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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