mucho gusto

9.  At the Godsville People’s Park

Six cross-legged in a circle,
one standing in the center,
a couple of Angels outside.

Green grass, waving trees,
sprinklers hissing beyond.

“Caught him at the Rat’s Ass,”
said an Angel.

“Doing what, as if I didn’t know,”
 said an old woman in the circle.

“Organizing a union against
the capitalist oppressors,”
said the guy standing.

"We are the capitalist oppressors,"
said a guy in the circle.
Except we're not capitalists."

"And we're not oppresssors."
Said a wide-hipped, dark-haired
girl in the circle nursing a baby.

Everybody chuckled,
including the man standing.
He seemed quite pleased
with the way things were going.

The old woman spoke.  "Red Danny,
how many times have we had you here?"

“Six or eight.  I guess that means
I lost my Cool, huh?"

“Red Danny,”
said the old woman,
“we can’t just strip your status.
The Straights wouldn't have you,
and it would just increase
your standing among the Grunts.
We can't have them getting organized,
even for the best of reasons."

The people seated
looked around  Red Danny’s legs
at each other.  Then the old woman
nodded to the Angels.  

“Shallow grave?” one of them asked.

“Deep one.  We don’t want
bones circulating around.”

Red Danny drew himself
up to his full height, grinning widely.
“I clutch the red flag of martyrdom
in solidarity with. . . “

An Angel
shoved a needle in his neck
and he crumpled.

The Cools in the circle started to stand.
“I wonder what he was on,” said one.

“Don’t know,” said an Angel.
“You want us to do a tox?”

They shook their heads.

lotta good stuff here too, Rick, but the poli-sci discuss in middle flags, I think:

“But Marx said. . . .”
said the man in the center.

A seated woman
was nursing a baby.  She spoke:
“And you want a dictatorship
of the proletariat?  Look
at what happened in Russia and China!
Animals!  Beasts!  Give the workers
a hammer and they’ll hit you with it.”

“What we have in this country,”
said Flame Tattoo,
“is a democracy of consciousness.
The wise rule the merely smart,
and the smart rule the dumb.
Anyone who shows wisdom
can join the wise.  This is all
school stuff.  You know that!”

“No one can be wise
as long as any are in chains,”
said the center man, smiling
as if at a stupid child.

Made some cuts, Tom.  Better now?

yeah. Stalinist style shines thru more clearly, actually. Tom

10.  My Analyst Told Me

Late afternoon.
Still enough time
to pitch a decent camp
and build a fire.

But they’ll
know where you are.

Everybody knows where I am.
Now. 
Damn web.

So build a fake camp
and stay outside.

Too obvious.
They’d know.

So would you.
Maybe get a glimpse this time.

Nobody’s trying to kill me.

So you say.
Submitted for your review
is the following set
of terrifying memories.

Just incidents in a long life
lived on the road.

You may stop
trembling then.

Fuck you!

enjoyed....

for me, Rick, it's time for a more coherent larger narrative to be emerging in my head.

Thanks, Tom.  Comin' up tomorrow.

dear Rick

this journal is unwinding very nicely,
i keep coming back to sneak around
to see which flavors of ice cream sandwiches are being served.

though you might enjoy this one about God from Elizabeth Thomas.

silent lotus



Revelation

His T-shirt says, “I am God”.
I think - My lucky day!
I’ll run over,
shake his hand,
ask for an autograph.
I might never have this chance again.

But, as God sits there
waiting to step into
the Vice Principal’s office,
I look closely –
at his faded T-shirt
two sizes too big,
sneakers older than he is,
thin legs swinging
barely long enough to reach the floor,
dirty hands massaging a dirty forehead and think –
This is not God.
This is a little boy
who maybe swore in the lavatory
or tussled on the playground.
A child who probably forgot
to eat breakfast,
did not expect a good-bye kiss.
When he gets home from school today
he’ll let himself in
with the key
that hangs around his neck.
He might help himself to Twinkies
and a glass of Coke,
a micro-waved pizza in front of the TV.

Struggling to raise his head
the circles under his eyes
slope toward his chin,
pick up the lines around his mouth
and carry it down as well.
It’s not easy taking care of the world!

Using the back of his hand
he trails snot and tears across his face
into his hair,
which heads out in all directions
as if just lifted from a pillow.
He looks neglected
like homework after a long weekend.
This boy ain’t been loved in a long time.

I want to walk over
kneel on both knees,
use my sleeve to clean his cheeks,
tie his sneakers.

He looks up
and in his eyes
I see my own son.
Unable to look away,
I want to say something
make some excuse
beg for forgiveness.
But, this is God.
What could I possibly say
he does not already know?


