labi siffre - into the light

elliptical

the trouble with good people is
that they will go to almost any lengths
to resist acknowledging
the lengths to which bad people will go

while the trouble with bad people is
that most believe themselves good

thee is ‘m portant

having all to do with
dishonesty

and naught to do with
spirituality

religion wins with
vanity

faster food

love is a meal where faith rules
but the dish you proffer and insist
i eat on pain of death is hubris served
more on a bed of self loathing even
than zero self-respect; yet you call it
“faith” - when in all charity the best
it could be named is laziness

a fearsome challenge

the chance to discover how little you know
is an embarrassment few have courage to embrace

which explains why belief is more popular
than knowledge in the human race

The Intelligence in Intelligent Design

neither by celestial mind
nor by tricks

as far as by testing we know
the universe was designed

by the laws of evolution
and physics

a point political analysts appear to have missed

forgive me your punditries
you high pooh-bahs
i’m merely a poet
but perhaps

if we persist over a prodigious number of years
in pursuing policies which produce
the same perilous effects

it is at least worth pondering on whether
our persistence in pursuing those policies
is because they produce those perilous effects

Tommy Cooper, the eminent philosopher,

on the Middle East conflict:

The other day I went to my doctor and said,
"Doc, it hurts when i do this"
and the doctor said, "Well don’t do it"

reality blog tv

interestingly
i don't know any

interesting people.
isn’t that fan

tastic?

sorry Gil but

the revolution was televised

the quality of the acting
script and concept so low

the audient watched
and said, “so?”

marketing

they don't sell junk food
by promoting healthy eating

and they don't sell weapons
by promoting peace

stupid boy

looking
for what i want

i keep forgetting
what i've got

494 stroke 731: begin

is that a real future they’re driving
into or is it a graphic a painting
a back dropped effect

is that a real road moving them
is the line down the middle
a true division

is this ink or light waves or
polychroms i scribe with is this
my hand or the hand of

someone I never knew is this
this or something representing
this

the visionary

if i am
my own reflexion
who, in the mirror, do i see

if not, some wag will rightly ask,
what sentience lurks
behind the glass

if i am
my own reflexion
who, in the mirror, do i see

if not, some wag will rightly ask,
what sentience lurks
behind the glass

with love for sale only rapists need sex

indeed in Politics
as in automobile design
the desired effect
is the illusion of speed
in a stationary object

fundamental

to begin
with the lie
“i know god exists”
makes you an extremist

book clubs

have you noticed how the
more Christian they

become
the more they read the old

testament and the
less they read the new one

(you know,
the one with Christ in)

salute

there is a brave man in the world tonight
his name  is Haroun Yashayaei

I’ve done what he’s done a couple of times
but the price he may pay is much higher

[Iran Jews express Holocaust shock]

old men continue making the peace

cruising the movie “Laurence of Arabia” is even

more bruising now than when first i did

four decades ago, which is, as it should be,

appropriate woe

occupational therapy

is a stateless nation

permitted

an army ?

_{HAVE YOUR SAY}

the wise one speaks

hopefully before i die

i’ll realize i’ve been a fool

most of the time i’ve been alive

abstinence

our egos
so delicate

we resent
the didactic

thus
history reigns

as entertainment

not prophylactic

rule #1

there are few honourable

men or women in the world;

do not assume you are one of them

blood ‘n bandages

i hate to say goodbye it hurts me so;
is that perhaps the reason why i
rarely say hello

The Assembly notes ...

that domestic violence against women is estimated to kill or seriously injure more women in Europe every year than cancer or road accidents

_{. . . Council of Europe Violence against women in Europe / 15 March 2000 Doc 8667}

to suckle the dogs of war

that's what men have nipples for

oh mission

under the seat is a life

vest; i search for shorts

in the event of death

bingo!

