Rex Amos Lowku

Not since my Erection of the King aka The Rexerection in 2004 has there been such an obsessive-compulsive project as the following unsolicited poems for you “chosen ones” to read. “Why Lowkus instead of Haikus?” some of you ask. Well, I would not presume to think I have mastered that poetic form. As the doctor who removed my prostate said, “A surgeon does not work with boxing gloves.” Just as the water knows not how many hands are on the pump handle, I am only vaguely aware of how many of you were high or low cued into this effort. Rocinante, our will be done! Now, as to the suggestion that I Iisten to the score from The Man from La Mancha, I say “Thank you, but I am tired of tilting at Lowkus; and Rocinante, whose name means Supernag, is tired, too. We are off to the trough for some grog and then to bed. If this project was pleasing to you, then I have succeeded. If not, then I will quote Sartre who said, “The object of life is not to succeed but to continue to fail in good spirits.”

January
1. The general wept
After learning peace is won
More by books than bombs.
2. The old tribesman said:
“We are not educated.
We are not stupid.”
3. Jane Jacobs once wrote—
“New ideas need old buildings.”
They are art’s cocoon.
4. The priest fell in love
With a naked mannequin
Because of her smile.
5. Heron in the surf—
A lone image in the sun—
Grabs fish at low tide.
6. The red wine is poured.
Monks fondle their prayer beads.
Anticipation!
7. The Chinese premier
Told American tourists:
“You all look alike.”
8. The tai chi master
Says, “Be iron on inside.
Cotton on outside.”
9. Oh, Mr. Elgar—
In your cello concerto
Notes become spindrifts.
10. Doctors of yore said,
“Take two drops of opium.
Call me in morning.”
11. On the horizon
There are many sinking suns—
Bobbing crab boat lights.
12. Snow is on the beach.
What are those black blemishes?
Crows looking for food.
13. The raving beauty—
She had personality
As blank as her eyes.
14. Limbs full of robins
Remain as silent as pine cones
When the eagle soars.
15. Why are outsiders
Oft drawn to the world of art?
Unification!
16. The beached jelly fish
Quivers as waves wash away
The sky’s reflection.
17. The road less traveled
Might be that way because it
Leads to a dead end.
18. Dwelling on his grief
The sobbing man did not see
The blooming cactus.
19. In the silent sea—
Beyond the slow rolling waves—
A gray whale breaches.
20. He carved a dolphin
Into the back of a bench
Then arched his shoulders.
21. When the guru said:
“Weather is our enemy,”
He stared at the sun.
22. This is a rare sight—
The full moon is going down
Into a calm sea.
23. My how they did dance
With animal abandon
Around love’s last chance.
24. The shaman’s photo
Beside the dying man’s bed
Smiled at the living.
25. All the broken shells
Show that beauty is often
In imperfection.
26. The wrong note she heard
Was not from her piano
But from a raven.
27. His boots sank in sand—
Turned black in the morning tide—
Ships had dumped their sludge.
28. The white fishing boat
Disappears behind a veil
Formed by white spindrifts.
29. The wide-eyed cow elk
Turns toward the rising sun.
Her calf is nursing.
30. Black starlings on boughs
Peck at the bright red cherries
With sharp yellow bills.
31. He held the Koran—
Stared out toward inner space
And sipped butter tea.
February
1. A flock of pigeons
Explode from the holly tree—
A baby raccoon!
2. What? The driftwood moves?
Walk closer and you will see
Molting sea-lions.
3. The Muslim woman
With pigskin on her burned arms
Reached out for Allah.
4. The hangman’s one thought
When he tightened up the noose
Was of his wife’s neck.
5. Her case fell open
And her violin got wet.
The rain became tears.
6. Seagulls on the roof
Unfold and fold their white wings—
Nature’s weathervanes.
7. The ring of feathers
Surrounded by cawing crows
Show an eagle’s kill.
8. She looked through the hole
In a broken scallop shell
And saw her lover.
