For Walt Whitman

See also sulam-yaakov

Studies in Being


Above the village of Koke
sits Moimango
watching over his people
sometimes his son
Gematsu
now also old
comes to pay his respects
in Moimango's abdominal cavity
rodents have made their nests
on his toes and fingers
lichen goes
his head nods forward
around his people
the jungle grows

Poems come up in the night
if I don't write them down
they dive beneath the surface again
_______________________

The theory of relativity

If I were alone on the moon
then coming across
even the filthiest public loo
... that stank of urine
and shit stains on the bowl
would be like finding
a long lost and dearly loved friend

(see also The General Theory of Ephemerality)
-------------------

Imagine

Imagine if wheat got a warning:
now hear this
in 10 hours you will be cut off at the roots
taken from your moist earth fields of gold
and baked to brown in ovens

imagine if cows got a warning:
now hear this
in 10 hours men with prods
that sting like wasps
will bother you to crowd together
for a long thirsty journey
in a cattle truck
to a place that smell of blood and dung
where shuddering one by one
what's done is done

Imagine if the Jews got a warning
now hear this
in 10 hours you will be cut off at the roots
taken from the muddy streets and thin lipped forests
and cathedral cut throat towns
crowded together
for a long thirsty journey
in a cattle truck
to a place where something smells wrong
where
men and women
with guns and dogs
will crowd you together
one after one
bake you in ovens
and what's done is done


____________
Some thoughts make me feel small
and some thoughts make me feel big
some thoughts are bullies
that push me around and beat me up
some thoughts make me laugh

_________________________

No purpose can survive the sea
which is why people go there with a fishing line
to hold onto
_______________________

I squeeze my latest poems out of me
like toothpaste out of a near empty tube

_______________________________

the dessicated overproduced thoughts
of old poets past their prime
desperate to retain
their imaginary sage ship


Second World War Memorabilia for avid collectorsa Mauser pistolA pregnant peasant woman with a bayonet through her bellyA lampshade made from a Jewish youth's skin
A pile of eyeglasses without eyes
A canister of Zyklon B

________

Does a person
falling into a mass grave
like the tree in the earless forest
make a sound so feint
that after six decades
it cannot be heard at all?

The Big Bluff

I pretended I was confident
(trying fake it til you make it)
I pretended I learnt from experience how not to make new mistakes
I pretended I was both strong and sensitive
I pretended I wasn't scared or sad
and sometimes I pretended I was unhappy
I pretended I was otherwordly when I craved sweet flesh
and pretended I was earthy when the world repelled me
I pretended when there was no need to pretend
I pretended when almost everyone saw through my pretence, but me
I feigned contentment and I feigned
discontent
I feigned interest so it wouldn't look like I was alone
I feigned uniqueness
I feigned sameness
I feigned acceptance when I felt anger
and I feigned anger when I was hurt
I pretended to be invincible for my children
and to be helpless for my parents
I pretended yesterday's courage could dispel today's terror
I pretended I was unflappable and cool
I pretended I was one of those
who act on their conviction
(Perhaps I pretended I was convinced)
I bluffed my way through life
often anxious I would be called out
like shaka's witch sniffing
to be dealt with at the side
but I shall have my recompense
when at my funeral
I shall only pretend
to die

________

Signs of life:
traces of margarine in the jam jar
a to do list that always recedes into the unreachable distance
ants eating a worm on the concrete driveway
bird shit on the brand new car

_______________

male supremacy is a
phallusy

__________
Me?
I love me
without any "buts"
without any "because"
not even "because I am"
without I love me
without love me
without mein the hollow curve
from which the last thought
has gone
______________________
Goverment Gazette

be safe
don't swing on the branches
don't feel the wind in your hair
don't lie in the sun
don't inhale
be safe
dob on your neighbours
get your cervix and prostate palpitated
don't leave your car
report any suspicious activity
excluding call centres, washing powder ads, reality shows, workaholism and intrafamilial violence
be safe
watch out for exotic species and crumbling cliffs
be confident and assertive
be two metres tall and weigh 300kgs
don't leave your belongings unattended
don't talk to strangers
rather sorry than unsafe
consult your physician
or mental health professional
make sure you live til 90
and die of advanced
boredom

