"Stolen Spearmint MonkeyBread"

“Stolen Spearmint Monkey Bread”

　

If you haven’t gone

If you haven’t been

If you have no clue

Then how can you

(relate?)

 

The dichotic nature

Of my Abyssinian existence

Reigns upon your

Egalitarian pride

 

Why should I mass produce

My own idiosyncrasies

So you can alleviate

Your own manifest destiny?

 

Fess up for once

Have you ever

Walked in my

(Non-existent) shoes?

Didn’t think so

 

I refuse to define myself

Simply so you can

Categorize me

In your holocaust

Derivative

BULL$H!+

　

I’d much rather exist

Between the sublime cracks

Of your decayed morality

 

Bypassing all the rigid

And decadent pavilions

That you call America

 

So Barrack won?

Where’s my consolation

Prize?

 

Do I get an inflatable

And relatable

Blow up Palin

Doll?

(didn’t think so either)

 

Perhaps my civil liberties

Aren’t so civil at all

 

Then again I feel

CHAINED

To this elegant cage

(you call democracy)

 

Perhaps this tasty

Morsel of neglect

 

Will never digest

Without the piss poor

Degradation

　

You call…

FREEDOM

　

Kenny L. Mitchell

January 10, 2010

　

　

　

　

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

Interesting title! I'm not sure what it has to do with the rest of it, but it sure caught my attention. LOL As Fabian said this is a kick-a*s write. It certainly is thought provoking and powerful, yet tempered with humor. I loved the "Blow up Palin Doll?"

[J.P. Bristow]

Wow- intense use of words here--your weapon of choice. And very very intense and moving. I don't feel preached to and I don't feel this was a rant persay but an honest slam poet voice speaking to the abyss ---hoping someone out there connects.

well done.

[J Lorriane]

As soon as I saw the title, I was thinking I love this guy haha plus, I always have to read your stuff because it's always grabbing. It seemed to me that you did a lot of thinking while writing this, because the tone became more and more..deep? Maybe. Anyway, well done. I enjoyed it =) as usual.

[Lola Nation]

Okay - here's what I get out of this. I have a vision in my head of not just poverty but homelessness - I also get a sense of the angry-black man, no his day has not come yet and not even a blow up sara palin doll came with it ... (clever by the way) ... there's still far to go and people need to stop thinking it's all better now ... because it's not...

I also reference importance in the Abyssinian existence ... and I like the idea of the dichotomy from the African cat... I sense social out cry and disdain with the current political system...

and at the same time, I hear a voice loud and clear - that this is not the freedom you are content with.

now what's up with the bread reference, I gotta know.

[Pax Analog]

The outraged soul tonality goes beyond skin and calibrated slaveries, for me anyway. Personally, I've always felt like a minority of one by simply taking an intuitive blend of shamanism, Zen, and radically contextualized creativity seriously (a la Emerson's "Is not a man [or woman] better than a town?" The word "individual" means undivided, implying a seamlessless only truly found in the Tao, and Buddhic and Vedantic flavors, to my knowledge. With such a Nondual, more rigorous definition, individuality is rare indeed, being much more profound than idiosyncratic egoity (tho' this can ironically EXPRESS the deeper principle).

Right, a fully functional Palin blow-up doll for all is the least the system should yield, for glamorizing lobotomy platforms. And Obama is still likable, cool, well-spoken in fundamentally an impossible situation: being president of a mediated dialogue between weak-tea progressives and toilet-water obstructionists. I vote for the ghost of old Tom Paine guillotining the lot.

I like the fire in your poem and recommend that fire realize the wilderness is the only place tolerable for prophetic spirits. One can make art of it, and one is obliged to satirize what engenders reaction, yet one is obliged to note the humanoid world is kind of a stupid place, politics, religion, infotainment, educaton, and all, and find the a priori Spirit for PROactive fire as well. You may know this already, I'm just riffing.

I particularly like your title and the bit about existing between sublime cracks (reminiscent of L Cohen's lyric: "There is a crack, a crack, in everything/that's how the light gets in").

F**k what anyone else calls "freedom" -- only radical contemplative will and intuition approaches it.

As Thoreau (who inspired Gandhi, who inspired King) said, when approached by the tax collector on Walden Pond: "You didn't ask me if I wanted to join the state of Connecticut." Of course, he went to jail, but when Emerson said "What are you doing in there," Thoreau replied, "What are you doing out there?"

So it goes. One picks one's battles, one rises above, always.

Thanks for the poetic fire, and keep it up!

[QuietPoet]

A very interesting piece of writing. Its very creative. I enjoyed reading it, I like reading different styles and this was one. Nicely done.

[emmajoy]

Hmmm, being a Brit, not sure I should review this! However, I will if only for the immense power of what appears to be a rant coupled with supportive words for your now not-so-new President. Plus the flushes (oops, mean flashes) of humour really add a little something: ' Do I get an inflatable And relatable Blow up Palin Doll ?

I'm still adjusting to your style of writing, though it varies of course, but, but, but .. in every one I've so far read there's an honesty, a compelling narrative and superb format.

Methinks you have a new student!

[charlotte talley]

love this kenny, i agree with fabian you kicked a*s with this one.i will keep this in my library. and let some people read it from my job( if that's ok with you). you worded this real vividly. good write. to me Barrack Obama is the best thing that happened to our nation, he has good views on what should be important to the people.

[deeps]

Oh My Goodness this is so cute! I like this write alot. This is wonderful.

[cest la vie]

My Kenny-San you did tell me you would get your partners and come back swinging.
My mentor, you have come back with barrels loaded and I LOVE THIS.. Who would have thought quiet Kenny-San had this voice.. This is a nice rant from you set to your classic poetic style.. Zang, I'm still sitting here going, "He just wrote that?"
Nice!!