Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2.973 : 1/1/08 : Rare

These day’s the early rising’s rare
but take my hand I’ll take you there
I scribed a map made just for you
from me your
friendly wandering jew
I’m dreaming of the isles of Greece
so happy with my
one bright piece
the first has not yet
come to pass
but it will be
just as first
will be last

what

2.972 : 12/31/07 : A Good Year

Another dead soldier
that’s not meant to be cute
hoping to ring in the new year
in my birthday suit
looking forward to finishing
the book I’m reading
looking forward to the new year
harvest that I’m seeding
I’d say this was a good year
nothing’s perfect, should it be?
so much done and seen and said
another thousand songs from me
drink piña coladas
when the bubbly taps
I call it joy and wonderment
the opposite of scraps
looking for another good year
refine my subtle arts
live large and make my mark sir
far more than the sum of my parts


what

2.971 : 12/30/07 : Behind the Curtain

A little whiskey in a glass
I can live without
gave up the brain pills
with little doubt
maybe meditation’s next
always prayer
they say the words go into ether
I feel You there
Not much of a plan
vague and uncertain
keep and open mind about
what’s behind the curtain
I’ve had some down years
lost sight of hope
had a few where all
I could do was cope
but I’ve got my boy
my lady as well
enough of a spark inside
to cast a spell
on the cusp of the end
of another year
close my eyes and wish
the teacher will appear
I’m no magician
I’m no diplomat
but here behind the curtain
I’m one upward moving cat

what

Sunday, December 29, 2013

2.970 : 12/29/07 : Running

Run run to catch up
are you running with me?
full full overflow the cup
ten more lines and I’m free
I know I’ve got to change my tune
find a finer suite of stories
Every so often shoot the moon
relive a few lost glories
you might say I’ve turned my back on
my real honest voice
hold off the fade from blue to black on
the tide of every poor choice
but for now I just keep running
not forgetting for a moment
the prize for which I’m gunning

what

Saturday, December 28, 2013

2.969 : 12/28/07 : In Advance

In advance of the beginning of the end
all the messages I tried to send
somehow I managed still to lose the plot
better luck next year it’s what I got
In advance of a few more lies
I fear your factotums, yes-men and spies
but I will be tireless and rise again
no stranger to failure no stranger to sin
All that matters is I keep the pace
hoping for a few words to get up in your face
probably never be famous and rich
but that sure won’t stop me ain’t that a bitch

what

Friday, December 27, 2013

2.968 : 12/27/07 : Placebo Effect

If you can just believe in it
If only you suspend your disbelief
this pill will set you all right
and steal away your troubles like a thief
make it red and yellow
make its flavor slightly bitter
capsule filled with hopeless hope
drop it with no babysitter
pity the placebo dependent on my faith
I don’t believe in anything tonight
I do my rituals and don’t really know why
I still believe I’ll know when things are right

what

2.967 : 12/26/07 : Depth

At a depth
tired cliché
new leaf
new day
but I can
escape this
not so bad
not quite bliss


what

2.966 : 12/25/07 : Day

Day of day the hour of hour
there’s a little something in me:
power
I should not be afraid of it
watch me while I scorn that fake tit
Day of day oh this true instant
if you’re skeptical just get bent
all I’m trying to do is get out from under
even in arcadia there’s a dark side
to wonder
should I be writing fucking jingles?
I’m gonna suck baby till it tingles
and call it a fine day’s work
even if I’m a bit of a jerk


what

2.966 : 12/25/07 : Day

Day of day the hour of hour
there’s a little something in me:
power
I should not be afraid of it
watch me while I scorn that fake tit
Day of day oh this true instant
if you’re skeptical just get bent
all I’m trying to do is get out from under
even in arcadia there’s a dark side
to wonder
should I be writing fucking jingles?
I’m gonna suck baby till it tingles
and call it a fine day’s work
even if I’m a bit of a jerk

what

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

2.965 : 12/24/07 : Miracle

Should I give up on the miracle?
Should I call the glass eternally half-full?
I’ve got no expectations but I can’t help but dream
Drinking whey and fantasizing cream
Like anybody ever really listened
All the shiny little tokens that glistened
Didn’t mean much to the tide of gray
but hell it was enough to keep the hounds at bay
I’ll strike the last stroke like a vector plotter
I won’t be making water wine or walking on water
My boring everyday miracle is simply that
I’ll pull another goddamn rabbit from this beat-up hat


