2.1408 : 3/11/09 : The Reflection

The reflection of

one thousand mistakes

in one thousand mirrors

the word as it is

spoken in the

presence of one thousand hearers

equalling the angle

of the incidence

the enemy’s point

and I’ll assume

I’m hearing things

as I stall at the great disjoint

what

2.1407 : 3/10/09 : Drawn In

Drawn in again into some

dumb time spiral

My head bemused distracted

by the influence viral

And even after all this time

since I said I think I’m on the mend

the moving finger writes:

and having writ hits send

Guess I knew a long time ago

this routine would just get harder

A little thick on my feet

a little less in the larder

well here’s a clue

well it’s a bomb filled with love

take it to the high cathedral

detonate it in the name of

what

2.1406 : 3/9/09 : Wherewithal

What if you haven’t really got the

wherewithal to pull out of this

long slow spiral you’ve been

circling for years?

All the little increments

and petty indulgences

and all the while the grime is

building up in the gears

keep flying off the handle

get hot under the collar

all my buttons getting

pushed from every side

that mountain isn’t getting

any shorter by the minute

by now there’s just so many

things I let slide

what

2.1405 : 3/8/09 : Dear Lord

Dear lord

what’s it going to be now

I think I’ve really

had enough of it this time

scrape my chair back

take my bow

Hear me pray oh lord

for the new paradigm

what

2.1404 : 3/7/09 : Temptations

I’ve got temptations

and what else is new

time to show of that patience

I ask from you

do the right thing for a change

do the smart thing

no need to perfect or rearrange

and nothing in my hand I bring...

what

2.1403 : 3/6/09 : Protocol

I wrapped up the protocol

put my head up, oh my gol

I guess I need it bad

I’ve had a nasty run of

indolence sickness

nocturnality and unforgiveness

don’t look now but I’m

genre-bending again

another pipe dream bubble

to prick with a pin

I want so bad to

gin up that perfect nerd bait

that none can afford to

neither embrace nor hate

what

2.1402 : 3/5/09 : Restart

Restart restart

give me another chance

this time I’ll do it perfectly

nail the little dance

that I surmise that you want

me to do

when you fire up that beat

and pull out that big gun of yours

start shooting at my feet

what

2.1401 : 3/4/09 : Reason

I make up my own reasons

why not knock them down

all reason’s fabrication

Least in Meta-town

But much as I’d like to deny

each failure hurts

And I’m so damn sick and tired

of how it all proceeds in fits and spurts

what

2.1400 : 3/3/09 : Clock

On somebody else’s clock

could be working, taking stock

seem to be getting sicker

not quite what was on the sticker

from here things seem pretty set

most change is a losing bet

the it’ll never happen quartet

playing right into my ear

and other horrors of future years

I should think of some distinction

save this non-starter from extinction

on the trash heap now so high

what, I’m an optimistic guy

what

2.1399 : 3/2/09 : Beaches

The profligate diaspora

of a certain class

or shade out of a bottle

whatever: tits and ass

Go conquer all the beaches

You’ve surely landed soft

well I’m no hotsie totsie

but it keeps my hope aloft

I might find my magic berth yet

hot and biting ice-cold peaches

juices drying on my lips

dark glasses gazing over beaches

what

2.1398 : 3/1/09 : Excuse

I’ve got a great excuse

for skipping out

it’s Doctor’s orders

Got to be over and out

what

2.1397 : 2/28/09 : No Tomorrow

There is no tomorrow for

the one you failed to say goodbye to

here I am struggling to finish

something I said I wouldn't

even try to

Another poet struck down

more sweet words are lost

Sometimes I wonder if

even God pauses to count the cost

There's no tomorrow I've

been waiting 37 years

and every greater ecstasy

came with its batch of

bitter tears

And if we had a thousand years

we still couldn't say enough

I hope at some strange angle

I'll be called upon to call that bluff

what

2.1396 : 2/27/09 : Ta Da

I don’t even want to

gin up the usual

blah blah blah

reach deep into your

little hole and

pull out a cliché

ta da!

what

2.1395 : 2/26/09 : The Music of Failure

Is it any less a failure

to do just for doing

to fill in a blank

to check off a box?

I try to remember

all of the feelings

the joy and believing

the key that unlocks

the door to a shared place

a light across a face

seen to be a friend

I missed one last chance

still you told me to dance

and that poem doesn’t end

what

2.1394 : 2/25/09 : Persist

Why persist? why persevere?

It's not as if I'm getting anywhere here

Not like it's not obvious I'm not one of those

who fate or God or chance or whatever chose

these days it looks to me like pure defiance

I'll rub your face in how I never had a chance

I will just churn it out till I cease to exist

never knowing if it really matters if I persist

what

2.1393 : 2/24/09 : Important Stuff

I’m sure I won’t regret

another day

my decision to

ignore important

stuff outside

hang up my quills

and jump in for the ride

And when it all comes

back to zero,

Nobody’s going to

call me a hero

but a few more people

just might

get where it’s coming from

what

2.1392 : 2/23/09 : Get Ahead

Look at everybody trying to get ahead

Scattering before the fall maybe hide under the bed

oh cool check it out there’s a lamp under here

what a coincidence a whole raft of new things to fear

the whole world’s acting like the pins got pulled

were we all eating sand while the world got sold?

could it get so bad we’d feel better off dead

maybe if we truly lose the dream of getting ahead

what

2.1391 : 2/22/09 : Last Time

Once you accept

that you really don’t want

what you know that you must

What then?

