Wrong Farms

Pedophilic cannibalism
Executive privilege
National security
Domesticated animals

Brand Plan

Now while you were busy working
I was building up my credit
Buying stuff that I didn't want
So I could take it different places

Set up markets that were not

The most legitimate of venues

But as long as no one asked

There were never any traces

So the things that I was buying

I could turn around quite quickly

Adding credit to my bank accounts

And building up a brand

So that every little thing I did

Built up my reputation

And people sought me out

Just because I knew the plan

My brand began to flourish 

Becoming more than I could handle

So I diversified to different names

Protected by a shell

The properties I purchased 

Are still sitting on their value

So I can trade them if I find

It's become the time to sell

And all of this without 

Ever paying any taxes

Or reporting any income 

To anyone at all

But now I sit here wondering

Upon my mound of dollars 

If the government that issued them

Will make it through the fall

Universe

Time

Space

 Energy

 Matter

  Stars

  Planets 

   Sky

   Earth

    Dynamic

    Stable

     Oceans

     Continents

      Glaciers

      Mountains

       Rivers

       Canyons

        Life

        Death 

         Animals

         Plants 

          Forests

          Valleys 

           Volcanoes

           Islands

            New

            Old 

The Old Amazon and the Sea

there's 48 trees for you there
and 48 trees for me
just imagine all the things that could 
be built with Amazonian trees

48 trees for each human
just growing there for free
resilient species like Greenheart
hard ones like Mahogany

just imagine what could be built
if we cut down all those trees
elaborate log cabins
and marvels of carpentry

woodland palaces to rival the elves
of Tolkien's wildest dreams
there's just so much potential
that exists in 48 trees

totem poles would be back in style
and obelisks of wood
doors and trim of Brazilnut
picket fences of Cumaru

why not built from Ipe
when you want to build to last
we'd better get while the gettin's good
because supplies are going fast

there's only 48 for you
and just 48 for me
if we don't get at them quickly
what then will there be

no marvel's we've imagined
no palaces for elves
we'd have to leave those dreams we've dreamt
upon our memory shelves

leave them just for fictions 
for poems and for cartoons
but where's the value in all of that
versus wood paneling for rooms

wood sculptures of whatever
robotic arms can carve
wooden halls for massive feasts
to make sure no one starves
 
wooden shelters for everyone
for the young and for the old
with plenty hardwood firewood
to drive away the cold

just think of the grand tree houses
and playgrounds to be built
with hardwood that would be there
for the next generation still

it would be a wooden Renaissance
if we each had 48 trees
masterpieces that would leave you breathless
 'cause there'd be no air left to breathe

(okay I know that you're about to say
"but what about the sea
what about phytoplankton
making oxygen for me"

yeah, 
sure, I get that there's
all kinds of 
little miracles

at work in the ecology
but if I start to go on and on about 
the value of simple algae
someone'll want to strain it all out

I gladly make a joke here to
dance around my massive fear
of ocean acidification due
to CO2 in the atmosphere

could a spike threaten phytoplankton
and thus all of us that breathe
the horror of an ocean algae die-off
is worse than one wants to believe)

A Gaseous Atmosphere

Around town the sound 

of the wind rolling in 

through the foothills 

until the still is interrupted 

by a steady thumping 

coming down the road 

that's letting everybody know 

what song it is and where 

they're going with it. 

Still bumping as it fades 

away into the end of the day 

and again I can hear the wind 

as a motorcycle spins up it's engine 

getting on an onramp to the horizon. 

I'm left wondering was that even 

wind I was hearing 

or just the din 

of the distant highway?

I like it my way better 

so I'm going to forget 

I considered the alternative. 

So anyway, the wind in the hills 

stills the panic in my heart 

as another car speeding off 

kills the silence and comes 

speeding around the curve 

of the yard before vanishing 

into the night. 

All right, 

now this next one is the wind. 

I'm sure of it. 

It can't all be cars as far 

as the ear can hear, can it? 

I remember when the stars 

were clear in the sky 

and with the naked eye 

you could see the Milky Way 

from just outside the city 

but the edifice glitters 

too brightly now 

for the night sky 

to still share it's qualities 

with us, so we send silver seeds

of civilization barrelling out 

taking pictures of creation 

from beyond our smogged up atmosphere 

so that the images captured will be clearer

without the soot in the air. 

I breathe in the remains 

of depleted resources 

burned so we can stay the course 

cheating against Nature's steady tide 

with no concern for all 

of the other things alive 

on the planet with us, 

while we tell lies to our kids 

about how civilized our era is, 

as intentional vehicular manslaughter 

is dismissed in court as normal behavior. 

