A half a dozen times ere he was through
John Flamsteed saw you, but not what you are.
A dozen times Le Monnier saw you too;
And he, like Flamsteed, took you for a star.

"A lasting peace!"--I wish it stirred
Our blood a little more,
Since it's our blood, unstirred and stirred
Alike, that's spilled by war.

They say your brewer father could not see
Just what on Earth your hobby could be for;
Yet in your youth your king called you to be
His Astronomical Observator.

The sky god, born of Earth, engorged her womb
With babies he declared he’d kill if born.
Sad Gaia! Would her belly be their tomb,
Or would she see them slaughtered ere she mourn?

gangling down the hall
against one another
in their small bras tight skirts
and dark nylons
whispering and snickering behind cupped hands
nothing more frightening
and more wonderful

Yes on the world I force myself;
Yes on the world, and on you too.
And to what end,
And to what end?

To gain a bit of space for me,
To make a modest place for me
In your mind;
In your mind.

so let me get this straight
god creates a kind
in his own image
and gives em a proclivity for sinning
and sure enough they sin
making em unfit for his company
the only fix for this mess

It's best for a jerk
To work;
When a jerk fails,
It can lead to wails,
And broken nails.

In memory of Émile Durkheim (1858-1917). Heartfelt thanks to "alarian" (on poetbay.com) for correcting the French!

Les Faits Sociaux

Où est le mode de production?

The first stanza is an item of folklore I learned only as an adult (from the movie "Grease"); the second I added, in the old style of impressing upon children the seriousness and mortality of human li

The first of my two brief complaints
Is this: I don't believe in saints.
The second is: For green to please,
I'll leave it up to grass and trees.

Sometimes I have feelings;
Sometimes I have thoughts.
Sometimes I have thoughts about feelings;
Sometimes I even have feelings about thoughts.
When these things happen,

what do I want?
another post from You
and another
and another
and another
because knowing You
through nothing more
than words on a screen
is so much better
than not knowing You at all

flapping in the wind / stickie-outie straw for brains / all the crows long gone

those who had religion /
pushed on them /
as children /
should be forgiven /
if as adults /
they push back