Call and Response
I took centuries from you as you waited patiently knowing I would not return. Years, became months between the day, I began to prepare again, sharpening knives for distant lands, then the day came when, my letter and body returned by horseback. It seemed like that happened again, and again and then, once I came […]
Fix Bayonets
That sunset over there Watch it….. Watch it disappear As the colors transform As the clouds dance Overhead Did they put you in a trance What did you see Shapes making patterns Did you see a future Did you hear your ancestors “Fix bayonets” Jumping over twisted wire Razor sharp Can you hear their war […]
One
I try a little harder To comprehend What happened to their bodies When the bombs burst in How their limbs separated How the flames did burn As their innards spread out Like Jackson Pollock’s “One” I try a little harder To try and comprehend Where their thoughts have gone now Like Hemingway’s shotgun, done
The Shadows of Revenge
I feel a deep emptiness inside I feel grief over the lives lost, on this day that grief has remained fresh and visceral for over a decade has now subsided I still feel deeply I still honor the innocence lost Now, there is a hollowness that has replaced the revenge that was sought hardening the […]
No Kings or Queens
I wonder what can we do? What does caring improve? How much can action move? When people don’t even believe in evolution. When people don’t even believe in climate change. When people believe in an Adam & Eve. Two sentient beings put on Earth in Eden. Naming animals like they were the chosen. And they […]
The Beat Goes On
it only takes one line to be crossed for any American President for the drum beat to begin · · · – – – · · · · · · – – – · · · · · · – – – · · · ships are moved planes are armed poison or nuclear the […]
One Chord
Lack of impulse control is Not knowing what you are saying when You feel you are sharing To people who don’t want to hear Every little thing in your head Lack of impulse control is Writing manifestos for Quitting your career Posting them to Facebook And closing any future doors Executive dysfunction is Not being ...
The Cleansing
A sphere rotates Inside energy migrates From the land to the sea. Connecting everything. The stars. The sky. The clouds. The streams. The rivers. The oceans. Morphing together as one. An arm, a leg an eye. Pulled inward and outward. Cleaning the Earth’s blood. The soil. The plants. The water. The animals. The bacteria. The […]
The Removed
Removed. The enemy is a target A bullet is a round. A village is down range. All tools to rearrange ones humanity. To make killing easy. One shot one kill. All soldiers drill drill drill. Removed. As we find photos. Soldiers pissing on bodies. Abusing prisoners, no apology. With ten years of Gitmo. As children […]
In Unison
Authority is true power. Discipline used to enforce. Nationalism the tower to view collective desire. Left, left, a left right left. Left, left, a left right left. Left, left, a left right left. Left, left, a left right left. At first there is a high. Boots marching in unison. Together towards a goal. Where it […]
HOOAH Resume
SUMMARY U.S. Army infantry. I raised my hand in two thousand two. I signed up to get some. How about you? Four tours in Iraq. One in Afghanistan. I lost friends. I lost my wife. I lost my home. I lost my rights. OBJECTIVE To find employment where my ability to take pain and not […]
Never too close
Too close to it. Too close to it. Too close to it. I want to reflect on the ending of the Iraq War. What the hell did we fight it for? No weapons of mass destruction found. But we did find billions in contracts to stick around. To rebuild what we blew up. To grow […]
Graduating with Honors
So many years in the desert. So many lives lost. Do you know why? For pride? For ego? So we can say we won? The desert is only sand. There is nothing to defend. Trucks blown up By IEDs covered up Each night after the roads are cleared. Body parts come back. I think your […]
Caw to Arms
A crow named Sam and rev of playing cards, clothespin-clamped to bicycle spokes, roused summer’s muggy air. Charging an anthill mined, rock laden field, we were ten to twelve-year-old combatants, armed with a pair of scuffed baseballs and a bat held together by a screw. Bases were shirts off our sun painted skins. A large […]
Lady Eschaton
Painting by Ken Vallario Mystic clouds. A pyramid. The Sun. Magical. Surreal. A field. A valley.
The NON-RESISTANT
This declaration came about under the following circumstances: Byron King read a comment referencing Leo Tolstoy’s book The Kingdom of God is Within. He then read the first chapter which references William Lloyd Garrison who took part in a discussion on the means of suppressing war in the Society for the Establishment of Peace among Men, […]
War from Afaristan
Armed Predator drones flying above. Human emotions they know not of. Hunting targets to be blown apart. Continuing wars that politicians start. Bombing people like ants. Little blips on screens they scan. From refrigerator boxes orders are sent. Clicking, enjoying, sticking the fight. An extension of our American might. For Lunch spreading fire sauce on […]
Ghost Dance
Indian warriors locked in history. Their stories updated by everyone. Displayed on flat screens. Read by office workers. Their only war to keep their jobs. Exchanging status updates. Farming digital lands. So many tribes died for this. Their people murdered and starved. So real land can be possessed. Savages sitting in cages. We all are. […]
