Cutting And The Cutter

The Cutter

A razor

slices through

the thin sheet

and red syrup

begins to flow

down the swivel.

Cut

Cut into your wrist

watch the skin peel back

and the flesh separate

as blood begins to ooze

from the severed vein.

Watch the tension

you release today

become regret

and misery

tomorrow.

Cutter

A young girl

alone

in her room

enjoying the tingling sensation

at her wrist.

Nobody knows.

Cutting

Red droplets ooze

and drip.

Silent Night (1-2)

Silent Night #1

A man

dressed in black

sits with his head in his hands,

listens to Silent Night playing

on a distant music box

and cries.

Silent Night #2

A coarse and raspy voice

sings Silent Night

one last time.

The Recluse

Everyone has problems

and we see those problems

yet we still tend to trivialize the problems of others

while stressing and worrying over our own

making them all important.

We are filled with conceit

wanting to believe we are important.

The recluse locks himself away,

desiring seclusion; departure from the cares of the world.

Not wishing to socialize with others,

each seeking companionship,

while repeating the same old

political, religious, and trivial discussions

that have been recited countless times before,

each person believing to have insight

that others do not.

The recluse sees this and wants no part in it,

but prefers solitude unpolluted

by trivialities and false wisdom.

Sounds can be pleasant yet

silence is preferable to unpleasant noise.

The Pagans – Zachary Zuccaro

Eager anticipation of the upcoming adventure
a journey into foreign lands
filled with undiscovered species
and unseen wonders.

A dragon and a phoenix
perch on a mountain
above the king.
Seven living creatures
with seven eyes and seven wings
sit in a circle
upon seven beryl thrones.

Forty trumpets are sounded
twenty sacrifices offered.
Thirteen priests in scarlet robes
approach the altar
stained with the blood
of a newborn child,
a supplication to the gods
to bring rain to the land.

The Junkie – Zachary Zuccaro

Stick the needle into your arm,
sniff the fine, white powder,
smoke the fancy pipe.

Watch your eyes dilate
as your brain
drips from your ears
into a puddle of pink goo
lying at your feet.

Hydrangea – Zachary Zuccaro

A hydrangea grows by the pond
and sprinkles its petals over the ground.

The sparrow sings on a maple tree
and offers her feathers to the whims of the wind.

Bluegill jumps from the water
and returns its body to the world from whence it came.

Wisdom And Knowledge – Zachary Zuccaro

Much emphasis is placed on knowledge and memory,
intelligence is worshipped and information is mankind’s god.
Yet these too are trivial and shall turn to dust.
People cling to memories yet these too are mortal
and shall fade with age and die with death.
No, what is immortal, and is important
does not age, does not die, and is rarely sought.

Wisdom and love are the fruit of the soul
and these do not age but grow with time.
Yet these treasures are ignored and mocked.

Many people believe they possess wisdom,
yet they do not seek it.
Many covet love, and wish it for themselves,
yet are reluctant to give it,
sharing it only with close friends and family.

Wisdom and love are the food of the soul
yet people stuff their souls with hatred and ignorance,
and while their bodies live healthy and well,
souls suffer and starve.
Wisdom often comes with age but
wisdom does not come from age.
Indeed, there are children who are wise
and elders who are fools.

No, knowledge and wisdom are enemies.
Knowledge is of the world and for the world,
wisdom is of the soul and for the soul.
Knowledge is nothing more than trivial facts
that help make us feel good about ourselves,
but wisdom is true understanding of life and what is life.

Only when one has wisdom, rather than knowledge,
can one truly understand the purpose of dying,
and more importantly, the purpose for living.

Demon – Zachary Zuccaro

A transcendental being clothed in white
ascends the golden staircase
to a sea of glimmering glass.

Seven blue spheres orbit a marble pillar
where a silver goldfinch is perched
singing praises to the Lord.

The creature of light
walks to the pillar
and smashes the bird
in its fist.

