IN THE FIRST PLACE

Tags

Adam, animals, Aristotle, Cat, Cats, Garden of Eden, Language, linguistic, names, philosophical, philosophy, Plato, poem, poetry, The Fall

IN THE FIRST PLACE

Damn Adam for naming
the animals

why on Earth did he
feel compelled to turn
to Latin for labelling species and genus?

and why did he not
tell us their secret names

the ones they use when talking to each other
because the names we give them,
sometimes they
ignore them entirely
take for example
my cat Tinky
finer cat philosopher and
gueriila fighter you
would be hard pressed
to find

and I was hard-pressed to find her once
hunting for her high and low
calling her name (tears and
panic just
around the corner)
already about to hit the lampposts with
reward notices

and then she arrives, nonplussed,
wondering why the fuss
giving me that look cats give
regretting the stupidity of
their chosen owners

regretting their fallibility, their
lack of grace, smarts and cool

which, Tinky asks with
eyes keen as Aristotle’s, conviction
sure as Plato’s:
“were these not

the things you
had and lost
when you

forgot our names

when we had the connection
and you knew
what was what

in the first place?”

DON’T

Tags

Heaven, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, satire

DON’T

don’t pitch up to Heaven
sporting your best Nazi dress uniform

or try to bling your
way through the pearly door
hoping to grease a few palms
with congregation
collection money

that big bag of stash
that you are touting
(comparing yourself to
Sisyphus, as if this is
your eternal burden)
there
to do justice
in worldly acquisition
to the glory and
grace of God
in elevating by
proxy
the style of
divine image

not that
there appears to
be
space here for
the elite stratum of
consumption aficionados

nor time to share
fun anecdotes of wealth
and
right-wing blood certainty

whilst the dinner
is enjoyed

the welcoming meal

the gold plates
and cutlery

sharpening of knives
for carving

all that
was hoped

all that was dreamed

RAY BANS

Tags

Heaven, irony, poem, poetry, spiritual, witty

RAY BANS

eyes are windows
to the soul

but u got
cute Ray Bans
so your
soul must
be funky

stride
the boulevards
and the
Malls of
Heaven
in nothing less

than saintly
stylishness

IN STORE

Tags

Commercialization, Heaven, materialism, poem, poetry, satire

IN STORE

Heaven
going to have
to import goodies
from below

to cater for
your
hedonism

redefining the
eternity of pleasure
you demand
will be in store.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Tags

death, Heaven, Humanity, meaning, Ocean, poem, poetry, sea, Universe

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

was thinking
of Heaven

when shark came
swam past, circled,
great white
huge slate gray
fin
massive

a whopper

not much room
to maneuver, but
food
for thought

imagined, just before
the bite came

shark speaking, asking
me

why even
in situation so
dire
might I find myself
inclined to
second-
guess Heaven?

KOCH

Tags

Capitalism, climate change, Heaven, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, satire

KOCH

money sold
us his
legacy of
philanthropy
money bought
him his place
in capitalist
Heaven

cough it up: what
angel would not wish
to get his/her
hands on
that glorious wealth

no one
at the gate
to meet him though
for there
are limits

it just kind of slid respectfully
open

and yes, Heaven, so
beautiful, paved
in gold — no
con job there–

but not a single soul
or inmate in that vast
white, white,
Antarctic expanse
waiting in
welcome

so beyond imagination, computation
the price of buying a Saint these days
(so much
more than just
money to
campaign donate)

INSIDE STORY

Tags

Heaven, poem, poetry, Stars, Unverse

INSIDE STORY

I trust Heaven
is not a dying star

light years away, but
there you are

a few years
left to shine
before its
physics collapses

goes dead
and cold
unable to
warm us

as it did once
even at
that terrible distance

which somehow
some crossed, somehow
arrived

traversing the light years
as if nothing, as
if in an instant

unless
this whole story
was but
a myth, a metaphor,
a dream, a fiction

Heaven
tiny as
a candle flame

smaller, way smaller

so difficult to find
way deep inside.

In a lifetime just
a glimpse of
this
inside story.

SOMETIMES

Tags

Difference, Evil, good, Heaven, Hell, poem, poetry

SOMETIMES

sometimes between Hell
and Heaven
it’s hard to distinguish
(so many
shades of difference)

was summoned to
Head Office to account
for my
peccadillos

listening to the usual: straight and
narrow, military discipline
ya-de-ya

creatures once were birds
without feathers
now curled up
by the central heating

slothfully servile, self-
Indulgent felines

whose alchemy would be
at this juncture kind
of fatal clue

spell out whether in fact (as I figured)
lesser saints, or minor evil dictators
either way somewhat
inconsequential in

the great
antagonism

FROM THE PAGE

Tags

dissent, Fascism, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, totalitarianism, writing

FROM THE PAGE

was writing, writing
writing

could not get the words right
(right meaning “exact”,
not in league with
some
masquerading devil

who would march us up
in our regiments, crisply uniformed,
to the iron
gates of Heaven

where angels with machine-guns
check our credentials
let us In)

no the words, as you see here, were
running away from me
flying off at tangents
swirling on the wind
without focus or power

and who would read such
preposterous metaphors,
ridiculous images
Cassandra warnings of
the end to all polity?

and yet
hopeless as the poem is
however ineffectual

the forces of denial are battering away
smashing at my door, pressed up
against my window
desperate to prevent my pen
producing a line, managing
a choice phrase

for this dominion must be absolute, no
dissent is
tolerable

even this sad, worthless effort
blood-washed from the page

HEAVENLY

Tags

poem, poetry, satire

HEAVENLY

they await their exaltation
the golden ones
unburdened
by the sin
of poverty

their only Heavenly conundrum
the problem of storage
so much soul gold
to take
to that place