D I S P L A C E M E N T

ACTIVE VERBS

i'm shifting over to active verbs
i'm taking on a new pro-active slant

i won't reply with passive terms
when someone asks "hey, what's up man?"

i'll tell them that i'm doing something
not that something's doing me

i'll tell them that i'm making something
happen not that something's happening

i won't say that "i got the flu"
i'll say "i've flued myself today!"

i won't say "someone pushed my face in shit"
i'll say "i've shit my face today!"

and everything will change

a victim no more will i be
damn victim talk is killing me

drill it deep into my head
make the message ingested

genesis - speak it into being
genesis - beat it into being
genesis - cut out neural nemesis
genesis - delete contest consciousness
say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes
say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes
say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes say yes

CASTANETS COOKIE

get your
castanets cookie
‘cause everyone’s looking
drink, dance and get nookie

don’t press on the flesh
of the next one’s bet
it’s a tail
spinning round
right into the net

bent over backwards
your box just got
knocked

and the trollops will talk

‘cause their hangers are bent
forever walking side ways
and stepping into cracks
time to knock em back

get your
castanets cookie
‘cause everyone’s looking
knock em back and get nookie

you’re getting soaked
in the games you invent
it’s a tail
spinning round
right into the net

bent over backwards
you’re reeling and hooked

when you’re feeling the looks

get to you right through the glass
arms of octopi grab on to you
you’ll be heading to the sack
it’s time to knock em back

cancel it cookie
they’ll forget about you
when the morning comes
when the cement grins come down on you
you wanna wolf that smile right
off their face
hand-crafted crack-up game
dont’ wanna wake up the same way
but you can’t wash it all away

i know i know cookie
you can cry and cry and cry
you can cry and cry
but you can’t wash it all away

WRENCHES AND SPOONS

i just wanted to sleep
i turned away from you
faced the wall
closed my eyes
and tried to be still

i had a dream
that we were making love
using wrenches and spoons

there were like these kitchen items
and levers and knobs
i didn't know what button to push
so i grabbed what was right in front of me
and pushed it as hard as i could

i had a dream
that we were making love
using candles and brooms
it seemed so real
i was almost touching you

cellophane kisses on plexiglass windows
caressing the doorknobs, fondling keyholes

it seems so real
i’m almost touching you
feels so close to the truth

no lights no lights
and then you rise to look outside
you love the sight of broken windows

i’m pushing and pushing - trying so hard to get in.
ramming my way into your brain.
i wanna penetrate your soul. i wanna crawl inside.
but all i’ve got is remote controls controlled by electric eyes.

ringing the bells and turning the knobs, trying so hard to get through.
keep rummaging through drawers, looking for tools, can't find the key to get in.

mating the wall - i installed it - now i’m crawling upon it
you look outside you love the sight of broken windows

i had a dream
that we were making love
using toothpicks and glue

ROMANCE

i know i must have scared you
you’re acting all fucked up
now i’m sitting, scoping, interloping
hanging on to your words
i wouldn’t let you in
cos i’m devoted to the sin
of looking up when no one’s there
it’s easy to pretend
that i’m not looking up the stairs
waiting to run

dammit i’ve got plans that
i don’t even know about
and i’ll use them as excuses
when i go about the finding out

but don’t look at me in scorn
you’ve got a lot of nerve for doing so
i’ve achieved so much i’m
ready to go out drip a little blood

it’s nothing but the seeding
of a few plants (romance)
i forgive myself
won’t you do the same
it’s not the same
when self-doubt creeps in

been waiting for the shake-up
nothing falls too far from home
been looking for the slip-up
just for action

damn near too exciting
and is this passion or an exercise
do i feel this or not?
let it out
what’s it all about
blank head, just a big blank head
push your head down far below
but don’t you go on forever
don’t seem to be getting anywhere
how can something seem to ascend
when it’s not going anywhere
not going anywhere

FROM A DISTANCE

i hate the drowning man
who digs into my skin
wants me to take a swim
with him

i hate the wounded man
who staggers
into my arms
convulsing and puking

my little child
spitting up
and crying for his bottle

my aching back has
carried him
to act as launching pad
not landing strip

i’ll cut the cord
then i can love this satellite

i love the pampered man
who swaggers
out of my arms
displaying his many charms for the other ones

he walks out head held high
dressed to the nines
with feathers in his cap
plucked from my back

my aching back has
carried him
to act as launching pad
not landing strip

i’ll cut the cord
then i can love this satellite
the way that one should love a star
(from a distance)

PATIENCE

patience wears well
part of the package
passive detachment
held on so long

plan on letting others know which way i’ll go
it’s up to them now how i’ll fool them

they can see plenty and good tidings shout
“we’ve carried you this far!”
best not distort the facts.
whichever those were.

who will claim them?
i won’t attach myself.

