History happens.

Then we look at it.

Shit happens.

Then we smell it.

You get burned.

Then you feel it.

If you’re stuck in the happening.

You will continue crapping in

The same damn place you eat.

No nail. No hammer. No toolbelt too.

No saw. No sawhorse. No carpenter too.

No wire. No fuse. No soldering too.

No music. No lightshow. No happiness boo!

No courage. No strength. No fortitude you.

No matter. No worry. We know what to do…

No crying. No swearing. No struggling you.

You sit down.

You lay down.

You stand down.

You do.

Oh happy day at the circus!

Got clowns and clowns and clowns.

Take you for some scary rides.

Giggle if you sick.

Frightened you maybe too many times

Come to think of it.

They could give a shit.

Feed them drama.

Give ’em all they want.

They take it until you’re gaunt

You’re a bystander to their grand show

And though you should, you kinda know

Shit’s real head turner and

Your neck says Whoa!

Oh my guts!

My guts! My guts! My guts!

All twisted in knots

Fulla if, ands and buts.

Hope the whiskey mighta caught it

But no, no, no…

Arms wrapped tigher than punching dough.

God please help me!

What’d I do?

Spear to the bread basket

Through and through.

Wiggle on the line like you want to be free.

Jump like they want you to

Cant you see?

Fishing is a sport, sport.

Your job is to report

Schools ripe for their plunder.

You don’t take no number.

Go to the front line.

You’ll do just fine.

Is that your tummy rumbling?

Nobody took you to the cleaners.

You went by yo’ seff.

Zero percent.

Givin’ money away.

You just step off de shelf?

It’s deep out here man.

Swim if you can

But me…?

I’d stay out de water.

Unless you tink ya gotta

Sink or swim

If shit’s so dim

Shoulda stayed on land

But that’s too bland

And looks outlandish.

To you in that life preserver.

You are an ass.

Argue if you want.

That’s what asses do.

Arguing asses flaunt

Their zest for life.

Their endless fright.

Need to be right.

So sweet right, right?

In this world sir, I reign.

Bow to my way for gain.

Through contrast you stay sane.

But give no quarter,

Here is not for you.

You are but a minor spice.

In this people stew.

Don’t sweat it the border.

Or the hospital or a port.

Don’t sweat it at the mag lev train

Or you won’t get aboard.

Prices got you out of sorts?

Has your temper and funding grown short?

It will be noted on your wreck-ord.

That you are a little hottie.

Go sideways with that naughty.

It’s a damn good thing they spot yee.

But you ain’t see no oven.

Waking up is hard to do.

Especially if that other room

Is booming with a view.

I mean, what’s a chile to do?

Stay?

Or sneak out the back way

So you wake nobody up?

Ran as slow as he could he did

And the past fell apart behind him.

In the present they would not find him.

Always fought the good fight.

Fought like hell then took flight.

Saw that something wasn’t right

But slowed down a little too fast.

Took everything off the gas.

And when time came to pass

It wrecked on the outside.

You. Now. Don’t. Drive.

You ride the hole ride.

Stick to the water side.

That net will take your head off!

I’m going into space now.

I’m going into space.

First the air won’t fly anymore.

Then flying isn’t flying.

Then I can’t recall if the stars came out.

And neither can the other guys.

We were lost, no up or down.

No protective layer of lies.

The homesickness! Homesickness!

Homesickness struck and we had yet to leave the earth!

Sope… we couldn’t chance it.

Santa and chimney, silly suited elves

They couldn’t chance it may not work.

Like touch the face of God and maybe hurt her.

Nope. They couldn’t chance it.

Like Doh See Doh they had ’em dancing.

Everything and how enhanced it was!

Nothing was real but how did it feel?

Like it was real. It was real! It was real!

And yes sir, it is…

Now here, sip a fizzy.

It is sir, it is real!

You can feel it…

I felt you tapping my forearm.

Flexing my bicept.

Cramped my calf you fuck!

Spazzed my lungs, locked my hamstring.

Ankes, I couldn’t get up!

The messege was loud and clear…

I don’t own me. I’m for rent.

