Ugly Writer Update:

The ugly writers, based in the Philippines, have published some more of my writing.

Index of recent writing.

The last race

The Association of the Living Dead Secret Gateways

The lonely mother duck

The Secret Spy Fly Drone

Failure poems

Failure is not an option

My failures

Presidential failures

Total Success or Total Failure

Dejavu All Over Again

General Failure Reading Disk Drive

The Last Race

An Aging car racer

Racing in his last race

Driving too fast Around

the curve

Blowing himself up in a fiery crash

The rating score

In his last race.

Association of Living Dead in

In India, several years ago

A man falsely claimed his brother was dead

So he could inherit the family assets

The dead brother had to fight

To be declared legally not dead

And contest the will

“The Association of the Living Dead” Became a movement

Of thousands of people.

For in India apparently,

It was a thing to declare your relative dead.

 

I never thought That the U.S. would have

To form their own

“The Association of the Living Dead”

Until this week.

 

The cyber ninjas

In their infamous non-forensic audit

Of the 2020 Arizona election

Claimed that hundreds

Of dead people had voted

They gave their list of the alleged dead voters

To the attorney general

Who contacted all 300 dead people

Found that 299 of the 300 were in fact Not dead

and none of them knew

That unnamed political operatives

Were claiming that they were dead.

The one dead voter was alive

when he voted early

But died before election day

Thus making his vote not valid

But there was no fraud involved

As he was alive when he voted.

Perhaps they need to form

The “association of the living dead”

To fight for the right of the non-dead people

To continue to vote and receive other government benefits?

What a sad commentary on the farcial

contemporary life In these disunited States of America.

Secret Gateways

There are secret gateways

Portals to other dimensions

All around us

Hidden deep in the mountains.

Leading to other worlds

Other times and places

Where time runs differently

And humans are unknown.

The lonely Mother Duck

The lonely mother duck

Watched her eggs hatch

In the nest by the lake.

She was worried

About the coyotes, feral dogs, foxes

Lions, tigers and wolves

That were all around.

Ever since the humans all disappeared.

The Secret Fly Spy Drone

The fly on the wallpaper

In the CIA director’s office

Was not a real fly

He was an enemy spy drone

Secretly controlled remotely

 

Listening to all the secret conversations

Until the director smashed him

With a flyswatter

Then realized that it was a spy fly

He had dispatched to bug hell.

Drones: From Insect Spy Drones to Bomber … – Amazon.com

Nothing But Sleaze

Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Sleaze Nothing but Sleaze Surrounds me

24/7 S L E A Z E

Led by the Sleaze King

King Donald Trump

the one true sleaze King

The Sleaze King from TV

Are we doomed to live

In a world run by sleaze kings

And ruled by sleaze values?

Are we addicted to sleaze?

And need our sleaze fix daily?

As we turn on the sleaze TV

And see nothing but sleaze

Oozing out of our TV sets?

SLEAZE

Sleaze surrounds us 24/7

Lots of sleaze on the TV

Everywhere we go nothing

but sleaze

All the time

24/7

sleaze rules the air

Zappa had it right

calling it the slime

Everything is nothing

but slime oozing out of our TV’s

Author’s Note; I worked my way through college washing dishes in the University’s cafeteria. The reference to Donald Trump was from the original 1975 poem, who knew that I was predicting his rise to power decades later?

