2009-11-26

more is less

too many haiku
each one sparing in its words
false economy

Labels:

2009-11-25

the hardy few

Such people are rare 
Iceland's whole population 
wouldn't fill Oakland

artistic license

After Aragorn 
Peter Jackson chose King Kong 
 for the star treatment

Labels:

dawn, lake george

The laughter of loons 
 thrilling through the morning mists 
 is worth the brief chill

Labels: , ,

seduced II

selling it as play
 recruiters glamorize war
 to seduce our sons

Labels: ,

seduced

As if they were toys 
 recruiters glamorize guns 
 to seduce our sons

Labels: ,

Plato's cave

Each in our bubble
sure the world must think like us
irate that it won't

Labels: ,

2009-11-24

buffoon

Governor Palin 
 found Alaska was too small 
 for her ambitions

Labels: ,

upright

Patrick Kennedy 
 won't bend over for the Church 
 to flout his conscience

Labels: ,

carom

Bouncing off the moon 
 the sun's light reflects again 
 from the bay's surface

Labels: , ,

a man of parts

Obama's quick tongue 
 gathered the reins in his fist 
 now let's see his spine

Labels: ,

slow learner

His three bankruptcy 
 failed to teach George W. 
what a budget is

Labels: , ,

neutrality

heavenly parent
grant us the wit to expunge
gender from our prayers

Labels:

the rest is commentary

Brian understood 
"blessed are the Cheesemakers" 
meant the milk-maids, too

Labels:

beyond tolerance

believers must act 
on their high-falooting words 
beyond tolerance

Labels:

exceptionalism

denying our roots 
a nation of immigrants 
seeks to slam the door

Labels: ,

2009-11-23

Leonid shower

piloting this rock
through Temple-Tuttel's debris
one feels quite the ace

Labels: ,

values

sly Odysseus
forfeited the quest for fame
died in his wife's arms

Labels: , ,

dogged

Sirius ain't bright
chasing Orion all year
never giving up

Labels:

9/11

seizing the excuse
Bush claimed vast war-time powers
to trample the law

Labels: , , ,

weak leonids

night wraps my hill-top
in Faramir's starry cloak
not a photon stirs

Labels: ,

out of sight

expanding outwards
photons shift beyond the red
until we're alone

mistaking subjects for citizens

teaching towards the test
educates good test-takers
but bad citizens

Labels: ,

transience

the vibrations cease
only memory remains
when she stops singing

Labels:

weaver's beam

scolding the Chinese
Clinton calls for Civil Rights
she leads with her chin

Labels: ,

contraband

ersatz cigarettes
couldn't fool Spanish police
rabbit shit tastes harsh

Labels:

dualism

platonists propose
souls interact through the flesh
meat marionettes

Labels:

space

paradoxically
the absence of a dead love
fills the universe

Labels: ,

flashback

Branagh and Thompson
back on the screen together
Pirate Radio

Labels:

pursuit

red demonic eyes
burn in the horses' black skulls
chasing the dreamer

Labels:

new Lesson set

short days, inversions
the club implores the new foals--run!
the Summer air kicks

Labels:

Christmas Carol

tales of teshuvah
are woven through Dickens' works
like garments of days

Labels: ,

2009-11-19

no pigskins in paradise


It's hard to deter 
 bombers who blow themselves up 
 dreaming of heaven

Labels: ,

defense of liberty II

In a healthy state 
the response to noxious speech 
 is more speech, not gags

Labels: ,

theme and variations

Homeo boxes 
 build form from simple repeats 
 body by Lego

Labels: ,

KSM

try him in Texas 
 read him his Miranda rights 
 then execute him

Labels: , , ,

defense of liberty

Legitimate states 
answer noxious speech with speech 
tyrants favor gags

Labels: ,

putz

Lieberman's loyal
to his corporate masters
he speaks for Money

Labels: , , ,

2009-11-17

short-sighted II

Beijing's policy
get's ahead but does no good
 "beggar thy neighbor"

Labels: , ,

short-sighted

Beijing's policy
does well without doing good
 "beggar thy neighbor"

Labels: , ,

malice


what's up with deer-flies?
 wouldn't one leave more offspring
 if bites didn't hurt?

