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Martin Narrod Feb 2014
The Checkout Line

I wish to speak with you
ten years from now, you'll be ten years behind.

The words and meanings you carry in your pants, the pick-pocket steals your hopes from time.
and the visions of empty trash receptacles
with their late evening drunken lovers' bouts, at restless end tables. And the bums with their ******* attitudes **** covered clothes, and soiled minds

the clarity of the curbside drunk, picking up shades of filtered cigarettes of twilight scandalous
pickup lovers in their evening best.

And to talk with you ten years from now, you'll be ten years behind.

They're Green Beret head ornaments
detailing the porcelain platforms of Delft
Lining up for one last line to carry them into another faded sunrise at dawn's forgotten memory of yester night
and they walk their gallows holding pride fully their flags of exalted countrymen.

The republic of teacups of literary proficiency.
Wearing the necklaces of paid tolls to an afterlife they find in the miniscule car crashes of engagement with a grinless driving mate in a neighboring car in its pass into the forethought of turned corners.
Where they befell the great disappointment of failure in the frosted eyes of their fathers' expectations.

Who carried the shame of their mother's incessant discontent through short skirts, and high heels.

Who disapproved of the **** whom wore the sneak-out-of-the-house-wear clothing line, and traveled by night over turbulent asphalt by way of sidecar through turn and turnabout hand-over-hand contracts of lover's affection, and slept in tall grasses of wet nightfall with views of San Francisco, and were trapped in the inescapable Alcatraz and Statesville of unconsenting parents and their curfews,

through trials and trails of Skittles leading to after school Doctor visits in the basement of a doting mother, whilst she sits quietly in her exclusive quilting parties with noble equities of partners in knowledge, listening to Edith Piaf and the like,

All the while condemned to time, trapped in the second hand, hand me downs of the 21st century, decades of decadent introverts with their table top unread notebooks, and old forgotten score cards, and the numbers of scholars of years past,

and to talk with you ten years from now will be my greatest pleasure, for you will be....ten year's behind.


They push the sterile elevator buttons, and descend upon the floor of scents flourishing from their crowded family rooms, only aware of distinctive flavors, in their middle eastern shades of desert gumbo,

Who speak ribbit and alfalfa until midnight of the afternoon, sharing fables of slaughtered giraffes and camels that walked from Kiev to Baghdad in a fortnight,

Who are aware the power is out, but continue to scour for candles in a dark room where candles once burned, where candle wax seals the drawers of where candles can be found. Where once sat gluttonous kings and queens in Sunday attire waiting for words of freedom from the North.

of Florence, Sochi,Shanghai
of Dempster, Foster, Lincoln
of Dodge, Ford, Shelby

Of concrete fortune tellers in 2nd story tenement blocks with hairy legs, and head lice, wearing beautiful sachets of India speaking ribbit and alfalfa.

On their unbirthdays they walk the fish tanks wearing their birthday suits to remind them who serves the food on the floors of the family room fish mongers tactics.

The old men wear gargoyles on their shoulders.

Lo! Fear has crept the glass marbles of their wisdom and fortune, blearing rocket ships and kazoos on the sidewalks of their Portuguese forefathers.

Where ancestry burns cigarette holes in the short-haired blue carpet, where Hoover breaks flood waters of insignificance across hard headed Evangelical trinities.

Who share construction techniques one early morning at four, where questions of Hammer and **** build intelligence in secondary faces of nameless twilight lovers, who possess bear blankets, and upheavals, finely wired bushes of ***** maturity. Eating *** and check, tongue and pen.

Where police caress emergency flame retardants over the fire between their legs, wielding the chauvinistic blade of comfort in the backseat of a Yellow faced driving patron.

With their innocent daughters with their nubile thighs, and malleable personalities, which require elite words and jewelry. Wearing wheat buns, Longfellow, and squire.

Holding postmarked cellular structure within their mobile anguish.

Who go curling in their showers, pushing afternoon naps and pretentious frou-frou hats over tainted friendships with their girlfriend's brothers with minimum paychecks'.

Through their narcissus and narcosis, their mirrored perceptions of medicinal scripture of Methamphetamine and elegant five-star meat.

