Enigma

A laurel of crows circled his head
Didn't know if he was alive or dead
Nailed to a cross tied to a post
Had no idea when he gave up the ghost,
goosebumps tattooed his swollen tummy
his face drawn taut like an Egyptian mummy
due to my age I found it hard to remember,
Was it before or after December?

Do you understand what I'm trying to say
Could things had been done in a different way?

A bullet with his name on it pierced his head
nailed on a cross where he cried and bled,
The stark event caused me to wonder
had there been a catasrophic blunder?
Was it an omen of good and bad karma
An unforseen twist in a nightmarish drama,
That took placce in Selma, Alabama?

Do you understand what I'm trying to say,
Could things had been done in different way?

A weathe of doves circled his head
He was too much alive after being dead
Though nailed to the cross and tied to a post
He refused to yeild up his ghost
Wounds in his side and hands revealed
That which was opened was smoothly sealed.

The world is in upheaval
Good versus evil
Zealots and maggots
Whichever way you take it
Few are choosen as a sacrifical tool
To promote or demote the Golden Rule.
The world is afoul with underlings
Conspirators and ding-a-lings?

But, oh! I recall it was a joyeous day
To see an humbled Uncle Sam,
As Nina sang her gutsy song,
Mississippi Goddamn!

Poems That Don't make Sense

(1)

They look like us
tattooed in bulk,
Atlas on a shoestring,
holding up a cindered world,
spewing volcanic mucus
from a five and six pointed star,
reliving slavery, the Alamo and the holocaust.

They sing like us,
devil trills and lusty songs
on pirate and Viking ships
as eagles, hummingbirds and butterflies
soar high and low on piano keys.

(2)

Tettering on a tightrope,
I seesaw above vats of molasses
churned by Aunt Jemima
and Betty Crocker.
Undergoing cosmetic surgery
my face is caked with pizza dough.

(3)

Cyclops and the Seeing Eye dog
slipped passed Cerberus
in mode to free Eurydice
after Orpheus failed attempt.
Three eyes mastered the task
as Pluto slept.

two lines a day or more

In the lens of my camera I captured the fluttering of a butterfly. My friend winked at me before he died. When reaching into my full pocket, I knew emptiness. In the beginning God created consciousness and dreams. Two lines a day - confining, Three line a day -refreshing. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, A smile a day keeps anger at bay. Wisdom comes with age, so does foolishness. Big Brother is a monster with two horns and a forked tongue. Politics and religions are void of justice. The Creator is an androgynous entity. Mongo gives and Mongo takes away. Anger poisons the blood and numbs the mind. Each second of sleep equals an hour of death. Gambling is the surest way to win or lose. A sincere smile is an expression of loving wholeness. Achivement is colorblind. Lunacy is the absence of sanity. Most humans have a brain without the means to use it. I'd rather have a hundred days with my animals driving me crazy than one day without them. Friendship is neither cheap nor expensive. The measure of ones worth is measured by ones worthliness. Neither the tongue nor mouth are discriminatory when it comes to cunnilingus and fellatio. I pray fifty times a day for world peace. We all need a little poison in our lives. Your neurosis is my psychosis. Forgive me for trying to help you. Sometimes it's advantageous to brave a cowards mien. Mindful forgetfullness is one path leading to the fountain of youth. Always try having a big heart and a concrete mind. Sometimes generalities are profound. I'm forever dancing on the arch of a rainbow. Cutting a cats claw is inhufeline. At the start of any bout the outcome is known. Imitation is a form of thievery. Trusting can be a form of self-punisment. A programmed mind can not expand. Stages are to pass through not to remain in. No human is born standing on two feet. The devil is commercial-minded. He advertises. Guilt is for those with a conscience.

Emmett Till/The Happening

The Breeze joined in the happening
And was courted by Wonderment
Lush Flowers opened petaled heads
An acknowledged sentiment

The Sun peek-a-booed with Clouds
Before finding a patch of the blue
And Birds that soared into the Sky
Were cuddled in God's view

Thin blades of Grass swayed nervously
Leaves kissed a pulsating Earth
As Hummingbird and Butterfly
Delayed their nectarous search

Forked Branches of tall trees sagged low
As to witness what was to come
Mixed Pebbles in a Brook were lulled
In the waters restless hum

A Stream nearby a shallow cave
Linked their astonishment
To see which way the Youth would run
Whose strength was nearly spent

The Boys face was a silhouette
One of anguish inked in fear
His Eyes wide orbs of disbelief
As shouts and yelps drew near

Barking Dogs wagged anxious tails
Anticipation aired
Within ear range of the Youth
Vulnerable and scared

The mob blitzed an aching woods
Their footsteps shook the land
They moved like Marionettes possessed
By devilish command

The Breeze still inquisitive
What had the Fugitive done
The Sky paraded clumps of Clouds
As if to tease the Sun

Chirping Birds winged homeward
Earthworms sought their holes
Leaves fluttered nervously
Near evil seething souls

We's gonna ketch 'im dat's fer shore
Was stated as a fact
And others cried weal 'ang 'im 'igh
Icing on their pact

Timeless seconds ticked-tocked by
Nature flexed her guard
Tense, alert, danger-wise
She waited to be marred

The throng was armed with clubs and guns
Braided and twisted rope
Pitchforks and cans of gasoline
Ruled out whatever hope

