THE PRESENT AND THE PAST Poems 2001 By Klaus J. Gerken I LUNCH ~~~~~ Deep in the carcass of a chicken I eat my lunch Silver utensils Tell me I am civilized We keep a billion chickens caged for life So that I can smack my culinary lips Deep in the bowels of a chicken I relish death and life combined. 10 Dec 01 II THE PRESENT AND THE PAST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is a cavity in Pompeii Which held a human being They poured plaster into it And the void became a relic Of the past. It spoke to me: "I was a shopkeeper; I was A politician; I was a wife; A child; a slave; a dog; I was A vital part of a society, now No more. What you see are blocks Of stones and emptiness. It is Only your imagination that accepts This place as real. But in this emptiness There are shadows and in the Shadows, voices, saying 'we are here; We built this. We were no different Than you are now. We woke up each Morning, went about our daily chores, Thinking the same thoughts that never fade into oblivion. Here we come together; The present and the past. Here we meet My friend, just you and I together.'" I Shake a phantom hand and nod. 10 Dec 2001 III EVIL ~~~~ I admire you serpent I admire your tenacity You stick with your beliefs Even though you know you cannot win against our weapons of technology For that I grant you an acknowledgement Now I grant you death... 10 Dec 2001 IV LOSS ~~~~ I stood at the grave Of the most beautiful woman Who ever lived -- I mourned -- not at the loss of her beauty -- but the mind She never showed the world. 10 Dec 2001 V DEATH IS HOW YOU COME TO IT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I look at my hands and see they are wrinkled like my father's hands just before he passed away My father stoic stern and distant I was at my father's side when I saw him die Resting on his side On a sanitary hospital bed And said nothing I led my mother down to the cafeteria where she spoke to me of a nurse who thought I was "cute" and whom I should consider dating Another nurse finally arrived looking at me sternly announcing quietly that "it is time" I saw my mother's face fall in Leading us to my father's a second nurse said "you are just in time" and closed my father's eyes My mother sobbed uncontrollably And I, I was stoic stern Immobile like my father always was with me 10 Dec 2001 VI CRASH ~~~~~ It's after midnight I should be asleep ready for work in the morning after a bad weekend being ill (Monday I was off) But my mind is just not with it I will not be in -- I will be somewhere in the valley of my being no one understands but me. 11 Dec 2001 (1229am) VII ABUSE ~~~~~ I admired your jet black pony hair You were the voice of my conscience I could always trust you to be fair... You became the woman I could always lean on; You called me lover -- called me son... Why'd you kill me mom? 10/11 Dec 2001 VIII SAVED ~~~~~ I wrote a vindictive to God I called him all sorts of names My computer did not save the poem Some would call that an omen I just call it one more time The big boy's saved. 11 Dec 2001 IX GOOD NIGHT GOD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least the serpent told the truth Where God had the audacity to lie And what did we get The serpent crawling on the ground And a woman giving birth in pain This supposedly is the God that Places truth honour justice love Above all else...Sorry just not true This is the God of vengeance Revenge and persecution The same God that made Jesus a patsy And set up Judas just as well All to deceive the innocent Well God we don't need you anymore We can make our own laws Defend ourselves and honour what we are So why don't you just get with it Your time has come It's over We won't play your silly games You say you had a plan for us? Bin Laden had a plan for us. Van Impe has a plan for us. So did Hitler. Mao. Stalin. Your plan's no better than theirs ever was. What with you paltry 144,000 you will save. Wake up. There's over 5 billion Alive to either worship you or make up Their own minds. And plenty have. I for one would just like to see you go. Leave the world in peace. You've caused enough Damage we're still trying to repair. And while you're with it, take the Pope And all the other Judeo/Christian/Muslum religious leader--those who so freely interpret your incredibly vague and naive "universal" laws. If you don't mind, We'll take what we need, and get on with building a better future without your omnipotent crap. Thanks for all the wars the slaughter and forgiveness. We might never be able to clean it up. But without your dictatorship, we might just have a chance. 11 Dec 2001 (Rewrite of a lost vindictive). X THE ART OF BEGGING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When the beggars on Elgin Street Talk all day on cell phones It's time for us reconsider Charity. 