Who amend their words with constitutional forgiveness, in their fascist cloth rampages through groves of learning strategies. And the closets, cupboards, and coins
with rubber hearts, steel *****, and gold *****,

Tall-tales of sock puppet hands with friendly sharing ******* techniques, dry with envy, colorful scabs, and coagulation of eccentric ****** endeavors, With their social lubricants and their tile feet wardrobes with B-quality Adidas and Reeboks gods of the souls of us. Who possess piceous syndromes of Ouiji boards in their parent’s basements.

When will fire burn another Bush? Spread the fire walls of Chicago, and part grocery store fields of food. Wrapping towels under the doors of smoke filled lungs, on the fingernails of a sleepover between business executives with the neoprene finish of their sons and daughters who attend finishing school, with resumes of oak furnishings,

And I long to talk with you ten years from now,
For you'll be talking ten years behind.

Who profligate their padded inventories breaking Mohammed and Hearst,
laying the pillows of cirrus minor
waiting for the rain to paint the eyes of the scriptures which waft through concrete corridors,
and scent the air with their exalted personas,

With the different channels of confusions, watching dimple past freckle, eating the palms of our tropical mental vocations to achieve purity from the indignation of those whom are contemptuous for lack of innocence in America,
this America, of lack of peace,
of America hold me,
Let me be.

Whom read the letters off music, blearing Sinatra and Krall, Manson where is your contempt?

Manson where is your manipulation of place settings?, you deserve fork and knife, the wounded commandments that regretfully fall like timber in an abandoned sanctuary of Yellowstone,
Manson, with your claws of the heart.
Manson, with your sheik vulgarity of **** cloaks exposing your ladies undercarriage,

Those who take their pets to walk the aisles of famished eyes,
allowing the dorsals of their backsides to wonder aimlessly through Vietnam and Chinaman,
holding peace of mind aware of their chemical leashes and fifteen calorie mental meals, holding hands, unaware of repercussion,

With their vivid recollections of sprinkler and slide, through dew and beyond,
Holding citrus drinks to themselves, apart from pleasure, trapped with excite from sunsets, and in-between.

Withholding reservation of tongue to lung.
Flowing ribbit and alfalfa, in the corridors of expected fragrance.

and to speak with you of ten years from now, will be a pleasure all my own, for you will be talking ten years behind.

They walked outside climbing over mountains of shrapnel, popped collars
and endless buffets of emotion,
driving Claremont all the way to art gallery premiers
and forever waited for plane crash landings
and the phone calls that never came

Glowing black and white cameras
giving modelesque perceptions to all-you-can-eat eyes
giving cigarettes endless chasms of light

Colored pavement trenches and divots
cliff note alibis
and surgery that lasted until the seamstress had gone into an
endless rest
and
empty cupboards

Classic stools painted with sleepless white smoke and bleached canvas rolling tobacco with the stained yellow window panes of feral tapestry and overindulgent vernacular

Like a satiated cheeseburger weeping smile simple emotion
on November the 18th celebrations
and Wisconsin out of business sales

Too much comfort, stealing switchboards from the the elderly, constantly putting gibberish into
effortless conversation.

Dormant doormats, with the greetings that never
reached as far as coffee table favelas,
arriving to homes of famished
furniture, awaiting temperate lifestyles and the window sill arguments from pedantic literacy

Silver shillings and corporate discovery clogged the persuasive
push and shove
to and from

Killing enterprise
loquacious attempt at too soon
much too soon
too soon for forever

Wall to wall post-card collages
happy reminders of the places never visited by drinks in the hands of
those received

Registered to the clouded skies of clip board artists
this arthritis of envy
of bathtub old age
wrinkled matted faces
logged with quick-fixes, anemia, and heart-break

disposed of off the streets
of youth, wheeling and wailing
rolling down striped stairs
of shock and arraignment
holding the hand rails of a wheelchair
suitcase
packed away in a life

