whatareyouthinking

Send the check to the ministry-
Churn out alms like a factory-
Mismatched and discontented-
Detached and disconnected-

Mindless militants lament what they perceive
Spitting on our skin with venomous phlegm
All hiding behind their march of signs
Which tell us nothing at all about them

Witless armchair activists, witness their world
From a box or the books on their bathroom shelves
And they catch their flies with piss
While pouring honey on them selves

Charities of Fire-
As the world turns ablaze
Reaching for a hand out
To pull me from this maze
Charities of Fire-
The flame that feeds the flame
In spinning social circles
I wish I had your name

They’re saving face for those without a face
They’re sending hugs yet leaving no embrace
They’re loving space but liking not their place
They’re hating rats but loving the rat race

But a bird-in-hand, their burning bush
Though a burdened hand not worth too much
Nor a bleeding heart that pumps dry blood
On the burning hand that cries out
for a personal touch

Charities of Fire-
As the world turns ablaze
Reaching for a hand out
To pull me from this maze
Charities of Fire-
The flame that feeds the flame
In spinning social circles
I wish I knew your name

© 2008 J. Marshall

Let’s take a stab at your amygdala
Stick you in the ass with an Epi Pen
Infuse your eyes with fury and fear
As your soul sears with adrenaline

Chase your coffee with a slice of dread
Till we fill your room with doom at Noon
And more at six and more at eleven
And more of the same still coming up soon

There’s a Carnival of Evil—
For all the world to see
Exploiting the exploited
In the papers, on TV
There’s a Carnival of Chaos—
Feeding all your fears
Distorting what’s distorted
Changing how your world appears

It’s prime time once again to serve you
Your portion of disproportion
We set the trap, ease into your chair
And get psyched for your psyche’s contortion

Piece by piece we’re stealing your peace
And replacing it all with more crap
We’ll keep playing the harp as we harp on you
Until your heart strings snap

There’s a Carnival of Evil—
For all the world to see
Exploiting the exploited
In the papers, on TV
There’s a Carnival of Chaos—
Feeding all your fears
Distorting what’s distorted
Changing how your world appears

They’ve tainted our world and painted it black
But let’s take the world and paint it back!

© 2008 J. Marshall

My emotions encased in mucous
My soul suspended in glue
My mind’s eye, a blind pimple
Armed and ready to pop through
The thick glass wall that separates
Me from the depths of experience
And the space that separates
Time from the present tense

I want to feel the way I will
About the memories I’ll hold dear
I want to feel the way I’ll feel
When I reflect on now, another year
I want to feel the way I will somehow
I want to feel—Nostalgia Now

The light is on but my eyes closed
I’ve not yet learned to reopen
Taste and see the food is good
But I vaguely taste the hoping
Of all that’s good and great, and God
Will free my senses from their prison
As neurons mourn the master’s return
For a body and soul collision

I want to feel the way I will
About the people I hold dear
I want to feel the way I’ll feel
When I reflect on them, another year
I want to feel the way I will somehow
I want to have—Nostalgia Now

The novelty of each moment
Like lifetimes of nothing new
And the best times of life
The toughest to get through
Phantom feeling, a fantasy
I cannot fathom, grasp or seize
Though I know the present won’t measure up
To its future memories

© 2008 J. Marshall

I remember you

You were like my own personal adversary

Staying close to me like a cell phone

That came with a lifetime contract and automatic renewal

And seemingly unlimited minutes of torment so that not even my weekends were free

You followed me around—from play, to school, to work and back home again

Sometimes you were there even when you were not

You were the same

Only your skin, your soul, and your manifestations of darkness changed from time to time and place to place

But I will kill you…with kindness

And I will feed you on the streets

If you throw eggs at my house I will collect them and make you breakfast (unless you are vegan)

Nevertheless, you will not walk away from me empty

I will radiate love and watch your hatred melt like chocolate on a hot day so it can no longer be within your grasp

I will be to you what I would have had you be to me

And I will do these things lest I become like what you were—and be my own worst enemy

© 2007 J. Marshall

Volume of oppression growing louder
Hearts pump blood as dry as powder
Evil eyes, bundles of nerves
Pierce the heart and hand that serves

Imaginations burn without hope
From flames that set alight the scope
Of fear and hate and prejudice
Exploding mines of mindlessness

And we’ve all brought forth our worst
Mouths on fire from tongues that cursed
But a splash of light might quench our thirst
Deflate our hate so we don’t burst

Then let it reign and flood the earth and then
Let us yearn for a taste of that state again
And mind with watchful eyes so we’ll know when
We’ve been sent a Shot of Heaven!

