G[ ]MM -- "Etude #004 (balloon shrapnel or processed meats)" [2015]

Occupy Sonnets, 21-25 [2011]

contests

the Civil Rights Movement taught us     peter out
though we recognize that every voice is equal
a lack)     these degrading contests must be stopped
there are many     new motivating forces
the mass media were counting reservations
a binary vote is not)     like consensus

in defense of the market     capitalists
(this is democratic process in costume)
destroyed the people's property     suffering
too many pundits     at the essence of it
a clear winner is invisible     (crying
witnessing the predictably brutal response

the message)     we disseminated nothing
never forget that thin arms once crossed in an "x"

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

theocrats

future silence cannot be a priority
religious men)     all of us regular folks
"O"     and I just discovered the pulpit
crowd members show approval by raising their hands
facilitators run the meetings     chanting
the crowd repeats everything every speaker says

theocrats)     many of them holding babies
we learned from it     the infamous protest signs
some of these are truly beautiful     (icons
Occupy Dewey Square     is a sacred space
every movement for social change has included
God     they need to go back to what they first were

the leadership marks a calendar of events
it's becoming rapidly apparent     (prayer

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

thorns

over dinner     I was going to foreclose
the election reform proposed ignores caution
anybody)     seduced by grey distractions
I'll travel for part-time work     (thorns in my side
I've moved four times since then     corporate piercings
there were grandmothers there     and illiterates

then the market tanked     my cell phone stopped ringing
I survived winter with only a space heater
isn't it about time that we     (lamenters
send work     the time for reform is tomorrow
yelling at the goddamned computer screen     scream
I've been waiting     for the Occupy movement

that's my life     I am the 99%
your help will be very much appreciated

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

horses

it seems to us that you have taken     ENOUGH
still     support is growing for the idea
there are 109 ways to help Occupy
way to move)     they call it the Robin Hood tax
the largest banks discourage them from risky moves
they have been hobbled     they are unable to run

and now it is winter     we are occupied
with giving)     the story from last December
greed has destroyed the cord fabric of unity
the result is a quiet creep     (new charges
they didn't have to change     their greedy actions
stunted growth     they stood in pools of their own piss

ridiculous movements seemed apart     (release
police     to ride away on hope-scarred horses

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

horns

this is not a social service     no-nonsense
spiritual solidarity with mad folks
across the busy street     car horns are blaring
there must be equity in winning sacrifice
for most people)     mortgages are bundled death
REMEMBER BEING UNIMPRESSED     at all costs

Occupy is no longer in Grand Circus Park
because of police forces     (quick marching bands
(the doorway to industry fraud has opened wide)
the problem has evolved     later and later
there is a direct connection     between us
it is time for us to manifest our hearing

this is not plenty     the gourds may never spill
if it all came tumbling down now     (amendment

the tout [2012]

poring through scatterings of simulcasts

boasts away     taxis and local travelers

the potential for cozy emporiums     

masters a past     an advertised cattle

and smoking is accommodating bedrolls

older     strolling through anagram

we assemble now     an impression of parts 

made up     enacting a correspondence

with all our snackers in their holds

passengers standing on hotel tracks

wrangler     answer a question posed

“why must poker part this ensemble?”

  it is a scam     a combined disposal

of managers     

noble masters     

                                 and an affect

shipping [2011]

TO:

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

xx Fort Square
Gloucester, MA 01930

to down     an eye and another
(this is a prescribed vision pooling)
swimming     stroking viscous time
clocking waves of blue-black thread upon
concrete     a sextant drowned
activating the saltwater watch
within    back to blue the wet neck (a net)
and craning     to sea   it was once a place to sweat
docks still stacked with     
and
is too much knowledge
upon a fisherman's bench     or this

so to be delivered

TO:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx North Beacon Court
Canton, MI 48187

through a pane and a pane a blur down
eying an inconsistent     eye
is traveling a time or now     in transit
(a rapt package it is not)
looked to drown delivery     a taste of salt
officially received     blue wet and frayed  
paired with hooked cod a sweater 
not cloth not stacked     upon it is a 5-inch forearm scar
tomorrow     or a mother in
and
is asleep in the mud room
in a quiet scratch of breath     or this

     

an itinerant arrival

TO:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxx West Paseo Del Mar
San Pedro, CA 90731

appropriated by forever home     (the third)
an eye crushed landscape     salted and seasoned
strewn with commercial cardboard
time downed nautical icons
long strands of blue-black thread 
and archaic crystalline frames
where     it is now a conversation     it wore size 13 galoshes
then     was neglectful of  
                                                                                                and
withstood a storm of fish
unwrapping the wound itself     or this

a shipping renovation

TO:

⎡  ⎤

⎣  ⎦

TO:

⎡  ⎤

⎣  ⎦

TO:

⎡  ⎤

⎣  ⎦

Visceralum artwork: "The I in Vision is" & "The I in Version is" [2014]

smolder (for F. G. S.) [2009]

outside an antiquated, tattered screen
and the twist of Harwell's incantations
night roses have risen, along lattice
to silhouette his disfeatured smolder

they are a memorial manifest
and a carefully cultivated shroud

(…)

and the grieving gardener's hands were not scarred
by thorns

G[ ]MM -- "Etude #003 (smells like burnt hair)" [2015]

from this sea [2010]

an antediluvian universe beauty is not
dangling before new daylight
well-traveled and weather-beaten
netted this morning

a seasoned box
  three scrawled names faded upon its side planks 
afloat in the shallows
  horizon-haloed
compares to the least likely vessels
  ones with the planks of twos
while
in the same harbor     out aboard the tallest ship
precious coordinates
  being scratches in a nautical log
have been wiped away
  a season's mathematical waste
by sweeping black-wave minuses
carried back     to this coast     to tattered toe           
a knowledge     where the sand line is eternal
     and beauty is now not

as the clicking and flapping ones approach
discorporate nails feign a scrape of the bulging box hull
they of a brought forth residual consciousness
themes saturated by decades of silent cycle drowning 
and an untied burlap sack
once thrown weighted from the aft
drifts deteriorating free     an ironic presentation of this sea

turning
in the evolving morning light
  which is quite enough to see by     no confusion
  even the ghosts     and their ancient line     are well illuminated
I realize
the path to the old boathouse has been surrendered of the reeds

and prehistoric creatures have come to land behind me

Occupy Sonnets, 16-20 [2011]

trances

someone is gratified)     who has so much less
how to critique capitalism in such a
dialogue underground     the freeway is numb
trances)     in situations where aggression
seems a bit perverse     assets and the shrinking
self-interested     (aspects of our nature

SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE     (we see
for all the trappings of the formal     comfort
(though there can be competition between these blocs)
the inhuman     and antidemocratic
critics now compare (police forces) to cancer
and those who resist)     sometimes win victories

THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE     (a blank
accelerating extinction of the species

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

nectars

law     (and injustice as we know it today
they're not your ideas anyway     (at work
a person is defined as a legal fiction
without medical treatment     decent shelter
I indicated     I just love Occupy
(you can see cops looking around for cameras)

some things deserve an emphatic fucking response
our families slept     on cash stuffed mattresses
my sister walked up to the teller     (nectars
chemicals poured into a Gatorade bottle
MIC CHECK (effective straight away) MIC CHECK ASSHOLES
we didn't hear it that way     forced eviction

we were watching     (live stream from Berkeley last night
two arrested outside of Cafe Ambrosia

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

toasters

from the balcony down     the sidewalks we passed
I remember     being influenced by greed
in order to reverse Citizens United
privilege)     reported a lone dissenter
even though we hate them     the time is not now
let's give them a free shower

liberty)     the financial sector is soaked
the toasters laughed     spilling champagne on our heads
(we are making the same unanimous demand)
calm     eliminate the rights of "personhood"
for corporations     we believe in fairness
a constitutional fix     influencing

remember this tense moment     take this slogan
the crisis is capitalism and we drink

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

crotches

call Obama's campaign HQ     (above ground
everyone wants to express their right to free speech
the financial sector     is a parasite
too big to fail is (leaving) too big to allow
anything erodes the right     (the foundation
they built a village in three days     keep sniffing

this is the cornerstone of our democracy
beneath the laps of the rich     are their crotches
there are 27 ways to help Occupy
best chance of an actual human)     talking
time     about the size of a pocket bible
we are 99%)     script idea

this is not football     he was kicked in the balls
we plan to hit the streets wearing protective gear

❊     ❊     ❊     ❊     ❊

chasers

closed the J.P. Morgan Chase account     (today
someone is gratified     they need a defeat
(loan sharks ate the associated terrorists)
in a race for campaign funds     from billionaires
to the hedge fund     lonely is a percentile
the president relies on these contributions

as some alcohols go down better with chasers
this will represent a marked difference     (blackout
especially among the wealthy     dropping
a tacit admission)     dominant donors
the Republican nomination is the key
they're not people     marked values and ideals

bankers got poor and thinner     in this country
for the first time ever     (I am not a loan

I don't lose. Period. (the only child of purpose) [2011]

Being convicted of roses for fame is totally ridiculous.
Losing isn't living in the constitution of a game.
I don't feel like Satanic neons can know the most famous witnesses.
When I got sick and rushed to be obsessed with her, how I did...

