Look at it This Way

My mind is a mountain bike

On a super narrow bridge

Above an ultra deep ravine.

My head is in a snow globe,

My ass is in a sling,

My plan is about to renew.

It’s a closed system.

Perfectly balanced.

And all the longitudinal data I deserve.

Time is locally sourced.

Everything is beautiful (in its own special way).

There is no “A” in remote.

Look at it this way.

I tell myself.

Get prepared, worry less.

Hit play.

Watch.

See why.

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

Tripping Hazard

PODCAST

Look into the camera lens

And say Hi Guys!

And say Thanks for Watching!

TOUCHLESS ENTRY

Post-pandemic sex.

CATERPILLAR TRANSIT

No fixed route or timetable.

GRIEF

My condolences bundled with your condolences

Baked into my Facebook and your Instagram

Kicks it old-school mourning- and bereavement wise.

TRIPPING HAZARD

We’ve all nearly broke our necks

But since Gramma made it

We have to leave it there.

I’m so sorry, baby. You OK?

UNREST IN MY ANUS

A new twist on the classic

Deadly power struggle.

ROYAL FAMILY

Enablers with daddy issues.

PROGRESS

The more that gets done the more

The unlikelihood of completion increases.

SUPREME HQ

Jesus is our fence.

GUT FEELING

It tears at my heart.

MY NUT

Made it. 😊

ETERNAL LIFE

Limited time offer.

DEATH

Beginning our approach.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Song Before Sunrise

I used to be quite certain about everything.

Bumping Euclid on heavy rotation.

I was self-styled and self-appointed.

Squeezed dark matter so hard light came out

With infinite velocity and total hypotenuse.

A bridge builder, a chairperson, a blue-ribbon commissioner.

Special this, unified that,

Driven by a deep commitment,

Quantum dance hall, quantum dodge ball,

Bipartisan, multicultural, and holy.

People everywhere saying

Let us, my friend, not lack your company.

But when that good early morning loving goes bad

You don’t stand a chance

I remind myself every morning,

The disappointment of having

Lived through the night,

The chronic pain hope is endowed with.

As I rise from the bed

In the dim and utter light

The dog is still sleeping on a pallet of blankets.

Coffee maker cackling to a conclusion.

Crickets who worked graveyard clocking out.

Throwin' down hard right out the gate.

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

No Mames Guey

I’m having tea, blowing my nose,

Watching older Primus, newer Puscifer.

The government is shutting down reveals,

He says coming out of the bathroom

To the accompaniment of a carousel organ

As the toilet bowl refills.

Holla at me when you want

To start the conversation.

Opens the fridge with the pizzazz of a magician

Well save my session!

He’s holding something I can’t quite tell.

Frozen pizza is fiber, right?

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Words to that Effect

Sky blue bow tie, red pepper kicks.

Black smoke, white vapor.

Pencil skirt, per diem.

Key card, Juliet balcony.

Government issued photo i.d.

Hell yes. Hell yes.

Challenge accepted.

This is between us.

Thou camest unto me beautiful.

A warrior flanked by two lions rampant.

The Gambia vs. Japan.

From launch to docking.

Ravishing and redundant.

More positions than a symphony orchestra.

And no such thing as “a little.”

By the time the twirling started things had already

Spun wildly out of control.

Third stage separation and orbital insertion.

Whatever you’re doing keep doing it

She said, or words to that effect.

Bodies arched like double Dutch ropes

Turning with hot, unremitting abandon.

Gonna use my arms

Gonna use my legs

Gonna use my style

PvP, battle for mission control.

Three hours, twice around the world.

Booster stage burn off.

We have confirmation of the operation of our modes.

Parachuting to conclusion in a butterfly preserve.

(refs: Thus Spake Zarathrustra, Gilgamesh, Brass in Pocket)

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Living the Dream

 

Many things good are happen to me

And never use a rude words. 

