the underbelly…

the underbelly

we’re
classroom discussions
presented
as if
we were
separate
from 
the rest
of
society
society’s
social problems
to be
resolved
via
classroom exercises
in
words
volloyed between students
and
professors
as if
a tennis match
proposed solutions
without
any contact
with
reality
speaking
of
homelessness
and
starvation
before
heading home
or
dining out
we’re
the distorted
middletown characters
written
into the pages
of
intellectual fantasy
ignored
or
harassed
along the sidewalks
of
nonexistent
typical cities
for
each city
is as unique
as
the souls
that
occupy it
so
formulaic strategies
are
fated to fail
and
when they do
the discussion
returns
to
the classroom

altered source…

digital decoupage cwmartin 2012

i  am not
crying
these things
just occur
it’s the way
life is
i mean
crying
would be
a sign
of weakness
these days
so
i’m not crying
children die everyday
and i would be
foolish to cry
about their deaths
the world is full
of horror stories
let’s just forget
the whole damn thing
and think
happy thoughts
i am
not
crying
i have
bad allergies
and
nothing more
these tears
are
merely
tears
just as
death
is merely
death

jury of peers…

since
they were
required
to follow
the recipe
exactly
the deserted
island survivors
died of starvation
since they
only had
coconut milk

dark voyage…

night
and
day
adrift
no one looking
for a small vessel
hull taking on water
the parental mask
now beneath the waves
of fear caused by aids
consciousness just a blank stare
into the void of existence
stomach distended
last stage
before
death
by starvation
no search planes
insight
no television
coverage
just the silence
of despair
another vessel
containing a child’s
soul
fades
into the dark waters
of
ignorance