mean For Creatures so renowned— Their Ribbons just beyond the eye— They struggle—some—for Breath— And yet the Crowd applaud, below— They would not encore—Death— The Gilded Creature strains—and spins— Trips frantic in a Tree— Tears open her imperial Veins— And tumbles in the Sea— The Crowd—retire with an Oath— The Dust in Streets—go down— And Clerks in Counting Rooms Observe—”’Twas only a Balloon”—
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2.2k
You’ve seen Balloons set—Haven’t You?
Well Annie now you've done it through your gyrations,  characterizations imitations a spot of light of spirit flipped out into the ether like some kind of spiritual dandruff all crystal prisms twinkling stars shook off of you and floated through my eyes and ears and penetrated and infused my pumping heart through my circulatory system snapping synaptic changes, touching those places of dreams and trances. Well Annie now you've done it all night long with images of Olive Oil and no Popeye I have become a sailor man unmoored from the safety of the slip dragging the anchor until the tether breaks and find myself floating on some Jungian sea of the unconscious far away from the shore. Well Annie now you've really done it - How will this all play out when walking down the faux marble hallways as I roll up one wave of imitation and down another in clients/secretaries/billing clerks deranged psychiatrists stories and all of this reality grabbing trying ranting riffing how is this all going to play out when strange guerilla theatre erupts on backwards in administrators offices and leadership committee meetings when I spread my  legs as my grand opening in carrot top hangings and turn to clients offer them too this spirit spark of courage. Well you've really done it this time Annie when my door is locked and pagers are begging for my attention but I will be in the room at that desk throwing rules, regulations and my professional reputation to the current winds of unwinding truths and soulful stories. When they turn to me and ask for my forgiveness in their true confession or when I shift shapes to the big onion when everyone who wanders near weeps when they ask me for that magic sentence to make it all okay or write a treatment plan or just a hand on the shoulder; as they begin to talk like rooms of old echoes- I will tell them that will cost them extra. You've done it now Annie forever in my minute little world rocked the boat that spirit like the butterfly wings causing the hurricane of courage. You've done it now Olive Oil Annie I have found my spinach and freedom cannot be far behind...
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Jan 28, 2014
Jan 28, 2014 at 1:18 AM UTC
Well Annie Now You've Done It
Well Annie now you've done it through your gyrations,  characterizations imitations a spot of light of spirit flipped out into the ether like some kind of spiritual dandruff all crystal prisms twinkling stars shook off of you and floated through my eyes and ears and penetrated and infused my pumping heart through my circulatory system snapping synaptic changes, touching those places of dreams and trances. Well Annie now you've done it all night long with images of Olive Oil and no Popeye I have become a sailor man unmoored from the safety of the slip dragging the anchor until the tether breaks and find myself floating on some Jungian sea of the unconscious far away from the shore. Well Annie now you've really done it - How will this all play out when walking down the faux marble hallways as I roll up one wave of imitation and down another in clients/secretaries/billing clerks deranged psychiatrists stories and all of this reality grabbing trying ranting riffing how is this all going to play out when strange guerilla theatre erupts on backwards in administrators offices and leadership committee meetings when I spread my  legs as my grand opening in carrot top hangings and turn to clients offer them too this spirit spark of courage. Well you've really done it this time Annie when my door is locked and pagers are begging for my attention but I will be in the room at that desk throwing rules, regulations and my professional reputation to the current winds of unwinding truths and soulful stories. When they turn to me and ask for my forgiveness in their true confession or when I shift shapes to the big onion when everyone who wanders near weeps when they ask me for that magic sentence to make it all okay or write a treatment plan or just a hand on the shoulder; as they begin to talk like rooms of old echoes- I will tell them that will cost them extra. You've done it now Annie forever in my minute little world rocked the boat that spirit like the butterfly wings causing the hurricane of courage. You've done it now Olive Oil Annie I have found my spinach and freedom cannot be far behind...
