Monday, February 13, 2012

Tiny Flower (a poem)

TINY FLOWER
(a poem)


i looked down
but it was too late
my left foot crushed a
tiny purple flower
lying on the sidewalk

i was struck by the notion
how fleeting beauty can be

how fragile

i remembered
how crushed Audrey had been
when doctors took the breasts
she deemed
such a cornerstone
of her beauty

but she was wrong

she was even more beautiful
afterwards
she was even more beautiful
without them
they were merely a distraction
from the true core
of her gorgeousness

that part of her soul
which made my heart
beat faster
which made
everyone in the room
blissfully aware of her shining light
her blinding glow

if only she could know

like that tiny purple flower
on the sidewalk today
before it blew away

since the millennium: new poems

seth's poems 2000 - present


magnificent

i took
a picture of the moon
moments after we parted
to remember you
and the day
your incredibly red hair
shone back the sky's
magnificent colors
just after
sunset



`



path to nowhere

quiet
zen center
set amid sprawling
city of angels

buildings house souls
along the path to within
nothing could be
more perfect

except
nothing



`



clouds

it was one
of those days
when the clouds were
white puffy cotton candy

morphing
from one bizarre shape
to the next

look!

there’s eleanor roosevelt
eating a cookie...

wait!

now it’s mickey mouse
riding a donkey...

no, wait!

it looks like muppets
playing softball
with god...



`



zcla

just beyond
the shadow of banks
and other big buildings
serenity awaits

an
oasis
of spirit

nestled in
a quiet corner
of a sprawling metropolis

signpost on a path

to peace
through
practice

sit quietly
and it shall
be
revealed



`



washed up


he’s a
wanna be illuminati
driving around
in a beat up
ferrari

takes a fast left
onto la brea
thinking about the time
he had lunch
with the mayor

his ponytail flies
behind him in the wind
like the glory days
time so cruelly
rescinds



`



turncoat

i always thought
you had my back

that was a long time ago

before everything
turned black



`



whisper

it’s not that i think
god speaks to me
exclusively

i think god speaks to everyone

but
sometimes
it’s easier to listen
to
other voices
with more alluring tales
of wealth and glory

voices
that tell us
what we want
to
hear



`



misplaced anger

i punched
the refrigerator
although it had done
nothing wrong

in some small way
i think we both
felt better

or
at least
i did



`



helping hand

when you
dedicate yourself
to service

you are no longer annoyed
when someone needs your help

you are pleased to
spend your time helping

because that is
what you do



`



underground

we’re all
potential suspects
and victims
on the
subway

leery eyes leering
backpack to backpack
could this be
the day?

when we all
become famous
in the subway



`



pushing buttons

there are
so many ways
to look at a woman

she’s a giver of life
she'd make a hell of a wife
she’s a pure expression of yang
an umbrella against the rain

an infinitely complex
clitoris wrapper

or even a
clitoris rapper
if she
deftly drops
dope rhymes about
her magic pleasure button
over
phat beats



`



explosion

you should
let me get you off
with my finger
and my tongue
my teeth
my thumb
and then some

scratching all of your itches
touching you in places
you didn’t even
know existed

taking your soul
beyond resistance
unleashing explosions
of your very existence

your delicate pink lips
wrapped around my lips

my lips
wrapped around
your throbbing clitoris

every cell
every molecule
alive with the universe

my fingers are deep
up on your spot
you squirm and you bop
moaning “please don’t stop!”

then it’s my thumb
tickles your bum
your screams for god
tickle my eardrum

your fingers dig deep
into whatever they grasp
your toes curl
as you gasp gasp
g a s p

ethereal ecstasy
unsurpassed

you catch
your breath
at last

lying in a pool of sweat
and spent glory

nobody moves

waves wash over
glistening naked bodies
the room creeps slowly back
into existence

you’re
welcome



`



hula hoop girl

i think i’m in love with hula hoop girl
although i’ve only seen her once
from a distance

she brought some hoops and a boom box
to a nice park near venice beach
where i was sitting
just before
sunset

i guess she's
somewhat famous

i heard passers-by greet her warmly:
"hey there hula hoop girl, how ya doin`?"

