“Strangers Sleeping on the Streets”
9/9/2021 update:
Spillwords has published my poem, “Sleepless on the Streets” .They previously published a number of my poems, including “Eve Eats the Apple” and “Mocking Laughter.” They also published an interview and additional poems below. Including a bonus poem, not published called “ I am the Snake” on a similar theme, re-telling the story of the garden of Eden from the snake’s perspective.
This morning I read my poem, “Just Enough for Coffee” on the Journal of Expressive’s Arts First Zoom Open mike. They will be hosting it monthly and I hope to read some more of work there.
More Spillwords
Just Enough for Coffee, Update
“Eve in the Garden Ate the Apple”
every day I turn on the news published
SpillWords Interview
Just Enough for Coffee, Update
Chaos Published
Strangers Sleeping on the Streets
In these sad days of the pandemic
We see the homeless people
Men, women, and children
The strangers sleeping on the streets
In the richest country
In the planet
Millions were driven homeless
Becoming these strangers
Sleeping on the streets
As rents go up and up
Jobs disappearing
Coronavirus spreading
The strangers sleeping in the streets
Social safety nets unraveling
Forcing more people
Into dire poverty
There but for the grace of God
We do not say to the Strangers
Sleeping in the streets
As we walk by
The nameless men, women, children
The invisible strangers
Sleeping in the streets
We seldom wonder
How they got there
And whether we can help them
The strangers sleeping on the streets.
Eve Eats the Apple
Eve was in the garden
Talking with Mr. Snake
Her new best friend
She was complaining about Adam
And about the management
Of the garden
The snake suggested she eat
The forbidden fruit.
She said
but the man
Said that I cannot eat
That fruit
It is forbidden.
Yes that is what the man said
That is what
he does not want you
To experience.
The man and Adam
Are in on it together.
I Heard that Adam
Will eat the apple tonight
But you need to get there first.
Do you trust me, Eve?
Of course, Mr. Snake
So you know what to do.
Eve ate the apple
Called Adam over
Told him to eat the apple.
While the Snake chanted
Eat it eat it
Set yourself free,
And so, Adam ate the apple
And joined Eve
In knowing everything.
God came down
Banished them from the garden
Telling them.
Well, you made the bed
You will have to sleep in it.
Go away
You disgust me
Humans…..
And Satan
You won your bet
You damn Snake,
Mocking Faces Staring at Me written by: Jake Cosmos Aller
Mocking Faces Staring at Me by Jake Cosmos Aller at Spillwords.com
Mocking faces
hunting my dreams
Hundreds of faces
morphing into one
after another
Faces I knew
The dead
and the living
women I knew
friends I missed
enemies, I did not
One after another
Marching in my room
Staring at me
Tried to run
They laughed
They said
that there’s nowhere
to escape my cosmic fate
Time is coming
prepare yourself
the grim reaper
has your name
and once he has your name
your fate is sealed
and you will soon
join us
whether in heaven
or hell
is not for us to say
be warned though
you will be judged
and no one can escape
their cosmic karmic fate
I am the Snake
I be just a snake
Slithering in the woods
Looking for a place
To lie down in the sun
And rest my weary bones
And soak up some cosmic rays
And chill out a bit
Nothing but a snake
But boy am I a snake
I am the snake
That your mother warned you about
Yes, baby, I am that snake
And I am ready to get into some trouble
Looking for some Eve to tease
Looking for some babe to temp
With my snake oil smarmy corny BS
Lounge lizard lines
So, I am sitting there
Minding my own business
When I spy her
The new kid on the block
That Eve babe
And boy is she a babe
Has an ass so fine,
It makes my eyeballs hurt
Just starting at her
And her breasts
So divine
God knew what he was doing
When he made
that Eve babe so fine
Adam man he is a wimp
Don’t know how lucky he is
To have the eve babe
And my snake thing gets snaky
And I decide I have to have
Some of that Eve action
So, I slither and slather
Put on my cool badass
Ray Bans
So, cool it hurts
And bust a move
Make my entrance
To the Eve Babe
I say
“Hey, babe.”
She says hi
I say,
“Is that the tree of life?”
She said
“Yes, it is forbidden.”
I say
“Yeah
Who told you that shit?
The old man in the house?
Man, what does he know?
He is just the caretaker.