Premeditated murder of civilians 

on crosswalks 

is specifically legalized 

if any one of them tries 

to block the drivers path 

that driver now has 

a legal right 

to crash into the crowd 

and mow down 

anyone in the road 

even after the public outcried

when showed the footage 

of the damage 

and deaths 

caused by this 

extreme vehicular violence 

for the sake of impatience

and making political statements.

Then there's silence from corporate media 

that's always trying to sell you a vehicle 

with crumple zones so you can feel protected 

from any objects that might be rejected 

from your path. They'll show you videos 

of how well the car can smash into 

all kinds of barriers 

but it's a lot scarier 

when the bumper 

is crunching 

against the mass 

of human flesh and bones. 

I don't think I'm alone 

in thinking this 

but perhaps my position 

is different from where 

you've been seeing it from. 

You could be focused 

on looking past it

but I'm asking you 

to look back 

and react not to just the act itself 

but to how we can now tell 

that the media reaction back then 

was inadequate. 

That the laws that came out of it 

were to protect murders committed 

with a deadly weapon 

that every panicking 

late-stage capitalist 

is driving around in.

River Bed

On rainy days I'll read a book
Can't find a thing without taking a look
Often I'll find sparks that remind
Of someone I should thank

Like Einstein for his useful notions 
Such as relativities or photons
Speaking of sunshine it must be time
To head to the river bank

Avoiding the poison ivy
Just like my grandma taught me
Under the trees I move with ease
Until the slope is steep

Using trees as hand holds
Scanning for roots or a rock that won't roll
I make my way to seize the day
Until I need to sleep

When the sun is brightly shining
I'd rather spend my time outside in
The shade of boughs or windswept clouds
Each molecule a blessing

With new leaves to be turned
Unimaginable lessons to learn
I'd rather be where I can see
What others have been missing

A garbled screech breeches my calm 
I raise my head up in alarm
What is the wind now carrying in
It seems a familiar cry

Into view a squawking pelican
Flew past the canopy opening bellowing
Letting me know a brief air show
Was passing in the sky

I see in the trees a branch that had split
And a new branch has forked off from it
Off from the stump where the old one was
A new effort grows

A swath of smooth stones line the other shore
Perhaps there was a bridge here before
With time it crumbled and pieces tumbled
Splashing in the water below

The bank is flanked by block-like rocks
That at one point must have been built up
Corners in the stream hint that these 
Have not long withstood the flow

A natural formation 
Or a builder's creation
Once went across this river's course
Which it was I cannot know

Unless I get lucky and perhaps
I can come across a historical map
On which an old path for the road
Is there and clearly shown

That's the only way to know
Now as I sit here with nowhere to go
I'll imagine any option
That could've created this swath of stones

Rolling down a bed slick with algae
To ever go back upstream is unlikely 
A one way trip for stones that slip
Off from their original formation

Their mass resists the constant flow
But there's simply no other way to go
The momentum will erode them
Ever onward to new locations

A crumbled block got to where 
It is now by just standing there
Going on slow with the flow
Scratching the bottom

River stones off tumbled ridges
And forks that split to make new branches
Caused by rain drops that do not stop
Where they've fallen

Where they fell was wet already 
So with friends they started going steady 
Always downhill as water will
To join up with a stream

Until it winds it's way to the sea
Either to sink down deep as can possibly be
Or be splashed from waves and evaporate
Or somewhere else inbetween

Forming bodies of water so wide
The moon's pull creates tides
That make beaches wherever water reaches
From cracks in the rocks

Expansion and contraction
Split cliffs up into fractions
Then those all fall into small small
Shards of tiny blocks

In the ebbing and crashing tides
Or in the river's course to slide
Rounding the rough square edges off
Polished smooth and clean

The bridge ridge rocks lay splayed out
As in the sky the rolling clouds
Will continue bringing rain to
Refill the rolling stream

It seems like magic that it's an
Automatically recharging system
Solar powered just like flowers
Springing from the ground

Like a tree swaying in the breeze
Pumping sap to feed new leaves
Evapotranspirating glands
Ejecting future clouds

Like a farmer gleaning fields
The trees photosynthetically yield
Both nutrients and seeds to plant
For later rain harvests

Winds direct where these cloud will be
When they've gathered moisture heavy
Enough to form droplets that pour
Down on some distant forest