she’s not quite perfect
(sometimes the hoops betray her)
but she’s damn close

if hula hooping
became an olympic event
she’d probably train hard
make the team
maybe even
bring home the gold

she presses play
out booms funky music
she begins to hoop

i’ve always
had a healthy respect
for those who excel at things
i cannot do
but
she’s not simply good
she has
developed it
into an artform

swoosh swoosh swoosh
she brings it up
from her knees
to her waist
to her neck
left hand out
right hand out
then just the neck
subtle movement
the hoop drops
to her chest
swoosh swoosh swoosh
effortlessly down
to her hips

she sways
in perfect synchronicity
with a cylindrical extension
of her soul





~





seth's room

goldenyear: poems 1997-1998

p o e m s by s e t h
1997-1998
.



aloof

she moves like a cat
full of shyness
full of fear
sadness
of untold depths
reflects in her eyes
that look quickly away
from my offered smile
i will never know her
i will never hold her
but maybe someday
she'll shed her
tired
worn out
skin of sorrow
and maybe someday
she'll smile back
at someone luckier
than
me

~



chain


we think
we're so special
we think we are
at the very top
of the
food chain

but
the mosquito
that just bit my leg
disagrees

she says
the food chain is a circle
and every creature
is part of that circle
and no one is exempt
from the laws
(or the wrath)
of nature

and
as i quickly end her life
with a swat of my hand
i'm inclined
to agree

~



pension

get in good
a government job

so
in twenty
or thirty years
when your soul has dried up
from boredom and neglect
you can collect
one hell of a pension check
during your years
of hindsight
and
regret

~



illusion

we are
perfectly engineered
dna replicating
containers

organic chariots
for the
almighty genes

we are
their puppets
they are our creators

imperfect
selfish
alive

we
choose a mate
so they may breed

we exist
so
they
may survive

~



manhattan fading

out of the city
finally
i take my shoes off

tired toes caress soft grass
fallen orange leaves
as autumn approaches

eyes adjust
to clouds and trees
unfettered by concrete
and steel

ears find
crickets and wind
uninterrupted by honking horns

a tiny insect lands on my arm
and
i'm not sure which of us
is more surprised
that
i’m here

~



the sewers look the same

after
so many years
shedding childhood

i return briefly
to the small town
that shaped a young boy
so long ago

an old man
solemnly raking leaves
in the strong fall breeze
i have been here often
in my dreams

leaves fade slowly to brown

i can relate
wandering aimlessly
down sidewalks of my youth
distant memories of a forgotten life
swept away by eternal breeze
infinite decay

only the sewers look the same

(perhaps a bit smaller)

there's where Skeeter
buried a praying mantis
while it was still alive

there's where i
would sit alone at recess
watching the silly games
wanting to play

i look around
and they are gone
grass grows up to boarded windows
some trees are bigger
some trees are gone
quality of light
somehow faded

a futile game of what-ifs
retracing a child’s footsteps
blindly glimpsing ancient fears
clumsy memories of innocence lost
as it starts to rain
time to go home
this
isn’t home

~



hollow

tonight
it hit me
for the first time
in a long time

overwhelming loneliness
despair
sorrow beyond tears

i feel nothing
but alone
i feel nothing
but sadness
i
feel
nothing

~



a tree in winter

sitting
alone in the forest
watching a tree breathe
the planet's breath

deliberate
imperceptible
alive

leaves fall
from majestic barren branches
no heartbeat no breath
no life

if
i could
watch her
brave winter storms
without complaint

if
i could watch her
bending to the arctic wind
then i could watch her
bloom again

but
it is
not to be

a still
small voice
barely heard above the din
beckons me
back
to the land of palm trees
and movie stars

i
find myself
boarding a plane
destination points west

taking my seat
on the wing of the mighty chariot
thoughts turn to impending winter
false
destiny