I am the real deal
And I know this shit,
Yes, I do,
So, babe, it is like this
Eat this fruit
And you will have the
key to eternity
All you got to do
Is eat the damn fruit
It is calling you
Babe, I got what you want
And I got what you need
All you got to do
Is eat this damn fruit
So, babe, hurry up
I got places to go
People to see
Things to do
I will be a busy snake
don’t cha know
It Ain’t easy being me
I am the King Snake
And I am so bad
It hurts
My eyeballs look
At my shiny face
So, babe
Decide
She says
“I don’t know, man.”
I say,
“Yes babe
I know
But you know I love you
Old snaky loves you
And only wants what’s best
And hey you know
That Adam guys
What a loser
I mean,
I am so much more a man
Then that sorry assed
wimp of a man
You know what I mean
My jellybean?”
She smiles
And I knew I had her
And I thought of my reward
From that Satan man
Man, he is a mean mother
With cajoles
the size of the devil
Shit don’t want to be
on his bad side
So, I had to
close the deal
I had to get the
lady to bite
And then I would
get my reward
Might even get a piece
Of that Eve action
“Hey babe
I got what you need
I got what you want
All you got to do
Is eat this fruit
And then we will see
Whether you can handle
The snake King.”
She smiles
Oh, so sweetly
The last smile
of innocent youth
And I had her
She takes the fruit
And eats it
Cosmic alarm bells go off
God knows and Satan too
God stops me
Bans me from the premises
Sends me back to hell
And I slither and slather away
Dreaming of my revenge
When I will slip up on Eve’s ass
And bite her in the butt
And oh yes
I could do a lot more
with that cosmic butt
Can’t wait for that shit
So, I slither and slather
And hiss
and move on down the road
I knew that I would get my award
And my revenge
JUST ENOUGH FOR COFFEE
A homeless man
Stood on the street
Counting his change
From panhandling all morning
Just had enough for a cup of coffee
All in all
A good start
He ambled off to his favorite coffee shop
Where the owner
Was kind to the homeless
Sometimes
Treating them to a meal
On the house
The man said
I was in your shoes
Once years ago
And you never forget
When you are down
And out
Everyone forgets your face
No one knows your name
For you are now
Invisible
Almost a ghost
The old man tried to pay
The owner said
Keep your change
You need it more than me
Have a meal with me
My friend
On the house
He ordered up
The homeless man’s favorite
Lumberjack special
Eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon
Cornbread
Lots of hot black coffee
To wash it down
The old man
Often had just one meal a day
Usually, a late breakfast
Sometimes if he were lucky
He would have dinner
And on a red-letter day
He would have three meals
The homeless man
Had been on the streets
For too long
Barely remembered his life
Before early-onset Alzheimer’s
Robbed him of his job
His dignity
His wife
His life
His money
Now he drifted
Waiting for the grim reaper
To call him home
Any day now
He prayed nightly
To a god
That he no longer believed in
SPOTLIGHT ON WRITERS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER
- Where, do you hail from?
I grew up in Berkeley, California, and Washington DC, and went to College in Stockton, California. After college, lived five years in Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer and teaching ESL. I returned to the US to Seattle for graduate school. Afterward, I joined the Foreign Service where I lived and worked in over ten countries. I retired and lived in Korea and the west coast.
- What is the greatest thing about the place you call home?
I live in Youngjando island, South Korea near the Incheon Airport. I live in a garden city. There is a magnificent park – the world peace forest behind my house and a nice mountain to hike in. Over three hundred restaurants are within walking distance of my house. There are five beaches ten minutes’ drive away, Incheon is nearby as is Seoul.
- What turns you on creatively?
All my work starts with a dream. I don’t dream dreams; I dream movies, filled with action, sound, music, smells many times in a completely different world. I have been writing a dream journal for many years. I write five to ten dreams per day, saving them as stand-alone flash fiction, and also write one to ten poems per day.
- What is your favorite word, and can you use it in a poetic sentence?
One of my favorite words is my portmanteau scumbaggery which I define as the actions of a ”Scumbag.”
The scumbaggery
Of Texas Senator Ted Cruz
Utterly confounds
- What is your pet peeve?
Racism, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, right-wing nutcases, left-wing zealots, Christian holy rollers, gun violence, police misconduct, anti-Asian hate crimes, hate crimes, America Firsters, QAnon conspiracy theorists, neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, Proud Boys, Boogaloo Bois, and the Oath Keeper militia, etc. I don’t like ”gangsta rap,” “heavy metal,” or “country music.” Pragmatist and don’t care about ideological correctness.
