Michael Grover

Occupying The Time

Yesterday occupying wall street
Tomorrow occupying Toledo
As they occupy entire countries
they would like to occupy the World

Well wall street is occupied
I hear they're complaining on TV
That people can't get into restaurants
Oh the tragedy
Well I don't watch TV
So I would have to hear about it

& who's agenda shall we follow
Surely not our own
& we can't afford a good lawyer
Who shall step up
& speak for the ninety-nine percent
Will the pretty, hip spokesperson
Please stand up
Who's gonna look out for the people's needs

Careful of the change you ask for
Change is such a vague random word
Makes a great political slogan
Tomorrow is columbus day
That raping conquistador son of a bitch
I hear there will be classes tomorrow
On how to meditate & levitate on out of here
Plus classes on spiritual warfare
& other oxymorons

But tomorrow is my laundry day
I have to go to the grocery store
To buy crackers for the pot of soup I cooked
Plus I have a tenant meeting
Tomorrow night
Plus I just don't want to occupy anything
It's such an ugly word
It's such an ugly world

Confessions Of An american Outlaw #144
(Transmissions For Vincent Van Gogh)

Van Gogh dead at thirty-seven
Obscure artist,
mentally ill
They say the height of his madness
Was the height of his creativity
Drugs & art consume you
I know
He puts a gun to his chest
One last painting
Splattered red

They call him brilliant these days
He never heard it
He never saw
The money exchanged
For his work these days
He puts a gun to his chest
Bang . . .

Michael D. Grover is a Florida born poet. As a wanderer he's traveled and lived all over the country.
He currently lives in Toledo, Ohio. His work has appeared all over the literary underground. Michael currently is a resident artist at the Collingwood Art Center in Toledo where he hosts a monthly reading. He runs the Covert Press. His newest chapbook "Counter Revolutionary Poems" is available on Unadorned Press. His first full length book A Shotgun Does The Trick will be out in early 2012 on Tainted Coffee Press. Michael is the current head poetry editor at www.redfez.net.