_____________________________

You sexy bitch
with your breasts and your ovaries
your lungs and your kidneys
your stomach that burps in the night

you sexy bitch
with your warm wet vagina
sticky with blood every month
how I stuffed you back into your skin
only to have your stubble and breath
trouble me again
______________

"I trust nobody, including myself" Joseph Stalin

In the morning
I lock myself up
in case I escape
____________

like an unblemished etrog
her hand upon the steering wheel
her nipples
two spears that pierce my eyes
and from between her pearl teeth
and plumped lips
the vapours that hint
of body's end
___________
REVERSE THIS TO REFLECT BY GIVING UP EVERYTHING YOU GET EVERYTHING
____________
For Walt Whitman

thank you for the letter you sent me

I read the words thirstily

with great sobs of laughter

then threw it away

knowing your next

is already on its way
__________________

I am my own factory farmed cow
prodding my tired fattened body
mercilessly on to where freedom awaits
at the abbatoir gates

_________________________

I don't even know how it is
let alone how it will be
and its not that I have courage
its sometimes that courage has me
_____________________

if I can't sing then I will write
and if I can't write then I will paint
and if I can't paint then I will act
and if I can't act or paint or write
then I'll get a job selling bogus holiday deals
from a call centre in the Phillipines or Mumbai
on commission
and I'll lovingly craft every phone call I make
to angry people interrupted at their dinner
or to a pensioner glad of the voice puncturing the stillness
as if they were my legacy
for G-d makes no mistakes
___________________

dragged apart by heaven and earth
I want to rise
and sink to my knees
at the same time

_______

sitting next to you in the car
feeling safe and warm
a good times song on the radio
wind in my hair
steaming coffee in the holder
battery chickens in their hovels
sex-slaves in their brothels

this is as G-d as it gets/
it don get much G-dder than this

_______________________

Sometimes I watch the news
hoping to see suffering and general mayhem
and then I might flick channels
and land on an image of an Afghan boy
holding on to parallel bars
long jalabiya wrapping around the stumps
left by a Taliban or NATO bomb
and it slices through the brittle casing
resentment and fear have placed round my heart
and as sadness comes flooding I stop pretending
their hurt can diminish mine

_______________________________________

As the human beast grows older
they keep more files
and boxes in dusty storerooms
begin to shuffle at night in slippers
keep track of their investments
if middle class, or if not
sit on a beer crate
and stare at the dust
_________________________

Symetries:

Teenage girls

their bodies bursting out of their clothes

middle aged men

their eyes bursting out of their sockets

_______________

Haiku with Dan

The giraffe eating

accacia leaves what a

journey to travel

The giraffe eating
leaves of the acacia
a long way to go

________________

To Sylvia Plath and HaShem

Love set the universe ticking
like a well made gold watch

Sulam Yaakov

See also poems 2011-5771 and poems 2012-5772

lying in the dark
desperate and
what could become alive
dying
for a warm hand to touch
energy hurling itself
against the bars of the body
like a circus tiger or a cow in a slaughter box

___
what can be done with:
stick it in
shove it up
spread them
give it to em
show em whose boss
pound that
push it in deep
flick them
pinch and pull them
bang em?

_________

I love to go up
but when I come down
to check my ladder's legs
are firmly planted
I usually miss
a couple of rungs
and fall with a bump
from which it can take
a long time to recover
by which time I'm already
wondering up again


_____________

I'm dying
but politely
_____________________

O Lord
help me to accept with grace my chains
and then see they aren't even chains

_______________________

I have this terrible itch in my side
I think G-d may be making
a woman out of me

________________________

There once was an ugly duckling
who masturbated all night in front of the tv set
only to discover
in the morning
he was really a drake
____________________

bodies will die
heads will fly
babies will cry
and the Self reign supreme

symphonies written
lovers smitten
the shy twice bitten
and the Self reign supreme

______________


Shhhh
Mmmmmmmmm
Ahhhhh....

