Flashes Two

I love birds!
(he said with enormous eyes)
They fly!

The devil
whispers louder
when I drink

You are
always among
equals

Here
God
Is Totalitarian

That guy’s smile
is a strategy—
it lies

Leering
as if he were drinking
through his eyes

Generosity
comes
from the belly

The flight
of the shadow
of a bird

*

I don’t want
to press my
face in a book!

A tree
growing
in a dancing way

Shark-shaped
bath toys
that squeak when you squeeze them

In our eyes
the truth
of universes

*

Man
paused on the sidewalk
in a cloud of cigarette smoke

Give this a try:
God is looking
through your eyes

Fame and the national scene
have nothing to do
with what’s really going on

Forget it.
Go to sleep.
Nothing can be done right now.

That black garbage bin
with the trash-lifted lid
seems to be singing

Males
waking in the barracks
and scratching themselves

We cheered the sun
sinking
into the sea

“All I’ve got
is here and now—
and it’s too much!”

*

Men gather
around her
like bees

Botox can erase
all evidence of life
from your face!

Crowding our brains
with historical
noise and discouragement

The beach
not blocked
by walls and windows

*

Worlds built
on the assumption
of cars

Not the kind of man
who’d hide in a mansion
doing drugs

Unglamorous older
working woman
clutching a Betty Boop bag

*

I told her in a dream
I need to be less busy!
She told me You need to do everything!

One must feel
one’s death in such
rough coughing

Exercise—
otherwise
your heart will die in your chest

And on television
only advertisements
for toilet paper

Mountains jutting through
pools of clouds—
like islands

Groan of steel
in the distance:
train

Watching people
pretending to live
on tv



.

It Could Be Your Soul

I was staring at the sky
From a bed of green grass down on Earth
And a glimmer caught my eye
A gliding white shimmering bird

It could be my soul that’s up there flying
Up in a great sea sky of blue
It could be my soul that’s up there flying
Over the roof of a world so blue

It could be my soul

(How do you know
What you know
How do you know
You do what you know?)

If you’re glaring at a guy
‘Cause your after something he’s got
Steer your stare up at the sky
And remember what you forgot

It could be your soul that’s up there flying
Up in a great sea sky of blue
It could be your soul that’s up there flying
Over the roof of a world so blue

It could be your soul

(How do you know
What you know?
How do you know
You do what you know?)

If you’re muddled in your troubles
Working for your worth in the world
You can recover what’s been smothered
And hover brother over the Earth

It could be your soul that’s up there flying
Up in a great sea sky of blue
It could be your soul that’s up there flying
Over the roof of a world so blue

It could be your soul

(How do you know
What you know?
How do you know
You do what you know?)



.

Just Over Your Head

I’ve been filling your orders
And it’s been getting me down
I’m making dates with your daughters
I’m gonna show ‘em around

I’m gonna show ‘em around

We’re gonna drive to the border
Out on the far end of town
We’re gonna dive in the water
We’re gonna swim in the sound

We’re gonna swim in the sound

There’s a popular doctor
Who's dealing drugs you don’t need
They are all made to stop you
From being able to see

From being able to see

(Clouds in a clown’s mouth overhead
Just over your head
Whispers twisting through the wind
Just over your head)

There’s a glow in the twilight
Like a hole in the sky
There’s silence at midnight
Stars are shimmering eyes

Stars are shimmering eyes



.

See The Sky

Wake
The sun is low and glows in both your eyes
You see the sky

Wait
And watch the glowing globe so slowly rise
It’s growing high

The sparkle of a star is a
Flashing little spark in your eyes

A star’s an eye

Breathe
These waves of wind that you can almost see
You drink the breeze

Speak
Release your laughing breath into the breeze
A deep relief

Your giggle makes a ripple in the
Swirling windy inconstancy

A wind’s a sea


Trace
The power lines that twine below the sky
They light the signs

Chase
The rails of trains you ride with men in ties
Your lives are twined

The top of the train rubs a
Wire and we hum down the line

Our lives are lines



.

You Can't Do That

Son you’ve gone too far
You have smudged our star
We have raised the bar
Against what you are

For all we think you’ll do
We’re gonna punish you

Our aim is true

We have a plan
We are the man
You make a stand
We take your land

There’s nothing you can do
Once we’ve laid our hands on you

Our aim is true

We are not men
We are management
We will not bend
Until the end

Nothing that we do
Is ever done for you

Our aim is true



.

Recyclink!

Machine makes metal

Needs metal it made

To make metal again



.

Above The Boulevard

My pipe’s smoke makes the face of an angel
Drifting through my little room
A black hole splits the lips of this angel
And sweeps me up through the roof

So I float like a ghost
Who’s been shown where to go

There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard
Things are sharp and hard
On the boulevard
Always on your guard
On the boulevard
There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard

The hot gaze of a man who’s leering
Like he’s drinking you through his eyes
Shows a hole that’s as big and empty
And as black as a midnight sky

And you know you can float
Though that hole like a ghost

There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard
Things are sharp and hard
On the boulevard
Always on your guard
On the boulevard
There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard

The calm flash of a stranger’s smile
On a crowded noisy street
Throws the glow of an open blossom
Into your uncertainty

And you know you can float
In that glow so you go

There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard
Things are sharp and hard
On the boulevard
Always on your guard
On the boulevard
There’s a sea of stars
Above the boulevard



.

City Minister

City minister!

I wake up in my big bed
Scratch my belly and get up and shave
Two dim eyes in the mirror
Appraise me from a twisted face

City minister!

My nerves are sizzling wires
Rumors hum behind my eyes
My heart starts its anxious stutter
Under my bright silk tie

City minister!

I’m meeting with the mayor
He hardly gives me any time
His hair is always perfect
His friends are so much richer than mine

City minister!

If he will endorse my
Plan for a casino uptown
The owners might finance my
Re-election bid a year from now

City minister!

(A project for the public
I’ll propose today
I’ll smile like a star and speak
As solemn as a saint

It isn’t in your interest
But it’s all that I can do
While I work for you)

City minister!

I haven’t bought a meal in
So long I don’t remember when
But I sure pay for sex boy
And tonight I’m gonna do it again

City minister!

It’s never how I want it
It never gets me what I need
All that matters is status
Once you finally reach your peak

City minister!



.

Shake Them Blues

I had better remember
That fog can lift up its skirt
Sometimes some better weather
Throws a glow on the dirt

When I fell down
I almost drowned

I couldn’t see the sea
That was right in front of me
And something in me started to scream

Hey you!
You choose!
Shake loose!
Or lose!

Do your duty dude and shake them blues!

Once I complained to an angel
And when I stopped jabbering
She said You think you’re too busy
But you must do everything

‘Cause if you go too slow
Your soul goes broke

When you don’t use your life
Your life looses its light
And you go groping blind in the night

You fool!
You knew
What you
Should do!

Do your duty dude and shake them blues!

My friend’s grandfather told him
Boy you are what you do
And when you’re moving your body
Life is moving through you

When you stew and brood
You do no good

Your mind is dazed with lies
God’s looking through your eyes
Let go of all this “I ME MY”

It’s true
You choose
What you
Should do

Do your duty dude and shake them blues!



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