Rich

had a dream I was rich

I adjusted  to it

I painted people 

struggling with it

I became like 

Marie Antoinette 

mechanics

of the system

were brilliant

latest things

rarest species

silences cover 

the streets

lawyers in dreams

buy everything

tell me 

anyone can be an artist

I was so white 

had servants with accents

pizza every night 

topped with gold carats

I decided 

to sing

hired coaches 

from Brazil

a child said I sucked

I sued him and won

I then decided 

to make films

Golden

perfect 

no words for it

once distant 

we now walk around it

a golden childhood

bites an adulthood

quiet now- 

don’t upset it

summer vacations

birthdays, cousins

love if you were lucky

and even if you weren’t

growing up what were 

they thinking

nothing’s impossible

someone’s watching

like it was golden  

pulled by the roots

cleaned, cut up

salted, and cooked

you’ve never forgotten

how sweet it tasted

your stomach aches

without explanation

Word Problems

we have to make a living 

do we have to make a killing 

think of what we're doing 

in the one life that we live

it can't be lived in fear

we're not means to an end

let's just be present now

amongst our dozen friends

In this struggle we are free

others are watching 

it's the cult of you and me

in a world of feeling things

we might never get what we need

from these polluted streams

If we don't become our dreams

well then, what, then?