vs. –ing

. . . contentiously just measuring each other
putting one up against another
and we’re doing this so it’s seeming
and sounding just like we’re grounding
in this gripping crippling oppositioning
here crawling serpentining all around
on down in our bellies up under the neath
a subtling nourishing addicting bequeathing
of nat-u-ral born contrasting-ings
breeding lethal social conflictionings
slithering on and dastardly flaunting
drowning us all in our ratiocinating
in this ra-ti-o-ci-na-tion-ning foam
see how short’s exposing tall
as large does so for small
and nothing next to all
up’s requiring a down
as here does all around
good and bad and glad and sad
needing one another just to be had
like weak and strong so fear be grown
contentiously all we’re doing
is here just measuring each other
by putting one up against another
and we’re doing this so it’s seeming
and sounding just like we’re grounding
in this gripping crippling oppositioning
serpentining in here sprawling all around
swirling down on around and around
on down in our bellies all up under the neath
a subtling nourishing addicting bequeathing
of nat-u-ral born contrasting-ings
breeding lethal social conflictionings
slithering on and dastardly flaunting
drowning us all in our ratiocinating
in this ra-ti-o-ci-na-tion-ning foam

Copyright © 2017 Asili Ya Nadhiri

surrendering

we all addicting “Me!Me!-ing”fondlers
our backs they mooningly tote-ing
fabricating tomes who cleverly disguising
treasonous designs being passing on and on
in bilious plottings of perverse-a-nating heads
of too-too-ing little self-devouring leeches
splashing here in their sucking scared
drowning in being scared of being scared
“but just you give us won’t you please
justa few minutes more of our sleeping
justa few more minutes will you please”
ingurgitating the noise of our snoring
our mouths they rabidly spinning us fulling
on swaddling illusions of something born here
that was never much more than stillborn
“a few minutes more won’t you please
 justa few minutes more of this sleeping”
circlings in the hypnotic circling of circlings
our words they always just echoes
exacerbationings tatooing stolen juju trollings
on the hollowing caverns of our lives
this aimlessly squandering wandering’s
censoring the tendons commanding our legs
and rendering our bending knees attending
“no no no . . . aint no cause for worry
we just tired that’s all
a few more winks us up and ready to go
so please won’t you just . . . please . . .”

Copyright © 2017 Asili Ya Nadhiri

!MeMeMeMeMeMe!Me! . . .

HELL NO! can’t afford seeing you
and i’m doing all i can so
keeping you from seeing me
and doing all them other things
so making how it’s ‘sposed to be
can’t gon be counting no body else
but this one we calling !me!

aint no longer pretending
i’m caring about some how and why
i’m screaming!me!
echoing there in yo’ head
here in your head all the time
deeper on deeper mo’ deeper on down
so nothing here but ME’sbe’n heard
this endless perverse-nationing renown
accumulate’n all in up’n’under our ruse
we needing a new brand new kinda muse
dat aint ah’humming and ah’sanging
and ah’drumming no blues

so what’s left for me to be saying
‘cept keep yo’ ass here way on over there
on outa my goddamn way!
‘less’n you gon be here ah’chanting
real real loud about!me!

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

dissolving here inside this soliloquy

there something else in here
much older than the rest
aloned
it barely whispered
through the plaque filled gaps
of tobacco yellowed teeth
and nothing is seldom said
there no clear thoughts now
left here in this head
just shadows
in syncopating motions
!i hollar
and it quickly rolled up
in tiny crumbed morsels
for making believe
lulling me on
wrapping voodoo charms
all around up inside
the muscles of my arms
making me tird
and my children
and they children they too
these hands
my hands!
they paddy-paddy cake patting
on the tom-tom drum
stuck here in the mud
on the potter’s wheel
spinning ‘round and ‘round
trying to get theyself
some-some
dark eyes they shining
they shining dulled
frozen wide in the midst
of thick africaned lips mumbled on
in us fingers
it in here caking
the clay that it baking
and more slowly it pouring on

Copyright © 2003 Asili Ya Nadhiri

circular groundings in bubbular spaces

sitting there on a curb
is a young man
propped up
by the strong sour smell of used piss
and the fecal odor of public toilets
in his long boney hands
is a big knappy head smothering
in dread locks and corn rows
and stubby little plaits
big eyes red bulging there in his head
staring down at things
floating there in the gutter

cross thuh street
is another young man
oiled and perfumed
on Egyptian sand dunes
wit curly hair do’s and Air tennis shoes
posing there
in mean hungry stares
cross pickled pig feet and lean limousines
tanning there
in wall street stalls and clean ivy halls
cunningly crossing over
into some ‘nother body else-ing

Copyright © 1988 Asili Ya Nadhiri

this way it’s just like
i’m here rusing the ruse
by singing the same old blues
but in a brand new pair of old shoes

accouterationing . . .

