AND ALL WE SEE...

Good morning

Mister I'm Gonna Blow Up The World

And how are you today

praying to your God Of Territorial Disputes

getting ready to go out with a bang

probably never considering that

once you've enjoyed each of those 72 virgins

happily waiting for you

it may not seem like heaven any more

knowing the way your mind runs

but we never seem to think of the obvious

yes

it's important to fight for what you believe in

but I draw the line at my humanity

and no

God DOESN'T want you to do that

any more than he wants you to pop a fart and whistle Dixie at the library

and I don't know why you look at Him

and see petty

and vengeful

and finite

when I see infinite

like the classroom teacher who knows

you don't take sides in playground disputes

the main thing is for the little buggers to learn something

so you can pass them on to a higher grade

but we ain't there yet

so it's always us and them

and all we see is

an infidel

a nonbeliever

a heathen

an apostate

an unholy

unrighteous

wicked

blasphemer

Jesus

give me a break

what are the chances there's only one path to follow

and each of them shouting OVER HERE

even I can see

that's a mathematical impossibility

if we are all God's children

wouldn't it make more sense to think that

every

belief

system

may have at least a piece of the truth

and if we'd just put our heads together

and compare notes

the bigger picture might come

into sharper focus

but no

you're going to kill

in the name of your God Of The Partial View

in a crowded market

with a bomb strapped to your waist

you are no better

or worse

than the guy

who sends the misguided missile screaming through the sky

the aftermath is going to be just as messy

and oh

a bunch of women and children bit the big one that time

unintentionally of course

collateral damage

back to the drawing board

with a shrug

we're still the good guys

and none of our strutting Suits

have any regrets

I heard them say it

must be nice to sleep at night with NONE

of that on your conscience

you

poor

sad

crazy

numb

deluded

power junkies

too blind to sense

that you're going to be

on the wrong side of history

to a man

it's all a game to you

where the end always justifies the means

well hell

I know it's a game

but still I'd like to play

with as much integrity as I can muster

and be able to shake hands with my opponent afterwards

don't know if you can do that

when he's carrying his dead child in his arms

but you never have to view that close up

never once considering that it's all tainted

from beginning to end

and that nothing good can come from that

which proceeds from a starting point of evil

and that it will hound you

through this lifetime

and how many more

I can't say

your only salvation

your only hope

of escaping karma's

massive kick in the ass

is that maybe...

just maybe...

It's all a dream

COSMIC JOKE

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads

An encore presentation that speaks to our times

The point
is not to point out
this injustice
or that
and rail
and wail
and flail
or send those angry missives
through the mail
have at it if it floats your
rubber ducky
if it makes you feel better
 to care
just be aware
that injustice is EVERYWHERE
you haven't been singled out
(snort some o' this up your snout)
be a fundamentalist
if it turns your crank
let the preacher take
your money to the bank
you're still missing
the fundamental point
that this world we've created
you and me
is a topsy-turvy
absurdity
a game one can only win
if not taken seriously
that sounds like a contradiction
(now you're getting warm)
you don't react to absurdity
you don't respond to insanity
with a jerk of the knee
just laugh along
with the other inmates
of the asylum
who've discovered the
cosmic joke
play the game
for all you're worth
but don't take a life
or give your life
(settle down with your wife)
this cheaply
alone in your room at night
putting together that explosive device
and when you've blown yourself
the hell off the planet
and your soul is streaking
back to that place of
clarity and light
you'll say oh you
stupid
silly
sonofabitch
you fell for it again
and all because
you missed the point
of the game
which is simply to remember
that you're playing one
and that later on we'll all have
a good laugh together
and go back
Jack
and do it again

ATTACHMENTS

Friday Poetry Fest

Poetry Picnic

d'Verse Poetry Pub

Not the kind that come

with your sewing machine

or your vacuum cleaner

but the ones that keep us coming

back to this dubious place

for another merry chase...

love

hate

money

sex

power

food

fame

shame

the love of the game

gambling

rambling

murder

(like a cattle herder)

booze

dope

greed

people

iPads

(EGADS!)

words

perversion

any old diversion

Hypnotized like sleepwalkers

we follow our nose

see how it goes

take off our clothes

any way the wind blows

gleefully ignoring the spectre of karma

So simple

the way Wernher Von Braun put it

For every action

there is an equal but opposite

reaction

Don't need to be a rocket scientist

to get that one

You don't learn to share

what the hell do you care

but you think you're immune

let's go to the ball

and pretend that midnight's pumpkin

isn't waiting down the hall

the unmitigated balls

to think you'll get away with it scot free

now you're hanging from a tree

If the definition of insanity

is doing the same shit repeatedly

while expecting a different outcome

(I'm as guilty of that as any

not like the few

just like the many)

then we are all crazy

to be coming back here and thinking

THIS time

it will be a cakewalk

You know

Fonzie

duality guarantees

that there will always be

heartache

along with happy daze

the more we cling and grasp

the more our grasp is exceeded

Taken away

taken away

To the land of Nevermore

So quick

find a replacement

a sub

a stand-in

a hero coming off the bench

to save the day

isn't that the way

it's always going to go

until finally

at long last

(have you no shame)

we get tired of this game?

THAT SAME GUY

Poetry Potluck

One Shot Wednesday

Back in my little town

I never knew

a truly crazy person

back in my little town

there was the town bully

the town slut

the town eccentric

all harmless cartoon figures now

in a land obsessed

with violence

and war

just turn on the TV

and there he is

it's the same guy

DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?

it's the SAME guy

day and night

night and day

spraying bullets

dealing indiscriminate death

tune in at eight tonight

to see him again

we've created him

and glorified him

with our dollars

plunked down at the movie theater

we've created him

with a power structure

that assures young people

it's okay

to kill for your country

but only at OUR direction

don't come back here

and try that shit

on your own

is it any wonder that

some get confused

and get it turned around

you know

you are already too far gone

when you pull that trigger

when you are just following orders

all insanity

of the highest order

the inmates

running the asylum

inciting us daily

from podiums

and radios blaring

the politics of division

and hatred

a nation coming apart

from within

fueled by excess

and greed

glowingly referred to as

The American Dream

yeah

just another mentally unbalanced dude

spraying lead at a shopping center

they said he was cold

emotionless

desensitized

as he went about his business

as everyone asks

WHO created him

and somewhere in the background

Michael Jackson sings

time to look at

the man in the mirror