Heaven, Hell and Nothing:
The Divine Comedy of the Year 2008 & After

 

Prelude: Written on the last days of 2007

Canto Zero
December 30, 2007

This day I stand beside my own bones.
I live but cross Acheron alive with Dante
and Pound as guides to life and to whom
I owe mystery of what comes after dreams
are spilled without concern or nothing
blessed to nothing. Why do I accept fear
to certain change before passage to Hell
and then again, I change the grammar
of the will, mark holy flight towards good.
I will never repeat my eyes for loss
of words to fall and no Inferno waits
to scar sight with sulfur from my shell.
I am no blind Homer. I have a greater
curse drawn as river to collect septic
ooze translated from my mountains.

My guides are clear. Dante marked
sinners. Pound cursed man with
his eyes dried extracted from sails
kept while dry sails and blame
assert disease calm in cruel specie
of race struck as costume for Hades.

Underneath the marks drawn yesterday
plans devised to tattoo poets are not
set to action by our peculiar breed
of lovers who tear history apart
to fake the cause and lie while
every other clan draws up plans
for the elemental surprise of
genesis torn revelation -- my
guides have refused logic but
kept the carpet dirty until
new beasts walk the plank
beneath the new moon cold.

Someone no one knows
as adjusted ledgers, journals
until all smiles are murdered.

Canto One

I swallowed psalms you sang
and the hot rain rose as steam
when mirror kissed was theme
to plays yet not written unseemly
laid upon our tapestry where good
and bad are registered both as lies.

And our church has no surprise
or wars set down to keep peace
by pretense that love conquers all.

Canto Two
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 14, 1962 to October 29, 1962

In this year of our Lord we dissolved.
It didn’t happen with a quiver. We burn
in hell. It is simply over. In this canto
Cuba doesn’t exist
as space wins and pawns decompose.

Last News Items:

On October 28, 1962 three ICBMs launched from the United States
destroyed Moscow, Leningrad and two Lakes in the Ukraine.
Also on this day, 1962 New York, Washington DC and Los Angles
were destroyed by 400-1000 megatons of Hydrogen bombs.
Richter 9.0 earthquake hits San Francisco.

Round Two:

The war didn’t stop. China invaded India. Israel attacked by Egypt,
Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

Round Three:

Riots in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco continue.
Kennedy declares Martial Law. Constitution voided. Kennedy,
in one last attempt invades Cuba and attacks Soviet Union
now being invaded by China.

The world is not over.

CANTO FOUR:

When you love
there is no return
to not love. No
matter how hard
you try, you
cannot, not love.