—YOU SAY I’M GOOD AS DEAD IF I KEEP IT UP MUCH LONGER 

 

…“Watching songs you think are the best you have ever written get released and do absolutely nothing is hard.” Julian Bunetta

…But, really, what do I have to bitch about?

…Poem found in a laundromat

 

This poem was found written on a paper bag by Richard Brautigan in a laundromat in San Francisco. The author is unknown.

 

By accident, you put

Your money in my 

Machine (#4)

By accident, I put

My money in another

Machine (#6)

On purpose, I put 

Your clothes in the

Empty machine full

Of water and no

Clothes

 

It was lonely

 

 

…Fucking, Karen. I miss you.

 

…Here’s the way I look at it: If there really is a God (and I believe there is), just say what you want to say, swear if you want to swear, because he/she will know if you’re holding back for their sake. God knows everything, even what you’re thinking but haven’t acted upon.

  

…Most of the time, we’re just preaching to ourselves, to the same old choir.

 

…You can write back or not—that’s not even the point.

 

…I don’t believe in karma.

 

…I think I’m supposed to be sixty-six.

 

…You say I’m giving up too much, taking too many chances.

 

…Even your best friend is going to betray you once in a while. It’s inevitable, I guess. So, if they’re really your best friend, you give them a pass and hope it doesn’t happen again.

 

…What are memories for, if not that?

 

…I need a new song.

 

…What I’m never going to run out of, ever, is photos to post here, unless this site won’t let me post them. (I have thousands and thousands.)

 

…Betrayal might be too harsh a word, but still…

 

…“There’s a dream I have in which I love the world.” Cameron Awkward-Rich

…I wonder if anyone worries more than me. I’m guessing, No.

 

…I don’t ever remembering worrying about a thing, other than money, when I was a kid or teenager.  And even when I had none, other than a quarter in my pocket, I somehow found enough to buy beers at The Coug.

 

…I may be too sensitive. Yeah, I know I am.

 

…Did we ever talk about sleep when we were young, like ask some other teenager, “How’d you sleep last night?” I don’t recall ever that ever being something asked.

 

…And I could stand here waiting, fool for another day.

 

…Something I have never said is, “Pretty fly for a white guy.” But Mac can somehow get away with it. 

 

…“I’m afraid to write. It’s so dangerous. Anyone who’s tried it, knows.” Clarice Lispector

 

…I’m not always going to be amusing, entertaining or articulate here, but I’m always going to be honest.

 

…Why would anyone pay to enter a contest when you’re competing with 8,745 other people? And why, if you’re a different publisher with a different contest, would you brag about We received 1374 poems  getting that many entries thus far, while asking others to enter in?

 

…Everyone wants peace, but no one wants to surrender.

 

…Wow, what a life.

 

…It’s a little too easy to hold a grudge.

 

…Canadians are the best. If everyone was Canadian, the world would be a better place.

 

…"There's no real alternative: either you grow old and accept the process with dignity, or you die. Looking at it that way, I'd much rather grow old."

"Growing old means you're fortunate enough to still be alive and have a future.. Besides, maturity brings with it a wonderful gift: detachment. Sometimes, as you get older, you stop being just an actress and become a spectator of the world, which makes you see everything from a different perspective." Monica Bellucci

…The announced The Nobel Prize for literature the other day—poet and essayist Anne Carson, an apt pick.

Of the 122 winners of the award since its inception, 19 have been women.

 

…Always cautious around the corners.  Always feeling like a foreigner, knocking on the closed door.

 

…It was a disgrace to see and listen to Netanyahu speak at the U.N. last week. Two of my very best friends are Jewish. I honestly don’t care what a person believes, or identifies as. Netanyahu can throw “antisemitic” around all he wants, but it’s simply lazy camouflage for his ongoing ethnic cleansing. How can you just bomb schools, with kids in them, and hospitals, with wounded people in them, and then sleep at night? How can anyone do that unless they’re inherently evil?

 

…It was hard not to be very political on here today because every day it is baffling to see what the monster and the minions in his administration do, such as RFK Jr. deciding to use federal funds to study vaccine injuries while repudiating vaccines that literally save thousands or lives each year. Or yesterday’s announcement by the White Supremist Hegseth that they are going to live stream the execution of a convicted military killer. WTF? How barbaric can we be? This is like when they used to hang people in the public square and invited the whole town to come out and bring their kids with, or no different than what ISIS does.

 

…Seriously, what kind of person, other than a fourth-grader, talks like this? Certainly not the President of the United States:

Trump hurls anti-trans slurs at Graham’s opponent as South Carolina race tightens President Trump on Monday used an anti-transgender slur several times against Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-S.C.) Democratic opponent Dr. Annie Andrews, as the race for the Senate seat tightens.   “Annie ‘T——‘ Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

 

…Come on. Whatttt????