9. The morning tide
Washes fish startled by sharks
Up the beach to die.
10. The running dogs barked
At the long line of pelicans.
Were they having fun?
11. The prosecutors
Looked at the bound prisoners
Like hunkered vultures.
12. Wind in the spruce trees—
Rain slashes the waving branches—
Where are all the birds?
13. Blood-soaked warriors
Return from battle sporting
Fresh cherry blossoms.
14. A bleached seagull bone
Sharp as a Saracen sword
Stabs the empty beach.
15. The music he played
Echoed the back-breaking work
Of being born black.
16. When reality
Speaks we become fragile as
Glass menageries.
17. Some newlyweds soon
See their love is transparent
As mist in the sun.
18. On Gloomy Sunday
The pianist wrote a song
And then shot himself.
19. James Beard liked to cook—
Never gave a second look—
To the pans he shook.
20. To watch a sunset
The monks climbed Yellow Mountain.
Their green tea got cold.
21. In Somalia
Women who want red hair have
Cows piss on their heads.
22. For thousands of years
The stone Buddhas stared at their
Future destruction.
23. Bang on back window—
Bird tries to fly through house on
Wings of illusion.
24. The beached baby seal
Brought to rest by its mother
Cannot hide from dogs.
25. Atop the big rock
Perches a lone Tennessee Warbler.
Nesting birds have fled.
26. When Buddhist monks chant
For peace in a world gone mad
Fill their beggars’ bowls.
27. Times are changing—
Traditions are dying out—
Set free the child brides.
28. It is said that a
Good interrogator could
Make a statue talk.
March
1. If you hear Buddha
Saying that hope causes pain
Please do not kill him.
2. The door named “escape”
Is not seen as such by those
Who need an “entry.”
3. Screams come from the street—
Heads pop out of windows like
Mushrooms after rain.
4. We human beings
Can become savages when
Driven by passion.
5. Four sparrows fighting
Over a piece of white bread
Don’t see the black cat.
6. His wide-open mouth
Invites someone else to put
A big foot in it.
7. The west wind was fierce
And his mind was somberly—
Strangely—nostalgic.
8. Happiness crashed hard
On their fused floating bodies
In the cresting waves.
9. Sounds of birds on beach—
Music from hundreds of wings
Beat our hearts like drums.
10. When using logic
Prepare for an onslaught of
Hysteric response.
11. She asked him sadly
As they quietly embraced,
“Is our love mortal?”
12. Only dictators
Scheme a reality that
Makes peace also war.
13. These religious wars
Become like food that has stayed
On the grill too long.
14. Civil liberties
Are now being sacrificed
By the dogs of war.
15. Melissa the whore
Named after the honey bee
Stings hard for her fee.
16. We know we will die.
We are all born with the seed
Of preordained death.
17. The unexamined life
Is preferable to the
Too examined life.
18. The judge married them
In a great hurry because
He was late for golf.
19. Old Socrates said,
“Know thyself.” Some do and do
Not like what they know.
20. Her long patterned dress
Made her as beautiful as
A peacock feather.
21. She lived like a fish
Unbothered by the dirty
Water it swims in.
22. He thought she would like
A white G-spot vibrator.
Her dog buried it.
23. She slowly undressed
And told him, “This is the best
Part of what you want.”
24. When run over by
A train of thought he became
Mentally damaged.
25. Her torment ran out
In such a torrent of tears
They made the tide turn.
26. His mortality
Meant nothing to him until
He saw Death beckon.
27. It turned out he had
Nothing to do and did not
Know how to do it.
28. She was terminal.
They knew because she had the
Sweetest smell of Death.
29. The condemned man said,
“Other life forms have much more
Importance than mine.”
30. The virgin stopped him
As close as he thought and as
Far as he supposed.
31. She told her lover,
“Pleasure comes in the process
Not in the pursuit.”
April
1. A star sparks across
The diamond of darkness
Then it disappears.
2. When acacias
Flowered he was reminded
That perfection smells sweet.
