Firing neurons
Drum up words
for my ears,
Blast colorful images
before my eyes,
Send messages
from unfathomed spaces,
posted for serious contemplation.
Plentiful potential.
Thoughts unthought
emerge from untraceable sources,
Ignite spontaneous conflagrations and
disguised recognition.
Emotional fireworks shock then fade.
Leave open questions.
Circle their wagons around my brain.
What do I want? What am I doing?
Who am I really?
‘Know yourself’, the philosopher demanded.
An easy question, difficult to answer.
My daemon speaks riddles,
Imagines narrating long absurd dramas
for cheap entertainment,
as likely destructive as creative.
Indigestible data produce ulcers,
demand I take names,
drown answers,
I’m not this, not that.
Competing desires juggle for position; spurs chameleon-like shopping at global malls
full of glitz and heavy with suspicion; a dangerous place to seek clarifications or discover essentials.
Emotional wildfires melt icy order.
With so much chaos
the heart trembles and cautiously deciphers
low risk prospects for continued living.
The peace sought
strangled by rivalrous gangs
hyping misinformation,
a spectacle for people milling the streets,
happy to celebrate another’s defeat.
Shake nervous heads at claims of authenticity,
laugh at believing in self-understanding,
wave flags in support of stagnant
traditions for easy consumption.
Refuse to settle for collective praises
from well paid judges,
lording over unfit decisions.
Identity must wrestle powerful forces
to secure a blessing, and
Compel a true name.
Better the never-ending match
engaged until dawn,
than to carry an identity blurred by tears,
Despoiling the remains of once sacred spaces.
THH
7/19/25
Thoughts Have Hands 