waiting and tomorrow
(are pregnant with eternal costs) 

 everything else is always
wantingly conjugating conjugations
hungrily synergizing synergizings
embracing in a boundless beholding
mutually enfolding unfolding on
in with all the other things
. . . and we’re here wantonly aloning
burrowing up under some bottom line
of our own obsessing orchestrating
and imploding wallowing here
so busily serpentine-ing in the ruse
of all our purpled red midnight rougings
rolling vitiationinged souls in tabloid news
and surging swirling dirgings of the blues
scrolling faster’n’faster’n’faster’n’faster!!
shooting up snorting smoking it all
try’n to make like this aint what it seeming
and pretending so vulgarly loud!dinning
vicariously dancing marchinged on
desperately transmorphing our selves
absconding on inside the schisms
of serially perversive legislationings
we’re desperately hustling in between
and coffling on in the corrosive arms of
our own self deluding excusings
as we’re rapidly erasing ourselves
“but if i spread my wings and fly
which whom will i touch
and which one will touch me
what then will i do and
then what will be done to me”

Copyright © 2015 Asili Ya Nadhiri

drowning on in themm’d themmings
(ensconcing inside this blurring obscuring) 

them themms keep on themming mo’ themms
who strutting on out the mouth of this womb
pompously adorning their anxious disdaining
of oracular warning of proverbial sins
they perpetrating with themm’d themms they
offering when to themm covetting themms
who callously moulding and coldly pouring on
through vicariousing veins of other themms
social matrixationing so for libating our thrones

themms fenestrating venderers jes like themm’ds
run’n scared trying to hide from what them too
pandering vitiating hustlers as heroic themms
who blowing slow low mo’ mo’ humping sounds
resounding in the holds of emptying arms
whining bags fulling on pretensifying mimes
self-cowarding pawns so prostrating in place
‘fore rusing algorithming pixillated rhymes
pervert’n on in the blues like themm’d themms

just surling swirling desperating redoundings
as this ever deepening invasive fingering
is enthralling us deeper on here inside
of our own swallow’n invisiblizing
swaggerly staggering arm-in-arm
invisiblizinglying invisiblizing
babbling mesmerizing mesmerizers
so ’cause all we all is just themms

Copyright © 2015 Asili Ya Nadhiri

what else should we be expecting . . .

drown’n here swirlling ‘round splash’n
grabbing onto soft decaying straws
spilling out of our serpentining maze
silently begging loudly for warm arms
caroming on away from one another
away-ing on away-ing on awaying
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
desperately so arrogantly masquerading
in the glaring darkness of our feeling alone
orchestrated march’ns in coffling crowds
they emptying fictitious demonstrations
of refuse’n to perceive our self abusing ruse
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
here spinning collateralling aboundings
of our INCESS-ant duplicitious transgress’ns
festering ‘tween walls of our own disdain
of how we’re hustling so not to realize
this celebratory racing to our own demise
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
this seeming like we seemings
desolving on into kaleidoscopic pixilations
and the quicksanding haze of our faze-ing
with it’s hovering thickening is every where
infusing blues marrowing in all we dare
and keep on claiming we’re doing the other
but so scared in this swallowing evanescing
we just can’t be letting ourselves to be care’n
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

the all impoverishing arms of legacy chasing
(aint nothing but a “selfie-ing”)

we’re just flies disguising here
laying eggs in this parasitic abiding
wooing on in the fawning eyes begging
of those echoing all around we all
hanging on to us here
like us doing to them and us too
inflationating everything we’re doing
swelling up but never growing at all
except here in our desperate exclaiming
“I’M this special one”
who auctionating other souls like me
into new little shiny old what-nots

politely embalming seditious thoughts
of another some ‘nother body else
sitting here magistrating after me
if this is no more i’ll have nothing left
“but what about us who propping you up
by grabbing on close all up around you
we gon be left here hymning by our self
‘til the next they coming along like you”

it doesn’t matter this how we gon stay
floating like straws scattering everyday
clinging on to whomever’s drifting by
dutifully touching-up my fading smile
on chanting pallets of your mouths
‘cause we aint letting you be forgetting
how you knowing this what you knowing
“all you ALL YOU supposed to be
is just grateful little memorials to ME”

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

humani-vore-ing

“so what’s wrong with you now!”
dis gnaw’n on’me! dat’s what’s wrong
“no way you’re just imagining things!”
i aint imagining a goddamn thing!
“all right then where’s your proof! huh!”
LOOK!!!I’M ALREADY BLEED’N!!!
“Yeah?! it’s because of what you’re doing wrong!”
‘cause of what !I’M! doing wrong!
“nobody else here’s complaining ‘bout bleeding
so what else can it be! but i’ll tell you what . . .
if you’ll just calm down and act more civilized
i’ll tell you exactly what you need to be doing”
and who in the hell you ‘spose to be!
“the one you need to be listening to right now!
anyway . . . early somewhere in the morning
when you standing there in the mirror”
how some body be stand’n in a damn mirror!
“listen! . . . you just be telling the rest of us
what you’re feeling like you’re seeing”
‘spose i say’n i aint see’n nothing
aint no body else gon be there
so how you gon know if i’m lying!
“what do you think we all be saying then
‘bout what we’re feeling like we’re seeing
when we’re standing there too
nothing!!!nothing!!!nothing!!!
because you caint be saying nothing
about nothing except nothing! . . .
now aint you got some damn nerve
here acting all out in our pretending
whining loud invisiblizing like all us all
running scared lubricating hallucinating
try’n to hide here in behind
all this seeming that we’re doing
Just Who In The Hell Do Think You Are!”