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80
I had a customer at work today with a tattoo across her chest that said "Royalty" with a little jeweled crown hanging off the "R." She wanted a pack of cigarettes. She didn't ask, she demanded. She didn't say "please." I gave her the cigarettes. She didn't say "thanks." I asked how her day was going, and she said "good." She didn't ask how my day was. At first I thought a girl like that isn't royal at all. But, the more I thought, the more I realized that she was. Because royalty doesn't ask, it demands. Royalty is above saying "thanks." Royalty doesn't mingle with gas station clerks. Regardless, I muttered ***** under my breath as she walked away.
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Sep 5, 2017
Sep 5, 2017 at 11:01 PM UTC
Royalty
For he with the blonde curls, Who set you from stone to glass, For he with greyness and age, Who set you from virtue to lust, And for the fathers who warned, Who set you in a statue of shame, With his constant looks of disbelieving. For she with the stars of freckles, Who set you from glass to shards, For she with the condensation of coldness, Who set you on route to loneliness, And for the mothers who neglected, Who set you with no comfort, With no help after the males visited. For the creaks of floorboards, Threatening unholy arrival, For the thousands of bed squeaks, Helping by gifting distraction, For the hotel clerks gentle knowing smiles, For the cheeks I can force upwards, For the sacred of tears that disappeared with new numbness, For the child within me who had such urgency to grow up, And for me...for me.
0
Dec 15, 2018
Dec 15, 2018 at 8:45 AM UTC
Only for me
I wonder if we walk into a store in the early morning hours the next day, Holding hands and stealing kisses, waiting for the doors to be unlocked, If clerks can tell how many times we had *** the night before. I wonder if my skin glows where your hands and kisses caressed my skin In the wee hours of morning when it seemed the entire world was fast asleep Except for us; Sharing love and secrets that no one else cared to know about each other. I wonder if they could tell that every time I had almost fallen asleep, You kissed my bare shoulder where the sheet didn’t cover And the moonlight shone over my pale flesh, Awakening me with such a desire to kiss you with the same Hungry urge that you kissed me with. Kisses led to more and before I knew it, the number of times we made love For the night had climbed one number higher And we both struggled to catch our breath.
0
Jan 26, 2014
Jan 26, 2014 at 9:31 PM UTC
Up All Night
In old New Orleans Musical lumberjacks Legitimizing their axes; Just piano, clarinet, Bass and the drums. Bringing jazz back And then some. The cat could play That skinny long black horn, Hotter clarinet than Anybody ever born, He kept hitting notes So pure and high We felt each note In our eyes! And, if you chance by Remember this, They don’t allow dancing. But when the drummer Makes works those skins And makes them talk out There is plenty of toe-tapping And nobody ever walks out. Then, when the guy Plays that bass fiddle He adds an underscore To top bottom and middle. It’s an underbeat of grace That will fill the rest space And the hearts of all In this overcrowded place. Vintage jazz roars out Of an old, old piano Played by a happy madman With fingers afire, he knows He’s got them hooked; He’s making them wild As he wails on those keys He looks out and smiles And he puts the Satchmo touch On those old-timey songs And once in a while They ask us to sing along. For the past forty-six years Those ugly plastered walls Have never hear so many Gratefully rendered curtain calls From an audience of clerks and swells. On Bourbon Street’s Fritzel’s. Through hurricanes and beers Like stepping back a hundred years. Fats is still playing, Bessie singing Original jazz music is still swinging.
