The Gulf of Mexico

image borrowed from bing

THE GULF OF MEXICO

(SOCIAL REALISM)

these giants
oil
engines
behind the scenes at night
they are working for you
even when they look like they are making money
for someone else
(they do)

the only thing that hurts these giants
is the umbilical cords
they are attached with
to you
that one just dangling with a puddle on the end
is the gulf of mexico
it used to be rich

all you need is a nice pair of scissors
then it will be esthetic
you won't even know it was there
like a shrimp in reduction sauce

wind air water fire when drafted say ok
then they attach themselves
to you
with new umbilicums
yummy it feels yummy

migratory birds know
where to go
something outside of them tells them
where to go
something inside them says yes
and then it's off to mexico
but never again to the gulf of mexico

that's voided pedagogy
dead verbs nouned
remember
derivative was once to derive
and so the body was derived
from the need to feed
and the puddle dried up

adjectives too had a hard time
but everything is fast now
don't bet on language
to be on your side
it's not
not because it's venal
but because it's in constant use

if we gave our language a break
for let's say a century
and kept quiet with our needs at a minimum
we might turn into finer animals
horses let's say

evolution used to work that way
now volition does

teacher teacher what does my soul look like?
a duck

I hate ducks
I like birds
I hate ducks
will they make a difference to my grade?

no but you're now in charge of bodies in area 51

they are morphing

How does language shape physiognomy?
why do the french look french?
do the people of the 20th century look different?
do plumbers?
do ideas?
what makes them look like they do?
tolerance is important

anybody who's ever made a fire
knows why synergy's important
the hard thing to know is when
there is too much of it

people your actions are ridiculous
the consequences tragic
where is the gulf of mexico

pinata in a buffet
see last will and testament
by caligula jr
innocence is hard look at me
all these years

whose dream are we
our own
which is the next question

why are most things round?
and the next:
will
we ever
be safe
from the
interior monologue?

and the next:

does anyone know how to get lost anymore?

and the one after:

what disarms the reader?

what weapon must he be relieved of?

there will be always the exact same amount of god

vomit is the price of liberty
I for instance feign amnesia during the daytime

to hide from my own shadow


Andrei Codrescu

Posted over on Poems and Poetics