The sky is falling from a room
Profits of fear, pulpits of doom
Prey for the sheep without a prayer
Send forth a flock to spread despair

Hyped to cite some lofty screed
Just mount up hate watch love recede
Rally up the mass hysteria
Turn their world to disaster area

And we’ve all brought forth our worst
Mouths on fire from tongues that cursed
But a splash of light might quench our thirst
Deflate our hate so we don’t burst

Then let it reign and flood the earth and then
Let us yearn for a taste of that state again
And mind with watchful eyes so we’ll know when
We’ve been sent a Shot of Heaven!

Business deals the iron collar
Ditch a brother for the Dollar
Or some change of rank or state
And put on airs, watch heads inflate

Pumped to numb hearts by the ton
Through wars of wits waged and un-won
Where need and greed distinctions cease
And the need for internal peace

And we’ve all brought forth our worst
Mouths on fire from tongues that cursed
But a splash of love might quench our thirst
Deflate our hate so we don’t burst

Let it reign and flood the earth and then
Let us yearn for the state of that taste again
And watch with mindful eyes so we’ll know when
Heaven sent a Shot of Heaven!

© 2007 J. Marshall

A man lies faint beneath the desert sun
The ‘Samaritan’ offers him water to cool
He knocks the flask from his hands and spills some
And says, “the glass is half empty and I’m no fool”

A woman digs a pit and falls into it
Another comes along to help her out
But she says, “you can’t reach me from where you are–
your help is something I can do without…”

Chase their whims and try to please them
Fall for the myth that something will
Walk on eggs on pins and needles
When perception is nine tenths of their hell 

He thought he could make a difference
He thought he would be the exception
But who would care if he changed the world–
When he is just a Victim of Perception?

A boy once ‘cried wolf’ but turned out like a lamb
And no one thought to realize his repentance
False witnesses brought him to the hands of the court 
Judge said, “Give that liar the maximum sentence!”

She was the one to whom people would come
Just to get some—or she’d pose for some smut
But she’s had a change of heart and for years a new start
Yet still they say, “Stay away from that slut”

Chase their whims and try to please them
Fall for the myth that something will
Walk on eggs, on pins, on needles
But perception is nine tenths of their fill 

She thought she would make a difference
She thought she could be the exception
But who would care if she changed the world–
If she’s just a Victim of Perception?

From good to bad, and sane to mad, or
Harmful to advantageous
The perceptions were fixed long ago
But reality often changes

©2006 (October 7 @2:00 AM) by J. “Xakk” Marshall 

Rumor has us—we’re believing
We’ve got to do a job
Grasping at straws—

The bandwagon ‘hey’ ride’s leaving
Jump on and join the mob
We’ve got a cause—

Let’s make some laws…

Action Reaction—
Fiction to Fraction—
Friction to Faction—
Action Reaction!

History teaches we’re still learning
To keep our balance in a world turning
Toward all extremes while ever yearning
Immoderation undiscerning

Action Reaction—
The principle, a distraction
To the spirit of the end
The letter kills my friend

Fiction to Fraction—
Division, the sum of satisfaction
Of facts and truth and lies
We magnetize and polarize

Friction to Faction—
And unkind interaction
Divided we stand
When things don’t go as planned

Action Reaction!

Purpose compels as ego swells
Hype endures and casts its spells
Whether wrong or right emotion sells
Moves its pawns where dogma dwells

Awakening the giants without
To be another group to shout out
For everything they’re not about
Secretly in doubt yet still devout

Action Reaction—
Fiction to Fraction—
Friction to Faction—
Action Reaction!

The point of view that gets discarded
Stirs the wrath of the disregarded
To chant their mantras once imparted
Still no one knows how this all started

Cross each other’s bridges burning
Fighting fire with fire with fire returning
Court’s in session never adjourning
The cycle lives on forever churning

Action Reaction—
The principle, a distraction
To the spirit of the end
The letter kills my friend

Fiction to Fraction—
Division, the sum of satisfaction
Of facts and truth and lies
We magnetize and polarize

Friction to Faction—
And unkind interaction
Divided we stand
When things don’t go as planned

Action Reaction!

