Sunday, October 26, 2014

the spaghetti and the sadness






she cooked up spaghetti probably from a can
with jeremy's whole life in her hands
but the stove was too hard

the summer it rained and rained
and the guinea pigs escaped from ella's bedroom
putting their whole lives in mom's hands

they dreamed of marbled halls
but ate chef boyardee ravioli straight from the can
the summer it rained and rained

she put the doll beside her plate
even as the dream of marbled halls faded
the summer it rained and rained

the birds sang the wrong tunes
and made her feel sad
especially for the guinea pigs

the birds didn't know any better
shaking off the remains of fear
because the ground was too hard

for the holy family on a saturday night
so they felt sad
and their sadness took the form of heartfelt prayer

mom opened another can of spaghetti
the rain was falling harder
but she shook off her fear

of the lawbreakers infesting the city
liberated by her old customer the archbishop
it was all so sad, so sad


sources: a girl is a half-formed thing, by eimear mcbride; the facades, by eric lundgren; the shock of the fall, by nathan filer; love me back, by merritt tierce; the undertaking, by audrey magee; dept of speculation, by jenny offill; nw, by zadie smith; all the birds, singing, by evie wyld; the laughing monsters, by denis johnson; the anatomy of dreams, by chloe benjamin; how to build a girl, by caitlin moran; rainey royal, by dylan landis; nora webster, by colm toibin

- amazon suggested these books to people "looking for something in our literature and fiction department"



Monday, October 20, 2014

beyond recall





he looked up from his glass of wine
under the stars and cathedral spires
his eyes got murkier by the minute

with remorse and vibrating nerves
he was gone beyond recall
under the stars and gathering clouds

we prefer to save our exciting moments
she had hated summer vacations
when the doors were painted brown

countless swarms of wasps
began polishing the inside doorhandle


"how could you let him escape?"

he was gone beyond recall
on the other side of the thin wall
with his pathetic remorse and shot nerves

he looked down into his glass of wine
supported by tiger-like monsters
with polished golden incisors

countless swarms of wasps
began attacking his unfinished glass of wine
splashing the tiger-like monsters

it was worse than the summer vacations
with the endless swarms of grasshoppers
no way of knowing what they wanted

the tiger-men began to laugh
at the immumerable swarms of spiders
that were polishing the inside door handle

sources: salambo, by gustave flaubert; maldoror, by lautreamont; last men in london, by olaf stapledon; baudelaire, by jean-paul sartre; thirst for love, by yukio mishima; don't look now, by daphne du maurier; rebecca, by daphne du maurier; the engagement, by georges simenon; act of passion, by georges simenon; agent of chaos, by norman spinrad; driven, by richard gehman; man on a leash, by charles williams; "fire escape" by cornell woolrich



suggestion





a man's whole life in your hands
birds singing the wrong tunes
liberated by one of her customers

shaking off the remains of fear
the ground was too hard
lawbreakers infested the city

smashing windows up and down the streets
a man's whole life in their hands
through chilled marble halls

liberated by one of her customers
with the free guinea pigs
made her feel sad

place the doll beside her
spaghetti probably from a can
lawbreakers infested the city

"if you don't like those, take a look at these"

liberated by one of her customers
down chilled marble halls

with the free guinea pigs
the summer it rained and rained
shaking off the remains of fear

holy family on a saturday night
with the free guinea pigs
place her doll beside her

isn't she a bit old for a doll
holy family on a saturday night

"don't knock it if you haven't tried it"

sources: a girl is a half-formed thing, by eimear mcbride
the facades, by eric lundgren
the shock of the fall, by nathan filer
love me back, by merritt tierce
the undertaking, by audrey magee
dept of speculation, by jenny offill
nw, by zadie smith
all the birds, singing, by evie wyld
the laughing monsters, by denis johnson
the anatomy of dreams, by chloe benjamin
how to build a girl, by caitlin moran
rainey royal, by dylan landis
nora webster, by colm toibin

- amazon suggested these books to people "looking for something in our literature and fiction department"



Saturday, October 18, 2014

the room




under the stars and branches
we prefer to store up our excitement
as we are not naturally that way

it seemed to get murkier by the minute
she had hated summer vacations
on the other side of the thin wall

the doors were painted brown
he began polishing the inside doorhandle
which seemed to get murkier by the minute

they preferred to bottle up their excitement
with no way of knowing what they wanted
on the other side of the thin wall

the remorse and the vibrating nerves
began polishing the inside door handle
the doors were painted brown

but could use a new coat
she had always hated summer vacations
under the stars and branches

with remorse and vibrating nerves he was gone beyond recall

"for god's sake we can't make love in a room with a brown door"

there was no way of knowing what she wanted
he was gone beyond recall
he looked up over his glass of wine

things seemed to get murkier by the minute
with no way of knowing what they wanted
on the other side of the thin wall

sources: last men in london, by olaf stapledon; baudelaire, by jean-paul sartre; thirst for love, by yukio mishima; don't look now, by daphne du maurier; rebecca, by daphne du maurier; the engagement, by georges simenon; act of passion, by georges simenon; agent of chaos, by norman spinrad; driven, by richard gehman; man on a leash, by charles williams; "fire escape" by cornell woolrich


