Tuesday, June 16, 2015

The usa

Black like me 
Was a book 
I believe 

I remember coming up against 
Affirmative Action -
No way 
To get a job 
Then 

So to pretend 
To be someone else 
Might have made sense 
To some 

To change ones name 
To exist 
To survive 

It shows how nuts we've become 
To legislate 
What we are and what 
We can do 

And to give all the jobs 
Away to other countries too 

What's the world 
Coming to ? 
Or at least 
     The usa.


Monday, June 15, 2015

California

What to do 
What to do 
I overhear someone talking about 
     Doing things 
He speaks quickly 
And talks about money 
     Exclusively 
Having plans 
Blaming others 
Drinking more 
     Coffee 
He seems to be trying 
To impress 
Some girl 
But 
She 
Can't get a word in 
She seems to be much poorer than 
He 
Wonder where that relationship 
Is going ?
She needs to run fast 
     And far -
Or marry him 
     Immediately 
This being 
A community property 
State 

California 

Friday, June 5, 2015

Siri

Having sent my first message 
With Siri 
-i know I'm way behind 
     The times-

But I've read way 
     Too much 
Science fiction 
Not to be 
A little bit 
Scared. 

What if. 
What then. 

You know it's gonna happen 
I am cynical enough 
To know-

To know it's 
Gonna happen 

Has to 

They are way smarter 
     Than us 
     In some ways 
And humility
Would have to be 
Programmed in
And who upon the earth
Knows 
True humility
True patience
True-
     I'm not gonna blow u up 
     Because you're stupid 
     And you're buggin me -

          Patience!

Who knows that and who will 
Teach it to 
All the Siri's
In all the world 
All the "foreign countries"
Who don't wish each other well 
Will be teaching their respective Siri's
To tell each other 
To go to Hell! 

So let's not think to much
     About it 
Let's just drink our 
     Latte
And make our way 
To go to the garden store 

And buy a flower. 

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Tall

I am so done with 
Tall men 

Always having to look up 
To them 

And they always think 
They are -
So 
Tall 

Things I hang at the "right" height 
They -
Run into

I am jealous -
They can reach 
Where 
The rest of us 
Cannot 

They don't even apologize 
For their tallness 
They just stand up straight 
And 
Walk away 

Off on some tall errand 
Of their own 
Which 
The rest of us 
Will never comprehend 

If there are "aliens among us" 
It's probably 
Them 

But they seem to have 
A soft side 
Too -

A big tall heart 
Beating within 
The large chest
I'm looking at 
When 
I'm trying to dance 
With 
You 

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 
What can I say 
Not all mothers 
Were really cut out for it 

But back then 
That was it -
No other choice 
But to be 
     Alone 
And not a member 
     Of it -
The greater society 
The wanna be 
Suburb 
Society 

Now I hope 
More choices are 
Available 

Roles not so 
Cast in 
     Concrete

Now I hope 
People realize 
Open heart 
Open mind 
Being kind 

Much better than 
Trying to keep up 
     With someone named Jones
Who didn't really care 
     Anyway 

The old days 
Not so good 
In many ways 

Open mind 
Open heart 

Freedom 
Now
Carve it out 
Find your path 
Find your way 
Your own 
     Sacred path 







Friday, May 8, 2015

Running Things

Today 
I decided to give up 
Some of my 
Campaign -
Some of my insistence 
That all things adhere
To my 
Design. 
- my plan 
- my way 

Just some. Not all -

Just an experiment 
     In freedom 
Maybe I'm not 
     Running things 
After all 

Maybe some things 
Can 
Take care of themselves 
And not bother me 
     At all 
The drought 
Is a case 
     In point -
The garden gets by 
On much less 
Water 
There will be more gravel 
Fewer flowers 
Things change
The flowers that remain 
Looking all the more 
Precious 
And joyfull 
In the sun 

I have fewer years left 
And I'd rather not 
Take myself seriously 
When
I invent some new project 
Which -
I discover -
Doesn't have to 
Be done 




Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Photos

Looking through old photos 
Wishing I could go back 
     In time 
And tell myself 
To 
Lighten Up !!

Be thankful for what you have -
A younger self 
Hope and strength 

I always thought there 
Would be more 
There was something 
     I was going for
This and that 
Perfect bit of existence 
Would be mine 
Just 
     Give it time 

I had a sense of 
     Urgency
And longing for 
And always wondered why 
It all seemed so uphill 
And inflationary 

By the time we've got 
The money saved 
It costs more 

And there's no end to it 

I thought there'd be 
A light 
At the end of the tunnel 

Now I see 
There's just more tunnel 

With some light   Yes 
But the tunnel closes in 
And darkness begins to 
Descend
Friends of friends 
Pass away 
Have memorial services
Celebrate a life 
Well lived 

What have I done with mine 
How have I spent 
My time 

What choice did I have 
But to work and save 
Be the capitalist 
Slave 
And glad to have 
A job 
Or three 

Why give us dreams ?
Joyful wishes -
And then 
Make sure they 
Can't come true . . .

But now I know a secret 
It's been a lifetime 
To learn 

There is another direction 
Where it all rings true 
There is an inner wonder 
A connection 
More important than 
Perfection in 
Material things