Swimming With Pessimism

 

The human optimist
I wish I could be
always carries
in their wallet
a sunshine light beam
as an antidote
to the disease
of melancholy
which can strike 

any of us anytime

My cynical brethren
who roll with the sniping majority
mock these light dispensers
because misery
not only loves company
it recruits it actively

I do so despise

being on this losing team

of bitter pessimists 

that reeks of negativity

which is only natural

given our self hating proclivity 

Heroes of Lore

 

... and at our lowest moment
when all seems hopeless
up from the bosom of yesterday
comes the legendary
Argento Man

Clad in florescent silver lamé
his flowing mane now totally gray
matches his fashion ensemble perfectly
as his evil adversaries
let out a collective groan

They are finished
and they knew it
for even they
deep down in their wretched souls
realize this ancient warrior
will not be corrupted
or compromised

by their arsenal

of assorted lecherous vices

that had sapped the powers

of all the morally flawed superheroes

they had vanquished before 

Once the villains are conquered

and their evil schemes foiled

Argento Man rides off into the sunset

to rejoin the other retired icons

whose noble deeds of heroism

with each passing year diminish

deeper into the shadows 

of lost and forgotten myths

Estranged Bedfellows

 

Of course you do realize
this alliance of convenience

and mutual contrivance
we share against
our common boogie man enemy
becomes null and void
once they are vanquished

Flushed with the arrogance

that comes with being victorious

we can then commence
to cease this pretend friendship
and start hating each other again

when this shotgun marriage ends

 

Pink Slip Tripping

 

Your once grand designs
have lost all relevance
here in the new spreadsheet existence

(formerly dismissed as pie in the sky)

Sorry we had to move the finish line
but you see
you are a pre historic luxury
we can no longer afford
given the condensed realities
of the new gig economy

Costs simply gotta be reduced

Our AI master program
demands that you
and your obsolete crew
have been duly consigned
by we labor redistribution task masters
to our exciting

Workforce Has Beens to be Jettisoned list

Nothing personal

It's just business

Thanks for playing
and please be a stranger

A Fool and His Dreams

 

The fool that is me

sprinkles seeds in concrete

Waters them with poetry

Waiting on a bounty
of false harvest fantasies

The fool that is me

Writes verse by moonlight

Crafting rainbows at night
that nobody sees

The fool that is me

Choking on self serving 
well deserved anonymity

So full of rage and blame
at his decaying dreams
slowly dying
on the toxic vines
of creeping reality

Choking off all delusions
that this sad author
is anything more
than just another
self delusional mediocrity
toiling the barren fields
of creative emptiness

Self Ghosted

 

As a fully documented

grown up human

it was time to make

a major life investment

Time to mortgage my future

on a primary homestead

with good old fashioned

debt accumulation

Got a haunted house discount

and moved right in

Best of all
there were no ghosts
in my fresh residence
(excluding myself of course)

Just dust and cobwebs

Easily refurbished
with cleaning solution
and a little elbow grease
which is more than can be said
for spiritually decrepit me

Spring Back Bounce Back

 

The gloom is a relentless

hue of seasonal gray

as the Arctic winds

sweep down over Harbor Bay

creating a chilled salty mist

that showers those of us

who dare venture out

into these cruel elements

The artificial intelligence

in my pocket

shares an interesting tidbit

(at least to me)

that the solar solstice
just came and went
in a blink of an eye

The position of the sun in the sky
remains perceptibly unchanged

Yet a critical cosmic shift
has subtly occurred
as daylight commences
it's long march back
toward dominance
to yet again reclaim the sky
from stubborn darkness

You cling to any shred

of thermal hope

when you can't feel your frickin toes 

Noisy Artillery

 

