a place within
begins, again
to shirk chagrin,
win and grin
the light’s so dim
pushing against the wind
I need a friend
guilty of sin
to buck this trend
of pretending to spend
upending my den
encouraging all-in
yet, there’s no letter to send
or drink to blend
that can defend
acting like a rear-end
my own fat I rend
watching Armageddon
live on FOX at 10
hosted by Morgan Freeman
this has become bland
I wash my hands
and walk off into the sand –

actualized reality fades
fragmented democracy crumbles into
a sea of melancholy
as apathetic hipsters
too smart to vote
grumble as the nation which birthed them
falls apart –
election day blues fills coffee shops
as nonregistered corporation ******
pump dollars into the beast
stimulating the wealth gap
and their collective colons –
**** stained Senate seat swings
back and forth
while the wearer flounders
on simple issues
surrounding individual rights
fighting in tights for the
“right is might” crowd
unfounded fact sheets hold
future carnage
at least for the poor and illiterate –
national pride died
tuesday symbolizing tyranny
as zombie Americans use their
manifest destiny to choose
Coke or Pepsi,
Taco Bell or McDonalds,
Democrat or Republican,
FOX or CNN
It begins again… --
hopeless and angry
my uncounted vote
lines the floorboard
of some fancy car driven by a 1%-er
but by casting
taking the moment to voice mine
I allow myself the entitlement
to *****
**** and moan
complain
and scream at the top of my lungs
about whatever
the **** I want –

morning sunlight danced across the concertina
diamonds glittering along the edge
of the prison walls
the prison walls
yellow finches played in the weight pile
chipping and bouncing
among the sweat and grime
sweat and grime
voices echoed down the corridor, shouts and whoops
yard will definitely be open today
all day on the track
on the track
rows of men in blue endlessly circling
some go home, new ones join the march
incarceration as industry
incarceration as industry
the inmates enter the education building and smile
for a few hours a day they are students not numbers
I use their first names
their first names
the sunlight brightens everyone’s mood
as it is the bringer of life
shining down on all of us equally
all of us equally –

distorted slop fed through a Marshall stack
attacking power cords with abhorrent abandon
random lyrics of pain based guilt
quilted the patchwork of ******* jocks
and played out arena rock
Kool-Aid dye job and slobbish hand-me-downs
earth tones, greens and browns
and drowning in the Northwest rain
insane solos played eating Rollo’s enslaved
to paved roads and dope fiend modes
Kurt’s hurt and flannel shirt
lifted the dirt off my heart
and set me apart from the sheep faced
high school mistakes
faking tans to look
totally Spring Break
holding onto hate and plating
fate next to kale chips and goose pate’
fame gorged but a porridge boy
knows no joy under the employ
of capitalism……
answer in hand the shot rang
and one million tear-eyed teens
sang
sad songs of pain and lament
replaying images
of a ****** prophet, heaven sent –

there we were
staring blankly at the screen
the error prompt called for
immediate demodulation
but it may as well been written in Latin
or Sanskrit –
I grabbed ahold of the digitizer with both hands
and began to **** and pry
which of course was not ergonomically correct
leaving me with a sore back and tattered finger skin
I caught the faintest sound
and thought maybe I had inadvertently tapped
into an alien frequency –
slowly it came clear to me that mainframe
only held a single kilobyte
and that with such a limited amount of storage
we would never reach the stars –
again, there came a slight modulation
with enough force to be considered noise
I instantly compared it
against the relational database
and realized, suddenly, that this had the potential
to be the real thing…
unfortunately I double checked with another terminal
and began to understand
what I was witnessing
was just a simple
user-friendly
videoconference –

elegance and grace
forever personified
in delicate and absentminded movements
the soft features
of her Greek goddess face
carved from marble and polished perfection
smooth and supple
sending me staggering
her voice travels on rarified air currents
cast by endangered butterflies
but only when they flutter for love and procreation
never just the hunting and gathering wind…
sipping nectar through my eyes
the only foodstuffs which have the ability to sustain
laying cradled by her love
I feel safe, cocooned,
and forever hers –

