a bloodstain on it
probes his aching wound,
anguished, he feels
the crescent moon
slipping through his fingers;
the fir howls
over the corpse
of a fallen cedar,
a blue garnet sky
shatters against
the black diamond night
radiant with dreams;
there is no pure, white gold on Earth.
Rumor has it that five more murders have been committed in a two week
period,
all attributed to the radical right.
GOLDEN SERPENT
A golden serpent,
with red ruby eyes,
circles the globe
devouring its tail;
in crimson colored sadness,
in charred chunks of granite,
and in undeclared city war zones
where I pereginate round the secret
heart rending moments of darkness.
The empty blocks heave sighs,
an echoing mausoleum:
flaming firebomb of hate-
and the great sacrifice
waits and watches with God.
Rumor says, the radical right contrived to have a small business firebombed,
for
the heinous crime of selling cheap food to indigent poor people that
the radical
right didn't approve of.
SINCE A BOY
I have visited the place since a boy
and remember when they planted the Linden tree,
which oversees the grass in the Tudor garden
that is bright with city sounds in mid-afternoon
and dark with solitude at night.
This evening, in the warm green twilight of Summer,
something miraculous happened, a transmigration.
It started when the leaves of the tree
turned into peacock plumage, and, instead of dew,
diamonds glistened from its limbs.
From out of its foliage
a voice whispered to the wind
"Nothing can exist without God's complete attention,
everything is predestined.".
Then, the tree began to melt away
into a place orbicularly perfect,
and the garden and this hand
were completely enveloped by night.
Its up to you gentle reader, to determine
whether the tree or my hand, as it finished
writing this, or both, turned invisible....
WHAT ANOTHER RIOT!?!
Transformed
while sleeping
the great darkness
of the labyrinth city
leaps up
shattering broken windows
with a contrived riot
that reveal
their neo-facist souls-
true
believers
of oxymorons
and deceit
led prayers
who talk
of Wall Street on the side-
Naked
revelations
kneeling
lewdly thrusting
again with hypocritical
being beside oneself
coercion
saving "US"
from straw man anarchism
with their unctuous Word,
world enslaving propaganda.
Rumor has it earlier this
Summer the radical right staged a riot. Anarchism is
a defunct political ideology, which had its last viable manifestation
in 1930
Spain. Yet, like the radical right's pretend to be Maoist attacks
in Turkey and
India (see issue 20) we are told by their Herr Goebell propaganda machine,
that
it was a gang of anarchists who rioted in Eugene. Conveniently
ignoring the
fact that all gangs in Oregon have been either led or manipulated by
the radical
right for at least the last 15 years; and, who use them to harvest
our youths,
for which they receive bounties, and as a means to systematically condition
our
young people (see previous issues) to be oppressed.
Rumor says, we are asked
to believe an extinct political ideology that does not believe in
coercive relations would attack the right of private property, which
it is not
opposed to. Also, we are asked to believe that they are ineffectually
trying to
coerce multinational corporations by breaking small local buisness
windows in
Eugene. Further, we know the radical right has used staged riots
to distract
public attention and to effect public policy in the past i.e. the bogus
skin
head riot in Portland, and the radical right is currently attacking
our civil
liberties camouflaging them as crime bills i.e. youth curfew,
self-incrimination, trial by jurors, strip searches to name a few.
If true, it is obvious that what is
being attempted is the old fallacy of rational
thought known as the straw man argument. One establishes a bogus
position only
to repudiate it. Here it is supposedly used to justify systematic
coercion by the
radical right to institute their tyranny in place of our civil liberties.
By
discrediting a bogus group supposedly against coercion they then use
it to mute
criticism and sanctify their own efforts to coerce our free society.
Meanwhile,
Eugene gets hammered again, this time by a disguised neo-facist riot.
So rumor
says.
What is not rumor is the
fact that anarchists such as Robert Owen are
responsible for the establishment of trade unions, child labor laws,
and the 40
hour work week. Or, Saint-Simon whose political work developed
into the Social
Democracies of Western Europe. These are just a few of the constructive
contributions anarchists have made to civilization, in stark contrast
to the
erroneous stereotype of the destructive bomb throwing revolutionaries
found in
the propaganda journals.
THE THINGS
The things in this room
are all so familiar
they become an indistinct blur,
an island of light, the desk,
the chairs, the library.
These things have no proper names:
suddenly I seem to be underground
in a sort of vault, where there
is pen, paper, and computer.
And when I try to leave
I'm detained....At this,
I question all the ideas
that have been given to me,
then I am taken out,
and sent back to my room.
When settled in I realize
that I am molting,
but perhaps its all a hallucination,
so I persist in my beliefs.
One night it grows cold,
which leads me to walk through the house,
and I realize that all the rooms
are no longer those of my home,
one room has a locked door,
another has shrunk.
There is a room that is clumsy
with instruments and, at the North
end, one that has a round table
with three men sitting at it.