3. The cave was scabbard
For the river’s long phallic
Fertilization.
4. Where her love had died
She felt drawn to the damp smells
Of the dark season.
5. Though the common road
Passes through the sepulchre
Is this salvation?
6. She was stuck to him
Like a pinned butterfly meant
Only for display.
7. If he was so free
Why did he feel good fortune
Was stifling to him?
8. He looked at the moon
And saw her breasts mirrored
In double-vision.
9. Her lover was gone.
Only sweat on the warm sheets
Marked his fast farewell.
10. He named his bird “Butch”
Then stepped back to look for him
And “Butch” became “Crunch.”
11. Even a dumb dog
Knows that it is not smart
To gnaw on a dead skunk.
12. Even a smart dog
Doesn’t know that it is dumb
To chase porcupines.
13. “I’m not a has-been,”
Said the lonely survivor.
“I’m a left-over.”
14. He rode a fast horse
And hoped it would help him to
Speed up his slow thoughts.
15. He rode a fast horse
But found he could not leave his
Cruel words behind.
16. Seeking his true love
He tired of real life and searched
For it in his books.
17. She sat in her chair
Thinking about the past that
Slowly passed her by.
18. She thought tomorrow
Was something she could put off
Then the sun came up.
19. He looked in her eyes
And said, “I love you,” then shoved
A knife through her heart.
20. “This land is your land
This land is my land” sounds good
But it’s just a song.
21. Death is like a plow
That reaches the end of a
Dry fallow furrow.
22. Is the artist free?
Yes, until he starts to work—
Then he is a slave.
23. “My child is dying.
Doctor, will you please save her
For this bag of rice?”
24. His slow tai chi form
Made his hand fast enough to
Catch a hummingbird.
25. The street was empty
Except for two mangy dogs
Mating in the dust.
26. Yes, her holy smile
Came from ancient Greece where gods
Appeared as mortals.
27. Come to Patzcuaro
And see the home of Max Ernst.
No, I am too old.
28. The pilgrimages
To Canterbury are dead.
Gone are God’s love songs.
29. Just before he died
The poet felt that his life
Was all nostalgia.
30. He did not like it
Where he was and felt that way
Until he wasn’t.
May
1. She wore a hair shirt
To hide her body of grief
Then picked it apart.
2. Poor Vincent Van Gogh
He killed himself in order
To let his art live.
3. You want to feel safe?
All right, just relax and wait.
You will soon be dead.
4. “Keep the dream alive,”
She said as she poured poison
Into his coffee.
5. We all make choices
In this life and he chose to
Live low on the hog.
6. He was passionate
In his poetry until
He thought of his grave.
7. She saw the eagles
Smother the sun as they swooped
To mate in the air.
8. Our destinies are
Of no more consequence than
Dust of dead sow bugs.
9. When he came home drunk
He almost beat her to death.
Then she made dinner.
10. We are born to die.
That is the purpose of life.
Make the most of it.
11. Great art is not made
By people who are not
Somewhat eccentric.
12. There is more to life
Than an erect stem rising
From desire’s deep pond.
13. Frost covers the beach.
Driftwood limbs look like candles.
Nature’s birthday cake.
14. Why is that man sad?
Hasn’t he survived the death
Of a thousand cuts?
15. There are worry beads
That are of no more help than
A good shot of Scotch.
16. He said, “Life is short.”
For that he was not happy.
He should have thought long.
17. As she grew older
The people who loved her
Became luxuries.
18. The only sign of
His life was kept in a shelf
Full of blank journals.
19. The author wrote his
Life rather than living it.
How did he do that?
20. Buddha’s last words were
“All created things must pass—
Strive diligently.”
21. They thought the wet sand
Was crawling on their bare feet.
Fleas are deceiving.
22. They chased the seagulls
Sending them wildly skyward
Reflecting their thoughts.
23. Che Guevera—“Live
As if you’ve already died.”
And that’s what he did.
24. If you give up now
You will find it easy to
Compromise later.