I don’t came all that way to Vegas this time.

My swallow returned to Capo.

It’s the golden age of used furniture!

This salsa just got out of escrow.

I got the beats I need.

Genetic markers SO on point!

Triage with Jakarta, Carlsbad Caverns

And Buckingham Palace.

All these thing are the last straw

That shape up my dream.

You so much beautiful.

I really joy to see you soon.

There’s never been a better time.

Right?

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Recently in Head Light

 

I’m among the stable of bloggers for Head Light at Write Up The Road.

Here are four of my recent posts from that site:

Poetry Selection 1

Poetry Selection 2

Poetry Selection 3

And another from the Choice Bits series.

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Straight Up, Bro

Instagram sensations singing

Of merch and movie tie-ins,

Of search engine optimization,

Of lab grown meat and food bank cheese.

This is the era in which we find ourselves.

Outbreaks of wisdom become click bait.

Mythic, research-driven, multiplatform

Birds speak in stage whispers,

Tweeting about Twitter,

Translated back into English from Thai.

Well OK so what I’m saying is

In any time of enormous upheaval

There is always a bit of like, Really?

But also kind of not sometimes,

And I’m like, Huh, I’m like Right?

So sign up for your toolkit,

Relax in spa-like comfort,

Get your gorgeous on.

And receive a 12% increase in self-esteem.

A good memory admits you and a guest. 

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

 

Mega Roll

HUMAN BEING

Brought me here.

CITY & STATE

Online trolls disrupt UCLA classes.

Well, that was cool while it lasted.

New cases, more deaths.

Masks, gloves increasingly littering L.A.

(L.A. Times, 10/11/2020, B3)

TWO LAST CHANCES

Upgrade to blueberry.

Stay connected to your friends.

AT POINT PLAYA LOMA VISTA GROVE VILLAGE HEIGHTS

My driveway is cleaner than it’s ever been.

MEGA ROLL

Soft and ultra strong.

POSSIBLE TRAVEL DELAYS

Manila.

Rome.

THE ACADEMY

Cool. My brother went to the academy.

ARTIST

She drew me

To her work.

DO YOU FAST

And do low carbs,

Or just whatever?

OPEN WATER SWIMMER

Working remotely.

Schrödinger's CAT

It’s just one more meme to me.

INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS

Even if half the stuff she does seems like the wrong thing happened,

It’s better than lighting your face on fire to keep insects away.

TULSAN

I’m a man of my word, she said.

I just can’t remember what I said

Or who I’ve told.

AND NOW LET’S ALL PLAY WHAT’S MY LINE?

Blindfolds in place panel?

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

La Times

ON SUNDAY

ppcocaine vs. Frank Gehry.

Spinoff.

On center ice.

Arguably the world’s greatest food city.

It’s still unclear who is No. 1.

THE PACKAGE OF BEEF JERKY

Is this it?

No that’s chips.

INTERCESSION

But when that didn’t happen

I’m like oh maybe,

So I started looking in my car.

I thought maybe it was in my car.

THAT SMELLS REALLY GOOD

Smells like my guy’s cologne.

He’s a tree guy.

Earbuds dangling.

But it’s more than just the tree.

If it were just the tree

That’d be one thing.

THE BANK FORECLOSES ON BARBIE’S DEAMHOUSE

Lightning jumps out from behind the couch.

Helicopters hover motherfuckaciously.

IT’S WEIRD BECAUSE

Well like

That time in Pismo.

JUST WHEN EVERYTHING’S A MILESTONE

Shit I don’t have my phone.

IT USED TO BE A CARL’S JR.

But they turned it into a Señor Phở.

HOW TO BE AN INFLUENCER

Shake that booty pie!

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

.

 

 

 

Sugar From a Special Box

“In Joe Bradon’s confused and angry mind he knew something was wrong. Special lunches. Sugar from a special box. It had to mean something.” 