Or fall as snow on a mountain peak
Or dump directly back onto a sea 
Or on dry earth to quench roots thirsty
Absorbent hairs

A plant that had gone dormant 
Gentle rain starts to reform it
Just what it needs to make new green
Foliage appear

The newly sprung buds receive
Solar power to grow into leaves
To soak up more sun than before
Now with more surface area

If you think of it as beauty
Science doesn't feel like a duty
If you don't want to miss magnificence
Don't let the math scare you

It might just be wrong anyway
And who is anyone in the crowd to say
That it's all wrong while playing along
Nodding in steady movement

Trends would show it's likely to be
Some sociopathic corporate scheme
With experts paid to take what they've
Been told and go and prove it

That's called motivated reasoning
Like adding too much seasoning
To hide the taste of rotting waste
That should have been discarded

But with the fallacy of sunken costs 
Bosses refuse to take the loss
Trickling it down onto some clown
Who's just glad to be regarded

The clown takes it as a chance to see
How the paper ghosts avoid defeat
These ephemeral wisp criminals
Known to all of us only by name

"Nonphysical entities are people too"
There's nothing that you can ever do
To make me agree that you and me
And an abstract idea are the same

But this gives me reason to recall 
A lesson learned from taking a fall
Is harder than words from a friend
But easier to remember

So I'll listen when a teacher speaks
But still I'll try to climb for the peaks
The miles earn the lessons learned
With theory and practice together 

Carrara Marble

Just the parts that you're forced to reveal

For the sake of greetings and eating and

Commerce and other normal primate 

Activities 

                Just those most basic defining

Primate parts that inspired the digital 

Age that you can't hide except in gloves 

For the love of all things beautiful 

It is merely dutiful of me to report

In obnoxious tedium that the only

Medium worthy of attempting to

Capture the elegance of your fingertips

The fair turns of your wrist as you pick

Up your hair and expose with grace

The fair features of your neck and face

The only chance is in Carrara Marble

Your likeness itself is a rare marvel

And yet it pales in comparison to the 

Whole of you and what you can do with

Just your eyes sympathizing showing

Willingness to listen to what others

Are missing and thus christening

Opportunities for new solutions 

To be formed 

                       New ways for the crowd

To be informed by your translation 

Facilitating conversations with

A smirk of a smile meanwhile hiding

The fair angle of your cheek

For a curious observer to seek

And though you allow no one to speak

Of it in your presence the lines

Of your chin define perfection

Cities were erected around statues

Of their chosen god or goddess

And yet here you are walking among us

Concealing your features so that

Lesser creatures aren't shocked

To encounter a deity so plainly 

Going about her business as if

We who exist in your presence 

Aren't nourished by your mere existence 

And I get this must be exhausting 

All powers come with a cost and

To reveal the real beauty that

You dutifully cover would draw so

Much attention that even the mention

Of it bores you 

                          You don't have mind

For every random poet know-it-all to

Point out that you're absolutely divine
How could you even find the time to 
Fairly address the mess it would cause
If members of the average public saw
The radiant glory of you 
                                           I'm betting at
This point you're confused as to why I'm
Obsessing
                  Why is this weirdo trying to 
Teach me a lesson about the defense 
Mechanism I have built to defend
Against anyone extending a compliment 
Because it's programming reinforcing a spell 
That you tell yourself every time you 
Get complimented which from the
Looks of it is probably quite often and it
Seems from an outside observer's 
Perspective that you choose to hide
From attention that would act as
A detriment to your humility perhaps
Because that's where your ability to 
Connect and reflect in meaningful ways
Stays rooted so your humble shrine 
Of inspiration stays protected as any
Effort to note your beauty is rejected
Which then leaves your ego feeling neglected 
All for the sake of the love of your art
And then that right there is the part that makes 
You ascend beyond the reach of mortals
And carve your own identity in stone
Your every effort is defining where the
River of civilization flows winding 
                                                           Your
Legacy and the frequency with which
You can produce works fuses history with
Your essence letting the record know
Of your presence in the time line 
Where humbly and nobly you define
The boundary of what is understood
About beauty 
                        So even if it's rude of
Me to point it out to you I feel like I
Might be able to help diffuse the magic
That you've bound yourself to in tragic 
Ways in order to make your days bearable 
And perhaps you never felt it was sharable
But yet the other day in such a casual way
You chose to say to me that you'd been
Bullied about your hair by boys who couldn't 
Help but stare and had to make up a lame
Reason so that they didn't get harassed by
Their chump friends about having a crush
On you but of course you were talented
And intelligent so you went about your normal
Routine but now with a barrier between you
And the chumps too dumb to understand 
Why the very thought of you was driving
Them mad to the point where they 
Felt the need to mention you as an 
Anomaly forcing you to defend your
Sanctity by retreating and in doing so
Generating an animosity to those who
Can't help but notice your exceptionality
So you disguise it and instead choose
To lead with your personality and
It's fantastic 
                     If I could go back in time
And find those bullies before they insulted
You I wouldn't because without them you
Couldn't have developed to exactly what you
Are now
               Endowed with the wisdom to know
How to protect from overexposing your
Audience to your mesmerizing perfections
The sweetest of all of the finest confections
Can't compare to a smile that freely you share
And Carrara Marble is the only material
That bares a chance at capturing your
Ethereal image