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

what else should we be expecting . . .

drown’n here swirlling ‘round splash’n
grabbing onto soft decaying straws
spilling out of our serpentining maze
silently begging loudly for warm arms
caroming on away from one another
away-ing on away-ing on awaying
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
desperately so arrogantly masquerading
in the glaring darkness of our feeling alone
orchestrated march’ns in coffling crowds
they emptying fictitious demonstrations
of refuse’n to perceive our self abusing ruse
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
here spinning collateralling aboundings
of our INCESS-ant duplicitious transgress’ns
festering ‘tween walls of our own disdain
of how we’re hustling so not to realize
this celebratory racing to our own demise
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
this seeming like we seemings
desolving on into kaleidoscopic pixilations
and the quicksanding haze of our faze-ing
with it’s hovering thickening is every where
infusing blues marrowing in all we dare
and keep on claiming we’re doing the other
but so scared in this swallowing evanescing
we just can’t be letting ourselves to be care’n
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

what else should we be expecting

drown’n here swirlling ‘round splash’n
grabbing onto soft decaying straws
spilling out of our serpentining maze
silently begging loudly for warm arms
caroming on away from one another
away-ing on away-ing on awaying
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
desperately so arrogantly masquerading
in the glaring darkness of our feeling alone
orchestrated march’ns in coffling crowds
they emptying fictitious demonstrations
of refuse’n to perceive our self abusing ruse
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
here spinning collateralling aboundings
of our INCESS-ant duplicitious transgress’ns
festering ‘tween walls of our own disdain
of how we’re hustling so not to realize
this celebratory racing to our own demise
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing
this seeming like we seemings
desolving on into kaleidoscopic pixilations
and the quicksanding haze of our faze-ing
with it’s hovering thickening is every where
infusing blues marrowing in all we dare
and keep on claiming we’re doing the other
but so scared in this swallowing evanescing
we just can’t be letting ourselves to be care’n
and on and on and on keep going
what will it take ‘fore our knowing
we’re growing this what we’re sowing

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

humani-vore-ing

“so what’s wrong with you now!”
dis gnaw’n on’me! dat’s what’s wrong
“no way you’re just imagining things!”
i aint imagining a goddamn thing!
“all right then where’s your proof! huh!”
LOOK!!!I’M ALREADY BLEED’N!!!
“Yeah! it’s because of what you’re doing wrong!”
‘cause of what !I’M! doing wrong!
“nobody else here’s complaining ‘bout bleeding
so what else can it be! but i’ll tell you what . . .
if you’ll just calm down and act more civilized
i’ll tell you exactly what you need to be doing”
and who in the hell you ‘spose to be!
“the one you need to be listening to right now!
anyway . . . early somewhere in the morning
when you standing there in the mirror”
how a body be stand’n in a damn mirror!
“listen! . . . you just be telling the rest of us
what you’re feeling like you’re seeing”
‘spose i say’n i aint see’n nothing
aint no body else gon be there
so how you gon know if i’m lying!
“what do you think we all be saying then
‘bout what we’re feeling like we’re seeing
when we’re standing there too
nothing!!!nothing!!!nothing!!!
because you caint be saying nothing
about nothing except nothing! . . .
now aint you got some damn nerve
here acting all out in our pretending
whining loud invisiblizing like all us all
running scared lubricating hallucinating
try’n to hide here in behind
all this seeming that we’re doing
Who In The Hell Do Think You Are!”

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

em-spiralling-ning-ing . . . 

desperationings in twirlling confoundings
spasmings of enthraling ratiocinationing
emswallowing here in our colding Oms
checkmating in them guises we wear’n
swirl’n ‘round disconsolationing on
declare’n us be anon phenomenon
conceiving in lonely catacombs
smugly we’re just erasing us
pretending they our homes
all in toothless gummings
who always never done
of our own deceptive
we ever whirlling on
serpentining ruse
in alone’n serries
us in our maws
birlling inside
dissolving
on down
scared
in’my
just
me
‘n
‘n
‘n
.
.
.

Copyright © 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri

every body we all entitling
in our own decadencing

—welfare-inged moments
they chanting and caressing us all
bleeding on through the veils of invisibled-ling faces
running on out here all over us all
splashings loudly bodaciously so afraid-ing
loquaciously splatterings in the pupil-ling of our eyes
hooching things hazing synthesizing fantasizings
paralyzing socializing with infantizing mesmerizing—
we all !!SCREAMING!!quietlyingSO LOUDLY
selfishly shamming inside this pretending
desperately wander’n grabbing!SO SCARED!
holding on to those louder some bodies else-ing
public booty shaking’s our coffling shuffle
in closets coming out in every which’a way
better always watching where you stepping
and what whom you woo-ing here when
and beseiging ourselves in words impounding
serpentining cliches rapaciously serializing
with our mathematizing self- imperializing
ingurgitate’n we legislating a vulturine abode
running all around frantically hallucina-tizing
obsessing over power with such tiny lil ’l hands
probates unbeholding in this boundless expanse
and we’re all just random custodial guests
here mesmerizing in this bale synergizing
spinning with our mouths camouflaging it all
anxiously waiting for another decadencing
so aint seeing how we all imploding us all
—they spreadinged and swallowinged on
in this low droning stare of who
this who in here who for they selfing
purpled grey splotchings aloninged
wrinkling and drying on out on one another
growinged hard too soon—

Copyright © 2003, 2007, 2015, 2016 Asili Ya Nadhiri