A LATE FATE

Seas fossilize into parched buttes

trapped shellfish

anthropoids in dark matter.

Time did not freeze

as massive ice ball

and volcanoes

merge into passive resistance

push and pull

on earth axis.

The bacteria count is one.

A joke of cosmic proportions,

life is a stunning pool of

bombarded asteroid

ice

melting eons

upon eons

until the surf is up

the sun is down

and sulfur tide pools

froze hominoids in their tracks.

Enough is enough

when will the party begin?

A TIME TO WRITE

I pleaded with Algren

to cut the bull shit

forget about those whores,

petty thieves

and drunks.

They're a distraction-

you say an inspiration.

But you need to write,

be a good husband-

you told Preminger

to go screw himself

along with Hollywood-

I don't disagree

I would too.

You said you felt unappreciated

in Chicago,

banned books,

corrupt political hypocrisy,

under Bellows arrogant shadow.

Yes

maybe you need

a rest

at a Sag Harbor cottage

by the sea,

it may not be too late

to write

one last novel

about the beautiful woman

with a broken nose.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS  (without equations)

Photosynthesis reveals

a meditation

dreamscape of fossils,

a cosmic crawl

toward life force

past and present.

Photosynthesis reflects

a solar glow of

watery inhalation

breathing dark matter

a disjointed pigment

of a blue green ghost.

Photosynthesis offers

a folly

of  burst molecules

electric in a swampy skin

an ephemeral ocean

of death and decay.

Photosynthesis proclaims

a dazzled synthesis

of sugary

transfer

an emerald  glow

beyond   

measured time,

the end and beginning

twisted

in an eternal web. 

CLIMATE CHANGE

The perch in Lake Michigan

are using anti-depressants.

Don't forget the lonely Spotted Owl

addicted to xanex

as they find shelter

in Pacific Coast pulpwood.

Then there is the howler monkey

who prefers natural St. John's Wort

to soothe jangled nerves.

Yes the list is long.

The only way out is

out,

pushed from fragmented habitats,

an exodus

to a zoo

as human botany

observes

iphone in hand

a selfie

deleted

of natural history

a cry

in a mounted museum.

DIVINE

A comedy?

Inferno

Dark fraudulent night

sleepless shadows

resonate gray masks

colorless voyage into circles of fury

no sunrise nor treacherous sunset

alone by the toxic river

only to return the next day.

Purgatorio

Bland hungry terrace

splashed face of proudly departed

a wrathful detour from humble madness

invisible to impassive crowds

a short breath

climbing

beleaguered from flight

only to return the next day.

Paradiso

Vacant stars in night sky

a full moon

winds of hope

contemplate

the mystery

where knowledge wisely departs

planets evolve and expand

into the sweet abyss of days

only to return

to mystery the next day.

John Raffetto