I believe in you, yes I do
I believe in Mountain Dew
I can’t quite say how or why
I can’t quite do it or I’ll die
You want me here but I can’t stay
I know for a fact I’m a really good lay
Take your drink to the other room
Or else my ego will spell your doom
Go **** around with your new guy friend
I’m no longer going to race or contend
I’m drunk right now, as you can see
So please be nice when I cease to be

"When you encounter a mountain lion, be vocal; however, speak calmly and do not use high pitched tones or high pitch screams"--California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

Be vocal, but avoid high pitched tones and screams
when a mountain lion appears on your path.
Remind yourself that it’s not a  dream.

If the path goes down to a flooded stream,
and bodies float by--
stay calm;  avoid high pitched tones and screams.

When you go to the store and there’s no milk or cream,
as the cows are sickened  from a poisoned well,
remind yourself that it’s not a dream.

If the wildfire turns your hot tub to steam,
as you run down the street to your neighbor’s car
be vocal, but avoid high pitched tones and screams.

When the weather goes to another extreme,
and mudslides cover another town,
remind yourself that it’s not a dream.

When the fisherman catches no salmon nor bream,
and there’s no more coffee, nor chocolate ice cream,
be vocal, but avoid high pitched tones and screams.
Remind yourself that it’s not a dream.

Coffee
    Heath
        Bar
            Crunch
Will sabotage those taste buds,
Like Dublin and its Mudslides.
So blast off with that,
Fossil Fuel,
And don’t let me
Catch you.
‘Cause I’ll keep you,
My Maple Blondie.
I’ll capture you,
And hold onto,
Those Cinnamon Buns.
You’re the Crème Brulee,
Of Chocolate Macadamia,
And the Cherry Garcia,
In my every breath.
You’re the Chunky Monkey,
To this Chubby Hubby;
The Dulce Delish,
for this Americone Dream.

Can’t you see I’ve just got,
A sweet tooth for you,
And your Phish Food?
Your Chocolate hair,
Key Lime Pie eyes,
Strawberry Cheesecake lips,
And your skin is a delight,
Much like Vanilla Caramel Fudge.
Did Ben and Jerry create you?
Please tell me they did!
So I can eat you,
With my cup of Boston Cream Pie,
And I’d eat you all up, Well,
Everything but the…
Half Baked,     Karmel Sutra,
Which I’d lick,
Like a cone of Cake Batter,
And then dip into,
Like Cookies and Milk.

Imagine Whirled Peace,
On top of this Mudpie,
And then Split,
Like a Banana.
That’s the kind of Brownie Batter,
I’d stir with you,
And then add a scoop,
    Or two,
Of Turtle Soup.
And you would yell,
PISTACHIO PISTACHIO!
    Where for art thou pistachio?
And with a bowl of Peach Cobbler,
And a spoon of Vanilla,
I’d look at you,
    wink,
and offer you a pint,
of my Mint Chocolate Chunk.

***** is the only language I know
Burning brightens anguish that grows
Like the blinding light the sun shows
A star providing life
While simultaneously burning me
As I dream of turning free
Floating here I sail a sea
Of words that hurt
And kick up dirt
Of actions that keep stacking
Of factions that keep attacking
Of agency that I'm lacking
To change any of these things
Or the sorrow they bring

The sun's assault through trees
Scorches the dirt off of me
In a world on fire
Incinerators are the cleanest places
In a hateful empire
Interpreters are unwelcome faces
And we continue to count the paces
Until we master mudslides
And we continue to erase the traces
Of our humanity under dirt

We live in this sandstorm
Brought by man's scorn
We attempt to grow corn
But the dusty fields remain barren
When the sun that used to activate photosynthesis
Now burns all the young seeds to a crisp
The seeds are now manufactured
As people wait for the rapture
Unable to see salvation starts here on Earth
And it starts with us cleaning up dirt