i’m gonna commit a crime
just to prove that i can
do it for myself

glass reflecting it is wobbling
it appears to dismiss itself

i’m not here
that is criminal

EAR TO THE GROUND

they stick their heads in windows
and look around
relieved of their perches
the festive ones come flying down

to see the hanging man
saw it in the news
he stays in one place
he never moves

been lifted up twice now
but he stays hanging by the knees

he just crawled right back
when they carried him away

been lifted up twice now
but he stays hanging by the knees

he waits
says he’s forgotten why he’s there in the first place
he stays
no reason to leave when he’s finally found his place

just crawled right back
when they carried him away

been lifted up twice now
but he stays hanging by the knees

keeps his ears to the ground
picking up vibrations
listening to sounds as they
pass his situation

been lifted up twice now
but he stays hanging by the knees

he waits
says he’s forgotten why he’s there in the first place
he stays
no reason to leave when he’s finally found his place
he waits
there’s nothing out there that can make him leave this place
he stays
he’s seen enough and he’s not giving up his space

just crawled right back
when they carried him away

been lifted up twice now
but he stays hanging by the knees

TURTLEDOVES

you didn’t like it like that
when i just gave it to you
put it down on your plate
wanted to see what you would do

you couldn’t believe it
made you shudder to look
cos you left something there
hey- twas a long time ago
thought you had it all locked up
thought you buried it in earth

we were playing in the wreckage
and turned up some turtledoves
they were carrying a message
that you claimed came from above

you slammed your boot down
to grind them in the ground

just wait til tomorrow
we’ll put it in place again
wait til tomorrow
we’ll make it all the same again

i went to the wreckage
while you were soaking in the tub
i retrieved your message
and served it to you with your lunch
potatoes and cabbage
with a side of turtle dove

i’ll stick it back in the wreckage
put it deep into a hole
cover it with 1000 heavy stones

didn’t know what i was doing
didn’t know what this all meant
didn’t read the messages they sent

we can pave over the wreckage
poison all the dirt and soil
so no more irritations grow

we can board up all the windows
double locks on all the doors
nail wooden planks down to the floors

you won’t have to see it
we’ll put it all back in place again
you won’t have to feel it
we’ll make it all the same again
all the same

A P P L I E D   I G N O R A N C E

PISS ON THEM LIGHTLY

make a motion
make a screwy noncommittal motion
take a step
take a filthy alligator step
jump right in
half-heartedly
you can't take a shit without analyzing it
release the rope that holds the goods
your bag of homemade staples
bag of homemade staples

don't banish anyone entirely.
give them time to separate.
give them space to ruminate.
give them heat to motivate.
then piss on them lightly a subtle stream.
just a temporous mist. suggestive humidity.

it's ancient and ugly
a disciplined moth
it's gulp-down sadistic
an acid hummer

you've been spoiled too long.
you've gotten used to actual pudding
you've been spoiled too long
you better get used to being used

then piss on them lightly a subtle stream.
just a temporous mist. suggestive humidity.

make a motion
make a screwy noncommittal motion
take a step
take a filthy alligator step
jump right in
half-heartedly
you can't take a shit without analyzing it

don't banish anyone entirely.
give them time to separate.
give them space to ruminate.
give them heat to motivate.
then piss on them lightly a subtle stream.
just a temporous mist. suggestive humidity.

SHUT UP OLD MAN

i was reading my book at the door
at the door with your dog
just trying to keep it in

old man came up and said
"don't let her out"
i said " i know but..."
he said "don't let her out"

then the old man grabbed the leash
let the dog out on the porch
he held on to me for a second
just to get his balance
i put my book down, kept the place with a
fold-up chair on the ground
and the old man was telling me to secure it.
it might get blown away or something.
you better hold on to that

he sang:

you can hold the beacon for awhile,
but we'd better get sighted
you can hold the beacon for awhile,
but we'd better get sighted

my little sister sat on the ground,
getting her knee bandaged
she said, " i know that song. i hate that song.
i hate it."

you can hold the beacon for awhile,
but we'd better get sighted
you can hold the beacon for awhile,
but we'd better get sighted

"tell him to shut up. tell that old man to shut the
hell up. i know that song. i hate that song.
tell him to shut up. tell that old man to shut the
hell up. i know that song. i hate that song.
i hate it."
i know that song. i hate that fucking song.
i know that song.

UNHINGED FACE

how can i look at you with that
unhinged face of yours
screw it in it's place
it rolls around too much

facets of correct behavior
don't let me see the other side
right now i'm cooking vegetables
hoping for the best

say there is an answer
to this blanket frame
soap and blue detergent
washed me out again

ratted broken fiction
robbed the sequel
i had planned for you
something better than this

pointed naked babies
pointing out my course
schlep a ton of bricks
show me no remorse

you have seen the signs
you have made your choice
call out the replacements
to do your job for you

i'm paving / you're leaving / i'm paving your way

MINUTES COLLECTOR