25. If you want the truth
Then look in the labyrinth
Of eternal doubt.
26. Why does that old hound
Chase after the bird’s shadow—
Not after the bird?
27. The lying leaders
Are voted out of office.
Time to take a bath!
28. She took off her clothes
Like a lovely moth leaving
Its useless cocoon.
29. Black crow and white gull
Look like two piano keys
When they feed on crab.
30. Given enough time
Even the best wine will sour
So drink a toast now.
31. They looked for themselves
In the depths of each other.
What a shallow search.
June
1. She looked at the world
As a closed window that she
Would never open.
2. He saw world problems
And dealt with them easily
By shutting his eyes.
3. “I keep the photo
Of my love in my locket.”
(No, it is empty.)
4. If you saw yourself
At a distance would you run
And try to catch up?
5. When the race is done,
We sit and watch the winner
Worry about loss.
6. Did she have pipe dreams
Or was she floating in the
Smoke of her dream pipe?
7. He had so much gold
That he was surprised to find
Himself so lonely.
8. Some artists look for
Inspiration when it is
Out looking for them.
9. Too often what we
See as a destination
Is a starting point.
10. Nietzsche stood on a
Mountain top burning leaves
And shouting, “God is dead!”
11. His life was like a
Lava lamp—lots of bubbles
But not much substance.
12. The economic
Recovery was said to
Be “a dead cat’s bounce.”
13. She tried to blow a kiss
But it stuck to her hand
Like gum to a chair.
14. He discovered that
His best action could often
Be his inaction.
15. He wanted to move
Forward but he would not get
Out of his own way.
16. A wailing woman
Walked the beach and bared her breasts
To the cawing crows.
17. He will never know
People he’d like to know.
He was born too late.
18. He had no time left
For saying what he thought so
He spit on his grave.
19. She was a virgin
Who prayed for a god who would
Gently defile her.
20. The untended food
For a beach picnic becomes
A feast for seagulls.
21. His painting was done.
“It’s not the vision I had,”
Said Gulley Jimson.
22. Opening the front
Door does not mean you cannot
Leave by the back door.
23. Sometimes the strongest
Of scents are produced by the
Weakest of flowers.
24. William Goldman said,
“Nobody knows anything.”
Then how did he know?
25. The Arab adage
Says, “The dogs may bark but the
Caravan moves on.”
26. “Everyone is
A complete disappointment,”
Said the mortician.
27. The Zen monks crossed that
Bridge when they got to it and
They did not know why.
28. The artist wanted
To finish his work before
It finished him.
29. The man is hungry.
Then he’d better start washing
The dirty dishes.
30. When the monks walk by
With their empty bowls, please give
Some food from your plates.
July
1. Beneath the asphalt
Jungle are flowers waiting
For their time to bloom.
2. The guru implored,
“Please refrain from depending
On your own judgment.”
3. He used his art as
A stone to dull the sharp edge
Of reality.
4. He used art as a
File to sharpen the dull edge
Of reality.
5. The long nipples in
Her small soft breasts made her think
Of straws in ice cream.
6. In his selfish search
For God, the true-believer
Was blind to good deeds.
7. Hiding in their caves
Leaders say they will protect
Us from the darkness.
8. He wanted to claim
The heat of her heart but his
Kisses were too cold.
9. She wanted to write
A book of life but all words
Had gone dead to her.
10. Walking the nude beach
Can you tell who are the saints
Who are the sinners?
11. Only a fool seeks
Enlightenment with candles
Turned toward the wind.
12. Do not be ashamed
Of what you do in the dark
When shown in the light.
13. What good does it do
To search for a new horizon
And look with old eyes?
14. Startled by a sound
The samurai slashed the slave
Who slipped from her sash. (try to say that fast)
15. Those who claim to be
The best observers often
Misread the most signs.
16. She wanted to be
Afraid of something but was
Afraid to know what.
17. Tangled in a web
Of lies she saw that she was
Indeed a spider.
18. He watched the sunset
Like a man who was seeing
His life fade away.