Given name Samuel but you can call me Sam was driving by the vestibule when I had to yell ******* Saw this little fresh dressed fool trying to run a scam and pushed him down the stairs at school Broke his ******* hand, I ran into the record shop looking for Manfred Mann ended up picking up this Book about the Son of Sam, a crazy killer from NYC shot women in the night got his lessons from a dog Who spoke with Satan’s bite. That homeboy is so crazy and just maybe is also right we got too many Idiots hanging in plain sight maybe we should pin them down under water bright until they give up and Lay still, you know, just give up the fight…but murders wrong unless your Snoop and then it’s just a case You overcome and get let off of by selling off your face, see Snoops a pawn deep in the game making Money off you ***** acting like he still the **** quacking like a duck any of you still following rappers Actors and sports stars are probably drowning your tears in a series of bad bars you remind me of Chris Farley Fat and drunk and dumb acting like you are the **** reminiscent of a *** or homeless man stinking of Gin old milk and mistake fake *** brother taking money from your mother hitting on your brother’s wife Trying to start another fight, its all-right, cause you white –

besmirching the Presbyterians
all dolled up
pretending they don’t drink
and fornicate
for dollars
down at the stop’n’save,
a low chuckle rises
the pits of hell never heard such a guttural and robust howl
my face distorts at the hypocrisy of their lives
small narrow-minded hate-mongers
doing everything they can conceive
to impose their will on others
to force their beliefs
down the hearts and minds and, yes
the throats
of any culture they come in contact with
invoking “god’s work”
while spreading disease and poverty –
blame the Baptists!
it was they who confined the natural people of America
to starve on barely habitable plots of desert
until uranium was discovered
then pushed them to the very edge of extinction
for a few more corporate dollars
in the collection plate…..
heathens rarely tip –
Smash the seculars!!
they continue to punish their sons and daughters
over genetically predisposed lifestyles
while touting grace and faith
in the most high authority
which basically means
they are above man’s law
having forgotten, it was men
who wrote god’s law –
oh hypocritical little lamb
your head and *** do not really belong together
in a perfect union
they should be separate
you know, like the founders intended
with the state and your *****, *****, churches
the same churches
where young boys are *****
for Jesus –

unkempt neck hair
dancing in the fan breeze
pleased by the sight, I push up my sleeves
and seethe while sieving the encrusted cheese cloth
elderly resin glands scratch like sand
and the blandness of the disease seems to squeeze
any meaning from the motion
ocean waves graze mutant toes as wind blowing
snow globes throws devotionally challenged
prose writers into a delightful tizzy
thin lizzy in the background sounds like
barking dogs at the drown pound
and unwound knitted sweaters look better
when wetter than investment bankers at the swankiest of parties
sour smarties in plastic hats use poorly ventilated ski masks
basking rashes in priceless sashes bat eyelashes at lasses during mass
and the catholic priest has ceased to crease his pleated trousers
mouse traps snap shut in front of the bunk beds
her trunk of junk likes crunk juice on Tuesdays
and I sit, drunken, trying to debunk 9/11 –

~
Contorted faces frozen with fear
witness a mother caress and hold
tunnels and caves and villages
in a warm one mile embrace.

Foreign clouds fill the sky
and fall back to the earth
sluffed skin carried on unnatural winds
flutter like a butterfly across the sand.

Fleeing sheep herd in rubble
square pupils dart and scan
burnt shrubbery offer no sustenance
as the economy of the foothills is spent.