Snarling Cup of Coffee

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to start my day with a hot cup of coffee I pound down the coffee First thing I do every day as the dawning sun Lights up my lonesome room Yeah, but not just a simple cup of java Joe, but a God damn snarling sarcastic smarmy cup of coffee I mean, – we are talking about an alcoholic, all speed ahead, always hot, always fresh, always there when I need it, angry, attitude talk to the hand Ztude, bad, bad assed, beats breaking, beatnik, bluesy, bitter, bitchy, bombs away, capitalistic, caffeinated up the ass, cinematic, communistic, Colombian grown, Costa Rican inspired, Cowabunga to the max, crazy assed, devilishly angelic, divine, divinely inspired, dyslexic, epic, extreme vetting, evil eye, expensive, erotic vision inducing, Ethiopian coffee house brewed, euphoric, freaky, freazoid, foxy, Frenched kissed, French brewed, funkified, foxy lady, graphic, GOD in my coffee, with Allah, Ganesh, Jesus, Kali, Buddha, Christians, Durga, Hindus, Mohamed, Jesus and Mo and their friend, the cosmic bar maid, Sai Babai, Shiva, Taoists, Zoroastrians, drinking my god damned coffee in Hell; growling, gnarly, happy, hard as ice, Hawaian blessed, high as a kite, hippie, hip, hipster, hip hoppy, hot as hell yet strangely sweet as heaven, jazzy, jealous, Kerouac approved, kick ass, kick my god damn ass to Tuesday, kick down the doors and take no prisoners, grown in the Vietnam highlands by ex-Vietcong, Guatemalan grown, kiss ass, illegal in every state, imported from all over the god damn world, insane, lovely, loony, lonely, lonesome, malodorous mean old rotten, motherfucking, nasty, narcotic, never whatever, never meh, never cold, not approved by the CIA, not approved by DHS, not approved for human consumption by the FDA, not your daddy’s sissified corporate cup of coffee, NOT DECAFE coffee, not your Denny’s truck driver weak as brown water cup of fake coffee, not your establishment friendly cup of coffee, Not your FBI coffee, Not FAKE Herbal coffee substitute, but a real cup of coffee, not your farmer brothers dinner crap, not made in America for Americans, not safe for work, not your Starbucks average expensive overpriced crappy corporate chain cup of coffee, Not pretentious, Not White House approved, not State Department safe, nuclear, Not Patriotic, operatic, Peets’s coffee approved, paranoid, pornographic, psychotic, pontific, politically aware, rapping, rhyming, right here, right now in River city, rock and roll up the Yazoo, sad, sadistic, sarcastic, sassy, satanic, schizoid, shitting, silly, sexy, smarmy, smelly, smooth, snarky, snarling, stupid, stinking, sweet as honey, sweat inducing, symphonic, Trump can’t handle this coffee, vengeful, Wagnerian, wicked, with nutmeg and cinnamon swirls, with a hint of stevia, with a hint of vanilla, with a hint of rum, with a hint of whisky, with a hint of cherry, with a hint of fruit overtones, with a hint of drugs spicing up the coffee, spendific, speeding, splendid, superior accept no substitutes, survived the Vietnam war, the Iraq war, the Afghan war, the first and Second Korean war, World War 11, the war on poverty, the war on drugs, the war on black people, the sexual revolution, Soulful as a summer’s night in MOTOWN- James Brown approved, TOP approved, Berkeley approved, the coffee that Jimmy Hendrix drank before he died, the coffee that Elvis drank on his last breakfast, the coffee that Barry White crooned as he drank his cup of coffee – and the coffee that made the white boy play stand up and play that funky music, the coffee that made Jonny B Goode play his guitar, and made Jonny bet the devil his soul after he drank his morning cup of righteous coffee and the coffee that make the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll, the coffee your mother warned you against drinking, the coffee that Napoleon drank when he became the Emperor of all Europe, the Coffee that Beethoven drank when he wrote the Ninth symphony, the coffee that Mozart drank as he wrote his last symphony, the coffee that Lincoln drank before he was killed, the Hemingway drank before he killed himself, the coffee that started the 60’s, and ended the 20th century, the coffee that Lenin drank as he plotted revolution, the coffee that Hitler and Stalin drank with FDR as they divided up the world after World War 11, the cup that JFK drank before he was blown away, the coffee Jerry drinks while driving in cars with random celebrities and political figures, the coffee that Jon Stewart drinks before he goes on an epic take down of some foolish politico, the cup of Arabic coffee that Sadaam drank the day he was executed, the coffee that GW and Cheney drank when they bombed Baghdad, the Indian cup of coffee that Bid Laden drank before 9-11 and just before the seals blew his ass to hell, the cup of coffee that Tiger Woods drank with his mistresses while playing a 3, 000 dollar round of golf at Sandy Lane golf course in Barbados, the last legal drug that does what drugs should do, the cup of coffee that Obama drank when he became President, Vietnamese, Vienna brew, wacky, whimsical, Whisky Tango Foxtrot, wild, weird, wonderful, WOW, Yabba dabba doo! Yada Yada yada Zappa’s favorite cup of cosmic coffee, and Zorro’s last cup of coffee, Good to the last drop rolled into one simple cup of hot coffee

As I pound down that first cup of coffee

And fire up my synaptic nerve endings

with endless supplies

Of caffeine induced neuron enhancing chemicals

I face the dawning day with trepidation

and mind-numbing fear

I turn on the TV

and watch the smarmy newscasters

in their perfect hair

Lying through their teeth

about the great success the government is having

Following the great leader’s latest pronouncements

I want to scream and shoot the TV

and run out side

Shouting “Stop the world.

