Apples For The Serpent by Klaus J. Gerken * revel he offered her pizza but she wanted sex he said i have no money she said you sound like my ex he got up and left her on the deserted bench she got up and followed but spoke only french she shouted je t'aime he shouted you don't you just want my money and won't heal the wound she sat on the pavement it was well after 3 A.M. when he got home with no ecstasy kjg 415am 22 may 2015 * morning the sky is clear except for wisps of dark blue clouds the air is crisp and cold and refreshing as the bright sun rises in the east the silent streets deserted where nothing stirs not even a whisper of breeze disturbs the morning meditation sometimes in moments like these one merges with the close environment and gathers sanction with the earth no superior beings we only what is registered as a natural communion with the universe kjg 602am 22 may 2015 * the crowning glory for the human species is not war (as it should be) but peace it's a wonder they acheived it for the short periods of time they have. kjg 1231pm 22 may 2015 * brief encounter give me head she said so i gave her head you're good she said i'm always good in bed so the night crept on till the early light love is not a shadow when the mood is right kjg 1048pm 23 may 2015 * blind faith he's a church going atheist in love with the priest he loves the eucharist and christ rising like yeast he knows there's no god but passionately prays for divine consummation of a union some day it's a perfect conception two virgins in sta- sis - who would have thought there'd be a reception where francis the mule would provide intervention. kjg 7am 30 may 2015 * If you have no respect for the past, you have no respect for the future; you are grounded in the present with blinders on. And the present has no meaning either, since you can't see where it is leading you. kjg 1015am 29 may 2015 * nod falling asleep again don't know where don't know when so tired it is so good to dream what a scream what's it mean so tired sometimes it all seems odd have a nod in the cot so tired but here i go again nodding off again all the same so tired kjg 254pm 30 may 2015 * the written word is not thinking the written word is construction plain and simple kjg 629am 31 may 2015 * If I were a US citizen, and listened to anymore pre-election coverage, I would be so insane by the time the election came around, I would vote for the psychopath! kjg 3am 1 jan 2015 * apples for the serpent it doesn't really matter where the apple goes madam le pomme will always rise again kjg 354am 1 jun 2015 * bird on a branch branch on a tree tree in the ground anchored firmly kjg 4am 2 jun 2015 * It's turning into a world of artificial people. kjg 452am 2 jun 2015 * alone no one wants an old man's thoughts these days are like a lost endeavour ancient like an oak about to fall under the weight of centuries what hurts most is not the discommunication but the isolation where the mind retreats into itself because no one will listen to experience and past existence i am of the past and nothing can be done to alleviate that grave condition my death is closer than my birth and very few remember what my past was like today is very different and no one cares that once we the old also embraced youth kjg 1155am 2 jun 2015 * madness when the twilight zone of normal radiates abuse gather what is formal and of little use the door is not a shelter it opens when it creaks rusted water leaks there-under no one dares drink water neat hollow eyes will crack the mirror empty eggs just lie in heat where the waste precludes the fullness the fog of clearness will repeat life's not measured by the spoonful but the madness that we seek kjg 342am 4 jun 2015 * shadows shadows do not reflect in mirrors vampires of the twilight they hold us hostage on a quantum level without any evidence they exist shadows are not sentient but follow us around even lead the dance or sway sideways at a sideways glance nothing is as profound or disconcerting as a shadow and there is little that can be done even when the sun disappears there is a shadow that envelops us in night invisible it mirrors what we will become kjg 1255am 5 jun 2015 * my poetry wait and see is the argument of experts i have no use for it unless in tactical situations but then I'm not a soldier i just want to get things done and to do that preparation is everything you must know what you are doing where things are and how they fit together there is no time to study when the moment strikes so it is with poetry - years of study and preparation allow me to write without revision revision is for later if i change my mind i react to the world of madness through mad visions i don't want to analyze - i want to respond with a clear unfettered thrust of unadorned words kjg 220pm 5 jun 2015 * koan take an empty sheet of paper and write an empty poem when no one's there to read it it will blossom on its own kjg 719am 6 