Down I-37
into the ochre autumn fallen down leaves
and left memories behind
their green Syphilis eyeglasses

weeping tumuli
recalcitrant
mulish, furrow of beast and beyond

yelling, screaming, howling
at the prurient puerile tilling
of sheets

****** the voices of words
and vomiting the mind into the pockets of the turbulent perambulations
expelled from meat-packing
whispering condescension
and coercing adolescent obsessions
with fame, glamour, and *****

Creeping out into the naked
light of the Darger scale janitorial
closets, carrying the notorious gowns
of red wine spells, backpacks, and pins

henchmen, plaintiff, and youth

All the while
ripping at the incantations of the soul
whispering ribbit and alfalfa
in the guard-rail scars
of the dawns decadent forgotten
Ai
I'm going out and get something.
I don't know what.
I don't care.
Whatever's out there, I'm going to get it.
Look in those shop windows at boxes
and boxes of Reeboks and Nikes
to make me fly through the air
like Michael Jordan
like Magic.
While I'm up there, I see Spike Lee.
Looks like he's flying too
straight through the glass
that separates me
from the virtual reality
I watch everyday on TV.
I know the difference between
what it is and what it isn't.
Just because I can't touch it
doesn't mean it isn't real.
All I have to do is smash the screen,
reach in and take what I want.
Break out of prison.
South Central *****'s newly risen
from the night of living dead,
but this time he lives,
he gets to give the zombies
a taste of their own medicine.
Open wide and let me in,
or else I'll set your world on fire,
but you pretend that you don't hear.
You haven't heard the word is coming down
like the hammer of the gun
of this black son, locked out of this big house,
while ***** looks out the window and sees only smoke.
***** doesn't see anything else,
not because he can't,
but because he won't.
He'd rather hear me talking about mo' money,
mo' honeys and gold chains
and see me carrying my favorite things
from looted stores
than admit that underneath my Raider's cap,
the aftermath is staring back
unblinking through the camera's lens,
courtesy of CNN,
my arms loaded with boxes of shoes
that I will sell at the swap meet
to make a few cents on the declining dollar.
And if I destroy myself
and my neighborhood
"ain't nobody's business, if I do,"
but the police are knocking hard
at my door
and before I can open it,
they break it down
and drag me in the yard.
They take me in to be processed and charged,
to await trial,
while Americans forget
the day the wealth finally trickled down
to the rest of us.
David Jin Mar 2014
The loudest sounds most kids hear on a school day
are lockers slamming, or maybe the late bell tone
I hear all of those, but the loudest sounds by far
are those created by the lacrosse team
when they beat the **** out of me
every day,
after 8th hour, at the intersection of nerd street and **** avenue

The attacks were formulaic, more complex than Pythagoras
but simpler than Newton’s Binomial Theorem;
Two would tackle me, one would pin me down,
and the rest would kick me around as if it were soccer tryouts
and I was nothing more than a ball
and regardless of whether you derived or integrated this equation
you always got the same solution
me ******, and them ****** happy

I would go home bawling; so would they
but instead of tears they dropped floaters
And I had a rep as the kid with a concussion before the season even began

I was born five pounds tops, with no biceps whatsoever
and as I grew my arms didn’t follow
making me as clear a target as a corpsman in World War 2
To my doc’s urging I drank milk religiously
but that didn’t do **** when I tangled with Darren Shields and his Air Jordans on 4th and eternity
Instead of my ankles however, he broke my ribs; 6 of em’
Told me he’d **** me if I ratted
So I told the mother I fell off my skateboard
Because I didn’t want a rematch with Muhammad Ollie

I considered hitting the off switch on my life
at least three times a week
but I didn’t know how to tie a noose,
didn’t know where my dad’s shotgun was
and I wasn’t ballsy enough to try a steak knife
Which is ironic because if I was brave enough for that
none of this may have happened
I’ll even admit I liked to daydream about building
and bringing a bomb to school by backpack
getting revenge by leaving a crater
where my class was at

And though the bible said suicide was cowardly
I was too cowardly for suicide
So I reasoned that if I got into college out of state
it would be worth a couple more years
of broken bones, ***** dousings, and concussions
So I did nothing


Fast forward eight years
I gained two feet in height
Armanis replace my Reeboks
a multinational corporation, my 4.0’s
I’ve made the covers of Fortune and GQ,
my speed-dial list comprises of more celebrities than actual friends
my annual salary consists of two significant numbers
followed by double-digit zeroes

When I’m not working overtime I spend my days
pulling beautiful women and enjoying the pleasures
that God gave us
Every time I yank my shirt off, each girl gives me the
same wide-eyed expression and unspoken question
regarding the cruel scars all over my body,
to the point where I resort to answering every time with,
“I played lacrosse in high school.”

