dead gods

"I am flame and furnace,
burning the innocence from
the broken tides."

"I am hate and Hell,
the gnashing of teeth,
the fear of gods."

"I steep the blood in
vats of murdered sheep
so they may whisper my
name in death."

"I am the skin
torn from dismal faces
screaming the names of angels
as they wretch forth the crimes
of eons past."

"I am the savior of the weak,
blistered and burnt upon the spit
as their drippings ignite in the flames
and their tongues melt from pink
puckering lips of wanton decay."

"I am the bringer of forever death
as you are reborn in the light
only to perish in the multitude
of darkness behind my eyes."

"I am the seed of everlasting life
torn free from the plunders of divinity
where life has never gasped before."

"I am the scourge of Legion,
the dripping hand of fate,
the Messiah of the lost
as they tremble by my name."

"I am the killer of gods
and by my tears
all shall weep
in painful joy."

where life has never gasped before

the magic of his hands
as the flames rise
from upturned fingers
and glide along the air
to bring voice to suffering

stout tongue brandishing words
long forgotten in this age of ignorance,
words to turn and tumble the waters,
quake the oceans,
and bend the earth to soup

his face is the face of all that have stepped
before him and fell to humble knee
for but a glimpse of the surreal perceived
through his nightmare eyes

as the multitudes fall at his feet,
he brings the magic once more
to lull them back into oblivion
to serve a greater cause
and walk as the dead
have walked for countless eons since

an army of the rancid dead
to plunder the innocence
from the living,
to render the fat from
quivering bone,
to tear and tend the passions away

the magic of his hands
as he turns the air
to dust
and gleans the life from
tired stares
troubled with breath
and bound by blood

he casts a sermon from cracked lips,
willing the flesh back to life
to serve,
to be served,
to tumble in the rot,
to never falter
as the skin peals as fresh
as plucked fruit
from dying trees
and timid vine

so he stands now,
twisted spine,
cankerous mouth
shouting as spit upon
the faces that turned from him
which now serve and only serve
for the cause of debauched
blood pumping hearts

and the Devil cowers at his name,
this man with magical hands
that has come to set the birthed masses free

the demons shrink away from those fingertips
glistening with purpose and prayer
for death to come swiftly
o' so swiftly as night upon shadowed cave
where life has never gasped before

i need a new TV

i need a brand new TV
that shows me shit i want to see
gives me lessons in tragedy
and takes away my humanity

show me symbols of
mass communication
full of love
and
psychotic manipulation

i need to be shown
how to be
how to live
how i should have grown
how to be free
how to give

all this and more
on a twinkling screen
made just for me
scene by scene

i need a brand new TV
that shows me shit i want to see
gives me lessons in tragedy
and shows me this thing called humanity

show me symbols of
mass communication
full of love
and
psychotic manipulation

if i had a bit more power
i could watch for countless hours
all the death moving in foreign lands
without a drop of blood on my own hands

give me something else to buy
like water or drugs
or the bright blue sky

give me something new to see
like emptiness and vanity
or self righteous calamity
show me who i want to be
from the flickering screen
of a brand new
TV

Pinem'e ~ an act of kindness

“But we try,” 

      Jake said. 

“We struggle to improve ourselves. 

That is the human condition.”

Pinem’e bunched his lips into a pucker. 

“Awe, that is so adorable. 

Do you believe it is science and reasoning, 

or spirituality that improves this 

‘human condition’ 

you speak of?”

“Both,” 

      Jake replied. 

“We learn and adapt to our world by confronting our souls, 

by confronting our intellects.”

“But you’re all flawed. 

Your idea of science is only proven until it is proven wrong. 

You’re idea of spirit is based on arguing 

until someone gets angry enough to declare war. 

All of this you do for us 

to keep you bothered about questions 

that will never be answered. 

All the while, 

we are running your businesses, 

and grinding away at foreign affairs, 

pretending we have solutions to keep you in check.”

“There are still some who know what’s happening,” 

      Jake said. 

“There are people all over the world 

who go out of their way 

to make it known 

that this type of corruption exists.”

“And they are declared insane,” 

      Pinem’e laughed. 

“They are seen as lunatics 

because everyone is more concerned 

by finding the next star to shine, 

the next top 40 hit, 

by murder and violence 

the like 

we have seen countless times 

through perceived history.”

“Perceived history?” 

      Jake asked.

“Do you honestly believe 

what you've been told 

is true? 

It has been said 

that history is written by the winner, 

and that is as honest as it gets. 

Since the dawn of Christ, 

Christians have destroyed anything 

that could harm their interpretation of Creation. 

Science tries so hard to make 

calculated guesses 

based on evidence that has been tarnished 

or simply doesn't exist any longer 

because it was destroyed centuries ago. 

To even out the fight, 

we created money so you would 

have something else to squabble over. 

It has been truly miraculous. 

Now the poor have someone to blame 

when they cannot afford their simple pleasures, 

and the rich have someone to blame when 

they are taxed at 2%. 

It’s quite laughable, is it not?”

“So you enjoy it when we’re at each other’s throats?”

“I would only enjoy it more if you began ripping them out.”

“You’re disgusting!”

“That’s relative,” 

      Pinem’e said. 

“It all depends on who you ask.”

“Who could possibly enjoy what you and your kind do?”

“Those who follow us,” 

      he said. 

“Those who create laws 

to keep poverty high 

and job growth low. 

Those who sue one another 

over trivial incidents. 

Those who worship the deities of fame and fortune. 

Those who flock 

to our way of life 

in a Hell 

that is only another step closer 

to another Hell, 

just a breath away.