Listen

Shhhhhh
Mmmmmm
Ahhhh

Shhemmaa

that which you like
that which you dislike
are one

________________________

A Song of Praise - Nishmat Kol Chai

The soul of every living thing praises you, unnameable One, and awareness everywhere celebrates being.
Always you are, from womb to tomb, from moment to infinity, and there is no other who liberates and redeems,
enchains and sustains, saves and contains.
In moments of contraction You are thinner than a hair, in moments of expansion more vast than a galaxy
Nothing is except You, unconditionally and purposelessly, eternally.
Present at the first and Present at the last, you are the indweller of every form
in every generation
the mystery that is always in front of us, of itsSelf
always adored, that arranges all
with mercy and kindness
You never awake, and you never sleep
you spin the wheel, you ARE the wheel
bringing sleep to the weary
wakefulness to the numb
speech to the dumb
silence to the busy
and let us say

amen

___________________________________________________

Non dual prayers and blessings / tefilot and berachot

Blessed are you, O Lord, our G-d, the fountain of being, who puts us in chains and remove the chains
you give us bodies and take them away
who starves us and beats us and soothes us and feeds us
who puts us in crematoria and gives us fresh hope
who makes one man poor and onther one wealthy
who makes one woman prime minister and another a slave
(to be continued)

____________________

You think you're so smart, don't you
with your big breasts poking out at me
and your micky mouse slippers

You think you're so smart
with your 40 DDs
make me weak in the knees
I'll say anything to please
till they've been sucked and flicked and licked
and you've been dicked
________________________

often I am having two conversations with women simultaneously and, come to think of it, in an entirely different way, with men as well
___________________________________

On a similar note:
I fall asleep watching porn
penises stuffed into orifices
somewhere near woodstock
Chava and Adam
walk hand in hand
without any clothes
without any shame

____________________

going to a rugby game
I allow myself to be processed with all the rest
I drink my beer
I ride the bus
I do not talk of vegetarianism or sexual repression
I do not make a fuss




I shout the slogans
I

Poems 2011- 5771

See also poems 2012 - 5772

For Pessoa

I've had this strange pain in my side
I think G-d is trying to make
a woman out of me

If I had known you
like Adam knew Eve
I would not lie
in the dark and grieve

later
coming through customs
I try to look innocent
despite the fact
that I am
____________
____________

I've often had this fear well up
that I am this liar, living this lie,
and by luck or chance have escaped detection
until now, but my death
and the manner of my death
will expose the length and breath
of my inadequacy for the task
but upon enquiry
as to what will be exposed
and to whom....

what task?
who decides?
___________________

"I was born under the star
of timidity and there's nothing I can do about it...."
so my story goes
early infected by the mono coccus
of self doubt
I have lived my life
suspended over failure

__________________



My poetry is not dead
its just sleeping
_________________

A travellers' prayer:
O Lord, give me the strength to get out of bed

Masa alunkot chozeyr - korbanot (ayin Vayikrah)
sound clip 02 on phone)
_________________

____________________
(Is there a conflict between doing my duty and wanting to write poetry? No)
My duty is to write poetry
_____________
I care so much for my own story
and everything I do is just for my own glory

____________

An Israeli woman soldier
with a gun strap between her breasts:
life and death
in one delightful package

__________
e

Gaza 1987

Nino Rodruigez
lies on the camp bed
white tea shirt, olive green pants
black boots
South American Indian
jet black eyes in his
olive skinned smooth
round moon face
closed now
to shut out the other
smelly sweating presences
and be alone
with the voice of Sting
coming through the walkman headphones:
Cueca Solo
a hot dusty wind
blows through the tent flap
which dances
Ellas Danzan Solas
where are you now ?


you gave me your blessing then
the blessing of a pure orphan heart
on several occasions
and now I long to return the favour
I search for you on the internet
but find no trace
and remain indebted
though you may not have thought on me for years
though you may have left this realm

how I wish to be present
when all the joy and peace
that hides amongst the stars
brings us together again
___________________


