That quirky human function

 Be the message they say
ink shows up on the white page
Makes its mark and stands out boldly
Each letter a man or woman
Each word a group or brand

Machines now think for for us
Yet we never stopped praying
Praying we didn't originate from chimps
Praying we could be more than weak links
In our boisterous collectives

Be the message
Be the consumer
Brand loyalty luxury blinders
A straw for the corner of the mouth
A microphone to scream into an empty stadium with

Praying we didn't originate from chimps
In a boisterous illusion
In a needy heart
In an underdeveloped brain
comic book utilitarians

The aging coherent

 This bald chap next to me
struggling for his life
pushing himself to the edge

Limits are external
Felt internally
So sensitive

And how does one conciliate
each sensitivity in contemporary man
And how do we exploit it for laughter?

Our lived burgeon at thirty
Then narrow predictably
Opiates thrown together

Eventually its a stretcher 
and a mask
attached to laughing gas

Old chubs up Langford

 Chub Mcgroob lived down langford street
He'd have his fill of pancakes saturday afternoon Ihop
He'd get in the door go straight for the menu 
Then inch closer to the waitress Sally ann

The same one he saw every time he came for those cakes
She was always on shift at that time
He'd come through the door like it was just the pancakes he was interested in
But down at the table when he was warming up he'd turn up the charm

So was he there for Sally ann? or those sweet soft syrupy cakes back there?
It was a mystery to her and to him maybe it was just a transaction
Chub didn't seem to think, he just seemed to bang into things
He should have been nicknamed clumsy

His legs would almost buckle under him as he walked back to his shack on Lanford street
Sometimes he'd struggle to get in the front door for all the liquer they put in his drink
One day the neighbors were on the street and they observed Chubs halfway into the front door
He was in a state and lurched forward and back until it was obvious what he was doing...

He projectile vomited into his own house
The neighbors of langford street just whispered to themselves
And covered their children's eyes
Mcgroob was never looked at the same after that 

Paul pretended to like walking

 Sarcasm bounces off that softness
A man with wit has no business telling the truth
He said he would like to invite the group to walk the hill
But when everyone arrived he sat in the pool

He made fun of the way the walkers dressed
Gulped a caiparinha and told them he would not walk
The enthusiastic group stood and pretended to enjoy his company
Then they made their way up the hill without his wit

Making do with the index of smugness left over in themselves
The summer temps were not quite hot enough
And by the time the group returned Paul had a cold
Cough splutter and wheeze

It's home and a hot water bottle
And other false comforts, illusions of recovery

An expensive cigarette

 The tailor made was given to me
The twins didn't question
The mother made a joke
Ember too long
Smoke out the the window

Inhale exhale Like a road to a beach a community
Listen Like I'm deaf
smoke and smoke
Semi belong
Eye contact fits but words get in the way

The cigarette burns slowly
The huge window not taking enough of the smoke 
Therefore a haze is growing
Wealth and games between words
Another drag and coffee is prepared

Sarcasm can be enjoyed almost like a pun
In the cup or between sandwich loaf
Simple comfort can be replaced
By wealth and games

The candle factory

 The melted wax from the church is sent in a barrel
It is melted again and formed into new candles

Somehow blessed by the church they graced
And now in someone's house, a hope, a light

The flames that went out years ago
Await a match, a prayer, a dark night

Once borrowed the only new part the wick
To be burned down again holy wax dripping

Fishing expedition

 Seabirds fly into a towering tree on the coast 
They meet briefly in a cheerful gathering
Then scour the beach front for something dead

They use the wind and glide aimlessly
As if in leisure when infact whey are chasing their food
Eyes down on those tame little waves
On that narrow slice of beach

Seabirds fly monitoring the coast
Mocking and torpedoing
Circling again and again

Use the wind effortlessly
Enjoying the mission
hypnotized by the sun reflecting in the sea
Not far out from the sand

Tide leaves its remains on the darker patch
A dead silver fish stiffens in the heat
One bird identifies it

Shadows arriving 
Towering tree waits above shore
For the next cheerful gathering