19. She had a belief
But what she believed in was
Unbelievable.
20. The only time you
Finally get your work done
Is when you are dead.
21. Is the crown of thorns
A symbol of Christ’s search for
Love or punishment?
22. You can’t blame Shakespeare
For the fact that Hitler spent
His nights reading him.
23. Looks are deceiving.
Who would have thought you could eat
A dried jellyfish?
24. Studying the past
Is like looking at a long
Landscape of learning.
25. The gusting east wind
Causes slithering sand snakes
To shoot off the dunes.
26. A Mongol proverb:
“A scorned weak cub may become
The brutal tiger.”
27. They silently danced
Through leaves, trees, long country roads.
Their music was musk.
28. Events took over.
The poet’s pen ran out of
Ink just as he died.
29. Age can show wisdom.
Too bad this has not been true
Throughout the Ages.
30. Morning walkers stop.
A Tennessee Warbler perched on bleached
Driftwood is hunting.
August
1. She was not abused
Because he never made her
Feel she was alive.
2. If God has a plan
There can be no miracles.
Who can dispute that?
3. Memories are stored
Up the way food is to use
In emergencies.
4. She felt quite secure.
Her feelings were all inside
And safe from attack.
5. We are like the trees
Who finally rot within,
Drop branches, and fall.
6. She wanted to lie
With him but could not without
Her lying to him.
7. When he closed his door
To her he did not know that
Her heart also closed.
8. When your sinking ship
Has no life raft you do not
Worry about waves.
9. If you want to sleep
Make sure you send your children
On vacation.
10. The Devil has you
Where he wants you when he knows
You believe in him.
11. The north wind was wild.
Wave fractals were frightening.
The beach was swept clean.
12. Our struggle is here.
Keep that in mind when you look
At foreign post cards.
13. Everything was
Happening but nothing seemed
To be going on.
14. The sea is the same
So why do you want to move
From this safe harbor?
15. Your fortune is not
In high-paying profession.
It is in your friends.
16. The guru’s advice:
“If you want to feel better
Go and plant some rice.”
17. No man without shoes
Can run along cobble-stones
As if he had hooves.
18. She said she was bored
By living where she was born—
So bored she stayed put.
19. Suspect those who want
Fast friendship because some want
Flesh others want bones.
20. The poet’s last words,
“Home is where you hang yourself”
Were just beneath him.
21. Belief in bad luck
Can get you so far down that
Nothing can stop it.
22. The stone steps are smoothed
For the rich man by the bare
Feet of the poor man.
23. The shaman says to
Those who feel tied up, “All knots
Can be unloosened.”
24. Why do preachers shout?
Could it be that their God
Has hearing problems?
25. “What will it be like
In Heaven?” she asked as she
Held on to her Hell.
26. He started to die.
His friends gathered around him.
Then he would not die.
27. When Zorba the Greek
Wanted to get to the truth
He started to dance.
28. The two lovers found
They were lost in the fact that
They just loved themselves.
29. Yes, he was the fool
But experience taught him
How to fool the smart.
30. Don’t be a block-head
Because anything that hard
Is easy to break.
31. Artists’ best moments
Are when they are working
And forget who they are.
September
1. She searched for freedom
While tap dancing at the end
Of her puppet strings.
2. He was so hungry
For her that her name gave him
Something to chew on.
3. Why look at the world
With such small eyes and wonder
Why it seems so big?
4. The only way he
Could write about his country
Was through his exile.
5. If you are screwed up
In this life why do you seek
More life after death?
6. Her chrome-adorned breasts
Made her look like the bumpers
On an old Buick.
7. The ocean has waves
In order to keep beauty
From monotony.
8. Oh, my big brother,
You are so old and so sick.
You have become small.
9. Eat bread. Leave the crust.
This is like mining silver
But leaving the gold.
10. She was very sad
Because none of her daydreams
Became true at night.
11. When you get up to
Look for your guru he might
Come and steal your chair.
