BLINDERS©

GRAB A TICKET

at the Northern goal we see

a football field with marching ducks

a brass band playing

an announcer praying:

God loves you

to the South:

Buddha sleeps

pendulous sky with udder clouds

dripping rain

over a row of purple buckets

turned upside down

hearts and roses

with someone's Aunt knitting quietly

her eyelids half closed

listening to a broadcast

invisible waves

gamma radiation

leaking through curtains in their fullness

and three astrologers on a hay wagon ride

a white gloved marusan pretending to direct traffic

at Ginza and Z

on the back lot at Zanuck Studios

popcorn popping

Mount Diablo living up to its name

in the reality of a forest fire

white plastic spoons

melting like Dali's clock

with Tony Williams keeping time

iridescent ducks

stepping out with Mozart

the goal posts topple

and the ducks slip out from underneath

pulling a hay wagon

pendulous

pitching to and fro

and lo:

the Buddha awakes, saying:

God loves you

they return to the North goal

and it all starts over

OFF THE BLINDERS

take off running

romp through the vines

through quantum tangles

let's meet at the border

my mind or yours?

independent thought?

simultaneous discoveries?

fingers and toes live

in one body

time?

what happens in the past does not stay there

the future is now

everywhere

gas is cheaper since demand is sagging

a self-proclaimed poet might leave it at that

bocce ball space travel

trumps science fiction

landing on an asteroid

thunk!

with machines, robots and fusion power on the way

try to say

forced labor and structural violence must continue?

those old turds are compost

TOO MUCH TO ASK?

the time has come

the autumn of our nation, indeed of all nations

calls for enlightened leaders who care

not just for themselves

but for all of us

the Change calls for people who will provide

relief for our world

let us proceed carefully

not to overdo

but to do what can actually be done

let those who wear wealth and power

sacrifice for the common good

then with our combined efforts

even the difficult reversal of our mistakes

can be accomplished

wind and thunder are with us now

let us learn from this

and proceed

EVOLUTION

my toe twitches

I can't see the colony

― its microbes ―

they might be rats deserting a sinking ship

how thankless a toe's normal job is

how much less an invisible colony

dragged along to a certain destination

far, far beyond imagination

where they will go is my decision

I think

if I decide on chlorine

to clear the field, so to speak

might they launch a preemptive strike?

destiny is not entirely up to me

AS THE TIDE TURNS

the Change is reasonable

fossils become fuel to release energy for progress

at each step

miners, refiners and technologists have done their best

with civilized incentives

had there been an Environmental Impact Report

to be ignored as usual

everyone could be dissatisfied with good cause

but that is not the case

the system has failed

if it is to continue on this planet

the collection of ad hoc arrangements

which comprise civilization

needs review and reinvention

money is a polluting fuel

self glorification and power for a few

are no longer valid purposes

abused people are waking up

a sustainable civilization

needs to replace violence and slavery

with planetary appreciation

and support for self realization