Shooter

They exist in their own bucket reality
Where man is a monkey
And the monkey is a child with
A handgun

“Our men are on it
We’ll have this all
Straightened out by
Tomorrow, I hope”
But the portal’s far too big
Too far ahead
And there’s something making its way
Around through flecks of shadow
So troubled
So anxious
As are we

Whose ignorance will pull the trigger this time

Our hearts said no
Our souls said no
Our minds said no
Even that split-second reaction before thought kicks in
Screamed NO
So why are we still wondering
Where we went wrong
All your friends for this scoured
Peel of grits and
Irritable but endurable
Sociopolitical ingrowth

I’m already marked
So I’ll seize the pistol
Knowing you’d never
Fire anyway
Thumbing the cylinder
It's not even loaded
Somehow I doubt
For the lack of bullets

You always got your man
You just never had to do it yourself
before now

(Oh, how a very literal dream can become such an allegory. Sheesh.)

Opalescent

You broke me out of one
Simple standard
To force me onto
(In Indian style
All the while)
Any other cliché
One for the other
It’s not okay
But I’ll endure
It’s my middle name

Where have we heard that one before

Whatever happened to sincerity
Does it really come in exchange for
Manhood?
Nobody wants a sacrifice
It’s even worse than
Picking sides
Nobody cares for the ineffectual
Loser
He’s useless as the

Blank, blank page
Blank, blank screen
All these dots and squiggles
All these pretty/ugly people
Selling you things you could never need
Create the problem, hand out the solution
Cheap as free

I want to bare teeth
Like a tree bears fruit
Not a perfect white
But blinding enough to kill you
If I wanted to
But I don’t want to
I just want us off our asses
And into the sunlight
Hot and festering
the entire way

To Do 2

-More with two or three completely different focuses. Some may call unfocused; challenge that notion.
-Minimal. Lose leeching articles.
-Take "form" seriously. May feel like example of style over substance. Humor it.
-Speaking form: syllable-centric lines and stanzas. Things people generally don't notice, but more rewarding to investigative reader.
-Points are great in their own right. Make some more reader interpretative.

-Any idea that feels/sounds ridiculous, explore before discarding.

Just Like So Much...

I want to give you so much shit
But what's my problem
At least you're pursuing some cause
What the hell am I doing?
Maybe I'm just jealous

What the hell do I believe in?
Art?
Even then I still scoff
at 90% of it
Like do they have it or
are they pretentious idiots?
What makes me the authority?
Just breathing?
It's not enough

I want to give you so much shit
But I already give myself plenty
For so much as thinking it

Last Asteroid

Static in the sidewalk cracks
I see you stirring as energy
Synergistic slow-motion
Always certain to evade the ghost
And as you reach stair-steps
And splinter
One billion shards of light and glass
Till they coat the screen
Fade out

Fade in
Key autumnal music
The middle of summer
Leaves loosen, fall
Red, yellow, but habitually
In brown
Feet, off-screen
Crush leaves
One billion pieces
Become liquid
Bleeding into the cement

Junkie spaceman
Alone in rocket ship
Coming down from
Last tick
Time passes
Weeks, months
Shudders
In cold sweat
Shaking hungrily
From withdraw
Stares out window
Porcelain earth
Reaches with finger
Touches
Shatters
One billion pieces
Acerbic