Danny drops his broad bottom
back on the seat
beside his wife
at the food court
with 3 donuts for himself
each soaked in oil and fat
and each thick with white sugar coat

“Danny, why do you eat this stuff…?
That’s all fat, three donuts of fat,”
moans his wife

“Not really,” says Danny to his wife
who eats lettuce and carrot
and who looks like a knitting needle
*“Fastfood donuts are healthy;
look at the air in the middle -
but no doubt
one has to get through rest of the donut
for sure
but the air in the middle
is pure life-giving health
when one gets there”

I want something other than ****
with the short shorts showing
everything
the low-cut crop top
exploring eyes wander over
on countless evenings
my imagination having nothing
left

I want smokey flannel
a two-day-old pony tail
boots stained by the dirt and grass
a hole in your jeans
that wasn't there when you found them

I want hungover-fastfood-drive-throughs
with my shorts and your tank top
wrinkled from your floor
your hair still wet from the morning shower

I want leggings, a t-shirt
and a backwards ball cap
while we sing loudly out the open window
tapping the dashboard off-beat
hand raised fingers pointing at the moon
laughing at the man that sits watching us drive

I would like this life of endless
Greyhound time schedules to cease.

What self-inflicted alien abduction
tore me from the valley of my birth,

leaving me to wander empty streets,
each the branch of a coppiced maze?

I grow weary of quotidian fastfood buffets
downed with the aid of espresso baristas.

My legs have lost the muscle-memory
that strode the river cliffs with no regard.

Time to end the sleepwalk of forty years;
rejoin the forward guard of Iroquois.

Tagalog translation:
Hindi pa nga nagsisimula, tatapusin na agad?
Kesyo daw baka ibang trabaho ang aapplyan ko na hindi daw tugma sa kursong kinuha ko
Puna ng nanay kong talak ng talak na parang pinaglihi ang bungaga sa pwet ng manok
Hindi pa nga nakapagpasa ng application letter at resume negatibo agad ang nasasabi at naiisip
Ika nga nila pride does not pay your bills.
Importante ba talaga yun? Na pride ang pinapairal at hindi na lamang lunukin ang pride
Kaya hindi umaasenso ang bansa eh dahil sa negatibong pananaw ng mga tao sa lipunan
Na imbes tulungan kutyain pa lalo
Ano bang pinpupunto mo? Ano ba ang ikinakagalit mo?
Na matulad ako sa ibang tao na sapat na ang isang kahig, isang tuka
Gusto ko naman mamuhay sa mundong ito na hindi sapat ang kakarampot lang
Ngunit ibahin mo ako sa iba, ayaw kong umasa sa salitang survival of the fittest
Gusto kong maniwala sa salitang comfort of the fittest
Ayaw ko nang ma experience ulit yung ulam na toyo, suka at mantika na ihahalo sa kanin pangtawid gutom lamang
Ayaw ko nang gawing ulam ang sabaw ng noodles na abot hanggang leeg na walang kalasa-lasa para makakain lamang kaming lahat
Ayaw ko na nung mga panahon na minsan lang ako makaranas kumain sa fastfood restaurants
Ngayon hindi na tuwing birthday o kahit anong okasyon makakakain kami, kundi kung kailan may extra sa pera ko
Hindi kahihiyan ang makakamatay sa atin kundi uhaw at gutom lamang
Mamamatay nang nakadilat ang mata mo
Kahit alam **** may oportunidad na dumadaan sa mga panahong lumilipas
Mas pinili **** tumunganga na lamang sa hangin nang walang laman ang sikmura
Imbes na magsipag para may maipakain sa pamilya kahihiyan ang inuuna
Tandaan mo, wala kang laban sa sikmura **** kumakalam at dila **** uhaw
Kung hindi ka magtyaga at maghanapbuhay.

English translation:
You haven’t even started, yet they’re already shutting you down?

They say you might apply for a job that doesn’t match the degree you took. My mom, always nagging like she was born with a rooster's mouth, keeps voicing her concerns. I haven’t even submitted an application letter or a resume, and negativity is already in the air.

They say, pride doesn’t pay the bills. But is that really important? Is pride really the issue here? Should I just swallow my pride?

This is why the country doesn’t progress—because of the negative outlook of people in society. Instead of lifting each other up, they choose to mock and tear others down.