Labels: , ,

2009-11-16

profiling

beware those Capris
pants hemmed above the ankle
mark the Jihadist

Labels: ,

surprise

contemplate a ship
travelling faster than light
images follow

Labels: ,

a lawyer's heart

Some were great causes 
 the rest he did for the fee 
 Dershowitz won't tell

Labels: , ,

Leonids

Flashes trace our path 
 crashing through the comet's tail 
 autumnal light-show

Labels: ,

2009-11-15

culture

what one teaches kids
contributes to their fitness
as sure as their genes

Labels: , ,

v'shinantam

their educations
 alter kids indelibly
 as signets mark wax

Labels:

where there is no dough...

some were great causes
the rest, he took for the fee
Dershowitz won't tell

Labels: , ,

2009-11-14

entangled

Even Robert Byrd 
 can't defend coal forever 
 both should be buried

Labels: , ,

harmony

History has shown 
 monotheist state regimes 
 stoke intolerance

Labels: , , ,

discounted

Don't look too loyal 
 you'll be taken for granted 
 next election day

Labels:

2009-11-13

memorial

On armistice day 
we mark the death of the dream 
that we can end war

Labels:

fertilizer

 half a mega-ton 
 makes a lot of IEDs 
 when it's spread around

Labels: ,

who's there?

Some therapists doubt 
 the unity of the self 
but they're all crazy

Labels:

2009-11-10

everything for a price

sedentary plants
co-opt us to spread their genes
for a piece of fruit

Labels: ,

2009-11-09

tragedy of the commons

Enjoy the parkland 
 litter it with shards of glass 
you're American

Labels:

nomen est omen

fat Americans 
 found a champion for their cause 
professor Bacon

Labels: ,

improbable Endeavor

One battered life-boat 
 at the British Museum 
 Shackleton's "James Caird"

Labels:

the Dark Side

Picture Dick Cheney 
 screaming like a little girl 
 Does the heart good, no?

Labels: , , ,

these are not the droids you're looking for

First-rate parasites 
lull their hosts to ignore them 
Jedi mosquito

Labels: ,

compulsory testing

 A rabies assay
 might have kept Richard Cheney
 out of the White House

Labels: , ,

2009-11-07

ineffable

Too subtle for words 
 evoking nothing at all 
Mark Rothko's painting

Labels:

11/7/09

Sun pierces her veil 
 such a bride can't be hidden 
 pearls gleam in her hair

Labels: , ,

foiled

His gallant gesture 
 foundered on her fashion's rocks 
open-toe slippers

Labels: ,

rationale

Blaming the victim 
 makes exploiters feel better 
 empathy be damned

2009-11-06

more lies

Ann Coulter promised
 she would campaign for Clinton
her word isn't good

Labels: ,

heal thyself

Afraid of Iraq Hasan set a course for Death and took his buddies

Labels: , ,

2009-11-05

lie down with dogs, rise up with fleas

A corrupt regime 
 can taint its allies as well 
 in Afghanistan

Labels: , ,

wrong sense

linens and silver 
 can't make my meal taste better 
 I came for the food

Labels: ,

history's judgement


Impotent leader 
offering toothless reforms 
Karzai's legacy

Labels: , ,

all talk

Impotent leader 
offering toothless reforms 
 Karzai's promise fades

Labels: , ,

2009-11-03

same old rut


Torrents of hormones 
addle a buck's tiny brain 
each Fall, puberty!

Labels: ,

history doesn't repeat, but it rhymes


Each bubble and crash 
 rides the same wave of bullshit 
"this time is different"

Labels: , , ,

business of war

Rumsfeld valued men 
 like our most precious assets 
 amortized to nought

Labels: , , ,

what does he see in the mirror?


 Mugabe's ego -
may yet suck Zimbabwe dry 
 tick? spider? lamprey?

Labels: , ,

deluded

 While his nation dies 
 what does the mirror show him? 
 Mugabe the just?

