Mike Blake - December 2007
 
WHERE TO NOW?

 
The place has been flattened, spiritually,
Laid out cold by some badass demon,
A commercial devil with a dollar pinned on it for a tail,
Straight-backed and nose in the air
It defies you to ignore the lure
Of surrounding yourself with, arming yourself with
The innumerable toys of today
The cheap frills and thrills of the moment
The same wherever you go
The same masks and phony smiles
The same unbeatable deals offered
The same lawyers who WILL get you your money
The same smug talk show hosts
Telling you what happened that day.
As if you didn’t know
Coming from that minimum wage job
A forty-ounce held dearly underarm –
Fortification for the fortuneless.
To a place with a roof over it, or maybe not.
He could be one of the “homeless”,
Though this is supposedly his home
This great democratic melting pot.
He thinks that something is being melted down
For one big homogenized stew.
Don’t stand up or stand out.
Someone is watching you
And he ain’t in the heavens.
Someone you might not see
Until he asks for your ID.
Is it a red, yellow or orange alert?
The threat is there, the Man will assert.
Indeed, the threat could be there
Always hovering in the air,
But he’s going to the mall;
He doesn’t care.
He’s got cable to help him to bed,
With medicines for the many details in is head,
Those many little things that never cease,
Rest now, you soldier for Fortune,
Rest in peace.
Where you’re going now, boy,
Up, down, east or west
Or even if it’s for the best
You know damn well
It’ll always be a test;
They’ll always want you
To be like the rest.
That you always could see,
And a marker for long-gone dreams:
R.I.P.  
 
 
 

Mike Blake lives in RI and has just finished a novel started this last winter. Between chapters, he had time for shorter things. Now, he will be off for some traveling this summer, some time away from the computer. He has writing online at: 3711 Atlantic; Hackwriters; Zygote In My Coffee; Cerebral Catalyst; Fiction on the Web; Exposed; Silenced Press; Madswirl,