Freedom Served

This is a nation that has lost all sense of priorities. One suite at the Stupor Bowl cost $277,000! We've military bases in over 135 countries the last time I counted. The right side of the Supreme Court has become the living embodiment of the "judicial activism" many conservatives bemoaned for decades. Government/Business is actually one in the same entity. We send kids off to die allegedly to "spread Democracy" while we bankroll any Autocratic/Totalitarian bastard who will do our bidding. We ignore science at ours and our children's peril, claim to be a "Christian nation" and have made Las Vegas (Sin City) one of America's favorite "family" getaways. We export more firearms than any country on Earth and spend more on the military than all other countries combined. Yet many want to gut programs for the poor, sick, old, unemployed, women and anybody else without a big, fat stock portfolio. We bomb around in over-sized gas hogs affixed with American flags and Support the Troops stickers without having the slightest idea what the people of the Middle East are REALLY mad about. We play video games, listen to I-Pods and talk incessantly on cell phones about anything or nothing, often the latter. We're eating ourselves to death and many of us still believe the world owes us something even though they can't tell you why. We're Rome on Steroids, Fast Food and Caffeine. Freedom served.

Thumbs Down

Rome on…
Fast Food, Steroids, Caffeine, Firearms
Fox News, Netflix, Alcohol, Silicon Charms.
Hedge Fund Operators deserving years in jail
Meth Dumb Misfits searching for the Holy Grail.
Caligula would have loved Sin City.
Nero gave poor the same amount of pity.
Perpetual war, Profiteering Politicians, Coliseum, Super Bowl
The U.S.Anachronism…Empire, extracts toll.

Harvest Time

He was the nameless one
He came from beyond the mountains
He drifted from across the sea
He was silver tongued and impeccably attired
He was gregarious and affable
He wrapped warm fingers amicably around others
He placed pursed lips on silken baby’s skin
He smiled in irresistible, beguiling fashion
He shook the world with his “conservative” voice
He watched, disaffected, as millions died
He walked on humanity, feet never touching the ground
He preached the gospel of prosperity
He castigated those unable to climb the mountain
He berated and belittled those drowning in the sea
He was evil incarnate, the spawn of Mankind’s debauchery
He was everything and nothing, the last thought before sleep
He lived at the pinnacle of mans dreams and the depths of their depravity
He fed on suffering and sold it as salvation
He belched malfeasance and re-packaged it as ambition
He claimed a divine guidance and reverence for the Earth
He was the envy of malevolent men and wanton women
He seized the world and squeezed, and when he was satiated
He departed…over the denuded mountains…across the sullied sea
He still had no name…those who knew him…simply called him… “Profit”

Pyramid Scheme

Taxes eliminated…Plutocrats dream
Union busting…Corporatist scheme
Health care for profit…Social Security
Wealth distribution?…Fiscal impurity
Medicare, PBS…In the sights
Gays and Lesbians…Equal rights
Environmental…Degradation
Massive financial…Deregulation
Nutritional subsidies…In home care
No minimum wage…No welfare
War profiteering…Wall Street smiles
Say “Sig Heil”…On the Pennsylvania Mile
Fascism flying in the land of the free
The day D.C. …….Went B.C.

Humanity on a Cactus Cross

Joshua trees stand sentry
Over harsh landscape
Tarantula…Rattlesnake
Vie with scorpion for hinterland supremacy
Navahos watch, “The Price is Right”
In squalid, sun baked trailers
And in gleaming, gloating legislative halls
Pale-Omythic shadows of Der Fuehrer
Wielding hammers of Malignant Iron
Strive to drive the finals nails
Sealing…The coffin of equality

1956er

We fell asleep under summer stars, the sound of cricket violins
Competing with the nocturnal cries of the killdeer
The Milky Way stretched to infinity and the roar of the freeway
Lying years ahead in a future we could not predict nor comprehend
We played baseball upon fields of Bermuda and clover
In the neighborhood school field with bats nailed and taped together
The ball wet from morning dew until becoming a sinking red ball
Dropping down out of sight behind the skyline of Mt. Diablo
We swam and fished in the Calaveras, the murky waters full of perch
And laid upon the warm boards of the dock until our skins were bronzed
Before jumping in to join the fish and once capturing a large turtle
Then painting his shell like an American flag before releasing him
We raced our bicycles and constructed ramps of scrap lumber
Trying to emulate the daredevil exploits of Evil Kneivel
Baseball cards, worth thousands someday, clicking in the spokes
Of Sting Rays with sissy bars purchased by Dad’s hard earned money
We raced popsicle sticks down gutters of August sprinkler water
And hurled water balloons with amazing accuracy
Until stopping for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and kool-aid
Then playing Monopoly or Tripoly until the inescapable call for dinner
We made excuses for undone chores and slipped quietly outdoors
To wrestle in sticky air and tired grass getting itchy all over
Then raced back to the schoolyard to play hide and seek
The shadows creating mysteries, to be deciphered by amateur detectives
We knew nothing then of war, of politics, of avarice, of hatred
And we faced the world with the reckless abandon only youth can provide
Never imagining or even considering the cruel realities of tomorrow
Humanity’s seemingly endless descent into the pit of debauchery
All this…And so much more…Thank God…For That