jun 2015 * Master says: redress! Pupils changes clothes. Master laughs like thunder: Good, he says, you know! kjg 721am 6 jun 2015 * the futility tragedy will drip down your back whether you like it or not and you don't have time to wipe your forehead when disaster strikes you are plain and simply fucked no use running for the hills the lottery is the same at both ends either you vomit or you shit if you survive there is not destiny no purpose but to gather dust and make it clay when you form a perfect human being breathe a soul into it - hate for love and love for hate - and do it all again kjg 7 jun 2015 * garden brown brush leads to murder double jeopardy omits a clause fiction is reality i saw it yesterday while getting out of a nonexistent car there are three trees in the desert only two can be seen at any one time but then you can never see the trees only their shadows are significant i will plant my garden and retire i have no desire to explain my life my gate has a latch and two hinges it creaks when it opens and closes i am not yet leaving but my time will come tend my garden when i fade away kjg 8 jun 2015 * rain pavement wet with google-eyed bubbles eyes of madness mirror the encroachment of insane metamorphs of rage and darkness cowering humanity shrinks thereunder synthetic umbrellas reflect the conscience of bundled up pedestrians haunched beneath the weight of centuries if not all time internal voices drag them through the mud distant rumbles stir the ancient gods awake no one waits for traffic lights or stands in doorways that give shelter from the stinging rain there is no time for reflection only prayer the city closes like a raven's claw around its prey that we've become beneath the non-existent stars kjg 753am 8 jun 2015 * virus the slobbering gluttons are at it again they praise the hunt but only keep the hoofs there is no reason to forgo their pizza or burger it's their eucharist the holy grail of substitution not to be denied their superiority - flabby membrane of their rifle barrels - crass stupidity - they don't care who or what they kill - killing is their destiny proving they are human beings in the flower of perfection they pose with trophies of their grinning cowardice their only accomplishment is money and the fame it brings shallow in their shallowness they prance around like prima donnas nothing on their resume but aimless desperation - sport is killing on a frozen level not involved and no regret - when the river runs dry it's not their poison that's to blame kjg 821pm 8 jun 2015 * madness he angered his keepers he didn't obey they said he was in denial when he didn't see it their way but he noticed their anger when outside their books he showed them a new trick freud didn't teach the poor rooks so they put him away in a cell made of glass where they viewed his behaviour like a holy jackass on the day he escaped death ruled the repast kjg 125am 9 jun 2015 * If I have to explain my poetry I'm not doing it right. kjg 150am 9 jun 2015 * tourism a la carte i know a woman who travelled to milan for a burger said it was the best NY burger in town next year she went to london for 'sketti best she ever had but when she went to paris for coc au vin she thought it was a stupid dish "didn't even serve it with fries" she said "i won't go there again i'll try germany next year they are bound to have bacon and eggs for breakfast and maybe in the evening i'll order some poutine and good canadian beer i hear they don't have any good beer there" kjg 920pm 10 jun 2015 * tolerance heavy typewriter makes a good paperweight when lightness flows upon the page of silence kjg 1022pm 12 jun 2015 * a fool like lear (listening to simon and garfunkel's i am a rock) upon a bitter meaning where the mind cannot collect it's thoughts from cradle to the graveyard we think we conquer but we conquer nought i am past the years of wonder the monotony of repetition haunts me wearily the news the fashion music art it all repeats and has no heart long ago each moment was adventure (i'm sure the young feel so today) somehow i have lost the passion age has waved away stubborn in my stature I am a brittle oak i cannot bend or master what wisdom should have brought a fool like lear the cave looms large kjg 114pm 13 jun 2015 * myku i promise no cave no shadow no light - o fright whatever happens is right kjg 133pm 13 jun 2015 * Mother made it best! An apple pi that can be sliced forever taste the logic of a revolution! kjg 510pm 13 jun 2015 * Lotus Land (Have we entered the lotus land with no one to guide us home...?) Nine days upon a wretched sea, we reached, upon the tenth, the land of the lotus-eaters, who consume the food of a flower. Here we anchored for fresh water, and the crew took sustenance upon the shore not far from the ships. When they were done I sent two men to canvas the local population, and they had a third man who went at once among the locals who harmed him not, but