"Still, if sins are forgiven,
that is, if souls break even
with flesh elsewhere, this joint,
too, must be enjoyed
as afterlife's sweet parlor
where, in the clouded squalor,
saints and the ain'ts take five,
where I was first to arrive."
~Joseph Brodsky 'Cafe Trieste: San Franciso'
--------------
Middle~class Terminus
come out, from alexandria
the fire of inevitable
charred throat
tattered meatbox
mondo twist
death in the barracks
the sin eater run amok.
looking for an end
out of oblivion
sinner and requiem
two saints with arm bands
born from their stigmata
hammer out
deluxe memetics
of mercenary gysm
come with me
out of the desert
toward daylight
and an old man
in a lawn chair
cleaving his supper
your hands work the knife
hands that have forgotten
their own sand worn skin
its the rhythm
you follow:
two steps, a pause,
two more.
the adrenaline
kicks in.
everything is white,
its all noise.
then its over
butchered.
Call it death camp.
Call it suburbia. x-urbia
Call it worship at the killing tree.
Armies pour from it. raised hammers
Sackcloth and ashes.
The torture box
of consumer credit
The obfuscation of daydream
meat and paralysis.
The soil is fresh turned
but almost dust.
and no rain
no chem lawn rain
not now forever.
Call it jackhammer
on the roof of heaven
and number rape among your jewels.
All day long the day is pitched
against the refugees.
Call it. living.
Gasoline, buoyant eyes.
Call it. a life.
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Comments: 21
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http://www.spinnoff.com/swhc/FF-BSDMHaiku.html
Jeff - I read that reference to the IM conversation re: BSDM, and I must say that it horrified and offended my middle class puritan suburbian values.
Gasoline, buoyant eyes.
Call it. a life.'
amazing work, Will.
I hope your prayer at Walmart was for them to stock ammo again.
My favorite: "Call it worship at the killing tree."
I am sorry that phenomenology is keeping you up at night. Nursery primer for middle brow psychotics! That got a chuckle out of me, made only more so because of the tone I took, and as I mentioned a few days ago, I am in the midst of reading Wasp Factory - which only tangentially is related in that it no doubt plays some small sub-conscious role as I woke the demons at four this morning. Although - reflecting back now - I can see that the line "Call it worship at the killing tree," is definitely influenced by the sacrifice poles in Factory. Funny how that worked out, since I was going somewhere completely different with the line.
I love piledriving signifiers. Its my third favorite hobby.
I neither condem, nor sorrow - I am just a humble bard.