the art of the feud

she wasn’t looking for good
she knew better
she’d come from a long line
of irreverent slappers
who fought over notes
inconvenient detractors
when life was augmented
and canons redacted
it’s simple he said
it’s all down to order
an enigma she said
if you can’t be bothered
it’s a twisty kind of self-reliance
listen for the code
death is defiance
finish referential
dare to intrude
on what is old
separate her from the flaws
count her among debated encores
the last sheet of music
as the old ones compete
in the cheap seats
defying ugly defeat
she wasn’t looking for good
those errors and flaws
had a way of seduction
that cannot be proven
she wasn’t looking for good
she was looking for human

Tattoo or
dye your hair
rumble instead 
through their lair
though I say 
die your hair
I mean instead
worry that errant tooth
to freedom it’s said
this is age my friend
an unwilling, yet
necessary means
to the end
what to do
where to go
staunch the bleeding or
ignore the foe
I have many, many
things to tell you
I am an original and
not a God-knower
I write in one shot
like a leaded glass
a flash of bourbon comes
unasked
Those fucking ants
fly like the past
you are rid of yet still
it remains
on sugar trails
and I’ll lick the path
until it dissolves
all crudely present
all a sum of unease
I’ll find a way
to do as I please
as I prod my beauty
from my mouth
and accept the loss
that I can live without
a molar a canine a
mouth full of shout
tell me more
I will listen
tell me less
then, I glisten
I’m angry and toothless
it comes with respite
I’m old and I’m breathless
and I can still bite.