tending to the litterbox
is not a task preferred
for it truly is the shittiest
this much, you may have heard
’tis a piteous endeavor
for regardless of one’s diligence
attempting to remove each clump
will only beget new remnants
which make it near impossible
to execute a thorough riddance
fomenting one’s obsessive compulsive
hyper-vigilance
enveloped in the vortex
like a kuiper belt of quantum droppings
spiraling into eclipsing suns
where time refuses stopping
then, of course, your kitty cat
will promptly perpetrate intrusions
seeming to have lain in wait
to vitiate your trial’s conclusion
which, perhaps, is preferable
when compared to their predilection
orchestrating olfact’ry affronts
upon Edesia’s token
flippantly forgoing such civilities
as inhumation
leaving fumes to waft
into the window of your sustenation
scarcely does exist a tool
designed for proper execution
in the realm of undoing the wrath
of your kitten’s ablutions
then there is the consequence
inflicted by toxoplasmosis
subjecting one to a life
of perilous subconscious motives
disavowing dignity
despite one being none the wiser
all the while as wit and wisdom
wither into states most dire
some might think to situate
the litterbox afar from self
who all too soon then acquiesce
to errant marks of tacit tell
with expeditious ardor
one must hearken to the litterbox
pray barter not
for any act thus subsequent
will end in loss
in this, I have said enough
to warrant any Dalek’s malice
were that one could graciously
exterminate me of this VALIS
render me a willful interfusion
as the litter’s fodder
so that we might revel
in the vortex of a river, godless
lo, a life indentured to the servitude
of any feline’s ward
shall verily be filled
with languid litter duty
evermore
The Cali-Cat Committee
yes, my custom Cadillac
is always packed with cuddly kitties
as we cruise around the city
kickin’ back & lookin’ pretty
bucket seats of brimming fur
powered by purrs and cosmic catnip
cursing coppers can’t catch up
and never will, we’re just too damn hip
local brawlers make a fuss
i trust it’s cuz they want to be us
let ’em eat our dust
as we go peelin’ past their pappy’s Janus
drinkin’ soda pop and drivin’
pedal-pushin’ on the floor
sportin’ pompadours so epic
cuttin’ through the kitty-door
and let me tell you
when we do, our doos are truly pussy-magnets
all the other dudes are duds
who look like cast rejects from Dragnet
our swag is so intricate
that none have yet to comprehend it
but that doesn’t seem to stop
the onslaught of cads caught pretending
leave ’em be
it’s best to look upon them
with a quiet pity
not all cats are qualified
to join the Cali-Cat Committee
[image credit: Louis Wain]
Sharing Is Caring:
Illusion of Civility
the sentence of silence
so few dare to ponder
untold worlds so scarcely beheld
presumed to be something
altogether non-existent
if even regarded in any respect
a consequence foregone
not of their own doing
encountered, in most circumstances
thought only a burden
this, by the very ones
who had begotten their very existence
at best, ignored
at worst, and most typical, degraded
ridiculed
teased
bullied
harrassed
taunted
mocked
thought of as nothing
the list goes on
without end
as they are made to suffer
without further thought
taken only at face value
and that, of what merit?
living, breathing, feeling individuals
of infinite complexity
reduced to the confines
of our grave misperceptions
tucked away neatly in alternate circles
so that we might safely know not of their existence
shuffled away into quaint little busses
a vacuous vaunt to avail our insecurities
by insulting our peers
and them
were we ever thus made to withstand the affront of their presence
how callous and cruel could we possibly be?
and to dare think ourselves as being human
humanity begins in our wasteland of disregard
it is there where we will find
the base truth of our sympathy
empathy
compassion
these words offer nothing
but titular arrogance
ever so smitten
with our sculptures of charity
nary do any of us stand to comprehend
the scope of our blaringly blatant indiscretion
if such is the case
that even those closest related
are most guilty of all
in their failure to see
what their own eyes bear witness to
in its full scope
then what hope
if any
do we stand as a species?
our civilization
can only be gauged
by our treatment of those
not given a voice
subject to the mercy
of choices
made by those left to speak for them
and by this
i submit
our civility
is naught
but the grandest
of all our illusions
[image credit: Georges Barbier]
Sharing Is Caring:
Nomenclature’s Foment
hearti(kin drama, us
tin)ctures of (christ
in era y)et fallen
through (eyes + words)
with garish ha(lo
ise* linkens**)
aglow, a(toms latin)ise (jasper
kerk au)spiciously entered
and soon (chronos fer)vidly
slaked with fla(sk nichol
as) (my valiant soul)
had no b(yas sy)mbolically
it wa(s a man, Thaluc
ero)s and (weird weekend’s) (ward
clever) was his (first secret
draft)ed on (a nam)eless shore
still, it was (just
joan) of arc (me)ekly swore
that’s when i r(ann
a cottage), by loo(ks
be th)at, as it was
moored by the gl(aur
o Ra, Phoen
ix)tles wou(n)d
round my gossamer neck
my sight was a mino(taur
using EMI*** ni)ctitation
with ab(ash, “do u glas)sify god?”