11 Dec 2001 1:13 am XI PERSPECTIVE ~~~~~~~~~~~ She was so cute I could hardly Wait my turn to wallow in her beauty. 100 bucks she said, for a 10 minute blow job. Pass I said. My hand's a better lover. 11 Dec 2001 XII KNOW THE SYSTEM AND LIVE WELL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Broke up 3 marriages On the street where she lived In a 3 bedroom house with two large dogs Had 5 affairs at work And played welfare for all That she could get because She convinced them she needed everything to take care of her children (who lived with their father) and whom she said were so abused that they would hardly talk (were the most normal children anyone had seen). But she knew the system. They sent her to school. 25 thousand dollars course. Then when she supposedly graduated she turned down job after job. Only offered me 60 thousand She said. Hell what's 60 thousand If welfare pays you more. Makes you wonder what I'm working for. 11 Dec 2001 XIII DENISE ~~~~~~ The last night I saw her The first thing she said Was: "Well, I'm not pregnant." We had sex for hours. Took Tons of photographs she wanted And stole my camera. Haven't Seen her since. I know she had my child. I just don't know what to make of it. Should I try and find her. Should I let it be? Perhaps I would just confuse the issue. She always said: "I don't know what it is about you, but whenever I'm with you I want to get pregnant." Damn Denise, why did you have to run And hide? I wanted so to be with you. 11 Dec 2001 1:32am XIV DECISION ~~~~~~~~ When my mother had an aneurysm of the brain and the doctors told me they could operate and provide another ten years of life I asked what the quality of that life would be like. They looked at each other in consternation. She would have to be institutionalized, but we would at least be able to save her lie. When I refused to sign the papers they called in 5 psychiatrists to have me analyzed: they questioned me for hours and went away confused, their Hippocratic oath in shreds. I told then I was not prepared to save my mother's life only to have her a vegetable. They spoke in terms of percentages. There's a chance of this and a chance of that. I said let her die in peace. She's 79 for god's sake. Can't you ever have anyone die of old age? They were dumbfounded. One even suggested the police charge me with murder. I suggested they had lost a grip on reality. In the end a nurse called me at 1 am on a Monday morning. "It's over she said." "what do I do now?" "Just know you've done your best." I went to the hospital. I kissed my mother's forehead. Said my Buddhist prayer, and walked into the cold cold night knowing I had done what she had always taught: listen to no one but yourself. If you believe in yourself the answer will always be there and no one else can understand but you. 11 Dec 2001 1:45am XV STRANGER IS MY BROTHER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am not like any other Neither are you But we can both acknowledge A greater view Humanity is purpose But the universe is huge You and I together Must extinguish a great fuse The fuse of notwithstanding That differentiates The fuse that makes us different And escalates our hate Pray to what is greater Pray to what is "God" But never loose the moment Where you and I can't talk. 14 Dec 2001 XVI SMALL BREATHS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am not the most patient of people I am not a prophet Not am I a saint I am just a human being Just a general "Joe" I have drams for the future I try to except others as they are And unfortunately I have expectations And unfortunately get angry when some of those expectations are not met Do I hurt others Yes I do Do others hurt me No I just hurt myself And that is my commitment To a world of peace and love Just respect the other Bow to what you can't understand but gather all the different vowels and there will be a moment It may be at your death But you will understand it We are small and take small breaths 14 Dec 2001 XVII HOW THE GOVERNMENT SCREWS YOU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One more mile to go And my shoe gives out There's a bloody show Where the fool's a lout I don't think it's true I don't think it's black Will you love me too When you're on the rack But the high command Registers the law And we understand It's a cat's clean paw It's a cat's clean paw That purrs into skin And you feel the warmth When the enter in Later you feel faint Life's not what you thought Cat licks it's own paw Help is in the jaw 14 Dec 2001 XVIII WHY DO I HAVE TO WORK THIS SHIT? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: the upper management I was hoping that this would be my place of wonder: But after 22 years, rules just fuck me under. 