  She saw a bed scene with the bell.
Still in her time, she bedecked this innocent young man.
No matter what, I thought that she drew a better reality in Los Angeles.
The intercom wasn't working, so she came downstairs to answer 
                 the only child of purpose.

"I was sleek, svelte and became a black robe, twitching in search of 
                 a meal of lies."

He grew up in the streets, flashing like glossy publicity photos.
He confessed immediately to Tucson.
He turned into an hour.
He mailed an alley and beautiful passersby to her.
He drew a peace sign and a former Air Force officer.
He couldn't have carried calm too far.
He couldn't envision his room with her, so he struck her out.
(He built a young man running around in the magnitude of 
                 a seven sibling skyline.)

In court, he was a goddess for attempting to trigger Tucson.
Witnesses saw her brother.
She heedlessly stayed a credible threat, with the cover of 
                 "severe emotional damages".

"I got sick and -- after two bloodcurdling screams -- basically ignored the clock."

No-one saw a non-jury courtroom.
For as little as an obsession with the trigger, the authorities found none.

...someone would never live to constitute the bell again.
Still in her time, I confessed immediately to the body clad in Television.
Satanic neons?
The intercom wasn't working, so she died.

HERMIT artwork: "Beard is Beast is Best is" [2012/2015]

'indie' rock epoch (single edit) [2012]

CHARACTER LIST

MEGATHERIUM -- enormous, lumbering, aging male rock star vocalist

CUVIERONIUS -- MEGATHERIUM'S kick-ass soloist, slightly less enormous and male

TOTO FOIL -- handsome male host of the weekly variety show, THE ROCK

THE MAGNETTES -- 3 scantily clad, extremely hairy, Cro-Magnon-looking female 
                                        backing vocalists

The scene takes place on a gigantic theater stage during the taping of the weekly variety 
show, THE ROCK.  There is a very enthusiastic live audience present.

                                                  A spotlight suddenly shines on the extreme far left of the 
                                                  otherwise dim, specially reinforced stage, where 
                                                  TOTO FOIL stands atop a 10-foot ladder, stretching up 
                                                  with his microphone to reach the mouth of 
                                                  MEGATHERIUM.  MEGATHERIUM, though resting  
                                                  on his hind legs and slouching considerably, is still nearly 
                                                  17 feet tall.  TOTO FOIL begins to conduct his ritual 
                                                  pre-performance interview.

TOTO FOIL  So, Mega, this is your 9783rd album, and 51st for relative upstart, 
                                    Epic Records.  To what do you attribute your staying power, and, 
                                    more importantly, your commercial viability?

MEGATHERIUM (drooling and spitting profusely in an unbelievably loud voice)   
                                    GRRRRRR.  SCHLOP SCHLOP.  BRRAWWWK.  GAWWWMP.

TOTO FOIL (wiping spit from his face)

I see, I see.  Well certainly, a fan base as substantial as yours is no 
                                    joke.  Now, as far as the band is concerned, are you and 
                                    CUVIERONIUS the only remaining original members?

MEGATHERIUM GRRRUMMMP.  PUP PUP PUP PUP.  RAWR RAWR 
                                    REEEEEEER.  SCHOOP.

TOTO FOIL Of course.  Those were different times, indeed.  And will there be a 
                                    tour this time around?

MEGATHERIUM BRRRAAK.  AH RAAR RAAR.  EEEORRRP.  GAHHRROMP.

TOTO FOIL (turning to face the audience)

Outstanding!  Well, are you ready for THE ROCK?

  The audience applauds uproariously as MEGATHERIUM 
                                                  slogs to the center of the now fully lit stage, where he 
                                                  assumes his position at the microphone beside                                                                         soloist, CUVIERONIUS.

TOTO FOIL All right!  Then without any further ado, giving the debut 
                                    performance of his brand new single, "Extinction", ladies and 
                                    gentlemen:  MEGATHERIUM!

  The anonymous band -- including two guitarists, two  
                                                  keyboardists, a bassist and a drummer -- launches into a 
                                                  plodding and monstrous metallic dirge as the crowd goes 
                                                  absolutely apeshit.  The three back-up singers sway 
                                                  seductively behind MEGATHERIUM and 
                                                  CUVIERONIUS.

