Collected Poems by Rennon Mariano | Tenderloin - San Francisco

Vanity I

 John—–Gloves on, Scarff to the wind, Jacket snugg,

I feel the power, I am that POWER!!!! And where is precision, by golly I be that PRECISION; and now I have

become the SPEED, (floors the accelerator) Ladies and gents

we’re two seconds from taking off from the ground.(Suddenly. looking to the side, a young woman is sitting next to him) Whoahhh….Who the hell are you?

V—-You don’t want to know

John—-(Screeching the brakes) How did you get in here? Who are you?……God dammit, …….I don;t care who you are, just get the hell out of here!!!!

V—–(calmly) You don’t want me to get out, because you’re…

your curiosity has gotten the better of you.

John—–(gives her a hard stare-starts auto moving)

And you’re here because?

V—–A mutual friend,…… I happen to know someone that looks just like you, Your mirror image, perhaps your other self; …..

Just a while ago we had a very interesting talk

John—–Other self?

V——You hungry? (reaching into her bag, takes out a Mango)

Have you ever tasted an orange, I mean really tasted an orange,

ever wonder what the sun should taste like?…..

My name is V by the way!

John——What kind of name is V…..What other self,…….

I have no other self

V——Do you know how solid, strong, hard the seed of

this mango is? and yet you have to go through so much

sheer tropical, delectable, sweetness before you get to it.;

He offered me some Acapulco Gold, said he was going to

his favorite swimming hole, the one populated by

girls he calls mythic nymphs.

John—-Mythic Nymphs,…You’re delusional,

I’m getting tired of this,

 I want you out, yesterday, (speeds the car)

V—–The smooth colorful skin is such a wonderful

protection for the fruity, vulnerable,slurping morsels it hides…….

He told me exactly what you would say, in fact, I can quote what you will say next:: “Look I don’t have time for this!”

John——Look I don’t have time for this! (catches himself)

V——I think a mango is the most virile creation

of infinite mind, It is always there, sweet, unassuming, free to touch, to caress, to the point, and at its core impenetrable,

a rock has nothing on it…….

John, Whyu are you telling me this?

V—-you are in a self made movie, it is not your fault, merely the programing that brought you up , and this vehicle is part of that cinema, ……..that is what he told me.

John——How come this guy knows so much about me,Have I ever met him?

V——Let me sound brutal for a moment , He is conscious you’re not!

John——If I let you tell me about this other self, will you go away?

V—- He is beyond your movie, (reaches again ito her bag)

Oh, look what I found, Acapulco Gold n the form of a joint,

IIsn’t this wonderful?

John—–Put that away

V——I’m impresified, you are afraid of a little joint,

but you’re not afraid to travel 150 miles per hour.

John—– I’m not afraid of pot, I just don’t need some right now.

V——–(Puts the peeled mango between John’s legs. tickles him)….Oh I’m sorry, the devil made me do it!)

John—-You’re weird, are you sure we’re not in the twilingt zone?

V——He is very curious about l COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS.

John—–Cosmic consciousness, maybe your from

a different galaxy, some kind of new age guru?

V—-You and him;, very differnt, you keep repeating yourself in your movie he has no need to..

John—–I’m driving a million dollar automobile, and you are calling me a looser?

V—-There is nothing wrong with your Lambo, but what

you’re driving is not called auto it is called pretention

John: this is a Lamborghini, Italian made, world class

in precision, speed and power,

V—-Oh forgive me, for a moment I thought you were those things,

John—–This guy must be terrified of automobiles, did he

have some awful accident as a baby or something?

V——-Your auto doesn’ frighten him, YOU DO;

every time you floor the accelerator,he feels energy sucked out of him. :Your auto does the final dreaming for you,!

John——- Automobiles dream?…..Explain dreaming?

V—- dreams make impossible connections, and think nothing of it, travel continents countries, cities, galaxies in less than a nano second. Can your Lambo do that?On the other side of the page, once your sacramental Lambo goes, you go… you become, shadow.

John—–I would check out that offensive nature of yours,

now I am a shadow?

V——For once, really listen to me, I mean really:

The final statement, the ultimate thought of soul is indelible,

John—–This guy sonds like a handfull.

V—–The immense and majestic climate of fragil being

disses everithing else as being one dimensional shadows

molded in paper mache..

John—-Why doesn’t he comfront me himself?

V—-Your identity has been stolen, abducted, hyjacked….

Only thing left to you is………….. pretention!

John—–I”m quite satisffied in my space; I’m content the way I be. Now you’re the one dreaming if you expect change from me!

V—-You’re a suit of armor that has been split in two, and guess what we found inside NOTHING! …..

What used to be there had gone bye bye.

John—-Even if it makes me the heavy in YOUR DREAM,

this baby is who I am.

