transmogrification

as clap traps snap

so the noses turn up

sniffing and twitching against the

deep tissue burn of coal dust

blackened catfish sliding

down blackened throats

a frailty experiment!

glees the respected scientist

mister robert h. madgin

most respected of his class

most lauded of his family

most eligible bachelor 1972

as the earth churns and spins

their skins will stretch and polish

in just such a beautiful way!

yanked taut over tensile sinew

till the veins and throbs hold

straight through the men's slumber

#22

crackling against the divide

when the sirens come to call

striving amidst the contrived

when lemmings keep dropping to hell

thumping by water shores

and swirling in deep deep

five alarm fire sirens sweep

where the legends are all asleep

swooning horns and sweet reed harps

swing a soulful tune

harkening back to those days of old

when home was true for you

#21

how do despots rule the day?

how do they fire their whole array?

why do the fireworks bomb away?

when scurrilous warlords swing and sway?

where is the man who minds the keep

so sure that evils have no leak

by which to exploit the armaments deep

and to see those damnable warlords meek

fervor and bloodshed comes with the slough

as men shoot shot and mind the cows

while women turn in shameful bows

there is no life for commons now.

#20

vagaries where the sun hits salt

lying under the crest

cause madmen run like

fires and diamonds

it's hard for darker

snacks to catch

shine the light on

them and they catch all

the heat like the inside

of a mazda 626

cigarette burns and smell

when you want to get home

hanging in the air

on the way to your marine bungalow

#19

empty as heads and

souls upon the mauritania

clawing for earnest winnings

as the rearing black boar

circles in a way to

enhance effervescent dread

standing tall as

cunning, swirled brass

twist up like a lash of

eucalyptus, whole time

foiled with the 

dirty and sinful way

marker stop, point, point

fervor over miami

moon over manhattan crying

scheck crossed up on the

back of the broadway through

marvel at blackbeard

churning the souls

water bottle bedpan boils the soup

and whenever forever

#18

this is where i live

i won't be cut short

ringing in my ears when i

trot down the lane

how're you doing now

under cerulean skies

a whiffle ball bat

and a potato sack

a ragamuffin's best friend

simple pleasures

in the crook of a small town

there's no joy greater

than stargazing from where you're known

i'll make my own way

strident as i'll be

firing all your shots at once

a depleted soul you'll be

#17

subterranean aquarium

that i don't live in

but i'd sure like to

all backlit with pleasant, soft

warming colors

stringrays against dim purple hue

sharks doused in amber

i'll sleep in a studio bedroom 

near the entrance

on a thin flat mattress