Desolate ElectriCITY

Image by Mike Olbinski

Desolate ElectriCITY
JCD Kerwin

i’m electric,
passing city lights
while they glow, and
reflect the burning
in my soul.

i feel the lightning storm
of Heaven in
the blink of your eye.

i can’t tell if
i’ve given
up my legs for wings.
the buildings flash by
like Lego blocks
from memories.

these are the Blues
of another kind,
another place,
the whispers of
some forgotten face.

it is summer, but,
despite the sun,
all i feel
is ice.
hold me while
I fade,
sparking in the night.

(Sept. 2014)

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Miss You ForthisEver

I have to stop feeling guilty for writing…even when the product turns out like shit.

Miss You ForthisEver
JCD Kerwin

Tell me when it’s over,
when all the parties end
and no one’s left around.

Lift the mask
so I can see
the way
the moon reflects your soul.

I’ve been sleeping,
dream-walking,
at warp-speed for
as long as I can remember.

I wish stars did shine
like diamonds.

Tell me when it’s over;
just tell me when I’ve got
your lightning
in my arms.

(Aug. 2014)

Mulligan!

This is actually poorly written, but I thought I should be relevant for once.

Mulligan!
JCD Kerwin

Gas masks and bullet stings;
surrounded by police raids,
24-hour protests in the streets.
But stop for a break
so we
can sing an Olympic song,
full of World Peace and cheer.
(Your throat gets cut
the moment
you turn your back.)

Cry-me-a-river for
YouKnowWhere and
OverThere, and
don’t forget
Egypt and Syria,
and do you remember North Korea?
(Are they making boys cut their hair,
or was that a plot twist on Reality TV?
Well,
just don’t tell Old Ringo and Paul.)
And let’s give Africa a break
now that
the greatest man
who ever gave a damn
is dead.

We can’t seem to lose
this greedy weight,
in the west;
yet others can’t get skin
to stick to bones
with the mud from homes,
in deserts.

Wave hello, tell a joke,
to this company; to this corporation—
It’s a person, just like you!
(It’s got a heart and can feel pain!)
So let it loose from the Accountability Noose.

Silicon Valley’s a fancy place
for all the techy kids who want
to hide out in the future,
pretending it’s somehow better
where the grass is deader.
(But you can’t have Tomorrow, kids,
without fixing up Today.)

Watch out!
There’s a drone overhead;
it can read the pizza order on your cell phone.

Make no excuses for the abuses
to the freedoms of our brethren.
Recite the data we’ve memorized when we close our eyes:
“Inside we’re all the same color, but
on the outside I don’t like
the way you say ‘hi,’ and
I don’t like how you tan;
the fact you love another man.
And by the way,
fuck your religion.”

Hail to this land, this earth,
this world; we are all of us damned.
Wait, I have an idea! Take my hand and I’ll lead you to the stars.
We’ll pretend we never happened.

Hallelujah.

(April, 2014)

Yoshino Blossoms

Cherry blossoms at Mount Yoshino

Yoshino Blossoms
JCD Kerwin

I close my eyes
and find you there,
just as before,
on the mountain,
like I remember us:
hand-in-hand,
paying our respects, and
watching the petals
melt into rain puddles and
floating away,
just like our love.

(January, 2014)