how far back can you go
it is possible to make it all the way
back inside the womb
spinning in slow motion
like a cosmonaut
conjuring all the possible ways
—to make it out
once finally let loose
into this godforsaken place
july two thousand twenty-two
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you put a few pieces together
and then you move on
incapable of finishing what you started
disrupted by the forces that be
either generated here on earth
or from far away dimensions
you don’t know where to go
on any given day
drifting like a grey ghost in
a technicolor world
chasing rainbows without end
ruby-throated beauties without song
what remains is what grows
this much we all know
and so let’s dig instinctively
mimicking the flying queen
burrowing not too deep underground
for as long as it takes
july two thousand twenty-two
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A trick question if I ever heard one
& I quickly respond with something like
sometimes it’s not who but what
[I happily elaborate]
offering WaPo as an example
who magnanimously gives me
three free articles per month
So what then
what else have you been reading lately
or may I venture a guess or three
is it MSN dot com
or Craigslist
or volumes & volumes of obscure entries
courtesy of Wikipedia
Yes oh yes
indeed and all of the above
expanding my mind a few terabytes at a time
believing whatever I consume
I’ll be able to take with me
Such as the New York School of Poets
july two thousand twenty-two
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Even on vacation the bombing
does not cease
heard thousands of miles away
from the glorious oceanfront
morning noon & night
july two thousand twenty-two
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i.
what shall we talk about
of course nothing is an option
but there must be something
you’d wish to discuss
an object & a subject perhaps
such as a damsel in distress
ii.
there’s the recent death of Albert
but that’s a private matter
and sweet Josephine is out the question
for she is alive & quite well
endlessing walking the shoreline
throwing sticks & picking up stones
iii.
if it’s a fantasy that suits you
please return from the one since birth
twisting & turning your own fate
into a tragic or comedic poem
here I am beginning to recall
where you left off the last time
july two thousand twenty-two
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there we go
playing with fire again
believing that finding our way
is by way of light
every night we die a slow death
only to be reborn
morning after morning
neither learning by past mistakes
nor desirous of trying something new
instead we go back to the fire
believing we can conquer it
believing if only we can make it last
throughout the night
we shall never have to die again
july two thousand twenty-two
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I’ve been waiting for a song
to come my way
one everyone sings along with
offering rhyming references
like kryptonite or doctor killjoy
offering messages I’d like
to understand but cannot
allowing the mind
to escape the body
if only for a few melodic minutes
or an entire lifetime
july two thousand twenty-two
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it’s no real surprise I heard him say
and it got me to thinking
whatever could possibly be
firearms made by 3D printers
ones with real-world capabilities
created by ordinary men in their lairs
focused on nothing but themselves
they make ammunition too
and anything you can possibly want
made in america & for america
always for sale at a steep steep discount
taxed by a government allegedly
of the people & by the people
haphazardly for the people
july two thousand twenty-two
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Don’t build a wall around your own suffering,
it may devour you from the inside.
— Frida Kahlo
I left the spade in the garden
jammed into the earth five days ago
It may be buried by now
for all I know
or it may have become uprooted
and sailed away with the wind
I don’t live in Kansas anymore
in fact I’m not quite sure where I am
some days it feels like somewhere
in the middle of Peloponnese
others in the heart of Sanremo
I’m finding getting to know
my new surroundings
to be a bit of a challenge
but I’ve committed myself
to make it work in the long run
having collapsed
all the walls around me
july two thousand twenty-two
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excuse me but something
has taken over my life
call it a shadow I’ve never known
call it anything that you will
just understand what you see
can’t possibly be me
dreams are everything now
a new reality filled with pathways
carved through the pines
filtered light from the heavens
spotlighting all the souls
we’ve come to know
it’s as if I’m going in & out
of consciousness
smiling on the hour every hour
throwing boomerangs beyond
the tallest of trees
always zeroing in on my flesh
each & every time
july two thousand twenty-two
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they tried telling me
nobody knows what happens
after the lights go out
making me chuckle
beneath my breath
knowing full well the lights
(as long as they’re not man-made)
can’t possibly ever extinguish
july two thousand twenty-two
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there is nothing riding on this game
but I’m watching it anyway
on a hot summer’s day along with
bukowski & harry caray
and some woman
I don’t recognize
of course harry had already
seen this game
by virtue of special permission
while hank consumed two beers
for every one of ours
repeatedly asking the woman
for her name
after a while she became
irritated that he couldn’t remember
and so the pretty dead lady
walked out of our lives
just like that
no questions asked
july two thousand twenty-two
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nobody told me what was going on
but I was playing along
sitting in the rear
visualizing all the stations
right there on the wall
the last time I’d been here
I got sick for a month
experimented with oranges
and tangerines
cucumbers & strawberries
anything that could possibly
alter my state of mind
chocolate ice cream
baileys & irish whiskey
usually provided the greatest relief
this time I’m not going in
just zeroing in on those coming out
acting as if they’ve been
saved again
for the umpteenth time
july two thousand twenty-two
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they were very young
but you wouldn’t have
noticed by their egos
an indirect result of half-engaged
parents & multiple
multi-media campaigns
they sat around the jumbo
jar of peanut butter
positioned squarely
in the center of the kitchen table
the geometry of which
allowed for six comfy chairs
on plastic casters
the oldest would lean back
and pontificate about
the ills of the neighborhood
and the majority would concur
agreeing something must be done
militarily if necessary
july two thousand twenty-two
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what else is there to do than question
the degree of violence in society today
maybe we shouldn’t flatter ourselves
until we actually let loose the nukes
talk about depopulating the world
an ambitious goal somehow achieved
much sooner than previously imagined
at a cost much lower due to stagflation
and as economists rethink their stances
victorious warlords take on more land
july two thousand twenty-two
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I’ve got this idea in my head
I’m on vacation
that it’s become my occupation
debunking conspiracy theories
like the reversal of poles
or the inevitable grand gesture
from snake island
I often find myself
fishing for my mother
in deep cold trout pools
the depths of which producing
the darkest of blues
I’ve come to terms
with my misfortunes
and dash away to old cities
as if I’m a bored to death
like Louis or Lestat
The best part is I can
jump anytime I like
from princess cruise ships
putting myself in a position
to press rewind
for hundreds of years
or fast forward beyond
my imaginary tears
july two thousand twenty-two
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jdubqca 