Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Freedom Was

Freedom was a hot house flower
desperate to wrap and twine,
to have the sun caress her petals
into sweet blushes like red wine.

“Send me springtime's woven blanket
of green lawns and amber stones,
I should be wearing sky's azure wrapping
feel dawn's kiss upon this rose.
My coffee-colored roots
mourn the dance within the earth,
petals flirting with a meadowlark
bullfrogs singing out their mirth”

Standing silently beside her
long-stem roses nodded in a row
they shared the wish of Freedom,
their natural right to grow.

Greed, he was in business,
he bought the roses for silver pence,
he sliced them down together,
stripped each one of her defense.
Freedom tossed and bunched with others
in a monochromatic jam,
stuck in poisoned water casings, chilled in boxes,
she was damned

Hot house delicate & exotic,
once proudly standing, now torn down,
Freedom cried to Zephyr's melody
under rain's percussive window sound.

“Oh nature's daughters I warn you,
work hard to wrap and twine,
or you too will be transplanted
to the 1-800 assembly line.
For greed will take your measure,
Silver coin pass hand to hand,
clippers they will cut you,
to be bunched in Greed's firm hands.”





Sunday, May 11, 2014

Rest in the pod that is New London
We, three maturing
One day to scatter in the wind
To our own furthest reaches
Three seeds to be discovered
By children as toys
My friends.


walk around my block tonight
bring your shoulders close to mine
rest your fingers in my palm
match your cadence to my stride
orchestrate our pendulum song
walk around my block tonight
we drift in a womb
taking, just taking, all we need
"need", beyond "want"
want is a choice, a preference
any benefit to our host is secondary
thoughtless
we develop as we rape our environment
take nutrients, warmth, shelter
if we could, we'd consume all of this and more of the next
a virus
before any other experience
we take and leave a hole where life used to be
eminent domain
twilight

phantom youth upon park benches they are loath to leave
costumed seedy scholars weighed heavy by drab vitality
hideous humanity left frigid by rank criticism

all breath can afford - heroin whores go without

surrounded by modern cannibals and techno-terminators
confused by the drama of urban irregularities in which they too perform
their sin of patience demands struggle

soon
above this plain and frugal scene
the moon stares
clouds piss darkly down upon this menagerie

one by one
then two by two
bodies thrust quietly into granite corpses
darkened halls vigorous and dense with moldering plaster
the muffled rummaging of rodents and feral cats' sick cries

thin translucent flesh
pocked by social disease, knife fights, and festering acne shivers under the burden and magnitude of this endurance
each grasp for purity returns thick multiplicity
bulging veins collapsing veins devour memories of prosperity
copious shots of whisky splash fickle warmth over ever burgeoning depression

oh phantom youth
such anemic souls
starving on their past

street violence

ticky tacky playwright's nest
welders, pastry chefs, carpenters abound
macabre children
sustained by, stained by, survived by
Hennessy and Jack, meth and crack
cross, intersect, trace, crawl
Coleman, Bank, Broad, State
Jefferson, Willets, Green, Tilley
nicotine teeth bare
yellow incisors tear
white bones twist
evil
a darkened stripper exposed, manically dances
frenzy
stomach churn, turn, spew
murderous crimson and brass pools
by them, from them, of them, for them
chaos pre-sold-out to the masses
"Stop what you are doing!"
no one hears the screams
the legendary El 'n Gee is too loud
wring the mop slowly
again
again
new london
whaling city
yet see, no seal
ocean ave
ocean beach
not an ocean at all
river city
harbor of ships and ships' captains
destined to harbor in mansions
house hunters
you can't hunt whales
transient hunting permitted
housing by the hour
the week, the month, the year
year to year lease
lease to own
home ownership raises hope
raise walls
raise children
raise standards
raise taxes
raise the red flags
tax the poor
oh, give me credit
cards
credit me with one good thought
shop
shop the shops
shop 'til you drop
i'll buy that
break
the bank
break windows
if it ain't broke -- well it is
in a fix
i'll fix that
fixed income
fix the locks
fix the roads
lonely road
river road
tent city
wail for the city
new london