From NOEBIE.net
The poems and lyrics included here have been written in the 21st Century. They are presented without context or unifying theme, other than my own halting pen, eclectic interests and prodigal nature.
Many, though by no means all, of them were written using Burroughs' cut-up technique, which is one of my favorite tools for getting my ego out of the way of the creative energy.
He smoked Luckies
And he was a Dodgers fan
I remember watching him shave
With an electric of some sort
And he was a Protestant
And a Kentuckian
And a Democrat
Beyond that I have no idea
Did he shoot Winchester or Remington?
What was his aftershave?
His reels, I’m sure, were Shakespeares
After he died, Mom sold most of his tackle
My sister watched me salt a beer once
And said
“Daddy used to do that.”
It was then that I realized
I’d spent fifty years
Chasing a ghost
He paces
With hands waving and flapping
Electric Slide
Humpty Dance
Prayer
His orange hair
pops to and fro
like a bobber
Since prison, he doesn’t like to be kept inside.
He is on this corner early every morning
and again at 3 o’clock
the hour that his Lord
gave up the ghost
He used to be a hustler
Now all he does is pray
Those who sometimes go out of the way
to pass by his corner
shout from the car
Bless you my brother
Pray for us
You know I will!
Flash of smile
Back to his duty
Electric Slide
Humpty Dance
Prayer
I should have heeded the warning signs
First it was my lightbulbs
Then they came after my junk food
And by the time
They got to
My Lawn-Boy
I was too blind and hungry
To fight
Now I’m tripping over this electric cord
And walking behind a puny seventeen inch deck
And not a hard working immigrant with a Weed Eater
Anywhere to be found
Deported, one and all
The lawns of Suburbia must
From time to time be refreshed
From the oil cans of patriots
And tyrants
I am totally wise to that Donald Trump.
Faith is President.
no leader, especially
will not allow Christianity to be
all talk, no action
one
disgraceful
The Pope only heard
If and when
as everyone
the Vatican is
unlike what is happening now
they are using the Pope and our leadership in every aspect
and as President I happened. I of negotiation.
I am proud to be a pawn
and they should be
consistently attacked and weakened
ISIS would have eradicated the Mexican government and its leadership in the United States
would have been
is happening now
He doesn’t see how
Trafficking and the negative
economic impact
didn’t see the crime
the Mexican leadership is outsmarting President Obama to question another man’s religion or faith.
Crime, the drug.
she came to me in a dream again
with wild scarecrow hair
biting her lower lip
eyes wide as a child’s
a lifetime ago
we were partners in mischief
disguised as suits in the daytime
headbangers after 5
it was like an elaborate joke
that no one else was in on
a conspiracy
for subversion
for world domination
they never knew what hit them
wolves in wolves’ clothing
we were the smartest people in nearly any room
and we could read each other’s minds
people assumed we were lovers
not true
the truth is we adored each other
and we invented an elaborate joke
an intricate game
that no one could have invented
and that only we could play
once in awhile
with scarecrow hair my erstwhile sister
pops in to a dream
to remind me
forbidden beauty
frightening
prodigal
born of abandon confusion neglect longing
lord
may the prayer of these hands
unspoken
unknown
keep him safe
the diovan takes hold and the palpitations come
i am dizzy
frightened and i
need to pee
but i dare not leave
the family
surgery
waiting room
a man i’ve not even met
is cutting her
this waiting is always
the worst part
at least it has been all of the other times
i hope it’s the worst part
today
30 years defending poor blacks
and this undermines those efforts
his wife, in the 2012 election, denies leaking
elin nordegren
came close to brief comment:
“i wouldn’t dress up.”
he suspects that enforcement
is calling for white performers
who use black paint
for a protest
and then gag his opponents
the other republican running was part of a couple’s costume
the former lead
which began making a job that he’s not capable of
tried to explain, hearkening back to a style
to bow out of and act out
insulting black stereotypes
like a battered tiger woods.
days of slavery
persisting for decades
but what has given fuel to the president of the local 9-iron?
i measure the morning by the
coffee left in the brown mug
i wait for her phone calls
i arrange the ones and zeros
i check my blood pressure again
one-twenty-three over seventy-four
heart rate fifty-six…not bad
she doesn’t call very much anymore
we are both busy at work
we are settled into our routines
maybe i ought to call her
i wouldn’t know what to say
just “hello” and “i miss you”
i guess that’s all i’ve got
half a mug of coffee left
the street sweeper just came by
maybe it’ll help with the drainage
wonder if she thinks of me
in the beginning we could spend hours on the phone or in chats going on and on about everything and sometimes we’d argue but we’d also laugh and we were so in love it just seemed like we couldn’t stand not being in contact for even a few minutes and the long distance bills were insane in fact it probably almost paid the rent just the savings on the phone bills once she moved down here
the coffee is cold and bitter
i arrange the ones and zeros
abstract and mathematical representations of things
wonder if anybody even notices them
google probably and also san francisco
at least i think they notice
i feel very abstract myself sometimes and i don’t know whether that’s something to worry about or not since it’s certainly not unique in the world at least from what i can tell from my friends on twitter and it’s not even particularly unique to me though it seems to be more common now than it was in the past or maybe i’m just able to articulate it a little better now or i think i am
i think i am going crazy
at least sometimes i think so
sometimes i just think i’m spoiled
i expect too much from life
weird tapping sound outside the window
dripping of some sort or another
it just got quieter and faster
i’m not really isolated or whatever
i have my ones and zeros
google’s algorithms stand at the ready
they wait for my next transmission
google this is me
google we have a problem
google she used to call me
cold bitter coffee ones and zeros
one-twenty-three over seventy-four
not bad
but let us of the deadly atom, yet torch
become the prey of hostile
subject to proof.
The dark powers of destruction
and villages across the globe
unleashed by science
signifying that first revolution.
That first revolution.
those peoples in the huts
Which divide us.
hope unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us
explore the stars, conquer
and bitter peace
the absolute uncertain balance of terror
undoing of those human rights
for we a new generation of Americans
born
dare not forget today cooperative ventures
the United Nations, our
our adversary,
we offer not the absolute power
to destroy
of its terrors
Let every nation know, tiger ended up inside.
Ended up inside.
stays the hand of mankind’s renewal, as well as change
it is both racing
to alter that we share,
never fear to negotiate
for we are the heirs
let word go forth from this forum for invective
for in this century, tempered by the hand of God
oppose any foe, liberty.
Any foe, liberty.
Communists may be doing it, pay any price, bear any shield of the new
and time and place, to friend final war.
Friend final war.
Arms are sufficient.