hundred thousand

     Hiroshima nineteen forty five

No no not the end of

          Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

Guatemala murdered

     two hundred thousand

               Indians

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

200 thousand

               slaughtered in Rwanda

     Crazed events

                    on the TV screen

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

U.S. Blacks in jail

               land of the free

     mosta these citizens you & me

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

Fossil fuel dust filling heaven

     ozone layer hole in the sky

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

Oldest trees in the world cut down

     Weyerhaeuser Bush wears a cardboard Crown

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Not the end of Civilization

Amazon forests cut to the ground

     you can still breathe

          to the chainsaw’s sound

No no not the end of

               Civilization

     Only a temporary aberration

No No it’s not the end of Civilization

It’s Nobadaddy’s

     old temptation

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

Everybody’s waltzing

     to “the Hesitation”

It’s the same damned

President’s Inauguration

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

We’re come to “the fabled

damned of Nations”

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

Slaves wore chains

at the States’ creation

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

sourpuss wantsa stop colored immigration

Nobody’s wearing

hooves & scales

all they wanna do is

kill more whales

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

No no it’s not the end of Civilization

Cayenne saved a little bit of sensation

No no it’s not the end of civilization

No final solution

just gas & cremation

December 18–20, 1996

Bad Poem

Being as Now has been re-invented

I have devised a new now

Entering the real Now

at last

which is now

December 24, 1996, 3 A.M.

Homeless Compleynt

Pardon me buddy, I didn’t mean to bug you

     but I came from Vietnam

where I killed a lot of Vietnamese gentlemen

                    a few ladies too

and I couldn’t stand the pain

               and got a habit out of fear

& I’ve gone through rehab and I’m clean

     but I got no place to sleep

                    and I don’t know what to do

                         with myself right now

I’m sorry buddy, I didn’t mean to bug you

     but it’s cold in the alley

                    & my heart’s sick alone

     and I’m clean, but my life’s a mess

                    Third Avenue

                         and E. Houston Street

     on the corner traffic island under a red light

     wiping your windshield with a dirty rag

December 24, 1996

Happy New Year Robert & June

Happy New Year Robert & June

Tho I’d hoped to see you soon

I’d better say Happy Hanukkah too

Till I get your number that’s new—

I’ll be leaving for retreat,

Where they make me salt-free meat

along with Gelek Rinpoche

Who’s got ailments same as me,

in Michigan Camp Copneconic

Where I’ll room with Mr. Harmonic

Philip Glass in our Buddhist Class

Ten days later January 8

I’ll go to Boston, rest & wait

the weekend in anticipation

Maybe a hernia operation

supervised by Dr. Lown

(cardiologist of wide renown

—I’d recommended him to you

elderly trustworthy smart & true)

—Recuperate a week with Ellie

Dorfman, eat yellow fish-yuckh jelly