The present teaches we’re not winning
Keeping the earth forever spinning
The axis bursts with Atlas grinning
Finding freedom so imprisoning

Action Reaction—
Fiction to Fraction—
Friction to Faction—
Action Reaction!

We may have lied to spread the truth
The position we’d hold
Along with our signs—

Eye for I, fought nail and tooth
Our act was getting old
It undermined—
What we sought to find—

And it took all kinds…

©2006 (October 6 @1:15 AM) by J. “Xakk” Marshall

He makes a maze for runners
To race his world of sorts
Fixes the game against the broken
For he’s not for good sports

And watches them run about
Though few will move ahead
But trample on each other
Living like the living dead

I make you think
I am what
your life’s about
I make you want
the things
you can’t live without
You and me,
your friends
and family we flout
When they say
I’m running you
or raise any doubt…

Welcome to the Rat Race
Sold your soul for a piece of mine
But no one wins the Rat Race
For there is no finish line…

Some leap for laps of luxury
As static clings to status quo
The Jones’s, a moving target
Of power plays, or a fashion show

Not much time to wine and dine
For they’re always on his dime
Cameos to homes and lovers
Standing still in flying time

I make you think
I am what
your life’s about
I make you want
the things
you can’t live without
You and me
your friends
and family we flout
When they say
I’m running you
or raise your doubt

I am the Rat Race
Here’s your Rat Race salary
Give me eighty hours a week
And forty are for free

I’m the amount
that just amounts
to this amount
and nothing more
I make you think
you make it rich
but I just make
you poor

I AM THE RAT RACE!

© 2006 (August 14, 2006 @ 5:45 PM) by James “Xakk” Marshall

Founded upon the foundations of fiends
Sustained by scores of sordid schemes
From pillars of promises hang hollow beams
Layers of nightmares beneath a facade of dreams

Something for nothing
And something for everything
Lining every shelf
Promise power for wealth and for health
And virtually everything else
Always something to save you from something
But never something
To save you from yourself…

What is the Messiah Complex?
It’s a complex issue
A store, of sorts, of ‘saviors’
Taking a fee for your ‘rescue’
Full of it—and solutions
Eschewing a foot in your shoes

Money changers changing hands and skin
Sheep and wolves’ clothing wearing thin
Spinning straw and gold into spin
All go in without and out with nothing within

Secrets to success
Stay secrets none-the-less
When broadcast through your screen
Tips and tidbits and bits of bliss
Feeding the mania machine
Superficially disseminated
Through overrated
Multimedia means

Where’s the Messiah Complex?
Just look around you now!
Where sensation surrounds sound discerning
And chokes it out somehow
Milking you for all it’s worth
To be their next cash cow

© July 31,2006 @ 6:45 PM by “Xakk”

Moonwalks casting shadows of doubt
Smoke and Mirrors in a different light
Furled flags ride the wind without air
Devoid of stars and no Earth in sight

Minus support of four-foot thick lead
Van Allen belt whips a spaceman to hash
Micro-meteors rip space suits to shreds
And the film for the camera melts in a flash

Earth to NASA
Astronauts to dust
Do what they can’t
But do it they must
When technology fails
In Hollywood they trust

And all the moon’s a stage
For the conspiracy age
Feel all the rage
And your mind disengage

Rover, Rover, never flipped over
Antarctic prop-rocks stamped with a ‘C’
Lift-off produced a flame in a vacuum
Yet failed to disturb the dust and debris

Weightless indeed when shown at half-speed
Washing our brains in the Sea of Tranquility
Catching the Buzz, strong-Armed to concede
Surfing the wave of cosmic conspiracy

Earth to NASA
Astronauts to dust
Do what they can’t
But do it they must
When technology fails
In Hollywood they trust

And all the moon’s a stage
For the conspiracy age
Feel all the rage
And your mind disengage

Insight might incite but no one’s in sight
Adherents hide as facts chase their fantasy
Multiple sources of ‘light’ think they’re right
Talk is cheap but the books aren’t free

© 2006 James “Xakk” Marshall [January 16, 2006 @ 3:45 AM, T minus 9 seconds]