photo by John Thompson
Disregard All The Above
sizing-up the skulls & orchids
or back would be nice
hanging-thereof on a swing
until the rain comes again
or a train appears in the tunnel
stuck on today's assignment
in opaque plastic or a pill
meant for the privileged class
basking in subtle October light
or simply build a bigger bellow
with bright nose rings that glint
or skip English 101 completely
& answer in the door instead
wearing yesterday's boxer shorts
with no means of real transportation
try the restroom opposite Chem lab
or ask for the customer's key at
the filling station down the street
In A Collection Of Nose-Rings
mostly crumpled at first but then
flattened out for closer inspection
the colorful streamers & party hats
shining like a chastened sun is
viewed from a window above the square
where refugees of passing populations
somehow get side-tracked after
reading yesterday's newspaper story
about some remote Montana farm
that host sheep-herding contests
& promises to change their lives
on camel-back into heaven or
across a desert of shifting sand
with fax machines blathering
& a resulting flow of art
that resembles a waste product
sometimes mistaken for speech
Bent In A Squint
fortune-tellers make whole lives
in such meanderings approaching
each intersection with care
as the light diminishes to a
point where smoke shows through
& dreaming occurs in z's so
you can see the blur of war as
birds test their wings around it
& the ten or so prisoners in the
cell where some are stretched out
on the cement floor while others
know the drill will gradually get
harder or so warns the sergeant
in the skimpy uniform who keeps
time by counting his fingers
but who gives a flying leap about
serial numbers or ranks as long as
the nametags are clearly visible
like pages in a phone book or
those ads that sell what no one
wants to buy well here's a free
pinch of pepper so find yourself
a quiet spot to sneeze
Maurice Oliver
bravenet.com