D. Russel Micnhimer

smoke and fire
bomb dust thick
carved with tears
she moves a broken stone
and grabs her dolly’s hand

Today we honor and remember ultimate sacrifice
Of all who answered and served our country’s call;
Who fought and in gore of battle took their final fall
For each of us they gave all their yet lived fill of life.

They held freedom they were living worth fighting for
No matter what their age or when in history time
Called for their service, many went in their prime,
Never to return from the horrors of the current war.

Today we mourn their lives, place flowers on their graves
And flags to mark weapons they brandished in defense
And offense to defeat enemy before they breached the fence
Preserving the land of the frees and homes of the braves.

We know that stopping of their hearts, no matter when,
With each free breath, we take, we give them life again.

in some distant far off
sleight of hand
there stands a colossus
on its head

heart long ago
turned to stone
and breath to sand
ringing ringing ringing

eyes above the sheen
of kings
beyond the hollow
logs of barks
recording marks
of shallow ways
beyond their means
with bells that
rang and rang and rang

ears sheared
by cloud fleece tip
scales of kippered pounds
leaving their appointed
rounds writhing on grounds
of incriminations
discovered upward
sprawling
rung by rung by rung

Gravity has no bounds
we all own a universal share

there is no rheostat
no ambiguity

it is either on
or off

unless you
go into space

you are planted
firmly on the ground

but

there is levity
an opposite of gravity

that we can
all embrace

find things funny
everywhere

and with a simple
smile

transcend
Newton’s law.

clear night sky with no star or planet or moon
clear day sky without sun or cloud or blue

bare earth without stone or dust, root, bark, flower or seed
ocean without shore or waves, foam, salt or tide

strong music with out beat or note, measure or melody
wind without direction or motion, not inhaled nor exhaled

heart empty of systole and diastole , in and
out lungs always full and empty and still

legs stepping feet tread every step of full path
arms surround empyrean with minuscule hugs

voice of silence embraces matrix of echoes
even AUM fades away

I think
she must
be having
dreams
that
are split
into two
different
points
of view

for her
sake I
hope that
is all

more
would be
hellacious
to deal with

I fear though
she thinks
both are
the same
and she has
no authority
to choose
the better
of the two.

I love them
both or many
but
they really
are a goddamn
pain to deal
with.

And after
the inferior
has been subdued
my role
is hardly
ever remembered
so they go off
healed
and love and fuck
somebody else.