So what is the real point here? What exactly are they angry about? Do they want me to end up like others who live paycheck to paycheck, barely scraping by?

I just want to live in this world with more than the bare minimum. But unlike others, I refuse to rely on the saying "survival of the fittest." Instead, I want to believe in "comfort of the fittest."

I never want to experience another meal where soy sauce, vinegar, and oil mixed with rice are our only options just to get through the day. I never want to rely on watered-down instant noodles that stretch to feed everyone but have no real flavor.

I never want to go back to the days when dining at a fast-food restaurant was a rare treat, reserved only for birthdays or special occasions. Now, it’s no longer just a once-a-year thing—it happens whenever I have extra money.

Shame is not what will **** us—it’s thirst and hunger. You’ll die with your eyes wide open, knowing opportunities pass you by. And yet, instead of reaching for them, you choose to sit idly, stomach empty. Rather than working hard to provide for your family, you let shame control you.

Remember this—you stand no chance against a growling stomach and a thirsty tongue if you don’t hustle and work for a living.

Rocks know a lot more about time than clocks
Drive to the top of a mountain
Cinnamon gum
Noseblood
And rocks a lot older than clocks
Tell the older us we say hello

I am stuck between red rocks and a very hard place
Rockclimbing to rockbottom
I am a time hunter, rock hunter, pigeon hunter
(Let me tell you something about pigeon hunting:
Shooting clay pigeons isn’t as much fun when the pigeons aren’t clay
and their bodies shatter in midair like pomegranates in September
with red jewels sprinkling the sandstones
the sedimentary clouds and the fastfood signs)

Remember that time I tattooed the sky?
I wrote “time is a l.e.d. light” in a sacred heart
between the stars and the freckles and the ladybugs
none of their mothers were thrilled

Now I know time is a rock, a very heavy rock
A rock is a star, a star is a rock
And me? I am a rockstar
But I have all timers. Alzheimer's? No. ALL TIMERS
and a monolith growing on my sternum

Firecrackers. That’s what I wanted to talk about.
And when I say firecracker I mean fireworks
the way fire works his way between me, time and a rock
What is it with rocks?
Rock and roll
Rocked by doubt and rolled by time
Rock my world, please

livet passerer gennem spejlet
drager parallel
hudløs uærlighed, den halve sandhed
vi skriver uden at tænke os om, hvorfor
tidlig bustur, fastfood-køb; pludseligt indblik i en andens hverdag
forbløffelse er en mærkelig størrelse
en skikkelse personificerer tanken om en andens liv
at føle sig tiltrukket af ideen om, at have kendt dem i en anden sammenhæng
det magiske hvis
bearbejdet, gennemtænkt, finpudsning
et øde ***, drænet for mennesker, lagt øde (ødelagt)
at kultivere kulturarven
ønskebarnets strabadser
et savnet ord

White beans.
Pinto beans.
Even turnip greens
Or lima beans with hot water country bread make from scratch.
Left an impression upon you as you reflects back.

With children's so picky about food they like.
They would have been thankful for , what they had to eat at night?

Wendy's, Mcdonald's, or any other fastfood.
You only saw it only Friday mostly.
It just wasn't a selected choice.

When you would rush home to see the meal being prepared.

Yes, the days of being young.
You look back and realize , how bless you was?

We all should salute our moms.
And in some cases back then.
Even our dads.

The days of being young.

Tri-cycles still are better then a Big Wheel.
Even the simple bicycles back in the day.
Stands out better then some of these high prices bikes today.

You use your imagination.
And mainly knew all your neighbors.

From the Postman to the Mother Patrol.
Who knew them that lived next door?
Not all was creeps.
Even if one of the house might have creeped you out.

You knew church.
Oh, how you knew church?
That's the one place mom made sure you knew.

And, if pushed by dad refusal to attend.
He made you know it too.

Gosh, the days of being young.
I wouldn't change them for anything.
But, why should I?

When they make up this poem.

Steaming thick creamy broth
long slim pasta noodles
freshly sliced spring onion
chopped cilantro and clives
bright juicy lime and
grounded fiery peppers

For being priviledged enough to eat
such wonders of blended cultures
and not mud cakes
or greasy fastfood
we are thankful.