Low rumbles of passing planes
give rise to wailing children
nervous eyes cast themselves to heaven
waiting for God to fall again.     /

~



deep in the recesses of slumber
dreams are influenced by external forces

we pulled the mattress into the living space
for a little impromptu camping
and being in such proximity to the dog beds
we found their licking and scratching and chewing
to be near unbearable

white noise fan blades breaking up the roar

it was a dream
at first the high hatted chef seemed normal
presenting plates of deliciousness
when at once he grabbed an ice pick
and went to insanely hacking on a large frozen rectangle

it might as well have been a mobster ******
chips flew and the pointed tip plunged deeper and deeper

my eyes opened to a steady rhythmic licking
as the oldest dog lay against the Stearns and Roebuck

autumn winds send maple leaves swirling
giant limbs sway gently
helicopter seeds twirl to the ground
looking for germination
and a place on the soil
slight drizzle falls misty
giving the land a damp but clean look
and the smell of fresh green
three soaked deer await a break
standing motionless under protective branches
Oregon gives way
and the summer sun goes to bed –

fattened fascist farting songs of freedom
belly distended, face distorted
sweat and **** seeping from between
ingrown hairs and grim filled pores
corrupted lice run rampant
hanging on for dear life from a greasy comb-over
toilet paper, stained, sits stuffed
next to dirt and skin cells
beneath fat and crusty fingernails
hurriedly he dresses in his shame suit
wiping spittle from an intoxicated mouth
adjusting in front of a cracked and discolored mirror
sticky ***** and three day old boxers
shambling down the hallway
scuffed boot limps
as bloodshot eyes adjust to the horror
sharp reality stabs deep as the roar deafens
“** ** **”
“Merry Christmas”

T, is the way time beats on me
And I
Is for the way I internalize this line
M
Is very, very macho, malignant, and much maligned
E is for every extra entity erupting forth from England proper
Time
Is just a thing that stops my life
And time
Is just the thing that will take my wife
Oh time drags on and on and
Time
Takes everyone and
T
I
M
E
Can’t you see and just believe me
T, is for the way I tread on it
And I
Is just a little indiscriminate
M will show the rest
That M truly is the best and E
Is entrenched in Roger Eberts egg salad sandwich on Easter
Time
Is just a way to stop
Traf-fic
And time
Can make your mind act
So frantic
Time takes not one prisoner
And time creates an arthritic finger
Just go figure time will shrink you when your bigger
Time
Has so many applica-tions
And time
Works best for
Mummy preserva-tion
Time is tricky and can be so sticky
When you quickly have to move
Mrs Brisbee
Time is fleeting non discrete and
It completely ticks intrinsically
TIME!

skin, so little faith
they think you may crack
under sunshine
break with words
fall apart at conflict ~
it does not
elastic properties
complete with personal regeneration
self-healing… self-correcting…
self, your skin /

do you not realize
at moment of birth
only one thing truly protects you
only one ***** takes the world on
only one facet shines red
black
brown and yellow
peachy apricot and olive
all under the blue sky  ~

it has been forgotten
especially by United States society
how tough skin is
how wondrous its ability to bounce back
from 700 pounds to 175 ~
after 70% burned in a house fire ~
and yes, your skin can heal
even after
you are insulted ~

the real concern
is if you can let it /

beauty fades to grey
foreboding storm clouds
pendulous
carry bigotry bolts
and the thunder of fascism ~

she tells babies
fanciful tales
leaving out the hot breath, sharp scales, and jagged claws
handing over a leashed dragon
for holiday /

a child walks through front doors
never stepping on a crack
plays nicely on fresh mowed grass
sheltered from truth
until the van pulls up
presenting brightly colored
sugar coated
reality /

~


stretching cavern
    stalactites elongate
lichen plaque where faint light reaches

guano softens the rocky floor
    giving habitat to beetle and grub

the occasional rodent carcass
    rots in the warmth

tiny bat babies cling
     first to mother fur
               then to cold stone

they wait for insect meals
          passed with love and saliva
                  eager mouths stretch    /

157 minutes away
seems an eternity
for those of us suffering
from being poo shy –
I slide over slightly
placing the un-comfortability
onto a different aspect of my left cheek
a gurgle rises
my hand flies to my belly…
hold on old friend –
why did I eat Taco Bell for lunch?
when will I learn what works and what doesn’t?
I have had this body for many years
and still I am in total shock
when I load up on hot sauce
then have to go back to work –
two long hours
until my toilet
my semi-interesting book
and a peaceful colon..
waiting for release
is not all it’s cracked up to be –

