Park

The heater tends to sputter
like a candle running low
while flimsy curtains flutter
when the wind begins to blow
and everywhere is clutter
in a rummage rodeo.

The mobile home is grounded
with every tire popped,
the premises surrounded
by weeds that should be cropped
that hide the kitty hounded
by a waif with diapers sopped

but no one in the bungalo
could care if he is dry,
the TV blares in stereo
the lies they know we'll buy
and somewhere off a radio
moans static we deny.

Exhibition

Beneath the yellow canopy
(indulging the imprudent me)
the power cables glowed like strands of gold
which made me wish that I could weave
a gleaming net before I leave
to grab as much of now as I could hold.

Slack

I watch the white advance
across my pooch's snout
a glacier on the continent of truth
although he still can prance
when wandering about
he's no-where-near as feisty as in youth

but that's okay with me
I let him paw the ground
and poke the weeds for novel things to smell
or sometimes sit there patiently
while I just futz around
aware that I've slowed down a bit as well.

Reverse

With apologies to Mr. Larkin


Our parents have their little quirks
but try their best to help us grow
and even when they act like jerks
the love beneath is bound to show;

their harsh attempts at discipline
are fronts to cover up the fact
that they're amused as we begin
to act the way they choose to act—

dysfunction is a dismal trait
but think about your options some:
you're better fucked than full of hate
because you don't know where you're from.

Swine

If she was a natural blonde
would the attraction be more real?
Most men could care about the bond
but long to hear a squeal.

Cooped

At times we all need
a moment alone
so we can be freed
from those that would own
whatever we'll cede

whether satin or stone
or banquet or seed
they'll gnaw on your bone
and frantically feed
unless you have flown.

Devotee

Her scent is strangely sweet
like fruit that's ripe to pluck
I scanned the crowded street
without a bit of luck

I thought I saw her face
but knew I was mistaken
for no one has her grace
or my heart (completely taken)

and I can't stop my search
until she's in my arms
so I can worship in the church
of her celestial charms.

Aureate

The sterlings fill the eastern sky
as summer starts to wane
their streamers proudly signify
a star's impending reign
and as the light begins to surge
a fresh horizon will emerge.

Beached

Is it ego or libido
that compels your current credo
or are you just an idiot
imposing on a Speedo?

"Let it all hang out!"
You indiscreetly shout
until you drop from one too many
foamy pints of stout

then Greenpeace gets the call
"Save the whale!" they bawl
before they shove you in the waves
from which you wetly crawl.

Transition

Is it a gateway allowing the soul
to once again rejoin the whole
a doorway to the promised plane
where happiness negates all pain
another step that we must take
to move beyond this mortal ache
or will it simply be the end
of what we wish we could extend?

Cast

I learned at a very young age
a bothersome truth that still stings:
it's all an elaborate stage
whose luster is lost in the wings

where extras expectantly lurk
beside the occasional grip
who tries to accomplish some work
despite the believers that trip

and stumble upon their own tongues
while desperately trying to lick
the movers that shuffle the rungs
for those that would like to rise quick

enough to deliver the line
that makes them the consummate star
forgetting it's just set design
convincing them who they are

so distant from the fertile plot
where we first learned to grieve
because we sought a better lot
but wound up forced to leave.

Peers

There's nothing more revealing
than what you try concealing
with furtive eyes that dart about the room

and though you feel the boring
you've got to start ignoring
the scrutiny that's ever bound to loom

from those intent on spotting
a flaw within your plotting
in order to forget their coming doom.

Chapter 8

The giant grew lonely (as tyrants become)
massaging his minions beneath a cold thumb
he thought he was crafty (as sharp as a nail)
but age dulled his senses which started to fail
while watching his kingdom (as feeble types will)
disintegrate into a cesspool of swill
he desperately gambled (as value decreased)
by trying to sell to the Lords of The East.

Canopy

A twig with withered leaves
is resting on a weathered bench
beneath the tree that grieves
and tries with rigid limbs to clench
a family begun to sprout
but they're too busy branching out.

The tired sun begins to sink
as ruddy as a drunkard's nose
which turns the wispy clouds a pink
that gloriously glows
as heaven's mercy surely must
above this world of woeful lust.

Pick Me Up

My feet are dragging today
what happened to the joy that used
to carry me away
I feel completely bruised

what happened to the joy that used
to pulse throughout my veins
I feel completely bruised
no urgency remains

to pulse throughout my veins
it seems my life has stalled
no urgency remains
and someone should be called

it seems my life has stalled
my feet are dragging today
and someone should be called
to carry me away.

2¢

You're either happy or you're not
sorry but that's all I've got
perhaps you came here to find
something eloquent, refined
well I hope you don't mind
I'm feeling kind of shot

but you're not being led
is there more that needs be said?
You must make the choice to smile
or be choked by your own bile
and this will be your style:
be dismal till you're dead.

