String and Duct Tape

Things break
in this existence
of wear and tear

People snap

when tensions
become too much to bear

We do our best 
to fix what we can

Replace broken parts

Patch up the holes

Not easy to do repairs

when spinning out of control 

As we struggle to accept

we gotta work around

these stubborn defects

that define

flawed imperfections

Garden of Hedonism

Walk into the light

Follow the music trail

Join the party

Pour yourself a brew

or two

or three

Hook up
with an eager dance partner

or two

or three

Cancel your staid morality

Take your vice
wherever you can find it

Be the flawed creatures
we were made to be

Submit to the primal urges
that flow naturally
from your body

Come the foggy
morning after
confess your recycled sins
to the hollow man
collecting plastic souls

Gargle residue guilt
and spit out
pointless regrets

Leave the absolution
to the bored saints
sitting home alone
every Saturday night
chanting their rosary beads
smothered in empty prayers

Truth Booster

I suffer from
a chronic case
of Conjecture Dysfunction

Symptoms include

Limp speculation

Incessant postulation 

and hyper hypothetical consternation 

The pondering condition
causes a self induced paralysis
from rampant over analysis

but this hesitancy

need not be fatal

just have to stimulate
my decision gland 

and elevate 

internal conversation 

with the healing power

of doubt busting facts

Romance Math

When the sum
of our differences
is multiplied by
equitable compromise

plus mutual respect

minus selfish needs

divided by two

this equates

to a love
that is greater

than the sum
of our individual parts

Ignition Medicine

Candle light
burning bright

Candle light
shines the night

with a steeple shadow cast
for as long as the wick lasts

Every flame
needs an assist
to maintain its flicker

So it goes

for me and you

as I ingest

my magic pill of blue

Mr Ordinary

I was not put on this Earth
to make large sums of money

or savor even a taste of fame

I am
the sum
of my limitations

An interchangeable
fully anonymous
cog in the wheel

Nothing special going on here

Not going change my circumstance

My course is locked in and set

This is not a self pity rap

Just the facts

of an average life

I am at peace with 

Pause Missiles

Come dance with me

on an egg shell stage

For our whirlwind tour
of superficiality 

played out daily

to a sold out house
of virtual ghosts

Just shine those lights bright

and keep away the dim

Together we share
a mutual terror
when silence falls between us

Those awkward
hard to forestall
chatter lulls

that force us to face

our relationship fragility

Fly In Web

Sweet viral girl
pops up on my screen
like a sweaty dream

She reeks of spam
and other devious worms 
as she entices me 
with a tempting invite
to click her easy access link

My rational head properly warns
that if I take the vixen's bait
havoc will be my fate

Logic implores 
this naughty boy
to practice safe text

but as always
desire rules the day

Of course it did

Now I pay the price

for my late night cyber vice
with an infected device
and a broken heart

Just how do I explain

my ill conceived sin

to my wife

and will she condemn me

as being an unfaithful cheat

who ventured onto infidelity street?

Mr Cruise Control

I'm not a big adventure guy anymore

Performed all that derring do before

Crash and burned so many times
pushing that envelope to the max
as I flew right off the tracks

These scars I carry today
an ugly testimony
that failure is part of life

Not that I let regrets
weigh me down
as long as I remain a member
of the above ground crowd
but somewhere along the way
maturity somehow found me

So I just wanna chill these days

Leave the attention starved heroics to others

Recline in my rocking chair
and do the vegetate thing

Go ahead and label me a bore
cause I'm not a player anymore
at least I got memories to keep me warm

Now go forth and do the same  

A Leper's Tale

Sometimes 

this warning label 
I am required to wear
by the powers that be
weighs heavy 

All their top witch doctors agree

A more toxic individual 
they have never seen

People therefore avoid me
like a plague infested rat

It use to really hurt
to be ostracized like that
by my judgmental society

but somebody

has to play the role

of designated village freak

Truth be told

I rather enjoy the privacy

that being an outcast affords me 

Canned Propaganda

Throughout history
the slick masters
of media manipulation
create demand
throughout the land 
by planting the seeds
of popular opinion

The formula
of consolidating power
is elementary

spoon feed the masses
the glossy causes 
they think they need

Spark them emotionally 

and they will rally
around the banner fervently

Cause in the end

the sheep want to be led

without the burden
of thinking

Cold Flame Down

The other day
an old man passed away

They say
he was a cold warrior
from yesterday

All his passions had been spent

screaming about the red threat

Fighting those godless commies
who sought world domination
were his obsession

When communism fell

he rejoiced as did we all

but with their extinction
his purpose died too

Never fully recovering
from the wall coming down

This fallen refugee
of history

we bury today

with all the other lost warriors

of yesterday     

    

Indie Production

Long ago
in the sweltering sauna
where we began

In a darkened room

secret plans

conspirators gather

plotting their treason
against the mother
who bore them

risking everything
for an ideal
never before tried

A document is produced

cutting tyranny's cord 

Bells ring

Proclaiming
a new nation
on that steamy
July day

when the world was forever
turned upside down

Prime Choice

So there we be

seeking the proper star course

to that elusive

happily ever after destiny

You and I orbit each other

The mutual attraction of gravity

Like the constellations above

straining for release

Spinning off constantly

The stuff of jettisoned dreams

But no matter where we may be

in this massive galaxy

you are eternally here with me

Sound Proof

In the void of space
the silence is pure

A black hole of sound

Nothing around

to pollute the peace
we never seem to find
here on Earth

Volcanic Ashley

You wear your frustrations
so much better

than acerbic I do

Though I desperately try
to play the cool guy
my blatant sarcasm
always exposes

a bitter side

impossible to hide

While your simmering anger
you mask very gracefully
with that sweet innocent smile

Who would ever surmise
the delicious evil
that resides internally

right beneath

that immaculate facade?

