the dark triumph of spectacle

[saw]

the dark roast has the aroma
of a brand new day, the newspaper
is lying on the welcome mat at the front door
the tv is on in the background with the same news

as yesterday....and the day before that
except for a minor twist and roll
of the tongue, so twist and roll
the reefer in defiance, take the spiritual medicine

that kills the scripted disease,
scrubbed brains are the sick children of the bourgeoisie
laid down in the modern scriptures
zombie disciples of the advertising man at work

how can I block it all out....the billboards with empty promises
the barrage inside the soul, the dirty images that remain,
the specially prepared persuasion cooked in the ovens
of madison avenue psychos, so sleazy and brilliant

they could have chosen pharmaceuticals, or the mantle
of science embraced by the demons with rotten organs,
the 401 K scraps you feed the dog, the flamboyant
immorality of CEO's that rape and pillage for the fun

of keeping score......the heads are wooden
malignant totems of the decline of empire
to be covered like ancient pompei
when the earth spews her answer to designer greed




note : most days I look for the gems of love and life that are surely there.....
having said that, I also feel an inner obligation to not pretend how bad things are....
to not always write about butterflies and children's laughter....for me this is balance....
it seems disingenuous to me to only write about the beauty that is still there....so forgive
my negativity at these moments....I really need to do both, or write nothing at all

[Brian mclaughlin]

you ask how can i block it all out, start your day with this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNJDn8VcZ9Q

[saw]

I use yellow brick cinema quite often, but mediation as great as it is, doesn't simply erase what's right in front of my eyes....it's a tool....a good one....but not the end-all

[mnaz]

America wasn't enough. They want the world (and even the world isn't enough). But it's unsustainable; something will have to give. Shit, I can't even listen to a local college basketball game on the radio without the play-by-play guy slipping in some goddamned commercial here and there-- during game action. Jesus Christ the locust plague of rampant consumerism is just . . . OFF . . . THE . . . CHARTS ! And the political dog and pony circus? And "protecting our way of life", and and AND AND! For fuck sake. . .

Not completely "on-topic" maybe, but you got me goin' with this one...

[leafsailors ghost]

The poem asks how to block it out but that is an after thought to the teeth of the poem. A truth dog has the bum by the ass. I get mad because I am , love can, and must be angry sometimes. Other time a fury of love is needed .I read the poem and thought about the times I leave the news off and play my old guitar , it is almost all the time now . When I do allow it to become real to me I write. I am glad you do also . Poetry has the potential to rock the world when it is harmonically constructed resonating with reality ,often it is not pretty , snap .