12. He was frustrated
Because he saw no “wrong turn”
Signs to his mistakes.
13. In the moon’s shadow
The fireflies are free until
Bats find them for food.
14. The actor behind
The mask feels he is the mask
Behind the actor.
15. The national guns
Were used by those who believed
In national gods.
16. He wanted to die
Feeling he was on the crest
Of incoming waves.
17. She looked menacing—
Like a black-widow spider on the
Barbed-wire at Auschwitz.
18. They had their best sex
Whenever they pretended
They did not exist.
19. We are all alone—
Each a ship sailing on Life’s
Indifferent sea.
20. The pianist played
Shostakovitch with passion.
His tongue touched the keys.
21. Crows on a wire—
They lined up like rosaries
Cawing Hail Marys.
22. You want a nice corpse?
Then don’t die on the beach where
Crows eat dead eyes first.
23. He wanted her love
But he sleepwalked way beyond
His chance to tell her.
24. Their love smelled so strong
Its stench grabbed them by the throat.
It garroted them.
25. He was so old that
He did not think about it
Even as he died.
26. She was so horny
That the heads of kelp on the beach
Made her think of cocks.
27. Who are these fools who
Think erotic youth will not
Fade into old age?
28. The poet was mad
At the world so he would not
Publish his poems.
29. If you see a world
In a grain of sand, you have
Deluded yourself.
30. You have killed off your
Enemy so why wrap his
Shadow around you?
October
1. Beware of the weak
Because drops of water can
Bore a hole in stone.
2. One foot off your path
And you will wander hundreds
Of miles gone astray.
3. Man’s search for meaning
Becomes meaningless when he
Looks for happiness.
4. You want to see your
Worst enemy then you best
Look in the mirror
5. You want there to be
Fairness in life then you are
Best off in the grave.
6. Her education
Was like a vaccination
That refused to take.
7. Who is an artist?
The only answer is when
You know you are one.
8. Can God establish
A code for you if you do
Not think as God does?
9. Anticipate no
Regrets if you must fulfill
A certain desire.
10. Falling in love shows
No preference when it comes
To right location.
11. The Holy Scriptures
Can become excuses for
Fighting Holy Wars.
12. The heart is a great
Deceiver when the head does
Not have all the facts.
13. Do you love her now
Or do you wait until you
Scrutinize her past?
14. She knew she could not
Compel his love but neither
Could he resist hers.
15. He gave her heaven
Then spent the rest of his life
Sending her to hell.
16. Zero is nothing.
Then how do you count to ten?
Zero is something.
17. “You cannot sweat gold,”
She said as he lay dying
Clothed in all her wealth.
18. The Dalai Lama
Says the pacifist does not
Have to be passive.
19. Poor year or rich year
There are clothes that need washing
And food to be cooked.
20. She needed his love
But did not consider his need
Of her love for him.
21. If cabbages grow
Best in the front yard garden,
Grow flowers out back.
22. The child is crying
For the full moon’s reflection
Mirrored in the lake.
23. The small boy wondered,
“Why does the sea taste of salt
And not of pepper?”
24. He wanted to be
Someone’s best friend but only
Found acquaintances.
25. Her sadness in life
Was that she remembered things
That had not happened.
26. The preacher shouts.
The congregation shouts.
They think God is deaf?
27. Put off tomorrow
Until today and you will
Live a conundrum.
28. He had a lot to
Talk about so was surprised
To find that no one cared.
29. The philosopher said
That there is a presence
In what is missing.
30. The mariner’s net,
Having caught the fish, was like
The web of his life.
31. A philosopher
In Greece said only the dead
See the end of war.
November
1. A wave of sadness
Spread over him as he looked
Back at love’s dead end.
2. He was so stupid
That when his horse died he thought
He could still ride it.
3. He could talk a dog
Off a meat wagon but not
Off a bitch in heat.
4. Beauty is fleeting
So capture it now and share
In its impermanence.
5. There was a garden
For the blind to walk as if
To unheard music.
