2.758 : 5/31/07 : Lists

A list won’t solve your problems
and here’s the reason why
because just like everybody ever
you are going to die
because you can’t expect
the unexpected every time
because only one in a thousand
spots the shifting paradigm
because thinking isn’t doing
because doing is uncertain
because no list be it oh so subtle
will expose the man behind the curtain
because you’ll list the wrong things
and the order will be random
and you’ll lose nine timely stitches
trying to kill your birds in tandem
because humankind is flawed
because entropy persists
because in the end all it does
is proliferate more lists

what

2.757 : 5/30/07 : The Big Race

Everybody’s running the big race
slowed down by trying to keep up
slowed down by trying to save face
seems like there’s no winner
the finish line’s not marked
and we’re running from the desolation
nightmares our dark ways sparked
a tired old man said I don’t
think we’re really going to make it
some things are just absolute
there’s no way you can fake it
I don’t think there’s any end
at least nothing like that
I don’t think I’ll probably live
to see what gets pulled from that hat
If I gave up everything
went on the missionary trip
would I slow the race down
one iota from this downward slip
and after all of everything
all I can do is hoe my patch
it’s not like it would be the first time
we would have to start from scratch
 
what

2.756 : 5/29/07 : The Lesson

The lesson that was pressed into
the battered mind
the rest that was no rest
and left things more behind
and seemed an intuition
to learn to forbear
and soldier on relentless
steeled to just get there
perhaps it was attachment too
some time that never was
perhaps the adversary
gained dominion just because
perhaps when all is said
there will be time to get all done
perhaps despite it all we’ll
manage to have fun
 
what

2.755 : 5/28/07 : The Rip Off

The rip off goes on and on
every unbalanced load
every stupid song
Every minute I spend
on everyone’s opinion
Every hour I clock
as a hired minion
I steal moments as chance allows
I steal milk from
all you sacred cows
I am part of the big
rip off too
It’s sure I’m ripping someone off
as someone’s ripping you
Hey check if your shoes
were made in China
Hey check that drained swamp
North of Carolina
The real rip off artists
run the beltway
you’ll hear a line or two
about it
on a slow news day

what

2.754 : 5/27/12 : Perspective

2,946 : 2 ?



A thousand worlds
of nuclear fire
93 million miles
it’s a coin on an invisible wire
that’s perspective
that’s our illusion
the geocentric paradigm
the churches in collusion
a core of iron
molten and magnetic
forged in the supernova heart
expelled by some cosmic emetic
that’s poetry
the layman’s semi-science
the life that I did not pursue
but cling to in defiance
without the sun all life will die
yet we take it for granted
think it moves across the sky
I think my thoughts
knowing thoughts is all they are
knowing I can’t know but a fraction
of the secrets of any star

what

2.753 : 5/26/12 : Vice

There’s no rule in nature
but do as you do
but we’re not like the others
it’s objectively true
thus we invent morality
thus we invent vice
it’s probably pushed us ahead
but carries a strange price
If just for one moment
I could get past right and wrong
and see who I was before
I ever heard this world’s song
then I would be enlightened
and beyond deceit or vice
I’m sure it will take the first time
I won’t have to see it twice

what

2.752 : 5/25/12 : Trance

And this trance, this dance
just continues
despite better intentions
mature wisdom
better venues
This bliss all amiss
Keeps expanding
I fear it’s crowding out
the ground I need for standing
I cross my heart swear to start
In just a moment or two
when it feels right
I’ll go over the side with you
Into the trance true romance
and boundless opportunity
and pray to God
they’ll offer me immunity

what

2.751 : 5/24/12 : The Seal

I refuse to put the seal
of any sort on it
Experience the moment
try to be less full of shit
everything just must be
what it is and nothing else
wait for the moment
pass it
I wait for the bells
I am free
I do what I will
I am free
with all my choices
what’s it matter if
I thought it out
or merely heard voices
I refuse to mark
that void
with some great seal
I’ll cross the bridge
when it comes
and not brook
any other deal

what

2.750 : 5/23/07 : Ass Full of Laser

ensign awoke
with a discharged phaser
knew that he had
bought himself
an ass full of laser
he know he should not
have volunteered
for the mission with the
principals
had ended just as he’d feared

what

2.749 : 5/22/07 : Anticipation

It’s all about anticipation
heaven is
anticipation unending
bathing in
continuous revelation
the vast signal
of love unending
you gotta do
what you gotta do
but you gotta make your own decisions
you make a persuasive
argument
but the business plan
is mired
in endless revisions
one last time
it will be pure
so keep your memories
to yourself pops
I’m just trying to
explain
this anticipation
that never stops

what

2.748 : 5/21/07 : Belief

Said a thousand times
Someday will be a
million
it is not a matter of
belief
no and no matter
the billion
adherents
to some old display
of dark torment
and glory
And do you still not
realize
it’s all just all
about the story
dark comes late
and I’m in haste
you thought you’d
heard about that
it was just a taste
and as long
as my numbers add up
I’ll complete my line
secure in my
belief that
it will all be fine

what

2.747 : 5/20/07 : Haste

2,938 : 12 ?