For a while you can

postpone the inevitable

You want to do that again?

tell yourself

this is the last oh oh

this is the last time

Oh yeah this is the

last last time

or maybe transition

or manual transmission

One more act of exhibition

while I still am in my prime

what

2.1390 : 2/21/09 : Anticipating

Anticipating the time crunch to come

only a week left to add up the sum

sure it will be another cluster freak

And who knows when the static’s going to peak

Everyone’s getting tense and jittery

Bitching and sweating the economy

Not so serene about what we can’t change

watch the corpse turn to something rich and strange

I’d almost rather see it all fall down

I said that once a source of my renown

I was a kid I want to take it back

If you’ve the chance please tell that to the pack

oh we’re all boiling with anticipation

they’re ringing warning bells on every station

Nobody knows how deep this hole might sink

Or what might change completely in one blink

what

2.1389 : 2/20/09 : Extreme

I guess indeed

you’d have to call

this way of things

extreme

I filled my eyes

with festering light

until it all

seemed like a dream

but

I think I’ll have to

fake it waiting

for the vessel

of transformation

and howsoever

I can manage

resist the grim seduction

of the information

what

2.1388 : 2/19/09 : Sweet

You know there’s a reason that

I call you sweet

oh, it’s a taste

I like a little salt

I like a little tart

but I only got one baby so

let me repeat:

oh it’s a taste

a taste

a taste

sweet like sugar

sweet like honey

Wouldn’t trade for any money

it’s a taste

sweet like mango

fresh papaya

juice dripping from my chin

I’m no liar

it’s a taste

you know there’s a reason

that I call you sweet

oh, it’s a taste

a taste

a taste

what

2.1387 : 2/18/09 : CHEESE

This book of petty sorrows

requires more CHEESE

a sunset and a butterfly

if you please

I’ll ride off into that sunset

on my faithful mare

While I serenade you

run my fingers through your hair

Why can’t everything

just fucking be nice

I asked the Lord

I asked that bastard twice

I asked three times

but it was no charm

well bless my soul

I’ll move it to the Cheese Farm

I like butter, I like milk

I like things made of cotton and silk

I’m going to walk it if I

have to walk it on my knees

Because I’m pretty sure the moon by now

is made of CHEESE

what

2.1386 : 2/17/09 : Transition Protocol

Transition protocol

are you expecting to

get it now, get it all

you have not begun to go through

what

2.1385 : 2/16/09 : Gimmick

3,577 : 42 ?

The Gimmick is only good for one shot

pretty soon you’ve got to put up

whatever you’ve got

And it’s the nature of the beast to fail and fail

Oh man I’m getting carried out of this one in a pail

hey it’s not gimmick it’s just me and you

amazingly enough I’ve still got work to do

and a few tricks of the trade no that’s not the same

you gotta have a few tricks up your sleeve

to play the game

what

2.1384 : 2/15/09 : Failing Inspiration

Failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: failing inspiration there is nothing but persistence: fate may show you mercy if you lower your resistance

what

2.1383 : 2/14/09 : Laughing

I’ve got the equipment

but I’m not laughing

Finish this trash heap

while I’m paragraphing

So many things

I declare done right now

and hitch my desire

back up to my Gospel plow

what

2.1382 : 2/13/09 : Over

Nothing’s really ever over

so it appears

Not a dozen not a hundred

not a thousand years

not ends of days

of city states

no end of deadlines

or apocalypse dates

Though it all be drawn

into the swollen sun

yet still it will not yet be done

what

2.1381 : 2/12/09 : Authority

Never going to be

anyone’s authority

on anything

never a book

never a teevee show

trying to figure just

what I’ve got going for me

on this weird fling

just what’s my hook

maybe I’ll never know.

what

2.1380 : 2/11/09 : Catching

It must be a kind of virus

it must be catching

no matter what I do it comes to this

more desperate last minute scratching

Got no bootstraps, got no boots

got no strength in my arms

I’ve got a way of saying the wrong thing

and you are immune to my charms

I’ve got no real hope of real change

it’s always something too important to wait

We’ll get to that as soon as things settle

provided I don’t snap at the bait

but I’m not going to leave it lying

I am going to get up fierce and fine

and soldier through one more aftermath

and struggle up one more steep incline

what

2.1379 : 2/10/09 : Window or the Floor

If nothing gels if

it all just drags along

If I stay weak when

I want to be strong

What once was one

became two and three

It was easier to worry just about me

It all just turns out

the same every day

it all just turns out

not to matter anyway

self fulfilling prophecy

bad attitude

feel lucky: there’s a whole lot

longer list I could include

put the pedal to the metal

floor this bitch

pretend to be so spiritual

while I pray to become rich

I’m not tempted by

the window or the floor

and it must be fifteen years

since I really tried to find the door

what

2.1378 : 2/9/09 : One Bell Still

3,569 : 34 ?




