Infinite Ikea

whoops i forgot about this blog, no worries, im back, please enjoy this poem:

we spent purgatory in a basement section of
an ikea
as ethereal figures
we were soon bored after dismantling
the maze of products
unable to buy anything
or leave


around pyres of fiberboard
we spoke of missing senses      (where were they)
we spoke of missing luxuries    (where were they)
we agreed that J.D. Salinger was a creep
we agreed that Frank O'Hara was cool, Anaïs Nin magnificant, and Henry Miller somewhere in between
we wondered what Nietzsche would make of our situation and thought about Marx
is this irony? we couldnt remember terms of delineation, we couldnt remember a lot
we asked eachother, do you remember the smell of exhaust, of wet asphalt, of cut grass, of laundry drying on a cold day?


we spent purgatory in a basement section of
an ikea
as ethereal figures
we turned curtains into robes
made instruments out of the housewares
discussed futile exit strategies

around pyres of fiberboard
we spoke of missing lovers      (where were they)
we spoke of missing pets        (where were they)
we agreed that we needed to get out of here
we agreed that we were dead, that we didnt know how we got here, and we were somewhere in between
we wondered what Camus would make of our situation, and again about Marx
is this eternity? we couldnt remember terms of delineation, we couldnt remember a lot
we asked eachother, do you remember the taste of heirloom tomatoes, of strawberries, of fuji apples, of lychee?


we spent purgatory in a basement section of
an ikea
as ethereal figures
we melted plastics to construct installations
felt no pain
felt only abstract longing
as we forgot to try to leave

around pyres of fiberboard
we spoke of missing family      (where were they)
we spoke of missing friends     (where were they)
we agreed that leaving was a fantasy
we agreed that we should make the best of this certain type of being, comfortable with in between
we wondered nothing about absent & dead historical figures
is this all there is? we couldnt remember terms of delineation, we couldnt remember a lot
we asked eachother, do you remember the feel of soft microfiber, of an itchy wool turtleneck, of cold steel, of wet sand?


we spent purgatory in a basement section of
an ikea
as ethereal figures...

junk food

i wanna reeses yo
drink?
iced tea in a can*
kickstarter usa
track team cant run the hurdles

ambient engine // turn // over sounds
im livin sum kinda dream
if it's american or not idk
ambient siren // stream // over sounds

i gotta 1.60 in change
enough to buy
2 snacks from the corner store
or one tamale

ambient engine // turn // over sounds
im livin sum kinda dream
if it's american or not idk
ambient siren // stream // over sounds

and we ambivalent observers
hors d'oeuvres
pass the spinach balls
and the gruyere next

ambient engine // turn // over sounds
im livin sum kinda dream
if it's american or not idk
ambient siren // stream // over sounds

can i get a diet coke
make sure it's canned
kickstarter usa
track team cant run the hurdles

*the wire (2002)

this is not a poem

dry ice explosions at LAX; flights delayed no one harmed
i said it before but ill say it again:
let's eject the waltons & rave in their bunker

this is not a poem
this is not a poem
the other day you watched youtube videos
about neo liberalism // social marxism // &self immolation

mormons make the best murderers
but we all know that technology can get your groceries
for free (not a song from the 1980's)

this is not a poem
this is not a poem
the other day you watched youtube videos
about geomancy // the prison complex // &ufo's

senate may come to a decision & avoid default
while the NSA collects address books
i'm still about that party in the walton's bunker

this is not a poem
this is not a poem
the other day you watched youtube videos
about existentialism // necromancy // &quantum physics



...this is not a poem

future shock

pixel data heart
pixel data thumbs up
technology moves forward
and bb i got future shock

this one's fer you

technology moves forward
to trap us in our past

millions of bytes of data all stored in a cold locker
technology gap // tooth smile

you see me smilin'
you see me winkin'
the pose is for you
the posture the posturing of confidence
                          of happiness
                          of face value

flip the coin and it's all heads
someone in a factory far away made this for you
to consume
and bytes aren(t) a slice
of life

fraud & torture

dollar store headphones
china turned the treble up
& forgot about the bass

from far away
things look...ok
it's only after close inspection
{peel back layers of PET}
    {tests are  made}
   {fraud fraud fraud}
   
/////////////////////////////////

stirring controversy is as easy as
as easy as
as easy as
saying something unpopular
and that can be distracting
fer sure fer sure fer sure

fer sure she said
don't torture yerself
thru
crunching candy teeth
chewing
the sound of chewing ice
in a quiet room
is torture enough
mechanical // mechanism //mecca

fer sure she said
don't torture yerself
thru
slit slice eyelids
scathing
piercing thru my back
is torture enough
mechanical // mechanism //mecca

fer sure she said
don't torture yerself
thru
vivid memory dreams
ephemeral
REM firing synaptic visual cortex
is torture enough
mechanical // mechanism //mecca

/////////////////////////////////

dollar store headphones
china turned the treble up
& forgot about the bass

from far away
things look...ok
it's only after close inspection
{peel back layers of PET}
    {tests are  made}
   {fraud fraud fraud}

government shutdown 10.1.13

the government had to pack up its office:

an arizona snowglobe

swingline stapler

uncountable paper clips

free calenders 3 months to expiry

fire sale for gov street signs

we fucked in the alley

& he swung from his tie

glinting flag pin

shooting rays of the sun

the government went home to its spouse:

sat grave on the couch

silent explanation

flipped the tv  

prerecorded breaking bad finale

cardboard box dinner

we played a show in the alley

& he swung from his tie

glinting flag pin

shooting rays of the sun

the government is having trouble sleeping:

repo men took away its memory foam

tosses turns rolls sighs

sweating for what was accountable

ceiling staring  

drop ceiling abyss

we smoked blunts in the alley

& he swung from his tie

glinting flag pin

shooting rays of the sun

frank ocean on repeat

frank ocean on repeat
japanese jehovah's witnesses
korean back up singers in a japanese production of the little mermaid
frank ocean on repeat
frank ocean youtube play list on repeat

every month my body dies inside
dead pool dead tired
frank ocean on repeat
japanese debate team
let's keep it professional
let's keep Minamata-byō
out of it

yer always confusing civility
                     for humanity
yer always confusing depression
                     for supression
                                    ...of rage
frank ocean on repeat