what

Monday, December 23, 2013

2.964 : 12/23/07 : Another Penultimate

Another penultimate can that be right
Don’t I need to change one of their names
is this the Ultimate or is it the next time
will there be a next time more old sames
lucky number three hey why not call it
why not make a little mythology
we’ll figure out the even patch
walk the looping path of an inside-out tautology
nothing is anything go ahead and laugh
What I get for being corporeal and sentient
even if they upload me to the big computer
I doubt a single truth would be self-evident
what will come tomorrow I’m so excited
I’ll just believe it will be wonderful
You’ll hear about it baby believe me
in a day or so when I’ve got more pull


what

Sunday, December 22, 2013

2.963 : 12/22/07 : Sweep In

Sweep in like
the wind snow
All change just
like wind blow
call it
revolution
call a
resolution
could I lay it
out in one day
Still work still eat
still rest still play
tick back
to simple
sweep into
the temple
All change just
like sunrise
oh hear ears
oh see eyes


what

Saturday, December 21, 2013

2.962 : 12/21/07 : Triage 3

Am I screwing up my priorities
should I be resisting authority?
trying to triage 3 million options
with nothing but a few stories and conscience
I got to get down with a smaller picture
I’d give it all up but I’m such a fixture
I probably need to stop talking smack
however far I slide down I gotta crawl back
however you slice it
I just want to wrap it up
pray that tomorrow fills the last half of the cup

what

Friday, December 20, 2013

2.961 : 12/20/07 : Triage Too

I’ll forego the last rites
the triage too
I’ll call my own demise:
Someday, true
I’m hoping I don’t make
too much of the future
call me old fashioned
but I’ll skip the suture
of post-human corpus
on this tired old flesh
I’d rather bow out
while my act’s still fresh
but I’ll probably go
in rust and entropy
fall slowly apart
no doubt you won’t see me

what

Thursday, December 19, 2013

2.960 : 12/19/07 : Triage One

Straight into triage one
casualty
communicating what a gap
remains for me
How many years it been?
seventeen
coming twenty and what
a strange trip between
a cliché of an age
I was born after
that thing you hear is not the
sound of children’s laughter
That thing you hear
is the big sound
I’m still chasing it
with all my running around
Hell will I ever
even get on time?
Hey nothing that I do
is a crime
and easily passed
so don’t bend my ear
If it’s not hallelujah
then I don’t want to hear


what

2.959 : 12/18/07 : Two Left

Two left feet
and a spare tire
maybe it’s a mag
hey does this inspire?
Guess I’m not gonna
be a rock star
where you at?
act shocked: wherever you are
struggle to push your
pen through “why”
end seems far away
as the sky
Maybe even scarier:
that it will likely come
imagine me:
complete, struck dumb
I might never write a word again
let the ink dry
in every pen
It might not even be close to news
now that’s the sort of foresight
that a guy could use

what

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

2.958 : 12/17/07 : Purge

Must entrap
encapsulate
this brief productive
altered state
One must presume
it’s always there
seems work like rust
carries on air
But just as much
exists distraction
opposite of God knows how many
equal reactions
It’s a good line but the
staff is strained
trying to keep a beat maintained
Why try entrap
this restless urge
to tame it with
a ruthless purge


what

Monday, December 16, 2013

2.957 : 12/16/07 : Cosmic

3,148 : 2 ?



It’s apparent that I’m
making this up isn’t it?
tell me how you tell when I’ve
slipped loose of the great cosmic tit
I hit the same dark switchbacks
I lose my same old way
And pretty soon
nobody’s hearing a word I say
And I say
no but I distribute
in greater diffusion
And I say no but
regard is but an illusion
and I say
it’s evident that I’m
making this up isn’t it?
How do you tell
through all the storms of bullshit
take that cosmic slop
and buy yourself a new disguise
I can’t say I’ve ever had
such a weak specimen before my eyes
and if you doubt it
wait for the other shoe
you may be surprised
to discover it fits you

