stains of blood and cum
left as testimony to some passion
or another
in a space just 12 feet by 12 feet

one single mattress on the floor
and cinder block bathroom
and cinder block living/dining/kitchen/bed…

room

violent lives and violent dies
the lost dionysean
drowned in an apetite
designed to make the paralyzed feel again
only to fill them to bursting
leaving them empty husks

discarded

this life
divided by infinity
is zero, nothing

and yet still it is,
as though meaning
however meaningless
is still –

meaningful

in some small way
a flowered memory
lost in time
is still a memory
an evidence of you
that moves forward
indestructible

and you
an evidence of some other
lost in time gone by
no part of you
ever was not…
no part of you
ever will not…

be

it is not a question
of to or not to
it is a deifnite
have, are and will

A quick study in leadership and consequences.

Strong leadership takes responsibility for failures or works to turn them around…weak leadership points the finger.

it’s not just being seen
but being seen
by someone who is

SEEN

it’s just being known
but being known
by someone who is

KNOWN

it is the weight of
10 million eyes
seeing you through
that one the pair
that they see

without fear
i can declare
there is nothing here
and there never was

it’s a challenge
if you’ll rise to it
but i don’t think you will
because you’ll have to have
been here
to rise here

nothing,
there is nothing
to stand, to push, to knock
nothing to challenge,
just screaming into emptiness.

 

Leadership is not control. Leadership is not fear. These things can be useful, such as individual tools to a carpenter, but in and of themselves they are not the art of woodworking, so to speak.

There are many people who believe that leadership is the sum of control and fear. These types of leaders lead out of their own fear and their own deep sense of insecurity. These are the worst kind of leaders.

They often find themselves in positions of authority because A. they seek them out, and B. they impress the uninitiated with over-confident words and a strong hand on the tiller. They are easy to detect but panicky boards and hiring committees, seeking only to fill a role, fail to dig too deeply and let them slip into organizations.

I have come over the years to recognize that these are people who are so paranoid of seeming to not be their own person, of looking as if they are being controlled, that they will do everything they can to avoid a recommendation or suggestion from someone else.

They will work so hard at this that they will even ignore what they recognize as the best course of action if it comes as a suggestion from another person. They would run a ship aground if a crewman pointed to land ahead just to spite the crewman and to appear in charge and outside the sway of others.

Ironically these are the easiest people to control. They are also the worst to put in charge of anything or anyone. The simplest reverse psychology that could be spotted by a 5 year old would suffice to move them where you want.

Oh sure they will see it coming but they will be helpless to do anything about it as they are captive by the power of their own fragile ego, seething at being incapable of doing anything other than the opposite of what you suggest. Their mind is their own prison and everyone around them is the warden.

The good news is that their tenure is rarely long except at the most incompetent of organizations. They tend to destroy themselves quickly through poor decisions and paranoia and move on to spread their poison elsewhere.

today i want to scream at the sky
and pull it down upon my head,
to rage and rage and rage and rage
until consumed by self-conflagaration
that i may burn the world to a cinder
and not wonder to myself –

“where does the darkness come from
that seeks to consume men and women
in a parody of death come wandering?”

today wants fire and ash.