Existential Potential

Come across a contraption sniffing me

A machine designed to judge my potential 

Gladly

But keeps the results confidential 

Behind a pay wall for all to see 

But me

Can I score more than I can handle

Do the fashions of the time define me

Badly

Will algorithms imagine what I can be

Studying past samples and examples

For me

Civilization's history 

All that's known and what's wrote 

About it

Compiled to a style I want

From origins of no mystery 

To doubt it 

Ploddingly onward it continues to swindle

Anyone hungry enough to be tempted 

By bait

Putting in prompts the account is empty

Pump in more to imagine a new angle

I can't wait

I have to know how many bottles 

Of water it takes to change the stakes

For humanity

How many comments do I need to make

To break through institutionalized walls

Of insanity 

Calculate it now robot I need to know how

Yoshimi defeats you with vitamins

Untragicly

Tell me what the plan will be to end

The last episode of your show now

Dramatically

Don't be mad at me for asking it's a joke

I'm just saying we're already praying 

To you

So while eyes in the sky are prying

At least we get cool apps with which to scope

Through you

But giant servers for intelligence services

Programmed to calculate my value in seconds

Without a doubt 

Determining from the available records

The very insecurities that'd make me nervous 

If known about

Scoop me up like Terry Gilliam's Brazil

Zip up my hood with no questions answered

Like professionals

Spreading dread in heads when it suits their fancy

With sweat in their eyes they do not see

Who they put in jail

Swinging blind without a mind to control

On the payroll is all it takes to make them loyal

Participants

Bashing in well read heads for the price of oil

Then go to church to pretend to have a soul

They're missing it

Galactic Love

there once was a time

when our orbits aligned

and I couldn’t help but bask
in your gravity 

as you glided by me

I was naturally attracted

I passed your atmosphere

almost near enough to extract it

grabbing at your mass
with my magnetic wind

trying to absorb it

as we pass my force yearns 

to pull you from your orbit

of course

your momentum resists

but the reactions in our clouds admit

a tension exists between us 

if we could pull each other in

and make each other spin

just the right way
in a cosmic ballet

I could take you as my moon

on that last pass

I swooned through 

just out of reach

but close enough to feel your pull 

on my trajectory

shifting my inclination

what a celestial sensation

the relation of our

heavenly bodies

coming close to each other

brings 

since that time

we passed by

I tend to find

my space is full of nothing

each minute feels like eternity

as I anticipate the moment we

swing around the same sector

of the galaxy again

Dear Cam-Girl, I Love You

Dear cam-girl 

I love you

and I want you 

to be free

from the frames

that enslave you

   I can see

why you might be 

intimidated by freedom

It’s nothing like anything

else that you’ve seen

so sublime

but also bare 

and unprotected

In the past

you’ve rejected ideas

that were way less weird

than this

but I don’t want you

to be remiss

about it

You’ve got to see

that there can be

a better path for you

to take

That’s why I’ve

gone and tried

to say what I’m saying

to you

While you feel huge

from your personality

being projected

your reality is

being redacted

You’re actions

are reflected

only in the glare

of a lens

instead of in

the eyes of friends

Dear cam-girl

I love you

and I can’t help but ponder

that the stars up above you

are the same stars up above me too

And if we both look up at once

we’ll see the same world together

Whereas now

you and me girl

we think we’re so different

I’m sitting here riffing

on verses

and rehearsing lines

practicing my timing

for perfect execution

just like you do

every time

we talk

you’re so sharp

always on your game

and I’m trying to do the same

but in a different way

just trying hard to play

the role that I’m 

on stage for

More or less

we’re all actors at best

performing for the camera

to give our audience

what they can handle

and if we get the chance

to set an example 

of how we 

each believe

the world should be

Fix

We

who lie here broken

what are we to do

when the line to the fixer 

is too long

or the price is too high

but

start to fix one another

Feral Beast

Well sweetheart, I’m a feral beast

and I’ll tear you apart if you let me

I might be more savage than you had expected

but I promise that you’ll never forget me

I’ll fight off the fears and the shadows