Outside empty plains
extend into the vague distance.
Gazing at these new surroundings
I am filled with wonder:
how much clearer everything near is
and how much more is far away.
BEYOND ALL THIS
Beyond the terminally dull dinner party,
the river is red as the red sky;
the light is flat and listless, like at an eclipse;
the city sprawls beneath fiery clouds,
Dis blazing in a subterranean cavern
under a burning dome.
Time seems to have stopped.
Ahhh....to be away, alone with one's thoughts.
Beyond the polite hypocrisy is a desire for oblivion.
The insipid chatter is suddenly muted.
People slide away until, far in the distance,
they're about one inch tall.
The light becomes dim and dismal, layered conversations
make it seem as if all the guests are deaf.
If only time were discontinuous and could leap about at will:
Ahhh.... to be away, alone with one's thoughts.
THE FIRST THING
The first thing I remember
was being alone and helpless,
in the dark with everything formless.
Then there were voices and a house
that emitted light from all its
windows and doors as bright as the Sun.
I was drawn toward the house.
Next, I found myself in a room
filled with people who were
busy talking with each other.
A door opened and there stood an elderly lady
with brightly dyed purple hair.
The air grew cold,
the voices glittered with malice.
Someone sinisterly suggested
we should chop her head off.
Everyone else angrily agreed.
With great sarcasm I loudly asked,
"Why should we only chop the head off
of a silly, vain old lady,
for trying to be happy?
We should murder everyone who bleaches their hair.
And, while we're at it why not kill everyone
who is either vain or foolish,
or, how about anyone we don't like,
or, anyone whose convenient?
We can incorporate, and form a pyramid organization,
and make lots of undeclared profits.".
By now I realize this is only a dream,
and no one will really die.
However, I do realize this is not just my dream
that it was a teleported, virtual reality dream
that I had taken control of.
Or is it my dream?
Perhaps I never woke up?
Perhaps I just am an interrupted teleported dream
entering into a dream
that is dreamed by somebody else,
who in turn is dreamed by someone else
and that all these dreams of dreams
extend away throughout eternity
in one giant web.
I awake
and disappear,
like the image in a window at night
when the light is extinguished
and with it the room, and house, and city.
Perhaps I'm still in the glass.
FUNCTION, DOMAIN
The neighborhood is quiet, there is no wind,
finally the reclusive Sun quietly shows itself.
And, the expressionless, empty sky is still.
If only my heart were as quiet as all of these.
But, this can never be, between me
and the quiet glories of a radiant afternoon
are those with faces of flames, who will always try
to suppress my beautiful dreams- that is how it is.
The universe is a reflection
from the twin mirrors of my eyes.
Nothing exists outside my mind,
which functions as a subjective filter of all that is for me.
LONE FIR CEMETERY
My deep pools of green shade hover over
the first graves in the city,
where the sky spreads out
like a big blue lake
and dew washes
the patient grass.
Lone fir, quiet grid
of syllables and beds,
after image of dark mounds
silently listening during
Winter's steady day-long-downpours.
With map and whisk broom
we tread through barrow-dwellers
stooping before the ineffable
to read the time effaced script
of ancient tombstones.
YOUR LAUGHING EYES
Reflecting on your laughing eyes, I am transported to the coast,
I gaze down at a tidal pool among the rocks beside the sea,
a mirror where the sea anemones see the gulls,
embraced by the quiet grey clouds above.
I seem to recall, though recollection like forgetfulnes is a creative
act,
your smile was without guile being a simple soul,
unlike me who wanders through these labyrinth days
harmed by the World's evil ways, carrying my misery like a charm.
What is true is this: that the memory of your expression
washes away exaggerated fears in a wave of joy,
and that your image finds its way into my darkening memory
sharp like a beacon in the night.
THE INTERNATIONAL DRUG TRADE
It is rumored that the radical right is dominating
the international drug trade,
to further their own political and economic objectives. The rumors
say that
they have caused the epidemics in drug use to create a reactionary
response by
the different classes within society. And, they hope to then
transfer that
reactionary response into support for their own private, right wing
agenda.
Timed simultaneously, to the drug epidemics, are intensive propaganda
campaigns
designed to shape public opinion. To this end, rumor has it,
heavy investments,
designed to displace the institutional integrity of the mass
media, have been
made throughout the U.S. and Europe and the Third World i.e. movies,
T.V., radio and papers.
Stories championing the benefits of competition and privatization bombard
the
public; while, stories decrying the evils of social services and big
government
inundate the media. Also, attempts are made to present laudable
social service
programs as being potentially financially insolvent, which are intended
to
undermine public confidence in government's ability to provide these
essential
services. The radical right also tries to pawn off, on an unsuspecting
public,
poorly designed and badly timed tax cuts; and, tries to pursue social
policies
that condition society to be oppressed.