And I have never forgotten about high school
But Darren Shields has, and fate has him working several floors down
He HAS forgotten
He has forgotten me, my face, my voice when I pleaded for mercy
But I have not forgotten him
Nor have I forgotten my hatred
Nor my fear

I could hurt him
I could fire him with contempt
or disgrace him publicly
or to the very least, remind him of the good old days
and make him feel like the **** he was
But I don’t; I won’t

He must wonder why I struggle
to look him in the eye
or shudder when he cheerfully claps me
on the shoulder every morning  
As I am still haunted by them old days

And despite how I now spend my life in a huge office
surrounded by wealth, women,
and mostly absolute silence
I can still hear the sounds of lockers slamming,
of late bell tones
But loudest of all, I hear the sound of my body breaking
Thanks to Darren Shields on 4th and eternity
Entirely fictatious poem, no references to people I know. If you are reading this, try to imagine someone is presenting it as a slam poem, you know?
chuck a stetson Jul 2011
plug-in your head music
remember being young
on a pogo stick
a unicycle
with training wheels
under
sunshine of your
love

o’ shine on
you crazy
diamond
run in the
jungle
feel the rain
on sunny day
and let it be
misunderstood

stop your moon tears?
run in Reeboks?
come on
you painter of
words
chew
good & plenty
plant
lime lima beans
kaleidoscope kale
juicy fruit gum
harvest
magenta mangos
paisley peaches

or go to an auction
bid on
T-bone
bubble gum
sprout beans
Tahitian telecaster
pre-rolled wagon wheel
sweet sixteen candles
Hound Dog Taylor’s
Brownie McGhee loafers

no?
yes?

don’t change
your lunatic fringe
in twilight’s open season
read
The Hidden Singer
dance
boogie woogie
cha-cha-cha
outside the house of the rising sun

so turn it up, Mr. James
your big wheel
keeps on turnin’
groove
to the little bird
who sings and sings

© 2011 chuck a stetson
written for a poet-genius I've been fortunate to know these past two years.
Sam Temple Dec 2015
**** blocked by
wannabe rock stars
in tube socks
standing on the block
like the 2001 Rock
ready to drop candy *****
and knock blocks off of
those who would mock
**** strap wearing
disk jockey’s –
cocky cockney Spock impersonators
lock glocks in boxes so the foxy chicks
won’t flock to the professed
smock of Sherlock Holmes
or dock their paper ships
on the jagged rocks
jutting up from the oceanic
tectonic plate –
frocks adorned with Reeboks
shock the locksmith
busily hocking his shops’
noxious fume makers
while the unorthodox musk ox
in bobby-socks
gently rocks
to the sounds walking out from
the talking box –
Santiago Nov 2015
[Talking: K-Rino]
Polytheism: The worship of many Gods. Monotheism: The worship of only one. The title of this composition is called, Three Gods.
Yeah

[Hook:]
I know three Gods, and none of the same
Three things that can all fall up under the name
Some worship many idols, others thunder and rain
Of the three Gods I speak of, which one do you claim?
Listen, polytheism is your enemy
Each God is an entity that prevents people from elevating mentally
And I ain't talking about the Trinity
The three Gods entered me sinfully, manifested death is what sent to me

[Verse 1:]
Moneys the first God I'll speak on, some think that it's wealth
We even place more value on money than life itself
Some might even take a life just to get in hand
Moneys replaceable, but no one can recycle a man
The accumulation of paper leaves the hatred and greed
Immoral seeds they planted in hearts other entities breed
Like materialism, those who feel like cloths and a car make a person
Take that away, and might expose who they are
It's the motivation of war making calamities start
Gratification of it's misuse tears families apart
Can it buy you love and happiness? That's just a facade
Those things only come from building a connection with God
True indeed the love money is the root of all evil
It makes a man ******* women, and sell dope to his people
Now the question gained new revenue is inevitable
It makes you fall for every single trick the devil will pull