- What defines Jake Cosmos Aller?
Grew up in Berkeley and DC. Lived all over the world, visiting forty-five countries and all 50 states. Served my country as a foreign service officer, and Peace Corps volunteer and taught ESL and government overseas. But what is more important than anything is that I married the girl of my dreams who became my wife 40 years ago.
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 6, 2020
Chaos was written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller the world descends into chaos as our world leaders led by…
CHAOS
the world descends into chaos
as our world leaders
led by the chaos president
are overwhelmed
by the smallest enemy of all
a simple virus
blows through the crumbling public health infrastructure
and no one is prepared
and panic ensures
with every Presidential tweet
as people don’t believe
a word he says
conspiracy rumors spread
everyone believes their own reality
as the world spins out of control
the chaos king is in his element
convinced that only he knows
the deal
and everyone else
is just a bit player
in the reality show
that he presides over
and so the rest of us
hunker down
just hoping for the best
as the panic and chaos
spreads faster
than the virus
are we doomed
can we survive
will God save us?
he is silent
as always
DORA THE INTERGALACTIC EXPLORER
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·APRIL 27, 2020
Dora The Intergalactic Explorer written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller Dora the intergalactic explorer Is traveling to the…
Dora the intergalactic explorer
Is traveling to the strangest planet
of all the known worlds
she is traveling incognito
with a video crew
making a documentary
the planet earth
is known as a planet
of intelligent monkeys
not much is known
about them
as very few
have ever been there
the inhabitants are described
as blood thirsty insane creatures
ruled by hidden sexual and political passions
following incomprehensible
religious dogmas following Gods
that clearly do not exist
the inhabitants are just on the verge
of developing intergalactic travel
and the galactic empire
is worried that they will be driven
to try to conquer the rest of the universe
driven by their needs to impose
their religious dogma
everywhere in the world
the planet is divided into large tribal groups
governed by corrupt elites
corrupt businesses destroying the planet
in pursuit of profit
and the locals are little more
than wage slaves
barely making a living
addicted to alcohol, drugs, gambling
pornography and illicit sex
and their main land
is ruled by a clearly delusional madman
intent on poking a fight
with all his alleged enemies
Dora assumed the appearance
of a character from TV
and will pose as a journalist
trying to make sense
of it all
but she was afraid
that she if found out
could face the worst consequence
her ship crash lands
and she is outside
the capitol
of the non empire empire
called the United States of America
Dora gets her crew together
and walks into the city
staring at all the strange sights
as the monkeys go about
their daily activities
she stops at a restaurant
tries the coffee
the chief drug of choice
and is instantly addicted
wow no wonder
these people are crazed
she tries the local booze
and smiles
perhaps she could
become an intergalactic merchant
introducing the world
to the galaxy
her thoughts are interrupted
as a mad man armed
with weapons of war
bursts in and starts shooting
yelling at people
and she is shot dead
the authorities
are shocked
when they recover the body
and realize
that she is not a human
as she reverts other original
form
sort of a giant feline like creature
two legs and arms
and clearly from an advanced
civilization given her gear
what was she doing
no one knew
as all the aliens
died in the gun blaze
the world is shocked
at what had happened
and fearful that the aliens
were coming to invade
their world
the galactic senate
decides to contain
the humans
declaring them
a threat to the global civilization
and the humans vow
to discover the secrets
of interstellar travel
and travel to her land
to enter into business arrangements
and spread the one truth faith
to the heathen space aliens
thus ended Dora’s excellent adventure
in the crazed world at the edge
of known civilization
EVERY DAY I TURN ON THE NEWS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·MARCH 26, 2020
Every day I Turn on The News written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller every day I turn on the…
EVERYDAY I TURN ON THE NEWS
written by: Jake Cosmos Aller
@Jakecaller
every day I turn on the news
nothing but news about the virus
the virus from hell
the world is filled with fear
and my anxiety levels rise
every time I turn on the news
oh my god I say
we are all going to die
and I am so afraid
afraid of everyone
afraid of everything
dreading the latest news
and nothing relieves my fear
I watch the world
loosing its collective mind
wondering how much more of this
can we all take
I scream out
Dear God save us all
god is silent as usual
and so I realized
we are doomed
perhaps it is the end times
perhaps not
I turn off the TV
try to stay calm
hoping the madness
will not overwhelm us all
MORNING LIGHT
MORNING LIGHT
the terrors of the night
the worst imaginings
of what might happen
war, rumors of war
end of civilization
nuclear war
and other horrors
ripped from the headlines
fade away into nothingness
with the morning light
and the love of my wife
who is always by my side
I regain my sight
and begin
regaining my smile
and my life
until the next nightmares
consume my dark imaginings
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·FEBRUARY 12, 2020
Morning Light was written by: Jake Cosmos Aller the terrors of the night the worst imaginings of what might…
RAMBLING MAN, WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
RAMBLING MAN, WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
Where is my home? Where do I belong?
