the sleeper

by Roberto Lavidez

the sleeper

stirs and

writhes

shaken by

a strange

mixture of

tumultuous

passions and

mistaken notions

shared by the

discontented

compelled to

obedience

either

a revolution

breaks out

or that society

breaks up

in the interior

stages of

consciousness

his whole life

unfolding

with all the

existing

actualities

and foreseeable

possibilities

condensed into

an unpredictable

remote spot of

a single moment

his jokes

are stabs

into the vast

and gleaming

carnivalesque

cultural matrix

that plagues him

from the sinews

of time and light

a torturous

complexity

in retrieving

all history

of experience

gravitating into

a play of

reflections

that induces

a sense of

dizziness

and vertigo

nothing

could be more

obscure  and

out of reach

the individual

increasingly

disappears

in the crowd

compromising

the whole

social fabric

in a vain

attempt

to combat

the un-truth

that forces

itself into every

wakeful verity

something

is always

being lost in

routinized ways

despite

the unearthing

of a considerable

body of

new evidence

in which reason

is deeply saturated

by faith in the

political world

which penetrates

into private life

rousing in heart

ardent love or

implacable hatred

the excitement

followed by

weariness and then

by bitterness

the sleeper

is readily
lost in the 

common
oblivion

©robertolavidez2013

rewriting brutalities

by Roberto Lavidez

people survive

furiously under

the smoldering

streets of hell

rewriting

brutalities

in a good deal

of conversation

recorded in

volumes of

historian’s

bullshit

one finds a

floating mass

of questions

disappearing

under the

interminable

fog of detention

the inability

to imagine

arising from

the paradoxical

act of

imagination

torturing

to extract

information

from a victim

with nothing

to confess

greeted by

that strange

inimitable groan

of amusement

and pleasure

atmosphere

of diffidence

destined

to be churned

under the

wagon wheels

of civilization

plunging natives

into confusion

and dismay

facing all kinds

of unpleasantness

and everyday

persecution

threatened

to be devoured

by technological

progress and

ecological

smorgasbord

colossal atrocities

accompanied

building of the

empires

attached to

the bongo-

beating

memories

it recalls

etched against

deep bitterness

sunset underlying 

the placid face

monolith that

would seem

unscathed by

centuries of

habits

ideas

and mores

transmitting

to descendants

at birth the

fount of

ignominy

©robertolavidez2013

cosmic drama

by Roberto Lavidez

neural weapons

in the narrowing

aperture of

consciousness

lingering

in the musty

compartments of

the universe

inside

the brain leaping

out of oneself

towards some

apocalyptic

transcendent

climax

a violent

revolution

staged by

awakening

philosopher

faculties

frustrated

by crippling

environments

and pretensions

of established

cultures

penetrating

to the

lowest depths

the obscurest

corners

devoting

all energies to

the expression

of what is

within

too deep

for words

but is bound to

break through

the ambiguity in

the semantic

dimension

of macroscopic  

conceptions

making a

dramatic show

by subverting

chemicals

of mercy

which numb

the senses

the tiny clusters

which huddle

in jungles

and plains

wreaking havoc

on the world

without

explanation

for depression

specialists

who display

expensive

idleness

hankering for

some morsel

of meat

and pint

of spirits

chasing a flock

of images

buttressed

by the idea of

continuous

process of

exploitation

degradation

humiliation

denying liberty

of the human

essence from

the cycles

of unavoidable

tragedy

in desperate

haste to feed

his appetite

for cosmic

aha moment

like shaping

thoughts

by letting in air

from galaxies

of inspiration

revelation or

any other

spangled

stimulation

©robertolavidez2013

wave of unrest

by Roberto Lavidez

wave of unrest

capable of 

vast deeds 

and destruction

goes through

the land

acutely conscious

of the fragility

of power

it stands

spiritually erect

by regaining

human dignity

shaking off

the shackles

of servitude

through daring

dash and ferocity

with an aura of

heroic infallibility

creating a world

within a world

away from

an onerous past

where bondage

had become

the normal mode

of existence

kindling an inner

as well as an

overt protest

exposing

opposing

obvious wrongs

protecting love

of freedom

aiming at the

vast and

boundless

celestial space

to achieve

greatness

fortune and

prosperity

where even

fishes are

swimming

happily

in the water

