"Shift In The Molecular (Composition Of Matter)"

A shift in the molecular
Composition of matter,
Brought about by some
Extraordinary experiments:

With dedication
And official denials
Prepared beforehand,
Should anything
Get out of the box:

Wild or not,
It's something
To have familiarity with-
Even should it prove a myth- if....

"Getting Excited Over Sylvia"

This morning,
She called me up-

Saying from her,
She'd decided
There would be
No more excuses-

I started getting excited-

"Oh, Sylvia!"

"Sylvia!"

"You mean you finally agree,
"To go out and see a movie with me?"

"Oh, Sylvia-"

"Sylvia-"

"Sylvia-"

"I'll pick you up tonight at six!"

Just as she gave a wild laugh,
And said she was only pulling my chain again-

And the phone went- click!

"Sylvia!"

"Sylvia!"

"Ooh...
"I'm going to get you,
"Sylvia!"

"She's Got A Novelistic Vision"

She's got a novelistic vision-
It's her usual state of mind.

Yet she doesn't claim
Any literary excellence-

For though
She's got a novelistic vision-

That doesn't mean she wants to write one:

She's much more at home
In what she considers
Her attempts at verse-

She's not a nihilist:

And at times
Is quite taken by
Some glittering rhyme...

Yet she feels
The panorama of civilization-
And is very much inspired
In her heart by the realization-

That she'd truly love nothing better,
Than to be able to say it in every single line.

"Concede"

Concede the possibility
That the universe is me-
The universe is you:
But of course, it isn't-
So that's not true.

You're part of it,
I'm part of it-
And it's not irrelevant
That a duck won't jump
Like a kangaroo...

Who?

Mysticism to resonate.

Mathematics-

And 8-track tape player,
As well as stereo turntable logic:

Even a vinyl record revelation
That John was the walrus-

But upon listening to "Glass Onion,"
You're insisting that Paul was a walrus too?

Well, as to your rational faculties-
I am in of grave doubt.

But as the needle
Goes down in to the groove...

Yeah, it's "Twist and Shout."

Because baby, I say-

It doesn't really
Have to matter
How old a song is:

It's whether or not it can make you move...

And girl,
I can see that it does-
And you do.

"For Example"

For example- for example-

For example- nothing.

Nothing- nothing-

Not in addition:

Not in any category:

Journeying- journeying:

To nowhere-

The impermanence of your world.

"Everything"

A shimmering array-

Of twirling blues and greens-

Everything-

Appears to reflect those colors-

Caught up in the mesmerizing-

It's not surprising-

I must be having a dream...

As I lay peering about the room:

Sea plant angels swim through the air-

And they too-

Reflect the colors blue and green-

Suddenly taking notice of me-

They all as one line-up:

And begin to sing...

But I can't make out the words-

Yet what does it matter-

As long as I keep in mind-

I must be having a dream?

It seems...

Everything.

"It's-!"

It's not always
Just about
Mixed-up dreams,
Like old horror
And science fiction films
Blended together-

Involving a dialogue
With some nut in a lab,
Who talks about another version
Of a genetically altered house fly-
Not involving teleporting:

Yet one that also gets itself
Caught in a spider's web,
And screams...

Or anyone else who echoes
The same sorts of themes:

No- it's not always
Just about things like that.

Even though there's no doubt,
But that the world is moving
Fast and furious-

And it's crazy,
And it's serious:

With science
Running afoul of chaos:

The island of Dr. Moreau...

But like I said,
It's not always
Just about-

You!

"Human Condition"

So say the human condition
That often comes off like a joke-book:

But then you take a hard look-

And see all the sorrow, misery, and pain-

And you're shook:

It all seems so insane!

Yet any way you look at it-

The state of the human condition is you too-

And you're hooked!

And there's no way to get out of it
Until you're dead-

So I've said.

And if you've got this far-

This is also something
That you can say that you've read.

"Statistical"

Statistical problems and computer runs.

Green rabbits with bubblegum guns.

All things in retrospect-
Papers and projects,
And the politically correct:

College girls and philosophy-

Research and scholarship...

Successful completion-

From that old time
Strategy of design...

