no fancy explanations or revelations used as reasoning or validation
no spirited & spontaneous decisions to allow the privilege of an utter existence
no need
this is the grand opening the big break-out gig the show that begins
with a few nervous tears & coughing & tuning oneself into coherence
raw, unadulterated gems are forthcoming
when the blood & slime is washed away
we have high hopes we’ve prepared the house in great detail
come home with us & let us know what you think
we did our best to make you culpable we mean capable
we’ll go over the master plan together
it starts with a simple breath & some other basic bodily functions
no lame attempts at justification your lucid brain & taut spine is a healthy gift
& the stage for momentous events to come we’ve been waiting
& waiting & waiting & now you’re here after many
cups of coffee, tea, cigarettes, an endless shuffle of CDs & cassettes
bottles, cans, glasses of beer, wine, shots of the hard stuff, insincere compliments,
vats of junk food, white lines & pills, poker hands, hot innuendos & frozen TV dinners,
here is a cigar, congratulations
we’ve taken a crowbar to the gates of hell privy to the passwords of heaven
we don’t use names here a number will be stamped on your liver
just kidding you were such a work-in-progress conceived & finally now perceived
in this world that almost doesn’t deserve your presence you are so far beyond
extraordinary your potential neither sacred nor sacrificial just dead center
welcome welcome we are your benefactors I am your father
the book made outrageous claims.
life as this insistent back-beat gone amok in sum
primitive raw to propagate, orchestrate
infernal melodies that play always in the flesh. an enjambment of fire
is there to deliciously heed
to feed wild arpeggios that augment the soul & it is precisely this dangerous proposition that gives worth to dreams & weight to our hearts.
a life of discord
searching for some sweet harmony. reveille & screw up magnificently.
an exquisite wreck, the divine comedienne redeemed by an understated allure,
an irresistible chemistry stains each chapter of a crude apotheosis.
a glossary of bone, blood & song & in the soul cultivate heart, sense, tolerance.
some gravitate toward utility.
others, visions.
raising hell or rearing love
in its extroverted mutations, its intimate vibrations
a nod to the criminal adrenaline rush of idle dreamers
taking an axe to the system’s doctored ladder.
kisses like footnotes blown to the ephemeral, the smug dance of knowledge implodes to expose an appendix of sputtering nerves & animal tics.
dive in, chum. lost minions paddle on for greater shores. exploding truths dissolve the indigestible dirigible our hearts can become.
cast into the vast seas of sentiment & sleaze, stupidity & sanctimony.
surrounded by cactus & killer bees, alone in a crowded desert of compromise,
sample the fantastic nectar of the sweet & real.
a bibliography of hope, occasional treasure, excavation of the lost, the challenge of truth & the allies of fear.
there is a lake of bodily fluid containing sacred scrolls buried under its bed.
dive in, chum, it’s a dicey hand, draw blood.
never mind the sharks.
A soul abduction…
Some cosmic drama…
His poor resinous heart
taken in a bloodless incision, executed
too precise
for mortal hands.
He couldn’t believe what was at stake
with each flutter
of inebriate lash.
Fooled
by the eyes.
Those eyes…
EYES
bluer than noontime in Iceland.
Chris D'errico lives in Las Vegas. "Diving into the Hedonic" and "Song of Deceit" were previously published in his chapbook, The Meat Game, at Thunder Sandwich.