The Conspiracy

 

Fire & Brimstone 

At the curb brown leaves turned to mud  

Mixed w/ bits of plastic & cardboard  

Desperate to rest awhile so I can turn  

To whatever comes from the ocean or from the ground

Trouble no doubt tears & drying of tears  

Screams of lust & heaves of sighing  

Locusts like horses w/ stinging tails  

Masses of horses breathing fire & brimstone  

  

The Terrifying Breath  

In the woods unlike the city a flag  

Is easy to see & much more lovely  

Unencumbered by terror & disgust  

The shame & exhaustion that accompanies old age  

And the sight of the dead lying in the street  

If they’d only get up everyone would be impressed  

With a tremendous sigh & lifting of hands  

Having survived the poison & the terrifying breath  

  

Sunlight Thru’ the Window  

With strings & trailing wisps of white  

A strident saxophone enters stage right  

And I’ve always been impressed by a good horn  

Today tho’ I look around for something to follow  

A dragon say or some horny beast  

Impressing us at last to expressions of wonder  

Saxophone riffing along in time  

Sunlight thru’ the window warm on my neck  

  

While the Daffodils Bloom  

A woman in the sky dressed only in sunlight  

Standing on the moon about to give birth  

While the writer watches & the dragon waits  

And we limp along the street w/ our sealed foreheads  

Wishing each other well from a safe distance  

Not nervous out here but somewhat embarrassed  

Hiding our faces while the daffodils bloom  

  

Again Please  

Gray green yellow & purple  

Gossiping birds giddy w/ spring  

And me troubled by the preacher asking Jesus  

Again please come in out of the cold  

I’ll be making dinner soon we  

Have wine & fish & a bowl of rice  

The cute little mocking beast tho’  

With his dragon breath can stay outside 

  

The Quick Moving Sky  

Sirens & wind & the testimony of witnesses  

Greenwood waving for our attention  

And people dying of course while you dream  

Of people dying w/ red noses & turning to coal  

The living are mostly friendly & interested from their distance  

The ones who’ve come out to breathe while they can  

Admiring the flowers & leafy seedlings  

The scent of the hyacinth & the quick moving sky  

  

Cleanliness is Next  

Squirrel over a branch gnawing a nut  

Willow swaying softly red birds tweet  

Curiously I’m relieved in the sunlight something  

Accomplished tomato seedlings & edges  

That gigantic old dragon no longer in the sky  

So don’t get to easy it may be at the door  

Forked tongue flicking & a deal for you  

Cleanliness is next & the washing of doorknobs   

  

Answering the Wind  

Purple Violets & red columbine  

Yellow trees sway & answer the wind  

Living here among the dead composting  

Standing up again again among the living  

A voice like a waterfall following me around  

While the red dragon goes viral killing to survive  

The forest trees sway & answer the wind  

We walk among fields of violets & wonder  

  

Fresh Growth  

Staring out the window there are maple seeds everywhere  

Fresh growth too in the Christmas tree  

And I fallen into lassitude irritation & discomfort  

Growling w/ every sticky detail  

While the tiny horn boasts a lying narrative  

His ill fitted crown slipped to one side  

And while the spokesperson tried to explain  

Someone ran down the hall & crashed out the window  

  

Who I Am/Written on a Stone  

Rain wet road & big maple leaves  

Rippling puddles in a cracked sidewalk  

I’m standing by the window in muted daylight  

Considering the question at the side of the road  

The book of life & the lamb that was slain  

Looking for a name that’s written on a stone  

To put in my pocket so I can carry it along  

To remind me who I am when I have forgotten

 

Rain on the Way 

Look up; there's a lamb standing on the mountain 

At the foot of a forest of tall oak trees 

Atrocities have been done in the towns & in the country 

Along the borders that naturally would mean nothing to anyone 

There's a light that rises & moves toward the gate 

Highlighting the kindness in your troubled forehead 

There's a voice like a waterfall like thunder & mandolins 

With the oak trees singing, rain on the way

 

Signs of Conversation   

The hawk had gone that was standing in sunlight   
A blanket & pillow abandoned in shade   
My sense of affection too was detached   
Passing by the signs of conversation   
Witnessing the mystery of endurance & imposition   
Common tongue & automatic rifles   
While the old whore sat by the river, frailing   
A tune to call back her cruel lovers 

  

Mourning Dove Insistent  

Chirping bird lavender, yellow roses by the statue 

I'm wearing a blanket over my shoulders 

Wanting rest from the nights of explosion & glare 

To get ready for the next round of trouble  

There are many whose names have never been written 

Aching for the normal that brought us thus far 

Covered in insults the mourning dove insists 

And the bees one more time among the flowers 

  

The White Crane Too Has Flown  

Black birds circle the flowering tree  

There's been rain & a damp coolness set in  

I've risen again from my memories of failure  

I'm tired of them, they don't do me any good  

The thunder the lightning the gusting wind  

Are gone & the seven plagues to follow  

Then the silent voice says, come this way  

The white crane too has flown from the river 

  

Rain on the Way   

Look up; there's a lamb standing on the mountain   

At the foot of a forest of tall oak trees   

Atrocities have been done in the towns & in the country   

Along the borders that naturally would mean nothing to anyone   

There's a light that rises & moves toward the gate   

Highlighting the kindness in your troubled forehead   

There's a voice like a waterfall like thunder & mandolins   

With the oak trees singing, rain on the way 

  

Open Your Ears  

Daylilies have bloomed & shoes have been thrown  

Mockingbird notes in bright morning air  

Resting my ears & dissonant mind  

Watch awhile, look & see  

If you’re for prison, to prison you must go  

Cut people down & you will be cut  

Written to open your ears to endure  

Taking a knee is the posture of a servant