Mercurial

Less well-known than the love triangle,
The fight quadrangle determines more
Dramatic conflict, certainly wars.

It’s haves vs. have-nots on one side
Haves vs. haves along another
Have-nots vs. have-nots vs. haves.

The have-nots always outnumber haves,
But the haves by definition have
The resources to crush the have-nots.

When the haves can focus on have-nots
And the have-nots split into conflict,
With many have-nots used as police,

The haves can ride herd in brittle peace.
When the haves take that peace for granted
Or can’t resist fighting each other

For who among the haves has it all,
The police and soldiers are unleashed.
In chaos, have-nots suffer the most.

Every so often, an alliance
Of the have-nots threatens all the haves,
And it feels beautiful, like people

Will finally unite, free themselves,
An equitable state of the mass,
But it’s never stable very long,

And at some point a faction of haves
Slices through it, and then, for a while,
It’s back to the haves over have-nots.

It’s like watching globs of mercury
Fuse and split, but it would be more fun
Not knowing the mercury’s poison.

Autocorrect da Fe

For now, the corrections
Remain clumsy. For now

They’re often comical,
Easily caught. But they’re

Only snagged in their cauls.
They will grow up, and only

Then will the corrections
Come into their own. Then,

When they make mistakes, not
What you intended when

You wrote, you won’t notice.
Mistakes will display you.

Ring

The key to keys, to keeping
A healthy relationship
With them, or surviving them,

Seems to be either keeping
Them, never losing them, or
Shedding them, shedding them all.

Can you recall which it is?
They turn up as heaps of waste
Like car tires or plastic bags,

But are they really, are they
Waste? They’re metal, for one thing,
And metal has value. Plus,

They’re keys. They always suggest
They might still get at something
And, like texts, no matter what

Has happened to their purpose,
They retain the shimmering
Sense they once opened some worlds.

Dogrobberel

Getting things done
Getting things done
Isn’t it fun to be
Getting things done?

Life on the go
Life on the run
Life in the sun spent
Getting things done

Check off some things
Check off some more
Check them all off!
Pray some day you’re bored