There will always be those that plot
and those that just accept their lot
and crabs that find a way
to scuttle everybody's day
but all I can say--
You're either happy or you're not.

Plunge

The same old boring buzz
never really does
the damage you require
so now you’re shooting higher
and soon they’ll say “He was
too youthful to expire.”

Anomalism

When feeling slightly peckish
do you need some extra eggs
if running out of money
better purchase for your legs
become a slave to fashion
should you try to change address
when you lie beyond the spectrum
can you find true happiness?

Patch

A chorus of chronic secretions
erupted last night from the rain
a seeping soggy symphony
of empty kettle timpani
and barring artistic deletions
I'm anxious to hear the refrain

if only my knack for repelling
could somehow soak into the roof
and block this endless precipitance
ensuring my inheritance
becomes a decent dwelling
to not be so aloof.

Contested

When judges only pick what they believe
to be examples of their private views
it isn't worth the sweat to fret or grieve
the verdict that you know you're bound to lose
for competitions truly are a joke
to snarky types that sit and make the rules
they love it when their peers politely stroke
their egos, while the rest are seen as fools.
Equality today is just a word
whomever has the power turns corrupt
it's been that way throughout eternity
and though some drastic changes have occurred
we've many ways our standards could be upped
but really, must it all be so chichi?

Aped

We learned from our masters
the length of the spear
the strength of the sword
the purpose of fear
we cowered before them
like mice before men
like pitiful vermin
in search of a den
we know how to make
something weaker submit
to pull wings from flies
and laugh about it
our vanity grew
as we longed to become
like those that exploited
this backwater slum
then left us here stranded
to wonder and wait
despite our adroitness
at harnessing hate
and though, like our planet
we're riddled with scars
we still keep on looking
for signs in the stars.

Fussbudget

He's got such a big attitude
for such a little mind
his piggish features fiercely screwed
into a mask so lined
a face is hard to find

he sulks about excessively
and grumbles all the while
he's shunned almost reflexively
they skirt him by a mile
which makes him slyly smile.

Teamwork

We sometimes may balk at the grasping
the desperate need to be held
until we remember that clasping
we reached for to properly meld

redemption is not about winning
or brandishing laurels of fame
but while the blue ball keeps on spinning
we've got to try raising our game

be cognizant when you're competing
that everyone wants to pitch in
we all have a demon worth beating
but only together will win.

Federal Program

They'll be here soon
when the last eagle dies
they will come
with government-issue boots
polished to perfection
they will come
and crush your insurrection.

They'll be harsh soon
indifferent to your pain
they will kill
with army-approved bullets
designed to mutilate
they will kill
if you don't capitulate.

Syntax

Is every thought a fledgling line
is every breath a metaphor
reminding us we were divine
before we worshipped war

Will every verse redeem our worth
will any lilting lyric quell
our slow conversion of this earth
into a hapless hell

If every word we said was true
if every sentence was complete
would suffering at last be through
or does hope die without defeat?

Blotch

You're blacker than an oil spot
that oozes from a hidden crack
to mar an empty parking lot.

Think you're slick? You're not,
you've exhausted all the slack,
you're blacker than an oil spot

that trickles from a tiny slot
to dirtily attack
and mar an empty parking lot.

Your greasy heart is like a blot
that even bites a Brillo back
it's blacker than an oil spot

that taints a former fertile plot
which leaves no weeds to whack
and mars an empty parking lot.

A tar-pit soul is what you've got
more sickening than ipecac,
it's blacker than an oil spot
that mars an empty parking lot.

Vibrational

The term of Love is so abstract
what does it really mean?
the answer is in how we act
when forced to choose between

the selfish whims our egos crave
or trying bids to care
and join the universal wave
to nurture peace and share.

Gibberish

You can scramble jets
lay over eggs
scrub a mission
get away clean
be overworked
work someone over
but did medieval knights
have to 'iron' their tights?

Courtesy

Concern is hard to feign
when drowning in disdain
but I promise I will do my best
as long as you maintain

a modicum of cool
but judging by the drool
I'll say without a hint of jest
that you may be a fool

but I won't be deterred
your view shall not be slurred
I feel that I must do it lest
my own words go unheard.

Sheer Audacity

To hold what I bring to the table
requires the help of a leaf
I'm not only willing but able
as you place your trust in a thief
that seeks to despoil the stable

with a semblance of supremacy
which is sad to say the least
and I'll dispense no diplomacy
let others feed treats to the beast
while you are so affably fleeced.

Viewing

It was the summer of The Big Sleep
and as I motored home one night
cruising at a modest seventy
a lightning bug went SPLAT
against my windshield
and it's fading neon glow
became a star I tried to follow
to a better place

A haven far from the
errant expectations
and dismal self doubts
that constantly gnaw away
at our shrinking spirits
like the greedy pincers
of a curious little bug

I knew that there would be
another funeral soon
and though I dreaded mourning
I thought about that
better place
and secretly hoped
that someone's dying light
could show me the way.