Saturday, November 29, 2014

2.1306 : 11/29/08 : Water Rocket

Under pressure
full of piss and hot air
I’m going to pop the plug
and fly down on you over there
the human water rocket
call it water to be polite
that’s not vinegar
and I am bringing you the fight
it’s a war of silliness
rube goldberg war machines
Would be a lot more fun
than all your modern counting beans

what

2.1305 : 11/28/08 : The King’s Robe

Do I need to go back to
the blah blah blah
and is it true
that if I talked it out enough
I’d finally call
the devil’s bluff
recorded in the
book of Job
You can’t rely on
the king’s robe
for protection
from the worst
to prove a point
we’re freely cursed
wear it for the
photo opportunity
and if you care to
pretend you’ve got immunity
but don’t be surprised
when the messengers come
to tell the Lord tooketh away
in your zero sum
game

what

2.1304 : 11/27/08 : Thankless

If the task seems thankless
if the path seems endless
if the object seems immovable
and the road seems friendless
I can’t offer optimism
promises of intervention
only to be there at crunch time
with my very best invention
Well you can’t eat thanks
or cover with them if you’re cold
even so it would be nice to have
a few to remember when you’re old
so maybe look up
from the awful spectacles
and remember to say thank you
to fate’s chosen receptacles

what

2.1303 : 11/26/08 : Ordeal

Almost called it
an ordeal
could I get more
ridiculous
at least my record of
my clownish
pantomimes
meticulous
no war no
serious disease
no grief
knock on wood
if you please
I should be so thankful
how about that
guess I will be
just in time, cat

what

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

2.1302 : 11/25/08 : Ping

Ping
anyone home
just one
functionally alone
no message
nothing
just acknowledging
the ping


what

Monday, November 24, 2014

2.1301 : 11/24/08 : No Way Back

3,492 : 21 ?



Just generating filler now
just filling in the lines
uncaring about how it looks
between the clotted tines
unwilling to retrace the steps
but there is no way back
unless I drill down all the way
through that infernal stack
worse than a diary
more fractured than a log
it feels like some bad artery
disgusting with its fatty clog
and how should I reveal
a night like a thousand others
the nights that passed
like silent ships
this night and all
its brothers

what

2.1300 : 11/23/08 : Second Strike

Whiff streaks past
second strike
try to imagine it
up at the mic
the deepest fears
anxieties
various ends of
various sobrieties
not what you’d think
well maybe you
maybe God
maybe me too
waiting for
another pitch
pretty sure this one’s
going to be a bitch


what

2.1299 : 11/22/08 : Vice is Like a Job

Somedays even vice is like a job
and I am one predictable slob
trying to make sense of the senseless
before which I’m defenseless
bad intention carries the night
and I do not intend to fight
but I can’t help it struggle finds me
whatever passes for a muse finds me
and I’m rushing to make it up again
foolish midnight foolish pen


what

Friday, November 21, 2014

2.1298 : 11/21/08 : Music In My Head

As soon as I focus
the music in my head stops
a thousand thoughts crowd in
the volume sharply drops
What an illusion
What a tale of years
hear it in my head
but cannot ever
bring it to your ears
Somebody else did it
better years ago
Someone did it weirder
a bridge beyond what
I could ever know
but it’s done complete
the page is truly turned
and before the hour is cold
I’ll see that
last bridge burned

what

Thursday, November 20, 2014

2.1297 : 11/20/08 : Refuse

Refuse to give in
to the impulse
to pull the pin
self destruct is
not an option
what instructs this
All feels redone
all feels rehashed
something flickered
for a minute
then spun out
and crashed

what

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

2.1296 : 11/19/08 : Just Like That

And just like that
I’m on the cusp
one two three
one step ahead of the rust
doesn’t quite work
but who can stop me
keep it all
short and sweet
let failure hone
and strop me


what

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

2.1295 : 11/18/08 : Long to Go Still

Long to go still
bitter harvest
bitter pill
made of clichés
and failed imagination
tomorrow to wake
in the same degraded station
So many tricks
learned over years
sew the eyes shut
Stop the ears
but the sound of it
penetrates every barrier
hope the next time
it comes knocking
I’ll be a little warier

what

Monday, November 17, 2014

2.1294 : 11/17/08 : Closing the Gap

3,485 : 14 ?



Not much you can control
the gap that keeps
yawning open takes its toll
Close it up again
Slam it shut again
I know I’ll let it
lapse my friend
Closing the gap
has just become a chore
and I’d talk more about it
but I don’t want to be a bore
it’s silent past midnight
I just want to be done
what I agonized in leisure
about
sort of wish I hadn’t begun
like a rent you might pay
like tribute
at least it’s not paying out
to some grim suit
man I’ve got to get past
all this crap
but for now I’ll just keep
shoveling it
all into the gap


what

2.1293 : 11/16/08 : Steam and Out

Out of steam and
Out of images
out of excuses
but never out of pages
want change so bad
I can taste it
If I won the magic spin
would I waste it
Out of sight and
Out of mind
is it such a tiny prayer
just to become more kind
the foul taste on my tongue
suggests I’ve
screwed up another one
but it’s all done and done
soon to be written off
I’ve had my fun