Written by Bob Mitchell, narrated by Art Gilmore, from “Highway Patrol” Season 2, Episode 36, “Narcotics,” aired June 10, 1957.

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

 

 

Coming to Faith

SO WHEN I FIRST CAME TO FAITH

Four guitars, sax, trombone, keyboard, drums.

PETITION

Wassup mobster?

PRAYER

Dear God,

More signs of serendipity please.

More TV we love, Lord.

IN BED

My tongue blinked.

I REMEMBER SITTING THERE GOING

Dilettantism is violence.

YES

According to two sources.

OK NO EMERGENCIES RIGHT NOW

But that was then.

MY BRAIN

Took another nosedive.

IT’S LIKE OH

If found, please return.

Right?

I CALLED TRIPLE A

And I just started bawling.

YOU LOSE YOUR FLUID

Brakes won’t work.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

 

Bringing to your attention...

I also blog for Head Light at Write Up The Road. 

Here are links to four recent posts from that site, by subject matter, dealing with issues like intro- and outrospection, cultural corrosion, and the effects of aging. 

http://writeuptheroad.com/fractal/

http://writeuptheroad.com/experts/

http://writeuptheroad.com/the-nu-beatels/

http://writeuptheroad.com/discount-memory/

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

Asking the Right Question

DO YOU WANT ME

To pick up some of that Lebanese bologna?

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR LIFE?

You working?

HE’S ALL, THEY FUCKING LEFT

I’m like, Why’d they leave?

ECUADOREAN POET, EH?

Start sharing.

WHEN YOU’VE GONE THROUGH MAX-Q

And become supersonic?

Part of that conversation?

EVER DONE THAT?

It’s a trip.

THE ONLY THING I’VE NOTICED

Is the kitties haven’t been here.

You mean to tell me

You haven’t been here either?

MY THERAPIST?

I told her about a year ago I said

I want to bash my head in with a ball peen hammer.

DONTCHA HATE IT?

I hate it.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Some Kind of Not

I’m often asked about

The camel in the recliner

Clapping at the tropical fish

Floating across the giant screen.

Even with all the evidence on my side,

I’m an expert at odds with reality.

I’m just saying it ended two nights ago.

I was born too, too late, too, you know.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Truly, Deciduously

Fighter jets landing on a fashion runway.

That ten-day period every year here in

The desert when it looks like Ireland,

With the director’s cut loudly enforced,

In the name of

Pain relief

Shift differentials

And cage diving.

Amen.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Mom Look at This One

Mom look.

Look.

Look at this one.

Mom.

Look.

Look.

A Sketch: As Luck Would Have It

An Aztec joint called El Sol Mexicano or something like that.

She came darting around the corner like a hummingbird.

Suspended in iridescence she scanned the patio

“Cedar of Lebanon burned with sage in an abalone shell”

“A tune in Jeruvian mode” on the sound system.

I wasn’t who she was looking for,

And I was the only one there

So she shot back the same way she came.

 

Well what’s funny is

The hummingbird returns,

Same dart around the corner,

It’s still just me.

Are you?/Yes./Absolutely.

There’s this like

Potentially sort of

Half baked, pseudo profundo

 

World shifting---

Before we started kissing

We discussed diatomaceous earth mining in California.

The World Archaeological Congress in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Chinese Mexican nachos.

There is a science to all of it.

And an immoderate amount of diving and drilling.

The resultant action is what gets dreamy.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

Recently in Head Light

 

I also blog for Head Light at Write Up The Road.

Here are three recent posts from that site, by subject matter:

It’s going to get busy for the International Space Station.

What’s gospel in one place may be problematic somewhere else.

A role model for my blog.

 

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

In Everywhere Area

I TAKE THE VIEW 

Every day is tooth and fucking nail. 

YEAH THAT’S TRUE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? 

The virus doesn’t care if dad’s wearing grandma’s clothes. 