The little pup sat near the log
And looked over at a small greenish frog
He gave it a lick
And then felt quite sick
And heading off to the bog

At the bog he ran into a hog
Who had a jar of delicious eggnog
They both had a drink
Then spit in the sink
Which instantly started to clog

They both sat with mouths just agog
Like that time in the ole Synagogue
When the Rabbi said “shoot”
and then let out a toot
That smelled like that stinky old bog

Well the hog and the frog with the dog
Ran away from the stank Synagogue
All the way to the bay
For some sunshine in may
And all sat upon a well-traveled log

clad only in flannel sheet
her supple ***** partially exposed
gave me pause
as I gathered gear for the work day at hand
in the delicate pre-dawn glow
her pale skin seems a perfect hue
both enticing and entrancing
my eyes lingered ~

if only to be late
or play sick
options pass through my mind
as her steady breathing
and barely perceptible
falling and return of her chest
invoke a myriad of delights
none of which involve
going to work today ~

pulling shoestrings tight
and buckling a leather belt
I glance, once again, over my shoulder
longingly gazing at a her sleeping body
in the back of my mind I hear
the tell-tale words of strength,
“it is only a few hours…” ~

inaudible sigh slips my lips as I close the door
her slumbering undisturbed
my heart full of love
I am ready for another work day /

a long slow exhale sends my med of choice swirling around the candlelit room
everything comes down half a step and a smooth calm surfaces
irritations fade and the Wu bumps me free
thin smile passes across my eyes as shoes tumble
little tan Pit rolls over and sniffs the cloud
leans partly against me and partly against the soft brown couch
both of us stare off into space
eyes glazed
fully medicated –

victimized by happenstance
the moral majority leans
crumbling faded pages
fall disjointed
the bible has slipped to light bathroom reading
and those betrothed to Jesus
cry themselves to sleep –
wringing clasped hands
and looking skyward for answers
they watch in helpless dismay
as true equality and individual freedoms
crushingly stomp values
based on 2000 year old desert stories
the dried tears
turn into salty anger
and systemic hate
based in fear –
gays proudly wed in churches
once maligned for witch burning
taking turns carrying each other
over middle-class thresholds
adopting impoverished babies
and the unwanted immigrant children
only to be blasted on mass media
for their ****** and unholy lifestyle
it seems to me
American Christians
have lost sight of the work
Jesus actually did –
Avidly reading and researching
the world’s religions
seeking eternally for the reasons
some semblance of an answer
as to why gods of love
would instill so much hate and fear
in their constituency…
their flocks ……..
those blind to reality
and subject to irrationality
because someone once told them
this book is the only way
and without it
salvation and peace
are bad jokes –

crusty snot ring.. dirt coated
rosey cheeks and twinkling eyes
proceed to explain the intricacies
of the mole hill the dog was digging in
grimy fingers tell a different story
with grass stained knees to fill in the gaps
yet the excitement of the tale grips me
as I hear about the most giant gopher ever
and the fight that ensued between my ole hound
and a chipmunk straight from the fires of hell
I ask him to repeat the really good parts
thrilled, he explodes forth with all new details
seems giant squirrels have invaded my backyard
and only my rascally black lab can stop them
hearing gravel on the driveway
I envision the face of my daughter
as she spies the condition
survey’s the scene
at least this time grandpa is clean

awoke with another hook
looking to blown this right outta the water
oughta shook Snookie
fo never readin no books
crooked *** inbreds
ready to lead the sheep
creeping back to the deep
I can’t sleep-
press pass
lights flash
watchin the mass
of humanity in calamity
it’s a tragedy
but it has to be, see
freedom
ain’t free
in this democracy
hear the plee
of the babies in the ghetto
wearin tore clothes
with a snotty nose
pictures of third world
flies on eyes
absence of prose
liars deny rights of any child
lost in poverty
it oughta be the other way
a new day
saying er’rybody stay
its the America way….
the day to pray fades away
and the gay play
swaying in swag
bagging up the trash
of societies last splash –