0
Feb 25, 2016
Feb 25, 2016 at 6:50 PM UTC
FRITZEL'S NOLA
Chairs were creaking from the strain of ignorance, as the habit of ignorant anticipation gripped the edge of a creative moment to disrupt thoughts which hoped to choose the pastel colors of an expressive photograph. Rather than deep garden saturation, the light, fading to become ghosts of movement, offered a place of acceptance. Shrugs rounded the shoulders of the road, so it could be claimed that no responsibility hindered the development of suspension systems. Political levitation supported the dancers as they turned onto the public stage in a forum of occupation. The state of the street, in the absence of smooth nylon, brought the parachutes down to flutter, disconsolately, above the pavement. Single waves of regret were drawn to leave the stage, but, as this effort was declined, determination measured resolve based upon community options, described in the local papers. Setting the pages down, each day, the play became enamel baked onto the restoration and the satisfaction which kept them all together as a group. Certain curtains were raised, as others were lowered to close the door excluding the poor from the equal share of space related to the experiments of the place. Conversation by clerks sculpted freedom to crimp the brass cases in ways not accepted by sprites in mid flight. These were the colors in the ledger interpreted as shades of gray or flashing midnight blue, faint copper, and pearly white. Forces of education were dismissed as a superficial demonstration indicating the character, intensive. Thus, they were reaching for the money, but funding remained a gift offered only to those admired and, through the glass, profitable by cultural attributes. Some thought the process was the singular importance of an event. The dancers were dreaming, as they rehearsed. Another kind of artist discarded the event in favor of the documents and images meant to persist. These, the dancing players favored as memories to be contemplated, some to be cherished. Materialism, since it included spirit, ruled the transient existence experienced as joy. Perception brought enjoyment into being, yet when the unusual critic walked away, it was a dispossession. Other critics were members of the team.
0
Dec 26, 2013
Dec 26, 2013 at 8:36 PM UTC
Intensive Preoccupation For The Press
Chairs were creaking from the strain of ignorance, as the habit of ignorant anticipation gripped the edge of a creative moment to disrupt thoughts which hoped to choose the pastel colors of an expressive photograph. Rather than deep garden saturation, the light, fading to become ghosts of movement, offered a place of acceptance. Shrugs rounded the shoulders of the road, so it could be claimed that no responsibility hindered the development of suspension systems. Political levitation supported the dancers as they turned onto the public stage in a forum of occupation. The state of the street, in the absence of smooth nylon, brought the parachutes down to flutter, disconsolately, above the pavement. Single waves of regret were drawn to leave the stage, but, as this effort was declined, determination measured resolve based upon community options, described in the local papers. Setting the pages down, each day, the play became enamel baked onto the restoration and the satisfaction which kept them all together as a group. Certain curtains were raised, as others were lowered to close the door excluding the poor from the equal share of space related to the experiments of the place. Conversation by clerks sculpted freedom to crimp the brass cases in ways not accepted by sprites in mid flight. These were the colors in the ledger interpreted as shades of gray or flashing midnight blue, faint copper, and pearly white. Forces of education were dismissed as a superficial demonstration indicating the character, intensive. Thus, they were reaching for the money, but funding remained a gift offered only to those admired and, through the glass, profitable by cultural attributes. Some thought the process was the singular importance of an event. The dancers were dreaming, as they rehearsed. Another kind of artist discarded the event in favor of the documents and images meant to persist. These, the dancing players favored as memories to be contemplated, some to be cherished. Materialism, since it included spirit, ruled the transient existence experienced as joy. Perception brought enjoyment into being, yet when the unusual critic walked away, it was a dispossession. Other critics were members of the team.
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46
Supermarket celebration shoppers are cytoplasm searching for cellulose, muscle, photosynthesis. Oils, petrochemical and vegetable love: faith and trust for instance, the Food and Drug Administration. In America, the custom is to avoid meeting the other shoppers' eyes. We graze like cows or wander as zombies to the oldies played over the aisles. I've always liked it here. Cornucopia, yes. Also a place to be alone and depressed, or cool off. Water and bone and the known ingredients. Neurons for remembering, calculating, touching stuff. I have a favorite bagger who has the smile of a lover, wouldn't rather be elsewhere. Like glamour stars in bikinis (but unlike tomatoes and bananas) cashiers and clerks are admired from afar. Joe says What's not to like? Ice cream, yogurt, profit, tofu. To eat your fill is a blasphemy against God.
0
Aug 11, 2015
Aug 11, 2015 at 6:26 PM UTC
Supermarket Celebration
get away from me all you fools store owners underpaid store clerks delivery people disgruntled factory workers bosses know it alls child molesting priests rabbis loud mouthed reverends strippers track armed hookers pimps johns who's wife won't give it up teachers shady lawyers pill poppin' doctors nurses kids with colds old people with dementia ***** dogs feral cats evil grandmas perverted grandpas street sweepers ***** garbage men slick bartenders waitresses drunk people people high on life dope heads meat heads sober judges all of you go to hell in a handbasket and let me live my life in peace.