U wanna vanish
extremism?

won:
teach men

how to say
"I don’t know"

then

true:
teach ‘em

how 2
mean it

it’s only fair

when god repents of his sins

I

will repent

of mine

another royal distraction

Oh no dull prince
while climate change is
a challenge great indeed

hypocrisy and double
standards remain
a greater threat than this

_source

Progression

the world moves
at the speed
of the slowest

and the slowest are
the richest
as

the richest require
the least
change

marc my words

who would have thought it

would be so easy to fool

the children of the revolution

unexplained phenomenon

with Bush in the white

house who in their right

mind could believe

in intelligent design

art

is a response ability

not a pass

time

21st century philosophy (2)

the past does not affect the present

especially when it suggests that what
i did then

is in any way responsible
for the troubles we have now

21st century philosophy (1)

"I am sincere ... so I must be right"

and
equally craven

"I am offended ... so you must stop"

contortionism

if this has nothing to do
with religion

nothing to do
with islam

and nothing to do
with the war in iraq

it must be about how far
you can stick our heads

up your democratically
elected parse

*

Update: 29th April 2006

and so, like the Vatican admitting, 300 years too late, that it was wrong to insist that the sun orbits the earth, wrong to persecute Galileo Galilei for pointing out the truth, wrong to ignore the advice of the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot when he advised "Never change the facts to suit a theory" ... and though Popes and the Vatican will continue to change the facts to suit their dogma ... and though Bush and Blair will continue to obfuscate (that means "lie") the US  State Department now admits ...

US admits Iraq is terror 'cause'
By Tom Baldwin (The Times)

Report says that 11,000 attacks worldwide shows the war has become driving factor for extremists THREE years after its invasion of Iraq the US Administration acknowledged yesterday that the war has become “a cause” for Islamic extremists worldwide and there is a risk of the country becoming a safe haven for terrorists hoping to launch fresh attacks on America... Full Story Here

(c)(p)ause and (d)ef(f)(l)ect

the law to criminalise

incitement to terrorism

was repealed the day

after the government

was arrested

Get Real

poverty will be
eradicated

when the eradication
of poverty

is in the self-interest
of those

who don't live
in it

appropriate

considering who’s in charge
it’s no wonder
the acronym
for
the war against terror
is
twat

War is swell

Kneel and give tanks

Burn by your mistakes

Bod is on our side

Exit stage bereft

Go Forth and Do Like Wise

^{(though you may on occasion
feel the need to wear gloves)}

it never began
it will never end

truth is: every one
is an island

and below the sea
please notice please

every island
is holding hands

GOD stands

for the Good Old Days

and as we know

they weren’t

the first apple

she bares her thighs
in search of disappointment
and it comes

now we be spiritual

many attain
enlightenment
on the tops
of mountains

sadly
almost all
descend

a nat king cole thing

looking up at the moon
from the frozen south pole

aren't you really looking down
with the moon below

arithmetic

it is not easy nor perhaps
appropriate to be gratefulto liberators (individuals
groups or nations)complicit
in the systemthat oppressed you

literally

if you don’t know how
to define it

you don’t know what
you’re talking about

error of judgement

one way to address iran's
quest for nuclear weapons

would be to address israel's
possession of nuclear weapons

sorry, my mistake
stupid suggestion

it’s a living

god exists
in any way
that will con
firm the author
ity of those
who describe it

spastic colon

no questions
no answers
no no no no

endless questions
no answers
yes yes yes yes

how can you
live
with that that that that

it ain’t easy
believe me
it ain’t easy

sum it

chimneys see more

than men

but no one asks

their opinion

why critical thinking is for ever unfashionable

if you know god exists

then you don't have faith

that's the point

of faith

that you don't know

^{(from "Considerations"  in the poetry book "Monument" © labi siffre '97)}

in sight, but still ...

I stand at the edge
and watch you
drowning

is there something else
I should do

me without you

without glue
without due process

truth absolute
an artwork brutal
brittle without you

boo! i'm frightened
is me without you

finale

the struggle

now is not

to die a dis

appointed man

nota bene

for those who may not have noticed
religion is very much
current affairs

numero uno

feelings of inadequacy i defeat
with ease
first in the kitchen both taps
i turn ‘em on full whack
then to the bathroom
and do the same

i've moved the armchair
from the livingroom
into the hall
and spend cool evenings
listening
in stereo
to what makes me better
than those low lives
in other numbered world

21st century definitions No 53

moving forward:

doing the same thing
in a different place

not enough showbiz

so, 80% debt cancellation for iraq. woooooh!

could africa be next? nooooooo!

eat your hearts out

bob ‘n bono

en passant

no surprise that it took pejorative
makeovers to make liberation
theology and political
correctness
fetching
to us

in the garden ~ 11

serpent? of course there was
and a river clean   clear

but no apple
no tree

no adam
no eve

the self sees the self

and naturally
slithers away

alternative suggestion

let’s stop fighting
for what we believe

because of what we know
let’s stop fighting

4 cast

america is afraid

given an inch the shrub

takes a thousand miles

expect no change

now we be spiritual, what else?