Trump Says He Feels ‘Badly’ for Cornell 7, Claims They ‘Won’t Get a Fair Shake’ from His Nemesis Letitia James

 

 

…Who in the fuck does this?

Trump posts GOP senator’s cell phone number on social media over daylight savings act stall

 

 

…Or threatens this?

Trump not ruling out invoking Insurrection Act around midterms

President Trump said in an interview published Thursday that he has not ruled out invoking the Insurrection Act or declaring a national emergency around the midterm elections in November.

 

…Or says this?

Trump says Iran could ‘take’ San Diego, Los Angeles; draws cross-party ire

Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed outrage at Trump’s remarks, as the White House disputed their

 

 

“It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe,” Trump said, seemingly in reference to the knock-on effects of the war, including rising fuel and fertiliser prices.

Then, he said: “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon.”

…Is this not completely deranged?

Trump calls for media outlets to be ‘arrested’ over rally coverage President Trump said Monday that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be “arrested” over their coverage of his Saturday rally in Ohio.

 

 

…Eventually, I have to learn to be more circumspect. 

 

…“We’re all just walking each other home.” Ram Dass

 

…And you’re looking at me with one of those sideways glances.

 

…Some days are like rolling a brick down the road while others are like bouncing on a trampoline.

 

…“I’m not the same person I used to be, but at the same time, I’m not a different person, either. It’s hard to explain.” Haruki Murakami 

 

…A silhouette doesn’t lie.

 

…Sometimes it seems like even the deer are complicit.

 

…“Tell me that the world is on the verge of ending and I’ll believe you.” Sara Henning

 

…You say I’m giving up too much. I’m taking too many chances.

 

… What if losing everything isn't the end of the story? What if it's the entrance fee?

 

…We’re all soldiers in the same war, hoping to just get home alive.

 

…“The best way for us to cultivate fearlessness in our daughters and other young women is by example.” Gloria Steinem.

 

…Is it tomorrow yet?

 

…I’m not sure about people who say “freaking” instead of “fucking,” which is what they really mean. 

 

…“Never, never give up. And remember to dance a little.” Gloria Steinem

 

...I don’t want to think too much right now.

 

…“One’s ignorance is one’s chief asset.” Wallace Stevens

…Maybe we’ve finally run out of goodbyes.

 

…“Here’s a truck stop instead of St. Peter’s.” R.E.M.

 

--If you’re the angel of death, I’m ready.

--No, I’m not the angel of death.

--Well then, you could use a breath mint.

 

…“I always said I’d never write a memoir, but I also said I would never collaborate on a novel with anybody and then I collaborated with Reese Witherspoon. Maybe saying never is a good challenge to myself.” Harlan Coben

 

…What if I didn’t peel the wrapper all the way off? Does anyone peel the wrapper all the way off?

 

…Good Lord, it’s not even 6 am and you’re still babbling?

 

…“Any one earthworm seems not to matter, yet the existence of earthworms matter.” Jane Hirshfield

 

…I know why people fall into that cycle and can’t get out of it. I’d tell you how I know it, but you might be afraid. 

 

…I’m not the martyr here. I played that game out a long time ago.

 

…“The other thing was, I’d really like to see people create more. I hope this is a motivational tool for anyone who wants to put more art in their world.” Harlan Coben

 

…Who knew I’d be listening to Neil Diamond this time of night? But, God, I’m glad I am.

 

…Maybe I’ll read the whole dozen back tomorrow and they’ll just be shit.

 

…“If there were no poetry on any day, poetry would be invented that day.” Muriel Rukeyser 

 

…Oh, I see it now, why that was the problem all along.

 

…I know I’m needy, but it’s really hard when you’re not there.

 

…“Some of us have our gifts. We don’t write the same anymore. I think there’s a general need for people to just down and sit through every hurt they’ve had. And just let it wash over so that you can finally sit down and grieve, and then make some real shit in the world.” Phillip B. Willams

 

…The problem is I like that song too much and I don’t want to stop playing it.

 

…If you’re the neediest person in the world, does that also mean you’re the loneliest? (Asking for a friend.)

 

…“A recent study found that just having one meaningful conversation with a friend each day can boost happiness. lower stress, and reduce  feelings of loneliness. 

Connection is essential for health.” Mark Hyman, M.D.  

 

 

—I HEAR WHAT YOUR’E SAYING

 

 

A COLONY OF TERMITES


The termites are casting spells. Their pinchers click like castanets, the air smelling of warm bread and saw dust. Each day brings new piles of wood shavings, mounds of them sit like blonde hairballs in the halls of our hollow house.

None of us say anything.

In our room my older brother lays in the lower bunk whistling and whittling wood.

“Don’t you think we’ve already had enough of that?” I ask.

“Huh?”

I don’t answer.

