Building That Wall

 

—Poetry and Art by Robert Fleming, 

Lewes, DE

there should always be a pro in a prostitute

ho-in-training gets a cop date
stabbed with no switch-blade
no bills
pimp pregnant

twenty-year pro professes:
always carry a weapon
always pay first
always cash only
always be your own pimp

a pro-hip or pro-rear under the corner cop shadow
John you’re so big
Jane you’re so curved
after hired: fifteen minutes to flatter
horizontal or vertical
in a one-hour room or
an alley or
under a bridge or
in a U-Haul
until school of hard pro is dismissed

 

 

 

 

Sores came before the nose

before dinosaurs there were Sores
Sores were above ground
went below ground to the outer core
sculpted rocks into poles to
pole from the lithosphere to the outer core
you don’t know Sores are around
except when you listen to your snore sounds

____________________

you build your own wall

a rose-brick thorn wall barriers the living and the dead
u lay ure wall brick by brick
from sun-set to sun-rise mortar hardens hard
some-more the wall is a 1” pine box
some-less the wall is a soldier’s corpse under cirrus clouds
dare u cheat time always-more on the living-side
caught u cheating time always-less on the dead-side
time ever-more moves forward
10 candles burn ure living-wall
100 candles blow ure dead-wall
form human always human
humans & ravens never-less switch form
still when ure spirit slips through ure mortar
urn wall will be poe-never-more

___________________

All in the Family 1971 t.v. audiocasts the first flush

toilet is the first room built in a house
not the one in the house—the yellow john brought
palm leaves or twigs twigged together with mud make a roof
the roof is made first
wrong the metal bars to roof up the roof is first
what matters more what comes first or comes last?
three orange hardhats drink Millers &
drop cans with three drops left on what will be a front yard
not yet
houses occupied on either side &
a neighbor draws blinds
one year ago the first house in the neighborhood had no neighbors
when no neighbors a fly unzips yellowing culms
now neighbors
a blue vest with white stripes palm turns a loo door
a plastic door closes toward jeans in the outhouse

 

 

 

 

 

if you take my life nothing more to give you

sometimes when my house is housier than yours
ask me / don’t take it

sometimes when my gun pummels more people than yours
ask me / don’t bomb me

sometimes when my gold is goldier than yours
ask me / don’t ore me

sometimes when my cock is limp but yours is erect
don’t ask me / fuck me

if you ask me you will be my neighbor

______________________

Today’s LittleNip:

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

—Mae West

______________________

Welcome back to Wordsmith/Artist Robert Fleming! Robert was first featured in Medusa’s Kitchen on May 22, 2022 (https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/search?q=robert+fleming/). He lives in Lewes, Delaware, and has been published in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, and Australia. Follow him at https://www.facebook.com/robert.fleming.5030/.

Poetry in our area tonight includes Joe Montoya’s Poetry Unplugged Slam Remix with Fine Print at Luna’s Cafe in Sacramento, and William O’Daly and Stan Zumbiel at Poetry Night in Davis. Both readings have open mics, and both begin at 8pm (sign-ups at 7:30pm). Click UPCOMING NORCAL EVENTS at the top of this column for details about these and other future poetry events in the NorCal area.

______________________

—Medusa

 

 

 

 

 —Public Domain Art Courtesy of 

Joe Nolan, Stockton, CA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Would you like to be a SnakePal?
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that which was previously published—
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Just remember:
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