some folks express how much I look like my father
around the eyes
occasional sternness
rarely though were our personalities
or character traits  
placed in the same category
until the puppies came –
ole Jimmy is 11 years old now
he and his brother were gifted by breeders
papered Labradors
10 week little ***** of fluff
had I known I was to slip into insanity
I would have never accepted the bounty
family of five
plus two chew monsters
leaving no part of home or possession sacred….
let the beatings commence –
I had watched my father discipline dogs
the same way he disciplined me
with a belt or stick…
though the dog could take far more raining
and damaging blows
than my adolescent body
between whiskey and unresolved anger issues
we were raised by hand –
when Jimmy’s brother got out of the enclosure
that hot summer day on Thomas Creek
the beatings had slowed
as they were outside pups now
barely three years old
still locked in youth…
the occasional slap would suffice as reminder
one day Roy took out down the paved road
trotting off into the sunset
I called after and started walking down the road…
dogs pick up on energy
and mine was foul turning unreasonable
he stayed 15 to 25 feet ahead of me
if I stopped, he stopped
if I ran, he ran…
so we trekked
and trekked,
and trekked
we reached the Bee Tree
which sat just at 2 miles from the house
when he gave up the chase
I got ahold of that ******* dog
and set to throwing punches….
I am no small man,
running six ,five, two-seventy
off in the distance I heard a car coming up the bend
I stopped hitting that dog and began telling him
how much more beatings would come after the car passed
I sat mumbling profanities at my dear pet for 1 whole minute
while the Subaru came into view
and then disappeared off into the hills –
I grabbed that dog after I was tired of beating him
and ****** that pup by his collar onto his tip toes
and fast marched two miles back home
cursing him for gaging and choking all the way…
when we got back to the farm I cut him loose in the fence
went in to wash up and get some water
about half hour later I went to check on him…
that ole pup walked up wagging his tail
sheepishly
looked up with two blood red eyes
as my dragging him home
had bust the vessels in both his eyeballs…
I collapsed and burst into tears…
lil ole Roy dog laid right at my feet
started to licking my face
trying to console me…
the farmer down the road shot my dog 2 months later
for playing goat herder
I have his brother still and a couple other pups
no doubt in my mind I will have dogs until I die
I also know Roy was the last dog I’ll ever hit….
I prefer to just look like my dad –

Salad, tossed face embossed got no floss chewin at all cost
Laying in the moss you know the forest but I ain’t no Gump
Or Trump tryin to destroy us filled with joyous boisterousness
Enjoy coitus with a moist ***** tied your *** to my truck hitch
Drag ya through the ditch, aint actin rich once I shot a snitch
Squealing like a stuck pig hooked him with a sturgeon rig
Took him to the reservation dig left him pining like a twig
We all danced a jig around the camp fire pulled out some plyers
Did my impression of Michael Meyers I started stabbing fools
With shiny dental tools took them all to school, then proceeded to break the rules
Splashed their face with jewels that others refer to as stool
Slapped them with my ****, until they were covered in it
Peanuts gleaming in the night, asked them if they wanted to fight
Told my little dog to bite, lit out til I was outta site
Alright –

swinging frayed rope
holds a rotten board
thin grain shows dark
between mold and grit
worn smooth imprints
     babe buttock

howling precursor
black horizon
fat droplets shift dust
pacing hound bays
rattle-trap ford
        crunching gravel

sizzle of fried flour
distracts mud pie designers
one less hen
late Saturday dinner
grandad’s pipe
       cherry tobacco smoke tendrils

low tones from behind a fire
pine burns hot and fast
sweat droplets fall
drink for dark earth
woodless floor, uneven
carries years of sweat
       and tears –