And because canyons
sever the earth
as tremors widen the divide
Go ahead, pick a side.
I'll stand to the north
where headwinds blow
as mustangs run wild
And you'll scamper to the south
when hurricanes begin to collide
As earth cycles and days turn to night
an eternity passes, plain in sight
Mudslides will fill the valley
and make things once more new
but until that time comes
I'll wait right here for you

Hidden stigmatas fall from your heaven
Solidly landing as a pathway to your righteousness
Running from your broken land
Broken lamp
To provide you with silver thread no more
Centuries of torment squeal under burnt rubber
And mudslides turn to avalanches
Room for the becoming
Pens leak ink over new white blouses
Draped over chairs like makeshift tents
Next to fireplaces to read
Seclusion from enormous intruders like yourself
Dusty pills litter the night table
Subtle reminders of doom once left
Left to chance
Echoing clacks as ***** scatter everywhere
Across the green felt next to the portrait
Covered by the heavy burgundy velvet drape
Whose eyes are blind to your savage beauty
You put the bell in the jar and cried out lonesome
Too many times before
You tried to pick some mushrooms
But it’s harder than you thought.

A woman’s sin
Can cause earthquakes,
Mudslides and hurricanes
Woman is subservient
To these tornados,
Tsunamis and storms
It’s in her nature
For chaos to reign
Trying so hard to be good
Fighting what’s innate
Woman is a *****,
A Madonna
A crying mother
Shifting like a chameleon
Woman yearns to be filled
Woman clings to despair
That unravels like a favorite worn shirt
Woman has devil in her genes
But is powerless to change
Fighting a losing battle
Woman needs attention,
Unbreakable pact of trust
Cause man is not tied nor bound by
Monthly bleeding, ovulation
Man destroys pain with reason
Man’s undivided mind leaves
No room for guilt
Man is ego in the moment
Yearning to stay hungry
Man grieves until the moment disappears
Loving the anonymous body
Lacking the ability to understand the mind
Man wants to expose what needs hiding
Man treks the land but fears the sound
Of acorns falling on a roof
Man recognizes there’s more to Eden
Than the garden
Man seeks to tame nature
But regeneration and rebirth rule
An only woman can assist this
As our toes spread out like tree roots
And ghosts sway in the branches
We’re reminded by the deer, the fox, the raven-
Chaos reigns
And nature blooms as it corrupts

I’ve been burned
by fires of men
who got carried away
throwing words and
sentiments around
like arrows,
piercing feelings
deep like flesh.
I have cried
rivers running
into waterfalls
creating black
mascara mudslides
rolling down
these full cheeks,
feeble attempts
to extinguish
the blaze. But
it won’t go out.
it smolders on,
embers glowing
dangerously bright
and beautiful
and too hot to touch.
and I am left with that:
a lingering reminder
too hot to touch,
too much to take.

Today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
The people and things that cause trouble in life
Must have decided to call it quits and stay home

No earthquakes or tornado's to speak of
No mudslides or fires to ravage the land
All the people who bring us the bad news
Stood around just scratching their heads

Not a person was murdered or robbed
No kidnapping or spousal abuse
Nothing much exciting to speak of
That we've grown to expect in our news

No bombs in the Middle East went off
No politicians were caught in a lie
No Hollywood Star said something stupid
No one famous or not even died

Yes today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
Which has the rest of us wondering
If this is the calm before the storm

The window is up;
sounds of rain crinkle in,
like the static in the voice
of a faraway caller.

My cats are perched,
one grey, one tabby,
listening with me, as
we stare at miniature
mudslides glaze gener-
-ations of ants, probably
clinging onto strands of
grass; waiting to become
the past.

I think of success and
what it means to me.
I look in my wallet and
count one-two-three;
one reason to like the rain;
two reasons to embrace strife;
three reasons to consume pain;
enough zeroes to choose a life
not smothered in mud, not one
where I cling onto the grass.

I dream of a dream where
my dollar bills can last.

