"Those Who Can, Do..." (+1)

To hell with your endorsement,

how false opinion reigns

My words to seek a higher realm

where spirit is reclaimed

As critics in a barrel,

the bottom layer is yours

To hum and drum reflected yarn

—self-serving au du jour

(The New Room: June, 2022)

Poets Of Convenience

Poets of convenience

reality to sway

A stain that lasts forever

excuses not parlayed

“Thou Shalt Not Kill” long spoken

ancient law upon the land

Religious, secular, or more’ bound

the truth has one command

A billion screaming babies

by curettes scraped away

As smug self-righteous killers

demand to have their way

The pathway to eternity

lined with voices put to death

“Thou Shalt Not Kill” their epitaph

—damning your last breath

(St. Josephs University: September, 1972)