what

Sunday, December 15, 2013

2.956 : 12/15/07 : The Optimist

Maybe we’ll lick this death thing
and escape shuffling off the mortal coil
Maybe you won’t soon be
chemically preserved instead of fertilizing soil
maybe they’ll invent a safe
and consequence-less way of getting pissed
stop laughing:
I told you that I was an optimist
Maybe they’ll engineer
harm-free tobacco
Maybe I’ll tweak how to make
a million doing the slack-o
I’m betting I won’t have to
solve that free time problem soon
But what the hell
I oughta try to shoot the moon
Possible is endless
and the science does keep stacking
but I wonder really how much
we’ve got now we were once lacking
But what the hell every day
I eat enough and I get kissed
So pardon me I will
remain an optimist

what

Saturday, December 14, 2013

2.955 : 12/14/07 : Vague

My vague ambiguous expression
projects the inner landscape
of uncertainty, depression
fuck you Schopenhauer
you’re dead and I’m alive
and I’ll take my muddy thoughts
And persist, and heedless strive
It’s nothing but a feeling
that I know that I should ditch
hey I could be somebody
come up with the next “life’s a bitch”
I’m dying for specifics
but I’m not ready to beg
until you break me down more
I guess it will have to stay vague


what

Friday, December 13, 2013

2.954 : 12/13/07 : Upon High Noon

Coming up on high noon
there will be no showdown
no drama or conflict
I’ll give you the low down
I will feed a little person
get him ready for a nap
put him down and sing songs to him
are you bored yet with this crap?
sure to me it's all consuming
you could call it satisfying
it strikes me dull in the telling
is that what I’m always defying?
But I’m right up here on high noon
there’s no more time for griping
I’ve got promises I’m keeping
Nothing much there that’s worth hyping


what

Thursday, December 12, 2013

2.953 : 12/12/07 : What I Remember

What I remember about
Wednesday
nothing at all so
I’ve got nothing to say
I could come up with something
it would probably be true
just because the days
are so the same
So I won’t bore you
what I remember
if I checked my notes
might as well make up
something I think will float your boats
whatever I can deal with
as much as I can face
of this story that just
tells and tells and
tells me my place


what

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

2.952 : 12/11/07 : Bitter Material

The bitter material plane
tears me down
Pardon for my sighing
pardon for my frown
Maybe I’m just
trying to justify sliding
the insane expectation
of change I’ve been riding
I should be above
your mortal coil
knowing my air:
knowing my soil
I should be above
falling for trifles
the eternal footman
and the snickers he stifles
but the situation
doesn’t stop with dismay
I’ve got my night
I’ve got my day
toiling to cultivate
the bitter material
pardon for the cliffhanger:
the effort is serial


what

2.951 : 12/10/07 : Stimulus, Response

I am an insect
dreaming I’m a man
bet I’m in good company
part of a sprawling clan
wish I had new habits
wish I had new clues
wish this constant ferment
would stew something I could use
but I’m just an insect
locked in stimulus, response
the history I bury
hard lessons I ensconce
lost in my insect dreams
being human, making sense
while I crawl along my leaf
blind to all the evidence


what

Monday, December 09, 2013

2.950 : 12/9/07 : The Mark

3141 : 43 ?



Really how likely am I
to hit the mark this time
to stay the course
to find a new reason or rhyme
that one’s dyeing its hair now
buying fixed annuities
must’ve been new to me once
one of my many ingenuities
knowing mostly I’ve done worse
though I’ve done better too
Guess that’s about as good as any
to be the mark this thing is through

what

Sunday, December 08, 2013

2.949 : 12/8/07 : Through

See how I can
rip through this
to waste another word
would be remiss


what

Saturday, December 07, 2013

2.948 : 12/7/07 : Artifact

The data set’s assumed to be an artifact
The fallout of a programming assumption
Travel on the cosmic scale’s by tesseract
The return trigger’s the world’s resumption
Anytime I want I can revise the tale
And hold each iteration to eternity
The only benefit holographic memories entail
but you wouldn’t call attention to my infirmity
An artifact of eidetic recall
Realities all overlapping
Aftereffect of that old fabled fall
And the so modern backbeat I’m snapping
Parenthetically break the text down
I merely illustrate a curious turn of speech
And if you catch me in a study in brown
Well you guess I once again
exceeded my reach