I long ago said
all I wanna say
but I'm gonna keep going anyway

Far past the point
of thought critical mass

I am obsessed
with hearing myself think
sans filters 
of push back consequence

For it's silence

and the attached

clawing self reflections

that cowardly me fears most

The terror of probing ghosts
now freed from the shackles
of the opinion deflections

that offer me protection

from the hazardous path

of contemplating my dark past

Hallow Goodbye

As the sun sets

and night creeps in

the howls that we fear

grow ever near

The evening of dread

is upon us now

as the shadows come to life

to take what is theirs

What started centuries ago

as a somber religious tradition

honoring souls long dead

has become corrupted

beyond all Earthly recognition

So now every All Hallows Eve
the hungry demons

in an array of clever disguises
pound on our barricaded doors
demanding sweet sustenance
in keeping with the scourge

of modern consumerism

We try to put the horde on ignore
by cowering in darkness
but their ravenous persistence
rules the night
as guilt forces us

to open our homes
and allow these little terrors

to devour and pillage

what was rightfully ours 

Now those of you enamored

by the tyranny of cuteness

will no doubt criticize

my sharing reluctance

as an act of selfishness

but while you are busy exchanging

the pics of this evening

I will be stuffing my face with sweets

for I am

and will always be

the toothless Grinch of Halloween

 

Creative Mixologist

 

All the best poems 
I have never written
float above me

like ethereal vapor
in invisible thought fragments
never creatively consummated

These clouds long forgotten
may someday bump together

and coalesce again
into a digestible format
to someday be potentially 

solidly processed
into a poetic concept
that hopefully makes sense
in this freshly refurbished version

Die Generation

 

Sugar and spice
your head in a vice

Morbid Misty

Dead eyed youngster
zombie child of Hell
plays with voodoo dolls
while chanting ancient incantations

Pulls the wings off flies

on her Tik Tok

influencer channel

to the sadistic delight

of her fellow online

macabre mites

Such a precocious little terror
is this soulless spawn of Satan

Part of the next generation
who will one day
put away childish things
and devour those who came before 
who today finds her 
little girl horror show
so cute and adorable
tied with a bloody bow
of "she's harmless"
fatal rationalizations
our future nightmare
will never outgrow

The New Imperialism

 

Our noble Real Estate King
in his glorious continuous quest
to acquire only the best 
high end properties
has tagged the Martian landscape 
as a HUGE
investment opportunity
for his personal financial

windfall profits

Rest assured
his five star hotels
are gonna be luxurious

and decadently opulent

in keeping with

the Master Builder's golden brand

Attracting only the best guests

of the highest quality
with his out of this world prices
to keep away peasant riff raff

from smudging the marble floors

with their commoner's presence

Clearing the land and pesky native aliens
is gonna be a costly endeavor
but we manipulated taxpayers
for the cause of greed patriotism
will foot the bill gladly
under the glorious banner
of national venture capitalism

Cynical Sauce

 

The point...

Why does there have to be one?

Or a moral to the story?

Shit happens for the sake
of happening

Random circumstance
should be celebrated
instead of being denigrated
by losers whining about fate

Bastards begat by bastard dicks

who were too selfish 
to wear a fuckin condom

I hate these pricks
almost as much
as I loathe myself
and my pointless 
self pity poetry

that is neither therapy

nor interesting

Clumps of matter

killing time

while taking up space

Just like us

Maybe that's the point 

Peter Pan MIA

 

The siren blares

Robbing me of dream completion

The abusive Clock I labor for
and it's authoritarian partner Economy
demand I yet again
don my battle gear

Into the fray
this weary warrior
trudges off 
to the spreadsheet battlefield
with only his diminished wits
as a survival shield
from the brain rot mentality
of corporate monotony

Far removed
from the playground anarchy
I walk by every day
on my way
to Big Boy Land

I seek a boost of energy
from the chaos I envy
of kids running and jumping
every which way

Feelings of melancholy
descend upon me
as their shrieks of joy
fade in the distance
the nearer I get
to my sterile cubicle prison

Imagination

Once so full
and unabashedly free
when we rode these swings

Dries up precariously
once we leave 
childhood games behind
to wear these burdensome chains
of adult responsibilities

Shields Down

 