14 Dec 2001 XIX CUT ~~~ There is an orange on the table A silver dagger breaks the sun Into a rainbow moment I slowly calculate the purpose Of what has to be done The blah of a religion The nay of a shogun They nervous reservation Of a government undone And I a common student Of a violent congress Bleat into the hollow Caverns of morass I cut the orange lightly It's juices melt earth's womb. 14 Dec 2001 XX VINCENT ~~~~~~~ Vincent didn't fight the other cat Vincent just had to figure out How she could get a piece of action On my lap. With one side taken Vincent chose the right side And succeeded. The yellow cat (I have no name for her) buried her face deep into the pocket between the joints of my left arm. Vincent crawled atop of her and Stretched his paw upon my chest. Both purred and I rubbed the back Of each their sweet soft necks, and Felt a calmness only Tibetan monks In the highest wisdom can express. The one's weight on my abdomen And the other's licking my cold hand No doctor could have more effect To cure the pains of humankind. 14 Dec 2001 -- 4:24pm XXI THE MOMENT AND THE SUBSTITUTE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ for Denise I was wondering why you came to me You were more beautiful than any woman I could imagine You said you did not know why but I made you want to become pregnant We threw the condom out the window Where it floated like a spent space craft to the earth There were stars that did not notice us There were moments I did not understand You recognized a purpose I recognized a substitution for a life I could not live You left forever after a night of unknown sex Other men would have killed for Saying I could do this forever But forever was a moment without grace You walked out of my life forever That was February December has not seen you Merry Christmas to my child... 14 Dec 2001 - 5:21 XXII Sep 11 2001 ~~~~~~~~~~~ Those who died died Those who lived lived Do not justify life or death God cannot matter Not your god their god anyone's' Death is death Life is life If you cannot mourn For those dead before our time Do not mourn for those we know Whether dead because of what we can justify Or those who perpetrated the atrocities Death comes to all of us Slowly premeditated or swiftly A lightning bolt we failed to notice Some say that i the way to go Others want a slower way Depend on who you know Some of us have no one Some of us just leave the world And no one cleans the earth No one saves the refuse You have saved for what was naught 14 Dec 2001 XX SUBSTANCE ~~~~~~~~~ A diamond? Maybe I'm a purse. Why am I a purse? The lady told me so. Diamonds are forever. A purse's a woman's soul. 14 Dec 2001 XXI FOR A FRIEND ~~~~~~~~~~~~ You filled me with a purpose Then stripped me of the truth I was so enamored in you I embalmed your 'truth' in rust 14 dec 2001 XXII I'm in love with you In a shallow pond Where the moon sighs swoon And a terror looms Will you take me there In a clump of hair I don't know the way Pace me on the stair Mouse and I don't know Is a sloppy Joe Maybe you will be My beauty queen I'm am terribly insecure outside the trap guide me through the nervous unfolding of love's map. 14/15 Dec 2001 XXIII GOD ~~~ He's coming he's coming He's coming for two thousand years he's been coming And those in charge of "religion" have used this great excuse to formulate their service asking generous sums allowing "God" to continue HIS work upon the earth (As if God needed money to continue HIS hermetic exile)... I am quite convinced there is no God they dump on us It's greed and power and control Their God's nowhere to be seen When death decay and poverty envelops the world... True belief's not driven by rumination...The true god does not ask for sacrifice.. the true god's in us all gathering he knowledge of our being. 15 Dec 2001 8:06 pm XXIV Roses ~~~~~ I have not forgotten the scent of roses Even the wounds of the thorns could not do that It is just that Where beauty is too prevalent One forgets to search the wind for clues. 16 Dec 2001 3:12 pm XXV SONNET GONE VERY WRONG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You have never been unnoticed: The lover wore a mask-- You just failed to notice There is a failure and a task. You see, we just don't herd love, We grow a pleasant moment; Sometimes we pass moments by Without ever writing comments. I wish I could explain to you That my feelings are not casual-- But you escape me like a cat Desperate to survive an unknown struggle. And where does that place me--I know, Alone without a snuggle. 17 Dec 2001 - 6:02 pm XXVI How will we react? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is a moment when everything comes together When the quiet moment is a rush of sound And the rumble of the century is dead silence When the senses not the mind reflect When life's measured not in moments but in millennia When the taste of tea or the movie love scenes Are an insignificant hangover of a drunken weekend When we reflect in the mirror this is not the life We want to live...and there is nothing else There is no pecan pie in the face to make us laugh No terrorist attack to make us cry embracing others There is nothing but ourselves...us alone And we are faced with the greatest panic and the Greatest courage...faced with death itself...smiling. XXVII The beggar said Throw me a dime I threw a sterner look Than he could muster Walking on I saw a girl Shaking in the cold What's the matter Asking quite concerned She spit at me and Shouted Fuck Why should You care you're just a Stupid bureaocrat No I said (inaudible) No I thought I have what you always wanted but was never offered...education...how can I get through to you? How can I convince the beggar down the street that work is so much better? How can I convince myself it's true? 17 Dec 2001 XXVIII One More Poem Without Reason ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3am already. The night just wastes away. I woke from a dream full of purpose And now suffer this regret Of having come here full of promise And now no will to carry out my task. The snow reflects the streetlamp And everything is black and white; The cold creeps through my window And my breath frosts up the glass. I would listen to some music But no music seems right. The TV is on but I'm not watching And in three hours I'll be off to work. Unpaid bills on my desk and one broken Camera I hardly got to use. It goes On and on. Wish I could go back and get One more hour of sleep; perhaps dream Another dream that has a distant purpose Not quite of this world but part of it; Something that provides an insight To the mind that refuses to accept reality Within reality. Not much here tonight: One more poem without reason. 18 Dec 2001 3:10am XXIX LET'S GET DIZZY Just to be with you Is a dream come true Iron curtains melt Where our shadows swoon In the moonlit air On a lazy beach Let me hold you tight Let's get dizzy tonight Just to be with you I can't tell you why There should be another In my history Your long black curls Shimmer in the breeze Let me hold you tight Let's get dizzy tonight There's a meteor plunging to the shore In a most exotic land You have given me what I most desire In the soft palm of your hand I have made my stand I have made my stand Just to be with you Is a basic truth What you cannot give me I can offer you Let's make love together Neath the old star light Let me hold you tight Let's get dizzy tonight. Klaus J. Gerken 07-11-2001 XXX AK37's horseback engineer Poisons black twin towers Gathers underground Fakes the truth on purpose Invokes the god of lies The god of truth sees further The mole subsists--no eyes Smell out the dirty poison He just subsists on hate Evil blurs his education You cannot reason with the devil You cannot ask why they have done this You cannot ask why God lets this happen Cowards always hide.... KJG 2001-11-15 XXI In the wind of solace The advance of bliss In the wind of hatred The betraying kiss Where the dance of purpose Makes a flowing gown Rushing colours stun me And my senses drown Dusty deserts harbour Scorpions of hate Bow to one clear purpose Bow to one clear fate And who can reject it From Mulla to a priest War is our obsession War is your great bliss Money God economics Religion God and death What have we in common The lies upon our breaths So you want to kill me brother I can only laugh at you Educated by our order Deluded by a fool We'll hunt you down with vengeance We'll wash our hands in your blood I wish you were a madman But somehow you're just us... KJG 2001-11-15 XXXII I used to know a bit of everything But after 11 September 2001 What I know is nothing All I am prepared for is An unreasonable death By those who do not know me And couldn't care less what I'm about To them I can only say I forgive your ignorance Even those who should know better You are deluded you are wrong But still you will kill me Because you believe your god will justify your sacrificial death A death I welcome A death you welcome So here we strike a common ground Why then not just kill yourself now And leave us all alone To live a life of peace without the tenants of you maintain are those of your perverted sterile gods... the same god i profess to hate Christian Moslem Hindu let's just call it economics god is just a piece of paper and a potent gun... KJG 2001-11-15 XXXIII The girls are getting ready There's good weather down the street The bouncers lick their sweaters And the owners lick their teeth The neon lights grow lazy Where the alley looms so dark There's a John at every corner There's a needle in every heart The