what

Friday, December 06, 2013

2.947 : 12/6/07 : Relic

No relic’s gonna turn the tide
the tables are stacked
too heavy to slide
when the ship tips
when you feel that punch in the gut
I guess you’re probably gonna beat it,
eh what?
Not gonna cast any
more runes or bones
no yarrow stalks
and no holy stones
This one I can do purely
just by stealth
pry the lid off
this pot and share the wealth


what

Thursday, December 05, 2013

2.946 : 12/5/07 : Are You Ready to See a Ten

On the scale of one to infinity
do you think you’ve seen an extreme
lately
I’ll run for now while
gettin’s good
I think I’d run for it
if I got the chance:
do you think you would?
I think we’ve laid about a
seven on you
So far
Think you’re ready
to see a ten
do you think you are?
Are you ready
have you made your peace
with God?
Are you ready to
See a Ten
the vision that
will spare no rod


what

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

2.945 : 12/4/07 : Priorities

I’m shifting my priorities
up punk so don’t
try to unload any junk here
it doesn’t matter here
and that’s the myth we
shatter here
shifting gears across
genres and universes
praised you with damn feints
Famed you with damn curses
no tracking back
and no corrections
no allowance for
revolt or insurrections
my perfect sedition
is my only priority
if I turn it up do you think
you could roll it with me


what

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

2.944 : 12/3/07 : You’re My Hero

3,135 : 37 ?



You’re my hero Mr. Fictional Everyman
theoretical idealized tale
I still want to be like those cookie cutter
hombres on whatever trail
I must be crazy to still be watching
the fairy tales of human value
wasting my time on projection
into a world that’s just not true
You’re my hero Mr. Overanalytic
postmodern neurotic head case
If you could just shut up a minute
we could wrap this up and get out of this place
It’s not so bad to love a story
those characters that resonate
I write what I can of our own tale
the rest I gotta leave up to fate

what

Monday, December 02, 2013

2.943 : 12/2/07 : Candid Opera

This candid opera I can’t believe
the way that everybody’s got an answer
but me
soon seven billion soon eight and ten
I don’t like to think about what
I might see
There’s no audience so who
are we performing to delight
We seem unconscious I’m
unconscious stumble onstage without
insight
I’d call it harmless fun it’s 
just one thing the tragedies
are real
I’d call it fair play but there’s just one game
and no court of appeal
and I never agreed to be
on stage I just got pushed into the light
now I’m singing for my supper
just like all the rest
here every night


what

Sunday, December 01, 2013

2.942 : 12/1/07 : The Second Rate

The furious social climbing
among the second rate
Let me offer anything I’ve got up
to avoid that fate
rather stay mediocre
toiling in obscurity
no such thing as status
no such thing as security
I’ll never make a mark
among the mighty and great
I’d rather not be known
as anything among the second rate
I like to make believe
I’m in a class all my own
greater than the sum
of all I’ve done and all I’ve known
I’d like to never play the game
I haven’t done so badly
I’ll take my place among the second rate
and keep it gladly


what

Saturday, November 30, 2013

2.941 : 11/30/07 : Ultimate Triumph Song

Why pay for a fantasy I can dream on my own dime
And in my dream I can find the ultimate triumph song
I’ll stick a pin in that one save it for a likely time
And when I find it I am gonna bang and bang that gong
I’ll always remember this day even when I’m old
The song that marked a peak that led even higher
I will never tell a soul what went on in the cold
but I’ll carry a reminder should reminding I require
Maybe we all look like jokes from high enough
I don’t doubt my flaws are plainly seen
But it’s all made up in a moment’s work of bluff
And most of what’s important is written between
the lines that separate the quick from the dead
Where we’re all going every father’s bed
When the symmetry shatters there is tragedy
there is beauty too it seems nothing is free
but there’s a dark glory in how it goes on
No matter what though there remains a question
Will a final triumph come after so long
after coldness snuffs out every sci-fi suggestion
my joke’s stretched too thin to cover that hole
things were so much easier when I was dumb
but I had an easy confidence in my little soul
And I thought I was too good to succumb
And I’ll be long long gone before that music
gets faced by whatever if we’re not all dust
So don’t be such a little refusenik
Sing it with me if you please, ignore me if you must