Letters to the Future

The latest ebook that I have completed. It features poems that are here, but edited and revised. Click the image above.

taste

tea party reactionaries
hold a woman's body hostage
on the delaware river
near washington crossing
the island group is erupting in fights
over who ate the last hot dog
and whether or not they should get mexican
...secretly
b/c eating a taco would support immigration

it's a matter of taste
which we all know there's no
accounting for
b/c the economists left the building
on their lunch breaks to get
a 5 dollar chinese lunch platter
in which the broccoli was over cooked
and anemic swimming in soggy general tsos

over the river in NJ guatemalans
are having a pizza party
they ordered from Giovanni's b/c
everyone in town knows they make the best crust
coors light cans litter patio bricks
and music plays from a radio
fading into a humid hazy summer sunset

the inevitable

the changing landscape of strip malls & suburban NJ:
that sushi restaurant used to be a suncoast video
and the pet store is now a bakery

space rendered from ply wood and concrete:
specific amount of square feet

the racetrack/fair grounds
that jessica kissed chad for the first time
were plowed over to build a concrete pool
with a walmart terrace

it could be said that this is a unique
phenomena in places like NJ
but we all know that's a lie

canyons

we got sold that californian dreamin
but it's
just desert out there bb
malibu lyndsay
out there on the patio
out there in the palm trees
out there in the road sprawl

past mid 2013

we all felt like ghosts
in 2013
the vast was mass coronary systems

& we were disconnected
in the ether
of 2013

warnings informed by fungal systems
ghosts are plants
underground 2013

physically we were scattered
but as ghosts
we were one mantilla
spread over 2013

untethered

she likes the mundane qualities of real life
...there is beauty in the banal
a body type rarely photographed but most common is
included in her list of turn ons

she says:
fucked up teeth...
a symmetrical features...
anything that resembles a mar in perfection
that we are so used to being sold

...those are the things she likes
mundane qualities that have been normal for centuries
now ugly
now covered

she feels an affinity for the mundane qualities of life
of waking up
with a hangover
after a fantastic night of drinking

she wanted to to be attached to the world
academia, she says is removed from these qualities
ya'll is thinkin too hard
step outside
of the door of yerself
and into the mundane qualities of life
turn off yer phone
take a walk
she says: i doan wanna get didactic on yah, but hell

futility

you stood outside the drug store for at least 45 minutes
b/c the toy machine captivated you
you fed it all the coins...continued to place plastic eggs one by one
in a line
atop the tiled concrete
as the natives stared
from their a/c cooled machines

...but by chance or fate
it never spit out what you wanted it to

belated 4th

it rained to smell like wet asphalt // green smells magnified
a polypropylene blue dvd case lay empty facing sky on grass
accentuated by droplets of rainwater
near atsugi airbase

it rained too much for fireworks
so the navy put them away
but didn't stop doing flight ops
for the 4th of july

i stood outside the 711 & ate a hotdog off a stick
later i read some angry anti 4th poetry
but...
i have the red white expat blues

independence is not synonymous with freedom
imperialistic rivers still have a strong undercurrent
pulling pulling

& america yer a manifestation of cultural appropriation
nothing is inherently unique about you or american
unless yer lookin down at the blood on yer hands
but...
i have the red white expat blues
and i keep writing love letters to you...

sweetness

it takes a spoonful of sugar to make the love go down
b/c after being sold all that high fructose love
we arent used to the disappointing reality of something pure
something w/o artificial sweetening

bringing nothing to the table

she brought nothing to the table
at the vegan potluck
even though katie had specifically requested her famous almond brownies
it was almost as bad as bringing something made with eggs or gelatin

...almost
...after all she was known around town as the "best vegan baker"

when asked all she did was shrug her shoulders
when pressed she invented an elaborate excuse
about excessive student loan debt and a shady ex gf
& this was enough to be forgiven
for not bringing anything to the table

backpedaling

even a child will tell you that backpedaling gets you nowhere
if you have a purple bike with a rainbow banana seat and streamers it may even come to a halt
occasionally it's good for coasting
but during an uphill ride
switching gears most certainly helps...

dear america

dear america,
i love you
but yer turning my stomach
what is actually happening behind that curtain // who is payin who ??
i already said we payin wit somethin
but this is too much
...rly

i love you
i love that a bunch of rich guys didn't wanna pay their taxes
and founded you
i love that the civil rights movement of the 60s
gave way to a lot of change
but we backpedaling bb

what's happening to you ??
where is my voice
can you hear me from japan ??

dear america,
i love you
but
c'mon
america,
yer like that guy at the party that everyone's afraid of so they're nice to him but it's only cuz he's one giant throbbing muscle
america,
yer like
this chick i knew who promised to beat me up after school and never showed but i still sat nervously waiting

america,
i love you
pls stop it

StairMaster

at the gold's gym
in the locker room
monica told me she liked the StairMaster
she said it reminded her of her own futility
climbing erryday to nowhere
and that she didn't mind being reminded
b/c it produced the ass she'd always been looking for
she also confessed to me that she had 8 gym outfits
coordinated with her nikes
& that one time she had fucked her trainer in the spin class room
...even though he was sexy, she said, she still thought of her ex
so she's clmbing them stairs to nowhere
away from her past towards a nice ass