Growling dogs leaped their leashes lengths
Nearby a grove of trees
Betrayed the sweat-soaked panting Youth
Crouched on hands and knees

The wicked, jeering, sadistic mob
Let the animals free
Delighted in the biting fangs
Of canine savagery

The Lad succumbed the hammering blows
Disfigured limb and face
He was left hogtied and charred
In that violated space

The Breeze exhaled a painful sigh
The Sun crashed through a Cloud
Flowers closed their saddened heads
And Heaven cried aloud

The bloodstained Grass bowed reverently
An Owl perched in a Tree
Captured with unflinching Eye
That act of infamy

Paparazzi

I am tired of the paparazzi
infesting my neighborhood,
like leeches and vampires,
they're out to suck the blood,
from skid row denizens
who've done nothing wrong,
these paparazzi dressed in blue
sometimes fifty strong
have been issued gestapo license
to intimidate and demean,
it's time we come together
and confront this harsh regime.

Everywhere I look and turn,
they're gawking in my face,
undercover Klansman
strategically in place
on the streets of skid row
to sprout their racist seeds ,
basturds of a brotherhood
doing dirty deeds.
They swagger up and down the streets,
armed with club and gun,
their victims are the powerless,
and by some rule of thumb,
they think they are laws Elite
dealing with gutter scum.

I, for one have witnessed,
this paparazzi crew,
violate the civil and human rights
of a defenseless few
for merely shaking hands
or assembling with a friend
to exchange a pleasantry
or to some other end.

This paparazzi in blue attire
with unchecked authority
force people to the curb and wall
and taz their dignity.
I'm tired of the paparazzi ,
tracking where ever I go,
dogging my every move
because I'm on skid row.
I'm a law-abiding citizen,
and deserving of respect
instead of being mistreated
like a societal reject.
It's time we come together;
end this nightmarish dream,
raise our voice in protest
against this foul regime,
stand up and fight for freedom,
end the quasi-occupation,
and let the powers know
skid row's not the new plantation;
let this paparazzi bunch
know they're pinching our last nerve,
with unconstitutional arrest,
when their job is to protect and serve.

Margarida Yurico

Now, Margarida Yurico,
Inwardly, outwardly,
Never again to chase abstract shadows
Of Life's illusive shadows -
We friends and kin
Are deeply saddened
By your sudden premature departure,
Yet awed and keenly captured
In the ken that you remain
A total presence,
An entity merged in synchronized
Rhythms embellishing celestial choirs.

Now, Margarida Yurico,
Your melodious voice
Cuddles snugly in comforting nuances
Of gentle, playful winds -
Vibrantly alive, your Spirit
Integrates universally
With sun rays and moonbeams.

Your eyes once curtailed
By definable limits
Are become luminous lights
Penetrating boundless space and time ...
Now, Margarida Yurico,
This is your supreme hour
To laugh and dance again,
Sing and play in the welcoming forest
Of immortality...

Watch over us,
Intercede on our behalf
With God and saints
Until that day we reunite.

Who Killed Michael Jackson

Who or what killed Michael Jackson,
Tell me what the reasons are,
The ticker tocked out of this superstar.
Whoever to fault won't get away;
be made accountable for that day.

All around the world people are asking,
Who or what killed Michael Jackson;
Somebody's got to shoulder the blame,
Something with a label otherwise a name.
Dropping dead at the age of fifty,
Seems kind of strange and not too spiffy.
A lot of finger pointing's going around,
Some professional people might go down.
All around the world people are asking,
Who or what killed Michael Jackson.
Was it diprivan, Morphine and oxycodin,
No way can we blame Osama Bin Laden.
Surely there's an answer for Michael Jackson's fall,
Will we ever know who knocked him Off The Wall.

Who or what killed Michael Jackson,
The FBI have moved into action,
They're gathering names and compiling a list,
They've talked to Michael's publicist,
Questioned the nutritionist,
Queried the cardiologist,
The anaesthetist, dermatologist,
The dentist and cosmetologist.
The feds are leaving no stone unturned,
There's a lesson here to be learned.
All around the world people are asking,
Who or what killed Michael Jackson.
Not me said his photographer,
Not me piped in the biographer,
Wasn't me said his choreographer,
Similar denials from producers and promoters,
Financial advisors and managers.

It's not as simple as ABC,
Do, re, mi, or one, two, three;
As time passes by things will become clearer,
Maybe he was killed by The Man in the Mirror.
And the Smooth Criminal is a suspect,
And with guarded caution and due respect,
Dirty Diana and Billie Jean,
have got to prove their hands are clean..
Some people say he died a long time ago,
Due to paparazzi and the Media Row;
Accused of being a serial pedophile,
Who masqueraded Behind the Mask of a child.
Maybe it was that flawed Pepsi ad,
With the pyrotechnic display going bad,
Setting his hair and scalp on fire,
Like a burning funeral pyre.
Or did he die in the prime of his youth,
At the hands of a father who was crude and uncouth?
Or was it Bashir's two-faced documentary,
An exercise in journalistic treachery?

All around the world people are asking,
Who or what killed Michael Jackson.
The search for clues to ID the killer
Has the trappings of a whodunit thriller.

******************

Have we witnessed the passing of a man,
Who in actuality was Peter Pan!
Maybe with time the rumors will cease

I LOVE YOU MICHAEL JACKSON.....

REST IN PEACE BE UPON YOU.