what

Friday, November 29, 2013

2.940 : 11/29/07 : Gone Missing

Another day gone missing
heeding hacks out dissing
what they don’t get
and never have yet
felt further behind
dates had me close to the line
who you gonna believe
for these gifts we now receive
There is no time missing its continuous
Right now’s the same as then
at the back of the bus
where I stood my ground
like the fool I was
That day’s not missing
and I know because
I’m right here
I could skimp on the rebound
but I’m channeling the big sound
and I have to share
it’s all there out there
I could keep rolling now
instead I’ll take my bow
half hour of witching left
half hour to bridge the cleft
There is no time missing everything is one
the truth you’ll never get
out of the barrel of a gun
Right now’s the same as then
at the head of the pack
Still treating every single thing
like an attack


what

2.939 : 11/28/07 : Dissonance

Hammered by the clamor of dissonance
wondering if my will makes any difference
caught between the pinions of what would you prefer
a time machine and a ticket right out of here
decision loses meaning when options collapse
and swells a roar of dissonance in each synapse
a fancy way of saying I cannot decide
but I’m no Hamlet and this is no ride
I dream of everything in harmony
that one’s from a pipe as far as I can see
down here nothing is naturally in tune
and if you don’t believe it I’ll show you soon
and if you’re doubting still just take a peek in here
and marvel at the poison they’ve got for your ear
a wretched mass of dissonance in lurid light
the very sight of which will make you pray for night


what

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

2.938 : 11/27/07 : Wrecked

I wrecked my mind looking for
too many angles
thought I was too hep for
the trim and spangles
As the years go past
we run the same flag up the mast
It seems all paths lead to
fragmentation
I never knew if unity
was just imagination
if entropy is pure tragic
if nothing at all is magic
Why are these forced
marches like pulling teeth
the strained refrains and
phrases hover beneath
while it accretes an hour dies
but done is done and damn my eyes

what

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

2.937 : 11/26/07 : Winter

Winter sweeps in on a hard wind
here we go again!
Advent and the seasons of the retail chain
they say hard times are on the way
and I’m ready but
I’m waiting for my hands to steady but
I got to blow like winter go like winter
I’m cool as ice but
I’ve got a golden splinter in 
my brain pan
makes me act the sane man
but to be sane in this deep freeze
is just a little crazy please
let me know
did I chop enough wood
just let me know
did I haul enough water
cause if hard time’s here
I got to know I shut it like I should
cause winter’s no time to go
and though the planet’s getting hotter
I figure I am dug in for the long haul
winter’s here
and by the new year
we’ll all be robbing Peter
to pay Paul


what

Monday, November 25, 2013

2.936 : 11/25/07 : By Numbers

I’ve got enough imagination
but I’ll paint this one by numbers anyway
Go through the proscribed palette
hope this picture’s here to stay
I’m pushing the same stone again
I’ve sung to it a thousand nights
I’ve sung it low down in the valley
sung it mere feet from the heights
My challenge needs a new metaphor
maybe a hard place or a rock
maybe I overstate my longing
maybe all I really face is tick-tock
they say I live among the privileged
the member of some small percent
I’m pretty sure there’s some above me
pretty sure that column’s still bent
but there’s a few spots left still
those numbers point my denouement
and if it comes up you again
I’ll search that stone yet for the flaw


what

Sunday, November 24, 2013

2.935 : 11/24/07 : You Again

May I never have to write you down again
May I never need to speak your name
this is the second method
this is how it is when I play the game
Am I singing a song of you, again?
It’s true it’s a story of my whole life
now I am different, now things are better
with my child my home my wife
So I’ll treat you like just a fairy tale
that will vanish with morning dreams
the ghosts and gremlins I will knock away
and send them scrambling up the beams
Yeah I’ll talk large, yeah I’ll be a braggart
knowing tomorrow is a mystery
I’ll stand against your better judgment
I’ll stand despite all contradicting history
And say so long to you again
and say I’ll see you when I do
if we meet again why we shall smile
if not I’ll fondly think of you