A coaster and saucer
saunter into a bar
seeking flat surface hook up
with willing cups and glasses
on a table or counter preferably

where they get it on traditionally

Though both accessible platforms

do insist
on being on the bottom
of any fleeting

one on one relationship

Tonight our lonely heroes will find
diminished demand for their kind
in this selfish
residue tolerant existence
where stains are the norm

and safe contact

blemish prevention

is sneered at

Death by Arrogance

 

As the dominant species I am

I go wherever I damn well please

Out and about on a brisk hike

with Nature beneath my feet

to get the exercise I need

Came to a stream
I thought I could cross easily

So unassuming it was
in width and depth

No big deal if my shoes

got a little wet

But I misjudged
the power intensity
of the current
as mere inches of rushing water

took out my sliding feet
toppling this arrogant man
who hit his head on a stone
you could hold in your hand
and drowned in an obstacle
I failed to respect properly 

Space Oddities

 

Here in the invisible
to current human perception
fourth dimension
of galactic existence
we be parallel Universe tripping again

Baking a very illegal
atomic overlay
antimatter souffle
in a black hole pan
that few comprehend

Reverse Earth refracted
in the invisible
continuum mirror
is replete
with scary contradictions
many of which go against
the rigid laws of physics

The trip to enlightenment
ends far too soon
as it always seems to do

Welcome back to Nowhere

Our pitch black
prison home
tightly guarded
by dogmatic ignorance

As if protecting the ancient
rote inconsistencies
of how things "have always been"
is the exclusive 
dominion of truth

We take solace in the fact
that all it takes is one crack
in the soon to be crumbled wall
to let the light
of new reality flood in 

Star Stuck

 

The velvet evening
finally is spent

Twilight sky rolls in

right on schedule
on the wheels of existence

Sparkling stars bright
that had once ruled the night
with confident arrogance
are now reduced
to dying specks of light

But rest assured
the stars above
never truly leave us

They don't get turned off
like a cosmic light switch 

They just become victims
of excess background
solar illumination
from our very own sun
which is incidentally
a star in it's own right

So come the dawn
the sea of stars
we have always
wished upon
will all be subjugated
by the impending
blinding sunrise

But please do not despair
my disappointed friends
for our far out 

celestial companions
still hover over us
and shall return
to reclaim their sparkle
when the returning dusk
yet again commences 

Unsafe Sex

Passion ain't always logical
as my inflamed partner and I
currently doing

the unsafe sex act
pressed hard against
a plate glass window

five stories above ground

One more deep thrust
and that pressure crack

will completely bust
and down we lovers will descend
to splatter on the cold street below
where many a fucking

Humpty Dumpty relationship ends

Forensics will speculate on motive

Was this tragedy a mutual suicide leap?

In retrospect

maybe our fatal plunge 

was an unconscious choice

to end this poorly crafted show

on a high note?

Or perhaps

we were just two stupid

oblivious overheated bodies

who were an accident

waiting to happen 

Believing is Perceiving

 

I hear unicorns on the roof

dancing to a polka tune
cause this is what I choose to do

In fact my senses
are that pliable
and subjectively selective

I am master of the narrative

Pain and pleasure
are disposable
interchangeable perceptions
to fit the needs
of any given moment

Delusion is the ultimate happiness

I hear dragons

cavorting in the basement

Why not? 

Scavenger Hunt

 

Gotta love those ugly vultures
circling so elegantly
above my soon to be
defunct carcass

Tis a death scene so serene
here in the arid desert
that's all horizon
and no substance

Or is this personal tragedy
simply my carnivore just desserts
dipped in the bittersweet sauce of irony
served before the main course?

