by

Opposable

For Allan

“I’m just a raccoon living in a world of mice”

A prince raccoon beneath the nightly moon

Like the wise men, walks he beside the serf

The mice, though true, they share his turf

The prince must show them what he’s worth

And so go kingdoms of mice and earth.

by

The Paradox Disease

Poem from a role playing game I was developing. Historical fiction about a disease that causes repetitious behavior.

“Will The Circle be unbroken?”

Was our people’s mourning cry.

Will you forfeit every token

of the words of freedom spoken

for the path, before us broken,

where they lay upon the pyre?

Oh, auspicious fate, her bridle,

turned toward dusk, for we were idle

and we drove our country’s might into a deep eclipsing night

For freedom’s song was ringing

and her liberties phrased bright

that we could not hear the singing

as they raised the fire’s light

and we did not take it under

to consider what it was,

when we turned our ears from thunder,

lightning did what lightning does

and America was morphing

to the beast that she became

Her impetus, her morphine

and only we to blame

Not an answer ever ending

not a kiss of death for mending

every word, the air offending

falling like a tree descending

Where once her words were oaken.

“Will The Circle be unbroken?”

Is our people’s epitaph

and our spirit, never woken

can you hear the thunder laugh?

Yea, though even hear the pleading

are we trapped now here repeating

of the question always bleeding

from the wounded mouth of needing

curs’ed words are cursed repeating

of the question always bleeding

from the wounded mouth of needing

curs’ed words are cursed repeating,

of the question always bleeding

from the wounded mouth of needing

curs’ed words are cursed repeating…

by

Will Night 1

I am sitting on the cold metal grating of a bus stop bench in that lingering winter night, watching bus by bus push slowly on their way, familiar faces moving on to follow the daylight at its breaking, fading in the distance. I am wondering which one will take me to my new horizon.
I watch the steamy breath from my lips and i scry into the mists for futures pathways, yet all i see is pavement, until i look up from that place and garner the strength to let go of a moment. I sigh and the swirling mists seem to join with the innumerable stars. A wry smile meets me there, and we sit together marveling. I turn my collar to the wind, i tighten my coat against the present air, and my pen scratches against the tattered notebook of my wanderings. I am content, if a bit cold, my muses whisper warm upon me, and I must tell you what they say.
I am Will Night. I am this place. These words. What little there can be. I try, though I hardly exist, really.

by

Will Night 2

I am standing at that intersection, you know it well, too well, indeed. Looking up at the light, cold through my eyes; white/blue. The evening comes patient, with mannered and worldly strides, wearing charcoal lines and onyx down, umber shot through a crenel cut of tempered slate-citrine, melting honey glass sweet and bitter with age, but only bitter as leaves must steep to perfect such regal grace. I flicker in the flash. My photons fractilate shatter into code and codex, transmission, received, the speed of light, slowed and collapsed, you’re eyes dissect and dissimilate, decompose, disembowel, disconfigure, degrade and devalue, your eyes make monsters of us. My heart is elementary. My face conscripted, I am as the gods and the demons, and fast food mascots alike. I try, though hardly exist, really.

by

Who Are You Who Are

All that you so

Will it be

“Harlot”,
”scarlet”,
“Starlett”,
“Whore”,

“has-been”,
“fat”, “thin”
“braggart”, “bore”

“Hag”, “fag”,
“man in drag”
“Bi”, “spy”, conniving cheat

“Divorced”
“horse-faced”,
“coarse”, “based”
“so forced”,
“crazy”, “all over the place”

“Man killer”, “heart stealer”, “life akimbo”,
“dumb blond bimbo”

“Bad mother, wife, lover”,
“bad sister, ruined brother”

“Devil”, “fiend”, “bitch”, “slut”

“Ne’er do well”, “Jezabell”,
Can it get worse? I’ll tell you what.

“Babylon courtesan”,
“rake”, “snake”, “fake”
“Cant even bake”

“Beast”, “priest of abandon”
The beat goes on

Ad Infinitum, ad homonym, ad epithet,
words of power slung by some dim lighted famished frame

From the broken tower
they only seek what they devour
What is your name? And names have power.
What is in it could be not of it,
a rose is after all a flower

Photogenic,
phosforific,
extemporaneous,
effortless,
encumbered mess,
mired/inspired,
desired,
sired,
ensorcelled,
embroiled,
painted in white feathers and boiling,
oiled expatriated by the faults in our star spangle manner
in which we cry fury,
strike at reality,
bribe the jury,
extol our piety,
cast deceit,
curse them, promise, make claim,
Turn miles into feet
then switch,
in the coven of self righteous loathing, we curse you, then cry burn the witch

by

Not So, Stone

When I knew you thought you should have banned me
instead you tried to understand me
help me plan me
what I took for granted you gave for gold
what circumstance supplanted
what some happenstance reflected
maybe at some glance was granted
not the garden my god told
or the seed my father sold
that he planted
It was not hardened into bone
a sea bed dry
but not so, stone

by

Break the Curse

we broke the curse last night
my mother asked that I be strong
I asked to be made wise
and I found I had it all along
unseen, in disguise
and as I learned to laugh at kings
I learned to walk between the hedges
to weave the truth and lies
one twined round we the other
and neither to despise
but neither compromise

by

Shameless

When did this happen

What have we done

Who is the culprit,

Ah, but everyone

What a shame,

When you lose someone

What to do

When there’s nothing to be done

Why am I the only one

Devastation by degree

Crippling poverty

Of spirit

You’ve grown accustomed to their screams

Or worse

you just

refuse

to hear it

Shame!

What a shame

When you lose your self

What to do

When there’s nothing to be done

Why am I still the only one

Desecration, look and see

Once again you’ve chosen novelty

For what

You don’t know-

you pay the fee,

how much for just a touch, I guess we’ll see

Your voice, your choice

in all honesty

I was so happy when I came

And you were young wild and strong

You pushed me down, I cut your cheek

I played the clown, you thought me chic

But when I got too rough

And you too weak

And I’d just had about enough of being seen as small and meek

I proved you weren’t so tough

You said “you freak”

I said “you reek”

I felt the thud

of blood

was pumping well above

it’s peak

And when you went to speak-

I said, my love, let’s help you turn the other cheek

(Slap)

And that was just last week