gave them the lotus fruit, so delicious that they lost all desire to go home, or even to return to the ships and relate what came upon them. They begged to stay to feed upon the lotus with no regard of their responsibilities; nonetheless, oblivious to their bitter cries, I forced them back upon the ships and restrained them to their benches. Then I forced the rest on board, lest they should taste the lotus and mutiny, so I forced them to the oars and struck the grey sea fast away from there. -- Homer, Odyssey IX transl kjg 849pm 13 jun 2015 * wine store's open will go soon or all my wine will be gone by noon kjg 1103am 14 jun 2015 * o lost youth when i was eight my father had a plot of land on the outer edge of town where on the weekends he used to take me on his bicycle he grew many vegetables there which my mother cooked in her small kitchen of the third floor garret where we lived he also kept rabbits that he treated cruelly i hated that and he laughed at me for being such a wimp i don't know what he did with the rabbits and i didn't want to know i spent most of my time climbing the old apple tree which grew five different types of apples the all had worms in them though we ate them none the less not thinking about it when there was a good wind my friends and i would fly kites in the orchard sometimes getting them tangled in the trees the farmer used to get so angry and we always ran away leaving him to untangle the mess one day my friend uwe rode his new bike down the dirt path right into the bog we had to pull him out all muddy but couldn't save the bike that's real all that i remember days so long ago o lost youth kjg 816pm 14 jun 2015 * 't is all a dream there's a moment where i can't understand who i am it's a revelation that doesn't really mean so much we're all befuddled muddled sometimes in our lives so i just continue dreaming dragging through the weary night g'night g'nigth g'night kjg 926pm 14 jun 2015 * warning label men need to pause when they confront menapausal fluxuations otherwise they will rise and fall with horrendous purterbations kjg 502pm 15 jun 2015 * Life After 66 years of life, have no idea [what life is]. I'm here to do what I do. Nothing more or nothing less. Waste of time trying to figure it out because ultimately there is no solution we can comprehend, since we are part of the solution. It's us. Master says: You live and die. That's all. kjg 442pm 16 jun 2015 * The Catholic Hierarchy Mary Mother of God God Jesus, God as man on earth the pope, Jesus' representative to the church cardinals who elect the pope bishops, head of a dioceses priest, head of a parish missionaries, who spread the "good" news monks nuns the rabble who support them kjg 1048am 17 jun 2015 * centretown someone wrote "you want some c-rack" on a one way street sign on the telephone wire above a pair of sneakers excellently tossed to mark the street on the building a phone number and the message sex otherwise a very respectable area and an alley where an artist painted murals of old italy i only lived a block away one morning i saw a girl run home to the apartment building across the street naked a week later they arrested her on prostitution charges that was years ago when the police acted like tough guys nothing like that today the streets are quiet now everyone's clean cut and a germaphobe i sorta miss the old days kjg 121pm 17 jun 2015 * murder in church so it's ok for god to let it happen god holds no responsibility god is only love we don't know why it happened it's pure evil satan's to blame the killer's insane we will go back to church and pray to god for guidance he will deliver us from evil we worship a gracious god he will cradle us in our times of need god is there for us in such a time of tragedy kjg 428am 18 jun 2015 * no faith here my mother taught me to question everything even god especially god why think hard kjg 440am 18 jun 2015 * a murderer by any other name... almost didn't kill them because they were so nice but orders are orders"* *Nazi prison guard at his trial 1946 *"I almost didn't go through with it because they were so nice to me." -- US mass murderer 2015. kjg 432pm 19 jun 2015 * existence the smallest point is just a point in our existence infinity exists in forever knowing that forever we can halve something and it will still exist forver and forever kjg 750pm 20 jun 2015 * Master says: We exist. Pupil asks: How? Master replies: Because, we are the mind of God. kjg 619am 21 jun 2015 * Modern Art has become a catch-all phrase for anything we don't know what to do with, so we display it in a museum. kjg 957pm 22 un 2015 * Master laughs: Ha! Pupil laughs: Ha! Master laughs: Ha! Ha! Pupil laughs : Ha! Ha! Master laughs: Ha! Ha! Ha! Pupil falls over on his side and laughs: Ha! Ha! HA! HA! HA! ... Master stomps on floor. Master says: He who has no restraint shouldn't be laughing! kjg 441pm 23 jun 2015 * Waking Up Haven't watched the news