images (on justice & plutocracy, plumbers, america the beautiful)

(the following 3 poems or images written while listening to "viva la vida")


give to me your poor and needy
i will lance their boils with a stake
in all that i have, this bundle of hay is
gold and i've sold it to the people
missionary for my beast, i ride on lemons with wheels
give me saccharine for my tea
the sugar is for their teeth, we'll make
lemonade i say, and smile as
falling out they make the fairy wince
bankrupt, i'll be, says she,
if they lose anymore teeth
pulling the hair of the dog, i'll fit him with
an iron mask, as the people gasp with iron lungs
a flower in your muzzle, soldier
ha ha ha
a flower in your muzzle, for "peace"
and laughing, dances away with the penny necklace
that belonged to one little girl
why take the only sheep?
the best field for grapes?
take everything
leave behind your mark alone
looking out for the one who knows best
the father of the capital, the capital of estate

the state, thestate, hestate, estate, state, ate
everything in the field, made wine from my the sweat of my brow
rain is hail in this place
diamonds fall, but only the prettiest with the largest vaults
may catch them. the rest pick them up from the ground
like taking rocks out of the good soil
handing them over to the banks
to the rich
who hand us a bag of seeds in exchange
look at what my diamonds have purchased for you!
seeds!
a garden hose is fired into the sky
water trickles down
for the seeds we must grow first
in order to eat
the fruits of justice
*************************************************

the outcast

a test was made, we gave you a test
a choir of angels came to find out
what this was all about
no one saw wings, i didn't see a halo myself
no one saw golden strings, or a sheet of music
but they came, and gave you a test
they came in vans, in boots, and blue jeans
they carried plungers
you sent them away, like the children dismissed from the feet
of christ
you sent them away, like they were beggars,
like they were not men, but children
laughed out loud at the audacity
the funds are for white collars, not the likes of you
we distribute to bankers, to corporations of a higher echelon
you fix the toilets in our banks
you fix the plumbing in our companies
and we look the other way when you bend over
we wear belts made of italian leather
we wear suits, and we make the important decisions
you...are among the unclean
you'll get your share, after we get ours
we'll make sure to pay you for your services

a choir of unlikely angels tested the ground
and found it was made of quicksand
the kind which sucks in an entire nation with its force
************************************************************

