K Poems October 2012

“A poet does not live in a vacuum; he is influenced by what happens to him, and to others, by contemporary thought , contemporary art, the changing of seasons, and the environment in which he lives.”—Daniel Jones

The Library

There are no pink flamingos here

no elephants, no monkeys,

just books about pink flamingos,

and elephants, and monkeys.

To the publisher of boring poems

I gave you my best

several times, and

you rejected me.

By the time you realize

how good I am

I will have nothing for you.

Some poets could shit in their hand

throw it on paper, submit it, and

get it published.

Gesundheit

I sneeze, and fear

that I have shaken

everyone in here

amongst all the books

that call out to me

like that finch did

the other day

from our neighbor’s  tree.

My sneeze punctuated

the air like Israel’s bombs

might soon scream over Iran.

The finch’s song was beautiful.

Maybe

maybe no answers

maybe we didn’t

ask the questions

maybe no peace

maybe we didn’t fight

against war

maybe no money

maybe we’re poor

maybe tomorrow.

God wants me to kill

God wants me to kill

these chipmunks

said the country boy

honing his skills with

a weapon.

God wants me to kill

these soldiers

said the country boy

as a private in uniform

in war.

God wants me to kill

these demons in my head

that  I’ve had since I got

back from war;

so he killed his wife,

and he killed his children

and, then, he killed himself.

Nothing guarantees sales

You can write the book,

but will they buy it?

Please

At Christmas, you buy me

something; and for the rest

of the year you ignore me.

Make my gift a phone call

every once in a while, a visit

on occasion

Henry Rollins has a more interesting life than I

I feed the dogs.

I walk the dogs.

I feed the cats.

I pet the cats.

Henry Rollins has a more interesting life than I.

I want to be great

but I kick my dog.

I want to be great

but I spray vinegar

on my cats for fun.

I want to be great

but I don’t hold the door

open for little old ladies.

I want to be great

but I don’t let people in

in traffic: I honk my horn

and yell at them.

I want to be great

but I push people out

of the way to be first

in line at the grocery store.

I want to be great

but I take money

out of the basket at church

on Sunday.

Isn’t it funny; I’m an asshole

but I think that I am great.

None of that really interests me anymore

Bars, and bouncers who want every man

who comes through the door to think

that he could kick their ass, and fuck their girlfriends.

Drunk tanks.

Mental Institutions.

Facing the judge in the morning.

Hangovers.

Blackouts.

Waking up in the morning, and not knowing

who it is in the bed next to me.

“Hey, what’s your name?!”

Meet Lynyrd Skynyrd

Win Two VIP Passes to the

Georgia Throwdown Festival!

said the ad. Too bad, Lynnard

Skynyrd died in a plane wreck

back on October 20, 1977, I think

to myself, reflecting on how,

I have heard that the band is

now down to one original member.

I bet they jam. I bet they jam hard,

but it’s not Lynnard Skynyrd, is it?

It helps my arthritis too, but I live in a Red State

Three tokes from the starting line I am

pursuing a buzz this morning to take the edge

of the mean morning mood that I was  awoken to.

If I get caught, they will lock me up, because

what I do is worse than robbing a bank or raping a child.

A.M. Norm

My coffee is cold,

but my heart is warm.

ABC

Sometimes, I miss the most obvious comma marks.  Then

exclamation marks start shooting out of my brain. I ask why,

and question marks waft from my lips like bubbles from a little kid’s jar.

Our Facebook Kingdoms

I recently blocked people on Facebook who I, basically, like. I blocked them because they ignore me. I will not be ignored!! A long time ago, I was taught not to play God. I was also taught not to deal in outcomes. Sometimes, still, I don’t listen to what I was taught. I am The God of My Facebook Page, and you are the God, or Goddess of your Facebook page. My what King and Queen-doms we have.

A.M. Norm

My coffee is cold,

but my heart is warm.

The Lord prefers that you greet him in style

Could we interest you in this diamond studded

 pure gold casket that his lifetime cable tv inside

to watch while you're waiting for the Lord.

And a 15% gratuity is included

Mercury comes on your plate as part of your fish.

They are feeding you poison, and they charge you

top dollar for the dish.

Some really think this should be our destiny

I deserve to be punished

for thing I have done, for

things I haven’t done, and

for things that I might do.

I deserve to be kicked, beaten,

pissed on. I should own nothing

and be fed nothing. I should be

degraded, worked to the bone

to the grave.

Sometimes I walk the wrong way; forgetting

what it has taken me so long to learn

It’s not a contest

No one is going to take my

fingers away, if they don’t touch

the guitar every day.

The thought of meeting a man in your kitchen

one night after you have turned out the lights.

