How to Color an Elephant
—Artwork by Dave Boles
GOD KILLER
—Dave Boles, Grass Valley
when you run with evil
shifting through gears with
your fingers
in the sockets of a skull
you learn a bit
about demons
not the fantasy demons
of hollywood fame
all
disney cute
and ending up
lovable
or horror movie
grotesque
spewing blood
and gore
as they tear through
hapless
victims
in their
rampage
no
i mean real demons
not the
biblical
slayer of Josiah
or some
other
erudite
Jew
i mean the demons
that grab hold
from deep within
the ones that
cause you to
beat
your lover
over a glass
of spilled
milk
the ones that come from
the deeply entrenched
rage
that festers
over a lifetime
sitting
rotting
exploding
with the
slightest
provocation
i know
a thing or two
about demons
it’s why i avoid
the taste
of gin
or the smooth
touch
of a needle
against my vein
i’ve learned to tread
lightly
once you run
with evil
you are never
without its company
the best you can hope for
is to avoid
all known triggers
and to keep
a god killer
handy
for when the demons
rise.
______________________
the day you left
the sun was rising
it illuminated you
as you walked towards it
not once turning to tell me
goodbye….
there was no need
we both knew
the sun set that night
it rose the next morning
your illumination replaced
with memories
i made coffee
as i do
every day.
—Dave Boles
Ostriches
—Artwork by Dave Boles
437 MILES TO HOLLYWOOD
—Dave Boles
4 hallucinations outside of Bakersfield
the backbone of California rises
a twisting, turning concrete serpent
plunging its savage head deep
into my solar plexus
freeing the bonds
of this tenuous body
the journey began
a handful of pharmaceuticals
brightly colored painkillers
to get me through
the backbone of California
minimal suffering
maximum analgesic
the order of the day
compilation CD
of Monte Cazazza
created by the master himself
playing in the rental car
the serpent's savage head
ignites the demons
within the CD
it skips and trolls
in an eery chant
"cheat the flesh"
"cheat the flesh"
i partake of this mantra
driving through the dust fields
of our once golden state
endless rows of produce
now replaced by dirt
heat
and grit
a sign along the road
screams "SAVE JOBS"
i scream back
"he’s dead, you fucking idiots"
wondering how long the sign
has been taunting hapless motorists
what
exactly
is the point
Cazazza is still murmuring
the serpent has taken refuge
from the bright
mid-day sun
my trusty hash pipe calls to me
as i crest the mountain
inhaling deeply
holding in the sweet, oily smoke
colored lights begin dancing
before me
the universe explodes
into a canvas of color
Jackson Pollack meets
Patrick Connally
a rather large, pink-haired
middle-aged suburban housewife
smiles at me
safe
within the confines
of her SUV
"cheat the flesh"
"cheat the flesh"
the CD is still skipping
perhaps it is not playing at all
a renegade water bottle appears
the City Of Angels
looms before me
i notice no pain
in my once mangled foot
it was an awesome ride
cheat the flesh, baby
cheat the flesh.
____________________
IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
—Caschwa, Sacramento
(Political spokesmen and pundits
gather to package their principles
and explain to the populace
what the "true" issues are)
Two office workers lock hands and leap
from high in the Twin Towers
to escape unimaginable heat as
others climb stairs to rescue more
when an EF5 tornado approaches
a school teacher uses her own body
to provide lifesaving cover to
children while the roof caves in
with no apparent motive
gunmen open fire on a parade
or inside a movie theater
or wherever they feel like it
an Asian clothesmaker who sells to American
markets adds more floors to the plant than
permitted, an industrial accident ensues, many die
this is business as usual for them
a young man feels fire in his heart
rapes his girlfriend, whose family and clergy
insist she have the baby or die trying
again and again and again
____________________
Today's LittleNip:
ACCORDING TO SCIENCE
—Caschwa
Look up "fire" to find it is
a form of oxidation, then
look up "oxygen" to find it wasn't
even discovered until ~1774.
So for most of human history
anyone talking about fire
couldn't have really known
what they were talking about.
___________________
4 hallucinations outside of Bakersfield
the backbone of California rises
a twisting, turning concrete serpent
plunging its savage head deep
into my solar plexus
freeing the bonds
of this tenuous body
the journey began
a handful of pharmaceuticals
brightly colored painkillers
to get me through
the backbone of California
minimal suffering
maximum analgesic
the order of the day
compilation CD
of Monte Cazazza
created by the master himself
playing in the rental car
the serpent's savage head
ignites the demons
within the CD
it skips and trolls
in an eery chant
"cheat the flesh"
"cheat the flesh"
i partake of this mantra
driving through the dust fields
of our once golden state
endless rows of produce
now replaced by dirt
heat
and grit
a sign along the road
screams "SAVE JOBS"
i scream back
"he’s dead, you fucking idiots"
wondering how long the sign
has been taunting hapless motorists
what
exactly
is the point
Cazazza is still murmuring
the serpent has taken refuge
from the bright
mid-day sun
my trusty hash pipe calls to me
as i crest the mountain
inhaling deeply
holding in the sweet, oily smoke
colored lights begin dancing
before me
the universe explodes
into a canvas of color
Jackson Pollack meets
Patrick Connally
a rather large, pink-haired
middle-aged suburban housewife
smiles at me
safe
within the confines
of her SUV
"cheat the flesh"
"cheat the flesh"
the CD is still skipping
perhaps it is not playing at all
a renegade water bottle appears
the City Of Angels
looms before me
i notice no pain
in my once mangled foot
it was an awesome ride
cheat the flesh, baby
cheat the flesh.
____________________
IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
—Caschwa, Sacramento
(Political spokesmen and pundits
gather to package their principles
and explain to the populace
what the "true" issues are)
Two office workers lock hands and leap
from high in the Twin Towers
to escape unimaginable heat as
others climb stairs to rescue more
when an EF5 tornado approaches
a school teacher uses her own body
to provide lifesaving cover to
children while the roof caves in
with no apparent motive
gunmen open fire on a parade
or inside a movie theater
or wherever they feel like it
an Asian clothesmaker who sells to American
markets adds more floors to the plant than
permitted, an industrial accident ensues, many die
this is business as usual for them
a young man feels fire in his heart
rapes his girlfriend, whose family and clergy
insist she have the baby or die trying
again and again and again
____________________
Today's LittleNip:
ACCORDING TO SCIENCE
—Caschwa
Look up "fire" to find it is
a form of oxidation, then
look up "oxygen" to find it wasn't
even discovered until ~1774.
So for most of human history
anyone talking about fire
couldn't have really known
what they were talking about.
___________________
—Medusa
Buddha at Sunrise
—Artwork by Dave Boles