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
mean dogs barking brightly
vertical tails give false messages
as faces are what they love to eat best –
mange ridden feline aids victim
one eye and broken teeth
missing fur patch
shows damaged skin
all that remains from the barn fire of ’96 –
stained overalls with a blown out crotch
hang, damp, over peeling and faded porch railings
one rusty nail working its way free
tip coated with skin residue and 3 blue denim strings
flies buzz absentmindedly –
from afar the high threatened clucking
of the last layer hen
moving across the dusty driveway
seems the weasels have gained coup access
soon, just a mass of bloodied feathers
and the foul stench of fowl blood
cooking in the early Fall
will be all that lives within –
wind gusts pick up unfastened composition shingles
sending them sailing through the air
landing gently in an overgrown garden area
free from weeding, seedlings, tending
or love –

All lives matter
the madder I get
At the matter of public opinion
madness of this meteorological  rise
Defies logic and the projects have become project
For white bourgeois hipsters in tight pants
Which maddens me further –
Mothers in moccasins mobilize
In Mobile, Alabama
Misrepresenting the million man march
As a method to success
Monarchic movement
Mitigated by the masses
Is madness –
Medicated and misguided muthafuckers
Maligned and misinformed
Marry in May during the full moon
To better understand Mormon culture
And the issues with lead
In Flint, Michigan –

Dew drops shined on the grass
Morning dew glistened on the fresh green shoots

……
The delicate dew drops
hung
at the very tips of
long and reaching
blades of green grass
in the warm summer sun

the dampness of night left its traces
dancing upon the crab
as the dawn glow shown across the valley

nearly translucent water particles
sat
waiting for the rays to transmogrify
their very structure
and give rise to photosynthesis
under the starshine

………….

Dum dum dum dum doobie doobie do
Dum dum dum dum dum
Doobie doobie …

Two dew drops walked into a straw shack
Rolled into a grass hut
Sauntered into an old saloon…..

The morning dew sent me spinning……

this July fourth
I would ask something
from white America
which is not going to be easy
but could go a long way
in rebuilding the dream –
do not go to parades
do not spend money on smoke and mirrors
fireworks
twinkle but for a second
but the image of hypocrisy
shines in every minority eye
instead
close the drapes
gather the family in the middle of the room
kneel
bow your heads
like in the Rockwell paintings
and ask whatever you think of
as greater than your self
for forgiveness –
when the red and white of old glory
fly for freedom
think about who is free
and what that means
do not salute
or stand at attention
for the symbol of empire
and oppression
instead
close the drapes
get on your knees
and beg for forgiveness –
400 years of slavery
250 years of empire
conversation of  wall building
deporting 11 million Americans
because of paperwork…
disallowing the influx
of the most war torn and ravaged people
since Vietnam
they are our brothers and sisters
who just happen to hail from Syria –
the United States stands as a global disgrace
in place of the greatest nation
we see hate values and racial profiling
bigotry peppered with intolerance
this fourth of July
think about freedom
think about liberty

experientially suffering
watching my contemporaries
trade freedom for fear
I feel lost in confusion –
Those who stood with me
as we occupied Portland and Salem
now shun the rights
of their countrymen
by promoting the removal of a flag –
The moment we, as a nation,
decide certain symbols
hold so much power that they
must not be allowed in the public arena
we are no longer democratic,
free,
or upholding the notions presented
by those wig-wearing forefathers –
It is only by the defense of our most offensive members
that we can truly understand
Freedom of Speech;
Americans must be allowed to be
racist bigots
in order for the rest of us
to have the freedoms we so hold dear…
the **** must be allowed to gather
Neo-****’s must be allowed to parade
as, then, and only then,
will I be allowed
to maintain my own special brand
of insane propaganda –

close your eyes and dream
open your heart and let the
‘Sanders Spirit’ flow through you .........
         It’s easy!

just take a moment to help your fellow man
pause for a second to consider
being considerate

      show compassion
            to your brethren
                     with empathy
                           and care /

people get lost in dollar signs
thinking a socialist wants all
your personal property
this is of course
pure hogwash
spoken from lips of those locked in greed
folks
            who have forgotten their neighbors
                       first name /

forget Jesus…..
2000 year plus absentee specter
asking you to turn cheeks
so as to be hit again
think ‘Sanders Spirit’
and share
if nothing else
your love /