[running through metropolis.]



informing stacked screens in shop windows:
this neutrality does not alert the public.
calm demeanor behind the navy blue Armani
updated glass eyes blink in the back.
a dictating teleprompter reading: ‘speak’
and many ignorant facts; complied conspiracies.

media is the metropolitan mind,
and we watch, watch and listen.
afraid to change a system,
fearful of a new method,
terrified of the authority.



take a right to the corporation district
where CEOs grow mirrored square structures
sprouting stacked skyscrapers with cubicle buds
releasing document pollens into the streets
and the lines of pressed suits congregate.
in the inbox, out the outbox;
take one, pass it on.



nine to five finishes finally,
and the crowded individuals climb
into separate hazard machines.
like cells pouring into the artery;
automobiles amount on the freeway.
all spewing smoke:
the most prevalent factory in motion.



flocking populace, bustling metropolis
where rush hour rushes past impoverished.
no, I do not have spare change.
no, I do not have an extra cigarette.
this taste of realities is too bitter
and we are afraid of one another.

i will not look into your face, stranger.



establishments, institutions, organizations,
associations, societies, foundations,
businesses, enterprises, ventures,
clubs, unions, parties,
groups, guilds and alliances…
so many.
and still, there’s a ache for real individuality.


insanity and illnesses
are curbed by the apothecaries.
a popped-top bottle solicits
‘take twice daily.’
the feeling is so first-rate.
they call these the wonder drugs.



we cope when we are fed:
glistening grease in the french fry sunshine.
wakey wakey, eggs and bakey.
sold by odd creatures and signs
with painted-on smiles.

they say ‘eat up’
we ask ‘how high?’

fast fed nutrition
has no redemption
when there’s  
miniscule vegetation
on a half pound of western cattle.



so what are you for, sweet city?
we are blindly earning our keep;
we must be deserving
of these concrete monuments.

could we stop stoking the progress fires
and feeding the machines for a day?
can the gears be jammed?