IN EVERYWHERE AREA 

I’m kind of feel the need.

QUITE HONESTLY 

Jesus is my PPE. 

BUDDY NO 

Buddy. 

No. 

I GOT BEAT OUT BY TWO YOUNG BLACK CHICKS 

They unfollowed me and I unfollowed them back.

I VERY LOVE YOU

You my favorite girl of all time forever. 

Can you married me please? 

I GET IT YEAH 

But no hey. 

You might be surprised.

MY EVERYDAY SKIN CARE ROUTINE? 

Seven people found it helpful. 

STAY 

Hey. 

Buddy. 

Stay. 

REBATES AND CASH BACK 

Are what inform us. 

CURRICULUM VITAE 

Vie tee or vee tie? 

WHAT THE REASONS FOR YOU ARE REJECT ME? 

I don’t know the abc but I have now a long suffer life. 

THAT’S JUST IT 

Everybody’s most at risk. 

All ethnicities and pronouns.

Motherfuckers and otherfuckers.

From Our Lady of Sorrows to yours 

Or the lady that lives behind you. 

Crying her eyes out.

GOO BOY 

Buddy.

Heesa goo boy. 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

The Final Mix

THIS IS NOT A TOY

I workshopped it in grad school.


SILENCE IS VIOLENCE

To the face of serenity a raucous boot.


COMPLACENCY

The great white father of all failure.


HE BORED ME THE OTHER NIGHT

All he did was talk about Trump.
Yeah Trump.
You know, the President?


CONTESTED SPACE

Art museum loading dock.


SEEKING VICTIMHOOD?

Let us help.


TRUTH

Now available in genuine Italian leather.


LOOK WHO’S TALKING

Your grandmother tells me
You don’t do a damn thing
All day long.


THE FINAL MIX

Across the miles, aisles,
Vacant lots, vacation spots,
Valleys, alleys,
Manifest destiny,
Las Vegas residency.


TOO LATE FOR MIRACLES

I set myself out curbside for bulky item pickup.
Crickets chanting: plan b plan b plan b.
Lizards loyal to three little pigs wolfed them down.


WHERE I’M SORT OF AT

Bats cracking beetle backs
Sucking out the need to bash
Head first into the side of the
Black Sabbath reeducation camp.


HERE’S THE THING WITH THAT

As long as my head’s in da game
Ima keep playing.
Bring your lawn chairs.


WHAT HAPPENED WAS

Content creators, artists, influencers
Fired, canceled, or de-platformed,
Derailment on the fast track,
Killing all hopes on board.


RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

A killer hook.
The dopest flow.


AFTER INTIMACY

Now what?


KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Room service.


SURPLUS

Cawing crows, crowing cocks,
Desert floors and mountain tops,
Mixed race bots, Tater tots,
Non-binary mermaids,
Papier-mâché pricks,
Cherries, peaches, apricots.



© 2020 Randy Stark
Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

As Tensions Simmer

You still with that outfit in Spain?
And how are we identifying today?
Do you have your mask?
Can I get a witness up in here?
You need a tissue?
Are you having a moment?
Is she grabbing your guyses drinks?
How do you like your eggs?
Isn’t there a Nigerian banker who needs my account number?
Are we actually a nebula?
Who knew coins had a gender?
Parliament said what?
I know, right?
Sound like something you might like?

See the problem is is
The atom splits the difference
Between objects of production and modes of desire,
Parts and service,
Half waffle, whole waffle,
It happens more often than you think,
Net, clock, and pace,
From skill saw to standup bass,
From prayer to payroll,
You needa manage it all from one place.
Play it cool.
Its going to swing back the other way.
But it ain’t going to happen for you if you try too hard.

I don’t know how many times I’ve told you that.

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

More from Head Light

I also blog for Head Light at Write Up The Road. 

