echinoderm

i wear a lot of different hats...

it's not because i'm fake,

it's because i work about a hundred jobs

& the hats are all shabby

& on triple duty at the moment

because none of these jobs pay.

some people turn their hats into hate,

celebrate the monolith,

i stay creative,

turn my frowns into something makeshift...

others deny me a smile,

just to cloak the fact

that theirs is founded

(enshrouded)

(upside-down)

upon denial...

i'm tired, it's true...

your eyes tell the same story

but while i'm catching cat naps

your heart's done been snoring...

never said i was poor,

i said i'm pouring

water on my garden

but there's so much salt in it

many seeds refuse to sprout...

i don't have a martyr complex;

it's survival that's complex.

like breaking new ground

when it's surrounded by ice

six inches thick...

i never said i don't have faith,

but i have my doubts...

if an ice pick alone

can plant a garden that blooms?

i picture a wooden tombstone

with mushrooms growing from it...

in time i will return to the earth,

it's starting to feel like my only home

is underneath this fertile loam

i proposed a poem

little did i know

that all words erode into poetry

eventually...

& then you'll see

that we were meant to be

friends in the end...

above ground enemies

still "plotting" on me...

land bought & sold,

i'm done rotting,

so i figure i'll haunt them

until they learn the meaning

of eternity, yearning for aether /or

it's a double entendre

for hearing...

i heard that's why god gave you two ears

& one mouth.

the legend of sleepy hollow...

weeping is the only thing i do

proudly

build a town on top of me,

you wouldn't be the first,

nor the last,

don't worry, i won't curse you

unless you count,

"fuck this shit, you ass."

nah, i'm just kidding,

it's all composted manure

in the end...

like a buffoon i lampoon

my tudors, the crusades,

louis pasteur rolling in his grave

they still kill cats to invent

the black plague

just look at the panthers,

huey blasted like ten months after i was born...

the final nail in the casket?

not quite, every black night is reborn

with the sunrise

daylight

shine a light 'pon dem demons

with no shadows to conceal

all is revealed, in time...

see, in time,

we won't celebrate the puppet masters,

our noses keep growing

every time they ask us to stay silent.

i'm passive, but i'll pass on this...

pass it on to my next of kin,

cause i'm not passing on

without unveiling god's master plan:

no more masters, no more slaves.

we mastered the art of liberation,

by any & all means...

i flip the script non-violently...

i all ways put my life on the line,

(X marks the spot

where i sign my name, quietly)

while their

crimes against humanity

vandalize the statue of liberty

for all the world to see

like she did...

when the son of a panther

gave her a pair of glasses

& her tears fell into the sea

when she saw the seashells

on the seashore

ghosts of bodies

floating on the ocean waves

like beach balls

we see through the sand

like seagulls at sea world

scouting out free meals

like sailboats surfing the wind

sharkfins permeate the coast

where we ride surf boards,

& on shore?

mass graves as conspicuous

as beached whales...

we're not off course,

we just wish we were

anywhere but here...

still i stay cheerful,

cause i'm here for

the sun, moon, and stars

(lest i forget earth)

i pause & think of your paws

the only arms i need

5-fingers palmate like starfish

our prickly skinned kin

5 appendages, if you count the head

(best we do, i've got goosebumps)

i use it to make a wish...

a dolphin taught me

to steer clear of sharks

& give thanks for all the fishes

in the sea...

especially you

whom i know

in your heart of hearts

desires to swim free.

with or without me,

i pray you find peace.