armies clash by night
peace is only ever an interbellum blink
a mere footnote in the battleground
especially in these parts, armies clash by night
no amorous remedy for that, master arnold
when refugee babies are washed ashore
or the indignity of a naked dead body dragged through mud
a desperate person in self-immolation
a tearing cow on her way to slaughter
a mutilated puppy all over the tv news
shared moments of agony—is that even a thing
while the majority go on with the mundane
regarding the pain of others
memory shackles images
memory conjures what is not here anymore
for a potentially indifferent posterity
memory is a spooky matter—maybe just maybe
trapped in a wilderness of mirrors
facing inglorious death
they try to compel you to do their will
when that stark moment of truth
stares at you point blank with a resigned inevitability
xxx
stultifera navis
on the ship of fools, we stood
expelled crazies and busybodies
off you go come back no more
mediocrity long became the norm
subpar performances everywhere
anything goes now or didn’t you know
praise from imbeciles stains honor hurts pride
my kingdom for a formidable adversary
bored stiff with fools for friends
life is suffering suck it up
it’s in the survivor’s manual
perilous and ambiguous
truth is universally unpopular in these parts
it ain’t gonna set you free any time soon, man
when no one is around yearning is allowed though
for maternal affection she never wanted me, see
dad apparently did to which I owe my existence
the ever rough black sea
who knows how many ships ended up on the rocks
delirious joy in exile ritualistic and mental
wrecked by the shores of kilyos
collusions invisible to the naked untrained eye
just do your job go home eat dinner watch tv sleep repeat
what is all this ambition
persona non grata the woman who knew too much
on the yellowhill campus by the sea
exterminate the brutes why don’t you
testify to the dark enigmatic human nature
hamartia thy name is man
completely oblivious to the pain of others
like false modesty a thorn in my side
à la sade
madman or visionary does it matter
a virtual panopticon for reprobates like myself
via assumed ignorance of a british national
still in the colonizing habit for us local mortals
presumptuous enough to teach the language of faded empires
the horror the horror
world has gone to shit
bestiality of unreason
self-congratulatory pedantic insanity
disguised as time-honored tradition
in praise of folly
go ahead and write it up then
came the cold calculated maternal challenge
taking cheap clichés of columnists for real
masturbating with recycled plastic
separate your garbage into three piles
hey ho I saved the planet back there, did you see
how can I compete with that
frolicking on the singing grass
next to the WWII trenches covered in moss
oh so merry thank you, kind madam
for your peevishly petulant petunias
shriveled skulls decorate my belt
wu the warrior soul I inhabit
with the everyday self
I burn corrupt bastards with dragonflare
Mistah Kurtz he dead
xxx
xxx