Here are three recent posts from that site: 

The Scene in Morocco 

Art, Beauty; Beauty, Art

Near the Whiting Bros. Ruins

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

Labor Day Weekend Special: ¡Simpático Patio! 15th Anniversary Revised Digital Edition

In the spirit of the Jerry Lewis telethon and Bumbershoot, I’m offering a free Kindle download of ¡Simpático Patio!, the 15^th Anniversary Revised Digital Edition. The promotional offer starts Saturday, 9/5/2020 and ends Monday, 9/7/2020.

 

from Head Light (a continuing series)

I also blog for Head Light at Write Up The Road.

Here are three recent posts from that site:

 ¡Simpático Patio!

 The Souls of White Folk

 We Say it’s Two O’Clock, but We Just Made it Up

 

 

© 2020 Randy Stark

Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

 

 

She Would Have Wanted You To

Think ahead.

Get cash back.

Start with writing that best seller.

Take the Brain Health Assessment and

Receive your brain health score and personalized recommendations.

Join groups to connect with people who share your interests.

Put in for a transfer.

Place, deposit, collect, flush.

Click to enroll.

Spiral into control.

Say Hi.

Become a member today.

Discover what to watch next.

Apply now.

Whitewash tears of might have been.

Act today.

Skip ad.

Claim your exclusive gift.

Get Started.

Shape your future.

Thaw your own seafood.

Double check.

Enjoy.

Earn.

Activate.

Tell your favorite brands you love them.

Stay safe in the home you love.

Disrupt the dichotomies.

Shop now.

Stop, look and listen before you cross the street.

Learn more.

Copy that.

So do it for her.

Check your phone.

 
© 2020 Randy Stark
Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

I Do Voices

Soothsayers and gainsayers

Yeasayers and naysayers

Nirvana attainers

Crane operators

Oh say can you see sayers

Live streamers

Deep divers

Unpackers

Informers

Convention buckers

Boundary blurrers

Bounty hunters

Plotters and potters

Pilot car drivers

Friends of the court

Friends of the library

Oyster pirates

Gong Show winners

Speedpainters

Real hittas, sultans of swat

Sugar daddies in kilts fishing for sturgeon

Baby mamas giving those bagpipes a hand rubbed wax finish.

Eschatologists on a praise break

People in the other person’s shoes.

And the entire sales team at the #1 volume dealership in North America.

The dear

The darling

The demonic, the philharmonic

The differently abled

The sketchy, the sharp

The sloppy, the choppy

The cutters and pasters

The heavily sedated

The tenured, the at will

The time servers

The good behavers

The due respecters

The teahouse texters

The brainstorm chasers

The stupid haters

The pussy whipped

The tweet-summoned

The polarized

The plagiarized

The plangent

The tangential

The flummoxed

The hollered at

The wrecked, the reckless

My uncle Mal in tech support.

© 2020 Randy Stark
Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.

If You Value Your LIfe

Railroad car

On a siding in the desert.

Old tags.

Mass for shut ins

Is a powerful plugin

But a mind is a terrible thing to change.

And there he is. 

Crying like a bitch.

Locally heavy at times

And all times are approximate.

Hath not even a short-term rental

Squat to lay his head.

Above, clockwise, from far left:

A punnet of strawberries,

A thimble collection,

St Anthony,

Tall ships,

Prayer flags aflutter,

Basque running sheep,

Treasure chests,

A timetable,

A jury summons,

Mint ginger cake balls,

And a video of Throbbing Gristle.

The medication is kicking in.

Self-prescribed denial.

5000 hours of analysis saved.

Took a victory lap in a chariot pulled by a team of alligators

While forgiving those who have trespassed against me.

Builds trust and engagement.

Everybody has my best interests at heart.

Giraffeck Parque Farmacy:

The nexus of health, value, and happiness

To fill my electronic shopping cart

To make my holidays even more magical!

Strawberry lemonade flavor please.

© 2020 Randy Stark
Please visit my website at www.randystark.com and my page at Write Up The Road.