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.
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