#304 Ship In A Bottle

A plastic segmented ship

Sailing seas of unnatural blue

Contained within walls of glass

Forever doomed to never pass

Tacking to and fro

Whither the wind go

Tapping the barrier with the prow

All wondering where to go now

The confines are rather small

Cylindrical and long

Consistent in drop line fall

Artificial and very wrong

The captain loads his cannon

Firing in tiny fury

But nary a crack or mark

Is made for any to see

The craft is becalmed today

No wind or waves to sway

The crew is fallen down drunk

What else to do in such a funk?

The captain gazes out

From his spot at the wheel

He plays with a dagger wistfully

Perhaps considering opening a vein with the steel

I look on with though

Sadness for them is all I feel

So with a beating heart

I go for the steal

I gently carry the bottle

Down to the harbor

And climb down

Under the wharf

Holding it level with the water

Surrounded by seagull's cry and peal

I break off the end of the bottle

The ship slipping into the real

The crew sobered up quick

The captain shouting orders

Barely to be heard

Beyond three foot borders

Watching intently

I sat cross legged on the shore

As the first wind caught their cloth

The craft daring the waves and froth

Even as the ship proceeded away further

In the shimmering midday sun

It seemed to grow larger

As she was trimmed and starting to run

Before I knew it

It seemed to be life sized

Running for the horizon

And freedom long prized

#303 Chasing Macguffin

I can see it

I can almost taste it

Sweeter than honey

Lovelier than Venus

Once I had it in my hands

For some fleeting moments

Before it was snatched away

By foul and evil opponents

Macguffin!  (Macguffin)

Where do you hide now my love

I'll seek you all the rest of my days

Until I've exhausted the ways

Believe me

I’d kill for it

Ravage plunder and pillage

There’s no length too extreme

To steal away the steam

That’s powering my engine

Towards that dream

Macguffin! (Macguffin)

Don’t worry I’m coming for you

Send me a signal to show me the way

I’ll keep you safe and true

The funniest thing about it

If I could stop and think

Is I don’t have the damnedest idea

What it really is

I was dazzled for sure

Drowned in love so pure

But as to what it is….um, er

It doesn’t matter!

Macguffin! (Macguffin)

Love for you I do defend

I swear to find you and have you

Though it may mean my end

#302 Who Are You?

Who are you?

I always see you

With your long beard

Your shaven face

Your bald head

Your hippie grace

Dressed in leather

In canvas, corduroy and lace

Who are you?

Your white skin blinds me

Your ebony tone

Thou's light brown hue

All of those colors are true

And many shades in between

Perhaps some I've never seen

Plaid isn't out of the question

Nor polka dot and paisley

Who are you?

I've seen you working

As a doctor

As a garbage man

As a teacher

As a mother

You have so many jobs

And sometimes you have none

Holding a sign

An upturned hat

Passersby calling you a bum

Who are you?

Are you the ninety nine percent?

Are you the one?

Perhaps you are more fifty fifty

Even when odds are three to one

But in numbers games

The house always wins

Wouldn't you rather have a name

Than a number?

Me too, if it's all the same

But, who are you?

John Stonebender

Steve Smith

Applebee Fencepainter

Names used to mean something

They gave you purpose

They gave you freedom

They fenced you in

They niched your surface

What's the name for jack-of-all-trades?

Oddjob?  Oddfellow?

For such a supremely generalized race

We sure like to define on the narrow

Hey buddy, Who are you anyways?

I am you

#301 H2O Speed

Speed is the key

If you keep it up

You'll soon see

That you are walking on water

Just like Jesus C.

#300 The Need To Fill A Hole

I've looked everywhere

I've done as you asked

I looked where you said

I've looked under rocks

I've looked under my bed

But he isn't there

Whenever I ask you where

Your face turns red

And you look away from me

It fills me with a sense of dread

I ask you if it's my fault

That he went away

You tell me no

That he just couldn't stay

You don't seem to understand

I have a hole

It's dark and empty

And it's inside my soul

But you refuse to see

I know you love me

I know that you care

But when I want to talk of him

Your eyes wander into a thousand yard stare

This is one mystery that just isn't fair

So I'm taking things into my own hands

I'm packing my bag

With all the essentials

Now it's almost too heavy to drag

I leave it behind

As I strike out at dawn

I'm going to a place

That I've only seen drawn

In his own hand

Many different images

That you hid in dark boxes

All marked simply "Cortez"

I don't know what that means either

You'll never tell me

Though it means something to you

I have eyes and can see

That same image

Drawn from different views

The cabin in the woods

Framed by a copse of yews

Upstate Maine is a long ways away

But I'm ten years old today

You said I'm a big boy

And I can find the way

As I cross the neighbor's field

Rough and bumpy from cultivation

I wipe the sweat from my eyes

And envision my goal with new determination

It will be
The best feeling I've ever had

When I knock on that cabin door

And can finally hug my Dad

#299 Dog Odd

There is something

Something definitely odd

About that dog

Is it that his eyes look out of place?

