Becoming the Lyric

—Poems by Scott Thomas Outlar, Atlanta, GA

—Photos by Katy Brown, Davis, CA

 

LEARNING TO SING THE WORD
 
In the beginning
was the Word
and the Word
was a vibration
and the vibration
was a sound
and the sound
was a song
and the song
was a manifestation
and the manifestation
was an image of Creation
and the Creation
took on form
and the form
was chaos
and the chaos
brought about order
and the order
led to evolution
and the evolution
learned to adapt
and the adaptation
led to humanity
and humanity
became conscious
and consciousness
became the lyric

 Bee Rolls in Pollen

HEART OF HEARTS
 
Up the hill, out of breath
toward the sky, beyond the pale

White horses, opal eyes, diamond fangs
enter the Apocalypse

I dream of snakes in the garden
I wake to poison in my veins

Through the woods, toward the light
see the shine and follow forever

Black devil, silent faith, twisted lies
herald the Revelation

I found God in my heart of hearts
I lost the desire to sink

 On to the Next

KIND OF

It's kind of rare


It's kind of raw


It's kind of structured

It's kind of Fall


to the abyss


and find the answers


It's kind of stall


for awhile


then hit the gas

It's kind of a broken promise when the future comes


It's kind of a balanced loss when the account is drawn
It's kind of stupid when you think about it


It's kind of lovely

It's kind of a bail-out


It's kind of a buy-in

It's kind of this


It's kind of that


It's kind of the other


It's kind of a cliché

It's kind of a hardened liver 


It's kind of a big joke

It's kind of a trust fund


It's kind of a homeless scenario

It's kind of like that time you almost did, but didn't quite, but wish you had

It's kind of a new wave


It's kind of an old hat

It's kind of black


It's kind of white


It's kind of silver


It's kind of gold electric humming vibration across ten dimensions

It's kind of a power surge


It's kind of a fade-away

It's kind of lost


It's kind of found


It's kind of right where it's always been

It's kind when you're cruel


It's kind of a buffer

It's kind of like butter melting in the sun


It's kind of like the last moon that ever cycled

It's kind of here


It's kind of now


It's kind of passing

 Bee Hive Cartoon

FACING THE CYCLE
 
Life has a way of dredging up past mistakes
and cycling circumstances back into your experience
until the point in time when you actually decide to deal with them.

The mirror will always stare back
with eyes of disappointment and anger
until you learn how to love the reflection.

I have had a tendency to quit too easily
when the going gets tough
by cutting and running instead of digging in.

But I can’t run forever
because my legs grow weary
and I lose the sense of what direction I’m heading in.

God doesn’t deal in lies, but cold hard truths,
and so if you want to know real peace
you’d better learn how to play with a straight hand.

I’ve only ever been given exactly what I need
no matter how difficult it is to recognize
that even the suffering can bring about a higher state of joy.

Sometimes it feels like the only option
is to shed the past and go the path alone,
but I’m beginning to recognize just how much I need good company.

_____________________

Today's LittleNip:

—Medusa, thanking today's fine contributors! Scott Outlar was featured in the Kitchen on Jan. 14, 2015, if you want to look that up. And don't forget to check out Medusa's new photo album on Facebook, featuring photos by Katy Brown and Michelle Kunert from some recent Sacramento poetry readings, including last Monday night when Keith Carey accompanied Allegra Silberstein at Sac. Poetry Center. Keith used to be with Robert Crumb's band, Cheap Suit Serenaders.