here's another gem of a poem.
inspired by the *first* Gulf War.
nothing has changed my friends:
This Ain’t Alaska
Smell of a thousand
oil changes lingers in the air.
Incessant eye sting
brings tear trail,
cutting and carving the face their way - down.
Sand clings like Bay mud
to boots, hands, lizard, and the like.
Darkness at noon
here to sway metabolism
cheating lives - away.
Soupy skin of disaster
looks straight out of hell.
This ain’t Alaska
rather modern day Mesopotamia
burning from the inside.
Eden seems some far away - now.
This Ain’t Atlantis Either
ReplyDeleteDrafts of a million
foil charrings litters the kitchen.
Incandescent bulb staring
beams untold travail,
bleaching and baking the lace
of the doily curtains.
A man sings like Bernard Malamud
as soot, rubber bands, paper clips, and the like become fossils
on the dormitory roof.
There to shear fronds and
waste lives - away.
Warped drum of mermaid design
looks straight out of Atlantis.
This ain’t Alaska or Nebraska -
rather modern post malaise
burning from the inside.
Need seems so near - now.