Light turns to darkness
blood drips from the spheres
onto the sea.

Two monkeys rush in
and desperately begin to clean
the mess from the floor.

The creature sighs
and lies down
to rest.

Depression – Zachary Zuccaro

A gray cloud looms above the horizon,
darkening the blue skies.
A steady drizzle soaks the clothes
of a young boy and his wet hair
clings to his head as he sits alone
in a deserted park.

Tears blend with raindrops
emptiness echoes with thunder.
A forgotten a starving orphan
abandoned by the world
whimpers inside the girl
wearing a false smile
and pretending to enjoy life.

Rose – Zachary Zuccaro

Hello Rose, 
you mindless, 
emotionaless
plant
who has been honored and praised 
through the entire history 
of human literature.

Are you really worthy
of all that flattery? 
Who would have thought
a flower whose stem 
is covered with thorns
would become the most commonly praised
flower in all of history? 

I am sorry dear Rose, 
but you do not compare
to the orchid, the violet, the marigold, 
the geranium or rhododendron.

You are selfish and arrogant
believing you are the best.
Even the dandelion has its charm, 
what makes you better than the rest? 

Yet who am I
to contest the greatest poets who have ever lived? 
Who am I to protest your overuse and abuse? 
You who have become cliche.

Nevertheless, 
I protest. 

Body And Soul – Zachary Zuccaro

Witness all the beings who trivialize life
reduce their gift to perceptual concern
over insignificant frivalities.
Worried about their bodies and possessions
while neglecting their immortal soul.
Seeking power over mere molehills
while burying their true potential power;
attempting to gain unimportant knowledge
while ignoring buried treasures of wisdom.
Bodies controlling their lives
as they completely forget their true selves.

The soul is separate from the body,
no only are they separate – they are enemies.
What the soul needs the body protests,
what the body desire the soul detests.
Why should this opposition occur,
why should their desires not concur?
Well the soul and body have different needs
and to serve the one means to neglect the other.
Pain and hunger, thirst and knowledge
these are of the body
but joy and sorrow, anger and guilt,
love and wisdom are of the soul.
To search for food, to strive for wealth,
to benefit our bodies
means to feel envy and greed and to corrupt our souls,
but to give to the poor, and to fast and pray
feeds our souls but corrupts our bodies.

Abortion (1-6) – Zachary Zuccaro

Abortion #1

Watch them
slaughter
the child
and
‘dispose’
of it.

Abortion #2

A life snuffed out
before it can begin.

No chance to love, 
to grow, to learn 
to live; 

no chance to do anything.

A life
just created
and destroyed.

Abortion #3

A quick flow of blood
a tiny corpse.

A baby murdered, 
it’s mother leaves the clinic
continuing to live her life
unlike her child.

Abortion #4

Tears
dropp from Heaven
as another child is murdered.

A soul without a name
unwanted by its own mother, 
robbed of its right to live.

I pray for you.

Abortion #5

As you go to get your abortion
remember that at this moment
you are alive
and able to kill your child
because your mother
did not choose
to abort you.

Abortion #6

Abortion 
is not murder
any more
than shooting a little baby 
in the back of the head
is murder. 

The Pillars – Zachary Zuccaro

The Pit

An empty pit
filled
with fresh decay
grows inside me
and eats its way
through my stomach.

The Pillars

A white pillar
and a black pillar
sit side by side
at the gate
of the kingdom.

Persister

Stand up, be proud
demolish any doubt
crush demoralization.

Let your glory shine, 
sweep away opposition, 
destroy the evil
no power in the world
shall equal yours.

The Murderer

A jealous cockroach
lurking in the shadows
squirming with the desire
to obtain power, 
exact revenge, 
relieve tension, 
express hatred.

A gleaming blade, 
a squeal, 

then silence. 

The Snake – Zachary Zuccaro

A rainbow
collapses to the ground
transforming into a snake
that swallows the world.