what

2.934 : 11/23/07 : Tolerance

If this myth’s within the tolerance
I’ll spit one out should be a fine romance
And if I’m stomping over well-tread ground
I’ll use it an excuse to pump the big sound
hey buddy I can but obey the specs
though I might load the dice and stack the decks
inside that crooked hat I follow rules
my workmanship shows in my modules
and it all fits like a kaleidoscope
feel inklings of this truth for which I grope
take it on faith there’ll be a destination
until then beg your tolerance for this reiteration


what

Friday, November 22, 2013

2.933 : 11/22/07 : Give Thanks for Speed

Give thanks for speed
‘cause life is short
there are no second chances
no mission to abort
so when the great hammer
is descending
there are only two options:
speed or ending
give thanks to God
for the future obscured
I can’t imagine all the inward
maladies it cured
deliver me from the curse
of second sight
and I’ll sacrifice my future
on your altar every night
but I’ve got no thanks
for being born to the majority
for the status quo
or the presence of authority
because the seeming blessing
of the present convention
is the antithesis of speed
and other virtues I could mention


what

Thursday, November 21, 2013

2.932 : 11/21/07 : Terminus

Nobody can shake the
universal halting power
of the terminus
I’m sure you heard about our program
sure you’re eager to get on the bus
It’s all on the ground floor
so far plenty of room
left at the top
heavy foreshadowing
still at some point it’s got to stop


what

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

2.931 : 11/20/07 : Light Way

What’s the deal with saying
that your burden’s light
Whose do I have anyway?
A millions shades would rise
to accuse me
offering me their bundles to weigh
Still this isn’t light no
this isn’t easy
maybe I refused to exchange
for some reason
I can’t make sense of anymore
some impulse buried and strange
So tell me tell me
what can I do
to get myself back to the light way
I need more than
signs and fables
to plant my feet on the right way


what

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

2.930 : 11/19/07 : Freedom Lights the Way

Freedom lights the way for every
crazy ponzi scheme to get beyond
this little zero sum game’s
past this crowded little gene pond
hardly scientific so subjective
such a tiny role we play
and yet in everything I care about
freedom lights the way
what will make it better
what will raise the quality
What will exorcise self reference
what will set my wild free
what will spark the spark that ignites
freedom’s way for me
some unforeseen invention
some paradox of destiny

what

Monday, November 18, 2013

2.929 : 11/18/07 : My Eureka

3,120 : 22 ?



So this is what it’s like
normal calm and pale
not too high not too low
just riding on its rail
something in me’s dissatisfied
though I know it’s a better path
the thing I dreamed and planned so long
shout my eureka while I take a bath
Will I stick the rest of it
it’s just one afternoon
hardly the first I’ve soldiered through
and many’s the time I spoke too soon
So I’ll say nothing good or bad
I’ll keep stalwartly mum
and see how every little thing goes
clinging to this pendulum

what

Sunday, November 17, 2013

2.928 : 11/17/07 : Extension

I filed an extension
on my state of grace
that should explain
the foolish grin
upon my face
I believe I’ll be supported
in this final push
it’s a message
that I heard
out of a burning bush
no matter how the fire burns
the tree is not consumed
and what’s long interrupted
will soon be resumed
but in the night that
I’ve been given
by my extension
I’m gonna do it all
and a few others
I could mention


what

Saturday, November 16, 2013

2.927 : 11/16/07 : Bake

If it’s half baked
well bake it more
well if that window’s blocked
fake a door
just this one time
forget fear
you’re ready and
the oven’s right here
assume the divine
lives up to its name
and despite everything
it’s not just a game
so how you play
the moment’s quiet call
if I have to go
you can keep my ball
bake it through
and really give a taste
learn to know
the diamonds from the paste
don’t spit me out
I’m just getting hot
and I think you’ll
like the new taste
that I got


what

Friday, November 15, 2013

2.926 : 11/15/07 : No Order

No order might mean
that none is needed
Doing its own reward
it bears to be repeated
no outcome always process
always love more love more
that’s the only progress
kick at it though I might
it’s a truth now I can see
that there’s quite a knot
tangled up in the word free
terrorizing as a mirror
longing like a window
open like that longest door
unstuck to let the wind blow


what

Thursday, November 14, 2013

2.925 : 11/14/07 : Plutonium

Before the song... it's that time of year once again when briefly I subvert all my channels of communication to invite your donation to a very worthwhile charity: the Little Kitchen Food Shelf in Northeast Minneapolis.  Please consider offering your support.

