Jalapeno Peppers

how could i know
“love” was gone
and only symbols remained
we know now
Barbie & Ken
and the flavor of fantasy
see all the fearful ones
clinging to a failing institution:
marriage.
if a man has to choose between friend and sex
will their choice be the same as a woman’s
if not why not?
where has all the healthy sex gone?
where has all the healthy […]

no new messages
what are you doing New Year’s Eve
it’s a long time to Tip-a-canoe
the world is spinning by
is there no time to reflect
it was the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
until Texans shut it down
there’s no time left
no need left
to moralize
if it’s not post traumatic stress syndrome
it’s attention deficit disorder
children raping children
some bodies with empty bellies […]

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. knows
what it is like
being black in America like
“arrested for being black”
maybe James Crowley
“followed standard procedures”
but i’ll put money on believing
Crowley had no clue
how degrading it was for the Professor
how rednecks would cheer to see
an educated black being arrested
for sure
Sgt. James was unaware
how many hearts hurt over this learned man
being treated like […]

a tribute
it was in Philadelphia
thru a hot and muggy summer
men of principled character
were driven to produce
the American Constitution
some of the same arguments they were having then
we are having now
)states rights
)majority rule
)how to protect minority rights
)separation of church and states
)etc
until the process is understood
we will continue these arguments.
Richard Beeman’s book gives us just that.
Bravo writer Beeman!
There […]

sorry for all the little bites
and the great big one
that leaves a hole in the heart
for this duration span
Visit the wretched and the lonely
and don’t say anyone sent you
that would break their heart
can’t ch’u go because you remember
your turn of wretched loneliness?
be kind to your web-footed friends but not your brother?
remember how you sat and […]

will this battle be over
a new world cometh
or here we go ’round a’gin
with the old
if logos means word
and word was in the beginning
pathos be half-divine?
sage rosemary and who?
Is it still true puma
“we either hate or love”?
Ok it was the devil in me
and i know atonement
it really will hurt me
as much as it hurt you
&heart
&lungs
&genitalia
we will […]

?
how do they ferr all, General tell us
not asking here about Lockamoréè
might even talk about across the bay
and suffering Haitians
but first i’ll do the math
2,160 Americans,
Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Contractors,
paid handsomely
to guard
now 229 prisoners
while Rafael shows C-SPAN cameras
a comfortable room with cushy chairs
and tells us how humanly prisoners are treated
this inquirer wants to know
how […]

.
our ancestors talk all the time in the spirit world
even often talk a lot to us but
mostly we fear to listen because
if we believe they know our problems, our secrets
we believe
our heavenly ancestors, parents or children
think the same in heaven as they were on earth
forgetting the deceased are now in a world of all knowing
what […]

when you’re only talking to yourself
does the whole world hear?
if C-SPAN only gives us pink and blue
and 6 months old girls get high heels
is that worse than a burka?
if i call and you answer are you coming
or am i going?
Got change? Got enough? Fast enough?
‘member what they say way back when
they called it Future Shock
Socko […]

drop a name
pick a word
have reverence for
those who went before
so you’ll get yours
not due
in time
shift a coat
bear a tie
oops
did i key a car
or walking vehicle
stealing a star?
o my Tom was a prince
in tattered cloths mended
he musiced the Masters
to earn his food
alas
Prince Ton was to prideful
to acknowledge
one more suited than he
to be a true King
in waiting.
good […]

“Have a nice day” is easier to say
than “have a wonderful day”
“Nice” is nice and bland and
easily put on auto pilot
(ask any sales clerk”) while
“wonderful”
in three glorious syllables
surely might brighten
(even if only slight
and momentary)
both the speaker’
and the hearer’s
spirit.