yet... Know I'm here, but it could be an illusion. kjg 1135am 24 jun 2014 * Claim Reality Mention Schrodinger's cat experiment, and I always counter with, "What if the cat meowed?" kjg 137pm 25 jun 2015 * know it all/know nothing absolved of our crimes we carry a dagger knowing the times can change with a swagger there is nothing in life that's certainty even death is a mystery kjg 1139pm 26 jun 2015 * Welcome to my Dream was working on my computer writing code when suddenly a friend of mine stood behind me she said so you have been downloading that junk to my parents' computer i said i've never been to your parents' place she said that doesn't matter so i went for a walk to lebreton flats walking to the top of a sand dune i see rene chartrand (the catman of parliament hill) run towards a family with kids trying to catch a large grey tabby cat there were people running toward them from the other side also we all get there at the same time when suddenly we end up in the basement floor of the chateau laurier hotel when a beaver comes up to me and bites me in the hand when i try to pet him then he bites me again and we all crowd into an elevator to the lobby where they are holding an art sale and i buy an old very long musket walking along the street a man from africa who also bought a musket walks beside me as i try to tell him i need to have a doctor look at the wound he says are you ever going to stop and let me get a word in that's when i woke to bruno my cat yowling loudly in my ear kjg 422pm 26 jun 2015 * dont expect the truth to set you free unless you force a false humility the table's set but no one eats even the milk is sour from the teats not often one develops scurvey * 1963 the phone rang it was a man who said he had information about the ad about the lost dog we found he asked if anyone was home i said my mother was out shopping then he said do you want to play a game i was on to him but out of curiosity went along he said what do you have on shorts i said well take them off i said i did but did nothing what he said he got very graphic and i could hear him breathing hard then my mother came in with a bag of groceries and i said my mother's here and he hung up my mother asked what the call was about and i said about the ad and she said you let him hang up i said it wasn't my fault she got very angry and kinda slapped me around telling me how stupid i was it wasn't my fault i said it really wasn't go to your room she said and when i didn't move fast enough she slapped me again funny how i still remember that we kept the dog and my favourite cat walked away i can't forgive her that even to this day kjg 155am 27 jun 2015 * baggage there are tons of baggage i want to get rid of but tons of baggage is way to heavy to shed like a cloud that's none too pretty kjg 2016am 27 jun 2015 * moss without wood i was in the vicinity so i thought i'd come up to see how you were doing and pet your new pup but i see you have company and that's not my thing i'll come back later after i pawned our gold rings it's kind of useless to remember how we were then the monumental embraces that our passion would bring so i walked into the darkness the night was like ice your red hair blazing was my only guiding light sometime i'll figure it all out for good you left me some moss without any wood it's kind of useless to remember how we were then the monumental embraces that our passion would bring kjg 235am 27 jun 2015 * fool there was a simple fool in the belfry who pulled the cords to instructions and never asked a question others provide for him he can't provide for his own he's deaf like quasimodo and in love with a woman of renown one day he rose to commitment and hatched an egg of a deal with no less the devil who they told him was real when they found his poor body crushed like a bell they knew it could only be mended in hell kjg 247am 27 jun 2015 * Epigram He liked the idea of "never get old" But decided not to jump because the water was too cold. kjg 311am 27 jun 2015 * Conversion she said she didn't want to get laid until she got paid she's in jail now getting laid but ain't getting paid kjg 344am 27 jun 2015 * The Observer Can't Observe Himself Even if I knew something, I'd know nothing, since I can't corroborate the reality I'm in while I'm part of it. kjg 910am 27 jun 2015 * Someone asked the question: how do writers write fiction? I don't know; they make it up, I guess. kjg * crown poor soul hopscotch bleeding like an battered king sometimes when reality hits only him kjg 952am 28 jun 2015 * saved (sunday hymn) ain't no use complainin' ain't nobody gonna hear it's useless so stop moanin' they all got plugged-up ears they're into stuff like iphones and ipads strip their minds of any regulations that civilize mankind so glory glory hallelujah the saints are coming down jesus on the mountain will soon claim his renown there's wars no one can win i say it's like a rotten curse you give