I hear the rumble
Clouds and electricity ride across the sky
The very storm that brought the mudslides
Is the very storm that will loosen the dirt
Not even the sand can silence the storm
Buried under filth and wrapped in root
Forgotten like a ruin and fossilized
Ive slept for seven years
I heard your voice travel through the earth
I am ready to claw my way out
With mud under my nails
With God in my finger tips
One hand reaches further in
To feel the rain seep through soil
I never dug a grave, but I never moved
I am a city
Hidden by time and harsh winds
Breaking ground in a field of white, dressed in black
Gray light fills my mouth and eyes
My first sight is your face formed in the clouds
Resurrected in a water birth
I am forgiven with rain
There is a void in the earth
Not a grave, but a womb
Head first, I scream to the sky
My chest and lungs are free
My hips escape as the holes cave in
I catch my first breath in a wet choke
The very storm that brought the mudslides
Is the very storm that will loosen the earth
Thank you
Thank you for this
This is mine

my parents drove, and took me away
from school
my mother bore heavy words on her chest,
weighing her down with every wheezing breath she took.
my step-father had something a little vacant in his eye,
barely there but i noticed.

they sat me down and spoke
small, soft, strong words to me
and then

your

grandfather

has

cancer

i sat still, unmoving,
"if it spreads to his lungs, he will have two more
months
to live."

slipping, slipping like mudslides in a rainy season,
air in my throat was stagnant
bones
weren't holding my body properly, what was happening to my
skeletal system?
dripping like
cold rain.

then, i crashed.
speeding, so fast down a freeway,
sliding down the highway,
slippery ice under
and here was the crash.

wet anger tore into my mothers shoulders
as i clenched them
i
screamed  
why do such horrible things
happen to such
kind people

and my mother said
i dont know
with tears of her
own.

Mama Kamuma dances the old dance steps
She dances the dance of the ancestor gods
and beneath her the Earth's drum beat
a rumble of mountains and rocks
the force of rivers, mudslides, and avalanches
Kamuma dances the Earth Mother dance
Kamuma dances the Earth alive
    
         1997

I was going to end it at one poem,
that one sentence (i swear)
but something about your hands tonight were magical
i've never wanted someones contact so constantly
just skin on skin, eyes on ******* eyes
just let me see you
and feel you
be around you
know you exist
you ******* know i exist.
-
human connection is more important than tornadoes
than earthquakes
than tsunamis and mudslides
human connection makes dying worth a wait

and just like that
it all came back
but it didn't hurt-
I was smiling, in fact

naivety
wishes and dreams

longing and lust
blind faith and trust

nature bleeding colors
incredible warmth

and still that
warmth of another

sent shivers
in sorts

though troubled
mind hardened

though heart
now near stone

sometimes I smile
when I am alone

it all sometimes
floods

avalanches
fall

mudslides &
quicksand

perilous waters
& all

just like that it
comes back

sometimes
I'm alone

but now I'm more
grounded

than I've ever known

"Everything we're selling, they're buying it!
Pay-per-view, on demand, ******* they're buying it!
They want more? Hell, we're supplying it!
Ounce by ounce they're spoon-fed ****!
Eating it up, little they know,
It's all a Punch and Judy show!
With the man behind pulling the strings
Making his puppets all dance and sing-

What's that? Almost time?
Let me get my smile aligned!
**** the prompt, **** recording,
We'll do it live!
In 5
4
3
2...

Welcome again to the Daily News!
Boy, do we have some stories for you!
Growing crime rates and substance use,
SJWs, protests, and persecuted youths,
Government scandals and political abuse,
Just stay tuned, WE'VE got the TRUTH!
(We're here to bring the fear to you! )

They're at it again, terror overseas-
Stop! Wait! Don't eat that cheese!
Unless it's government supplied
It's full of diseases!
There's a recall on free range that does as it pleases.
Now, back to the war! And it's growing death toll
In those Middle East countries we've sought to control-
Did I say 'control?' I meant liberate!
We share our Dream and conglomerate,
Then they share their oil, ain't it great!?

And now, Tom with the Weather!"