Deep and intelligent

Almost from another race

Piercingly blue

Knowing everything about you

Able to change hue

Upon command

No

That's not it

Perhaps it's his legs

Muscled and knotty

Much more than is needed

For simply holding up his body

Defined like a Mr. Universe

And striking poses quite diverse

Flexing both longitudinal and transverse

Catching your eye

Nope

Not that

The tricks he seems to be doing?

He handles those cards like a pro

Gesturing for you to pick one

With that look in his eye that says he does know

He must have been on stage

In Vegas he'd be all the rage

Literally on the front page

In a top hat

But

That doesn't seem to be it

Wait, what's he doing with my son?

My boy can't stop laughing

Saying happily, "He's the one!"

I stand and smile

Life hasn't been easy since the move

Young Jack's had a hard time finding his groove

He looks back at me hoping I approve

And I think I do

There was something

Something definitely odd

About that dog

He looked lonely in that cage

Without a real home

#298 What is Truth?

Living on the inside

Looking on the outside

Searching and reaching

Deep down

Way out

Truth comes from within

Or is that from without?

What truth is there to be had

When it's all inside a closed petri dish

The poodle knows more truth than I

I can see it in his half hidden eye

I look closer and he licks me

Rather than ask why

I can search for the truth

Up in the sky

Along with so many others

But it isn't up there

And neither is the pie

The pie

Is found in the kitchen

And it never asks why

It is to be eaten

It's purpose clear

I wish it were that simple

For all things under the sun

Fingers touch keys

Keys make words

Turned into data

Turned into ones and O's

To a layman

It looks like

00101010

To someone who knows

It could be the meaning of life

Not just numbers in endless rows

If I wait patiently

I hope the truth will find me

Looking out for it is exhausting

Looking within is too much like death

Snake oil peddlers

Will try to tell you

That they know all the secrets

That they are the witness to the truth

But how is one to know

When one truth

Is so different from the other

I just close my eyes

And spin that big wheel

Hoping for big money

And a place

In the showcase showdown

At the end of the broadcast

Quid est veritas?

#297 Is His Own Worst Enemy

The note is short

But not very sweet

It says quite simply

In letters small and neat:

"Hands off my cake, fucker!"

It's on my countertop

And I don't know who from

I walk my perimeter

All the doors and windows are locked

From whence could someone come?

This isn't the first time

I've found something like this

Just last week

I found a booby trap

Luckily I saw the telltales

And avoided the result

But who would wire a shotgun to my door?

And what the hell for?

I'll admit I'm a bit unnerved

Though it's all that I deserve

After what I did last year

At the annual carnival

I'd discuss it right now

But my therapist says I shouldn't

All I'll say is that you'd have done it too

And don't lie like you wouldn't

However

This person in my house

I'm getting a little worried

I get out a stethoscope

I tap on the walls and floors and listen

Maybe I can hear where they are buried

I find another note

Same handwriting with no correction

Seems to be left-handed

Smeared slightly in that direction

"Leave, or I'll kill you"

