Slow Motive Carriage

"Because I could not stop for Death, 
He kindly stopped for me" -Emily Dickinson

And I looked, and behold a pale Ford: 
and his name who sat inside it was Death, 
and a knell followed with him. And power 
was given to him over the poorest part 
of the heart, to fill with a word, 
and with Summer, and with breath, 
and with the beats of the heart. 
And when he slipped out of the fifth gear, 
I saw under the falter the soles 
of them that were maimed for this 
absurd fraud, and for the sanctimony 
under which they cycled. This scavenger

prowls under the guise of salvager. 
His trophies are grotesqueries strapped 
just above the headliner: heads lined 
like mementoes of the living. They gaze 
with inanimate feelings while a song 
is written out in a signature of time 
with which I am not familiar. 
Their mouths open and they begin 
to sing. I surmise that their audience 
is somewhere towards eternity.

See Death's Chariot here: http://instagram.com/p/c7-6mHITNy/

Crisp and Crass

My salad went bad again today.
Just like it did the week before.
Spending time away from home
will only make sure
that the greens you've gathered
spoil in the dark at the bottom
of your failing crisping drawer.

Poem by Heberto Padilla

Don't forget it, poet.
In whatever place and time
you make
or endure History,
there will always be lying in wait
some dangerous poem.

Late White Flower

In my empty kitchen, a used up paper cake cup
Becomes a rare genus of white rose
when rolled in between my fingertips.
I could not think of anyone to gift it to but you,
Now nowhere to be found. Perhaps an hour before
When we stood beneath the neighbors' seeping patio,
The leaking liquid falling in loud spats
Brought on by the Spring thaw,
You would have accepted
This token of my affectation.

And recognizing the imaginativeness of its beauty
You would have remembered why
It was we make such incredible love.
Instead, you stood over your rusted bicycle.
A Valkyrie and steed, hair curling in the wind,
Eyes melting the world around us.
This is our Vigrior, this empty parking space the scene
Of our last clash. I try to tear your fingers from the handlebar
And pull you in towards me, begging that you choose
To spirit me off with you into your paradise.

But empty handed, without a rose,
Without even a reason for you to stay,
You back away. I back away. The cold is just as unforgiving
When it hits me, and I remember the numbing
Sensation of abandonment. You take off where
I cannot follow, over the earth gasping for breath.
Somewhere near, the raven beckons
In foreign words from its unseen perch
To find another set of wings to flay.

Everyday Mind Freak 1/25/2011

Everyday mind freak 1/25/2010: The combined historic emissions of just seven US states—Texas, California, Illinois, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio—totalled more than any other country in the world, including China in 05. Since then China and India, both with populations exceeding 1 billion, have had significant rises in emissions. Imagine what it will be like when two more countries are living like we do.

Everyday Mind Freak 1/24/2011

Everyday mind freak 1/24/2010: the Mona Lisa doesn't have eyebrows. In Renaissance Florence shaving off your eyebrows was what was hot on the streets.

Update: Research has shown that the Mona Lisa did in fact have eyebrows at one time. The loss of the top paint layers with the eyebrows is the unfortunate result of restoration and cleaning techniques. Still mind freaky.

Everyday Mind Freak 1/23/2011

Everyday mind freak 1/23/2010: Popeye had a nephew named Poopeye.

Everyday Mind Freak 1/22/2011

Our galaxy is on a collision course with the Andromeda Galaxy.

Today's Everyday Mind Freak was brought to you by the Adler Planetarium. The Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum: "Because the Museum of Science and Industry sucked when you were 13 and it still sucks today."

Everyday Mind Freak 1/21/2011

Today's everyday mind freak is brought to you by the Adler Planetarium. "Proving that you're not the only star in the universe since 1930."

Why is the day sky blue? Not because of the oceans. Nitrogen, which makes up 78% of the atmosphere, scatters blue light from the sun the most efficiently which causes us to perceive the sky as blue.

Everyday Mind Freak 1/20/2011

What do you call someone who plays guitar? What do you call someone who plays piano? What do you call someone who plays cello? What do you call someone who plays violin? What do you call someone who tours? What do you call someone who makes art? What do you call someone who raps?...a-haaa ::finger wave::