A National Anthem

You know too much pride can kill a man
And it happens on days like this
He does it quicker than a gorilla can
An exhausted drunk take of the piss

And what I got they call attitude
When the nicer people get real answers
How burlesque this production to allude
Where the older people are the dancers

Enough means to remember
Today my voice is the hammer
In April, August, even November
In hot blood raining will not stammer

\\

…

The Girl

I don’t know who you are,

Invented in a dream.

Unmindful of my guard,

You pierced my tired stream

A marriage where we met,

Your sounds danced well with mine.

The lovers to be wed

Knew no such love divine.

But she arrived as well,

Intruded as you fled

An ancient love to swell

And rouse me in my bed.

The fading dream took hold,

Well-fastened in my mind

To test this love of old

And what new love I’d find.

 

When next I see them both

Beliefs of love refined,

To her I’ll take the oath,

The pure, true love I find.

 

 

Insomnia

Last night on a sleepy riverbed,

Between mud sheets and pillow-ferns red,

Caught was a bass much bigger than my head.

 

As I lay forgetful of my watching of the rod,

A tug stirred surprise in the midst of a nod.

Attacked was my line with the power of a god.

 

The fight became a struggle when the sweat formed into tears.

Murky water pooled around my limbs as I was steered,

Drenched was my body as my soul discovered fear.

 

Mud between my toes was the anchor when I fell.

The current greeted firmly with its swift frigid spell.

Drowned was the body as the soul encountered hell.

 

Eyes shone red through the water from a cave.

Vengeful, he charged but the strike I did stave.

Wakened, I resumed the nightly watch that I had saved.

He Went to the Circus

He went to the circus

He went to the circus

He walked in the limelight

He turned his shirts purple

 

He skipped round the circle

He screamed at the viewers

He screamed at the viewers

Tonight will be perfect

 

He danced with green tigers

He leapt with blue lions

He swallowed the skewers

He swung from the ceiling

 

He swung from the ceiling

He beamed in contentment

He swallowed the feeling

He marched thru the cities

 

He marched thru the cities

He lived in the gritty

He saw red turn yellow

He saw green turn yellow

 

He wasn’t that fellow

He emptied his bucket

He followed the feeling

He learned from the learning

 

He learned from the learning

He opened the casket

He turned from the corner

The circus is burning

 

edit: 2/11/16 I don’t like this poem anymore.

The White Planet

It was so popular after it was discovered

“A snowball” guessed the children

“A dustball” theorized the scientists

Many names it took and purposes it had.

“A soul” said the scholars and philosophers

Then the spacemen landed and stomped around

They found space rocks

And space bacteria

And shot away from the White Planet

Back to Earth

Love

How is love preached
From your mouth?
In spite of the circumstances
circling the air like a circus clown.

How can knowledge bestow
Its hand on your crown?
In spite of the ignorance
dancing in your frantic antics.

Why are your robes white,
Skeletoned on your ghastly structure?
Regardless of the blackened fried statements
Spitted in arcs like blaze from the beast’s throat.

Why do you cater to hatred,
Fusing to your followers’ hearts
The killer of happiness
Like ears pierced to your microphone?
Whether or not their guts can hold
Your poison.

Fuck you, pastor.

I do not believe your authority
I do not believe your doctrine
I do not believe your smile
You don’t either.

Yet your superior,
Also mine
Commands the opposite.

So I grasp your leather hand
Meet your stone gaze
And attempt to understand
This soul’s dark phase.
I pray it passes.

Black

Black clouds over Harlem
Black clothes on the line
Black cars on the mean streets
Black chills in my spine

Black songs on the F-M
Black sheets on my bed
Black wheels on the boulevard
Black thoughts in my head

Black dogs in the backyard
Black pigs in the pen
Black words on the talk show
Black lions in the den

Black shapes in the distance
Black fists in the dirt
Black rocks from the slingshot
Black lives in the hurt

Black guns in a streetfight
Black feet marching wise
Black soldiers on the left flank
Black voices on the rise

Black hands in communion
Black pains as a one
Black peace in the future
Black love will be won

Black power on the cable
Black eyes on the prize
Black battles for redemption
Black light in our eyes

Black cards on the table
Black leaves on the ground
Black hearts altogether
Black wrists now unbound

Spaces in Poems

I don’t know why, but WordPress doesn’t keep the extra spaces I like to sometimes put in between stanzas and paragraphs. Here’s an example:

Double space after this line.

See?

No double space. So, until I take the time to learn how to HTML this problem away or something else, I will use hyphens to separate stanzas/paragraphs.

–

Thanks!

Edit 8/25/2015: this problem has been fixed for the most part! Hooray!