“…distinguishing our friends on TikTok
from the system failure of the Matrix,
fictional agents who trip on the trip-wire
of a progressive déjà vu,
sounding the alarm for Pokémon
like Pikachu,
whose evolution to Raichu
seals the demise
of politicians and preachers
who wear a postmodern disguise.”
Those who live for the glamor and spotlight
drink drops of disco
that rages into the night.
Forget your westward expansion;
leave a fossil footprint of what’s right.
Androgynous highs and lows—
testosterone freezes
and estrogen flows
like snow,
sun-bathin on top of Kilimanjaro,
meltin glaciers below.
You exuded confidence
like one of Zeus’s thunderbolts
and beauty, oh greatness,
beauty that rivaled the cause
of the Trojan War—
Helen of Sparta’s passionate revolt.
how quickly we forget,
laying down palm branches
to casting stones a week later,
breaking stained glass windows
to our mansions,
crucifying our Creator.
The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.
Light bends, as we know, when it passes through substances of different densities. And, in this case, light passed through the glass ornaments, hanging on my evergreen, extrapolating a symphony of numbers that danced all around me.
This poem was inspired by Cornelius Plantinga’s book Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be and the lyrics to Cake’s song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle.” Bellyful. Passive-aggressive bomb Or self-medicated napalm? The neglect of this rhyme Revives the justification of your dime Spent on supersized fries While kids in the Congo…