I hear the termites through the walls. The walls are wearing thin. The walls are no longer white, berry-colored blemishes seeping through from the other side, sticky and wet. I hear the furniture rattle. A mirror falls.

The termites take up a chorus of anguish, a wounded whale wailing sound.

“I never knew,” I say.

“Huh?” my brother asks.

I never knew termites had voice boxes, I think but don’t say.

My brother is dim but he shouldn’t have to deal with this, nor my sister in the room next door. My sis is growing thinner by the day, her hair falling out, her breath sour milk.

I realize I am not yet a man but I have choices: do nothing or do something. The latter requires boldness and bravery.  I can collect my siblings and get out of here or I can intervene. I’ve tried reasoning before, but it’s their own violence that they thrive on.

Were they once ants? Did they mutate? I’ve seen photographs from other times. Holding hands. Kissing. One wearing white.

Now they claw through the wooden joists. Dried plaster showers down like cocaine and white nuggets of gold. Jagged shingles of a ceiling come apart. Beams fall. One stakes claim to my chest, drives straight through my heart just to make sure I know this is over, my parent’s marriage, us as a family.                            

—I STARTED A JOKE…

…Just this today:

 https://theliteraryunderground.org/blog/2026/10/03/cornell-by-len-kuntz/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUwnqJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMUQ3YVREV2REMjloUk9FRHJzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe4TPsqEvC4MqkLYLIQzVQ0aVC8ULJCBRhYxtFHPYcsHLFCo_62Qoim6YGuog_aem_PVBGsyQcL-GQoGKTdg9tjg

 

—JUST GO EASY ON ME. I’M FEELING OUT OF ORDER.

 

 

…“Rape is one of the most terrible crimes on earth, and it happens every few minutes. The problem with groups who deal with rape is that they try to educate women about how to defend themselves. What really needs to be done is teaching men not to rape. Go to the source and start there.” Kurt Cobain

 

...I have a new story up:

 https://rabbitbrush.org/fiction-no-i-len-kuntz/

 

…“Even the cracks have cracks.” Jay Halsey

 

…Last night I had a dream/nightmare that I was at a party my daughter was throwing and I had both my phone and car stolen. I kept looking for them in disbelief. Then I’d wake up, go back to sleep and go right back into the stolen phone/car dream. This went on for several times. Finally, I said, Fuck this and got up. Luckily my phone was right on the bathroom counter where I’d put it the night before.

 

…“I’m telling myself this morning that if he never existed, then he can never cease to exist. For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case. May you rest in the peace you gave to so many,” Bono, in tribute to the late Glen Hansard

 

…“While fear may be contagious, courage is as well.” Jack Smith’s last words at the Senate Judiciary Committee where he was called a “liar” and a “dirtbag,” among other things for telling the truth about the 2020 election obstruction.

 

…“It is inconceivable to me how you can pardon people who beat police officers and then go on to vilify the police officers who were beaten.” Former special counsel Jack Smith at the same Senate hearing

 

…Should you ever find yourself alone, on a Thursday, and you need a starter song for an office concert, I’d recommend “Devils in the Canyon.” It’ll get you moving, for sure:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De_e0i_ccmQ&list=RDDe_e0i_ccmQ&start_radio=1

 

…There’s always a new way to say it, but watch out what wrapper you use.

 

…It’s Fall. The spiders are back. Yay. There seven there, just hanging on, hoping to catch something.

 

…I’m not afraid of spiders because I live on a lake, but bridges--Fuck way off.

 

…Have you, or someone you know ever dated a poet? You may be entitled to compensation.

 

…I’m not sure how I find the things I think I can never find.

 

…Two mini-concerts in the same week? That’s saying something, like life must be good.

 

…Even my little toe doesn’t want to fit that slipper. 

 

...“If you allow yourself to get old, you will. I ain’t got time to get old. I ain’t got time to dwell on that.” Dolly Parton

 

…Poor, Rocky. He runs all over that deck looking everywhere for love while I’m right here.

 

…My kids make art all the time. They’re intentional about it, but not really looking for outside gratification. There are few things better than that—your kids making art just to make art. 

 

…“The sad part about happy endings is there’s nothing to write about.” Tammy Wynette

 

…Hey, if you’re happy, you’re happy. Good for you.

 

…I was good for a while and then I wasn’t.

 

…Just so you know, this is all completely unintentional.

 

…“My method of writing is simple: pay attention, be astonished, and tell others about it.” Mary Oliver

 

…How many blood smears can a guy leave on appliances and surfaces before it starts to look like a crime scene?

 

…What you think was important last night probably seems a lot less so today.

 

…“Fiction is still a way of writing about yourself.” Rick Rubin

 

…That was a really strange way of saying, “Hi,” but I’ll take it over nothing…

 

...Sometimes, a lot of times actually, social media is so inane, so biased and so aimed at getting sympathy for oneself, that you never want to go there anymore.

