Inversion

“Compassion 2012” by Drea Jensen

 

by what precept

does innocence suffer

at hands of the guilty

is it simply misfortunate

“wrong place wrong time”

or something more sinister

raw feral

unevolved ethics

survival of fittest

without metaphysics

is cruelty an instinct

organic aggression

the piece of the human

he shares with the beast

are opposable thumbs then

the only

defining distinction

compassion and kindness

mere koans

of mutated spirit

 

 

From my book Bohemian Scents

Inversion

“Compassion 2012” by Drea Jensen

 

by what precept
does innocence suffer
at hands of the guilty
is it simply misfortunate
“wrong place wrong time”
or something more sinister
raw feral
unevolved ethics
survival of fittest
without metaphysics
is cruelty an instinct
organic aggression
the piece of the human
he shares with the beast
are opposable thumbs then
the only
defining distinction
compassion and kindness
mere koans
of mutated spirit

Enemies

“Predators” by Albert Kotin

hawk and dove in the air

shark and seal in the sea

man and monster on land

each pair moving at speed

on their course of collision

sardonian gods entertained

by cruel immanent operas

Zenith

“Culmination” by Nadia Minic

here we are

feeling ever

so modern

so civilized

still a mere

stone’s throw

in time

from the clans

of the cave

just a blink

of the eye

since the mind

crawled from

under the pall

of dark ages

so pleased

with ourselves

with our highly

evolved sense

of progress

and purpose

so proud of

our human

creations of

cultured society

here where we

stand in our

warrior’s pose

at the zenith

still counting

the corpses

on which we

have climbed

Aspidistra

Aspidistra Flowers

(Regarding the “Cast Iron Plant” of Vietnam and southeast Asia)

fertile yellow skin

shot with troubles

steaming doctrinal

isms envelope lithe

jungle green ghosts

trenchant histories

turned through wet

tunnels and paddies

inseminate vegetal

lowlands with blood

of aggression sharp

starpoints invading

the shade give smart

sanguine resistance

to whole generations

young warriors come

courting conquest to

die among dreams in

a land with too many

belligerent centuries

grown into cast iron

root stem and flower

a killing field planted

with waves of defeat

Did Rousseau Get It Wrong?

“An Allegory of War”
Painting by Bill Smith
From billtheartist.com

swift is the avalanche of time
steep in remorseless descent
upon raging ambitions coarse
products of civilization that
forge interdictions of peace
cordite bitters the breeze
generations fly into the fray
disappear in hot bursts of
pink visceral blossoms
the stains of explosions
on freely breathed air
sanguine fireworks filled
with their steely ballistics
indifferent to history cold
to the future inured to the
suffering present these
moments of rampage unable
to mitigate bloodlust alive
within monsters and men
an immortal aggression
surviving the body counts
limb-from-limb casualties
mortal catastrophe somehow
embedded in primitive social
dynamics the mark of Cain
Hobbes found so evident
sealing its terrible nasty and
brutish identity deep in the
genome of homo erectus
inherited savagery hidden
beneath all attempts to ply
ruses of rational discourse
from cave to cosmopolis
man in his naked belligerence
ever and always the warrior
with or without moral
framework or ethical cause

Blue Jay

“Blue Jay in Flight”
Photo from flickr.com

royal raiment
so impressive to the eye
so nasty at heart
like his counterpart humans
steals thrones without compunction

Ugly Spring

“Soviet Russian Bear”
Painting by QuixoticouS
From deviantart.com

Prague spring blooms again
Russia poised for invasion
this time Crimea