ABOUT DAMASCUS

age & its rising descent

play at profundity today

like a road to damascus moment

if damascus is the corner shop

& the moment 

a rest at the corner

on a low brick wall

under strung cables 

buzzing from signals 

caught from the sky

LIKE I LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING

the myth of muse

is a side effect 

of all the saliva we swallow

& it sneezes its lexicon-salad

from
inside
even
my
scheduled rest attempts

like i left the engine running 

& this heres the fumes

 

POETRY BY MATHS

coffee x 5

+
rest x 1000
=

some kind of poem sometimes

if 

the 

central nervous system stimulants 

kick in

cos sometimes theyre lacking

~

so

if the maths are good
& the sky just right
& the gulls overhead 

signal nostalgia seasides

then i get 

a slim god-slice of venn

scribbled in spiders

on the bedside pad

& pink moon is played

all day & all night
in the midtown bodegas

 

A GIL SCOTT HERON MONDAY

its
noon
one
two two two o clock

time to rest heavy

shift / run stop

gil scott heron

did not become

anyone

he did not mean to be

beer & unlined paper

~

monday
is 

all

carefully

counted

territorial pissings

& i lose myself
& i hide myself  

  

in fantasy
in horror

thru mind-eye & ear resonation

gil scott heron

is the closest 

voice of reason 

he has

& always feels like running

photo by micha richter from the vinylfactory

OFF SWITCH ?

you know
when you
cant move
cant move
cant move

cant get up
why should you ?
& the alarm 
is being
such a cunt

but you do

its a common miracle

& it stays with you
that lead in the bones
that fug in the brainpan
all morning
all day

& when you do make it back
into 
the 
soft wonder thread count
its not the same

& you cant rest
cant rest
cant rest

fuzzy to-do list 
taped 
to your optic nerve

you twist there
a reject pretzel
wondering 
if there
is maybe 
an off switch

deep inside
your
colonic confines

from unisonhome.com

10.15 AM

after
a
week
in
our cocoon balloon 
our unkillable bubble
of
in-jokes
and
safety
it
becomes monday again
and
she has to work

and it is eternally awfully 10.15 AM

later
the afternoon arrives
late and strung out on carbs

and
then
the 
day
falls
     slowly
           down
toward
reunion
and
rest

POETRY BREAKFAST APRIL 12 POEM A DAY SUGGESTION - POEM ABOUT FIXING YOUR BED

  time 
  was
i would get up in the morning
by standing straight up with the alarm
and marching down the length of the bed

to the door
and the day

doing
25 pull-ups or so
before
boiling
eggs

  but 
slats at the bottom of the bed
cracked like knuckles
and
i replaced them with thicker pine
from
out 
the 
garage

the pull-up bar
is there still

as a memory 
and a target

  but 
i get up now
over
30 mins 

or longer

of sluggish mental gymnastics
aborted attempts
fresh resolution

telling
myself
my
reward is coffee

and
a
rest

untitled (broken bed) by steve gianakos acrylic on fabric

FAULTY SOFT UTILITY

doubt lets mad birds
into the attic 

they flap wild and fast and scared

and 
doubt fills the basement 
with cold green sludge

it clogs up reason
and soft utilities

and 
then
Bear Corner a.m. 
in cool clean sunshine/green nature and orange brick glows 
waiting on a commuter bus
with a kid
whos all headphones
hair gelled into a wave
sharp shoes point ahead

when

a simple paving slab
heavy/solid/stone 

seems to LOOM up from the earth/mocking perspective
taking over everything
looking 

just 

actually 

quite MAD

then i know
its
time
for
real rest