the universe can be
only as it is

there is no need
for god in this

weep if you will
laugh if you must

for good or ill
we are all there is

in us

herb of grace

it’s been a bad year

the next one will probably be worse

sometimes it’s hard

to state the obvious

bush 'n buddy rock da vote

Fear will keep us together. The explosive old single from Captain and The eel. Paid for by: The International Terrorists for Bush Coalition (a faith based initiative)

divertimento

sans 1
the 3 leg stool
will fall

sans fall
autumn will be
a noticeable difference

sans difference you
and everything else
would be me

sans me you
could be doing
something useful

immunity pays

we have no need of guilt
illy concealed mass graves

to be discovered later by
condemning haters of democracy

we leave civilian dead
as litter in the streets

ignored by us their numbers
unmarked as are their names

get over it

i have no sympathy
for the dead

it’s an excuse
a copout, still

what can you expect
from self-indulgent

folk who’d let
themselves go

to that extent
no

i have no
sympathy

for the dead

dresden chic

GAZA

GROZNY

GUERNICA

FALLUJAH

Dresden chic

Dresden chic

fetched from afar

                       

The Black Hand	=	Al Qaida
Dragutin Dimitrijevic	=	Osama bin Laden
Gavrillo Princip	=	?
1914	=	?

puke ta take out

ok i accept
you don’t accept
unsolicited manuscripts
in your literary mag

still it’s hard to accept
you solicited the crap
you accept
in your literary mag

limitations

if “tough” is all you got
it ain’t much use outside
of battle or war or
somesuch endeavour

so i guess if “tough”
is all you got
you got to carry
the war in your heart
forever

answers 2

Philosophy is
the attempt
to discover

one thing that is
incontrovertibly
true

The attempt
though in vain
is a necessary pain

belief knowledge myth

belief is trust
knowledge
a myth

naturally
I expect few
to believe this

inner vision

for years

its been on my mind

how can a blind man

blind from birth

know that he's blind

preparation

we had
an agreement

the sun rose
daily

and you
would wake

i should have known
one morning

both the sun
and i

would wait
and wait
and wait
and wait

reason enough

with blood in his eyes in his ears, draped

in rivulets and lakes down and across

his face his hair caked his clothes

soaked he writes about how the baby

falls on hard ground stands on wobbles

walks towards him   doesn't cry

graves unremarked

how brief the passing

between fighters

for freedom grasping

liberty before wresting

the same from someone else

for the engine

and you you jerk
what category should
we put you and your stuff in?

I guess its always been the same
I try to be in “good work”
but I don’t suppose that’s precise
enough to help you in your search

absolutes

culture

is no excuse

for cruelty

double Oh Oh

forty two of the forty three chrome
and cane chairs on the café caracas
veranda are nothing more

the forty third a secret
agent in disguise terrified
he’s forgotten the magic

gadget that will
change him
back

an other story 'bout sex 'n deaf

again she thrusts
the nine inch kitchen

knife into the still body
of her husband bill

now drained of tears
mary beth her daughter

pleads "please stop, it
wasn't daddy

it was your brother
uncle danny”

© zay zoss

the mantra theists cannot master

i don.t know

i don.t know

i don.t know

i don.t know

i don.t know

i don.t know

i don.t know

on hind legs

like all
six billion
and more
and growing
this small not
knowing if god
existing be unlike
most, ascared of no
limit, this single cell
ain.t afeared to admit it

make no mistake

in a
totalitarian
state
it is easy
to be
an
innocent
civilian

discomfitingly
it is almost
impossible
in a democracy

the minimum

courage is all we lack

all? resilience, fortitude

perseverance

but never resignation

resolve never to be resigned

nor pragmatic; promise yourself

that, at least

the hours

sad women

dying at length

men attending

sans understanding

entrapment

if god knew

what Judas would do

in the final accounting

who betrayed who

the value of rational thought

an omnipotent God that needs me

to worship him / her / it

is a God lacking in self-esteem

and therefore deficit

the democratic ideal

Palestinians and Iraqis fail to see the light / with democracy they can vote
for whoever we like