vertical stripes down through
darks and shadows bump up
against each other in a vain
attempt at closeness... lines
of a horizontal nature run a
parallel course to the bottom,
and we lift our spirits as if we
were the ones running the show
when in reality, we were just
watching from a distance to
see if the rings of color were
different than people of color
and racism becomes just a
lesson learned before it is too
late to make one's apologies.
25 November 2022
a gold necklace is worn by motherless boy,
shoe shines are given in railroad stations and
law enforcement dare not enter the subways;
we extend our influence throughout the land
and into the mountains as well as in the valleys
that sometimes lead us to the eastern coast...
we pay pennies on the dollar for goods we have
smuggled into this country in the hopes of
turning everyone into addicts... but intervention
always seens to save the day from salvations
and we pray to the gods that perhaps we will
be given another chance tomorrow... the dog
of life bites our backside almost every day
as we slip and slide throught the gutters of
life wondering who will save us from ourselves
and who will bury us with our past memories.
23 November 2022
towards the valley of shadows, lingering at
the point of no return when its flight has been
all but committed... no other prey in the sky,
not the eagle nor any other raptor except the
vulture who soars all alone... the skies have
a way of forecasting the future, as it attempts
to explain the past by allowing the present
to unfold like it normally would each morning
when the birds of prey are all unleashed...
out of the morning sky flies the falcon and the
hawk whose job it is to patrol these parts from
from rabid hunters who walk the grounds at
the end of the sky where it meets the ground,
but it's not flat and not as jagged as the sides
of a mountain but it is home to those who
walk the land in search of others with like
minds and survivor skills the last the winter...
out of the morning skies flies the falcon, hawk,
and eagle on a parallel course of protection,
targeting those who have filed a similar flight
plan with no idea when the currents will fall
short of expectations and the flyers fall down.
23 November 2022
body that lays in the bed without
the warmth of a wool blanket...
a sun drenched mind plays a game
of hide and seek with thoughts
that no longer suit one's personality...
a sun drenched mind believes in
the purity of thoughts that arrive
inside at birth without reconstruction
and are nurtured until the end of
cycle of life after puberty...
a sun drenched mind remembers
its origins just as well as it sees
its past failures that robed it of
its integrities and promises...
a sun drenched mind stammers
and stutters as it registers all its
grievances with the local county
clerk knowing that the terms of
office have exceeded expectations...
a sun drenched mind lives on the
soft shoulder of the road that runs
through the valley of consciousness
when mental hollowness is expected.
21 Novermber 2022
warm sun penetrates the glass
light reflected on a wall makes
the rest of it look dirty...
a fireplace off the the right burns
no logs just elecricity and the
mantel above holds the bose that
is no longer used to spread the
sound from one side of the room
to the other side... a large screen
monitor hangs on the wall directly
above, allowing us to see the news
from a distance when we are not
involved in making it... we sit in
chairs wondering about our past
as it relates to our future and if
there might have been a change
had we looked the other way...
jealous cats keep each other on
their toes and they silently walk
around the hardwood floors on
their way to another room...
the clock on the wall reads close
to noon but in our minds it is
just as easily midnight... we are
surrounded by the light that
enters through the open door,
letting us finally see what we
think our life is all about now.
21 November 2022
state of consciousness and an
awareness of the day without
the presence of darkness... a
day and time unspecified when
afternoon leaves her tears on
the doorstep of the evening
when life has passed by quicker
than anticipated... when one
sees another time blown apart
by its inclusion to the exclusion
of those who came before... we
embrace the morning, the afternoon
and the evening as waves of passing
time that cannot return or be run
again as if we are looking for a
do-over... morning begins while
afternoon stretches and evening lets
us know what has passed... we can
measure the speed of its passing
from our changing appearance and
hope that we will understand before
all our time has been used willingly.
19 November 2022
flying up and into the sky to be with the
birds who raised me as an infant... when
left on the side of the street in an empty
zerox box of paper... I recall them not
thinking too much of me other than taking
the time to give me a name... the name of
"what's-his-name" was what they said to
me when they left... and, the birds swooped
down and picked me up as if they had been
paid to do so... and, as my life unfolded, I
what not to do in a nest with others as that
was the quickest way to get kicked out of
the next and spend the rest of the night on
the cold ground... a cloud stands in my
way or else I would fly into the sky and
soar up into the sun as I gave up my wax
wings long ago, after reading the story of
Icarus... and, grew my own but never had
the desire to escape my surroundings...
we are creatures of habit and only seldom
do we have a habit of being creatures as
the latter does not suit our personalities.
18 November 2022
one way to the other without regrets...
we walk the line both thin and thick
just to see where it will take us... in
the dawn of our lives, we depend on
others for our indiscretions but as we
it becomes out doman and ours to
decide what will we do... or not do
just to keep ourselves out of harm's
way, should we decide to exercise
our desire to be free... and, what it
might mean to someone else should
we decide to do so... as we are not
as free as we would like to be, once
we understand the rules and regulations
associated with that choice... it is not
just a black or white decision, but one
that is defined by a lifetime, moving
not in a straight line but in a line that
flows with the wind and is unhampered
by the wisdom of the trees that stand
in it way when attempting to gain force.
18 November 2022
like it did yesterday and the day before,
and will continue to do until I die...
after that, it can do what it likes as I
will no longer be in a position to care;
off in the distance, the moon highlights
the clouds of the day that did not have
enought time to escape and I can see
faces in their shadowy structures...
off in ther distance, the moon howls
back at the wolves who stare at its
light as if it were the enemy it has
been searching for all its life...
off in the distance, the moon seems
to be sitting on top of a hill, whose
image is barely visible in the dim
light that surrounds the horizon...
off in the distance, the moon casts
doubt on the evening and all the
darkness that is no longer present...
off in the distance, my body walks
ahead of itself as if it is hoping to
see itself arriving instead of being
told it's destination has been reached...
off in the distance, my relatives are
all gathered at the top of the hill in
the hopes of delaying the opportunity
for me to have dinner with them all.
15 November 2022
my mind lays on the day with the
force of a light wind that has no
where to go but in circles... the
eyes of the world look down on
me with an inferior gaze that is
reserved only for my friends... a
light appears off in the distance
as if it were the end of the tunnel
that runs through my thoughts
without stopping for editing... a
distant bird flies around with the
deed to the house while another
flies around with my divorce... I
scratch my head as if wondering
why my mind is doing this to me...
a blade of grass cuts the images of
my dreams in half, leaving a scar
wide enough for the blue ox and
I still don't know who is behind
all the attempts on my attitudes.
15 November 2022
