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Snake's Eyes Printer friendly page Print This
By Mankh (Walter E. Harris III)
Axis of Logic
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2014

    Snake's Eyes

 

1

in the river of your parade

a fanfare of lovers

of two become one,

become two again and so

becoming one self

searching for your one-self

become one with Self

healthily self-ish

 

2

aside from your precious self,

in the mire of obliterated culture

oil fields, backroom deals,

under the table 

rough handshakes

 

Iraqi children born with deformities,

a wooden cradle busted up to burn

to heat the house, the walls decimated

by enemy hungry ghosts

but the river of oil flows,

sect versus sect versus corporate intersect

but the river of oil flows

one river of black blood

black as the Mother

 

3

blueprint of Amerioilcan cult-ure,

suck it up lifestyle

at the corner station of your choice,

the freedom to go somewhere,

the freedumb to be a hamster

on the treadmill with billboards and malls,

neon flash-dancers and energetic belly drinks

 

the black-and-blueprint of new Chinese cult-ure,

new East Indian cult-ure,

Iraqi crude and Afghani heroin

George Dubai Bush addicted

mission accomplice

 

4

on the outskirts of the mainstream

the question of how much oil

it costs to heat the house,

to fill the tank

to get to the gathering

where lovers flow

like summer mountain streams

beckoning for warm feet,

rivers of love

rivers of oil

intertwining like caduceus snakes

but one snake addicted and venomous —

watch out for the pipeline fangs!

 

caduceus squirming for some clean earth,

winged caduceus for some clean air,

water caduceus for some clean water

 

5

easy to get bedazzled

sunlight binging off metallic street signs,

the motion of electronic tickertapes,

halogen bulbs glistening on shiny chrome hoods

but is anybody listening to the Red-winged Blackbird

"terrr-eeee     oak-a-lee"

whose stand of trees stands alone

by the under the overpass multitask intersection

sunlight binging on "open" signs "closed" signs

everything distinctly glinty

 

6

past news affecting current stories,

affecting water currents, air currents:

Gulf of Mexico

Macondo blowout sale

pelicans oil-slicked, sick,

sunlight glinting off shiny black coats,

dolphins, sea turtles, sea coral . . .

black corporate suits

pin-striped like highway lanes,

in Canada, explosion from rail tanker eco-terrorists

the ones transporting the oil!

the enemy within

 

7

the enemy within

the dust of your dubious-self settling

sweep the self

healthily-selfish

 

8

which river to ride?

one person's societal sacrilege

is another person's divine humanity,

Buddha eating a grass-fed burger,

Jesus hugging and kissing his brother,

Aboriginal Peoples wearing sweatshop running shoes

doing citi-zen

getting to the UN

talking the walk

for Mother Earth and All Our Relations —

Peeps better listen

"terrr-eeee     oak-a-lee",

Lao-Tzu gone fishing in his mind

but still walking the streets

working the beats

craving the heat that

separates the men from their toys,

separates the oil from the water,

snake charmer from the charm —

watch out for the pipeline fangs!

 

caduceus squirming for some clean earth,

winged caduceus for some clean air,

water caduceus for some clean water

 

9

have fun but this is no game,

say your prayers but this is no church,

look long into the telescope of the mind . . .

 

10

breathe deep

and tip your hat

to the next person you meet,

if you pass a mirror

tag

you're it,

look

into the snake's eyes

wind

your way up

 

 

 

Mankh (Walter E. Harris III) is an essayist and resident poet on Axis of Logic. In addition to his work as a writer, he is a small press publisher and Turtle Islander. His new book is “On Behalf of Those Who Speak Different Languages.” He also hosts an audio show "Between the Lines: listening to literature online." You can contact him via his literary website.

READ MORE POETRY AND ESSAYS BY MANKH ON AXIS OF LOGIC

 

 

 

 

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