Labels: , , ,

so brief

Lit up by his match 
 a smoker's face flares to life 
 them fades to darkness

Labels: ,

Pilate washed his hands

Abdullah withdrew 
 Karzai calls that a clean win 
"clean" is undefined

Labels: , ,

2009-11-02

motives

Brilliant achilles 
swore no oath to save Helen 
 he just  came to fight

Labels: ,

wait...I know that story

Vergil's Aeneid 
verges on plagiarism 
Homer's kids should sue

Labels: ,

2009-10-31

Halloween IV


Vampires, ghosts and ghouls 
 mocking the darkness of death 
pig out on candy

Labels: , ,

honest politician II

To serve insurers 
more than his constituents 
Joe sold his good name

Labels: , , ,

honest politician I

To serve insurers
 more than his constituents 
Lieberman turns tricks

Labels: , , , ,

politicians' honor


To fund their campaigns 
 senators are bought and sold 
 as loyal as whores

Labels: , ,

Prosperity Theology II

Jesus never taught 
 that wealth marks the virtuous 
Reagan made that up

Labels: , , ,

Prosperity Theology I


grifters love Ghana 
 you can set up your own church 
and get rich at it

Labels: ,

modesty

clothes communicate
ethnicity and status
angels don't need them

Labels: ,

2009-10-30

subtle boundary

"what's the difference 
between sects and cults, guru ?"
 "heretic! You die!"

Labels:

left behind

Relics of the past 
compact discs and buggy whips
 retailers' tar-pits

Labels: ,

diet

Twenty-one meat meals 
 fuel an american's week 
 wasteful to the bone

Labels: ,

National Security Letters II

pile "prior restraint"
 on "unreasonable search"
 NSLs amok

Labels: ,

National Security Letters

When "prior restraint"
 hides "unreasonable search"
 NSLs amok

Labels: , ,

2009-10-28

meet the new boss...

 Eric holder says: 
 "trust us, we're not like George Bush!" 
 just how, isn't clear

Labels: , , , , ,

Kekulé redux


Frustrated glove-maker
Dreams of new knitting technique –
Beats rational thought

Labels: , ,

2009-10-27

GOP

United in 'no' 
 one day, they'll have to tell us 
 what it is they're for

Labels:

used and discarded

Pat Tillman's body 
 was desecrated in death 
 for propaganda

Labels: ,

entropy wins

 Like dead fallen leaves 
 laundry rustles underfoot 
 a teenager's room

Labels: ,

within you, without you...

Without outside tools 
 using just our intellect 
 can we know our minds?

Labels: ,

slurred

Blunt head injury 
 leads to deaths in the drunk-tank 
 cops don't understand

Labels: ,

mother's wisdom

Barbara Bush warned us 
George wasn't her brightest son 
 but he smiles real nice

Labels:

lost in the woods

Wolves howl with delight
when the children of asphalt 
 go mushroom hunting

Labels: ,

2009-10-26

so Right, so wrong

eight years of failures 
nailed down Dick's bona fides
to advise Barack

Labels: , ,

Asking for rigor 
all I get are faith-statements
 no one's satisfied

Labels: ,

cold comfort II

Your garment of days 
woven of a lifetime's deeds 
 warms you in the grave

Labels:

marketing

 news is a gimmick
 bringing viewers to networks
they live to sell ads

Labels:

memorial

 Your garment of days 
 woven of a lifetime's deeds 
 outlasts flesh and bone

Labels:

2009-10-25

ivory tower

Slow on the up-take
the savants at U of O
found that sex is good

Labels: ,

2009-10-24

tantalized

half a memory 
eludes my full attention 
lurking in shadow

Labels: ,

infantilized

Cast out of eden 
Dumbo without his feather 
 it's called adulthood

Labels:

power to change

 More than armed revolt 
 Darwin's dangerous idea 
 frightens theocrats

Labels: ,

third language

 Mandarin's frontier 
so much closer than Tibet 
 it's in chinatown

Labels: ,

ivory tower

A little too late 
 scientists at UofO 
showed that sex is good

Labels: ,

truth is beauty

 "fine" or "performing"
 arts share one criterion:
Do they make you feel?

Labels:

chosen

Pity bangladesh! 
 nature's laboratory 
testing disasters

Labels: , ,

2009-10-23

the Right to Arm Bears


Ursine weaponry:
Does the Second Amendment
Justify bad puns?