Made in the Shade

Grass replaced dirt…A new driveway paved
One house long abandoned…Gratefully saved
Men painted…and planted…flowers abound
But the high point for me…was new tree in the ground
As Fall brought chilled nights…the young, sapling tree
Dropped its tiny, cherished leaves…on lawn now dewy
Its slender, barren limbs…so puerile, so exposed
So alone, braved winter…without any clothes
I drive by often…and pay respects to that tree
And envision a day…it will rise beyond me
Children may play…’neath long, spreading forks
Perhaps a picnic one day…complete with wine cork
Of course the tree will grow older…perhaps, so will I
One day “my friend” on the corner…will be unaware that I die
Yet until that day arrives…I shall go on being enchanted
Perchance a “new life” awaits…those who are planted

Teares on Flaxen Petals

Saw a Flower…Walking
Impossible…I’m told
Golden hair…like Daffodil
Perhaps twenty two years old
Swaying on slender stems
Like Tulips… in spring
And for one brief second
When she smiled…I was young again
Saw a Flower…Walking
A young, fresh Marigold
And as I passed her by
I felt like hoary mold

Stiff Upper L.I.P. - Empathy R.I.P.

Sentimentality…today on trial
Gently nostalgic…kindly smile
Pragmatism, obstinate judge
Folks kept sayin’…he won’t budge
Protocol followed…order was kept
Prosecutor smiled…Defendant wept
The State…wanted retaliation
Defense stressed…sweet inclination
Jury said Guilty!...No compassion distribution
Judge pronounced sentence…Death…by electrocution
America hardened…to the bone
The softhearted…weep alone

Only in America

Only in America
Larry the Cable Guy…Wearing Sleeves?
Modesto Ashes…Bearing Leaves?
Rupert Murdoch…Can’t find Jeeves?
Only
Democrats…Indicted for Treason?
Farve comes Back…One More Season?
Lohan’s Dress…”Judged” Eye Pleasin?’
In
Fewer States… Are Claiming Blue?
Bristol stars…In Knocked Up 2?
You Don’t Know Me …
But I Know You
America

Detached

Empathy, Sympathy…Walk a Mile in their Shoes
Lip Service rendered…Dead Democracy Dues
Splintered, Fragmented…The “Me” Generation
Historically Remiss…A Bifurcated Nation
Ax Whacks to…The Social Safety Net
Guns for Butter...Lead Based Regret
Mother, Daughter…Father, Brother
Wave the Flag…Blame the “Other”
Deviation, Separation…Malcontenting
Plutocratic Operators…Unrelenting
Baggers, Birchers, Libertarian Fans
Cold, Covetous…Tribal Bands
Forlorn, Foresworn…Denounced…Panned
The day they amputated
Uncle Sam’s…Helping hands

But the trigger finger…Will still linger

View Through a Worm Hole

Robin Hood’s dead
The Cisco Kid’s gone
Tonto owns a casino
The Lone Ranger mows the lawn
Maid Marion’s on E-Network
Abe Lincoln’s hawking slaves
Socrates demands “bent straws please”
FDR’s digging graves
Locke maintains...rights God given
Beck is ranting Cloward-Piven
And in these times we are livin’
Freud still checks I.D.

Repair and Despair in Re-circulated Air

The Waiting room…Hospital smell
Glee greets Gloom…Heaven meets Hell
Nervous, dazed eyes…Somber, soft voices
Eternal Shifting feet…Agonizing choices
Prayers said…Unheard by Nurses
Crosses clutched…Denying curses
Cerebral Persuasion…”It’ll be all right”
Multitudinous Clock Watch…Day and Night
Perhaps Alone…One Half a Heart
The Waiting Room…The Hardest Part

Eating the Dust of the Eight Ball

Six, seven legged spiders
Spun webs below moon clock
Four three legged mice
Sang Hickory, Dickory Crock
Two, one winged crows
Prepared for their last “flight”
One sightless lonely man
Tapped cane on windy night
Fate can be cruel dealer
You play cards you’re dealt
If lucky coming up Aces
Recollect…worst day you felt

Skull-Druggery

Ripples on the Rio Grande
Still tinkle to the skullduggery
Of Manifest Destiny
The coyote howls
Through apertures of cell phones
Gasping breaths illuminated by moonlight
Thugs bearing Drugs dance
With Sons dealing Guns
U.S.A. embraces NRA
Bong hits…Gang hits…duet
As G=D…in the land of the free
With only the “O”…missing

Prone to Puissance

Power…like a shower
Inundates the willing body
First immersing…then cursing
Many…in its wake
Demeaning, Debasing
A “Soul Shattering” Defacing
As if layers of Humanity
Stripped…in psyche polluted lake
Yet, we aspire to the fire
That doth blaze in hell
After centuries…our senses
Undeniably…and incredibly
Still…immune to the smell

