Carnivores

When I was a kid I used to sit
In the back of the station wagon
And watch the cars on the highway.
I pictured them as wolves,
Most running in packs
But some alone,
The lone wolves that run
between the packs.

Now I'm grown up, and I don't drive.
I ride my bike or I walk, and I've seen
The results of their predataion.
A cat that walked on the side of the road,
A dog that tried to cross,
A squirrel with a flat head,
An armadillo with broken armor.

Sometimes they take down larger prey;
A child who didn't look both ways
Before crossing the street,
A woman walking her dog,
A man on his bike.

So I laugh when I see them fight -
Sometimes just a bite on the haunches,
But sometimes a knock-down,
Drag-out fight to the death,
Often for both of them.
And I cheer when one of them
Inexplicably dashes headlong into a tree,
Bringing its own death,
Or when one takes a lemming-leap
Into a watery grave.
These are just desserts.

the pictures that i like (need) the most of you
are the ugly ones.   makeup smeared and face unposed
mask removed and hydra
beast
revealed

ec

i love the modelyou for the art that it is but
ia m addicted to what
is underneath the gloss press media gift.
candid shots, or fury shots,  sickened and sad
in rage, mad, lost,  mourning, vindictive
hundreds folders hundreds mad violent image stop image stop

 ic

and i spend centuries of words orbiting your sun
and the trajectory is wrong but the attempt is with full throttle
and not all of these are in folder marilyn manson

ai

(hero'storchkingdomofheavensynesthaesiawork
inprogess towards
what)

d

i cannot deceive you, substitute X for you, drink my way around you
can't talk this out, can't hold this in, can't  crush this down
can't metaphor to death, though hell knows i try
and the other escape--
he's good but he is not that good,
no one is that good
and what loveless letters these are, from when flesh met fear
and i learned horror, scent, and depth, with  colors beyond these eyes
beyond

(stitches for this i t c h ing)

r

is this a vision thing?   yes?  no?
biotech open close, but human data still
i plead with the ghost of bosch, for a pretty lie
that i am not the first eye to cover hell
and he avoids my look, with silence, then:
hey, i painted a few things.   doesn't make me jesus
and you piqued deity attention.  doesn't make you judas
and doesn't make you peter

a

(take a stone.   i shake my head
my hand knows how easy it would be
but i would rather let the world drop
dead)

c

what kind of akira lives in between
judas and peter
both close to nazarene

(273A-C7-C)

e

no room for worship, no mercy for need
mutant expansion in unknown directions
and leonard cohen whispers, choose a faction

v

{but you are right, i am not qualified
and i am so hollow that you echo here
but the pain i hear in your digital transmission
(radio, live [?])
is human.    human.   and familiar.
and i will not let  this be your}

(listenlistenpleaselistenlistenpleaselistenlisten)

please

and bosch is a deafmute hologram, and kerouac isn't talking.
sylvia plath nods and pretends to smile, and dali pontificates.
with angular moustache.

o

i would talk to bret eaton ellis, but i'm not good with the living
so i guess when he wrote american, space, psycho
he meant, not you, not in spite of you, but
because of you

l

and ninety nine percent of the because
is nowhere near kissing distance of

(denial)this
(denial)is
(denial)not
(denial)a
(denial)love

letter
tnemom elbarenluv tsom ym  si siht

pretty, pretty one    _______________________________________________
 

slit suits
 

make me a new genome, an animal
a dense pleasure vacuum of languid charm/strange appetites
i cannibalize my own failing structure, eating eggshells,
teeth grating calcium grit and silicone dust
and inside my ribcage where the factory is i manufacture wonders
and pull them out with greased gloves.  it's only a four inch incision

