September Poem 63: Today in Religious News: Pantoum

Elisha expressed his deepest remorse.

Multiple nations held under one head

Eaten by bears too harsh a punishment.

Household on one welfare account.

 

Multiple nations held under one head

Jesus in for questioning on

Household on one welfare account.

Reports that Lazarus faked his own death.

 

Jesus in for questioning on

God to be held up as a deadbeat dad.

Reports that Lazarus faked his own death.

Mary claims she never received a dime.

 

God to be held up as a deadbeat dad.

One family nets world’s largest welfare check:

Mary claims she never received a dime.

Government to revoke tax-free status

 

One family nets world’s largest welfare check:

Of each Christian, Muslim, and Jewish church.

Government to revoke tax-free status

In that historians have shown that God

 

Of each Christian, Muslim, and Jewish church

And Abraham conspired to defraud.

In that historians have shown that God,

He had children both by wife and handmaid.

 

And Abraham conspired to defraud.

Eaten by bears too harsh a punishment.

He had children both by wife and handmaid.

Elisha expressed his deepest remorse.

September Poem 62: They, in the City

With any questions, they, in the city,

Were looked on with the sheen of oil

That had separated from the top of

Their jar of peanut butter. And when they

 

Were looked on with the sheen of oily

Tourism in Mississippi. Emailed

Their jar of peanut butter. And when they

In a small online journal that none had

 

Tourism in Mississippi. Emailed

The sky that began to lean down the wall.

In a small online journal that none had

Been published there and not by their own hand.

 

The sky that began to lean down the wall

Brought about thoughts of life in the city.

Been published there and not by their own hand.

With any questions, they, in the city.

 

 

 

Circle

September Poem 61: In the Heart of the City

The Black Mama Collective. Brush in hand,

Laid black ink on the water’s surface to

Come up with the perfect words. Each subtle

Vibration shifting the image in a

Rorschach mask of meaning bleeding sumi

To shades of pink and purple. Because it

Bothers the demon amid the carnage

To watch it glint and slide and spin across

The surface. To bring out the smell. The tar

Of resurfaced streets and artificial

Sweeteners. The oil spill awaiting a

Sheet of paper to print in defense of

The word that rhymed all too well with titty

Black dripping in the heart of the city.

September Poem 60: The Blue Bird of Happiness Bit Me on the Tit

Two birds submerged in

A blue wood. I took the one

That sounded like frost.

 

Tittering twitty

On a stick of wit he sat

That little blue tit.

 

In defense of wit,

That little bird likes any

Word that rhymes with tit.

 

 

 

 

Witty

September Poem 59: Fake News and the Media’s War on Trump

Watch the smoke and breathe in the sizzling crisp

Skin and running fat. Burn into muscle

And scorch the bone about the joke of a

Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Strike like a hot iron glowing red from

The fire placed against the bare skin of

The lower back. The motherfucker that

Was actually getting elected. Strike

The man held down with a knee to the back

Of his head to steady him. Branded slow

And deep. Not that there is any proof that

President Donald Trump had relations

With his mother or anyone’s mother

As far as we can tell at this moment.

September Poem 58: Tennessee Rocket Fuel

Fueled on the short glasses that just appear

At the table. You just wanted one. High

Octane. To loosen up. Light the flame. But

The bartender just kept putting new ones

In your hand. And you took them. Who could let

Free liquor go to waste? You’ve been hiding

Them from your mother. She disapproves of

Your drinking. Even at the family

Weddings. Even at your age. You hide the

Jack Daniel’s till the cops come and then leave.

The Jack Daniel’s till Willie Neslon sings.

The smoking cloud of fiery exhaust fueled

By Jack Daniel’s. Till he won’t shut up. Till

He tells your wife how much he loves her breasts.

 
Launch

September Poem 57: Magic and Elves

Flashes of green and red pouring across

The canvas in bristly brush strokes. Basest

Instinct to disconnect and forget the

Earth. Richard Braxton. Poet in his own

Mind only. Emerging man. The bridge troll.

Rapaciously existing to chase your

Goats. His work won’t be published here. My god,

Unearned expectations. They must have grown

Verdant coils around my pretentious

Heart. The stupid heart that I cut out of

Plywood and nailed to a wooden stake to

Place out in the garden to make people

Think I cared about that Saint Valentine’s

Dinner. Except there was that one time. Once.

 

 

Coincidence

September Poem 56: You Scared the Shit Out of Me

Every time I fart,

My wife is sneaking up to

Try to tickle me.

 

Coincidence

September Poem 55: Unconscious Rape Culture to the Exclusion of Bill Cosby

Born straight white man of dangerous fable.

Bleeding power from blinding word: Maleness.

The manner that so resembled his own

Father that it must be beaten out of

Him. The beast to capture and eat without

Consent. The gibbering and slobbering

Incantations of good morning. Advance

The right hand to dominate. Insistence

That the wronging hand be right. The power

In hand given. The upper body strength

Of social expectation. The height of

Society pulling me up by the

Ears to succeed, to dominate, to grind

Down and subjugate with mere existence.

September Poem 54: Life in Sharp Focus

Rearranged furniture. A blind man’s house

Watch him tap-dance through the living room. Watch

Him bang his toe on the sofa leg. Watch

Him jump to find his shin bloodied on

The coffee table’s edge. Watch him scramble

Over the rocking chair. Watch his world close

In on him. Watch him come to grips lost in

His own house. Watch his surety devolve.

Watch the man weep for his loss of routine.

Watch him bleed for disruption. Watch him dance

Like the child’s toy you wound up rocking,

Bumping, and stumbling into the wall.

Like a life lived without a plan. Like a

Splintered driftwood dashed along rocky shores.

 

 

Focused