Full Circle

          Full Circle

Washed up, knocked down

Nothing to show

Out of luck, turned around

Nowhere to go

Oh well, what the hell

No-one to be

Square one, rebegun

Now we are free.

The Follower’s Complaint

      The Follower’s Complaint

I tried Jesus, but I got nailed.

I tried Judaism until I asked, chosen for what?

I tried Islam, but war isn’t holy.

I tried Zen Buddhism, until I snapped out of it.

I tried Taoism, a long time ago.

I tried Hinduism, once.

I tried being Aztec, but my heart wasn’t in it.

I tried individualism, but so did everybody else.

I tried feminism until Superwoman crashed.

I tried militarism, and now I don’t dare wage war.

I tried nationalism, and now everything I buy is imported.

I tried libertarianism; it made me feel trapped.

I tried collectivism; it made me feel isolated.

I tried socialism; it made me feel alienated.

I tried anarchism. Too many rules.

I tried pacifism. Too combative.

I tried communism. Too competitive.

I tried capitalism and went broke.

I’ve even tried industrialism, and now I’m out of a job.

Does an ism always deliver its exact opposite?

And does that mean that I have to think for myself?!

Everybody Had Coup Flu

          Everybody Had Coup Flu

          To Mikhail Gorbachev

I learned a lot that week.

I learned how to hold my breath for three whole days.

I learned how to pray without belief.

“O God,” I’d whisper,

“I don’t know if you exist or not

and normally I wouldn’t bother you

even if you did

but this is important

so if you do exist, then please, dear God,

let there be liberty!”

I learned how to read minds by consulting my own.

I’d walk up to strangers and ask, “What do you think?”

and they knew what I meant because they too had coup flu.

Everybody had coup flu.

For three whole days the world watched

the past and the future play chess.

We hovered, suspended, over the abyss.

We looked down and saw ourselves

Already there in the flaming pit

burning, fighting, dying, weeping

our nightmares plain and clear to see

and yet we did not fall; we flew.

We had no time to be afraid;

We had just long enough to bid hope good-bye

(just in case)

when suddenly the crisis was over.

The coup had fallen

the repression was repressed

the failure had failed

the negation was negated

the deaths had died

and we were alive again.

For it wasn’t just the Russians

who doubly blundered into grace;

everyone grew stronger by surviving the attack.

When the crowd toppled the spy’s huge statue

it wasn’t just their iron idol that fell.

It wasn’t even that we finally did things right;

we’re human, we never do anything right;

it’s just that we finally did things wrong right.

Days later, while driving home

under the influence of the full moon

I was still grinning, still laughing

and not at anything in particular.

The attendant at the toll plaza

had headphones on, and was dancing.

         

Fractal Greeting Card 3

Fractal Greeting Card 2

Fractal Greeting Card 1