Haste makes waste
and one hasty SOB
rushing to the next
minimalist folly
I pray to God that
Someone’s praying for me
but the night’s still young
and I’ll get by pro’ly
I always gotta
Set some task
Some little hill
I can climb up
I always hope
I’ll peel off the last mask
stand and speak
‘cause it’s my dime up
I try to step back
and observe the flow
but the dragon I’m training
is so wily
next time hey
maybe I’ll just aim low
or may just not
aim quite so highly

what

2.746 : 5/19/07 : Premonition

I’ve got a premonition
despite forward and backward
addition
the thing will pan out to
a zero sum
I’ll feel a little satisfied
I’ll feel a little dumb
My mind is all elsewhere
my mind’s on the
Cough cough cough
I’m well past the point
I can twist up a joint
and blow the whole thing off
But I’m determined
to defy augery
and trace a straight line
foul weather or fine
defying more mere
cog-ery

what

2.745 : 5/18/07 : Character

What is the character of
presence, presentiment
what is the character
of change
You can’t avoid
the math
profit and loss equivalence
you have to sacrifice
it’s
accuracy or range
Good luck soldier
I hope you
find your man
I cannot rest until
my train refrain
is in the can
seems like it’s all
going nowhere fast
but I gotta keep pedaling
and roll the present
to the past

 what

2.744 : 5/17/07 : Leave It To the Prophets

Leave it to the prophets to
interpret God’s will
Leave it to me to fail to
Forget about the bitter pill
leave it to the newsmen
to tell who where what and when
Another May’s more than halfway
and my time’s come to begin again
Leave me alone and
don’t disrupt my inner boil
downside and upside
nothing comes without the alchemy of toil
I am a diplomat a psychonaut
I’m brimming with deceit
but who gets fooled and sees through
I guess you’ll have to wait
with this accursed stone
I’ll raise a tower of pain
I’ll never whisper how
I wove it from a sad refrain
the dreams run rampant
full of fearful pride and light
you better mind your shit
‘Cause I’ve not yet begun to fight

what

2.743 : 5/16/07 : No Guarantee

Things that are no guarantee
past performance, authority
bold pronouncements Secret Plans
prohibition, abstinence and bans
I know well enough the writing on the wall
I can hear the screams all the way up the hall
You know I am simply not involved
And left it there while the world revolved
around an axis that was tipped
So many times how hard I tripped
Experience provided no guaranty
Until one minute ago I was blind but now I see

what

2.742 : 5/15/07 : The Thousand Leaves

The promise of what’s gone before
today’s a blank page nothing more
and if I’ve strained this metaphor
permit me one last four by four
The thousand leaves whip in the wind
the order God will not rescind
the prophecy to which I’m pinned
beneath the skin my stark skull grinned
to think about the childish ploys
dishonest prayers of jealous boys
desiring sense of self through toys
and soon moved on to darker ploys
that leaves me trying to find the thread
I might as well I’m still not dead
to misquote what Kaligula said
from where I sit I’m still ahead

what

2.741: 5/14/07 : Lemon Yellow Bic

Lemon yellow bic
caught spark on the second click
got right on that
thing I said I didn’t like no more
I don’t like that
anymore
Haven’t given it a thought
until this moment
I lay in grass
on a hill
looking up at wires
and stars
and the fires
that go out
one by one
there’s not another
bullet in the gun

what

2.740 : 5/13/07 : Sneak

2,931 : 5 ?



I’m gonna sneak one more in
somewhere on the borderline
between late and later
I know it’s a crummy idea
and won’t be all that
but hey don’t be a hater
I’m stuck on the idea now
and anyhow it can’t really
be everything that I fear
it was just coincidence
the kind like always
trips us up between there
and here

what

2.739 : 5/12/07 : The Point I Didn’t Reach

So this is the place I didn’t reach
the other evening
I wonder just how far
behind I am now anyway
I wonder what hides behind
the end of every day
crews of daemons
cleaning up the loose ends
seeing things that
take me back to school days
I’m not such a fool
these days
I’d like to think
but I’m screwing up
committing it to ink
but if you’ll just bear up with me
for another thousand
songs or so
I’ll show you
clear as daylight
where I mean
this thing to go

what

2.738 : 5/11/07 : Crash Course

Another crash course in survival
the projects are getting
way too archival
but the record must be kept
one way or another I guess
I just wanted to know
that the answer can
still be “yes”
And what will I have learned
at the end of another
20 hours that burned
burnt out on the grind
brother
But I gotta stick to it
make my mark
guarantee continuation
with another Lazy Spark


what

2.737 : 5/10/07 : Hitter

Hitter spitter tried
I couldn’t hit her
Tracer facer
Thought so hard
I couldn’t trace her
If I can get called up
to the organization
you know I’m gonna turn
around my situation
poser closer jumped
you down like a dozer
ender sender nothing
but an intender