stars are hardly visible The moon shines--a headlight barks The girls are thinking nothing And nothing's where they arc For love and life and liberty And a pain they can't accept There's got to be a better heartache There's got to be a better bed But the cool mint in their arteries Flows a pretty mud Sometimes they're indifferent Most-times they throw up All have pretty children All have men they love Some pray to the devil Some to gods above The floor of their commitment Refuses to calm down It shakes with a declension Where sailors dare not drown And the moment someone looks at them Their past life closes wounds I'm need therefore somebody Is my mentor is my tune And the alleys are a byway To a better place "I'm in" There's beauty in the garbage There's beauty in the bin -------------------------- XXXIV I made you my surrogate You died in the war I grieved at your headstone Did it have to go that far? 15 11 01 XXXV You pretended to be a beauty with a purpose; Now you're just a beauty with a surface. 16 11 01 XXXVI You can criticize a nation And the point is not considered You can criticize a person And your voice is fully obliterated. 16 11 01 XXXVII Dream 2 Dec 2001 Strange town bar soldier's mess dark court-yard midnight walking with a woman through the town Home parents me a young man leave me alone looking out window kids playing soccer in the street They see me then try and get into the house "come out and play" I can't I say parents wd be angry I go to bed dreaming In the dream there is a performance of the Tempest from beginning to end At one point I notice that the pins on Miranda's dress are still in the costume scratching me When it's over Parents show up I tell them about the performance then wake up sad because my Caliban poems have already been written and the whole scene is over. Throughout the dream I could not help thinking all of this had to do with the cats on Parliament Hill the children were the cats Beckoning me to join them In the next life I am sure. It was a very strange evocative dream. XXXVIII Dream 5 Dec 2001 Moved out from parents home w/ all my stuff - books - manuscripts - photo albums into this dilapidated basement apartment shared with 6 others 3 guys and 3 women (2 of which were twins always dressed in red - beautiful bodies and black hair). The girls were always distant and the guys were always out - seemed to be walking the streets often in the run down factory neighborhood wondering what to do for money. Once I even phoned my father asking If I cd return home and he aid no. One day the girls said lets go to the demonstrations and we went arm in arm down the streets following the guys. I felt good that the girls were finally warming up to me. At the demonstration someone asked what it was about and I explained that there were 2 15 year olds working in the factory and we were demonstrating to have child labour abolished. The others went up a ramp (fir escape?) to get to the main platform (or roof) and because of the crowd I got separated. I went into some alley and ended up in the warehouse complex trying to find a washroom. I was in a shop I recall had a deserted neighboring shop which had a washroom and where I (lived?) before? I went there but the shop was occupied and the washroom **/gone. I then went back to the street where I ran into two black guys and two black women who were prostitutes (The heftier one had one breast bare) the other skinnier one remembered me from a previous dream (in the same area I recall the dream too) and that would I want to come home with her in time (last time I refused). She said she would only ask for 25 and the other woman said 20. This time I said yes and we walked to a motel across a parking lot. The guys left and the girls were fumbling with the key to get in and I think one of them asked for more money and I said no and let. The skinny one bare breasted now ran after me but let me go. And that is when I woke up. XXXIX Meeting you after all these years Flagrant reversal on a summer night Diamond shadows where the winter walks Into the membrane of a smart vagina And the shallow fog explodes Rampant vindictive blocks of ice That freeze the moment of our retribution Can I see you she asked Sure I said but just remember The head must be together and the body pure She gasped and with a small electronic click Hung up. Smiling I reverse the charges Knowing that her salty ocean was committed And ignoring that she did ever live like that But only dreamt the curse of her transgression. 