HYSTERIA©
HYSTERIA
slavery was necessary, violence and wars
without surcease we 're told
to build civilization and provide leisure
for technology
(forget flint arrow heads)
creative culture
(also cave paintings, ancient musicians)
wealth and power have been held
by the privileged few who still
want hysteria to repeat --
(the underclass can be indoctrinated, caged or killed)
hysteria is written by whom?
civilization of their creation
is a massive fraud
a concept as aware of itself
as the “person” of corporations
the ground has shifted
and such assumptions are, well --
hysterical
the earth itself no longer supports this
technology and culture have transformed it
the unindoctrinated
will not make the necessary grant
of power
“civilization” and the “person”
debunked
eventually, inevitably
and down to the last enforcer
CLAY VIOLIN
now the calm between storms
is no big deal
the wind will rise again
goose stepping geese cross the river
which never parted for them
the sky above dripping blood red
horror movies making sense
red skies up above
everyone in love
a trolley car with blue garters
clang!
that turkey with a bull horn imitating the mayor
yes, it all made sense
I was nine years old and had a magic set
no one cared if I revealed how it worked
just do the trick!
RULES OF DISCOVERY
when means become ends
the medium is the message
gaining leverage
that won't buy much traction
so
if it ain't broke, don’t fix it
said a wise mechanic
after I had learned enough
to rebuild my mower engines
the joy spilling over into presumed maintenance
that trail of crumbs
got discovered by ants
up and over the walls
blazing a new trail
where we're not supposed to look
in the labyrinth
NIGHT VISION
all the Buddhas and time cards are checked in
birds tucked under wing
in several hundred thousand universes
my law is the same
local opinion varies
but according to the same law
rulers rule, slaves are slaves, civilization buries itself
now and then supernovas blaze
hysteria leaves a wax impression, if at all
the time clock ticks at Starbucks
in homeless shelters
salmon as they return from the sea
spawn in rivers long remembered
long rehearsed
brown leaves on the lawn
almost cover squirrel's switching tail
he has a girlfriend, black and beautiful
they scamper as I bring walnuts to the fence
from the avocado he brought
will sprout the tree
of a hundred thousand universes
LEMON'S WATERLOO
January 13, 2015, 8:30 AM, a sunny morning
fuchsia blooming just outside the door
Tabitha wants in -- kibbles
why not leave the door open? turn off the heater
the dish water detergent smells like lemons
a reverie of Whitman's subtle breeze slips through
yes, why not let the globe warm the house
Tabitha wants out -- her place in the sun by the fence
this is not a story for chrysanthemum societies
a cataclysm for the catatonic is underway
or for people who grow their own weed
as scientists who work the Fragmented Forest Project
will attest
school crazed mall shootings get the air time
terrorist killers, floods, droughts, tornadoes all increasing
this recitation is either unnecessary or intrusive
depending on who connects the dots
or not
soon the ink will bleed
for some blood flows now
nations and individuals field electronic war
the Department of Defense has been hacked
Iran's nuclear fuel enrichment brought to a halt
power grids, sewer systems, water systems
banks, department stores, credit card and identity information
fraud and complexity defeat systems peacefully
perhaps catatonia is understandable
but empathy for the disabled is not a cure
and will have little effect on ignorance and egoism
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
newsworthy:
he was only twenty years old!
when killed for his iPhone
hypnosis shattered
for a moment
it will be seventy degrees tomorrow
at ten degrees above normal if it's too warm
for a fire
on a clear blue Spare the Air day . . .
Thanksgiving guests will smile for the camera
at the Weather channel, too
if you can't take the heat
are ancestors the DNA of kitchen cabinets?
are we being watched
being prepared for some accelestial ceremony?
maybe enlightenment
Safeway is a voyage for Rachel Ray
Artificial Intelligence has mapped her brain
a mime troupe in white face
is doing Tai Chi outside
spooked shoppers are chasing cattle over glistening tracks
the mortgages melted
where did the money go?
past the fire pit and juicy burgers
at Nepenthe by the sea
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is doing barrel rolls
to save the coral reefs
'cause dope didn't do it
I pour a cup of tea
the mime troupe files out, chanting
Spare the Air
Spare . . .
doing mystical things with their hands
green tea!
an antioxidant