what

Saturday, November 15, 2014

2.1292 : 11/15/08 : Wide Load

Cops in front and cops behind
the magic light flashed
in my mind
something swaddled
rolling up the road
was it a weapon or a crime
I’ll never know
just like the last time
what was concealed
in the wide load
I try to attach some
significance
I try to reach for some
redeeming magnificence
but I know it’s all a waste
I’ll get a moment
a little taste
but the mystery will
roll away
and tomorrow will be
just another day

what

Friday, November 14, 2014

2.1291 : 11/14/08 : Crisis

I told a friend in a
rambling missive
the crisis had flared up again
and so feeling permissive
I went through all the paces
in the old familiar places
a song smeared out
across a week or more
it’s what it has to be
but it leaves me
feeling poor


what

2.1290 : 11/13/08 : Late Night Crazies

I guess it’s all about the
late night crazies again
seems insane to talk about it
what it might end or begin
I couldn’t feel more ridiculous
but the method is meticulous
mark the door marked out
and just rush in


what

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

2.1289 : 11/12/08 : Promises

Promises promises
what’s one more slip?
So many crazy spills
betwixt the cup and my lip
maybe that dream I had
didn’t mean squat
but the suffering sure showed up
right on the dot
I’m claiming force majeure
for the greater good
maybe I’ll get it next time
like I know I should
have done tonight
well it’s hits and misses
and me and my damn
broken promises


what

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

2.1288 : 11/11/08 : Twisted Path

The twisted path and
how it got you here
puppet strings pulled by
winds of change and fear
a place that feels too
unsustainable
a chance for something better
still feels attainable
questions that hang
tragic in the air
mutual doubt
a twist path from here to there
feel that we must
begin retracing steps
back to zero or
Wherever disenchantment crept


what

2.1287 : 11/10/08 : Audacity

The act of stunning audacity
stymied by hope
and the dream of
reciprocity
is one hundred a
strong enough force
to hold the citadel:
of course
I’ll leave it to
some morrow
maybe to be subsumed
in a well of sorrow
but I’ll choose
my narrative track
someday I’ll drop this element
onto th’eternal
stack


what

Sunday, November 09, 2014

2.1286 : 11/9/08 : Loop (Stuck)

Can’t seem to wrench my mind
out of the loop it’s stuck in
tried to keep it open
somebody shoveled muck in
tried to maintain a filter
but who knows what should be allowed
the winning cast of days
the path the loop plowed
I could look back on it
from many years ahead
afraid of what will come to pass
and who might end up dead
and what could get caught up
in history’s wide scoop
most afraid that ten more years
could find me still stuck in the loop


what

Saturday, November 08, 2014

2.1285 : 11/8/08 : Numbers

I’ve played my share
of the magic numbers game
mostly all the dice
rolled out the same
hard to pick out the signal
from all the noise
observation and the chance
at precision it destroys
tough to be sensitive
tough to empathize
tough to see revealed
the grim equations ‘fore your eyes
and if this console blows
it’ll take you out redshirt
but hey put it off as you might
we all end up feeding dirt

what

2.1284 : 11/7/08 : Anomaly

The anomaly: last came first
well actually second
there’s that bubble burst
and the last will be
second to last
in an ultimate sense
that will get swallowed by the past
and I know that I’ll forget
when it’s time for the next
forget to mark the moment
Whatever it expects
but maybe I’ll remember
make it something new
remember at it, all of it
was written down for you


what

Thursday, November 06, 2014

2.1283 : 11/6/08 : Ritualistic Conclusion

Attempt to drag the thing
to one last
ritualistic conclusion
all elements in place
in all their usual profusion
full of doubt it’s nothing new
new must be a long way off
I guess I’ll have to make it up
while anyone acquainted must scoff
to hear me talking new and first
to hear me talking tough
to hear me say I’m moving on
because I’ve had enough

what

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

2.1282 : 11/5/08 : Gimme

Gimme a freebie
toss me a line
I’m trying rather hard
to resist the decline
It may be quite serious
but here’s my retort:
I nailed it twenty years ago
in a book report


what

2.1281 : 11/4/08 : I Voted

I voted
I helped a friend
a neighbor vote
in the biblical sense
don’tcha know
I call it historic
I call it fine
I call it a supreme victory

I call it mine

what

2.1280 : 11/3/08 : History

History will teach me
Where to draw the line
between the advent of hope
after the steep decline
and if you’re doubting
I can relate
but there is time
to raise
this great estate

what

Sunday, November 02, 2014

2.1279 : 11/2/08 : The Thorn

Even further behind
than you thought before
what’s better a brick wall
Or a slamming door
it’s getting tedious
I’m getting wroth and grim
Paul said the thorn pierced him three times
but I’m not him
And I should laugh of course
the price of bending rules
If you complained about the like
I’d curse you all as fools
but we all like rules
till they apply to us
and I’m no better than the next
So please excuse me while I cuss

what

Saturday, November 01, 2014

2.1278 : 11/1/08 : Memory

I’ve got a mean streak about a mile
wide, inside
that tells me that we only
wreck things for the
drama, comma
but here’s what really keeps
me up at night:
Maybe Fred was right
And what had truly been true once
has died


what