0
Oct 16, 2014
Oct 16, 2014 at 7:40 PM UTC
a rant
Hist? . . . Through the corridor's echoes, Louder and nearer Comes a great shuffling of feet. Quick, every one of you, Strighten your quilts, and be decent! Here's the Professor. In he comes first With the bright look we know, From the broad, white brows the kind eyes Soothing yet nerving you. Here at his elbow, White-capped, white-aproned, the Nurse, Towel on arm and her inkstand Fretful with quills. Here in the ruck, anyhow, Surging along, Louts, duffers, exquisites, students, and prigs-- Whiskers and foreheads, scarf-pins and spectacles-- Hustles the Class! And they ring themselves Round the first bed, where the Chief (His dressers and clerks at attention), Bends in inspection already. So shows the ring Seen from behind round a conjurer Doing his pitch in the street. High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones, Round, square, and angular, serry and shove; While from within a voice, Gravely and weightily fluent, Sounds; and then ceases; and suddenly (Look at the stress of the shoulders!) Out of a quiver of silence, Over the hiss of the spray, Comes a low cry, and the sound Of breath quick intaken through teeth Clenched in resolve. And the Master Breaks from the crowd, and goes, Wiping his hands, To the next bed, with his pupils Flocking and whispering behind him. Now one can see. Case Number One Sits (rather pale) with his bedclothes Stripped up, and showing his foot (Alas for God's Image!) Swaddled in wet, white lint Brilliantly hideous with red.
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1.4k
Clinical
Hist? . . . Through the corridor's echoes, Louder and nearer Comes a great shuffling of feet. Quick, every one of you, Strighten your quilts, and be decent! Here's the Professor. In he comes first With the bright look we know, From the broad, white brows the kind eyes Soothing yet nerving you. Here at his elbow, White-capped, white-aproned, the Nurse, Towel on arm and her inkstand Fretful with quills. Here in the ruck, anyhow, Surging along, Louts, duffers, exquisites, students, and prigs-- Whiskers and foreheads, scarf-pins and spectacles-- Hustles the Class! And they ring themselves Round the first bed, where the Chief (His dressers and clerks at attention), Bends in inspection already. So shows the ring Seen from behind round a conjurer Doing his pitch in the street. High shoulders, low shoulders, broad shoulders, narrow ones, Round, square, and angular, serry and shove; While from within a voice, Gravely and weightily fluent, Sounds; and then ceases; and suddenly (Look at the stress of the shoulders!) Out of a quiver of silence, Over the hiss of the spray, Comes a low cry, and the sound Of breath quick intaken through teeth Clenched in resolve. And the Master Breaks from the crowd, and goes, Wiping his hands, To the next bed, with his pupils Flocking and whispering behind him. Now one can see. Case Number One Sits (rather pale) with his bedclothes Stripped up, and showing his foot (Alas for God's Image!) Swaddled in wet, white lint Brilliantly hideous with red.