I want to get off this fucking crazy planet”

The earth does not care a whit about my attitude.

It merely shrugs and moves around the Sun

In its appointed daily run.

And I sit down

The madness dissipating a bit

And enjoy my second cup

Of heaven and hell In my morning cup of Joe

Author’s note: published in multiple places.

Unhinged Lunatic Howling at the Full Moon

 

 

 

 

On the night of the blood-red super full moon

I sat in an evil, depraved godforsaken bar

Drinking drams of demented, fermented dream dew

Washed down by endless rounds of whiskey, rum,

tequila, vodka, soju and of course beer

drinking with my buddies the Jack Daniels Gang

Drinking my way to Hell and beyond

Just as fast as I could

twenty damn drinks too sober

Just an unhinged lunatic

Dreaming of howling at the full moon

Watching the world walk by

Looking at all the fine-looking babes

Walking by the street

Thinking wild, erotic thoughts

Of endless wild libertine passions

When into the bar

That din of cosmic depravity

Walked the most beautiful women In the Universe

So wild, so free So wonderfully alive

I did not know what to do

As this vision of delight

Sauntered through the bar

In a skin-tight leather pants

Looked so fine

That my eyeballs hurt

And finally,

I had to say something

So, I gathered up my manly courage

And walked up to her

And she looked at me

And instantly bewitched my soul

With a devilish grin

I lost all reason

And became a raving lunatic

Unhinged lunatic

Howling at the blood red full moon

Foaming at the mouth

A wild, free werewolf

Howling at the lunatic light

Of the blood red, blue full Moon

 

Author Note: also published in multiple places April 30

In Search of America 1975 – Hitch hiking Tales

When I was young and foolish

Broke and stubborn

I hitchhiked across the USA

Started in Salt Lake City

Where my greyhound bus pass

Was stolen

The station manager

Could have helped me

But refused to do so

 

Threaten to call the cops

When I grabbed my bags

Without the stolen tags

I said

Go ahead

But I am so out of here

Wondered about Salt Lake City

Went to a bar

Found I had to buy my booze Next door

And they would mix it for me

Had to order food too

After a bloody Mary And a burger

I walked about town

Saw the Mormon Temple

Finally, about 3 pm

It was time to hit the road

Did not look back

Ended up in Cody Wyoming

 

Got a room shower Steak beer

Using my rapidly depleted cash

Spent 25 dollars

Money really went far

Back in those days

A band of professional Communist agitators

Gave me a ride To Des Moines

Lots of weed, booze

And politics later

Got off the road

Slept outside

Next day

A beautiful woman

Drove me to near Chicago

In a red mustang

 

Might have been

The girl in the song

Take it easy

Digging her vibe

She invited me home

But was not sure

If her estranged husband

Would welcome me

So, being foolish

And inexperienced with women

Did not go to her place

And always regretted

That I had lost

My chance that day

Then on to Chicago

Several rides later

Visited friends

Hit the road again

A series of uneventful rides

With truckers

And others

And a week later

I ended in New York City

Slept along the way

In cars

In truck stops

In high way rest stops

Always moving

Always going

None stop talking

And lots of free weed

And beer

And conversation

One more memorable ride

Occurred outside Albany

On my return to Chicago

A middle age creepy looking man

Picked me up In a brand-new Cadillac

He was he said a dynamite deliverer

For the Mafia

Went to various places

To blow up shit

 

He hated a lot of people

Particularly hippies from California

And Jewish people

Looking at me to confirm

That I was both

I told him that I lived in New York

And had never been to California

And although I might have looked Jewish

As I had what was called back in the day

A “Jewfro”

I was not Jewish

Many years later

I discovered

That I am indeed part Jewish

 

But back then

I did not know it

And I felt a bit of strategic misinformation

Might keep me alive

Then I realized that he was just jiving with me

And we relaxed

And he pulled out some weed

And beer

And we mellowed out

But I believe

that he really was with the mob

Perhaps not a dynamite dealer

A real Italian made mafia member

 

By Chicago I had enough

I called my Dad

Told him what had happened

Wanted a ticket home

And he sent me a ticket

And 500 dollars

And I went home

I told him I would tell him

My tales some day

But never did I learned

so much

About my fellow Americans

And the strange vibe

That was 1975

And now it is too late

But I wanted to finally

Tell the world

Of my hitchhiking tales

In search of America 1975

 

Published in multiple places including the Poet “on the Road” anthology in 2020. Summer 2020 theme: ON THE ROAD Volumes 1 & 2https://www.thepoetmagazine.org › summer-2020—on-… SUMMER 2020 – Poetry on the theme of ON THE ROAD from poets around the world. 54 poets. 135 poems. 240 pages. Large format 6 x 9 inch (15.24 x 22.86 cm).

