~*~*~*~
“Now, Miss Liberty,
How do you wish to pay for those bombs?
American Express?
Of course: thank you.
A pleasure doing business!”
(smile!)
My Quest
I have a vision of a perfect Woman,
I have yet to encounter;
every morning I stand
at the edge of the thundering sea
calling out her name,
yet it seems nothing ever comes of this:
she never comes into existence,
and the sea's waters blend with my tears:
what will it take for her to hear my call?
Should I give up this foolish quest?
Is it the impossible dream?
Is this my fate -
to always dream, never receive?
Fate is like faith: what people rely upon
when the unknown and the future threaten;
when feeling helpless; unsure of their way --
so they say, “That is my fate.”
or they say, “It is God's will.”
No - never will fate determine my life,
I would be my own proof
that if I keep searching for something
burning with desire; fired with passion,
such will come to pass; must come to pass.
And I will turn around and see
what my dream has helped me create.
The key to it all?
Never surrender to the too easy ways,
for what have they to boast of?
Naturist
She swam nude in a jade pool
fed by a waterfall,
free from society's judgment
of such candid natural display
as she swam to me.
I felt strangely exhilarated
standing there, watching her
with just the sun
and warm breeze on my skin,
forgetful of everything
but the moment of anticipation.
She gently touched me
as if she were blind -
and loving hands
filled my body with ecstasy.
Of Tragedies And Horrors
(And other things making up the good life)
Today (I heard the news) I really must wonder:
are humans utterly devoid of compassion?
Incapable of living in a world without war
and other collective madness?
Without the oppression and killing of innocents -
Of people, wildlife, the environment at every turn?
Without violent dictatorships
disguising themselves as democracies
or worse, business corporations whose only goal
is to make money at any cost - the drive of raw greed?
Humans seem incapable of living in such a world.
For without fascist governments pumping them full of fear;
without the news media reporting and exploiting
every misdeed, every crime, every tragedy and horror
- as just another part of normal life -
people would become unhappy, lose interest in their world
and the good life wouldn't seem so good
if there was no spice of violence, no tragedies to gawk at
no one worse off than another.
particularly if they happen somewhere else
provide great entertainment;
are wonderful sources of gossip
without which, for most, life is boringly unbearable.
Now, were I a psychologist
and I had to give a report on such a group,
I would call it psychotic.
Overweight And Hungry
Is it not ironic
that in this country
so many spend money --
lots of money!
to look like a third world person,
while so many there
struggle desperately every day
to stem their gnawing hunger?
Somehow the Jenny Craig's
Weight Watcher's,
and the 30lbs, 30days, $30Magic!
have so many believing
dieting's the only cure
to losing sticky fat
or most importantly
having too much money!
Either way you always lose
something in the end here
and need to come back
again and again.
A friend of mine
of practical
if slightly bent mind,
had this great idea:
open up weight loss clinics
in Haiti and Somalia.
You see? he said innocently,
it'll cost a lot less to operate,
and the effect,
instantaneous, if not permanent!
I wonder if his business
is booming yet?
Plodding The Mindless Maze
Plodding the mindless maze,
herds of bleary-eyed sheeple shuffle;
jostle and crowd 'neath ancient towers
moldy and cracked, ready to crumble
with the touch of a child's hand.
Joining jeers, cheering multitudes
applaud their own laugh-track --
commercial-driven stupids
too ignorant even to qualify as fools --
somehow enduring unaware
parading their emptiness of mind
briefly upon the plastic stage
in the worst-ever bad-acted sitcom.
But what does it matter to them?
They know just enough to realize
no one is watching their antics
no one cares when they tumble off
tired, drunk, diseased, depressed,
their inflatable life pin-pricked:
it's all the reality earth can offer.
The worst show ever, that it is,
but it's on every available channel
and it's prime time all the time.
Poisoned Earth
Ever wonder
what poisoned the earth?
Ever thought that maybe
somehow, something
horrible
happened to her?
In the beginning
In the beginning...
but what do we know
of that?
A man had a brother
became jealous
killed him:
slowly the earth
absorbed the brother's blood
by a million tiny veins:
that blood
spread throughout
the earth:
a deadly poison:
Whatever man sows,
that he shall also reap:
He killed his brother--
gave his blood
to the earth
sowing death into the soil
with jealousy
A poisoned blood entered
a virgin earth
raping her
through murder:
How could her children
not be murderers?
They have never understood
their past, their guilt
They do not believe
they cannot hear
the cries
they cannot feel
the pain
nurtured by a poisoned earth
suspended
between Heaven and Hades:
what can they know of life?
of death?
Precocious Passion Passed
(A Lament)
A colorless autumn field;
dried grass moving in the wind
waiting for the fire;
all that remains
of
love once sown here.
We called this place our heaven:
a song-filled haven
where we hid
our sinful pleasures.
In the passion of Summer
it surely was,
but now smoke rises
as a different fire burns.
I watch
a hungry fire consume that past
until nothing remains
but blackened, barren ground
exposed to rain and wind.
I cry in silence,
knowing my tears can never bring back
summer’s sweetness
nor be enough to saturate the soil
and yet the floodgates open
and tears flow like rain
upon a thirsty soil.
Primordial Passion
Tara and I met one day
on the golden shore
of an uncharted island:
it could have been on earth.
I sailed in from the sky
on silent silver wings;
Tara emerged to greet me
from the tossing blue sea:
I stepped away
from my silver suit
and lay upon the singing sands.
Tara unveiled her body
from the seaweed cover
mermaids often hide in:
We gave ourselves a day
such as would make
the Devil himself, blush!
It matters not
for to us that day
it was what is called love:
she wanted the child.
Priorities
To welcome me today:
a cold, empty, gray shore
and even colder waves
crawling hungrily over the sand...
A smog-filtered sun rising
hesitantly above denuded trees
casting uncertain light
through dissipating shadows of night.
Tears fill my eyes.
Why?
Why must I think of those thousands
condemned to death today
because so few understand
the rhythm of life;
so few accept the call of compassion
that would change everything?
That could even stop death?
That would stop the spread of war?
And I really wonder:
Do we need military forces and weaponry
To protect our way of life?
By what law do we deny others
the right to their own way of life?
How great can such a law be,
when children die of hunger
and the homeless fall in the streets?
What if we took all that we spend
defending or protecting ourselves
to alleviate poverty; to feed the hungry:
whom would we have to fear then?
Ah, but so impossible, isn't it.
I feel a fathomless sorrow
for wasted lives and pointless deaths
as greed spreads hungrily over this world,
dragging death in its wake:
if we refuse to see, who then
shall teach us of empathy and compassion?
Profit
To profit from others’ failures
one need only reject life's simplicity
and elevate the complex
to godly status!
How easy it is then to maintain power
over the ignorant and the simple
at no cost to oneself!
Rulers rule
for a better life, they say;
preachers preach
to keep us from hell, they say;
doctors poke and frown
over our physical no-no’s
for the sake of health, they say;
judges pronounce
over our law-breaking...
for law and