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47
It's funny how no matter where you go everything is the same. No kidding. I've been to San Fransisco and everyone is pretending to not be fake, and I've been to New York and they're even bigger phonies. I walked into town once, two miles from my house to the park. I walked along the highway and stuck my thumb out the whole way. No one stopped until this man on a motorcycle did. He asked me where I was going and I said into town. He asked where in town and I said the first thing that came to mind. Charlies Cafe, I said. We rode to Charlies Cafe which was only a 20 minute walk from where we were but whatever. He didn't have a helmet but that was fine. He dropped me off. I never even went into Charlies. I walked a half block to the gas station and went inside. I grabbed an Arizona and walked up to the counter. "Anything else for yah?" "Yeah uh, a pack of Natural American Spirits." I slapped a ten on the counter and the man asked to see identification. I told him I didn't have any but I also wouldn't need change. He sold me the cigarettes and the Arizona and didn't give me change. It's that kinda stuff that ****** me off. And that's what I mean. You ask someone for something and they act like they're doing you a hell of a favor and then you waive some money under their noses and they're shining your ******* boots. I got off the subway and to the venue. There were people filing in and smoking flowing out. I stood in line, bought my ticket and went in. Some ******** band a friend had told me about who was playing. I was meeting him there in 30 minutes but wanted to scope it out early. A girl wearing fishnet stockings was looking cute in a booth all by herself. I sat down in the booth next to her and ordered a drink. The waiter was nice enough to forget to ask about my non existent ID. I leaned over and asked the girl if I could refill her drink. She looked at me disgusted and said "I will let you know, that I have a boyfriend." Jesus, it's not like I asked to **** her or anything. "Jesus it's not like I asked you to **** me or anything." I returned my lean to my booth. I'm usually not so curt with women but this ****** me off. My friend never showed up and I bailed during the opening act. I walked all the way back to my apartment and smoked. It started raining. Cute girls, gas station clerks, weather, they can all be *******
0
Oct 30, 2012
Oct 30, 2012 at 2:10 AM UTC
It's All The Same
It's funny how no matter where you go everything is the same. No kidding. I've been to San Fransisco and everyone is pretending to not be fake, and I've been to New York and they're even bigger phonies. I walked into town once, two miles from my house to the park. I walked along the highway and stuck my thumb out the whole way. No one stopped until this man on a motorcycle did. He asked me where I was going and I said into town. He asked where in town and I said the first thing that came to mind. Charlies Cafe, I said. We rode to Charlies Cafe which was only a 20 minute walk from where we were but whatever. He didn't have a helmet but that was fine. He dropped me off. I never even went into Charlies. I walked a half block to the gas station and went inside. I grabbed an Arizona and walked up to the counter. "Anything else for yah?" "Yeah uh, a pack of Natural American Spirits." I slapped a ten on the counter and the man asked to see identification. I told him I didn't have any but I also wouldn't need change. He sold me the cigarettes and the Arizona and didn't give me change. It's that kinda stuff that ****** me off. And that's what I mean. You ask someone for something and they act like they're doing you a hell of a favor and then you waive some money under their noses and they're shining your ******* boots. I got off the subway and to the venue. There were people filing in and smoking flowing out. I stood in line, bought my ticket and went in. Some ******** band a friend had told me about who was playing. I was meeting him there in 30 minutes but wanted to scope it out early. A girl wearing fishnet stockings was looking cute in a booth all by herself. I sat down in the booth next to her and ordered a drink. The waiter was nice enough to forget to ask about my non existent ID. I leaned over and asked the girl if I could refill her drink. She looked at me disgusted and said "I will let you know, that I have a boyfriend." Jesus, it's not like I asked to **** her or anything. "Jesus it's not like I asked you to **** me or anything." I returned my lean to my booth. I'm usually not so curt with women but this ****** me off. My friend never showed up and I bailed during the opening act. I walked all the way back to my apartment and smoked. It started raining. Cute girls, gas station clerks, weather, they can all be *******
Continue reading...
31
The meek rattle the earth The battle distracted the clerks The overseer dipped into his potion As commotion in the open Became action and it started gaining traction And without pause the commanders reacted with factionalism For a fracture collapses community structures They rupture with signs of mistrust Institutions induce us to fear our own neighbor And keep our eyes forward and fixed on our labor But me and you, that's the True True Helping out when I know what I can do Spreading gratitude will get you bread And clothed enough to stay alive Because we'll only survive if we help each other
0
Nov 26, 2012
Nov 26, 2012 at 10:20 AM UTC
If We Help Each Other
Not sure how it really works I go and ask the clerks. Ages five and up… it’s hard to ****** he said. Really? It’s simple? Give an example. Turn on the boy and he'll find the girl. Everyone's given it a whirl, he said. ******** I’ve already: poked out my eyes, which left them leaking. bruised my thighs, which won’t stop aching! and sealed my heart’s demise for future breaking. Stunned and oblivious he cocked his head opened his mouth and said: You’re doing it wrong.
0
Dec 16, 2010
Dec 16, 2010 at 9:31 PM UTC
The Love Store