Friday, October 19, 2007
Shaving
How did it happen
that we obsessively
want to shave
certain parts
of our body?
We wake up
in the morning and
feel the sandpaper
on our face,
rushing
to the bathroom
to smooth it out.
We go to the barber
frequently to make
ourselves clean cut.
Woman eradicate the
hair under their arms
and on their legs.
Smooth
becomes the norm,
and rough
the sign
that we've been negligent
in our care.
COMMENT: IS OUR OBSESSION WITH BEING CLEAN-SHAVEN AKIN TO OUR OBSESSION WITH THE "NEW?"
Thursday, October 18, 2007
The Plane
A cow's hide found
her way to be a
seat on an airplane
comforting the bodies
of humans flying
to and fro
for pleasure, profit
or grief.
From cows' heaven
moo moo watches
the big sky machine
carrying its karma
to exotic places
where grass has
been eaten by
little lawn machines
or turned to concrete
for cars and
even cattle
trucks going to
the slaughter house.
COMMENT: DO YOU BELIEVE IN COW HEAVEN? IS THE GRASS GREENER?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Hypochondriac Goes to the Doctor
I go
to the doctor today
to inquire
about a obscure condition
that I've probably always had,
but have just noticed.
I suspect he'll tell me
about the 38 million
who have the same problem,
and that one just has
to live with it.
Unless, of course,
I want to try
some medicines
and surgical procedures
and trade one symptom
for another.
So he gets a pretty penny
for a few minutes with me,
and I get the satisfaction
of discovering that I'm mortal
and I can choose to
live with my body
the way it is,
or go to extreme measures
to turn it in for
another body
whose owner
will surely
have equally minute complaints.
PLEASE COMMENT: WHOSE BODY IS YOURS?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Study
The fly swishes
in my hair as I
wait to begin.
He hovers here
and there after
a full week of toil.
The man on
the other side
of the table
tries to understand
"the deepest wisdom
we've ever read."
The fly knows the taste
of the words
but is too busy to learn to read.
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW: WHY DO WE NOT REVERE THE COMMON HOUSE FLY WHO ALWAYS IS AUTHENTIC AND SPONTANEOUS?
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Mouse
He called
to tell me
he had caught a mouse
and wondered what he
should do with it.
Where was it?
By the fireplace.
How big was it?
About two inches.
What should he do with it?
Is it a baby?
I don't know.
You could flush it
down the toilet,
but how about
letting it out
a block from your house.
Okay, thanks.
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW: WAS HE SHOWING COMPASSION BY SEPARATING THE MOUSE FROM IT'S MOTHER? WAS IT NICE TO THE FOLKS WHO LIVED A BLOCK AWAY TO LET IT GO BY THEIR HOUSES?
Friday, October 12, 2007
The Colony
As I step
off my porch,
I see a colony
of ants scurrying
around, with no
time to spare.
We wonder
if humanoids
are too busy,
until we
study these ants——
fine creatures,
as serious as could be,
working as if their
lives depended on it.
We take vacations,
sleep, and retire.
The ants only nap
sixteen minutes a day,
and for the rest of the time,
work, work, and work,
preparing their next
meal for themselves,
and their nieces and nephews.
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW: WHEN DO WE CALL THESE CREATURES OUR FRIENDS, AND WHEN DO WE PUT OUT THE ANT TRAPS?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Soup Kitchen
Classical music,
of the finest quality.
But afterwards,
a gluttonous reception.
Food galore,
with lines forming
at each table.
Are we that hungry
or that greedy
for sweets and
high fat treats
that lead us
to the grave like
the sirens on the
the rocks?
Are we products
of the great depression,
or the unholy holocaust,
never knowing
where our next meal
might come from,
or whether
it will be
at all?
PLEASE COMMENT, ANSWERING THIS QUESTION: AM I BEING TOO SENSITIVE ABOUT THE WAY EVERYONE EATS. IS THIS MY OBSESSION?
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Who's in the world?
Xiushan said, "What can you do about the world?" Dizang said, "What do you call the world?"