I really don’t know, always moving on to another place
Moved every other year it seems the last 45 years
Traveled to 49 states, 45 countries, drove across the U.S. six times
Lived in Berkeley, Yakima, Stockton, Seattle, Alexandria, DC, Oregon, Korea, Thailand, India, The Eastern Caribbean, and Spain
Where do I belong? Where is my home?
Neither here nor there, nowhere and everywhere
And so is that my rambling man’s fate
Never to really belong anywhere at all
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·SEPTEMBER 7, 2018
Rambling Man, where is your Home? written by: Jake Cosmos Aller Where is my home? Where do I
DARK DANGEROUS THOUGHTS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·AUGUST 19, 2018
Dark Dangerous Thoughts wrote by Jake Cosmos Aller An old man wakes up Confronting the dark dangerous thoughts…
An old man wakes up
Confronting the dark dangerous thoughts
The demons of the night
That haunt his dreams
And his life
He looks out at the dawning sun
And his sleeping wife
And realizes that it will be all right
And dismisses the demons of the night
Back to their caves in his mind
And he gets up
To take the dawning day
IN SEARCH OF AMERICA – HITCHHIKING TALES
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 31, 2018
In Search of America Hitchhiking Tales written by: Jake Cosmos Aller When I was young and foolish Broke…
BUS RIDES IN AMERICA’S UNDERBELLY
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 13, 2018
Bus Rides in America’s Underbelly written by: Jake Cosmos Aller the Bus – Travels Through America’s Underbelly I…
the Bus – Travels Through America’s Underbelly
I am a bus rider
That makes me unusual
For a white male
From an upper middle class family
Our people are not bus riders
Though some are subway riders
Bus riders are other people
The poor, minorities, immigrants
People who don’t drive
Because they are blind
Or have a DUI
And in my case
I don’t drive
Because I have bad vision
And bad coordination
Just never got the hang
Of the whole driving thing
Fortunately for me
My wife does the driving
But I still take the bus
From time to time
I rode the AC buses in Berkeley
As a child
Line 67, line 51, line 43 F bus
Rode them long before BART came along
And afterwards as well
As an adult seldom rode the bus
But when I did so
I was always impressed
By the sheer diversity
Of the bus riding property
Hundreds of languages
All sorts of sexual orientation
Some were white
Most were not
Most of my fellow passengers
Were nice enough
Some were friendly
And some were lost
In their own thoughts
And a few
Were scary looking dudes
With the look
Of someone who had done time
And were capable of more violence
I also rode the bus
In Seattle as a graduate student
A lot of fellow UW students
And the usual immigrants
Minorities etc
And some white people
Commuting
And in DC
Over the years
I rode a lot of buses
Mostly to and from the metro
But I got to know
And love the DC buses as well
I also took the greyhound bus
Across the country
Several times over the years
All over the U.S.
From Bay Area to Stockton
From Bay Area to Clear Lake
From Bay area to NYC
NYC to DC
All over the USA
Taking the Greyhound
Was always an adventure
Met a lot of interesting people
As people on long distant bus rides
Tend to open up and talk
To pass the time away
Overseas I took the bus
All over
In India, in Barbados
In Spain and in Korea
The Korean buses
For many years
Were difficult for foreign visitors
As the signs were all in Korean
Most have signs
Now in English, Chinese and Korean
And are much more foreigner friendly
Riding the bus
In America
Allows one access
To the underbelly of American society
The poor, the marginalized
The immigrant communities
That many middle-class white people
Just never see
And for that reason
I am glad
That I am a bus rider