Labels:

2009-10-22

shibboleth

 "the Right to Bear Arms" 
 Rorschach test in just five words 
 tells me who you are

Labels: ,

something familiar...

throw all Shakespeare's plots
into a giant blender
out comes Cymbeline

Labels: , ,

volition counts

God clearly abhors
all consensual gay love
Molestation? fine.

Labels: , ,

mute witness

Valiantly striving 
 to show the wind that trashed them 
 the ghosts of windsocks

Labels: ,

yellow jackets II

 Still batting clean-up 
 scavengers of dinosaurs 
 now live on hotdogs

Labels: , , ,

Yellow jackets

 once, dinosaur flesh 
 how are the mighty fallen! 
now they eat hotdogs

Labels: , , , ,

scavenger

Once, they ate mammoths 
 now, yellow jackets settle 
 for your hamburger

Labels: , , , ,

morally bankrupt

eight years of George Bush
has impoverished the U.S.
only his friends won

Labels: ,

2009-10-20

CLAW

First, Gell-Mann warns us -
get a Crude Look At the Whole 
 details will blind you

Labels:

clearer than ever

 Inscrutable film 
 by Joel and Ethan Coen 
 first, understand Job

Labels:

Papal outreach

Welcome Anglicans! 
 if you are intolerant 
 you can be Catholic

Labels:

beyond our design

So much DNA 
encoding our olfaction 
predates settled life

Labels: ,

trainable

 Fifteen thousand years 
 favored humans who like dogs 
and dogs who like us

Labels: , ,

cats are hard on birds

rather than gazelles
some cheetahs hunt ostriches 
we call that "culture"

Labels: , , ,

2009-10-18

web of fate

Cutting and weaving 
 he entwines his destiny 
 with the worst drivers'

Labels: ,

damnation

Dante keeps a place 
 for those who carve golf courses 
 out of the desert

Labels: ,

Bakersfield II

Dimly, through the murk 
nodding donkeys slurp up crude 
 must be Bakersfield

Labels:

of sense and cents

Maine's recovery 
relies on "Stealth Destroyers" 
whatever those are

Labels: ,

moral hazard

Profits and losses 
 keep bankers' wagers honest 
 unless they're bailed out

Labels: ,

spirits

When he's off the horse 
 Santana's muse deserts him 
self-indulgent noise

Labels: ,

Om

Turn off your cell phone 
 feel the sand between your toes 
 risk hearing nothing

Labels: ,

meet the new boss

Through their man Geithner 
 malefactors of great wealth 
 take care of their own

Labels: , ,

bleach

 Far too many blondes 
 grace California's beaches 
 defying their genes

Labels: ,

remote

Visit el Cajon! 
 drive to the end of the earth
turn left, keep going

Labels:

ball mill

Surf churns the cobbles 
 grinding like an ogre's teeth 
 on Doheny beach

Labels: , ,

Bakersfield

South of Cajon pass 
I emerge into daylight 
 as if waking up

Labels: , ,

loyal to a fault

Too many voters 
are voting for their home-team 
 instead of thinking

Labels: , ,

spectacular

Malibu's grand homes 
 teeter on the precipice 
 poised for the next storm

Labels:

edgy II

nacreous luster 
dances on a fine knife's edge 
polished martensite

Labels: , ,

edgy

Pearly gray luster 
dances on a fine knife's edge 
polished martensite

Labels: , ,

scum

Smelting metal ore
the dross rises to the top 
 like politicians

Labels: ,

never mind the crocs...

Our new immigrants 
 giant snakes in Florida 
learn a new diet

Labels:

invisible

ride motorcycles 
 as if no one knows you're there 
 too often, it's true

Labels: , ,

beyond function

Damascus steel knives 
 burnished like fine jewelery 
 make fetishists drool

Labels: ,

emission controls

When you run cattle 
 on a hi-test fuel like grain 
 the gas could kill you

Labels: , , ,

knee-deep

 Augean feed-lots 
stink unto very heaven 
I'll have the tofu

Labels: , ,

determined

 libido's a ploy
 by which our genes replicate
 where's "free will" in that?

Labels: , , ,