That allows government
To get what it wants,
And very much more in addition:

With constantly orchestrated fictions-

Keeping the vast majority
Of the people mentally flatulent,
And totally perplexed-

While the powers that be
Busily groom another puppet,
And say...

"Next!"

"Following The Morning"

Following the morning-
So leapt the idea:

I'm not following some hallucination-

I'm just following the morning,
And getting out of here...

It all came to me quite suddenly,
Like some great cosmic gift-

And so who knows,
But maybe
While I'm walking
Down this highway-

Somebody'll come by,
Stop- and offer me a lift?

I'm following the morning-

Following the morning,
That I know
Will lead me into the afternoon-

And then on into the night...

But there's no need
For anybody to go
Worrying about me-

I've got a feeling,
That I'm
Going to be all right.

"Ideologies Like Whirlpools"

Ideologies like whirlpools to pull you in-

And those behind them,
No matter what the cost-

Are out to win!

Leaving so many people,
Who become their adherents-

Trembling and fumbling,
As if like zombies
They go off stumbling:

Catching sight of you,
And screaming- "Brains!"

Striving to fill your head
With all their politically fed
Confusions and disillusions-

And bringing you nothing but pain.

"Spy Prototype Robot Girl, Number 5"

Her mental contents,
And delivery-

She's usually
As nice as she can be-

And her beauty
Makes me think of
All these various activities...

She's spy prototype robot girl, number 5.

She's got lasers in her eyes.

She's very specialized.

Don't know
How many more
They'll make of her-

But upon all missions
She's assigned
To come along with me on-

She's always quite a surprise:

She's the latest in advanced-
Espionage technology,
In this year of 2175.

She's spy prototype robot girl, number 5.

And she's much improved
Over numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4-

It's almost as if she's actually alive-

She has a learning program,
As well as a total range of
Downloaded emotions-

Even going as far as telling you-
She'll kill you, if you ever make her cry:

Giving you fair warning,
I suppose-

That she is after all:

Spy prototype robot girl, number 5.

"TV Channel 9- Circa 2086"

Don't need to say,
Channel 9-
Channel 9-

Or slither through
Some old curious
Bound volumes
Of broadcast time...

An abandoned,
Decaying,
Local TV station-

Inside,
The sets covered in cobwebs and dust:

With the long dead,
Local TV personalities-

Off and separated far away,
Crumbling in their graves:

And the old TV cameras
That once displayed them,
Are standing still-

Covered in various molds,
And eaten up with rust...

But who knows?

Maybe there's spook voices
In the place late at night-

With floating,
Flickering images
Of long ago local happenings:

And the news...!

And even the now spectral,
But still incessant giggling
Of the long dead
Local little weather girl too?

But even as we leave it to fade out
To the late acid rock strains
Of E. L. O.'s now considered ancient-

"Bluebird is Dead"

Just keep it in mind-

Don't need to say,
Channel 9-
Channel 9-

No, for I've always heard
It's better if you say it three times!

Channel 9?

"What Questions Assume"

What questions assume-

The higher exaltation,
Or the obsolete
And unimportant:

Such themes...

As the volume deals-

Promises and prophecies:

And those who say it can't be real.

Madness totally in bloom.

And what questions assume.

"The Strung-Out Hippie Love Song (1968)"

She is perfume-

She is a flower in bloom:

She is psychedelic music
In an hallucinogenic room.

I can say
She is a high,
Like from the art
Of the VW van apothecary:

That turns you into an addict-

That makes your heart beat
As fast as the run of a time warping rabbit.

She is all thereof-

She is sheer love...

She's pure gold,
Where all the other girls are brass:

She's a testimony to my future-

So for her,
I give up all
The other lovely
Incense addled ladies-
To the visions of my past....

{Written after watching some old music clips from the late '60s on YouTube}

"Spirals"

Dreams of duration-

Truth defined?

Or simple generalizations-

And what goes on within
The spirals of your mind?

Whether facts
Or falsehoods-

Or idealism-

Or hallucinations-

Or the deduction
That comes from
An abstract association:

Like the difference
Between winter
And summer sunshine.

Yet there is experience-

And hopefully,
Somewhere down the line-

A bit of common sense.

"To Venture"

To venture into the heart-
To put words down on paper,
In that attempt at the narrative art:

Thoughts and dreams-
And emotion,
To form a link in verse.