i said “no. but my ser(aph
rol in a)sp tear’s radius
a blasphemous vete(ran
a kelly) green worn beret
etched astrobl(eme kao****
fili)greed (flo
raw ora)tory s(marts)
with leimoti(v i shal
dutia)ble, as (the perilous
reading society)’s fortune(s
and stars blo g)usts wayward
revealing such a (finding
kan dee)motivate every (child
of cynicism) sleekly polished
with ban(jo lies
in tic)-tocked drea(ms
jade-li)ke dianthus lament (living
as tan ya)rrow (little bird learns
to fly)te is to flourish
in full-fledged swara(j
dub)bed ledge-leaped freedom
the pande(mick hughes) fill the sky
more ohm t(hann ahm
unroe)mantic fi(ni
cole ly on s)oot-laden kisse(s
d)ismantling ana(malic
I c I
afro st)reets of ol’ (georgia
park)ed neath an amarant(h owl
D.A. vies) ever
to capture the (olde pun
k)nowing that soon
this will all come to close
•Key•
*ise 異背 – alligator (Japanese)
**linkens – left [transitive] (German)
***EMI – Electro-Magnetic Interference
****kao 顔 – face (Japanese)
∞Bonus oddity – combining 異背 ise with kao 顔 transmorgriphies into 異背顔 [ise-gao], meaning “heterogeneous face”
[image credit: Louis Wain]
Sharing Is Caring:
Summer’s Stay
it is only
by your hand
that i have ever known
of happiness
in the days
of verdant fleeing
further
than could fill the eye
it was you
and i
as nature
sprawling Rosy Fairy Lantern’s light
through Mustang Clovers
endless rows
arose Sierra Columbine
and Blazing Stars
of Indian Paintbrush
lingering
on the lake
along with Larkspur
and Lupine
still
i must confess
the scented prism
of your tresses
mesmerized
my waking dream
unfolding
a golden emergence
in shaded respite
the world would shrink
like boulders slow succumb
to sand
analyzing every aspect
quantum flecks
to speckled skies
all i ever cherished
lay beside me
in the squander
of youth
not a word
was left unheard
as brief
as summer’s stay
[image credit: Ansel Adams]
Sharing Is Caring:
Transposing
holding on
with humbled heart
the hills succumbed
before me
raging
like the devil’s hearth
the earth
left drab and scorched
once
while perched
atop these peaks
a piece of me
quietly departed
unaware
until descent
the direness
of this spiraled dream
e’er i shall
endure its depths
as death reigns long
in sorrowed rain
this fallow ground
on which i stand
alluring
with its thoughts
impure
now conjuring
a new entreaty
beading
upon burdened brow
the briars
of ambrosia
tortured truths
remain
untouched
as tempest
tramples all terrain
and virtue
proven
unavailing
sovereignty
disavowed
our souls
denied
a savior
though Nature gasps
in ashen breaths
her song persists
transposed
[image credit: Milton Avery]
Sharing Is Caring:
Stop or I Lop It
there should really be
some kind of
penis purgatory
for the expiation
of this appalling appendage
and its plethora
of perpetual perpetrations
imposing an impotence
permanent
for its presumed
omnipotence
propelled by a petulance
spurred by its misapprehension
of perceived deprivations
and supplantation
of its deepest paranoia
pending inconsequence
and subsequent need
for incessant placation
from people abound
i submit
that penis is synonymous
with the id of male ego
from pliable pink-tipped inadequacy
to piercing impale of pleasantries forgone
poking
and prodding
sans any apology
haplessly trodding
on that which it pleases
for self-validation
of urges capricious
a paragon
of base instant gratification
to which true compassion
opposes emphatically
no more pitching of tents
no more focal points fixed on dubious bulges
no more pencils in pockets
no more untoward questions
as to whether or not
they’re just happy to see us
no more furtive pocket pool
people can see what you’re doing there
unimpressed
and worse, terrified
no conquest-driven instantaneous detachment
metaphorically speaking
but don’t you dare think
that i won’t just detach it
no more of this daunting affront to humanity
“flaunting” the threat of barbarian legacy
no more judging scant leaflets
by filigreed covers
true power is only attained
through self-discipline
nothing is gained through tyranny
save for misery
only the weakest
feel compelled to subjugate
please cover that hideous thing up already
the neighbors will think you a despot irrelevant
vying for dominance
pitifully plying for lauding opinions
from cowed Stockholm audiences fast seeking exit
look, we all get it
you need to be worshipped
just try to remember
that nobody gives a shit
take your sexist expectations
home to your bed
ruminate long and hard
until this truth gets through to your heads
Sharing Is Caring:
Preoccupation
to have arrived
is to die
I have since
surrounded myself
with cut-out cardboard
reconfigured with no particular preference
staples and tape
to ward off the hatred
a color completely devoid
of vindictiveness
the windowless model is quite suitable
for I have not the time
to look up
and ahead
I am far too caught-up
in this whole “being dead” thing
oh, what a dreadful façade
[image credit: Jan Toorop]
Sharing Is Caring:
Symmetry
the paradox of a promise
one cannot hold
known so well
ask not why
anxiously fleeing
leaden clouds
of dusted wake
and coerced ruination
blanketing
the black horizon
heaven, pray forgive me
nothing
but the bleakest silence
can allay these blighted days
tempting the mirrored gate
it reveals
that it is time
[image credit: Pablo Picasso]
Sharing Is Caring:
Forever Fraught
my predilection toward effusion
may dismay those not departed
cause affront to taste’s convention
leave apologists half-hearted
warrant thrashings deemed most sound
even by standards presumed modest
instigate revolt profound
and draw the ire of known Jihadists
nonetheless, i persevere
for this is all i have to offer
even if it sparks despair
in devotees of Geoffrey Chaucer
some will find my manner trying
some think it obsequious
those astute are found descrying
how i air somniloquous
their opinions might be worthy
to those of aesthetic merit
but thou must understand, surely
that i am not wont to hear it
therefore, i shall e’er regale thee
with this vomitous onslaught
at a frequency seen daily
leaving thee forever fraught
[image credit: Louis Wain]
Max, or Not 
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