Thursday, October 16, 2014

end of the line





he pretended to look for some i d
his whole life flashed before him
he couldn’t see the cop’s face

but the outcome was never in doubt
he couldn’t see the cold face
but he knew the hard heart

he had escaped from the bughouse
because he was sick of grits
and because he wanted to be treated with dignity and respect

the cop came closer and smiled
the cop came closer and smiled
the headlights dimmed

you know you don’t have no i d
you never had no i d
you probably ain’t even got a name

your room is waiting for you
back in the bughouse
back in the bughouse where you belong

mr johnson is worried sick about you
because he’s your friend
your only friend

the boys will have a good laugh
and poke you in the ribs
because they are your only friends

you marched a long way
your feet must be sore
so sore

the masquerade is over
let’s get the cuffs on you
the masquerade is over, that’s from a song

i don’t have no remorse
i’ll tell that to the warden
you do that

i’d do it over again
you hear that, al?
we got a real hard case here

it will be much better for your health
i don’t care about my health
all i wanted was to be free


sources: the end of the night, by john d macdonald; rage, by stephen king; journey to the end of the night. by louis-ferdinand celine; death on the installment plan, by louis-ferdinand celine; the prague cemetery, by umberto eco; the stranger, by albert camus; the adventures of darcy dancer, gentleman, by j p donleavy; three way split, by jerry weil; the end - rethinking the revelation, by norman b harrison


Saturday, October 11, 2014

the escaped





it's much better for your health
when did you ever care about my health
i'm just saying that's all

it brings back memories of empty rooms
they were empty because you were in them
is that supposed to be funny?

she gave me that smile
in your dreams
what's wrong with my dreams?

even though i have no remorse
ooh so scary!
i'm just saying that's all

maybe we should go back
you can go back
you know i would never leave you

"this is the life, huh? the free and open road!"

they marched for a long time
it began to get dark
they passed an abandoned barn but kept going

now you're a murderer
don't start that again
i'm just saying that's all

the outcome was never in doubt
darkness fell
they came to an abandoned farmhouse

you sure you don't want to go back
stop bugging me
this place looks real cozy

they had walked a weary mile
and deserved a rest
after being treated like dogs all their lives

the rooms were empty
they gave al the heebie jeebies
but buck just laughed

and gave al that big smile
like he always did
like he always did

even though he had no remorse
they saw the moon through the broken window
they saw the moon through the broken window


sources: the end of the night, by john d macdonald; rage, by stephen king; the long walk, by stephen king; journey to the end of the night. by louis-ferdinand celine; the stranger, by albert camus; three way split, by jerry weil; fair game, by jerry weil; the end - rethinking the revelation, by norman b harrison


escape




but he didn't go back
it almost always made him smile
with joyous digs in the ribs

he escaped from the bughouse
bringing only empty rooms
the outcome was never in doubt

he presented it to the government as genuine
but he didn't go back
now you're a murderer

almost always with a smile
now you're a murderer too
it almost always made him smile

escaped from the bughouse
and gave me that smile
like a crazed animal

"i owe you, johnny, i won't forget you."

like a crazed animal
yeah, like a real crazed animal

with joyous digs in the ribs
we marched a long time
it's much better for your health

the outcome is never in doubt
like a crazed animal
it always makes him smile

joyous digs in the ribs
now you're a murderer
it's much better for your health


sources: the end of the night, by john d macdonald; rage, by stephen king; the long walk, by stephen king; journey to the end of the night. by louis-ferdinand celine; death on the installment plan, by louis-ferdinand celine; the name of the rose, by umberto eco; the prague cemetery, by umberto eco; the stranger, by albert camus; the adventures of darcy dancer, gentleman, by j p donleavy; the teachers, by jerry weil; fair game, by jerry weil; the end - rethinking the revelation, by norman b harrison


Saturday, October 4, 2014

paper boy




why does it have to be this way
you guys are the greatest
it was just the paper boy

make your own goddamn sandwich
you guys are the greatest
so why does it have to be this way

you used be so much fun
it doesn't have to be this way
do you believe everything you hear?

you used to be so much fun
so make your own sandwich
but this sweater is the wrong color

master that's not what i want
master that's not what i want
you should fix this refrigerator

you never thought that before
you never thought that before
that's a pretty big dog you got there

but this sweater is the wrong color
you should fix this refrigerator
i'll bet you never thought of that before

you shouldn't believe everything you hear
it was just the paper boy
but this sweater is the wrong color

"people go to prison every day for less"

most people don't even have paper boys any more
it doesn't keep anything cold


sources: an evening in naples, by robert gray; the deadbeats, by sam white; take me forever, by geraldine st john; the last of the lonely, by sarah philbin; american midnight, by carl b johnson; the case of the incurious butterfly, by amelia desrosiers; a cafe in nogales, by brett fisher; i thought you knew better than that, by wilson chadwick; the fools, by g t sanderson; daphne, by nora green; dead man's whisper, by alfred clay jones; this man and this woman, by dorothy mainwaring smith



Thursday, October 2, 2014

love and authority




from behind the silver teapot
he grabbed the receiver and listened
hand in hand into the arena

long ago in the quiet of the world
zillions of inorganic beings
so he grabbed the receiver from the secretary and listened

far from shaking her resolve

"that was very rude of you, sir"

he did not like her tone of authority

from behind the silver teapot
the hours burn in the night
that's the way to live

with zillions of inorganic beings

"who is chief executive officer here, you or i?"

the puppy stopped moving

love is a stimulus
but he did not like her tone of authority
long ago in the quiet of the world

before madness walked in the deserts
love was a stimulus
with zillions of singing angels

digestion was incredibly prolonged
but failed to shake her inexorable resolve
his hairy fingers tightened on the receiver

not to see the landscape at all
that's the way to live
with the pitiless stimulus of love

sources: atlas shrugged, by ayn rand; the fountainhead, by ayn rand; the prophet, by khalil gibran; the doors of perception, by aldous huxley; zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, by robert pirsig; the motorcycle diaries, by che guevara; the dharma bums, by jack kerouac; the teachings of don juan, by carlos castaneda; the alchemist, by paulo coelho; the hobbit, by j r r tolkien; stranger in a strange land, by robert a heinlein; childhood's end, by arthur c clarke; the case of charles dexter ward, by h p lovecraft