Death and Insanity MMII--A Brief Oration on Two Stages of Life in Three Magnificent Movements Including: "18 Terrifying Tales of Murderous Marauding, Miraculous Mayhem, Demonic Debauchery, and Dreadful Death Inside the Mythical City of the Study, Obsession, and Survey of Mischievous Massacre and Grisly Carnage Within the Miscreant Psyche" Followed by "Cranial Hand Job" and "Scrambled Eggs"
Hey, Ma, look! That body's got no head.
It's over there in the corner. It's covered in red.
Carve a new tombstone.
Hey, Ma, look! A car crashed in the ditch.
There's someone moving inside. Do you think it's a witch?
Burn all the bitches.
Hey, Ma, look! That guy just got shot.
I can see through his chest. He don't look so hot.
People ain't bulletproof.
Hey, Timmy, look! That chick got hit by a train.
Over there's her unborn kid. On the tracks is her brain.
Dig two more graves.
Hey, Timmy, look! Bones are sticking out of that guy's flesh.
The blood is still dripping. It's gotta be fresh.
Notify the next of kin.
Hey, Timmy, look! There's intestines on the ground.
But the guy is still up. He's still running around.
He won't last much longer.
Hey, Tim, look! There's maggots devouring that man's face.
They seem to enjoy it. Is a decaying body a cozy place?
Better get the dental records.
Hey, Tim, look! That chick's in the lake floating face down.
She's got nothing on. Wearing only a frown.
Ever see a naked woman before?
Hey, Tim, look! That guy's falling from the building.
The hardhat won't help. It'll be a hell of a landing.
He's gonna end up a little bit shorter.
Hey, Angie, look! That dude is burning alive.
He's still rolling around. But I don't think he'll survive.
Do you suppose he's thirsty?
Hey, Angie, look! That woman is clutching a wire.
Look really close. Her eyes are on fire.
Electrocution's a bitch, ain't it.
Hey, Angie, look! That kid's got a spike in her eye.
It comes out the other side of her head. I'll bet that's how she died.
Do you think she saw it coming?
Hey, Honey, look! That guy cut off his leg with his chainsaw.
It's lying in the sawdust. It looks awful raw.
I wonder how he did that.
Hey, Honey, look! Those two got knives in their hearts.
They don't look too bad. They're not missing other parts.
The love triangle has been put to rest.
Hey, Honey, look! There's a guy squirming on the floor.
He's got rebar piercing his thorax. Can he take anymore?
Time of death is 11:43.
Hey, Son, look! Blood's gurgling from that chick's throat.
What do you think happened? Overzealous garrote?
Probably a butcher knife.
Hey, Son, look! That man's bleeding from the eyes.
It's some kind of disease. Much worse than the hives.
It's contagious; don't get too close.
Hey, Son, look! There's been an explosion in space.
The one guy left can't do a thing. And check out his face.
This ain't exactly his finest hour.
Hey, Somebody, look! An evil woman's got Her filthy hands inside my cranium.
She climbs up and crawls right in.
She's digging around searching for something that She likes.
She finds it and takes it.
She rips it out without even asking.
She assures me that, together, we are as one,
But She takes off on Her flaming-winged Eagles,
Leaving me to mumble insanely to myself,
With myself,
And by myself.
There's this little place,
This little place called space.
And there's a band that plays in this little place called space.
And the name of that band is Floyd, Floyd, Floyd, Floyd.
Red Floyd, Green Floyd, Brown Floyd.
Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd.
Set the controls.
Oberon, Miranda, and Titania,
Alpha, beta, omicron, Omega.
Do the Batusi.
Not the Watusi.
Yeah, do the Batusi
And the Hokey Pokey.
Dance the Jitterbug,
Bump and Grind.
Twist to the left, twist to the right.
Twist to the left, trip down the Left.
Now Swing your partner 'round and 'round.
'Round and 'round and 'round you'll go.
Grab your partner and do-si-do.
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles.
White shining silver heads,
With their wings of flames
And their eyes of ice.
Sleep with Satan
And drink with God.
Suck off Lucifer's fire dick.
You're His Left Hand man.
Yeah, go, Speed Racer!
Go, Speed Racer, go!
Hi-ya, Schpank!
Get Jesus drunk.
Watch the angels cry.
That's the Jinglebell Rock!
Uh-huh!
Dammit, Warren!
What the HELL are you doing?
Oberon!
Don't touch me!
Do you find it necessary?
Conjunction Junction,
Is it really needed?
If you know where to find them...
What's your function?
No purchase necessary.
Death is necessary!
Void where EVIL!
Your God is Evil!
Evil, Evil, Evil!
I will NOT recant!
0
09110101190
pi
13
1066
93
27
66
Meep, Meep!