america the beautiful

clutching, head bowed, room is spinning
jury is out, and out for good
summary judgment from the nobility
their wages paid for with inheritance
positions secure with investment
in those at the top
let's just cut, er, cap off punitive damages
say the corporate lawyers who vote
for corporate judges
who oust the poor and the honest defender
the true prosecution
one in a million
the chances are greater than winning the lotto
of getting your case in court
of even finding a lawyer
because justice is for the elite
capitalist for defeat of equal rights
how can we fight behind bars?
in chains? we've lost the right to vote
no one heard me, brought the evidence to light
they locked me away and threw out the key
before anyone heard me speak
the judge noted which side of the room
where it was that i took my seat
they took my children
my business, my health, and told me my
credit card and medical debt could not be erased
while chapter 11 gives security to the corporations
who wipe out billions of debt without a moment's regret
and reorganize
the mothers who died of cancer never reorganized
on behalf of their children
the fathers who lost their children to
a richer household, never reorganized
pulled out my teeth, before i could speak, much less sing
said justice
cut off my fingers, before i could write a complaint, much less a claim
said equality
pushed me off the porch for raising a sign
said civil and natural rights, her arms bruised, her hair still gleaming bright
as she sits, astonished, on the lawn
the bar associations count their numbers
their prosperity dependent on making law a costly game
one for the rich who will comply readily, or those willing to sell their souls
who is the judge, who swivels in his chair and twiddles his thumbs?
scratches his face, pulls at his hair, and then cuts off the defense because
he is tired
he is tired
when the defendant hasn't slept in 40 days and nights
hearing the cries of her baby boy, who cries out for
JUSTICE
who crawls, whose head is bent, as the room is spinning
feeling for teeth which were knocked out with a hammer in over a thousand courts
who screamed and fought to save each one, each last pearl
now cast before a room of pigs who run them into the sea in a fury
this baby boy did not sleep for 2 months, and he was tired and still doesn't
sleep, but wakes to night terrors, rising to hear his own screams for
EQUALITY
who is bleeding without a tourniquet, and there is a shortage of the blood type
required to save her. she is precious and rare, and running out of time
staggering as she presses her fingers into her breast and raises her head to heaven
for help from God himself
God Save Me
this baby boy didn't eat and waited in vain, looking for a familiar face
not the one the newspapers painted, or the sinners painted, or those who waited to be sued were painting, but the face he knew was true,
but civil and natural rights, sits on the lawn, barricaded by angry mobsters
screaming and taunting like the white crowd laughed at one black girl going to school
how dare you think you're as good as us! you think you're so SPECIAL!
jury is out, out for good
tainted, bribed, and corrupted some
others sitting on the couch watching reruns and making dinner
not noticing the sun as it sets, believing it will always rise again
they think a country is like the sun
petty drug runners pay the price of dealing to the judge
to the lawyer, to the wall street broker
one false move and mistake
means a sentence without bail...so no one,
ever,
ever,
smells a rat.
i see samson, do you see him? he is standing at the pillars of the courthouses
he is standing on the porch, and he is pulling in, one more try after
10 years of trying to grow back what was cut down, his strength
he used to break the bars of prison cells and set captives free, innocents
he was seduced.
while he thought he was safe, while the nation was sleeping with him,
she took out her shears, and with a kiss, destroyed him with the secret of
his greatness. his only fault, only weakness, was to lose his hair second, but first
it was lust
his enemy knew the way to his heart
i see an arrow piercing the sky
it cracks and falls around us, we didn't know we were living under a dome with a
renaissance painting--God reaching out to Adam
one nation under God indivisible with
liberty?
justice?
for all?
those running the courts and the laws, have fanned the flames,
they will tell others to crucify the heretics
those who speak up
WE are the patriots! they yell, and want to wave their flags and wish nothing
to change
not really. not real change.
too deep. we're in too deep. look at who has captured the flag for the last 100 years. it is not the people. frogs in a pot thinking they will not be appreciated
as appetizers
thinking they will keep their heads, and legs, as they slowly cook under pressure
deluded to believe serving the state
is serving the people
those who love a great nation, have had their ears to the ground
and they know
what is happening is catastrophic
they see the peeling paint
the nails going up over houses of cardboard
choose a color--red or blue,
one dinner party will feed you oysters and women while demanding payment for the
lawyers who provide tax cuts on oysters and even women
the other dinner party will feed you promises that everyone will be fed, and thankful to have a hunger fixed, you will give them an invitation into your house
believing they must be friends while they rob you blind when you are asleep on the couch--they need job security after all.
one woman hangs her head, her hair about her
plain brown, long hair, and she sits on the steps
her feet wet with tears, her head resting on her hands
her elbows on her knees
in a print summer dress, with small flowers across a white skirt
her tears hitting the steps, and the dirt
she lost her son in a war
even though he is there, he is not the same
and who will stand for me when the blood is being spilled both ways
when no one is looking the money is slipped under the table
people tortured, people left homeless, workers drained, marriages broken
who will notice what is happening at home when mothers and fathers
are watching the news for information overseas?
families are torn apart because of corruption
because lawyers are taking bribes, even if it's not the direct exchange of money
they know how to play the game
judges are ignoring the rules
because no one is looking, and when they do look, they smile and walk away
i know about one man who walked out into the woods
and YELLED at the top of his lungs, i know because i can hear him
even if i can't see him
he goes into the woods because he understands how he would be received
should he do this in public
he stands straight and yells out, and i'm not going to tell you why
i will let you guess
*********************************************

purple and white crocus pop!ping up
buttercup, buttercup, do you dare?
open both fists and find
a dandelion man standing there

*************************************

they want to kill me
they will hunt me down in another country
before i have a chance to get ahead there
and prove i was right
and they are wrong, and are criminals
animals, lynx with black leather and diamond studded collar
the pilot will take me anywhere
just to know where i'm going
others want to finish me off here first
before allowing me to leave
hoping they will keep better track of me
using my i.d.
using their slanderous lies they published
as woman wanted posters
i pray to god, for mercy on me
on my son, because this is not going to be easy
they know how i would spend my money
i will spend it taking them to court
and to jail

who stood up for me? i asked someone to speak UP
and no one came for me. no one but my enemies
whispering in the ears of everyone else
they cannot stand to see me win. they would lose far too much
too many of them, so many of them
have important positions, and unimportant positions
(but feel oh-so-self-important)
they kept from me evidence, discovery, and the truth
knowing truth would win
would shine for me,
would ring the bell
would lift her head and sing
but this could not happen and i have people all around
just watching
doing nothing
not extending one hand
except to mock me
except in stupidity, claiming i've done this to myself
and that i have an illness
when the only ones sick
have gangrene
and have bought this country
they purchased this country
they bought her, sold her out
and nothing will change
one black man in a white house
will do nothing for the country
it is out of proportion, the problem
and out of grasp, larger than a big
figure, larger than one trillion dollars
you cannot change a country without a massive revolution
there is no counterbalance, no opposition
the cream and the fat soak the milquetoast
they got so sloppy and so greedy
and don't want the people to know
a church bought her share, maybe more than
one religious group, bought a share in the white house
in justice
paid their dues, made their tithes, and appointed
their representatives to outnumber the population
having a member of the church in the house of the state
is the next best thing to marrying church and state
carrying out orders under the guise of civil or secular law
reclaiming all of the lost property that went out of the church's hands
they have filled the temple
and filled the choir
and no one will ever speak for me
they care nothing for liberty or truth
but serve their idols and replace reason with their faith
which is not shared by me
for which i am hunted like a dog
to be stoned and killed
for daring say
you're hypocrites
in deed