23 Dec 2001 XL LET'S JUST SAY GOODBYE I had never seen you on the street You were always at my place as a friend It was easy to give you the hundred That was a present Going home with you I had only one thought That I was with you again And would finally discover a side of you I had never known After all when we broke up in June It was torture for us both I just wanted too much and couldn't cope with the reality And you were so "screwed up" (you words) All that mattered were the drugs Yet you still finished the course and graduated with a 90% average in computers Now you have a new subsidized apartment Christmas tree and presents and you seemed so happy I was there you tried to talk your girlfriend into participating in a threesome When she asked me for money I lost all hope I had for a reconciliation "Why are you getting dressed?" you asked I just have some thing to do I said Let's just call a cab Back at the corner where i met you We got out and had nothing to say to each other I just said Ok gave her my number and walked away I was two blocks away when she caught up Calling my name embraced me and said "I am so fucked up"--I know I said and then she asked for money "I don't want to work today--I'll pay you back..." I wanted so much to help but knew i would never get it back and all would go for drugs...I said no... Looking back I saw her sit on a snow bank and cry My mind was a confused emotion She walked away I ended up in a store getting cash and finding her crouched in a phone booth gave her 40 dollars "I have my limitations" I said She mouthed "Thank you" as I walked Into the bright cold day I wanted to be with her so much I wanted her to be the woman I knew Back in May when she was with me Clean no drugs and hoping for a better future That would never be a hope again... Let's just say goodbye. 24 Dec 2001 XLI MODERN TIMES So it's 3:37 Christmas eve and I'm drunk already watching star trek and writing stupid poems to nothing but the wind It's cold in this apartment no matter what i do with the thermometer it won't work Sp I'm bundled up and waiting for Cynthia (my ex) to spend the evening opening the gifts I really do not want and just to be alone in a drunken haze waking to a consummate headache and another Christmas morning Jesus never born and shepherds never tending flock and just one more pretender to the Judah throne crucified by the roman military subduing foreign freedom fighters who never has a chance with swords but 400 years later the muddled words became religion and the Romans fell and now this religion is about to fall because it has struck more terror in the world than the terror of the twin towers ever did Bin Laden is as much a criminal to the USA as Jesus was to Rome It is an act of treason now to say so But the future judges retrospectively We only act upon the moment And the moment is our fear And the fear is our decay I condemn all violence I condemn religion It obliterates the truth And we have never seen the truth we have never suffered its reality because the truth is in ourselves each of us each individual and each individual gathers a reality that the ultimate experience requires to produce reality behold a galaxy behold a neuron behold what is so simple that is complex beyond our comprehension I often wonder what becomes of an ant hit by a falling raindrop I a Buddhist trap a fly or a mosquito to set it free and still I dig deep through the carcass of a turkey to celibate the birth of an entity some call love but I call hate A true god would never be unclear A false god like any advertise fakes the truth con man horoscopes be as vague as possible the majority will bite Just because I don't not your call maybe but who cares ultimately you are just a bone in the sediment of things Each morning is a new cop beware of dreams my friend they already rape each other moment of your sensitivity (just don't bind a ribbon on your cock -- they might thing the redness is a whore's delight and arrest you for soliciting) I once said "A night in Hamburg's Reeperbahn is worth more than a hundred lifetimes in Ottawa" and that's still true. The city of puritanical indiscretions ( more money more indiscretion the cops ignore)... of how fickle life becomes! 24 Dec 2001 4:22pm XLII LOVER Vincent sits on my shoulder She's a beautiful cat Someone says she's the "matriarch" of the clan I don't think so But she's the most affectionate She wd be a great lover if she were human But as a cat she just licks my face And purrs on my lap Wd she were a woman (broken ear and all) I would bow before her I would say you are the moment Each man hopes to strive for And know she'd nod consensual And walk away secure. 24 Dec 2001 4:52pm XLIII TERROR I loved you like the morning Sun explodes at night Where passion is a purpose And violets have rights Where twice the single moment Of our naked flesh implodes With the gaggle of big chickens On a hill after midnight I was only one of many I saw the soldiers come Our leader was in heaven Where each angle had a gun Pray to me sweet Jesus I'm no longer just anyone. 