Thursday, October 17, 2013

Moloch

Moloch

    Moloch whose love is endless oil and stone!
                                             --Allen Ginsburg

Drilling   spilling   pumping
                                                blasting
                                                      
removing every mountaintop
to find the pearl
of great price

casting the star
named Wormwood
into every river
made bitter

unwilling to say—Enough!
until every son and every daughter
has passed through the fire . . .

I stand off
and see the smoke of burning,

and the circle-jerk
of those who wax rich
through the abundance
of her delicacies.

O God!                         We all
(yes, stupid fuckers one and all)
invoked this beast insatiable

conjured
him from the smoky pit in order
to have our way with him,
this pet that does not merely

bite the tit
that feeds it—

it devours all
sometimes slowly
                              over time
sometimes
                   in one huge gulp.

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Tonight is beat poetry at dVerse MeetingtheBar. Even if you aren't up to writing tonight, you owe it to yourself to head on over to read Gay's informative article. I took inspiration tonight from Ginsburg, John of the Apocalypse, Jeremiah the Old Testament prophet, and human greed and stupidity. Seemed like a good blend for a beat poem to me.


32 comments:

  1. Nico, this was very good. /Excellent use of imagery and the language was strong of voice. >KB

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    1. Thanks KB--when attempting a strong voice, one cannot go far wrong by modeling Ginsburg and the Old Testament!

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  2. and the circle-jerk
    of those who wax rich
    through the abundance
    of her delicacies. ...oh yeah, you got it...cry it out..
    they probably wont listen but...bite the tit, yes...
    burn our earth...there is profit in it
    even if also our death

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    1. Thanks Brian--immediate profit, but net loss. More and more are crying out; maybe one day profit will be seen with farther-reaching eyes.

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  3. Yes, the beast insatiable indeed. I like those you used for inspiration...making for a strong piece!

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    1. Thanks Mary, I tried to think of the hardest-hitting social critics, and felt I couldn't do better than these!

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  4. Oh yes a good recipe for beat...that damn beast seems to be rising his head from the pit everywhere... Very powerful!

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    1. Thanks Di--unfortunately, once the beast arises, it's nearly impossible to send it back to the pit.

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  5. Yikes, you conjure a beast we all despise and denounce but feed all the while, excellent work!

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    1. Thanks Anna--no matter how hard we try, we are all complicit to some degree--at least those of us in developed countries. Though there are some brave few who have opted out, turned completely self-sufficient--but then again, to run to the hills is also to remove the possibility to enact positive change. We seem stuck in it, for better or worse.

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  6. did my comment get eaten...? ugh

    def. an interesting mix for a beat poem...the son and daughter part .. and not willing to stop in the name of profit..ugh... a sad truth..

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    1. Thanks Claudia--Ginsburg especially among the Beats used biblical language and cadence to get his point across. Very powerful. The OT prophets were not opposed to coarseness and shocking actions to win the ear of their audience either. Which one went for a few years naked? . . . Ezekiel I think. That kind of thing demands attention!

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  7. Great passion, and I think you really got the whole "beat" thing down!

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    1. Thanks Bryan--Beat poetry is good for a little release of passion!

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  8. A good blend indeed! Very effective beat poem.

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  9. smiles... The language flow really help so many things and mildly some influence mood in this! Good work and moves in this

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  10. Oh Yes it does! (The beast has part of all of us.) Very very good!
    Anna :o]

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    1. Thanks Anna--as I mentioned to the other Anna above, we are all sadly complicit in some way or the other.

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  11. This is Brilliant. I bow to you! I have some FB friends working on these issues in northern PA and NY who should read this (and get angrier, I'm sure)!

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    1. Thanks Susan--you are too kind. Sometimes we will not be motivated to act unless by anger, so in this case anger is justified, I believe!

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  12. Superb - the precision of your language and your metaphors addressing the great carnage being done to ourselves and our planet in the name of MORE and GREED - taking themselves down with it for that temporary fix. Excellent piece, thank you.

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    1. Thanks Gay--great prompt! I can only take partial credit for the language and metaphors, since I intentionally tried to tap into the righteous indignation and condemnation one finds in the biblical prophets, much like Ginsburg was able to do with wonderful effectiveness.

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  13. Love how you did this.. the images the blasting and the beast.. anger and resentment. Very much beat.

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  14. Excellent capture of beat language, rhythm, tone and indignation.

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  15. Thanks V. B.--some things (not many, but some) are worth getting indignant about!

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  16. I like the sources you chose to bounce around this topic and with this rhymic beat form it makes it all the more frustrating to contemplate the 'why's' of it all.

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    1. Thanks Katy, frustration can be a good catalyst sometimes.

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  17. Replies
    1. Thanks Chris--sometimes the mood is right for a good rant.

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