Bradley Manning's Facebook pic (via Wired)

the pathways of the earth,
under a pewter sky,
churn with the driven fry,
to no escape give birth.

i & my sort supply
solace of lesser worth
for those in travail who ply
the pathways of the earth.

(phrase by Bebop Deluxe, "Sister Seagull")

And Develop A Lifelong

a ship breaking up
one by one the things depart
axle broke somewhere west of Phoenix
the roads kept getting worse & worse
the farther out from the cities
what do i want with these souvenirs
of a world that hardly existed
even at the time
veteran
in a motorized wheelchair
legless in winter sunshine

Mono Lake.

Though heat & light desert, i soldier on;
though demons cling like dirt, i soldier on.

The morning brings its insult & its ills,
the day but festers; girt, i soldier on.

No news but hideous triumph & despair's
idiotic blurt. I soldier on.

What would be plans in any other vale
here furnish fresh hurt: i soldier on.

The solace of the garden's gleaming fruits
finds Graywyvern inert... I soldier on.