V—–You’re not a bad guy John…. your Lambo is kinda cute,  

a crazy wonderful experience , something to tell your grandchildren about, (Takes the mango starts devouring it.)…….

John—–Why didn’t you tell me you were hungry , we can stop.

V——-This mango probably has the most awsome backbone in creation, in fact it is all backbone; that is why such deliciousness surrounds it. (Mango juice all over the place)

John—–I make no pretention of who I am, You get just what you see.

V——Are we missing the point.

He gets locked in; his little toy has become more important than he!

John—–Tell me the truth wouldn’t you like to wake up tomorrow and see this baby in your driveway?

V—-Sure I would, what would happen thought if I don’t drive it; and it drives me?.Tell me about your wonderful baby, are you hip to exoskeletons?

John—–Isn’t that like a protective cover insects have, instead of a backbone?

V—–I rest my case.

John—–That’s wonderfull, now use your phychic self and hear this !!…THAT’S THE WAY I WANT IT !!!!!……

V——-Have you ever heard of someone overdosing on pot?

John—-No, so what, what does that have to do with anything?

V—–Then what’s the problem, what’s the paranoia 

behind grass?(Offers him her roach)

John—-I don’t smoke,

V—–You know, mangos can never be catagorized

they are part of what IS, they follow the IS like the rest of creation,does; motivated by the waves of your imagination,

Jonh—-ILet me put words in your mouth, Cosmic mind rules?

V——Vulnerable pretention,seeks out illusive protection only to find hs naked predictability.

John:—— Some women I know like men that are predictable.

V—–Let’s not confuse predictability with self knowledge.

Predictability hides in paper mache masks, he is here because he is not all there.

John—Cosmic mind rules, Is that what you Gurus call

COSMIC COINSCIOUSNESS?( Gives her a hard stare, takes the joint)

V——You know what he,. HE,…….THAT UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY OF A FORGOTTEN SELF thinks of you?…..what it is he really fears? Despair is a lack of communication; no direct line to other side of SELF;……..He fears the price of VANITY.

John—-Tell me again what is wrong with predictability:?

V—–Rigidity…I mean predictability, ends up trashing itself, taking you and your anassuming baby Lambo into the Junk Yard.

John——(sarcastically) This Lamborghini is only paper mache isn’t it?

And I have had this conversation with you before….

V—-My name is V

John—–You’re not really here are you?…..I’m the one delusional,

a tidalwave has inundated my imaginings, and I am here wondering what drowning is like?

V——Relax, see no separation between you and your auto, none with the road, take in what you have taken in.

Look at the scenery you’re driving through as being inside of you. 

dissapear into me; dissapear into another definition of who you are, become greater than you; see yourself, really see.

John——You’re not really here are you….not here….. Your mame is (pause)……. Vanity!

(breathing Hard looks at his hands)

Knuckles turning white,(breathes)

Prespiring hyperthermic sweat (breathes)

Heart not too well either (breathes deeply)

Comming in for a landing

Final statement, the ultimate thought of soul is indelible; cannot be errased.

(takes three deep breaths) (V dissapears)

Mythic nymphs……hmmmmmm.

Rennon

A NEW RELIGION

                                           Will bring you in………..

                                                                         in your sleep

                       Dare to sleep in the Hilton Hotel’s main lobby?

No, not the Hilton…….The marriott,

Not that either……Ritz Hotel?……..

What would that do to their business?

                                 I’VE BEEN TOLD

There is big money in sleep…..

By the way, what do they sell?…..space?

What is the market-rate for…………….. spacce?

Grammar school taught me….space is limitless

Space is everywhere…..Even beyond the earth.

If it is possiblke to sell………. space,

And if I am enterporising enought, one day…..

I can sell yo the WATER YOU DRINK

THE AIR ………You breathe

CAPITALISM ON THE JOB

Try using some space on the street for sleeping;

It’s Illegal not to pay for sleep…..

Don’t believe me?

Ask your friendly neighborhood patrolman……

What happens if you refuse to pay for sleep?

                                                    START A CULT

A religious following that worships……..SLEEP !!!!!!

Beome an…

Rennon was born in Los Angeles, California. He studied theater at UCLA and has appeared in films such as Chance of Habit (with Elvis Presley) and Red Sky at Morning (with Clair Bleon), among others. For the past 10 years, he has lived in the distinctive Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. His writings have been featured in poetry anthologies like POEMS FROM THE LAND OF THE DEAD, An Anthology of Creative Writing and Visual Arts, 5 MINUTES IN THE TENDERLOIN, An Anthology of Words and Art from the Tenderloin, and TRACKS, Leavenworth Street anthology, Central City Writers’ workshop.E-mail: rennon@myway.com

http://rennon.wordpress.com

Entrevista a Rennon Mariano. 

Fotografía de Mikail Duran (en Unsplash). Public domain.