I crumple it up

I would if I could

But I've locked myself in

Everything is bolted and screwed shut

Ain't nothing getting in or out of this hut

I'm going to find out who this is

At all costs

Once I see who it is

I can deal with the danger

I'm setting up a camera today

Wired right to my computer

It will see everything

Recording continuously

Maybe you don't want to know

"Yes I do!", I shout at nobody in particular

I do that sometimes

Don't worry, it's ok

Everything is all set

I think I feel a bit better

Knowing that I'll soon know

Who's been writing those letters

I absent-mindedly rub at a stain

On the side of my left hand

Looking down I frown

How it got there I don't understand

Whatever

It's almost time for bed

I get a slice of MY cake

Despite what that ominous note said

#296 Mechanical Dreams - Mechanical Longings

I'm on a flat plain

Holding a tall stick

Sharp on the top

My metal digits grip it loosely

My thoughts cold and logical

But wandering nonetheless

I look out across my unit

One hundred static generating organisms

Genetically manipulated creatures

Once known as sheep

Now generating electricity

To support my kind

We of science

We of logic

One of my 'sheep' starts to move away

I move closer to it

And prod it with my stick

Never quite touching it

Just manipulating it back to the unit

Using the differential electrical charge of my stick

To guide it

This is a peaceful place

Time to be still

Conserve energy

And use my processing cycles

For the good of my race

Wirelessly transmitting

And receiving data

Solving equations

Proposing questions

Providing answers

Truth is logic

I erect an enclosure

The unit secured

I power down

They will not need me until tomorrow

*

My skin tingles

Air moving the hair on my arms

It's a stunning feeling

Feeling human

Looking around

I'm in front of a building

Large and white

With a cross of wood upon the roof

The sun is going down

The air is cold

Candles are in the windows

Sounds of singing comes from inside

I want to go in

And I do

Seeing all the others

Looking much like me

So very

Human

They are all looking towards the front

Singing while holding small books

I find a place among them

And take in the sights and sounds

There is a young human

Clothed in a long brown cloak

Holding a tall stick

The stick has a hook on top

Around him are other young ones

They are wearing white fluffy clothing

Crawling on their knees

They are making animal noises

I watch fascinated

They are pretending to be sheep

I know what those are

I listen to the singing

I am so happy

I stay

I listen to all that is said

When all the others leave

I stay

And I read the books I find

I want to stay

This is a fulfilling place

This must be a fulfilling existence

I think these thoughts

As my eyes grow heavy

I slide a little lower in my chair

Soft, and almost hidden

In the corner of the vast building

Behind the festive decorations

My eyes are heavy

Closing finally

*

Metal covers flapping gently

In an imitation

Of biological parts long extinct

It's eyes glow softly

Almost sleepily

Machinations purring softly in it's body

Looking over at it's partner

Grey metal

Red markings

Freshly applied

Very satisfying to behold

"I was dreaming again"

It announces happily

"It was wonderful"

It's partner turns to look

Mechanical eyes lovely to behold

"What were you dreaming of?"

Eyes turning purple

Remembering the dream

"God......and electric sheep"

#295 And Yet You Loved Me

You love to build

I lived to destroy

Opposites do attract

We've proved that

You and I

When we were three

Your awesome sand castle

I laid siege to it

Crumbled it's walls with rocks

Flooded the courtyard with joy

You cried

And you hit me

Which only encouraged me

To rub a dead fish in your hair

But you still loved me

When we were twelve

I told all the other boys

Your secret:

You'd let me touch your new boobs

And you were growing hair

You had shown me

Like, down there

It made you cry

And you hit me

I dumped out your book bag

But you still loved me

When we were seventeen

You took me to your special place

In your father's car

We watched the sunset

It was perfect you said

Then I played death metal

Drank some wine I stole

And pissed on your favorite tree

It made you cry

You said I ruined it

Then I threw up on you

But you still loved me

When we were twenty-two

Both of your parents died

It was horrible and tragic

And I held you all through the night

While you cried

You said I finally grew up

Then I kissed you

You still loved me

And I have always loved you

#294 Is Best if Read Aloud With an Australian Accent

Crickey!

Look over there

Quietly now

Or she might charge us

There it is

The rare Eatumus Potatomus!

That there

Is the creature

That caused so many problems

In Ireland

Back in the 1600's

Blimey!

The huge teeth on her

She can crush and eat

Up to one ton of potatoes a day

But don't let her looks fool you mate

She's fast

Stories tell

Of how the Irish farmer

Would hear them eating his potatoes

But by the time he got outside

The critter would be safely hiding

Out in the bog already

Yea

Smart and fast

Uh-oh!

She's seen us!

Whatever you do

Don't look like a potato

Shhhh

Arms out

Like a tree

They hate trees

I said arms out mate

Oh no

She's charging

Run!

#293 Do You Hear That Ticking?

I'm ticking

I'm checking for a watch

But there is none

The plot is thickening

Perhaps it's a cartoon bomb

With red sticks and an alarm clock

The thought is sickening

Is it the titanium valve in my heart?

No, I don't have one of those

My pulse is quickening

What is that noise

Perhaps my teeth as I eat clicking

That would be so fattening

It's growing louder

I put my fingers in my ears

It's almost deafening

I feel hotter too

Is the heat on in here

My forehead is glistening

Suddenly it gets slower

Something is changing

It's tempo is lengthening

Things seem calmer now

I feel safe

It doesn't seem so threatening

Almost all at once

I can sort of see what I need

I'm having a moment of enlightening

I hear a snap

My eyes flutter open

I am awakening

My doctor stops the metronome

#292 Disillusioned and Disenfranchised

I

Is disillusioned

With political process

Isolated from what I see

On the local TV

Their bad decisions

Pour forth like a bad disease

No matter

Who gets elected

Democrat

Republican

Then Democrat again

Rinse and repeat

Infinite ad nauseam

The whole process

Should be in a museum

Nowadays

I throw my vote away

On obscure Independents

In the wistful hope

That just one more vote

Will encourage them

To keep on trying

Though most everyone else

Is brainwashed

Into thinking they are a joke

You ate a Democrat

You ate a Republican

They both gave you gas

You cannibal citizen

Left wing conservative

Right wing liberal

Washed down

With a dose of literal disenfranchisement

Who will be the winner

Seems like

The talking heads decide

Us parrots just pull the handle

Repeating as taught

Refusing to gamble

A question would be:

Are there really more than one party?

I'm thinking

There is only actually one

For they always seem to act the same

When all is said and done

Find the line between them

And all their special interests

It's blurry at best

When it's even there

Oh my

It's polling time again

Time to tell Gallup

That I'm planning to vote

For that dark horse once again