My angelic assassin
with volcanic passion

poised to erupt

at the slightest provocation

Such the dangerous obsession are you

Riding the Time Line

From it's perch high
here on the edge of eternity
Time watches over
Circus Humanity

as the Calendar of Forever
regulates the great clock in the sky
tracking the morsels of minutes

that Time allocates
to all Earthly inhabitants
who exist obliviously
beneath the umbrella
of a force
they can not directly see
but the remnants
always resonate
the ultimate reality
to be navigated collectively

Confessions of a Cynic

These lofty ideals

I use to carry

in my attitude 

unapologetically

now lie in the ruins

of this gray crime scene...

Crumbled dreams

chipped away

by decades

of steady disappointments...

Replaced

by the sharp jagged bricks

of current bitter indifference...

Now I'm just another

cynical commentator

blasting a society

that failed me

though in reality

beneath my wrecked facade

I know full well 

I failed myself 

Freedom Dreamer

So here we are

deep into this
commitment abyss

Every moment

a tug of war
for control

as you tie me up
with all your
constricting restrictions

so today you may have
the upper hand

but

someday I will escape
the maze of destruction
you have constructed

Find my way
over the wall

and never look back     

Under the Influence

Don't waste your indignation
on heartless cretins
who are beyond
any hope of redemption

Save your rage
for those who teeter
between
good and evil

Maybe they can be saved

from a life depraved  

if you use
your powers of persuasion

to properly shame them straight 

Of Myths and Us

I do so regret
that I will never
get the chance
to impale a dragon
on my unicorn's horn
and take the bloody carcass
to the meat market
and have it sliced
into serpent steaks

I love mythology so

even though I know

it has no practical value

here in the 21st Century

Keeping Company

Hi Ho
to all my fellow
bottom feeders !!

Come commiserate with me
and we can share
our varied tragedies

Collective misery
that flows
deeper than the sea

Let's forge unity
as we join forces
to blow away our enemies

Maybe together
we can elevate
each other
and levitate
out of this hole

At the very least

we'll love each other's

miserable company

Well Hung

Noose in tree

Hanging free

Neck in noose

Moment of truth

Feet off ground

Snapping sound

Limp body

Swinging loosely

Cut him down

We took a life today

the eye for an eye way

like the Roman's did

when they crucified dissidents 

Loco Motions

The first step
on that bumpy path 
to happiness
is to accept
none of this
was meant
to make any sense

Tis all an illogical
free style dance
of random circumstance
where we make up
the steps as we go along

So there is nothing wrong
with stumbling
and taking a fall

We all do

but we get back up
dust ourselves off
and adapt as best we can
to impractical reality    

Strained Bedfellows

Load cannon

Aim at the wall

Fire repeatedly

Stand back

and watch it fall

Roll the artillery
over the ruins
of our enemy's tragedy 

After the glorious victory
the vanquished
line up for reparations

Suckling the funds we send
to rebuild them
and hope some day
they'll be our friends

Our aid
they will gratefully take
but their appreciation
will be fake

There's no forgiveness

from those we have wrecked

Just simmering revenge

behind the hand shakes 

of our gunpoint allies 

Love It Up

Dinner time TV

The news blasts daily 

Prejudice and bigotry

Ignorance begets misery

Our curse throughout history

The fix is no mystery

To mend the global tapestry

an open heart is the key

Let your love flow free 

and redirect the destiny

of our troubled humanity

Earthly Inheritance

The future of humanity
may hinge ultimately
on how we take care
of those in extreme poverty

We better heed
the growling rumblings
in the rapidly
diminishing distance  

for someday
the abject poor
we choose to ignore 

may grow into
the nothing to lose majority

Then we will notice
the economic inequities
we have thrived on
when the peasants 
storm our castle walls

Pulled Plug Apocalypse

Morning power up
as we enter our devices
to access our world
when much to mass chagrin
the country is devastated
by no connection

The mother of all hacks
had occurred while we slept

The magic data cloud
we could no longer access

So who stole our internet?

All the usual suspects
are contemplated
in a last ditch attempt
to make sense
of this unusual
and unprecedented circumstance

The Chinese government

Those hard core capitalists  
top our suspect list

or maybe the Koreans
are still pissed
about that dictator flick?

and the Russians 
can never be dismissed 

That Putin dude 
always the joker
in the global deck

Enemies all
rejoice
as our economy stalls

The stock market falls
as the brokers
scramble to find
ticker tape

The best techies will be called
to solution this national calamity 

A geek convention in DC
to be convened
as a state of emergency
is declared

The worst side effect without a doubt
now that we have to do without

is that we now
may have to actually
talk to each other!!

No more tech time buffer
to edit what we say

We are live and real time
personally connected

Oh my oh my!!!

How will we survive
living so 20th century???

Don't Poke The Wizard

Once again
we are undone
by our misplaced
good intentions
that sought to regulate
and stifle the powers
of  forces
we did not understand

Laws were passed
in secret midnight sessions
under the broad umbrella
of homeland protections

Of course
the keepers
of the sacred myths
would have none of this

They rallied their army
from the bowels
of the Under Earth
and mounted 
a fierce resistance

Now we find ourselves
in a desperate war
with an enemy we created

All because
we chose to stir
the scalding cauldron
of Hell

Wedded Duress

Marriage vows

Real life fairy tales
played out daily
all over the world

Such a pretty litany
of lovely promises

Rose petals
paving the way
to eternity

We all know the reality

Statistical history
that measures
prior nuptial disasters 
will fully quantify
the wreckage
of happily ever afters

In spite of the odds

they line up anyway

to take that leap of faith 

chanting the ancient liturgy

hopeful that their words

do not fly off

like a mocking bird