MEGATHERIUM (singing -- in a somewhat surprising, slightly effeminate, almost 

Mick Jagger-esque voice)

redundant dumb it

channels tinkle pit

arm     under rote

ripe lily backsplash

lapping purple sash

storm     tosser vote

advancing seemly

nickel peeling knee

balm     blase leap

corpuscle blackboard

dimple leopard lore

loom     liar keep

THE MAGNETTES (in sexy, three-part chorus harmony)

shunt ship shirk lip

bunk button tip

lulu looking kong intervene

clip clap kook nap

dip dangle flap

hula singing wrong Pliocene

MEGATHERIUM tornado link lick

tigers tumble sick

hum     diddley bow

fantastic armpit

tagging carmel knit

ram     instant know

armistice log rule

rifle Buddha fool

clum     quarrel tank

Anderson lime horse

doodoo humper course

strum     rancid blank

THE MAGNETTES shunt ship shirk lip

bunk button tip

lulu looking kong intervene

clip clap kook nap

dip dangle flap

hula singing wrong Pleistocene

                                                  There is a brief drum break, followed by a wave of 
                                                  applause.  MEGATHERIUM stands nearly motionless as 
                                                  he continues to sing.

MEGATHERIUM underwear fleet loop

  tanner dandy stoop

lamb     lowly droid

"Supernaut" hawk leave

dreadful mocking weave

calm     muscle void

pimp silly lowlife

concert candy strife

harm     dildo thief

banister zip crack

after bumble back

roam     cancer sheaf

butter boo scrape link clunk          ting!

                                                  CUVIERONIUS saunters to the edge of the stage, a 
                                                  portrait of cool.  He slowly raises his trunk up from 
                                                  between his tusks and trumpets forth a wild, technically 
                                                  proficient solo, the likes of which he's become known for 
                                                  over the years.

CUVIERONIUS rear roar rear rooooo   

rear roar rear rooooo   

rear ron ring ron wrinkle roo         

rear roar rear rooooo   

rear roar rear rooooo   
                                    rear run writ right ripple room          

room

                                  room room room room room room roooooooooooooooooom 

riddledeediddledee riddledeediddledee 

                         riddledeediddledee riddledeediddledee          

rear roar rear roar rear roar rooooo

riddledeediddledee riddledeediddledee  
                                    riddledeediddledee riddledeediddledee          

rear roar rear roar rear roar rooooo          

ooh ooh oooooh

                                                  The audience goes apeshit again as the solo ends and  
                                                  MEGATHERIUM resumes singing.

MEGATHERIUM under limer lean

bloated signer scene

chank chank chank chank chank chank chank          uhhh!

candy bar oak me

loser lumpy sea

jam     Leggo curd

chandelier snake fat

condo cubist brat

bum     uncle nerd

telecast trunk meat

vibing lasso peat

cram    fido curl

necromance ding board

zoning afro horde

plum     candle merle

THE MAGNETTES shunt ship shirk lip

bunk button tip

lulu looking kong intervene

clip clap kook nap

dip dangle flap

hula singing wrong 

MEGATHERIUM (in response)

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

THE MAGNETTES shunt ship shirk lip

bunk button tip

lulu looking kong intervene

clip clap kook nap

dip dangle flap

hula singing wrong 

MEGATHERIUM ONE MORE TIME!

THE MAGNETTES (bringing it home with some Muscle Shoals soul)  
                                    shunt ship shirk lip

bunk button tip

lulu looking kong intervene

clip clap kook nap

dip dangle flap

hula singing wrong...

hula singing wrong...

hula singing wrong...

MEGATHERIUM HOLOCENE!!!

 
And as the final word hangs in the air, and the song comes 
                                                  to its triumphant conclusion, a series of pyrotechnic 
                                                  explosions go off at the edge of the stage, including one 
                                                  that instantly and completely incinerates 
                                                  MEGATHERIUM.  The audience applauds like no other 
                                                  audience has ever applauded, believing 
                                                  MEGATHERIUM'S disappearance to be part of the act.                                                               CUVIERONIUS, THE MAGNETTES, and the rest of the 
                                                  band stand stunned for 15 seconds, staring down at the ash 
                                                  remains of their singer.  As the applause begins to die down, 
                                                  TOTO FOIL runs nervously onto the stage with microphone 
                                                  in hand.

TOTO FOIL  (hesitantly)

That's...  "Extinction"...  (pause) by MEGATHERIUM.

  TOTO FOIL, disconcerted, briefly assumes the staring 
                                                  position of the band, before finally snapping back into host 
                                                  mode.

TOTO FOIL  (feigning enthusiasm, issuing a tentative version of his famous 
                                    catchphrase)

Now that's...  THE ROCK?  (contemplative pause)  We'll be right 
                                    back after a few words from our sponsors.

                                                  END SCENE