I really admire
these patient scavenger creatures
of natural recycling efficiencies 
even though their imminent destiny
involves feasting on deceased me

Late Night Hook Up

 

Late night I roamed
into a foggy dimension
adjacent to my home
cause I could not sleep

So I followed
the soothing voice
which compelled me to go

Not that I could have resisted

this trip that deep down

my soul knew was inevitable

I met the apparition magnet source

who was very scary of course

but somehow not threatening

In fact it was enveloped

in an aura of contentment

that was quite comforting

The unearthly visage
gently took my hand
and led me away
from this harsh existence
I never did understand

Into the white light fantastic we danced

never to come this way again

To this mess I say good riddance

See you soon my mortal friends

Deadly Hierarchy

 

Across my worn rug
dares to crawl

a solitary bug in transit

to where I do not know

It's out of place
existence offends

my natural order sensibilities

I identify the intruder
as a member
of the lowly beetle family

having seen 

a National Geographic Special

on these insects

a while back on TV

Outraged as only
the privileged can be
I leap up from comfort

invoking my instincts to protect

me and my family
and with my iron boot squished
the life form beneath
my dominant species
simply because I can

As I scraped

it's splattered remains

off the bottom

of my size eleven weapon

I was struck

by a lightening bolt of conscience

and wondered

if the extermination

of this living being

who was no real threat

was even necessary

in the grand scheme

Perhaps this discomforting

pang of guilt

was a foreboding warning

that someday we humans

will be on the receiving end

of a more powerful foot 

Freedom Take Aways

 

I hear birds on our roof
taking a break from the sky
as they rest their tired bodies

on a space unoccupied

We fall back on the technicality
that these winged intruders

are trespassing on our property

Their very presence

is an affront

to we pearl clutching occupants

living well within this residence

Surely these weary aliens

must be here illegally
so we call the iron hand of authority
to take away and cage

these feathered trespassers
and make our shelter exclusive again

Head Shot

 

Here in my new occupation
as a social media
combat politics correspondent

A bystander to the daily carnage am I
from my position in the midst of it

Popped my head out of the bunker
so that I could better see
the hyper squabbling all around me

Carnage being a great spectator sport
when viewing the hyperbole
which I even get to occasionally
be a participant in

The flat screen keyboard
being mightier than the sword

Alas just my bad luck
a passing projectile bullet missile
from a hyper partisan
who actually
took this war literally
exercised his God given
2nd Amendment rights
and decapitated
my now exposed
text warrior voyeur head

Now I am part
of the Great American
homicide charts

All because I played along
and forgot to duck

She Based Translations

 

Oblivious me
constantly misreads
feminine body language
and all the subtle nuances
of their indirect verbal cues
that trip up my clueless literal ass

with every misinterpretation

Such is the level of my ignorance
I would probably be better served
to apply application

of the opposite translation
whenever I dare to venture 
into the always dangerous realm

of intergender

garbled communications

Breeding Around

 

Check your mirror
before venturing out
into the velvet evening
of mass conceiving

Sexual objects

are closer than they appear

For it's mating season
here in the jungle primordial
where visual attractiveness
has always been a powerful 
pheromonal lure
that keeps the species refreshed
on many invigorating levels
of stimulating human reproduction

Natural Foreboding

 

For too long we ignored
ominous undertones
emanating from the core
of the natural order

Obliviousness

being a chronic sickness

of this dominant species

The slow deep rumbling
once deceptively soothing
has not only increased in intensity
but now threatens to breach
the collective sanity
of a careless society
too obsessed
with personal convenience

and over consumption

Which while an economic necessity

for a consumer driven economy

is a death sentence

for our increasingly fragile ecology

Today the bill comes due

as it always does

but overextended us

with a busted credit limit

and empty bank account

now has to deal

with an out of patience

foreclosing landlord 

 

School of Harshness

 

At Predatory University
we only accept
the most vicious candidates
chosen by us to matriculate
here at our piranha school
of cutthroat lawyers
and sharp knife accountants

We turn out the most heartless
merciless professional assassins
who will you want by your side
if you should ever fall
into the bloody waters
of our cutthroat justice system
where survival of the meanest

is the only law that abides 

Primitive Communications

 

We of the Land Line Generation
may not know
any of the hip tech acronyms
or even how to program
these magical hand held devices
but we can still do the fading art 
of human to human conversation
using voice tone and inflection
to convey an effective message
in gloriously unedited
complete sentences