I I Captain

is the divine in the ship
in the mix always

pulling the strings of the sails

master of the wind
mastering the wind

do I/do we need be alarmed
at any hour of night or day

whatever way the wind blows
however fiercely

I need to learn to be at peace
to rest assured

I need to let go
I need to let God


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2009
10:17 p.m. 14.03.09


Kemp Road Kids

fuck is a heavy duty word

hate to see it/to hear it
being employed
in just any circumstance

uttered, overused
by children passing along my street

like taking out a hundred dollar bill
to buy candy

why use such a note
when small change would suffice
would be sufficient

save fuck for when there is
a heavy load to lift
for when a forklift is needed

why use what is designated
to pick up boulders
to pick up sticks

or to pick up paper
or to remove the wrapper
from a mint

we must allow innocence
to sustain as long as it can
as long as we're able

our children are too soon in the deep
in deep shit, drowning, wading

when they should be
playing in the shallows

splashing near the beach
with adults watching

as fascinated as
when we watch kids frolic


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2009
10:31 p.m. 14.03.09


Like Crab Lice

is coming into being
itself not a sort of cancer

a sort of plague
easily triggered off

cells multiplying
doing it over and over
again and again

earth, creation
sick with us, sick of us

cancers we ourselves
contract/develop

come along to eliminate us
to regulate us

why do we think
that we are less scornful
than rats

we imagine there is weeping
what if there is rejoicing
in heaven

when we are
in numbers great or small
eliminated

even if it is through stupidity
or through self-destruction

individually or in numbers
great or small

are we too conceited
to imagine ourselves
a nuisance


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2009
4:18 p.m. 23.03.09