poem of the day 08.20.09

ain’t no cure

as leaves begin to fall from dying trees
as the garbage rots on sweltering streets
as men sit on stone stoops yelling
and drinking warm beer
as women walk by in halter tops and shorts
that let their asses hang out
as hate conquers love
as the moon dangles in the black sky
like a dirty fingernail
as little gods make little plans for little people
as dogs die howling at ghosts on film
as insomnia runs rampant in quiet neighborhoods
as the windows stick or shatter
and the refrigerator breaks
as the ice cream man becomes your enemy
as bloody lovers break into apartments
at three in the morning
as novels sit unfinished on yellowing paper
as books become the new dinosaurs
as children become flesh jelly
as the mind becomes a sieve
and the fish all dry up on shore
cresting in as the water lever rises
as the ice cubes run out before the last drink
as dinner disagrees with the bar art of life
and as trains run late
as bombs break up elections for fools
as the days and months linger like jury duty
as poetry fades
as the elevator gets stuck between two floors
as the word hello is just as good as saying fuck you
just as arabs and jews will always hate each other
and the rest of us pretend to get along
as freedom equals being bored
so sits the sun in the sky
patiently waiting to burn out
and turn it all back into frozen dust