No. One

  iiiiiiiiiiiiiiflew,

  Ikaros

  burned

  Dead before arrival.

  It was a tragedy for sure,

  But not without triumph.

  To scorch oneself in glory,

  Far from confinement,

  Perfectly content amidst the flame;

  The world might serve in following his example

  By leaping with exultant aim,

  Knowing though the goal is scarce(ly a dream),

  We might save ourselves.

  Mankind. Unburdened from doom.

  ~

  No. Two

  If there is a god, let us collectively spit upon its existence,

  Then love it with tender words and the embrace of brothers,

  Mothers, fathers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends,

  All dead.

  ~

  No. Three

  Spite yourself as you would your enemies,

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  And hate your friends with intimate fondness.

  Know your lover, but not too greatly,

  And hug your mother before she begins (to cry or frown, it’s only proper).

  War against unjust insanity,

  The inner kind that kicks and shoves.

  Trust in the world,

  Bleed over pearl,

  Hoist wisdom or don’t,

  Flee from too-warm coats,

  And never trust a,

  Liar, every one of them;

  Those rhymers and schemers,

  Deceivers and dreamers;

  They’ve never known you as I have-

  -poets, what wastrels.

  ~

  No. Four

  Snow in the summertime,

  Rain in the desert:

  I swear I’ve seen them both.

  ~

  No. Five

  The moon is falling

  Away from Earth,

  Jealous of blue love that shines for the sun.

  It chases Mercury,

  A quicksilver fuck

  That will bring relief for a single September.

  ~

  No. Six

  Boldly did we eight declare:

  “Survival! Arrival! Heaven is here!”

  Billions were we, divided but sure-

  -our lives were worth more, our purity du jour,

  As if we were not all strands of DNA.

  When the end arrived, it-

  -clattered and clanged, boomed and banged,

  And all of us died alone.

  ~

  No. Seven

  Stupidity is the ultimate sin,

  Or so we’ve been led to believe.

  Cannot, should not, be not, has not-

  -brains are just one part of we;

  We millions and many, we striving folk.

  Betterment over languishing,

  Atop the silken throne.

  There is joy to be had:

  In trying alone.

  In meeting failure

  And never casting the stone.

  ~

  No. Eight

  I would dance and sing for the rest of my days-

  Had I only the strength, had I only a way:

  Robeson would boom,

  Freddy would ring,

  Dolly would smile,

  And thousands would fling,

  Notes forever, and ever, to the end of my days,

  -were I a lobster,

  Undying 'til braised.

  ~

  No. Nine

  The lance has shattered-

  A childhood breaks alongside

  -the mother’s ribcage.

  ~

  No. Ten

  I am,

  Or so I thought,

  Until you walked and talked,

  Bearing an old hat that smelled of forest pine.

  All the nasty things I thought,

  From then on,

  I was.

  Without Explanation:

  No. Ten

  No. Six