Elizabeth Thomas


~

Powerful poem, SL!  Thanks!

11.  Slip Kid

Okay, so I gave in and made a trap.
Set up tent, stuck out my totem,
(grizzly bear skull on a stick),
built a fire, cooked some Spam,
tossed the joint they gave me
into the coals.

Footprints all over
as I gathered burnables
confused the tracks I made
to my stand about 75 yards off
on the lip of a wash
where I stashed my rifle,
one canteen and a box of shells.

I was starting to walk back
to the stand when she came out
from behind a juniper tree.

“Hi,” she said.  “Expecting company?”

Shit.
It was the Spider from the Angels.
She had real traveler’s gear,
complete with iron—
rifle and pistol both-- and what
looked like a flare gun.

“Been here long?” I said.

“Long enough.  Your fire base
is good for the dark,
but you’d be easy in daylight.”  
Her hair switched a little.

“You’re like a cat,” I said.
“You think with your tail.”

She laughed.  
“That’s what my Dad always said.”
She had a cop’s trick of changing the subject.
“Who’s after you, Ching Monkey?”

“Call me Bear.  And I don’t know.”

“How long?”

“About ten years.”

“That why you dropped off the web?”

“That’s it, Spider.”

“Spider’s my job.
Sneezeweed’s my name.”

“I know that plant.  Good for colds.”
I nodded at the backpack.
“You’re not here to pick flowers.”

“Angels go armed.
I’m here to do something we forgot.
All Cools have DNA on file now.
Prevents situations like the one today.”

I grinned.  “Sperm sample?”

She blushed.  “A few cells
from inside your cheek.”
She handed me a little package
with a vial and cotton swab.

I did the deed and handed her the vial.
“Now it won’t matter
how bad I get mauled.”

“Up to a point.  Bets are off
if you’re vaporized.”

The sun was flattening itself
against the mountains.
A dust devil walked past.
“. . .hhhhi” it said.
I nodded to be courteous.

She followed my nod
and raised a hand in greeting.

“So you talk to ‘em, too,”
I said.

“How could I not?
They’re such conversationalists.”

“All the news that’s fit to hiss.”

“It’ll be full dark soon.
Let’s do your stakeout.”

“Might as well.
You were gonna kill me,
I’d been dead gathering wood.”

She smiled,
“You wasted that joint.”

She settled in beside me
on the lip of the wash,
pulled out some night glasses
and we shared them.

Nothing happened
and nobody came.

Well, sort of.

enjoyed....

12.   Voodoo Child

“Your bear claw
tickled my nipples last night.”

“It likes you.  
Hear that helicopter?”

“Been coming awhile.
Old ears get dull,  Cool.”

“One of yours?”

“Oh yeah.  And I know
who’s on the stick.”

“Who?”

She said nothing as the sound
got louder.  
I reached for my rifle.  She
held my hand.

“You’ll probably want to,”
she said, “but you’re not
allowed.”

The thing was close enough now
to show the Angels’ winged A.
The one who got out was
black leather neck to toe,
with an old fashioned
biker cap on top of the hair.
Wind-whipped hair, I believe I called it.

“I bet she didn’t use
birth control last night,”
she said.

I looked at Sneezeweed.
That girl could blush.

“My name’s Theda.
after Theda Bara.
I wouldn’t have used b.c. either.
It’s a new program.
‘Keep Cool in the Pool.’
Any Angel gets knocked up
by a Super Cool like you
gets a raise in grade
and two years’ kiddy leave.”

“You fucking . . . .“ said Sneezeweed.
It was my turn to do the restraining.

“Watch this,”
I said, and walked up,
wrapping a surprised Theda
in my best hug.

“Ow!” she yelped.
“Your goddamn claw bit me!”

“Some things are simple,”
I said to Sneezeweed.

13.  Taking Care of Business



“Did you spend all night here?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“You’re supposed to go home.”

“They don’t want me.”

“Well, your ID
should be ready now.
It’ll be at the office.
Use the want ads,
rent yourself a room,
and charge it to your school account.
They’ll try to cheat you
because you’re a kid.
Don’t pay more than
two hundred a month.
Make sure you get wireless,
your own bathroom,
and kitchen privileges.

Then go to the school store
and buy three complete sets:
dress, casual, and sports.
They’ll give you
everything you need.
That will be charged. too.
Keep track of what you spend.

School supplies will be free.
Part of doing business.

Meet me in the caf at noon.
After lunch, we’ll test you
on the regs.  It’ll be three hours
with two essays.  Since
you were raised a Grunt,
the essays will just be
diagnostic.  Any questions?”

“No, Ma’am.”

“I’ll be in Marketing.
Don’t need me.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”