I’m the renter so hellbent.

On living life like this was me

when interdimensionally

You could tug my umbilical cord

And in No Time there I’d be.

You called me up and called me down.

Said you’d prefer it if I found

Another place to hang my hat.

With no discussion, that was that.

But only you were angry.

I hid a tiny smirk.

You wagged your finger.

Said you’re a ringer

For a jerk. You’re a jerk. A jerk!

I saw your lips move

But that did not prove

To me that you were speaking.

It wasn’t my mom freaking

Out about nothing.

Was not her thing

She loved and lived and raised five kids.

She loved a monster and monsters give

Two shits about nothing and she got lots

She suffered in silence and for it got

To forget her life

And the wonder she wrought.

You growl and snarl and gnash your teeth.

You scratch, you bite. Refuse to eat.

Denied? There’s no denying.

If you could, you would be crying.

But you can’t.

So you whine.

You say that love’s mine!

And you take it from anyone.

Anyone at all

And if they answer

And heed your call

You’ll take their love

You’ll take it all.

When the food bank bounces

Your ass out the door

And the shelves are all empty

Cause you’re broke and so poor

That the holes in your clothes

And in your story of life

Begin to join up

And block in any light

That might brighten your path

Or illuminate holes.

Cause once you goes through one

You just go ’til you goes.

I saw the crap around the sphincter muscle of the belly of the beast.

I saw good men go bad.

I saw greed deny safety, hurt people and beat down moral.

I saw murder in my brother’s eyes and he was looking at me, his disagreer.

My god, I saw waste.

Theft.

Saw lying and politics like disagreeing just because.

I saw plans that would never work because they were not working.

I saw asses full of kisses and a pile of brown noses.

I saw good people jump ship while pirates clambered aboard.

Disrespect and suspicion became the language of choice.

Cannibalism. I saw people eating themselves alive.

My god, I saw this and more and…

That was on the good ship Heaven and today we’re on a cruise from Hell.

Looking the other way.

How is that okay?

You swear an oath.

You speak in code.

The bad man rode beside you.

Was blue but not the true blue.

It’s not a color but a cover

For some.

The badge as a power for good

Is done.

The people don’t believe they’re here to serve,

No one.

Rent yourself your own cop.

For your neighborhood.

Rent the best damn cops you can.

Pay ’em to do good.

He looked McDoglass in the eye

And barked McDoglass!

Why Dawg?! Why?!

McDoglass sighs a little sigh

Then turns them big eyes skyward.

Could no more be a lie herd

For tunderin’ jesus…

Dare, he dare was!

By gosh it’s dah manna de hour!

Oh, you people!

Goddamn sheeple!

You had to graze together!

Do so-and-so whatever,

You had to shop.

You could not stop

And think about the rest of us?

Now no one here can ride a bus!

There’s no more beaches!

No more streets is

Filled with people.

Goddamn sheeple!

Oh, you make me sick again!

Shit, remember when we bellowed and bellowed all night?

Remember when bellowing wasn’t quite alright?

They said you be quiet.

You said you’d deny it.

You do and do and do and do.

They’d hafta make shit up about you.

And they would,

Of course

But from

Your horse

The mask slipped on your eyes.

That fight ‘tween good and evil.

The fight won’t stop but we will.

Right in our tracks.

Satan got our backs.

Going there as somebody.

Coming back no one.

Good Dog chewin’ that too good bone.

Fighting for a too good home.

When really it’s the damn big loan.

That keeps all of us going

Like Ricochet Rabbit…

Boing, boing, boing.

Not black but white.

Not fun but fright.

Scare us tonight.

We’ll give you all our money.

And we won’t think it funny.

When you lend it back.

Like a train

Clack clack.

You wait for us at the station.

It didn’t kill the buildings.

It only worked on people.

The churches, they were left intact.

Bells rang in the steeple.

The king took a knee and

A damn long pause.

Gave out more candy than Santa Claus.

Someone said that sports was fixed.

A man named Kobe Bryant.

The beggars shut him up so fast.

No longer Kobe flyin’.

Lottos stopped.

Ponzis popped.

