Scribbled Gibberish

Gigan Poem by Gurupreet K Khalsa

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(Lawmakers Write Bills to Reduce Rights)

Who scribbled all night, rocking and rolling over lofty incantations which in the yellow morning were stanzas of gibberish.

Allen Ginsberg, Howl

Depths dark, impenetrable, creatures hiding:
dim sunlight on a chill November afternoon

sinks into the bayou’s leaf-cluttered surface
the way reason shivers, afraid to raise its head
as the world skews toward banality, leaders navigate

a landscape of cliffs, perception, perspective
so contaminated that powers of attention atrophy

into aimless agonies, loss of wonder and mystery
with no different light to see by, mediocrity

in siloed stupidity, ignorance thrumming
in dark depths, impenetrable, creatures hide

in a landscape of cliffs, perception, perspective
in numbing rhythms, locked in molded plastic
shells so thick no truth or logic could pierce.

A greeting to the world: gibberish, cruelty,
strangers, no path to fuse into life’s mandala.

(A Gigan)

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Gurupreet K. Khalsa is a current resident of Alabama, having lived previously in Ohio, Washington State, India, New Mexico, and California. She holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Design and is a part-time instructor in graduate education programs. Her work has appeared in multiple journals; many poems have received awards.