War of Words

 

“Untitled/Structurae” by Pablo Saborío

 

stream of consciousness

battles unfold in grammarian wars

pitting syntax and colloquy

czars chuffed and vying for reign

words pour forth in waves

toward the mouths

of great critical guns

cannon fodder they fall

indiscriminately

wounded lexicons bleeding

from usage disaffected

emotional concepts that fail

their appeal to assassins who

operate rules of engagement

that favor concealment

cold critics the snipers

correctly political fitted with

tunnel-trained cultural gunsights

to pick off brave soldiers

devoted to oaths

of aggressive linguistics

the audible structures of honesty

take their formations

defending the rule-bending

word-coining

never-before-applied

phrase-turning

free verse expression of life

of its living and dying

the bayonet nibs of their rifles

keep coming sworn never

to take up retreat

from bohemian charge

at conventional hearts with

their orthodox staid sensibilities

freedom is all

and it’s worth fighting wars

to the death

for in death it subsumes and

outlasts all the ink ever written

on militant paradigm pages

the free words of free men

explode upon history

giving humanity

all that it needs to

immortalize

glory attending our fearless

brief combat to win

occupation of minds

 

 

From my books Bullets from Bones and Legacies (vol. 1)

Profanity

 

“Angry Man” by Marianna Schmidt

 

 

what is it about language
that tortures the tongue
taught to translate emotion
acceptably even when
feeling hot anger or pain
begging desperate release
wanting human
acknowledgement

curse words were made
for such times
unacceptably honest
expressions that rarely
are misunderstood
not even by delicate ears
polite company
holds to sincerity

 

 

(originally posted December 2013)

Graffiti

New York City Photo from pinterest.com

dubious claims to

expressionist art

loudly drawn

vivid pictographs

mutilate metaphors

carrying currents of

faint social conscience

bold voices of vandals

in broad primal strokes

of indelible ego

and stylized loyalty

speak an impulsive

post-modern

aesthetic of aerosol ink

the tattoos of the city

Shared Thoughts

“Sandra’s Thinking Woman” by injete

I apologize for the thoughts that I think
thoughts I cannot write down
cannot utter aloud
words whose terrible meaning
will only make sense in their silence
expressed by no more than
the hint of a darkening rage in the eye
and a barely perceptible
quivering pulse in the cords of the neck
I apologize also for knowing
instinctively certain
the same thoughts exist in your mind

Art of the Letter

“Woman Writing a Letter” by Rupert Shephard

lamenting lost art

one on one

undistracted

exquisite exchange

of most personal

sentiments

open heart honesty

joined by an elegant

intimate touching

of pen upon paper

bestowing its

private ink kiss

correspondence

conceived with

one person in mind

a devotion of

disciplined thoughts

to but one set of eyes

quiet coupling

of language unhasty

each word given

thoughtful reflection

before being

carefully tenderly

drawn across pages

of candid expression

War of Words

“God is War” by thrice2k

 

stream of consciousness
battles unfold in grammarian wars
pitting syntax and colloquy
czars chuffed and vying for reign
words pour forth in waves
toward the mouths
of great critical guns
cannon fodder they fall
indiscriminately
wounded lexicons bleeding
from usage disaffected
emotional concepts that fail
their appeal to assassins who
operate rules of engagement
that favor concealment
cold critics the snipers
correctly political fitted with
tunnel-trained cultural gunsights
to pick off brave soldiers
devoted to oaths
of aggressive linguistics
the audible structures of honesty
take their formations
defending the rule-bending
word-coining
never-before-applied
phrase-turning
free verse expression of life
of its living and dying
the bayonet nibs of their rifles
keep coming sworn never
to take up retreat
from bohemian charge
at conventional hearts with
their orthodox staid sensibilities
freedom is all
and it’s worth fighting wars
to the death
for in death it subsumes and
outlasts all the ink ever written
on militant paradigm pages
the free words of free men
explode upon history
giving humanity
all that it needs to
immortalize
glory attending our fearless
brief combat to win
occupation of minds

Elegance Gone

“Beyond Language” by Pablo Saborio

a language diminished

reduced to a shorthand

electrons emoticons acronyms

standing in stilted expression

neat linear litter on paperless tablets

the heart’s vast emotional catalog

coldly compressed into

thumbs full of symbols

new wooden-like words for

new grammarless speech

an impassive indifferent

inelegant age

in which intimacies

are remotely experienced

feelings confined to a

narrowly channeled dry jargon

attending coarse intercourse

leaving the poet evicted

a cultural oddity

fondly remembered

but no longer worshipped