A Certain Kind of Hell for Us All

They are criminals
all levels of Inferno
dollars by the ton
Amazonian tumors
blind babies
water used for microchips
entire canyons filled
for empires
the signs of tribes
leeched from memory
seeded Indian blankets
heads and femurs
for Smithsonian
carpet bombing
bulldozing homes
the sign of the devils
rickets, bloat, scum

these boys and girls
mothers’ birthing canals
strychnine, character-
draining fathers
DNA recombinant
hormones looping
into brains made for
buying consuming
TV and screen-loving
the stories — drivel of
Jews in high places
freaky goy make believe
the unreality of their lives
screen shots frozen
intellect, conversations
like advertising promos
they talk with gusto
about Inferno actors
non-artist music makers
sports and death
videos lock and loaded racism
games made by spectrum stars

these people are You Tube
ready for fame, belly shots
breast shots, judo masters
of silly, until putty
is the form of logic
listening to millionaires
mess with billionaires
politics like pig 4-H contests
looking for biggest
jowls, the words hammered
like high school antics
America the great
the dollar the deity
the endless strip malls
pavement our graves
cradle to consumer
the flies in the ointment
we laugh at Hillary-Cruz-Carson
the Daily Kos like some
pimp gallery, Huffington
Post like a George Will
prostitute Obama-Bush
they go on TV, talk-talk-talk
but Amerika is dead
fueled by killing Navajo
Mohicans the land
tilled with fetus placenta
brain bone meal heart
until we Jabberwocky
into wheelchairs
loaded with the goods
sucrose and fructose
endless Baby Huey
Call of Duty
the devil and her
he-wolf, folded in
cranium, legs twisted
the American dream
of forever entertained
amusing themselves
into billionaires’ flames

Paul Haeder's been a teacher, social worker, newspaperman, environmental activist, and marginalized muckraker, union organizer. Paul's book, Reimagining Sanity: Voices Beyond the Echo Chamber (2016), looks at 10 years (now going on 17 years) of his writing at Dissident Voice. Read his musings at LA Progressive. Read (purchase) his short story collection, Wide Open Eyes: Surfacing from Vietnam now out, published by Cirque Journal. Here's his Amazon page with more published work Amazon. Read other articles by Paul, or visit Paul's website.