[Hook:]
I know three Gods, and none of the same
Three things that can all fall up under the name
Some worship many idols, others thunder and rain
Of the three Gods I speak of, which one do you claim?
Listen, polytheism is your enemy
Each God is an entity that prevents people from elevating mentally
And I ain't talking about the Trinity
The three Gods entered me sinfully, manifested death is what sent to me

[Verse 2:]
Drugs are the second God I'll speak on, which one do you use?
It's a multitude in the world now so many to choose?
You got people on speed boasts some agree that they need coke
Some worshiping marijuana baptized in the **** smoke
You can get you a upper, or score you a downer
And now a days more people getting higher from over the counter
If dope ain't a God, prove it. Will discover who's right
It's everywhere, plus it calls you in the middle of night
And in the Dope Bible in the third chapter, The Book of *******
Explains he who hit'ith one shall have no strength to refrain
And shall remain chasing a high whether sunny or rain
And still much lusts making sure that the habits maintain
Seeking three rocks, instead of trying to detox
You gotta be blocks trying to get 10 dollars for a pair of in-store Reeboks
Praying to the drug God from seven to seven
You must believe if you get high enough you'll end up in heaven

[Hook:]
I know three Gods, and none of the same
Three things that can all fall up under the name
Some worship many idols, others thunder and rain
Of the three Gods I speak of, which one do you claim?
Listen, polytheism is your enemy
Each God is an entity that prevents people from elevating mentally
And I ain't talking about the Trinity
The three Gods entered me sinfully, manifested death is what sent to me

[Verse 3:]
Now the last God I'll speak on is the one called ***
It's natural which makes it's analysis even more complex
It shouldn't be abused by anyone, but the devious duo
This third God is even used to get the previous two
Let me uncover this, cause' lust sits above the list
It's real dangerous in cases where no love exist
Multidimensional, 16 bars can't cover the ground
The truth is, it's twice as hazardous when love is around
*** is powerful, intended only for husband and wife
Used for unrighteous purposes, but made to reproduce life
We all come from it, some die from it, some live for it,
And when it's real good ain't nothing some people won't do give for it
Without mastery over it, it controls you and pleases
Used as a genocidal tool, by way of deadly diseases
It's the reason we all exist, intentionally or accidentally
If you lack spiritual strength, the physical impacts the mental

[Hook:]
I know three Gods, and none of the same
Three things that can all fall up under the name
Some worship many idols, others thunder and rain
Of the three Gods I speak of, which one do you claim?
Listen, polytheism is your enemy
Each God is an entity that prevents people from elevating mentally
And I ain't talking about the Trinity
The three Gods entered me sinfully, manifested death is what sent to me

[Man Talking:]
There's only one God, the creator of the heavens and the Earth. And you and I were created in his image and after his likeness. You can't bow down to money, you can't bow down to drugs, you can't bow down to ***. You were born to be like your father, a God. Stand up and be a God black man, and woman. Stand up and take charge of your world.
The world is yours.
everly Jan 2018
in my dream
i heard you
telling me a joke

i woke up at 12:33 in the morning
giggling and reminiscing

of how many others have missed out
on my prized possession
still get butterflies
emma joy Aug 2013
I never really learned how to tie knots
I never really cared
Now I am burning in the attic of desire
drinking by flames of doubt
wishing your image out of my head
and praying that today
I forget how you threw a pail of water on
me in the thunderstorm of 98'
and I remember those reeboks that were
kept closed with
velcro
Well well well time to tell Pandora box sparked from hell fire at close range click this phat
trophy for ****** up the madness open up the flyn' rat-tatz! and they thought they can kick it like ol skool Reeboks
This be Monday
Slap that Saterday
It's still payday American Inkstuh
Pens be sizzling like grills muthuh fuckuh
Wait... this ain't no street talk
I be better than a heated ham hawk
Critics help the senile
Hey I propose to you a young poetic juvenile
I threaten what is *******
Woop that with BOOTS TO ***** like The Rock got tired of them candy *****
Fortitude is non if you don't have the move to walk it ***
I chew fiber from your brain
Drain the intellect like the blood from the brother of Cain
School you to respect
Peel truth from your two face tongue one layer at a time
Feed you a plate of broken glass
to swallow that crime
If you know better don't waist time
Because that lie gone sit on your chest in repeat till you die.