Every good intention

transubstantiates to

alchemy

that’s the kind of days

I get born into

oh and

woe is me

I can’t fret about

just what might come

it doesn’t do a thing

and though the point

I’ve come to

makes me feel dumb

there’s one bell still left

to ring

what

2.1377 : 2/8/09 : Matter

Sooner or later

does it really matter

Another hopeful illusion

left to shatter

the human race

is a layer of slime

ignore the fancy structures left behind

that shit is well past its prime

and my mind is in

cloud cuckoo land

It doesn’t matter

Cause this one

is long out of my hand

but some stranger

that I never met

said I was the man

So I guess I’m going to

have to

make things matter

if I can

what

2.1376 : 2/7/09 : Unbind

Unbind unwind unwrap

the patient and

how the string doesn’t snap

before we land

back in the garden of the

lovely days

oh the sea oh the sand

oh my childish ways

If I could lift the weight

that presses on us

I just know that thing would change

no black, all plus

I’m such an optimist

it’s unjustifiable

Cheerfully predisposed by nature but

disappointment is reliable

And there’s nothing to be said

to buy me any scrap of real hope

I guess the sunshine always free unbound

at least allows me to cope

what

2.1375 : 2/6/09 : Good Sense

Simulated good sense and

don’t leave everything for last

everything else about this

evening stinks of the past

I don’t care about anything right now

Not even the momentary sad effort

so take a bow

what

2.1374 : 2/5/09 : Make A Plan

Make a god damned plan

make a god damned plan

There’s no more excuses

You stupid man

write a couple of lists

If part of you resists

Kick that dumb part in the junk

and just get on with it

It doesn’t matter what

just slam the lid on but

and the plan will surely go

haywire

but you gotta move before the door

is shut

what

2.1373 : 2/4/09 : Reed

When the reed had bent

as far as it could bend

when the moving finger writ

its message and hit send

I felt bruised but it

appeared it wasn't broken

and couldn't deny the

last word I'd heard spoken

what

2.1372 : 2/3/09 : Soldier

The dangers I endured

for example for transcendence

of a chemical variety

a temporary release from sanity

I’ve been a soldier in my way

You will reel and spit to hear me say

I took my chances for the sake

of one child soldier

and now that I am

so much older

I forgo the service

of the smuggler

in a so much simpler way

And all who were illuminated

agreed the that the question

was a trap, and baited

but me I just waited

like a soldier

like a dog told to stay

what

2.1371 : 2/2/09 : Suture

3,561 : 26 ?

How in the world can I still be expecting

after something like twenty years

spent in reflecting

Is there anything really left there

or just an image bound up in

steel strings and coarse hair

You could theorize that we hope because we must

just enough to kick us into low gear

shake off the rust

never enough to escape gravity

or shake the bitch up

a suture in time

and every rhyme it's going to stitch up

I crudely sew one disjointed season to another

pretend a whole is coalescing

fake it till you make it brother

this time I'm a quit while I'm ahead

uncharacteristic

but this stone's been thoroughly bled

what

2.1370 : 2/1/09 : Pushing

It's a fine analogy:

pull with all your might

against

your own pushing

while all the while

gravity presses you

firmly to the ground

and if you think it's fear

that keeps me

from pushing every

inch

of every button you've got

well it's not

neither lack of desire

or inner fire

in fact that sounds just fine to me

but my pushing spirit's

bound by courtesy

what

2.1369 : 1/31/09 : Crown

Stumble across the traces of

someone else’s good intentions

think I’ll skip a week if you don’t mind

apply for more extensions

I kept on expecting for

the hammer to come down

well when it was I guess I’ll

be the one to wear the dunce’s crown

I should learn to write a chorus

brush up on my stale guitar

never enough time or money

that cliché won’t get me far

but if I had to guess

I’d bet on this one not ending as much

with four fifths of the journey left to slog

I hope I haven’t lost my touch

what

2.1368 : 1/30/09 : Just What I Want

Why do I lie to myself

when it just doesn’t matter

When there is no hope at all

no illusions to shatter

Listen to this if you doubt:

There’s not even absence of hope

it doesn’t come in this equation

it’s wholly outside this thing’s scope

maybe you’re not pretending

it’s simple as pie

So easy, ignore me

I’m that kind of guy

and it’s just what I want

Fly low without lights

not a blip on your radar

still free in my long nights

what

2.1367 : 1/29/09 : Sadness and Pride

Three quarter sweep

the last hour keeps

me glued to the screen

try to figure what you mean

I’ve let too much slide

pushed by sadness and pride

Should let the small stuff go

I still sweat it though

another day I didn’t

start that little thing

another day rushing

to write a song I well

may never sing

And I don’t even value my pride anymore

and the sadness looks so very much like a door

and I prattle along

and I call it a song

and the last quarter sweeps

for the rest

its own council keeps

what