 

...“I’m just a working girl. I’m a workhorse that looks like a show horse. I’m willing to get up early. I’m willing to stay up late. I just feel like it’s my duty; it’s my job and my joy.” Dolly Parton 

 

…God, you have to love Helen Mirren, right? If you don’t love her, who do you love?

 

…Just leave Sydney Sweeny alone. She’s got a body and she’s not ashamed of it, so what? Fuck off.

 

…“I keep going because I keep going. I lift a weight or two. I’m never going to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I do keep moving and walking whenever I can.” 86-year-old, Ringo Starr

 

…Load up on guns, bring your friends. It's fun to lose and to pretend

 

…“Sometimes carrying on, just carrying on, is a superhuman achievement.” Albert Camus

 

…I suppose Wendell Barry loved the world more than me, but honestly, his writing does nothing for me.

…“A lot of people have dreams that they feel they have missed a chance at. I hope my story reminds them that the path is not always straight.” Ke Huy Quah

 

…You hear him on “The Spins” and you think, This kid sounds so happy, he’s going to live forever.

 

…It’s coming, every day. I can feel it breathing down my neck.

 

…“People always say it’s health that’s the most important thing, but I think the most important thing is friends. They’re what gets you through.” Steve K.

 

…I know, but I still love it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Evnzkez7o&list=RDs1Evnzkez7o&start_radio=1

 

…Dude give it up. There’s a time limit on things.

 

…“What I write is smarter than I am. Because I can -re-write it.” Susan Sontag

 

…All you can be is you, broken parts and all. If no one else gets it, Fuck them. You don’t need them in your life.

 

…Hello Hello Hello how low?

 

…Here’s one of the greatest rejections ever—"No, Dad, I can’t watch that show with you right now because Bay and I are going to go make music together in a bit.”

 

…Broken crayons still color.

 

…“Please be mindful that any mean or aggressive comments can negatively affect the baby…It’s me. I’m the baby.” Jennifer Lawrence

 

…I remember the first time I saw the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” thinking, wow, this is like nothing I’ve ever seen, sort of like when I saw the vid for “Karma Chameleon” and couldn’t make out Boy Georges’ gender. I recently watched the former vid. It’s pretty powerful. Full of angst. Definitely, iconic.

 

…Kurt Cobain lived near here, south a bit, like an hour. He spent a lot of time under a bridge in Olympia. In high school, he had a crush on a popular Cheerleader and wrote he a poem/song, something I would probably do. A day later, someone spray-painted his locker with the words, Kurt Cobain smells like Teen Spirit,” which was a popular deodorant at the time.

 

…“If thou must love me, let it be for naught except for love’s sake.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1845

(A love built on reasons lasts only as long as the reasons do, so love for nothing in particular, and love for the sake of love itself, lasts forever.)

 

…Last week at dinner, celebrating my best friend’s 74^th birthday, he said something profound and probably didn’t even realize it. He was speaking about that flip which occurs, where you go from being worried about getting older to being grateful every day that you are older. I think I’m right there with him.

 

…“When you finally get that dream you wanted when you were seven years old and you get it, at some point a little bit of a lustre starts to wear off if you keep touring and keep turning the same wheel over and over again." Steve Perry

 

…I think it’s okay to be sad. It means you feel something.

 

…“This is not today. This is nine years ago today. Today is the Autumnal Equinox. I want to learn to speak in sunrise.” Jay Halsey

 

…“Everybody Wants to Fuck Me” is a pretty outstanding name for a film. I hope it does its title proud.

 

…(I’ve always been a big Steve Perry fan and always will be.) In 2011, Steve Perry, of the band Journey, started dating cancer patient Kellie Nash, despite knowing that doctors believed she would die. She sadly passed away in 2012, and when asked by The Guardian about why he pursued her, Steve confessed: "I've not said this to anybody yet: I believed our love would cure her cancer. I really did.

"We sat in our tiny apartment in New York – a very expensive small box – and she said: 'This might take me, but it'll never be able to touch our love.' I never thought about such a truth like that. Not just talking about it, but physically feeling it and emotionally seeing it was new to me."

He also revealed that it was Kellie who inspired him to return to music, sharing: "She said: 'Promise me you won't go back into isolation, because I fear it would make this all for naught.' I said: 'OK, I promise.' I lay in bed thinking about what I'd just promised.

"She was looking at the arc of her whole life and, the possibility that she may not make it, had to have some goddamn meaning. She was looking for purpose in all this. I grieved for two years – it was a whole new level of broken heart. It was completely fucking broken. I worked through that and, the next thing I knew, I started writing music."

 

… “If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.” Groucho Marx

 

…I guess I’m doing things wrong.