Author Information
Johnny Sleepwatches
I. Maple leaf
Let us see
November twentyone 1998 3:42am
Somewhere in this sleeping
Child's Saturday morning ritual
Little tykes and tykettes
All across the dreaming
Alike him waking up comfy and watching
Ducktales at 4:00am
Somewhere wary crying little ones awakened
Too early by themselves glued to 31 at 3:42am
Sydicate Canadian R.M.P. shockvideo
The episode with the attempted self-offing
50 Prozac probably a beer chaser
Then a red-gushing wrist slashing
Both of them smearing the eyes, leafed men's, children's
I believe the video camera caught it all
Sown into early minds
With subsequent bloodbath
Investingating images car crash
Finally the violent subjugation with moderate torture
Of a bare-chested cooperating
Alleged knife-stabbing-man
Little sleeping child's Saturday morning ritual
Shatters into wakefullness
In sync with others numbed
Shocked blase or even TV-less but subject
To their untelevised violent reality
Tykes and tykettes
Much like him seeing real TV
The real innocence melts under phosphorescent
Flashing blue and red lights and sound of burning
Rubber and bending metal
II. The music swells
Johnny sleepwatches real life
Wishes the mugging he'd witnessed out his window
Had had a soundtrack wishes he the avid viewer
Had the lead got the girl did the sunset fiding off into thing
He thinks of nothing but upcoming attractions
His walk to work passes billboards
Blanker than the picture on the 78" Sony
He keeps boobytrapped for spirits and clumsy thieves
III. Information revolution
Johnny sleepwatches made for reality movies
In which asleep or awake small children are exposed
To violent politically sensitive television
Aired indiscriminately close
To early Saturday ritual cartoon 4:00am
Making monsters in later life uncouth and dangerous
Minds blank as billboards black as self-loathing
Diseased from an early age
IV. Senseless morning
Let us see November 21 1998 4:30am
Somewhere in this sleeping
Child's Saturday morning ritual
An author
Ends a poem
Turns
Off the TV
Numbly cloese his eyes
Tightly sleeps