“You live, 

you die, 

and you live again. 

Over and over through eternity, 

Amen. 

It has been this way for eons 

and yet you still believe 

there is a promised land when your heart fails 

to beat 

and the sleep takes you into 

another birth 

where you come back so we can beat you all over again.

“The nature of humanity 

is to help the individual first and society last. 

You see it every day and yet you pretend that it doesn't exist. 

Let me ask you, 

Jake, 

how many times have you passed 

a homeless person on the street 

without even glancing at them? 

How many times have you looked 

the other way when someone 

was being bullied? 

How many times have you watched 

the news and seen people murdered 

in the name of democracy 

and progress 

only to flip off the television with the understanding 

that you can’t do anything about it?”

Jake remained silent.

“And that is my answer,” 

      laughed Pinem’e. 

“You have done it too often to even recall, 

and that is how it will always be. 

Because, 

you see, 

as soon as someone decides 

to do something beneficial for mankind, 

we’ll turn the channel and distract you. 

We’ll give you Evolution versus Creation. 

We’ll give you Pro choice and Pro life. 

We’ll give you gay marriage, 

birth control issues, 

and fabulous new wars 

to keep you huddled in the dark forevermore. 

And that is just the beginning. 

We have so much more suffering to give, 

and your hands are always open to receive it. 

As much as your kind wants to be happy, 

you all feed on the dark that we supply.”

Pinem'e

“When we fell from the good Lord’s grace, 

where do you think we fell to?”   

     Pinem’e said.

“Popular belief is that you went to Hell,” 

     Jake replied.

Pinem’e laughed and raised his eyebrow as if at the cusp of a question. 

“No," he said, "that is a special place, and it is reserved for you 

and your kind. 

Us, on the other hand, 

we inherited this.” 

He waved his hand about. 

“We inherited this lush, 

wonderful world, 

our own special Hell 

to damn you all before you die.”

“Bullshit,” 

      Jake replied.

“And that is exactly why mortals amuse me. 

The signs are everywhere, 

but you refuse to see them. 

We gave you greed 

and hate 

and misery 

and you use those vices so enthusiastically,
with such vigor. 

It truly makes me proud.”

“If this is Hell 

then why do I see such beauty in the world?” 

      Jake asked. 

“Why do people help each other, 

why is there good in this place 

if it is Hell?”

“Am I not beautiful?” 

      Pinem’e asked. 

“Have you ever seen a man as attractive, 

as well mannered, 

as true to form as myself?”

Jake looked him over. 

It was true, 

he could only compare him 

to the most exceptional people he had ever seen. 

Movie stars, 

musicians, 

models, 

they all fell horribly short 

of what this man 

represented.

“Your silence is all the answer I need.”

“Then why are we born into this?”

“You were never born,” 

      Pinem’e answered. 

“You died into this 

from the very start of you. 

From the first suckle 

at the tit of knowledge, 

you were all damned.  

You see, my boy, my kind … 

we’re everything you’re not. 

We are successful. 

We are timeless. 

We have been Kings and Noblemen 

ever before 

we became 

lawyers 

and bankers 

and actors 

and politicians. 

We control your greed, 

your government, 

your music, 

your art. 

We are everything your kind will never be. 

We make sure of it. 

If you were to get too close, 

an accident would happen. 

Perhaps you would be in a car, 

driving along with your wife in Texas 

and someone would shoot you 

from some secluded grassy knoll. 

You would be mourned for what you tried to do, 

but hopelessness would soon return 

and the world would forget what it was you even stood for.”

“God damn you!” 

      Jake shouted. 

He couldn't control himself, 

the words, 

the anger built with every syllable
that foamed 

from the devil’s mouth.

A subtle smile crossed the lips Pinem’e. 

“That is what I have been trying to explain to you all along. 

I’m glad we’re on the same page."

admired from afar

sometimes i think about you,
what you're doing now
since i am not there
as often as i would like

i remember the way you used to smile
when i said something silly

i remember the way you took
command when you entered
a room

i was there on Wednesday
when you were washing dishes
and dropped the glass,
breaking it in the sink

i watched you cry
as you cleaned up the mess

i often wonder if you're thinking
about me,
but i'm sure of it when
i look into your eyes

i pulled the blanket over you
the other night
while you were sleeping
because you looked so cold

i made sure you found that letter
i left for you

even through the tears
i know you were happy to find it

if you look at that picture
you took of yourself in the bathroom
you'll be able to see me off in the
far left corner
in the shadows
secretly smiling at how beautiful you are

i know you miss me
i miss you too

i can still keep loving you
even though i'm dead

dinner for 2

so goddamn tired of the talk
of the speak
of playing
hide and seek

tired of big mouths
spitting,
talking shit
like they have something
found that
no one else has already discovered

everyone is great
until they're proven wrong
by somebody better

all these opinions that don't
make a damn difference
because we're all still
broke
and bothered
by the same lame ass shit
that we've been dealing with for years

no one is more important than anyone else
and if they try to tell you they are
they're making it up
for their own mental health

there are some that make it
and others that don't
some that're served with
silver spoons
in their puckered little mouths
and others that choke
on the leftovers
stepped over
for some other motherfucker
that's nothing more than a joke

we're all in the same boat,
choking through the same throat;
the have's and have not's
those who're humble
and those who gloat

it's all the same old motherfucking thing
spun in a different direction
and it all depends on who
wins the next rigged election
without direction,
we're a doomed nation
of nothings
and not-agains,
indistinguishable mutations
from all the shit we've been fed