so silently here submissively waiting
automatonically treading water
whirlpooling holding on to our
slippery savage estranging engagings
desperately seducing in naked clothings
of talismanic tattos of a muse strutt’n on
through entangling jungling notions
of all our variegating tribes of themms
whose mouths are always sprewing out
obviating convolutioning perturbs
in arrogationing slobber-rationings
of synthetic opiationing words
so make’n all of their own themms
be feeling they’re the only ones
here supposing to be being seen
‘cause all it’s always all about is how
just how i’m gon get to be wearing
some others’ somebody for me
so be hiding right here inside
appearing just like i’m suppose to be
in the pupils of everybody’s eyes
perpetrating my own invisiblizing
masquerading in some apt abiding

Copyright (c) 2018 Asili Ya Nadhiri

*reeds 

and aint no body asking
none of no body else
what this some body else here saying
‘cause we just so good at making noise
for any some body who
so long they being
some some body else

robotic-ly signing-on correctly abdicationing
confounding inside a bubbular impounding
hustling tatoos’n’bones’n’juvenilla rhymings
so we seem’n just like it’s us
who being up there performing

and aint no body asking
none of no body else
what this some body else here saying
‘cause we just so good at making noise
for any some body who
so long they being
some some body else 

we posing here hypnotically wraping-up in
the snowing arms of our pixtallate’n charms
fondling us on’n’on in a digitizing om
on into   this old recurring unknown

and aint no body asking
none of no body else
what this some body else here saying
‘cause we just so good at making noise
for any some body who
so long they being
some some body else

*Reeds are essentially hollow things used by others to be heard
Copyright © 2010 Asili Ya Nadhiri

i’m feeling this feeling
that i am not feeling
looking just like what
i can’t be seeing
in the midst of it’s here
and is not is and it is
a square in circular norm
and triangular in form
when except in right then
and now where i’m been
but i can’t disappear
‘cause nobody’s here
to appear how i seeing 

morphing
(forms are horns who alarm)

wandering along multiferous paths
mutual enfoldings and no footprintings
disappearings appearing in disappearing
caking dry marbling fluzzy-ing-ing
scared of knowing what we knowing

into what am i turninged
so many flags in this churning
dastardly yearning without concerning
there’s always something else
inside of something else
that itself is something else
honed and unknown is spelled born
an ending syllable announcing my form

Copyright © 2017 Asili Ya Nadhiri

mesmerizing in fantasizing mesmerizing 

afflictionating in addicting afflictionationings
trying to paying no never never mindings
kicking ourselves here dead in the ass
like it’s just another hole in the grounding
arrogating in surrogating prevaricationings
that there’s never no blood in bleeding
‘cause every body they got to be knowing
there just aint no such’a thing
we orgasming in the salavating spray
of our lecherous asining gloating
spandexing flabby norms
for copy-cat-ing worn illusionationings
so posterizing fantasizings
dissolving on in teasing porn forms
it is what it is so what the hell is it is
promenading virgin whores
and diacritically ambivalenting hordes
who circling ‘round ‘n’round ‘n’round
all arounding right here in our heads
making more’n’more themms like us
stumbling and wandering blindly on
every where swallowing disclaiming
nervously portensively proclaiming
“♪this aint nothing but justa thang
it aint no shot but justa bang
close your eyes keep-on run’n alone
and holding on to the potion
of just holding on
!!!AND THEN POOF!!!
it gon all be gone♪”

Copyright © 2017 Asili Ya Nadhiri

so what are we wantonly supposing

with in this what we’re calling space
never see’n all it’s boundless face
why are we plotting our own disgrace
to leave somehow a visible trace
i’m scared of all that’s unknown
so i’m brewing a make-believe
‘cause this is how i do conceive
this whom i’m portraying it is
so what’s the big secret of being
‘cept jellyrolling my seeming
and fricasse-ing my scheming
with in this what we’re calling space
never see’n all it’s boundless face
why are we plotting our own disgrace
to leave somehow a visible trace
to where am i following what
does it really matter with all i’ve got
if every where’s just some where else
why am i even caring to dare
so what’s the secret to being
‘cept jellyrolling my seeming
and fricasse-ing my scheming
with in this what we’re calling space
never see’n all it’s boundless face
why are we plotting our own disgrace
to leave somehow a visible trace
if this is up when then it’s down
is this a smile or grinning frown
aim i spinning or winding down
what does it mean to say i’m free
inside this so-called mystery
so what’s the secret to being
‘cept jellyrolling my seeming
and fricasse-ing my scheming
‘cept jellyrolling my seeming
and fricasse-ing my scheming
‘cept jellyrolling my seeming
and fricasse-ing my scheming

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri