and points north

philosophy is the luxury of people

who have energy left after subsistence is met

it is also the last stop on the train to being spent

there aren’t any middle class philosophers

even though there are bars and boardrooms

filled with the ersatz

carefully staying within the lines

beauty exceeds boundaries

truth was absent from school the day they were taught

nothing teaches as hunger does

it has been days between stations

and i have no choice but to accept the sun’s rudeness

the unholy glare some mistake for angels

pierces me where i sit in motion

i am a projectile moved beyond will

considering the facts as i know them to be unknown

uncertain

obfuscated by the blinding white

i release the belts designed for our safety

and comfort and become untethered

gravity cares less to hold me

and i float

to see enough is to see too much

above the train i see birds clinging to branches

clinging to trees clinging to earth why would one

not fly if one could i have my purple crayon

and a bad attitude waiting for a duck to color

sitting in a field of daisies

both of us

the duck is not disturbed by my visions or voices

the unparalleled universe has no need to compromise

for toes to be webbed

flowers are already abstractions

unreal testament promoting public nudity

and copulation candy coated and dripping

with the very words the holy

omit

travels are endless until the train stops

conductors never smile in their knowing

each curve

each bump

each cross road crossed off the list

along with the names of imaginary friends

and lovers whose faces scrape along windows

and you can see it in their eyes the words that

catch in the back of the throat

constantly editing text and removing sentiment

with little meaning other than the wonder of their

sound

vibrations that fade and become memories

and memories become thorns

and thorns become wrapped around our must tender parts

our petals bright velvet vulnerable

trembling in the wind from the trucks carrying us all onward

away from all of the miracles which have no conspiracy with power

toward the graven images which should be

at least six stations behind us