What is at stake? Rumor
contends, an antiquated economic model advocated by the radical right
that champions privatization, and transfers to them hundreds of billions
of
additional profits per year. Rumor says, the radical right stands
to make a
killing. Justified conveniently by Almighty God, a self serving
belief that
harkens all the way back to St. Austin, who contended that "the wicked
have a
right to nothing, and the godly to all things". Conveniently,
the radical right
has decided that they, of course, are the godly, and any one who, either,
disagrees with them, or, is not one of them, is the wicked.
Rumor has it that Social
Security and it's European equivalents will be at
first augmented and then replaced by private investment accounts, which
dramatically increase the value of the radical right's investments
and financial
institutions. No attention is paid to the fact that, with their
Third World
economic model, the majority of people will not be able to retire,
and, those
that do are recommended to leave their money invested and to only withdraw
part
of the interest that the retirement accounts accrue. The
net effect being that
the radical right will be keeping large amounts of other people's
retirement
money indefinitely. Investing in financial markets will tend
to exacerbate down
turns in the economic cycle (an event which occurred in 47 years out
of the last
century) and increase financial market volatility. Not an optimally
beneficial
scenario to base people's retirement on- assuming they get to retire.
Rumor has it that Medicare
and it's European equivalents i.e. universal public
health will be replaced by an American styled HMO system. This
will yield
hundreds of billions from Western Europe each year, just as it already
does in
the U.S.. In Europe this will yield worse health to the elderly,
the poor, and
the chronically ill, just as it already has in the U.S.. Also,
this will enable
the radicle right to tap into and siphon off a substantial portion
of wage
increases each year, as more and more of wage settlements will be directed
towards health care insurance; hence, into the pockets of the insurance
companies, instead of into the pockets of hard working households.
What country
would ever agree to letting private institutions, whose whole motive
is profits,
rather than public institutions whose whole motive is the entire public's
well
being, control the health and retirement of its citizens? Market
dynamics will
dictate that the number of providers will atrophy. The market
survivors will be
those that realize the greatest profits, and that can only happen by
providing
cheaper/worse services. There is obviously a conflict of interest
factored into
the private institutions' plan for providing health care. They
give worse
health to significant numbers of people and then attempt to restrict
their
responsibility, by capping the amount they have to pay in punitive
damages.
And, in America this is called a 'health care bill of rights', when
in fact it
does just the opposite: it steals our right of legal redress by a jury
of our
peers.
What does all this have
to do with the drug trade? Rumor saya, as previously noted, it
distracts the public from other issues, like the two mentioned above.
Further,
it radicalizes the public in a right wing direction. Also, it
conditions the
society to accept irrational attitudes that are not in its best interest.
Finally, it roles back 100 yrs of social progress brought about by
sound
economic policies. Policies that work and have proven their worth.
And, now on
to the distraction- Drugs.
Rumor has it that the radical
right first created a coke epidemic in the U.S.
This occurred in the early 80s, at the same time they started their
policies of
international terrorism, which they tried to disguise as Communist
activity.
Initially, this was done to fund, from private independent sources,
the illegal
wars against Nicaragua and El Salvador. It was so successful
that they then
took over the drug trade in Columbia, by eliminating the two existing
cartels.
Shortly after this the radical right started flooding Switzerland with
heroin,
to induce them into opening all private bank accounts for examination-
all
except their own. This was successful, only Switzerland legalized
heroin and
eliminated many of the negative social phenomenon associated with the
heroin
trade. The radical right intends to reverse this policy as soon
as possible.
Next, we saw the radical right inundate India with heroin from Kashmir.
This
was done to try and change India's attitude toward the use of drugs,
which has
been an integral feature in Indian society since before western imperialism
impoverished India. It was believed that heroin addicts would
be the most
expedient way to accomplish this. It also made the radical right
huge amounts
of profits, to fund their various political activities throughout the
Middle
East and Europe. Unfortunately, this policy met with a certain
measure of
"success". Finally, in lew of the success generated in Columbia
and Kashmir,
Afghanistan became the next exporter of opiates for the radical
right. This
was done to increase it's influence and further it's political and
economic
objectives. We witnessed, during the Reagon and Bush era, 100s
of millions
spent first, to defeat the Soviet Union's army, and, second, to recruit
and
organize and train fanatical Islamic fundamentalist from Morocco and
Algeria to
India and Indonesia. Now we see them trying to use heroin to
increase political
influence in Iran (a country that has some of the toughest drug laws
in the
World) and Western Europe. Rumor has it that with the level (hundreds
of
millions of dollars) and length (over twenty years) of radical right
influence
in impoverished Afghanistan no organized drug trade or arms traffic
could exist
without the radical right controlling it. First, they have a
history of this
kind of activity. Second, they have plenty of motivation, 100s
of billions of
dollars each year are at stake. Third, the people are never supposed
to know.
So rumor says.