"Today's forecast is hellfire rain,
Earthquakes, floods, a Cat. V hurricane!
You -could- go out if you don't mind the pain!
It's a good choice to stay in.
Between mudslides, fires, and UV rays,
You'd be better off watching us the rest of the day!"

"Thanks Tom! More things up next!
Upcoming brutality and civil unrest!
Just lean back, stay right in your chair;
Whatever you do, don't move from there!
Never know what you'll miss,
Your life's at stake!
We'll tell you how-
After this quick commercial break."

the tiredness in my bones
at times is almost overwhelming

it feels existential
lodged deeply somewhere at my core

that center of my life
   wherever it is
seems to gain distance
step by step
from the world’s busy-ness
makes me consider things
   like from above
and at the same time
narrows down my vision
   to my basic needs

what do I care about
   the hungry dead in Africa
the Asian victims of typhoons and floods and mudslides
or who becomes chancellor or president etc.

I focus on myself
mulling the question
whether I have a mission in my life
whether there is a destiny
   that needs to be fulfilled
or fate to be resigned to
or if it’s better to catch each day
   as if it were my last
   experience life to the brim
   as long as possible
   and die in the midst of it

at times
I wonder & ponder
yet shy back
from any definite conclusion
hesitant to fall into a groove
that lead me
to a too predictable
end

           * *

We are nothing without love
Ships lost at sea without their sails
With life's bitter storms soon too come
We need love above all else

We are nothing without love
Too steep the hill too hard the climb
Too late to grasp what is to come
As we succumb to life's mudslides

We are nothing without love
An empty train on a dead-end track
At the end without reverse
With no way to make it back

We are nothing without love
An unmade bed with no rest
Those that are left, toss and turn
With only dreams of love instead

We are nothing without love
Abandoned buildings, emptiness
Demolition soon to come
We are nothing without love

Who are you and why? 

And why do you like to pry? 

Your way into those helpless and vulnerable.

Remember those rolling hills we once stood above, now mudslides of regret and lost hope for what once was. 

You’re a wreck.
But now I am too.. all special thanks to you.

They say opposites attract, but then again, I guess that was never actually fact.

I’m a soft rubber ball that bounces away from the bad, and you’re a sharp pin pricking those who come close and it’s sad.

Those gentle souls you desecrated out of your own will to manipulate. 
May they be in the back of your mind always, to torture you while you contemplate. 

I hope some day regret washes over you, as your ego dies and you become whole again, new.

Then, maybe you’d be incapable of inflicting pain on those who hoped to love you, and finally stop causing chaos and spread love in lieu.

Today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
The people and things that cause trouble in life
Must have decided to call it quits and stay home

No earthquakes or tornado's to speak of
No mudslides or fires to ravage the land
All the people who bring us the bad news
Stood around just scratching their heads

Not a person was murdered or robbed
No kidnapping or spousal abuse
Nothing much exciting to speak of
That we've grown to expect in our news

No bombs in the Middle East went off
No politicians were caught in a lie
No Hollywood Star said something stupid
No one famous or not even died

Yes today was a slow day on the news wire
Nothing at all going on
Which has the rest of us wondering
If this is the calm before the storm

my own hands have turned against me
and seek to only do your bidding
if you let them
they would sever themselves
completely from my arm
and join your thousand arms
and hold on as tight as a child
love is mild and sometimes
wilder than a tiger
in libraries and movie theaters
densities adjust to your temperatures
sweat and shelter
beds of honey make a nest for us to lay upon
on sun swept sidewalks i walk mindlessly
if you have an ounce of compassion left
you’d come and shine your light on me
if you would be so kind as to hold me
i would undress the antelope for you
and finish my drink beside the galactic pool
loose like lightning
inside of fine dining
in rosebush countryside
i sage the morning sky
and speak gibberish to her majesty
otters and felines
destined for mudslides
sun-dried like cactus flowers
in the dusty afternoon

It rained nonstop.
Then there were floods.
Mudslides rained in, wreaking havoc.
People began to wonder why nature destroys itself in order to destroy them.