6. No man brags about
How self-reliant he is
When stuck in quicksand.
7. Creativity
And experience are linked
By provocation.
8. The old poet said
That once a thing is defined
It has no defense.
9. If you could cut a
Door through the wall to the past
Would you walk through it?
10. Mahler liked to nap
Then read Nietzsche to sisters
Justine and Emma.
11. The researcher said,
“Science is a game you must
Be willing to lose.”
12. She was in despair
So she made a noose of her hair
And hung herself there.
13. He was an abused child
Who grew up to overcome
Horror with humor.
14. In this imperfect
World it is possible God
Is still creating.
15. He went on living
Because he really had
Nothing to die for.
16. Prayer is only
Another name for our need
For good clear thinking.
17. By doing nothing
She thought that everything
Would get done for her.
18. The sick witch doctor
Went into a trance and asked
For penicillin.
19. When you hear a fool
Make sense then you know that God
Answered your prayers.
20. The conceit of man
Is that he thinks nature cares
For his self-image.
21. If you don’t like what
You see in your old mirrors
Do you buy new ones?
22. If you want people
To respect you then allow
Them to laugh at you.
23. Don’t pin muses down.
Once you do they will struggle
And blur your vision.
24. We don’t pass through time.
That’s a human illusion.
Time passes through us.
25. The past is still scarred
On his soul the way a brand
Is burned on a bull.
26. Most of the parents
Should worry that their offspring
Might turn out like them.
27. Most gurus, you know,
Are only glorified clones
Of good old Joe Schmoe
28. Spiritual zoo
Has cage for everyone—
Even a Zen pen.
29. Throughout his illness
The artist’s saving grace was
Verdi’s Requiem.
30. Her heart called to him
Like a cuckoo clock that would
Not tell him the time.
December
1. She wants lasting love
But he only gives his as
Brief as a bubble.
2. He saw fewer rich
People who were happy than
He saw who were poor.
3. His spirit was as
Light as a boy’s model plane
Made of balsa wood.
4. You should not assume
Her face is too much red-rouged.
Look close. It is bruised.
5. By trying to stop
His bad memories, he just
Provided them fuel.
6. How can we be free
When we spend our lives fearing
Eventual death?
7. She thought she was lost
At sea but that was because
She had lost her mind.
8. Crabbers bait their pots
With delicious razor clams.
What a waste of clams!
9. If you want to hear
The truth, sit by the waves
And wait for silence.
10. “What is to be done?”
Lenin’s greatest question has
Never been answered.
11. If you want to know
What a dog’s life is, then send
Your pooch to China.
12. Enjoy your success
While others see it as an
Abysmal false start.
13. While sand ran through
His fingers he tried to feel
How he lost her love.
14. He came to the sea
To find the self he renounced
When in the mountains.
15. The food was spicy
Enough to make the lame runners
Start sprinting again.
16. Every prison
Says the same thing to inmates.
“Make yourself at home.”
17. The Amsterdam whores
Dressed in bright colors stand in
Windows like caged birds.
18. Camus’ lecture on
Freedom of expression had
To go through censors.
19. In Bedlam it is
The psychiatrist who asks
The insane questions.
20. The philosopher
Said no to life until he
Watched the cresting waves.
21. In the killing fields
Cambodian children play
Catch with stacks of skulls.
22. “The shortest way home
Is the longest way around,”
Said the old trapper.
23. In China they will
Eat anything on four legs
Except the table.
24. Coincidences
Do not happen when you are
Constantly aware.
25. Do not ask for food
From a monk who is holding
Out a beggar’s bowl.
26. He saw a big hole
In the horizon while she
Saw a bright full moon.
27. In art you must try
For something new even though
It might not succeed.
28. You should hope that what
You finally do become
Recognizes you.
29. Just because you have
Opened the door, don’t think you
have to leave the house.
30. Two things greater than
All things are: the first is love;
The second is war.
31. The ground is frozen.
If you must step in dog shit,
Now is the best time.

Rex Amos

Lowku 2009

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