I was on the beach
on Australia day
playing cricket with the family
and some other young men
were playing cricket as well
and a ball came flying
and thwacked my wife on the head
“please be careful guys” I smiled, tossing them back the ball,
not wanting any trouble, any trouble at all
why don’t yous piss off back to where you came from mate
said one, and his mates hooted and jeered.
so the next day I sold our house
took my kids out of school
packed our bags
and went back to South Africa
for eighty years
and from there to Lithuania, Latvia, England and Russia
for four hundred years
and from there to Poland and Germany and from
there to Alsace and Babylon
and from there to Israel and Judah
and from there to Mesopotamia
and from there we went back to sperm and egg
and from there to amoeba and algae
and from there to the centre of the big bang
forever and ever
not wanting any trouble, any trouble
at all


(boy o boy was I surprised)


start your day with poetry
modeh ani lefanecha
the courage to put myself out there
a strange wounded creature
or a shining light of perfect imperfection?

Boycott Allah

From mon 24

The words are like pebbles
In a desert
Cool and smooth
Giving the dry mouth
The memory (and meaning)
Of water

Making my piece
With my minor talent
And having no constituency
So to speak of

My dad always told me before starting something new
Its usually helpful to make a poo
(like a new job or going into battle)

Confessions upon my death bed

O i have peed in swimming pools
And looked through keyholes to see my sisters changing
i have laughed when someone tripped and fell clumsily
And asked the gardener to cut down high branches that i was afraid to
Oh i have startled people without meaning to
And without wanting to be been startled
Oh I have written poetry
when I “should have” been earning money
oh I have eaten a burger in secret
and lectured my wife about being a vegetarian
oh I have been most fully fully human
a bundle of thoughts and contradictions
and conditioning

Am i to blame for the universe?

I have two mistresses/lovers i crave
One is balance
And the other is creativity
And these mistresses
Do not always get on with each other
Creativity does not care a fig for balance


a crowd of 14 or 15 year old
boys
roaming from room to room
in a small flat
(the parent not there)
their hands on their genitals
rubbing and coaxing
having pooled their money
and poured over the Star classifieds
enough money for the taxi and fee
several phone calls made
(in themselves hugely exciting)
til' someone agreed to come or send someone
female with breasts and hair down below
uncomprehending and blissfully unashamed
egging each other on
with imprecise descriptions of sexual feats
soon to come
for forty minutes
til it became clear they weren't coming
huge disapointment and secret relief
no on told us
how to be
or what to do with that energy
and no one has told me still

____________


Cultural aquiesence at Emanuel School

Things we've never thought about


Anus al pi hadibur hapnimi
Zerem hamachshavot haayn sofi
Haolim veyordim kegalim bekirbi
Ve ani omed al hachof vetzofeh bahem
legamrei chofshi


I am a mystic masturbator

Hakol min jah
Ki jah hoo hakol

Stralia is a sea of con-sumption
Come on baby i want some want some
leave those electric lights on, lights on

Spring song

The whole world is bursting into song
The cows are lowing for their bobby cows
And even the torturer whistles on his way to work
The news reader smiles with witened teeth
And $200 an hour bonhomie

Have a good christmas
He tells me
And tired of explaining
I dont celebrate christmas
(and weary of pointless reactive debates that swirl round and deplete )
I nod and pass on
Feeling their stong need
To homogonise the world
And distance the other
From the lazy-boy arm chair
Of their universe

Just the right number of australians
Are like cloned programmed robots
Eating their oportos
Dutifully buying their valentines day trinkets
Watching their footy
Getting tipsy at the races
Debriefing with "So i said to her"

Its hard to write poems
About fundamentalist Islam
(should I write that with a capital I or risk having my head cut off?)

As far as the eye can see
Being
As far as the ear can hear
Being
Trapped in the prison of the senses
The world of duality
A friend and threat to me

As far as the eye can see
Trees blossoming
A plastic bag
As far as the ear can hear
Birds chirping
Mosquitoes high pitched drone / whining?

What joy
When i finally accepted
I will never have that
Or that
Or that
And that i never
Needed them
Anyway
__________

I'd like to have another child
to make the world less inimical
by one