them the technology and they use it to make life worse the hounds are howlin' in the dark there's no place left to go see them panic see them run their god is such a pro so glory glory hallelujah the saints are coming down jesus on the mountain will soon claim his renown the churchmen are a-yellin' all sinners have to die jesus doesn't want you unless you praise his tie money's still the focus poverty's a crock no one lives in poverty who gives the chief a suck so glory glory hallelujah the saints are coming down jesus on the mountain will soon claim his renown ain't givin' much advice i know it's just a dumbass talkin' i beg for apples every day and starvin' dogs are barkin' so kick the can and be a bum grow old and be a burden' the world was once a holy place and now it's just forsaken so glory glory hallelujah the saints are coming down jesus on the mountain will soon claim his renown kjg 1033am 28 jun 2015 * the devil's got my vote i'm listening to this preacher who says jesus needs my money to be risen from the dead i thought jesus needs my money to be risen from the dead? the same jesus crucified risen and gone to heaven to reclaim the thrown of god needs my money? i'd rather give it to the devil at least i know what to expect all i get from jesus is one day i'll be back but i ain't gonna tell you when so you better be good two thousand years they've been waiting and collecting money in his name sounds like a con to me kjg 144pm 28 jun 2015 * before the cock crows three he said times you will deny the lord if jesus was such a threatening force his followers were cowards but since they weren't hunted down there was never any threat so what is all the fuss about it could only make sense if jesus was the true pretended to the throne and once out of the way no one really cared so what they did was make the man a martyr and over time a religion evolved kjg 1020am 29 jun 2015 * modern suburban family daddy's in the kitchen mommy's in the garage sister's at the ballpark and brother's in the dark no one knows it better no one knows it best than the neighbour who's been spying and takes it all in jest it's a modern suburban family with rights protected by law you can't take that away from us or we'll punch you in the jaw daddy rocks the cradle mommy buys the guns sister in the ally pushing drugs for fun brother's somewhere better makes his room his home sometimes it's his temple sometimes he just moans it's a modern suburban family with rights protected by law you can't take that away from us or we'll punch you in the jaw mommy's got a cushy job daddy pushes pram sister's on parole by now but still does tricks for fun brother's still without a clue tossing in the dark what's the use of getting out with no place left to park it's a modern suburban family with rights protected by law you can't take that away from us or we'll punch you in the jaw kjg 846am 29 jun 2015 * just sign on the dotted line he woke up one night and the devil sat on his bedpost what do you want he said the devil laughed like lightning am i dead he asked the devil smiled and said no your quite alive he said you summoned me i summoned you how in your dreams i don't remember my dreams ah but i do so what now what's supposed to happen whatever you want do i get a wish as many as you can think of you know the deal oh that suppose i don't want to i'll get you anyway remember that little incident that's not fair god thinks otherwise we had lunch the other day and discussed in some detail you had lunch with god always what do you think we do up there wipe our bums on clouds but you're in.. hell hell schmell it's just around the corner from the pizza joint bad pizza but they have a hd tv and all the games are on you watch sport up there be pretty dull if we didn't the lakers not exactly what do you mean by that you're on sports spectacular right now i am sure lot's of bets depends on what you do so let's get the show on the road what's your wish i can snap my fingers and do the faust thing come on you'd love to have a go at her i don't know what you're talking about oh come on it's been on your mind for years just sign on the dotted line god will be the witness and we'll get this show on the road kjg 925am 29 jun 2015 * what do we ponder life love liberty death what do we communicate with our dying breath * let me crawl into an envelope and mail myself away i don't care where i go just not the usa kjg 156am 30 jun 2015 * rank and file general inspects troops in a bad rainstorm. soldier, your uniform is wet! so is yours, sir! so it is. sergeant at arms, have this corporal reprimanded for insubordination. yes sir! kjg 957am 1 jul 2015 * takin' over "it is better reign in hell than serve in heaven" -- Milton made a pact with the devil it hasn't happened yet but when it does the devil better watch out because i'm takin' over hell kjg 312pm 2 jul 2015 *** Copyright 2015 Klaus J. Gerken Published by Ygdrasil Press