~



35,000 feet over toronto

i can still taste you
on my skin
i can still smell you
on my clothes

i wonder
how things would have been
if i could have loved you
i wonder how things would be
if i had stayed

i look down
at the earth below
and
i wonder

~



potential

when i was a little boy
i heard alot
about my potential

i wasn't living up to it
i wasn't trying hard enough
i could do so much more

now that i am older
trying to do something with my life
all i hear is

no

you can't do that
don't set your sights so high
don't be so ambitious
don't try so hard

why
did everyone
have to change
just when i needed them

~



a billion neurons behind the curtain pulling levers

my brain
has the thought
that it is a collection of cells
working together
to ensure survival of the body

just another organ
just another part
of me

sometimes it thinks it's king
sometimes it thinks it's god
but it's only me
every thought
every emotion
every tear
every fear
everything is real

just don't look behind the curtain

~



something to tide us over until somebody figures out cold fusion

if we keep spending
half of our budget on defense
instead of
teaching our children
healing our sick
feeding our hungry

we will come to the point
in the not too distant future
where there is nothing left to defend

this is our country

we have to take it back
from the military industrial complex
we have to take it back from the oil companies
we have to take it back from a government out of control

they are the true enemies of freedom
not madmen across the water
human beings

they have families
they brush their teeth
they blink

they own corporations
they buy politicians
they control the planet

they see no profit in a balanced society

this
mindset
must
change

towards a civilization
where innovation benefits society
where energy sources are non-polluting
no longer a burden to our planet

a spiritual people
in balance with our world
at peace with
ourselves

~



a new censorship

politically correct blinders
handcuffing and gagging
free expression

only the narrowest truths are allowed
through the veil of lies
and smiles

nothing offensive
nothing honest

morally sanctioned speech
read from a script

don't think
for yourself

read from the script

don't think
for
your
self

~



infinite question

i live
in this universe
in this galaxy
in this solar system
on this planet
in this hemisphere
on this continent
in this country
in this state
in this county
in this city
in this neighborhood
on this street
in this house
in this room
in this body
systems of organs
made of cells
deciding what i will type next
each cell a servant
to the DNA
mighty molecule
made of atoms
who couldn't care less
sculpted from electrons
protons and neutrons
which are
made of quarks
and who knows what else
and what the hell
are quarks
made of
?

(strings perhaps, but what are the strings made of?)

~



forfeiting the game

the
decision to write
came upon me slowly
stealthily

playing gently with my mind

until one day
i decided i wasn't going to be a grocery clerk any more
so i quit my job
i filed bankruptcy
i dropped out of college

i locked myself in a room
with marijuana and miles davis
to peel back the layers
so many layers
for all to see

closing in
on the mysteries of the universe
the secret mind of god

writing it down

so
maybe
somehow
someone will understand
maybe even
you

~



cul-de-sac

communication took
a wrong turn somewhere

language
is supposed to express emotion
not repress it

after millions of years
developing crude syllables into complex language
we spend our lives
engulfed in a landscape of mass neurosis
blindly groping at each other
lost
in the deafening boom
technological evolution in a world unbalanced
where the scariest monster of all
is
truth

~



subway

she gets on
sits down at the other end of the car
our eyes meet
i quickly look away

she moves closer

why
does she
keep staring at me
she is so beautiful
she could have anyone she wants
why is she staring at me

in the commotion of the next stop
she ends up sitting just two seats away
reading "the fountainhead"
which i haven't gotten around to yet
but a friend says it's an amazing book
so i should say something to this incredible creature
who wants my attention

but
shyness wins again
it sits between us for a few miles
and forever

the doors open
people rush out
i make my escape
to the
concrete
world above

~



shreds of myself

emotion
pours out of me
onto the page

a blizzard wind
through a bare forest at night

i try hopelessly to suppress
these fears
tearing through me

leaving shreds of what's left

skin crawling
itching
burning
i scratch in vain
i drink more
smoke more
type more
coaxing the monsters
out through my fingertips
exposing them for all to see

this person
staring back from the mirror
hiding behind these words
struggling desperately
against the
eternal question

who
am
i



~





seth's room