James Neal

James Neal can be reached at daveneal@toolcity.net for some reason.

Continuing Inquiry Into The Nature Of The Beast

I quit waiting for wings

and let sledges protrude

from my wrists. Clarity

never came. The best I can hope

is that some kind of wisdom

will emerge that can inspire comfort

or at least fear.

I've learned to slam myself

into mountains to see if they'll yield.

I've learned to smile

when the camera points.

I remember the names of my pets

and the names of my friends.

I don't forget the cities

where I slaved, where I

thought myself to slave.

I can take you directly to

every house I've slept in

and show you the floors

I stared at. I can take you

to the bitter taste of Northern Ohio

and show you Lake Erie's=20

garbage where I learned=20

to swim. I can take you

to Arkansas, to miles

of tall pines competing

with acres of stripped gutted forest

where I learned to fight and dream.

And I will leave you at this point

in Pennslyvania, where=20

the poem first unfolded

from my head. Where

I heard sanctity unlock itself

in a small upstairs apartment.

Where I notate its echo

while tinkering with toys

of madness.

A New Way

Have you reckon'd 40,000 sq. ft. much?

Have you reckon'd your Visa card much?

What thoughts I have of you tonight, Sam Walton,

for you have illuminated the rural pagan

with consumer religion.

Prophets line your well-lit halls,

redeeming themselves in

the glory of the discount,

like stealing something back from God.

"Attention shoppers,

may we have a moment of prayer:"

Save us this day=20

Some measly bread.

Give us the glory

Of cosmetic salvation O Lord,

And lead us not to the

disdain of our peers.

Lao-Tzu breaks down empty boxes.

Shiva stocks shelves like a woman possessed.

Buddha weeps in the appliance department,

chokes his mantra down,

and sells a new washer to Thoreau

while Christ heals defective

products in the returns area

and keeps his eye on the clock for breaktime.

He turns the fountain water into wine

to take the edge off.

(The narrator of this poem made these observations

while walking the middle way that seperates

sporting goods from jewelry. He came only

to buy an alarm clock for Vishnu.)