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The Sunday Poem: Larry Goodell... Greed Dogs

Once called "The Aristophanes of the Piñon-Juniper Scrubland" performance poet Larry Goodell has lived in Placitas for almost 50 years. He has published many local writers and is author of Firecracker Soup, Out of Secrecy, The Mad New Mexican, and Here on Earth. He is currently helping with the Duende Poetry Series there in Placitas.

Greed Dogs

Corporate madness dogs the world, corporation insanity,
the cream at the top turned to vicious gold tarnished by hell hounds

grinding profits off of poorer and poorer people –
while the banks & investors in dizzying derivatives pushing logic to madness
crave schemes even more outlandish as they ride off into managed debt.
The stock market is barking as the dog-eat-dog dogs pit-bull each other
over screens of fantasy wealth turned to boom boom boom bust turmoil.
All the could-be scientists and engineers becoming business bullies
up corporate ass-kiss ladders crashing crests as they disappear into
unregulated heights of all-consuming wealth, rapists dogging rapists,
unheard of hoardings surpassing kings of gold, mythical treasure nothing in their
amoral amassing, their dominating the world in gaudy self-righteousness,
ass-kissing ass-biting dogs of bigger business insurers, robber baron bankers,
crazed foaming-at-the-mouth investors establishing Greed
as God’s only gift to man.

--larry goodell, placitas, nm 22Oct09

Poetry submissions are welcome. Email theditchrider@gmail.com. The whole Sunday Poem series is available from the front page of the DCF by clicking on The DitchRider in the left-hand sidebar. Poems early in the series are archived under "previous post" at the bottom of The DitchRider blog.

Tags: Goodell, poetry

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Comment by Barelas Babe on February 7, 2010 at 8:25am: Righteous and powerful words. I especially like the line about pushing logic to madness. Gracias.

Comment by Margaret Randall on February 7, 2010 at 8:45am: Great poem, Larry! We are all so enraged these days--but then when weren't we? As a poet I often find it's difficult to transform the rage into poetry. You do that so well in this poem. And I can hear (and see) you performing it. Bravo!

Comment by cathyray on February 7, 2010 at 9:07am: thanks for expressing the rage we all feel & have felt for some time now. powerful.

Comment by Ben Moffett on February 7, 2010 at 10:13am: Doggone good about America's cur class, but you needed to work a fire hydrant in there somewhere..

Comment by larry goodell on February 7, 2010 at 11:04am: thanks for giving poets a presence . . . you know, newspapers used to publish poems!

Comment by cc on February 7, 2010 at 12:58pm: Wow - so glad to see your poetry here on the Fix, Larry!!
I agree with Margaret's comment wholeheartedly.

Comment by Lauren on February 7, 2010 at 6:38pm: I don't have any problem with corporations. I invest in them so that I will have money in my old age and won't be a leech upon society. I especially like corporations that produce things like birth control items so that I didn't end up with a dozen kids during my child bearing years. I like to drive the cars they produce. I like the books and films they produce and the money that enables writers and arts and actors to enjoy a decent living. I am happy they own hospitals and clinics where I and my family can go get medical care on the rare occasions we need it. I'm happy that there is a corporation that allows me to buy fairly inexpensive medical insurance so that I can save more of my money and ensure that neither I nor any of my family would ever have to go on the dole. I'm happy a corporation sells TVs so my husband can watch the Superbowl while I surf the web (another corporation built this computer). I'm glad a corporation employed my Dad for 40 years and enabled him to retire with a comfortable lifestyle and travel to see the sights in the nation and at night, stay in hotels owned by corporations. (He had only a high school diploma and worked his way up to VP) I'm glad there were people willing to take risks, invest in people and ideas, and turn initial investments into multi-million dollar companies that employ people and keep them off welfare. If I had the smarts and initiative, I'd have my own corporation. Because I recognize that I don't, I applaud the people that can and do. And I would suggest that all ow you who hate corporations and business so much, boycott them. Stop buying your prescriptions, stop driving, stop going to films, stop reading book produced by publishers, stop using the computer, stop using your birth control produced by corporations and start using good old fashioned self control. Discontinue your home, auto, life and health insurance because there are corporations involved. Stop donating to charities because they probably have corporations underwriting major costs or have some on their boards of directors. You certainly don't want your charity dollars to mingle with any corporations involved with the Red Cross, American Cancer Society, etc.
Everyone on this board is so damn sanctimonious and narrow minded.

Comment by Rich Boucher on February 8, 2010 at 8:33am: @ Lauren: so, because your Dad benefited from certain positive corporations, you think it's a "therefore" that no one should ever criticize ANY corporations? Ever?