(nothing helps the itch, incidentally.  except pulling at the stitches
and we all know they say never never do that no you'll get a scar)

and oh i'm sure we can do it but the problem is
we don't have the space to set up anything that big
and maybe it will fix fix fix itself
and maybe no one will blame us for the damage

and we buy this old fucked spiel and turn off the altar
and drink beer and bitch at each other about the kids on tv
talk shows sending kids to recon, only for now they've decided to call
it boot camp, and i hear in her voice something like smug satisfaction
that it's so bad
these days

and i crave something like a cavern
someplace dark and wide and old and lonely where even the air is heavy
and thoughts mire tight and deep in your pressurized brain
and colorless eyes span upwards through the dark, through the stone
and above these underplanet kids and their radioactive country
the sky is a disaster

downsized

I hear voices outside my cubicle
they are talking work
they have no work talk for me
for I am being downsized
I was big
I was busy
I was useful
now I am small
for I am being downsized
i have almost nothing to do
.........i hear people passing by my
cubicle...
i recognize their voices
and say to my self..."that's so and
so" they are keeping them..
...they are worthwhile.....
I hear them talking
about work......
I am
jealous
Oh I was so big
I carried the company's future
on my broad
shoulders
I walked with other giants
and spoke of 12 hour days and
reports to even bigger giants
now long
gone
 there's no
telling how long it will take me
 to get enough self-confidence
 to get
another job.
 i may have had some once.
 and self-respect.
so long ago, i
don't remember any more

so let's go
downsize my ass
and get me the fuck
out
of here
(get yourself out of here you fool)
How did you come to this
a downsized fool in a downsized cubicle
in a downsized world
eating downsized shit
 

==========================
8.

Hell Jackson
why don't you just
shut the fuck
up
You might hit the truth
good people,
all
trying to make my life more efficient
can
slow me down

to

a

stan

d
 

s
 

t

i

l

l

Lingers with the Dragon~

Dragon eyes set searching the midnight sun
for liquid moons that ripple undertow
to absorbed lands of yesterday's dreams
where a single star in a string of gold
circles the light of gems below
while swift wings of a silver beast echo past
blue-violet greens
fragile as the last                                                      cry your diamonds, Dear,
and whisper of these dreams
for all that glitters in this night
belongs to you alone~

Beast of the Child~

Standing on the edge the Meadow---
cliffs surge in majestic Surrounding
with a wisp of air, the Meadow…….
feels his flight as he is Rounding
thunderous in his Encounter
feels she the breath from the Beast
thereupon they Eye one Another
suspect of who feels the Least
she closes the Distance
with calm Deliberation….
a child that Knows
of the dragon’s Evolution
with outstretched Hands,
and the same hidden Fears,
near they’re Drawn,
senses she the dragon’s Tears
the people cry Nay
rising behind the Two,
good cannot Come of this
a dragon you must not Woo!
together they Circle
twirl round, round they Go,
closer… yet Still
naying heed to the people? No!
great Hesitation
they’re face to Face,
small tender Hands
caress the Giants grand breast
deep throated Rumbles
silent…. the two Unite
purple smoke it does Swirl
 ner’a person in Sight
beauty you See
Is in the eye of the Beholder
the Beast that is there
iIs a genuine Protector
the child she Saw
the beast he did Counter
you see what was Missing
was one from the Other~~

Viesta 99~

It’sChristmas all the drunks are out
Like Rudolph’s shiny nose
Swindlers clean your pocketbook
You wear your glittered clothes
There’s Judy…howya doin gal?
You smile,give tidings of Yule
Then turn around and talk about
How Sandy’s such afool!

You phony old sons of bitches
Wearing holly wreaths round half mass
May the candle burn bright
When you come home at night
With abig bright red ring on your ass!

Meet my sisters,oooh…ain’t the night merry!
They sing songs with my brother…ehh shite
Here’s my mother to take spite
On poor Daisy,all the night
Just because she isn’t dressed up for the fight?

All the night is calm and bright
As the assholes,yell, brood and fight
What atime it was--flying gets me down
Jingle bells,OJingle bells…something smells real ripe
It’s the bullshit flying in the air tonight!

Now the room is filled with beer
Sausages,crackers and lots of cheer
The stifling phony atmosphere is thick
With your fingers up your nose
There’s atoast Iwould propose
That you kill each other--and do it mighty quick!

Let’s pretend that we are one big happy family
Bigger’s better,that’s the way it’s always been
I have more and she has less
Mine is good and it’s the best
So don’t compete--you will never be in equal test

Well..you can ream it from one hole to the other
As far as I’m concerned
Money will never buy the best
It’s the thought that goes into
All the things that we will do
And the heart from which we truly do invest

Way hey…as we wassail now
Down memory lane,about the days of yore
Blow it out your snout
Andthenturnitall about
Then it’s done till next year
When we’ll try some more!

The CaMbIe RoAd PoEt
Charlotte Mair

An Essay