If you’re going to talk smack

you better step  back out of

my definition of what’s mine

here: the floor under us, you

better get back off of it, and

get on your own way.

When the guy is an ass in person, when he is off the stage, I will not go see him, or her, on the stage, cuz I just couldn't give a fuck about talent if it belongs to an asshole.

They got what they asked for

In a documentary aired on Sunday, Russian President, Vladimir  Putin said

the three jailed members of the anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot, "Got what they asked for.”

Death is a lonely occurrence

even if there are others around.

Sometimes they sob,

sometimes they argue about whether

you should be allowed to die.

Even in traffic

We weren’t born to run

we were born to stand in line

outside restaurants

and movie theatres

and where we work

in our cars; it’s called traffic.

And yet the gift of life

is the most precious thing

that we have been given,

and we should make the best

of it even while standing in line

outside restaurants, movie theatres,

and where we work.

That’s all I’m asking.

Oh no. I seen it coming, but

I didn’t make a move to avoid it.

Now, I am near dead, all my things

in worse than disarray. I ain’t asking

for forgiveness, most of what I lost

is just store bought, and, for the most

part, what is store bought can be

store bought again. I’m asking that

my children don’t die.

We make our own bridges

and then we either cross them

and get on with it, or we stand

in front of them for a lifetime looking

dumbfounded.

Inside Conciliation

I don’t know how it feels to be you.

Worse than that, I don’t, often, know

how to feel to be me.

Um, um, errrrr, errrrr

The economy has begun to recover.

No it hasn’t. We gained jobs. No

we didn’t . Um, um, errrrr, errrrr.

Why Not Run Like Hell

I reject all notions.

I smell no flowers.

I enjoy the smile

of no children.

“They,” are going to win.

“We,” are going to lose.

Dead men make convenient heroes

they don’t rise from the dirt to dispute

what we have to say about them.

If they were dickheads, we can paint

different pictures of them, and sell

their images, and words to the world.

I’ve got to turn to evolution for the solution to

my revolution.  Some things take longer than

a peanut butter, and jelly, sandwich to make.

Sadness while eating a plate of French fries

The second saddest thing to occur

when you are eating a plate of French fries

with ketchup is when the ketchup runs out,

and, of course, the saddest thing is when

the French fries run out.

Contraceptive Mandates

Rape your date

 she doesn't have to have it.

Space Ship Jam

I’ve never invited myself to a dinner

where the purpose is to get the ones

invited elected.  I’d like to say that I

have never invited myself anywhere,

but that would be a lie. Life is much

too short for me to wait around

and not get invited to what I want out of life.

Ninety percent of the people care.

Eighty seven percent, of the ninety percent,

are doing nothing but just trying to hang on.

Ten percent are having sex.

Some are getting gas.

I am furious at the nail that I banged

onto my office wall by the light switch.

The nail has completely let me down.

First, it would not hold the picture of

myself that I hung on it, a very tough

guy picture of me, with hardly any hair,

making fists, and trying to look mean.

I was a father of little ones at this time,

so mean was hard for me to play.  Those

kids kept me smiling.

Anyway, back to the nail. It would not hold

the picture of me that I hung on it. Joan

knocked it over every time that she turned

my light on, and we both came to realize

that that was not the place for that picture.

So, I tried hanging my bullet bracelet, and

this does not work either: it, too, falls to the

ground. The God Forsaken nail will suffer its

time in Hell. I believe in Karma, don’t you?

At The Same Time

Just about any time now

I will remember what it is

that I just forgot. Or maybe

I won’t, and it makes me

realize that  what comes out

of my mouth is both everything

and nothing.

If I Could Have Freedom

If I could have freedom without having to fight

a war, I would. Wars get so complicated. So many

things to buy, and sell. Who to let live? Who to let die?

Who’s going to get rich, and who’s going to wander

the god forsaken puke green painted halls of some

government mental institution looking for the arms

and legs that he lost in the conflict overseas.

I got fat the fun way: I ate myself there.

I'm about to die I can't afford this hospital room

 that they got me in, can't afford to leave, and

 start paying for the pill that I need for living,

 if I don't have it will I be forgiven if I die?

We empty his wallet first

Should we try to heal him

at the bar, or continue to

throw him to the cement

once his senses are gone?

I was President of The Johnny Appleseed Club, in the sixth grade. I only ran because this other kid, who I thought was cool, was President of The Student Government. I didn't give a fuck about trees. I just wanted to be President. Is that all that Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney care about: being President? Which one has the most heart, and soul, and love for US? Or does heart, and soul, and love, have nothing to do with being President? We are getting close to The Election, unless Sandy screws it all up. This is going to be an interesting one.

Mikel K

Glad to be an American

and don't want "them"

to screw it all up.

October 28, 2012