Fortified with 10 essential Vitamins and Cynicism

I'm sorry. What's wrong with being cynical? To me it seems healthy for our society to have cynics. Someone has to bring the rest of the population back to reality. The human race, particularily those here in the U.S., get way to warm and fuzzy with their rose-tinted glasses. They don't see the crimson wave off beyond the horizon that one day is going to swallow us all. In the meantime they just act like animals. We strive to hold ourselves above the rest of the Animal Kingdom but we act just as primal as they. Immediate gratification is the game. A sense of entitlement pervades throughout humanity.

I work in retail. The store I work at has a liberal return policy and we will take items back for exchange or credit that are advanced in age. But it isn't a license for someone to go home, clean out their closet, and exchange old stuff just to get new stuff. But, if we offer resistance to these short-sighted shmucks they complain to our corporate headquarters. And of course, they have the back-bone of a jellyfish and cave and say, "go back to the big bad store and they will take care of you."

Working in retail you really see the worst in people. Parents dump their kids to play with our merchandise and give us guff if we ask them to not touch everything. Then you have the people that have waited in line all of a minute and they act as though they've been there half an hour. Listen people, the world is one day going to melt under they dying breath of the sun but it's not going to be while any of us are alive. Take a deep breath, relax, and then get the hell out of my store. Better yet, don't ever come in. You make my stomach churn and turn. Okay, I'm done. Thanks for listening to the rant of your friendly neighborhood cynic. Just remember, even if you are paranoid, that doesn't mean they are not after you.....

Vegetate (poem)

Vegetate
Sit back and unwind.
Let your thoughts drift away.
Concentrate on nothing
But the freeness of your mind.
Feel the tension ooze out,
As you let relaxation enter.
All of your aches and pains,
Are quashed by your new peace.
Forget the everyday worries.
Wake up, breathe, and live.
Let the bright vitality envelope you
Until your life is a radiant glow.
Float in the lucid haze.
The softness surrounds you.
Soak up the serenity
And tune out the tumultuous world.
In the end you'll never want to wake up.
You will want to live in your calm forever.
Alas, such hopes are soon vanquished
As the outside world reaches out its bony hand.
It tightens its grip around your neck.
Quickly, it jerks you back to reality.
Life trudges on through the mire
And the futile rat race goes on.

Originally published in The Binnacle in 1997.

Ethanol (poem)

You thrash and writhe.
Yet, you continue to die.
Nothing you can do
Will stop your life from leaving.
My net has been cast over you
And I will drag you to your demise.
I see the panic flash on your face,
Yet I proceed in the execution.
The minutes go by
And your kin pile up.
The stench becomes more and more putrid.
The acrid smell of death is everywhere.
Your life has been for naught.
You were born only to die.
And for what cause?
To prove what is already clear to us;
That your world is being corrupted
Because we don't know how to handle ours.

Originally published in The Binnacle in 1997.

Dark Overture (poem)

The violin starts to play.
It moans with each sweeping pass
Of the dark, wooden bow.
Melancholy melodies meander
Through the darkness of the night.
Now a sullen voice fades in
With a beautifully woeful voice.
It sings of a lost love
Who has passed into the void.
My entire being swirls
In the emotions of this powerful dirge.
I can feel the dark energy surge
With each rising crescendo.
The violin starts to soar
As the end of this song nears.
The voice starts to fade away
And the violin starts to follow
As everything...
...fades...
...into darkness...

Originally published in The Binnacle in 1997.

Advertising

I added this new advertising thingy. Apparently if enough people visit this blog and then click on one of the little thingies above I get some moolah out of it. I haven't read the fine print but I assume it's like enough to buy a cup of coffee once a month or in my case once a decade. But I find it amusing that it is smart enough to adapt what it advertises in relation to the content of my posts. My last post was about Cat Stevens and when I republished, voila! It's links to sites selling Cat Stevens CD's. I wonder what will happen if I list a bunch of other names. Let's see:
Sentenced, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Willam H. Macy, Snoopy, The Jabberwocky, ....... this will be fun!!!

Life is a Jungle

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I haven't put much on here lately. Well 40 hours a week working and raising a little girl with my free time makes for little time blogging on the blog. Plus, I do like to sleep once in a while. So what's going on?

I find it terribly amusing that Cat Stevens, or Yusef as he calls himself now, is being viewed as this big terrorist threat. I also find it amusing that the U.S. Government came to the conclusion that it's okay to divert a potential terrorist to the state of Maine to spare Washington D.C. any possible mayhem. Thanks, we here at Maine thank you for your vision. It is official! Maine is expendable!! We've always known that but it's nice to see it made clear once and for all. You've got my vote Mr. Bush. Um, no actually I was talking to this rose bush here not you George! Yeah, I know he most likely had nothing to do with it but it's his job to accept the blame.

So, if anyone actually reads this thing let me know what you think about old Yusef! You know, we used to have a really nice restaurant in Caribou, Maine called Yusef. Maybe that's why he was diverted to Maine. They thought he may have gotten lost! Yeah, so let me here what you have to say about the "Wild World" of the former Cat Stevens.

Swallow (improvised poem)

See the flash!
Feel the panic!
Reach for your love!
Fly for the hills!
Don't look back!
Quicken your pace!

But in the end....
It does not matter...
Every effort is futile...
For the outcome is the same...
For every living creature...
The end is here...

Gelatin Crematorium (poem)

Green Jello is warm,
And it makes me want to scream.
I want to sleep in it,
And have wet, green dreams.
So give me green jello,
Until I can't take anymore.
Maybe I'll give you some,
And then kick you out the door.

Originally published in The Binnacle in 1995.

Contemplations of a Reclusive Mind

I stare into the lake
The brutal honesty of the lucid mirror.
It speaks back to me
Directing me to my shortcomings.

But, I gaze upwards,
Looking at the friendly face of the moon.
And I know that one day
All shall be erased from the memories of this world.

I'm sorry, no my hair is not connected directly to my soul!

I'm being considered for a new job. It's a job at a pretty cool place too and I am really hoping to get the job. However, I was taken aback by a request for me to cut my hair. Yes, I have long dark brown hair and if you haven't figured it out yet, I am male. Back in the Medieval times everyone had long hair. It was normal. It was not frowned upon. You see all the paintings of all the noble knights and kings and, yep, they all had long hair. Jesus had long hair for pete's sake! I don't recall anyone in the Bible saying "Jesus, cut your hair and go get a job!" But, I wasn't there either.

Why do people have stereotypes of people with long hair? You notice kids don't have these stereotypes. My daughter has no pre-conceived notions of such things and smiles at me lovingly. Other little kids I see smile and laugh when they see me. They don't run away screaming in terror or anything. I wash my hair, I brush it, I keep it tied back at work. I'm actually pretty vain about my hair so I keep it looking good. I don't know! It's just very disappointing that in our "civilized society" we still make judgements based on hair, skin, dress, etc. If you are one of those people, why don't you stop and have a conversation with a long-haired gentlemen before writing him off as a lazy, dangerous hippy. You might find he's just as intelligent as you if not more so!