25 Dec 2001 11;18am XLIV SHERRY So on Christmas morning you still walk the street Cold and hungry, empty...Who do the drugs defeat? 25 Dec 2001 11:20am XLV REVELATION I was with you when you called me Like a distant shadow dead. 25 Dec 2001 11:25am XLVI RELIGION The turkey's in the oven I washed the big bird's gut I thank you for the sacrifice So I can fill my guts With skin so tight it's mighty With meat so tender pure may we meet in heaven And dance upon the floor where plates of blood will tremble With the stomping of the heels Of many strung-out soldiers Who stare in disbelief And I have my fine dinner And you have your disease And my the day be happy And may god never sneeze And I have nothing more to say I marvel at the staff That one of Jude's disciples walked into the mud. 25 Dec 2001 11:33am XLVII GOD Just a woman Just a man Just a god we wish wd understand yet no god ever did no god ever will immortals don't context with mortals mortals fantasies too much gods just kill without redemption they just can't be everyone I place my guided offering and walk away unsure the cross has served no purpose and the gods are so un-pure wait for me in heaven wait for me in hell I will never be there to serve you You will never treat me well... 26 Dec 2001 3pm XLVIII JUST WISHING There was moment I thought I loved you But that moment passed Now you are the forest And I the moss. 27 Dec 2001 5:12 pm XLIX Song Sheila is crying There's a sand storm in her eyes Tony is lying There's lipstick on his tie She sits in the corner He moans on the couch Both of them are hurting But neither will say 'ouch' So where's the old together And where's the old apart Silence might be golden But does not heal the heart. And as many now would have it You can't sign off alone When you have a wife and children And a mortgageable home. 28 Dec 2001 12:40 L Haiku Women 1 she waits at the corner she waits for the money drugs turn her on 2 she has a home welfare pays for a couch and a clean bed she doesn't like it on the street and still she manages a head an hour -- 40 bucks a shot Cocaine lasts an hour "What's the matter bud?" 3 SOME MIGHT LIKE THE OTHER Oh you had the body Baby you had the class You lost it when the moment made you a woman not an a... 4 BEAUTY IS NO A SHINY CAR She cased me slowly I was not her type Beside I wouldn't enter the backdoor of her hype... 5 I don't wanna do no more... 28 Dec 2001 728pm LI PERSONAL REALITY Vincent is a self contained cat-- We just don't understand that. She might lick my jaw I might lick her paw Her transgression is thought cute I will be arrested moot I guess the law is think not what the law is but what a judge may know So find a cell so small that a cat may be confined and may I be the fugitive you have destroyed for naught. 28 dec 2001 7:34pm LII ABORTION I just wrote a poem no one will ever read I snuffed it out before I let it go into a world of critics and judgments unsecured so "what is one more poem?" "a readership of hope." 29 Dec 2001 2:15pm LIII Where is Bin Laden? Maybe the monster was a figment of our imagination And never lived at all. Maybe we just need a devil every now and then To prove that we are human after all. You see we have made legends (I would even venture 'heroes' --but that would be too complex for the North American mind) of our own bin Ladens: You know them; every cowboy movie on TV Everyone who slaughtered the Natives who just wanted To protect their land. It means that in the end The population is protecting him, and as history dictates The population always wins. Mr. Bush you have lost this war. Just as your father lost against Iraq. Afghanistan may be a better place, but you have not Eradicated evil. Evil is a concept and you cannot Eradicate a concept. It is time for dialogue. But dialogue is not forthcoming. The human race is a Race of predators. Democracy was just one shining moment In the ongoing disrespect religion has for life. It won't last forever. Neither will the human race. 30 Dec 2001 11:28am LIV WHY DO I WRITE POEMS It's a humour I suspect Like the chicken cooking in the oven Or a redhead buying shoes I just handle poems Make love to proper syntax And sometimes slice a verb Kiss a breast or two Well, maybe more but who would know Except the breast and me It's a fully integrated self-sufficient One serve all politically correct Womanizing male-"on my knees you have me" blow out---Now I have to get (horror of horrors) Serious: Just because you were a Pretty face, salient body, special force, I pick your sneakers to make love to At least they smell better than the perfume I could set on fire with my alcoholic breath In the heat of retribution Of the aftermath--what's left? 31 Dec 2001 5:25pm Copyright (c) 2001 by Klaus J. Gerken Published by Ygdrasil Press 2002