mishmash exceptions :

..

I tumbled out of the controversy 
  and out of sleep where I had raised a perspiration
  not brought about by heat but nagging concerns
  I wrestle with each day

McManus and Jackie Pallo on a painterly canvas
  a fight made poetically more authentic since
  the cubists had already underlined how fake
  the world was then and is now

How human claims all appear tainted and void
  upon closer inspection
  as with corrupt policemen, lacewing politicians
  greedy finance moguls

Those who shift yet one more responsibility
  onto AI, standing on the shoulders of robotics
  this will either get you fired, hired or high

We continue to live in a duplicitous society
  where seven things mean the same
  and everyone gets their chance to be blamed
  we all stand guilty if we write or if we wrong
 
Even if sometimes we sing familiar songs
  sing lyrics to native tunes which become colloquial:
  similitudes are everywhere
  they are like ants carrying their homes

Refugees before becoming pioneers
  invading other nations
  establishing new horizons, colonies 
  divide and conquer: fight to protect your rights

Sojourners who were pilgrims before they became
  patriots who determined a constitution:
  quick, stake your claim before the land registry
  steals it all and sells it back to you
  in bits and pieces

Stand back, admire the view
  everything you stand for
  and build upon is yours
  and your children’s children

Writing a will becomes another land claim                
  where legal eagles and lawyers rake off the
  top soil of 15%: adding ironic reality to the meme
  we were all born involved with one another

Except if you say such a thing you are labelled religious  
  and not to be legitimised except you wear sackcloth
  charity shop hand-me-downs
  give all your money to the poor

Who then may use your money
  to build one more corrupt kingdom
  which is in de facto another market democracy
  where the rich only invest in their own futures

I was feeling vaguely empty
  but determined I should celebrate
  if for nothing
  so I set a bottle of sauvignon blanc
  in the freezer to chill
  except I fell asleep
  which changed my mind

The following day
  the wine in the bottle
  had frozen and raised the lid
  so that a little wine wept out
  I set it aside to thaw

A housefly: I had always assumed
  they were cleverer than we
  settled on the icy bottle to taste the sugar
  its feet froze to the bottle
  as our fingers sometimes do
  making swift execution terminally easy

I considered briefly on the spoils of war
  and what my Buddhist friends might say
  as I placed the dead fly outside
  on a window ledge where birds might
  benefit from its nutrients, protein
  minerals, fats

The bell in the hallway rang
  I startled, exclaimed loudly
  before opening the door
  to an amazon courier who held a parcel
  I had ordered one day previous

She appeared friendly
  and sexy in a modern way
  friendliness being rare in modern
  society as is opportunity
  to applaud sexuality

I imagined I had journeyed
  to the shops or stores
  where to make purchase
  except, I knew this were a lie
  as so many others
  I had learned to live with

Yet Inside the parcel I found evidences:
  symbols pertaining
  to the four horsemen of the apocalypse
  whose hair was long and overgrown
  whose livery was velveteen: awesome

Although my purchases
  were inherently disturbing
  the parcel was nonetheless
  full of Steinbeck glory
  and here begins my story

The first horseman carried a white bowl
  which although cracked had been crafted
  using the skill of kuntsukuroi
  this bowl was empty

The second horseman carried a nest of mastriokos
  a family of wooden dolls
  that were painted predominantly in red
  as a symbol of civil war and unrest

The third horseman held a sculpture of a black man
  fashioned in ebony and highly polished
  from a time when certain slaves
  were cited as Mandingos
  he was naked yet chained to a cannon ball

The fourth horseman grasped a statue
  that was made of fine alabaster
  as pale as the moon
  it resembled a human skull

All these ornaments were contained
  within my amazon package
  and I unpacked them carefully
  impressed by each piece’s
  universal quality

The horsemen vanished from my sight
  having fulfilled their duty

I arranged the artefacts empathetically
  believing them to hold an inner dignity

I was tempted to use an ousted word
  some word such as spirituality
  except, are we now encouraged
  to respect Rutherford’s bible
  the quran and suchlike
  despite outdated views on women

Unacceptable views of rape
  child marriage and murder to the infidel
  except, the dark statue reminded me
  that cruelty caused by racism
  or any belief system is inhuman
  and should not be tolerated

I believed each article reflected
  deep and ancient meaning
  I mused for several days
  changing and challenging my mind
  to their significance and interpretation

Except a voice inside me told me
  there was no hidden symbolism
  each artefact was evidently
  not apparently clear to see
  I wrote down what I saw:

The bowl had been broken
  but was lovingly restored
  to make it more valuable than before
  – we must learn to forgive

The dolls were a family
  – families must survive
  they enfold into each other
  naturally made to fit together

The black man was beautiful
  as are all peoples
  when represented in best light
  the cannon ball was enslavement which is evil

Finally the alabaster skull spoke of death
  and mortality
  which await us all

I turned on my bed
  returning to sleep
  content I had met the four horsemen
  my fears were allayed
  my dream was not symbolic
  it was only human

edenbraytoday11.07.2025
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