hats

hats are encaustic
coat the head in wax
gospel semi-quixotic
software binary transmission
fluid

hats live in the street
buried by a pair of boots
behind the wheel of a car
at the helm of a spaceship
on top almost everywhere

heroin

sweet dream
world in blue
is so good
x-machine rhythm
makes my heart go
ride the subway
like everyone else
we all pay
a token at the gate
works for our boss
arrive home late

this cool sweat
gleaned arm
is not mine
it is the city’s
i am just one
of the great buildings
that live in the street

keys

keys are heavy
bad on their own
turn real mean in gangs
always getting high
and starting fights
it’s worse when they’re organized
they become part of society
and are almost impossible to isolate
in the ’30’s keys would often run
small towns, corrupt civic
administrations,
and buy off the local police
they’re less obvious about it today but
that’s because they don’t like bad publicity
we glamorize keys
in movies, popular fiction and
t.v. shows and implicitly accept
a hidden market based upon
illegal products, strong arm tactics
and white slavery—but that only
proves people will buy anything
which sort of explains
why keys act the way they do

knife

we cannot refute
facts in a row
flesh has no defense
against a perfect line

laminate

the next day he put on
red shoes like Dorothy’s
plaid trousers like Tweedle Dee’s
got rid of those blues
and tried to fit in
made the body language
he was ready to play
worked all night
worked all day
making deals
the old fashioned way
meeting new people
by telephone
understanding when
they wouldn’t meet him at home
encouraging exchanges
with friends unknown
got some contracts
let’s clamp things down
extra strength can be
created that way—the order
of business is laminate

light bulb

nipple of light
best friend in the dark
how i love to watch you
fill up
lonely little star
only one in my ceiling
all night
sixty, forty, frosted, plain

lobster thought

all i see is red
everyone is wearing an exo-skeleton today
the ridges articulate which way we bend
the man went to the airport
and was locked in the suitcase
the water in the cage is fresh
assume antannae are a blessing
all i see is red, red, red

map

why is Canada always pink?

metal

metal’s got an edge
cuts it clean
look at the metal
polished machine
drive the metal
feel it respond
touch the metal
feel it respond

test the metal
try to break it
hit the metal
try to break it
build with metal
metal joins metal
shape the metal
only metal breaks metal

look at the water
look at the metal
the water is smooth
the metal reflects
the water reflects
the metal is smooth
the water has an edge
the metal has an edge
the water never breaks
the metal never breaks

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