If I had a wish
I’d wish away plutonium
and all its antecedents
yeah I’ll still beat that drum
somebody’s got to say it
it’s ridiculous
that we keep this gun loaded
yeah it’s scandalous
if the old men on the hillsides
could just connect
and if I could just be wiser
in this one respect
all together we might cast a spell
to set things right
while the earth spun unheeding
through its endless night


what

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

2.924 : 11/13/07 : Reveal

Before the song... it's that time of year once again when briefly I subvert all my channels of communication to invite your donation to a very worthwhile charity: the Little Kitchen Food Shelf in Northeast Minneapolis.  Please consider offering your support.

Waiting on the magician’s reveal
willful suspension of
what I believe is real
a fool’s mission surely
all the rush
and hurly burly
and me the king of fools
and all the ideas
I’ve served as tools
I put it down here
a record to recall
not once believing
I’d ever catch it all
but maybe just this moment
a few more words could
collect this foment
that called me to rise
before a new day
had revealed its eyes

what

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

2.923 : 11/12/07 : Independent Contract

Before the song... it's that time of year once again when briefly I subvert all my channels of communication to invite your donation to a very worthwhile charity: the Little Kitchen Food Shelf in Northeast Minneapolis.  Please consider offering your support.

Independent contract
soldier for hire
wielding iron
virus, cold fire
hacking systems
sewn corruption
social contract
economic interruption
only see the
gaudy surface
my dim ranting
tense and nervous
mercenaries
what am I then
a free agent
cut loose again

what

Monday, November 11, 2013

2.922 : 11/11/07 : Afraid of Tomorrow

3,114 : 16 ?



I’m afraid of tomorrow
afraid of consequences
recession war
man’s worst influences
afraid for my home
afraid for my child
too thin too far
too many too wild
I tell myself there’s nothing
I can do about it
do I believe it’s all to chance
what magnet may route it
who cares what I believe
what’s coming is coming
and it’s me and this dark
and this tune I’m humming

what

Sunday, November 10, 2013

2.921 : 11/10/07 : Radical Free

I dream an anarchy
peaceful stable
radical free
lean swift able
an illusion?
without strange attractors
chaos confusion
dark cofactors
maybe it won’t go around
rise above survival
never get above the ground
mania cost of revival
Locked inside my noggin
Simplistic great society
a place at last to be a cog in
no place for a radical like me


what

Saturday, November 09, 2013

2.920 : 11/9/07 : Strictly Business

Strictly business not a bit of sentiment
only ways and means and where the money went
more than family, friendship, love
business and the hand invisible inside the iron glove
how can I delude myself I’m not that kind
do I really believe there is some brand new path I’ll find?
Some retrofit some version two point oh
I dream my crazy vision ‘spite the better I know
Sure it would corrupt me just like anyone
Sure I would succumb to the wall the gate the gun
They’ll probably all wind up evil in the end
Seems there’s just one way that strictly business script will spend


what

Friday, November 08, 2013

2.919 : 11/8/07 : Everything Stops

But when you cry out to me
everything stops
the sick daydreaming
the needle drops
Is it a blessing
or a fearful burden
or is it simply
of one thing I’m certain
when you ask of me
I say how much how much
here is comfort
here is touch
here is holding
satisfaction guaranteed
when I hear
the protest of need
the world is run more
by crooks now than ever
this city state keeps edging closer
to the end of forever
but I’ve got no time to
shout it from the mountaintops
I have to listen to the voice
that says everything stops


what

Thursday, November 07, 2013

2.918 : 11/7/07 : The Repetition

The repetition:
the predictable failure of mission
the sameness
the deafness blindness lameness
Endless explaining
the no going away of the raining
no matter what I’m chanting
or recanting
the no difference
the loser’s bet made on loser’s inference
the feeble lying
ready to sell out for years but no one’s buying
The repetition:
the predictable failure of vision
the slight fine tuning
While I punch my idols up idly mooning