Usually modifying
And elaborating-

Even if it's not
That highly illuminating:

Since it begins
Without always knowing
Where you're going-

Once you put down
That very first line.

Yet whether it is,
Or isn't literary-

Or involves
Any poetic artistry:

It's still an invitation
To try and say
What's in your own heart-

By way of translation
Through the processes
Of your mind.

"Too Little Known"

Too little known,
Or too widely ignored-

If controversy exists-

It doesn't really change anything,
You still just get bored:

A new meaning?

Ah, just dreaming.

"The State Of The Body Politic"

Just another cadaverous face-

And it should make
Any number start to wonder:

Why is it
All these politicians
Look so very much
Like undertakers?

But of course,
The vast majority
Never will-

The very idea
If accepted,
Is far too frightening-

And for such a society
As exists today-

Far too unreal:

Simply a symbol
In both ways-

Of the state of the body politic.

"It's Only To Fix Some Dreams"

It's only to fix some dreams-

The ones that have gotten
A bit out of joint,
And come very close
To losing their point.

The memory of images,
And the memory of words-

Sitting well within the solitude
Of all the things that I've seen,
And all the voices that I've heard:

It's only to fix some dreams-

Projecting a balance between
Their actual value,
And after all these years-

Exactly what they really mean:

Like finding myself
Standing beneath some starry sky,
Or the times I found myself dreaming
That I could fly:

And recalling a girl
That I never got to know,
But who- whenever I saw her-
Looked at me with such longing in her eyes:

And oh,
How she seemed to love me so...

It's only to fix some dreams.

"From Here And There"

From here and there,
And forever thenceforward
To the essence of the lyric.

Even if for me,
It's usually
Just another unrealized attempt
At a kind of apocalypse
Grand Ole Opry show:

Or artistical poetic-
Flow of abstract rock and roll:

Image-wise,
Sometimes seemingly Hank Williams,
If not symbolically Beatle hieroglyphic:

Steel guitar and fiddle,
And 1960s psychedelic
Futuristic
Backward running
Audio-
And lyric riddle.

And trying to avoid
The use of
One too many
Old Victorian era poet,
Parlour tricks.

Yet it's all to the circular style-

Whether it's to the folk memories
Of some ancient British village-

Or the various type
Honky tonk
Saturday nights,
Still to be found
In any given
Small Southern town.

For what goes around- well, comes around.

"The Last Stop ( 1:58 A.M. in the Morning )"

A tip for the waitress-
Because she doesn't look the kind
To allow a slap upon her behind!

Well, you know,
Some of these truckstop mamas,
Just don't wanna let it shine!

So I'm outside climbing aboard my old rig-
And heading off down the road-

Doing what I always do-

Hauling another load:

Turning on the radio...

And immediately
Picking up the start
Of Red Sovine...

"Phantom 309"

While I'm already
Lead-footing it,
Rushing through the gears-

Pushing this old rig up to speed:

Just trying to make some time!

But suddenly there's lights up ahead,
All over the road-

And I'm....

( Time of death upon the police report- 2:48 A.M. in the morning ).

"Stuff For Her Anxiety"

If she prowls stuff for her anxiety-

If she's talking to herself:

And writing poetry
Of wicker chairs
Defying gravity-

Most would have to agree
It's probably the interaction
With the various medications:

Though not that she's getting too little,
But that she's getting way too much!

"Hearing Rumors ( Storage Cabinets )"

Hearing rumors,
Storage cabinets-
And everybody's
Scrambling
For something.

But back in the 1950s
To the early 1960s,
It was considered
A completely different field,
As well as a completely different time.

Genuine accomplishments of course...

Though it wasn't believed
To have been the President
Who snatched the word
Right out of the air-

Because it wasn't...

"Military-industrial complex."

"Unpleasant Happening"

Unpleasant digestive happening-
And someone
Who's seen it all before,
Attempting to suppress a yawn.

Was anything...

Anything...

Unusual?

No- it was just a large dog,
And while walking down the street-
A group of people heard it fart.

It stopped- looked around,
And then at them-
And if a dog could shrug it's shoulders- it did...

And continued on down the street.

It happens all the time.