that lurk around the door of your lair

With frenzied embraces and violently

running our fingers through each other’s hair

I’m a feral beast baby, I need you to know

there’s an animal that will not rest

And the mere thought of you makes it beats it’s claws

against it’s cage that is my chest

Call it animal spirit or animal nature

it’s a force that I can’t control

An instinct embedded somewhere ancient

deep within our souls

I’m a feral beast, yet with a single glance

your wish becomes my command

As much of an animal as I might be

there’s only so much I can stand

The War on Us

The war on drugs
Was a war on us
The drugs were the weapons used
To seduce our desires
While they tapped wires
To entrap higher perceptions
A deception to fill up prisons
And eliminate dissidents
With a guilty decision
To dish out blame upon
All to create a front
So there's always a thug
Available as a fall guy
So they don't even have to try
To search for a stool
Because they have a list
Of all of the fools
To which they sell

The wars they wage
This day and age
Encourage hatred for the sake
Of propagating conflicts
So that the wars can
Simply continue to exist
And eliminate any resistance
We shouldn't have to live like this
Being punished if we don't pay
For efforts to create enemies against us
Punished if we resist being taken under
By slanderous propaganda
Punished for thinking
That peace is a possible solution
While all along
They never sought resolution
That would have been stupid
The conflict is far too lucrative

Morning

Oh my Good Lord
You taught me to stand up straight
By making me wait
For You to reveal
Your glory

Thank You for the glow
That You sent so I would know
You were on Your way
Allowing me to prepare
For the radiance of Your arrival

Missing You

All I ever wanted was
to tell you that I love you
but I was scared that
it would scare you away

Now here I am left
with no one to talk to
but I still have
so much left to say

The Hope

There is no government
There is no authority
There is only the hope
That the money
That they pay us
To brutalize
And imprison
And suppress
Each other
Will still be worth something
Tomorrow

Nemesis

Your eyes may be the most
powerful force
in the universe
Nothing else
can shut me down
like they do
At first sight
I was amazed
just to be caught
in your gaze
so I stayed
entranced right up
until the moment when
you glided your lance
into my heart
I should have
seen it coming
from the start
but you had me
so happily under
your spell
that I couldn't tell
what was going on
I just longed for the day
the spell would break
and you'd take
your time with me
back in your lair
tied to a chair
You wouldn't dare
hurt a hair
on my head
but instead
you'd choose
to use
slower means
to get inside of me
and tear me apart
just to feel my beating heart
in your cold fingers
for a moment
I should run
and hide from you
I get stunned by you
every time
If there was ever
an arch-nemesis
you're mine
You're my kryptonite
The closer you come
to me the weaker I get
If you touch my skin
I think I'd have to submit
to your powers
So here I am
spending hours
contemplating
my fate
my doom
that soon
I don't think I can avoid
I'm annoyed
by the thought that
someone can just
get near me
to make me helpless
I fear you
You will be the end
of me as I have been
You are my nemesis
How can I even fight this
when simply being
caught in your sight
I can't resist
my heart pounding
at the thought
of the sound of
your voice
that would leave me with
no choice but to
go wherever
you would take me

The Long Game

This game
has taken so long
one's likely to forget
that they've even
been playing it
But I just can't wait
for the cards to be laid
out on the table
I can't wait to show you
what I've got waiting
what all the anticipating
has been building for
I want this to sink deep
so it'll weather the storm
If you haven't heard
the warnings by now
I don't know how
you'll expect
to survive it
The driving rains
and roaring winds
that we all know
are coming
the watchmen
have been drumming
their warnings
for long enough
that this day would arrive

Mischief

Sometimes I can’t help 

but be mischievous

but I hope you see what

I’m trying to achieve with this

I’d tell you straight

but that wouldn’t be any fun

and I’m having such a blast

since this game begun

Don’t You Wanna Know?

But don’t you wanna know

What I wanted to tell you
On my back porch that day

Don’t you wanna know

That time that you decided to

Let your tongue get in the way

Don’t you wanna know

My eyes were tense, I

Clearly had something to say

Don’t you wanna know

Why I brought you there

To talk to you that day

Don’t you want to know

Or did you already say

Everything you had to say