what

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

2.917 : 11/6/07 : The Stakes

Bow down to the intrinsic nature
of this fire
The danger’s always looming
and the stakes are getting higher
To have is to have more and more
to lose
No matter how I tilt that cup
I never could refuse
And it would be a shame
to let this anxious flutter
impair the joy of having
one small jot or flutter
The stakes are what they are
the game is played by all
I only guessed I wouldn’t be
So long perched on this ball


what

2.916 : 11/5/07 : One In a Row

Wait till I rack up
one in a row
it will establish
a fine precedent I know
things will change for real
and never look back
just choose a perfect moment
and a locus of attack


what

Monday, November 04, 2013

2.915 : 11/4/07 : Mature

Have I matured at last
under the influence
of every night gone past
at last at confluence
I take my little gain
I take a solemn bow
I take a bead on pain
draw back and show you how


what

2.914 : 11/3/07 : Product

While the product of my failure
spins out in another room
and I strive with the temptation
of the technocratic boom
of the information era
that seems to me to be fading
under the corrosive stream
the mission is ablated
precipitate the salt
whose spirit formed beneath the flame
the essence of enlightenment
the trace of a true name
recrystalize the product
draw it out through sublimation
gather it in cold suspension
and display the new creation


what

Saturday, November 02, 2013

2.913 : 11/2/07 : Faster and Harder

Defeated and slammed
I come back faster and harder
long since written off as
failed potential
I’m just  a real slow starter
Yeah I have not yet begun
hell I couldn’t even tell you
just what I call fun
so I bring another bottle
of the good old from the larder
and rush your thrilling bastion
faster
and harder


what

Friday, November 01, 2013

2.912 : 11/1/07 : Bees (2)

I like bees because
bees are nice
I hope there are a lot of bees
in paradise
God must love bees
because he made so many flowers
and gave them magic
bee-type powers
I like bees
they wear fuzzy jackets
they carry nectar
and pollen packets
they make honey
and don’t care about money
I’ll say it twice
I like bees they’re nice


what

2.911 : 10/31/07 : So Very Far Away

So very far away
call it all I’ve ever wasted
bits of bits
copied and pasted
the random walk didn’t take
parts that I could
never shake
or bear to fake
the brutal sameness takes the cake
I’ve had enough I changed my mind
maybe if when he’d asked
me what kind
I had jumped the fear
I’d be some other place than here
there’s things here though
I don’t want to live without
If everything could
be so simple, free from doubt
I don’t ask to be free from pain
just feel I’m on a path again


what

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

2.910 : 10/30/07 : Reaching

Reaching as usual
yeah choose what to recuse you fool
If I refuse to be your tool
I fear you’ll pull the plug
on this experiment
what heaven sent seven percent
point seven seven seven meant
I never know what I’d a’ dug
hep cat check that
name drop rap scat
call it my chic apparat
too clever well by half
credentials long gone stale
inhale regale a tale well past the pale
for want of one last coffin nail
I settled for a paragraph


what

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

2.909 : 10/29/07 : Steeping Tea

Steeping tea like any bronze age prince
My anachronisms cut my mind to mince
Projecting to and from and feeling really very dumb
thirteen thousand days give or take a thousand
lend me your ears for a purse I tell the sows and
smile at my own cleverness till I recall who I forgot to bless
If you could steep me in philosopher’s water
digitize my essence on a vector plotter
it might spit out a longer rant but what I know I can’t recant

what

Monday, October 28, 2013

2.908 : 10/28/07 : So Many Words

3,100 : 2 ?



I’ve got so many words to say
I feel I’ve got to say a couple every day
and when its down there in black and white
sometimes I feel exultant sometimes only tight
I’ve got no excuses I own every one
whether under the table or under the gun
what I just left behind cuts me to the quick
but I’ve got a few surprises left in me dick
so many words in combinations finite
thank god I beat the singularity by a thin night
I know I’ll feel regret close to despair
every time I remember there’s no there there
but I’ll do my duty, follow through
nothing in this world means more to me than you
and true there are two and I feel so fortunate
so smile to the camera put a coin in my hat
brevity is the soul of wit so everybody laugh
I’ll simply put a period on that last paragraph

what