Sunny Bunnies

I remember Weathermen…Gray haired
Bespectacled, Crumpled…Suiters
Now, they’re all…Young Hot Babes
Looking like, servers from Hooter’s
Every Network…Has at least One
Predicting Clouds, Rain, Snow and Sun
With Perfect Teeth…And Bodies to Boast
Reading Temps…From Coast to Coast
Sometimes I Flashback…Way back When
On old Gray Haired…Weathermen

Prevarication Nation

A Phony Baloney…Fraudulent Scheme
Mock Trial…Pipe Dream
Bogus Bills…False Teeth
Cheap Thrills…No Relief
Hypocrisy Overhead…Treachery, haunts the Dead
Fictitious Names…Counterfeit Smiles
Lying Politicians…Working their Wiles
Fake Eyelashes…Fishy Story
Silicon Breasts…Botox Glory
Reality Shows…Liposuction
Illusory Images…Deceit Induction
Pseudo Pious…Perpetual War
Fox News…Faux…Evermore

Missing You in Shades of Blue

If roses had petals the shade of blue
And the Whippoorwill sang slightly off key
If summer grass starved of life saving dew
‘Twould be as I feel, when you’re not with me

If bees in hive made most bitter honey
And kitten’s whiskers did not tickle nose
No fortune in gold…piles of vile money
Could bring beauty of your gentle repose

If crickets violin strings snapped anew
And the rivers of time did all run dry
I’d walk forever’s banks searching for you
Two torrents of love that run from mine eye

If engulfed in roses the color of blue
My heart would beat crimson honoring you

Disen-raged

Walked a Mile…stoned.
Saw Day…break.
Felt the Sun…shine
Watched a Bird…bath
Said Hoo…ray…at…Mid…day
Rinsed my pride…in Even…tide
Flicked on a…Moon…light
Switched off the…Star…bright
Brother, Mother, Sister, Other
Don’t know ‘bout you
Just know ‘bout me
But I feel free…everybody
Free!

Pale Pall

As world grows ever smaller
When “say when” becomes Zen
Humanity torn asunder
When foe knows not his friend
Someday survivors will look back
And he or she will then…Tabulate
How it all…came to violent end
No need to speculate...peer around the bend
The leading culprits…undoubtedly
Grasping, gasping, “angry white men.”

Hole-ly Testament

Guns make “holes” in victims
Guns make “holes” in ground
One sounds Pop, Pop, Pop
The other is “shovel” sound
Guns have rifled barrels
Guns have steel tips
Often Guns leave families
Speaking with trembling lips
Guns were meant for killing
Guns were meant for fun
How many tombstones stand today?
Because of precious…Guns

The Nitty-Gritty of Pity

I am the Sorcerer…let me explain
With wave of my wand…all will feel pain
Crippled, Burnt, Disfigured, Diseased
For 24 hours the distress will not ease
We’ll all “walk a mile”…in another’s torn shoes
We’ll all spend a day…of paying woe’s dues
And when that day is over…I believe we’ll all see
A renewed concentration on the word…Empathy

Snootfull Fruitful

Trailer Trash meets Sour Mash
Big Screen…Pajama Queen
Six Kids…Chaotic Nest
Whole Dam Place…A Filthy Mess
Bubba Loses Job…Wife Can’t Read
She Soon Develops…”Nose Bleeds”
Ain’t No Way…To Live a Life
Bubba’s Chest…Meets Kitchen Knife
GOP Voters?...Well, I Guess!
Six More Kids…Flunking Tests
Planned Parenthood
Less

Hang Yourself ... With Your Own Hope

Duplicity and Congeniality
Oft’ walk hand in hand
The Flame of Insincerity
The Fires of Hope are Fanned
Egregious Ego stroking
Beguiling words do Capture
Meretricious crumbs of Joking
Bring Fears instead of Laughter
Duplicity and Congeniality
Symbiotic Confederates in Crime
Disingenuousness Personified
The tried and true “Pat on the Back”
Patronizing yet so Sublime

Sgt. Gonzalez Visits the Stetsonian

Folded uniform…Old friends
Cactus hills…Home again
Feeling thirsty…Dry ‘round here
Go downtown…Bend an ear
Pull a five…Tell barkeep clear
“Excuse me”…I’d like a beer”
Barkeep stares…Grabs my Five
Slams it down…Man alive!
I demand…What’s wrong with fin?
“Not the fin, son…
It’s the skin… you’re in

Play Within a Play

Amaranthine debate…foolish fellow
The fair Desdemona…dead in thy bed
Love’s wild ravings…applied by Othello
The green eyed monster…that is so oft’ fed

Is love razor sharp…as Bard asks us believe
Where the slightest nick…may so induce death
Or is Stratford’s son…engaged in deceive
Threads of prattle…to educe hushed breath

The Moor of yore…professed “he loved too well”
Yet nary a query…heft upon breath
Now has defined place… in erudite hell
His bride analogous…to ill-fated death

Othello maligned with dark, jaundiced eye?
Or Shakespearean elixir…dubbed cry?

Newsworthy

Whenever things are getting dull
In D.C. there may be a lull
As worthwhile topics keep on failin'
We can always count on Sarah Palin

Beck and Palin...Palin and Beck
Ideological, intellectual cosmic specks
Everyday news is like walking thru poo
Must we wallow in the waste of these two?