Social Commentary | Dain Brammage

and yet

I am trying not to think about
The way the World now is
I do not want to give it
Any of my energy

Even with all of the hope
Our new President does bring
Singing of the possibility of
Rebuilding humanity

Yet in the face of this
I have not heard him utter
The solitary idea I think
Could make this a reality

For the human race
To truly love mankind
He must repeal the right of personhood
Bestowed upon corporate entities

Tags: Autobiographic, Poetry, Political, Social Commentary

11 Mar 09 | Poetry | Read on | Comments (2)

New Outlook

I would rather create
An understanding than
Destroy a friendship

Tags: Growth, Haiku, Human Condition, Poetry, Social Commentary

30 Jan 09 | Haiku | Read on | Comments (0)

Mother Natures Muse

Rust
Peeling paint
Weathered wood
And moss,
Oh how I love a mossed rock or old rusted horseshoe

I have always loved decay
It is nature’s art left there for folks like me
Many say they bring to mind
The things that time’s forgotten
But I see it the other way
The opposite
For every visit to a favorite piece
Brings a new work of art

Mother Nature does not forget
The things that we have discarded
She incorporates them into her muse
And works on them constantly

We should look at ourselves the same way
Every wrinkle that appears on our face
Is another brushstroke on
The canvas of our soul

– The image above is titled Decaying Classics I by LogicalX. His work can be seen in his gallery at deviant art.

Tags: Channeled, Growth, Nature, Social Commentary

27 Jan 09 | Poetry | Read on | Comments (0)

Fat Men Don’t Fly

I saw two of the fattest Red-Breasted Robins
outside of my Doctors office the other day
They did not seem to have any problems getting around…
YET!

I wanted to warn them about the dangers of obesity
of the health risks involved

The added stress on their backward turned knees

The silence of high blood pressure

And the increased heart rate
which I would think would be especially dangerous
for birds whose heart rate is already off the charts

About cholesterol clogging their tiny veins
it would probably only take a month
to put them into a life-threatening cardiac event,
if they could just keep their distance
from that slim cat over there

I felt compelled to yell at them…

You should be eating like birds
Lay off the Nightcrawers
Start eating Red Worms instead
Take a tip from a man of great weight
It’s getting hard to stand up from a chair
and the stairs are leaving me breathless
NOT in a good way

So now take to wing while you still can
my chubby feathered friends
but remember

Fat men don’t fly.

Tags: Autobiographic, Social Commentary, Spoken Word

05 May 06 | Spoken Word | Read on | Comments (0)

The Battle Cry of the Obese Warrior

FOOOOOD!
The Obese Warrior cries
As he rushes the office party buffet.
Grabbing not one, but two plates.
The warrior focuses,
His eyes squint and his nostrils flare
As he surveys his battlefield.
His pulse quickens as he is readied
By the smell of meat, bread and sugar,
And oh, don’t forget the gravy.

The Obese Warriors weapon of choice,
Serving spoons.
He wields them deftly
Often two at time as the warrior
Piles his foe a mile high on his plates.
Chicken wings and cocktail wieners,
Hush puppies, and little cubes of cheese.
He skips the tossed salad,
But lingers over the Swedish meatballs,
Popping a few in his mouth for instant gratification.

And the more expensive the dish, the more that he takes.
Jumbo Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, Prime Rib
And mmmmm-mmm the Caviar and Truffles.
This warrior will single handedly lay waste
To the money that the caterers were hoping to make.

And the caterers quake in their shoes
Upon the site of him,
Knowing that hot entries and cold side dishes
Will need to be replaced
Sooner that they had thought,
Sooner than they were ready to.

The Obese Warrior also carries
His own ivory handled flatware
Concealed in a custom,
Polished leather shoulder holster.
This flatware has been hand forged
In the late 600th and early 700th century.
The steal being folded twenty times
By an offshoot the great samurai sword smithies.

If you watch him carefully you will see that
The obese warrior rarely steps
To far away from the buffet
Only to go the open bar
For some expensive Chardonnay.
And when the desert cart
Starts making the rounds
He circles like Indians
Crying his battle sounds

Food Food Food
Moooooore Fooooood
Food Food Food
Moooooore Fooooood
Moore FOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Tags: Autobiographic, Humorous, Slam Poetry, Social Commentary, Spoken Word

11 Apr 06 | Spoken Word | Read on | Comments (0)

Practice Makes Perfect

Standing outside having a cigarette
An old habit being revisited
I watch a little girl
Waiting for her father
To stop talking to a friend
She entertains herself in the window
Of the store they are loitering by

Obviously pleased with herself
She strikes several different poses
Practicing her I am all that attitude
When dad finishing talking
She walks by, swinging her hips
And making I’m too cool for you faces

Although I was entertained
I was disturbed at the same time
The little girl looked serious
As though she was practicing for the future
She is making sure
She will be a force to be reckoned with
It dawns on me that for the first time
I have seen someone practicing to be a bitch
I am already feeling sorry
For whomever she hooks up with

Tags: Adult Language, Social Commentary, Spoken Word

19 Jan 06 | Spoken Word | Read on | Comments (0)

Gods Gift

The man,
Older,
Overweight,
Looks at the girl,
Early twenties,
Slim,
Hunger in his eyes.

He thinks,
Wish I knew then
What I know now,
She wants me.

The girl,
Polite,
Enjoys his sense of humor,
His company,
On many levels.
But sees him as a father figure,
Uncomfortable with his wanton gazes.

The man,
Thinks he is so smooth,
All that and much more.
Falling,
In love
Though he is married.

The girl,
Gives him a peck on the cheek.

The man,
Thinks he has finally broken through,
Well on his way
To heaven in her arms,
Dare he think,
In her bed?

The girl,
Is saying goodbye.

Tags: Channeled, Social Commentary, Spoken Word

10 Nov 05 | Spoken Word | Read on | Comments (0)

Judging Poetry

So, you say you don’t like poetry slams,
You say, you can’t judge poetry!
It’s just wrong!
But how many of your poems
Have you submitted to poetry contests?
Hoping to win, praying for approval,
Dreaming about adding it to your bio.
Well how do you think they come up with a winner?
Pull a poems title out of a hat?
Throw them down the stairs
And the winner is the one that lands farthest away?
Count the number of words in a poem
And the one closest to 500 wins?
No, they Judge Them!