Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #007

The light was

 so beautiful this morning

Now it is gone 

That fast 

'Out brief candle' 

Well to the west 

It loomed dark purple 

Deepest hints of bruised plum 

Like after a storm 

The light was illuminating 

Autumn colors on some trees 

Bright Gold completely on one 

Green & Red on another 

I wanted to get a shot of that 

But the light was so fast 

I guess it will have to live on 

Inside of my memory

a collaborative poem with Gigi Starlings

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #006

Come all ye saints, 

politicians, and crooks. 
Lay open your soul 
let us read 
like a book 
the message it holds

Sing us the song of our little sin
Give unto Caeser & give once again 
Broke down foundation
Marble now humbled
Let it crumble & tumble
& stumblingly bumble
down the highway to hell

work comes from energy outside of us
we may dispense with the delusion 
of believing we make it happen. 

Come all ye lookers, 
hookers, and hounds. 
Pray to the sky 
as your feet leave the ground
wind sings your song
through a white FEMA flute

When a child builds a sand castle 
the sand is not “partnering” with her: 
it simply lies dormant and allows her to work 
it into the proper form
—adding water if it is too dry, 
fitting it into the shape 
of a tower here 
or a drawbridge there

Free autumn sunset street 
shocks & brakes out on the Graham Street Corridor

As far as concepts go, 
the walls that've been closing in 
are no longer a concept 
but now a fact. 

Even the trash icon 
compacts trash. 
For this reason alone 
the gurgle of high-octane 
Nascar engines 
highlight the backgrounded 
white noise

A stone slips beneath the surface 
of a fake lake 
as webbed feet paddle 
across rippling fake waves 
to investigate.

Finding there only briars 
and brambles 
and thickets to scramble
He turns his nose up 
to the rest of the journey 
as an eagle 
with a ten foot wingspan 
launches 
from one side 
of the lake
& a Heron
{from the camera}
makes a hasty escape

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #005

people say they don't believe in hell 

that's fine 

to believe in something 

that actually exists 

or not to believe 

in something

You would rather ignore

Don't be deceived

Seeing how you treat one another 

from the beginning of this short life

living off the road

living on the roof 

in a room 

ultraviolet 

ultraviolence 

and piercing the iris

Oh yes, I know it exists

If it cannot exist here 

on this material plane 

why shouldn't it happened 

on the much more actual plane 

of reality 

of the afterlife?  

It’s natural to realize 

things will decay 

over time 

unless they are 

actively maintained 

There is something more than we know 

There is a further distance for us to go 

Where the seeds we once planted 

from them shall we sow  

Any ounce of negative energy 

exceeds 

introducing even more 

& even more

spiritual entropy

You cannot will yourself 

to be more orderly, 

nor more spiritual

Left to our own devices, 

We will decay into sin

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #004

Levels of Lovelessness

When the eyes consume
The mind ignites
With 'want' & death's sure-footed approach
We all see that which we desire
To label
To touch
To own

To consume

images are nothing more
than mere images
Locked inside imagination's 
nuclear unstable trajectory
Reality is real
As real as a heart attack
all the images bead up
Raindrops on silicon
Reflecting & projecting
Transmitted from a dumb
Lifeless rock
Without a beat
Non-pulsed
Nor a pumping thump
There, where is, no looking back 
No glorification of gratitude

Only blindingly bland walls decorated

By poster children of self satisfaction

From before the test tube

Genetic modification

Plastic injection molds

For what? To what?

To cuddle away the cold?

May as well have been

A rubber blow up doll

As long as you don't mind

mindless conversation

With yourself

About yourself

Starring yourself

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #003

 Most people are living in hell 

or either purgatory 

at the moment 

they're still alive

Without love joy hope

What do you have?

Please don't tell me you are forgiven 

or that you have never felt loved 

Please don't excuse yourself 

on my behalf 

That just makes the fire hotter 

& the burn time more 

excruciating 

The sear more dominant 

for the sizzle

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #002

Oh, Those Fiery Flames!

Oh, the Firey fires of hell

They don't even warm your bones

Like a laughing skull 

Helmet of blue methane flames

They burn all the way through

The marrow of your bones

There is no Avenue of escape

Even time will not contain 

the strain

Now that the polling places

have shuttered their tongues 

there's some cold air on the way

Oh, Those Fiery Flames! #001

Oh, Those Fiery Flames!

Have you ever wondered 

'Whatever happened

Or what became of old so & so?

They were always the life of the party.'

But little did we know

How could you expect anyone to know?

They were soooo pretty

& they worked out all the time

They bought the right products

& agreed with all the causes

Putting lipsticks on leg-hold traps

Making love to themselves