(INCREDIBLE INK- TEAM JAGUAR HAWAII)
© Copyright 2014 S.T. Parish
Rebel of Eden
Honesty about ones self is the key. No question, come and come hard, or real. After darkness, there is always light.
Bodowzski Jun 2017
From records to cassettes, CDs to Blu-rays.
Jam Master Jay to Jay, from NWA to Kanye.
From white tees to peacoats,
Nikes to Reeboks.
From durags on hoodrats,
From gang signs to hangtimes.
From brothers who spent time,
To those who spat rhymes.
Mad love to whose who spent time on their grind.
I'm part of the Foundation, they call me the blueprint.
You're welcome to walk the talk, if the
shoe fits.
No-one admitted to putting the game to shame,
So who did?
I'm asking one more time, so who did?

I'm trying to hack away the chains that bind so tightly to this game.
But when I'm done, someone else will put the clasp on her wrists again.
Feels like I need to get her sins pardon by the president.
Nothing has ever been
The same. Ever since
Hip Hop was incarcerated, I had been
grieving ever since.
She is on the death row.
Death crowed,
every night.
Scythe in hand, still by the window.
She ain't fazed, though.
Got jumped more times than a trampoline.
Point blank with a 5.4".
With her eyes closed,
She heard Icewater
in her mind, soul.
Her eyes watered,
as she let go.
Hanson Yang Feb 2018
Thinkin you hot in hip hop playing skip it in the summertime
Thinking when reading the dictionary out loud everytime when you state in dumber “rhymes”
Spittin lethal when you’d get abused by thought
And forget the fruited wisdom cuz you’re too confused with motts
Thinkin you flowin when you ******* in the niagra
With all that power you’d think that you created ******
Forget your lefty made bout, cuz your rhymes be played out
You couldn’t even hip hop right even if your left knee gave out
My women call me Mc claps that I’m “eatin prego”
Cuz you receive applause every enlightenment down when you’re getting thrown at eatin everything from off the floor when you’re gettin thrown at from every freakin tomato
I left mousetraps around your bed to prove that you bomb cheese
The next morning after I stole all the mousetraps offa your mom’s knees
You’re only hip hop when rats are attackin your feet
To have you rappin and dancin when evading death to abackin your feat
Dig out your eyeballs and glued them to my God-blue reeboks too so that you can see walk
Might as well morph in-to a dictionary verbalized so that you would be talk
Get your **** tatted with my rhymes so that you can beat mine
And ******* to a dictionary everytime elementary to see rhymes
Intent in poetry id is the only time when you can see mine
Your poetry is better than smoking potent sleeping powder
Your capacity growth is better than your open reading hour
You couldn’t roll with these punches only when you’re swingin on rollerblades
Never ' mind the closing doors'
mind the closing of one's mind.

Possibilities are endless unless someone proves otherwise.

I'm working and it's Saturday
what's the probability of that?,
but it's true
so while you slumber on
I'm crumbling.

The central line today
quiet one would say,

just
shoppers on
weekend jaunts
heading to those well
known West End haunts
and
Tinkerbell
well
there's always someone
who stands out,

Reeboks
no socks
what's that all about?

Exercise.

I'm exercising my imagination
Pull up to
press up
'eh
what's up doc?'

cartoons creep in
but
the rabbit's too late.

She must be
a model
I wonder what
agency?

knowing my luck
the
CIA
and he looks like a spy
with
one eye on the girl.

Crowded now
and Tinkerbell is
a wow

standing out is
ace
his face tells it all
he's
having a ball

fancy dress I think.

— The End —