Ellyn Maybe

DEJA VIEW (HAIKU)

Historic, toxic.

Rose colored glasses for sale.

Heavy price to pay.

ALL RULES FLY

Pencils don’t need to have an eraser.

Elephants don’t need a trunk full of old maps, but it certainly can’t hurt.

Laughter fits into the palm of your hand like an animal made of play dough.

Alphabet soup is rising in the pan of the world’s kiss.

Argyle goes great with everything.

Bow ties can be worn whenever the moon is full or whenever.

People can wear fuchsia from head to toenail.

The sun has its tongue in the earth’s cheek.

Shining is the only rule.

NOT YET

 

My Allen Watts tapes are rewound.

So are my Michael Ventura tapes

and Helen Caldicott too.

I wrap my ears and heart around

Pacifica for nourishment.

I’m thinking of painting my car yellow

and turning it into a bus.

I defend mother earth.

I’ll arm wrestle for father sky.

I boycott lots and lots of stuff.

I giggled at a crystal in the window

of a new age bookstore.

I play a guitar made of tofu.

I sang happy birthday to a river.

I gave my teeth goddess names.

I visualized wisdom.

Did you hug an organic farm today?

Has your guru asked

for your charge card yet?

I changed all the currency

to pictures of floods, pictures of war,

drawings of overdoses,

people with their backs turned.

Money ought to reflect the society

it has bought.

I took to the road

Stood in front of the Pentagon and asked

Trick or trick or trick or trick.

 

For Halloween I saw how people sank

as they dunked for survival.

New apples in the garden of toxic waste.

 

I changed the national anthem to

My Country Tis of Thy People You’re Dying

by Buffy St. Marie.

I painted a shadow around the White House.

 

I saw leaders fall into quicksand

of their ego.

I saw followers breakdown

then rise with the taste

of their own strength.

 

I saw people give the peace sign

and then use those two fingers

as a guillotine to cut up hope

in an embracing heart.

I saw hip.

I saw trendy.

I saw Emperor’s New Clothes

on all the racks.

I saw hypocrisy.

I heard people call ignorance a treat

as they said to me

you trick us

you scare us

you’re a witch

please shut up.

 

I said every day is halloween.

And they said

you’re fat

you don’t know

you are nothing

you are nothing

you are nothing but a crazy woman

you rant and tangent.

 

And I said what do you see?

And it was as if the earth

quit breathing to see what

all its children would mumble.

And the telephones that dialed evangelists.

And the telephones that dialed 976.

 

And the telephones that dialed dianetics

fell to a collective snug fit

on the receiver.

 

And people with homes ran outside

and the homeless looked paranoid

and then facing each other

saw the differences vanish.

And people said this is something!

The paintbrushes we use may be different.

The thickness of paint may be different.

How far back we stand to see a painting may be different.

But each empty canvas has remarkably

similar space.

It’s in knowing humans and flowers

dance together like lovers

as do birds and gazelles.

 

The businessman said “my peace of mind

cannot be traded for green sandpaper

with bloody presidential mindsets on it 

no more.

business as usual is unusual, unnatural and unwise.”

 

People shivered and used their

alarm clocks to not be afraid of time.

And people said “come on let’s go”

nobody asked where.

 

They all just intuitively split to Washington

and saw the White House curled in a ball.

goosebumps of fear scarring the door.

paint peeling.

And the people said

“let’s kill the bastards.”

And someone said

“that takes us one step closer to being them.

let’s just stare as out come those skinless robots running

to the weapon store for one last shot of testosterone.”

 

And the people were split

The non-violent and the almost non-violent

weren’t on speaking terms

but someone said we can’t kill the dead

and we can’t bring back the dead.

 

Someone said that’s right

Another one said right on

Someone looked confused

Someone sang The People United Will Never Be Defeated

Someone drummed and sang the American Indian Movement song

Someone sang Mary Had A Little Lamb

Someone sang We Shall Overcome

Someone sang And The Times They Are A Changin’

 

Someone said how long do you think

this will last?

I said it will last as long as it lasts.