what

2.736 : 5/9/07 : Virtual Pet

I bet I’m a virtual pet
to some fucking alien
I bet they’re slamming in quarters
hope the points are sailing in
I hope I’m entertaining
hope they got their money’s worth
so they keep on diverting
asteroids from hitting earth
hey fucker don’t forget to feed me
don’t fuck with my kid
ha ha asshole what you
gonna do about it if I did
I bet you wish you’d rolled me
different picked another class
be patient cause my next trick’s
Gonna knock you on your ass
When it flashes Game Over
Nobody gonna hit reset
but you’ll think about
our game sometime I bet
And as for that poor fucker
I’m replaced by
Make that fucker suffer
give a polish to that amber
I’m encased by

what

2.735 : 5/8/07 : Coast of Maine

One day I’ll stand
at the furthest point East
on the coast of Maine
I thought I had so much
to be afraid of
so much pain
I had a rush without substance
or special technique
I’m gonna rock this
motherfucker down to Chesapeake
then drive wild
all night up the
Coast of Maine
Run run rebel scum
refuse to conform
or obey authority
admit submit
to the domain
of our plurality
if the fuckers start
to march down
from Toronto
You know we Minnesotans
Gonna hit that pronto
We’ll give them New England

what

2.734 : 5/7/07 : Single Minded Path

The automaton goes stumbling on
it’s single minded path
so hesitant it seems that it
must be alive but in the aftermath
the wreckage will reveal it
just bamboo sailcloth and twine
don’t pity the automaton
but I confess I’d love to make it mine
The drunken ambling anonym
describes his random walk
I suffer flashbacks of Lord Jim
inscribing it in chalk
and there’s so little I recall
of those long expired days
my own path has had so many
minds to talk it’s plumb astray
I envy the automaton
it’s empty single mind
while I transcribe this circle
and the dreams are dying on the vine
I’m far from the right attitude
I’m just like all the rest
I can’t figure for the life of me
if I failed or just
forgot to take the test

what

2.733 : 5/6/07 : On Waking

On waking I’ll let out a scream
to protest my descent
protest the loss of this dream
I am high above the rooftops
viewing the topography
arranged in subtle spirals to
suggest autobiography
On waking I will hit it rolling
springing to a crouch
wary to the lead bell’s tolling
I’m the last caucasian ninja
poised to dodge the man’s alert
in a foolish manner thinking
as if I weren’t scratching dirt
doodling nothing’s in God’s margins
waiting for my one line’s cue
on waking I will sigh
open my eyes
and turn to you

what

2.732 : 5/5/07 : Wires

The attenuated nervous system
of the urban core
spilling from the convoluted heart
that beats under the false floor
in the city cellphone spikes
are hidden in the church spires
even out here in the boondocks
you can see they still got wires
If I was in charge you know I’d
call for a great public works
power data transportation
call in all the young tech turks
dig the mass of network tunnels
lay the fiber set the tracks
wind the great superconductor
bundled thousand subtle hacks
Such a drifting Sunday dreamer
so enhanced with lofty flights
Of fancy but this world is dull
and sadly we must pick our fights

what

2.731 : 5/4/07 : Pantheon

God drew the map
time keeps the books
no unfettered fall
all the way down hooks
the devil forever
walks upward and down
and me I’m just glad
to get out of town
and I don’t belong
in the pantheon proper
I’m a back of the chorus guy
sure no show stopper
but Jesus and Buddha
do still take my calls
and I’m still out here dodging
a room with soft walls
not up with Mohammed
or John Revelator
but I’m still here swinging
so suck it you hater

what

2.730 : 5/3/07 : Me and my Little Brain

Me and my little brain will
decode the spaceship signal
and I will be the big hero
that sets the doomsday clock to zero
me and my little brain
will figure out the roulette system
the goodfellas will come for me
the pitboss says you just missed him
I’ll know when to stop just when
my welcome’s turning stale
I’ll roll up my last big score
and before you know my ship will sail
we’ll cure cancer square the circle
world peace and free lunch our work will
shine and just change everything
the bright delight my little brain will bring
Me and my little brain will
build the last cathedral
I’ll sit upon an iron chair
if nothing else it won’t be dull
We’ll bring about the new age
End death end war end pain
Or so it seems imagining
inside my little, little brain

what

2.729 : 5/2/07 : Big Mind, Big Sky

Does the sky contain the mind
or mind contain the sky
does it mean a thing it never came
to me to ask just why?
the shell was formed with certain
contradictions in its skeleton
the bell that you said tolled for me
I said I’m not the only one
Big sky, big mind and neither
one cares to contain the other
it sounds like some pronouncement
from that book I borrowed from my brother
and sun is hidden smeared to grey
behind the clouds of big sky
and my mind seems small as can be
and big mind well I’m not that guy
and knowing there’s no little sky
I sit content beneath that dome
and contemplate my little mind
the only place that I’ve called home

what

2.728 : 5/1/07 : Incision

If my call for assistance
gets intercepted
my application
for transmigration
may never be accepted
If my atonement
gets back ordered
I’ll fall back on
the lost track song
the midnight paradigm it bordered
if my bright light
goes for a random walk
through such dark loops
and dives and swoops
I’ll really start then to fight
If life came knocking always
at the moment of decision
I’ll strike my line
and call it fine
consider it a skilled incision

what