 

When Will this Darkness End?

As the darkness settles down on the land

All are consumed with evil

Foul deeds and endless darkness

I wonder if it will ever go away?

Yes I wonder If our great nightmare will ever end?

Are we doomed

To live out the decline of America?

This is what I pray for 2018

The end of the darkness

The unleashed hatred that consumes our land

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 population,

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

also published in the Poet, “On the Road” in 2020 Summer 2020 theme: ON THE ROAD Volumes 1 & 2https://www.thepoetmagazine.org › summer-2020—on-… SUMMER 2020 – Poetry on the theme of ON THE ROAD from poets around the world. 54 poets. 135 poems. 240 pages. Large format 6 x 9 inch (15.24 x 22.86 cm).

Failure is Not an Option

Failure is not an option

Is a weasel word

Weasel words Are Orwellian words

Designed to shut down Rational thought

And ironically this word

Often leads to spectacular failure

Because logically speaking

Failure is always an implied option

Leaders need to look at all options

Including what to do

If they fail to achieve their goals

They must have a plan

To learn from their failures

If not following the dictates

The false macho posturing

That failure is not an option

Will lead to the feared failure

On Failure

They say that failure Is the best teacher of all

And I have learned

So much from my failures

And I have failed so much In my life

But I have gotten better

Stronger and wiser

Because I have failed

And embraced my failures

Failed first grade

Almost failed math and physics

Failed music college

Almost failed statistics in college

Almost failed my life in the Peace Corps

Dealing with Typhoid

Almost failed in Bangkok

Almost failed my life

In the hospital for almost a year

Almost failed to learn Spanish

Failed as a visa chief in Spain

And throughout my failures

There is one thing I learned

With the support of my wife

And my friends

I can and will overcome

All my failures

President Trump’s Failures

Presidential failures to date

failure to tell the truth

45,000 lies

Failure to deal with COVID

450 thousand dead

And 4 million cases

piling up

And it is all his fault

He refuses to take responsibility

Part of his failure to lead

Failure to lead the country In re-opening

Making things a thousand times worst

With his epic tweets

Which are a failure

To communicate

Failure to get America rebuilt

Failure to get immigration reform

Failure to reform our trading practices

Failure to lead on climate change

Failure to lead on fighting forest

fires Failure to lead on police reform

failure on infrastructure

Failure to lead on healing out country

As he pours gasoline

On the flames of our discontent

And so I leave these thoughts

Thinking of the greatest failure

Of our life

Watching our president

Fail so miserably

At his job

And unlike me

He refuses to admit

That he has failed

Leading him to an epic Spectacular failure

Ushering in the end

Of his presidency

In the failing light

Of his life Will he finally learn

From his failures?

Sadly, I must conclude

That he is incapable

Of learning from failure

Because in his mind

He is the smartest man

In the world

And it inconceivable

That he could ever failure

For he is a winner

Are we all tired

Of his failed winning by now?

And sadly,

I must I must give him a grade of F

as he is the biggest failure in U.S. History.

Total Sucess or Total Failure

 

The President’s Son-in-law declares

that the government’s response to the corona virus

has been a total success

as the government stepped up to the plate

to fight the virus from hell

I have to wonder on what planet

does the words total failure

becomes total success? Are we living in a bizarro world

Where every thing

Means the opposite?

Do words no longer

Have any connection

To underlying reality?

Can we tell a lie

From the truth anymore?

For his statement Is impossible to be

Anything other

than the opposite

His total success

is everyone’s total failure

As 450 thousands American corona ghosts

Will attest

just more verbal diarrhea

from our dear leader

And his cult like followers

And corrupt court jesters

General Failure Reading Disk Drive

My computer loves

Spitting out error messages

Written like haiku

Mysterious messages

Hard to understand

My favorite has always been

General Failure Reading Disk drive

The question that comes to mind

Who is this General Failure

And why is reading my disk drive Anyway?

The end