69
77 snakes
666
1492
1776
1945
MCML -III -XIII -XVIII
Two-thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand,
Million, billion, trillion.
2525...but only if man is still alive.
Owls swoop, bats fly.
Stampede of a hundred drunk elephants.
Vultures, sharks, sharks, vultures
Rise from the acrid smoke
To peck out the psychotic eyes.
Poison slaves
Feast with the naked dead
On Cheerios and Count Chocula and Chicken Patti Smith Sandwiches.
Slay the Earth.
Everywhere is war.
War is everywhere.
War!
WAR!
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles,
With talons of scalpels
And tails of the undead.
Bees and bestiality and Bea Arthur and BeeBop and Rock Steady
And Don't Worry, Be Happy and Let it Be and Be Afraid and Betty White,
Necking and necromancer and necrophilia.
"Hello, Clarice."
Go, Speed Racer!
Sabbath.
Bodies burning in red ashes.
Flames hungrily lapping at the boiling eyes.
Is Satan a good fuck?
Seventy-two.
Omicron blood.
Plus, minus.
Negative 92.
Dark, light.
Red Green and yellow.
"!itatirom suknulf inmo odnauQ"
Are you even trying da' secret weapon, eh?
Cobras hiss and monkeys squeal with delight.
Houston?
A problem?
Oklahoma!
War!
Knock, knock!
Go away!
Nobody's here!
Ring, ring.
Message for you, Sir!
It's Linda.
Jerry, are you out there?
Goat head!
The dingoes in drag are dragging the dragons
Away from the scorpions and lizards and mayhem.
Space case place race.
Objects in mirror are deader than they appear.
Let the knife dip in,
Slice deep into the breast.
Nipple!
Go-Go Speed Racer Dancing.
Rip out chunks of brain
And let it rain.
We are as one.
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles,
With tongues of fire-eyed serpents
And screams of the dead and the dying,
Fly with rabid bats
Over the howling wolves, coyotes, and dogs
Lining Bert and Ernie's Sesame Street
Where rats gnaw on Playboy Bunnies
Feeding on spiders, maggots, and other insects.
I'll take Potpourri for $100, please, Alex.
No way, you fuckin'...
God...damn...FUCK!
Got shit on,
Pissed on,
Spit on,
Stepped on,
Fucked with,
And pointed at!
Take Bruce for the block.
What's your theory, Chuckie?
A G C T.
I'm a little teapot.
T minus 10.
Our lives are closing.
Could you help me, please?
Yeah, baby.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Pat.
T minus tea minus teat minus 9.
Mein Herr? Would you like to play Nazi Yahtzee?
Die Toten kommen.
Masturbate.
T minus 8 masturbate the penis and vagina,
Asia, Jenna, and Mr. North.
Go, Speed Racer!
I'm sorry, the area code for that number is now 777.
Please make a note of it.
7 7 7!
7-11.
Big Gulp.
Seven.
Pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, Sloth.
"Hey, you guys!"
Quod illud est, id non sum ego!
6!
Fry up some piranha.
Can you smell what the Rock is cookin'?
Mmm, smells like penguin,
But tastes like chicken.
Remember a day.
5!
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles!
Flying, flying, soaring.
4!
FOUR RED DIAMONDS!
It's tradition...
And so is a bucket full of clearly.
4!
4 forms.
A lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle.
Lions and tigers and jackals, oh my!
4 colors, 4 horses.
White, Red, Black, and...Corpse.
Pestilence, War, Famine, and...Death.
Flying, flying, soaring!
3!
3.141592654...
Hello, Aleister?
Bump and Grind.
Twist to the Left.
Bump and Twist,
Left, Right, Up, Down
In this little place called space.
2!
Jesus Christ's drunken stupor!
The Reaper surfing across the room
On an overhead transparency sheet.
1010011010.
1100001001.
1!
WAR!
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles,
With legs of death,
Bodies of Brown Floyd feathers,
And beaks of golden brass.
Eagles, Eagles, Eagles, Eagles!
Gather to watch.
Dust.
Lonely man has none.
ready, Set,...Gryphon!
GO!
Go, Speed Racer, Go!
Where are the motherFUCKING winged LIONS?
No...No...NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
<SCREAM>
EAGLES! EAGLES! EAGLES! EAGLES!
zero
Originally written:
September 26-27, 1998; January 5-20, 2002
Put online:
January 20, 2002
Discussion:
Read first the Discussion for "Death and Insanity..." This version here is the result of adding, editing, etc. over the last few years. A complete discussion of the third part of this poem, the one against the Patti Smith backdrop (it's almost a pasticcio), can be found here. I hope I'm finally done with this damn thing.
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