Joseph Farley

Holy Vermin

brother rat, sister vole

gather your congregation

of vermin souls

lead them in

their songs of greed

teach  them to steal

and sniff and feel

and claw

their way to

the top or as far

as their short furred

bodies and feet

wriggle and scurry

to gain a seat

in  board rooms

and legislative halls

where thy can create

rat-friendly laws

and live their ratty

vector lives

and court their furry

rodent wives

and breed and feed

and shit all over

so the people are covered

in feces up to

their shoulders.

with eyes closed

in daydreams I exist

the rest is clearly false

and if forever is a myth

I have still tasted heaven

if only in small sips

still in the queue

if my eyes roll up into my head

do not fear the worst

i'm only checking in at home

to see if they've called my name

Go

the light was green so you kept going

driving through city streets

farmer's fields, forests,

over mountains

from sea to gulf to lake to ocean

you have been on the road

so long now

if someone were to holler “stop”

would you?

Could you?

Pennsylvania

My home is a state of the middle way

slow to change, but not far behind.

We are rich in demagogues and always have been,

manipulators of words and finances.

A spine of mountains divides us in two

but the real divide is Philadelphia and what is beyond.

No one loves the city, even the people who live there.

What we have of value is taken for granted,

rivers and forests, lakes and hidden valleys.

There history and politics are forgotten

and we catch a glimpse of what was before

Penn's woods were cut down for farms

and pre-fabricated housing developments.

 Joseph Farley edited Axe Factory for 24 years. His books include Suckers, For the Birds, and Longing For The Mother Tongue.