enjoying

a peaceful life

without hardships

or disturbances

where even

the dead

in their tombs

have gotten rid

of the devils

their platoon

of guardian

angels

condemning

reprehensible

injurious acts

that interfere

with the progress

of the human spirit

until time came

when battle field

was piled too high

with so many

corpses of the

righteous kind

pride and joy

of their kindred

was clouded with

anxiety almost

beyond endurance

moral distress

more bitter than

physical distress

their cries muffled

in a fog of

empty phrases

until

simplistic slogans

started to

drown out all

profound thought

a new mood

of jingoism

and xenophobia

began affecting

even the more

sensitive beings

standing

helplessly

at the edge

of existence

all free expression

of opinion is

unscrupulously

suppressed

poisoned fishes 

are washed up

on the shore 

a new wave

of unrest

goes through

the land

©robertolavidez2013

about bouts

by Roberto Lavidez

plagued

by headaches

and bouts

of vomiting

humans

can teach

the gods

something

about humanity

its peculiar

combination of

duplicity and

vagueness

its various

hues which

could indulge

internecine

squabbles

its abhorrence

of disorderly

self-indulgence

becoming

the sun

in ones’s own

solar system

man creates

a scandal of

monumental

proportions

seeking

with all its might

for a higher self

he falls into

radically altered

power configuration

down the

black hole

of polemical

oversimplification

the clamorous

proponents of the

common man

allows the

ideologue

to subsume

any means

to a single end

losing battle

through a handful

of avoidable errors

deflating human

aspirations

intimately involved

in the establishment

of human authenticity

dousing the fire

in the bellies of

extremists and

Nietzschean

cold sarcasm

against beautiful

sentiments

grinding to a halt

a chain of events

set in motion

its so called

objective ways

of understanding

blurry

arbitrary

and tempting to

gods

engineering

human souls

©robertolavidez2013

vanishing world

by Roberto Lavidez

a vanishing 

world

of thought

and speech

searching for

something 

that does not

exist

stowing away

flimsy

episodic 

memory

with convoluted

documents in

dusty archives

since 

the beginning

of dynastic 

times

intolerable 

uproar

of humanity

festering 

in the

uncharted 

depths

of a remote 

antiquity

emerges

from the 

trauma

of devastating

tragedies and

endless 

quagmire

of clashing 

civilizations

perverted

in the hands of

an outrageous 

occupying 

power

embedded 

in the ancient 

traditions of

worldwide 

cataclysm

devouring 

flames

of the universal

conflagration

the nihilism

and narcissism

of stunted 

evolution

gnaw 

the best

of ancient 

wisdom

together 

with the

brightest of

modern 

knowledge

what must

have been

a wonderful

connection

to our

vital roots

expanding

science

into the

higher realms

including

valuable time

spent in

fleshing out

all the facts

free from

political

meddling

and adding

substance to

the struggle

against those

who hold

the reins 

of power

the history of

mankind

could have been

rewritten by

downloading

consciousness

into silicon chips

linking

prudent music

in a dance of

understanding

before it speeds

out of control

on its merry way

to a destiny

with death

and delusions of

ancient poets

obsessed with

ominous changes

taking place

in the heavens

©robertolavidez2013

deep silt bottom

by Roberto Lavidez

the spiral

of existence

in a great

unending flow

greed

and hubris

unfolding

causes

empire

to unravel

the strange

contortion of

history

upon human

cognizance

of the poor

excluded

from attaining

the barest

essentials of life

unliberated

from the dictates

of the herd 

mentality

entranced

on the 

continuous

exercise

of forgetting

trapped under

blackened 

heaps and

collapsing 

walls

of posterized 

promises   

to house 

the homeless

to feed 

the starving

to bring life 

to the dying

bound 

not to reveal

the whole truth in

seductive 

lyrical style

of dehumanization

seems to burst

uncontrollably 

into

free verse 

dominance

of western 

materialism

escaping 

to flatland

patriarchy 

and militarism

virtually 

wiping out

spirituality

individuals 

designated

as targets

to be taken out

of the struggle

to reclaim

their legacy

the downloading 

of consciousness

into machines

empirical 

constitution

of the planet

burying millions

of mangled

decomposing 

corpses

lost in the 

enormous

deep silt bottom

forever subdued 

and cordial 

to the rest

of humanity

©robertolavidez2013