She topsy turvied sideways.

It was the outset of goodbye days.

Bibles were right.

Only the light.

Could win if the world stopped spinning.

The kid was lying.

Plain as day.

The kid’s a liar but

Hey, hey, hey…

Hold on a minute.

Momma lies too.

Papa lies and baby lies

Lying little coo.

Whatcha gonna do?

Lie on with the liars?

Tuck in like the friars?

Say we’ll sell then buyer?

Aren’t cha getting tired?

Fraid ya might get fired?

Or maybe get retired?

Pension like it never ends.

You lie about that too.

Goddamn boys in blue.

Once was safe for you.

Now you know you’re through.

Better gum that shoe

And scat.

It was one early, February covid day when I broke my usual silence.

I was qued up with a gaggle of fellow gasoline serfs in our local co-op fuel station, collectively drifting in and out of linehood when a member attendant queried the actively waiting.

“Pump number 4?” She asked without prejudice.

I was pump number 4 that day so I immediately responded “present!” to which the attending attendant replied with her eyes “keep your distance weirdo” instantly propelling me into a crazy town only talk can get a person out of.

“A hundred and forty-seven dollars even” continued the smiless member attendant.

Now it was the senior moron’s turn to squeak.

“You know, when I was sixteen I was a gas jockey and I squeezed ten dollars worth of gas into a woman’s Pontiac, and she refused to pay, saying there’s no way 10 bucks worth of gas would fit in her car.”

I pregnant paused for impact, then continued fabling.

“The gas station manager explained how i maybe hadn’t zeroed out the pump before filling her car and he cut her bill in half to only five dollars.”

“I really did pump ten bucks worth of gas into her car,” I clarified, “and that woman would be astonished to see what a fuel fillup costs today…”

Stunned silence from the gasoline serfs as I brought my economic lesson to an awkward culmination.

“A hundred and forty-seven dollars,” the attendant said a bit more loudly as the guy behind me expanded his social distance.

Here fishy fish fish!

Hop into my kettle.

No, you wouldn’t settle

You goddamn nonconformist!

Now you taste the bitter

Of an it won’t stop no-hitter.

Protesting loses power as the

Sentiment of the hour

Is hungry.

I’m so hungry…

Here, fishy fishy fish!

Let’s pretend you have a gun.

You want fun and to find some

You put boring on the run

Come undone.

You’re the one

You say stop or we will shoot

We still loot

With your boot

Firmly stepping on our throat.

You know that we didn’t vote

For you try hard to get our goat

To cross our moat

In a holy boat.

That won’t float.

Mr. President, you can’t swim.

The police officer is your friend not.

The police officer he won’t lie not.

The police are honest people not.

The police don’t cover shit up not.

The police investigate their own not.

The police are to be trusted not.

They’re good guys not.

Too many been caught.

Covering up their rot.

The police have got

To go.

We need a new force for good.

We must start again.

Well we said this and we said that.

Circumstances change Bud, that’s a fact.

You go ahead, there ain’t no back.

You’ll get it right in a minute.

Feels like hell once you’re in it.

But you can get out.

No needa shout.

Or flail about

It’s just a wet sack

Punch through it.

Free! Stuff was free!

They were giving it all away!

There was just no friggin way

One could lose.

Less you choose

Not to partake of

The partay

Because it’s their way

Or the highway

Doing spoonwork

For some fat jerk…

And lovin’ that Brown Nose Shitaay!

Oh you don’t realize who you are!

Who you are!

Who you are!

You are you but not too far.

You could be another star.

You could change and change so far.

You could hate your neighbor.

You could demand favor.

You could be a savior.

Or you could kill

And likely will.

When they say kill

You will sir.

WHO wants you dead.

They put a price on your head.

Just like Cicero said.

They take your hands

Then take your head.

Don’t slit your own throat.

Buddy ain’t no goat.

Andy don’t know it

But slitting ain’t befitting

Any profit you be gitting

Goes right to the next guy

Maybe kiss goodbye

Those things that compel you

To do what you must do

To get yourself at monaay!

In sanity,

Your friend Barry.