Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Joker 3

 Joker 3

Laijon Liu 20231107


When the pillars crumble and the world burns

we shuffle the cards and level the playing field

all our bottled up emotions suffocates in a dead silence

since men invented their law and order and hope

whose world we live in? whose dream we dream?

who makes the rules we follow, who benefits from it?

who decides who gets what and the merits he has?

and the common always hope for the reality of a few

that system of clockwork now hooked to a detonator

you've all have been staring at that big red [PUSH] button

sanity arrow points to the food line now pointing to the playground

crank up the volume, light up the gloomy air

for your desperation, your vengeance, and for Gotham

take to the streets! and let the Violennnnce beginnnnn!!!


Note:

Joker 1,2,3 poems originally was one, I broke them into 3 pieces. I have been holding back to write down these lines since 2020 after I watched the Joker film. Trump's tone, his diction and his Jan 6th operation definitely cast a big backdrop of my Joker poems. 3 poems draws a complete case of the Joker and people will see from his perspective, he thinks himself a truly great guy, he's just unorthodox of his way, the Gotham elites really made all the real problems of the cities, so a lot of people have no choice but to do night works/crimes. the Joker's viewpoints pretty convincing, mob's head become leader of nation, and his mob become elites. is that how Rome ended? :)

last line is pretty funny, based on the root of American culture, let the show begin, when the circus is coming to town, and we go to town, or people go to the big apple for Broadway show and other entertainment, the iconic Micheal Buffer's boxing intro "Get ready to rumbLLLLLe!" and ufc ref tell the two fighters to "fight!" and the people going nuts same as hockey fans. Imagine the soccer ref yells out "Let the violence begin!" that's one selling point to draw the crowd.

There is one question always hits me: Why Gotham always overrun by crimes? logically analyze the state of high crime rate is caused by bad economy and bad economy is caused by corruption, if corruption happens in both market and government sectors then the cultures changes, women turn to streets or online fan sites for money, men turn to high risk jobs, and kids learn petty crimes all in a cycle. then Batman's family business and his role fighting street crimes at night sorts of a guardian of the corrupted elite class. maybe Americans and Europeans don't understand, but if they grew up in China or Russia, they could see another deep layer of that society. extreme capitalism or resource grab is corruption.

Joker 1: his honest attitude about his face paint and his true defect he's hiding. Antisocial.

Joker 2: Anti-Establishment.

Joker 3: his desperate measure to save the people and Gotham by carrying out necessary violence.

Friday, November 3, 2023

Joker 2

 Joker 2

Laijon Liu 20231102


Chaos brings out the goodness in people

or so it seems, because they don't pretend anymore

all in the open, their natural instincts, counteractions

of fight or flight... that pod of feeding frenzy

those cocky faces in control suddenly looked lost

trapped in their own minefield, the game they host

capsized ships captains hauling their cheap labors

their faces hang and haw, freeze, and choked

seeing their pyramid implode, and their priests croaked

whatever their schemed faith burns like their cash to ash

a face of a juvenile sticking up a cash register

too high risk for scraps, who pushed him onto that road?

many those pain chart faces, still innocent and insecure

how the victims of need take back their life and dignity?



Thursday, November 2, 2023

Joker 1

 Joker 1

Laijon Liu 20231102


My bruised panda eyes and my big bloody smile

from ear to ear that covers up a disfigured scar

everyone has scars in his face, everyone

some are visible, for cosmetics, or fix?

some are characters of distinguished prestige

I like mine enlarged? Impactful! or just as it is.

so you can't ignore my permanent imperfect perfection

reminds you this most misunderstood simple gesture

disguises many monsters, pretenders, and jesters

and remember: to be, or- to act kind, even in honesty

to smile a little, to smile all the way, to laugh off

Ah, ha, ha, ha, oh Smile oh, but I prefer real emotions:

their faces, the people scurry when the ground shakes

no more prickly smirks, silly grins, and stern merciful smiles


Note:

The Dark Knight's Joker is a great feast for movie fans who want a great acting, some great acting of supporting actor role overtakes the main actor and the whole movie, I think probably the producer or director even surprised when they watching their end product. I am not a comic book or manga fan, it's not my era. too little words and those big emotion cast drawing focus on young people of the comic book raised people. so I did not read comic books, HK and Taiwan comic book pace kept up with West and Japan, not China where I grew up. so those style of narrative and artwork required a lot of paper resource that was impossible for a non developing country to have a comic book publishing and culture trend. there were none before 1990s to the public.

All my superheroes are from the movies, that first showing of Superman in 1980s China was an awestruck experience for all the kids there, I was one of them still feel the sonic air wave shocks when Superman flying into their part of culture atmospheres showing on the big screen. Awesome- finally a correctly usage of the word.

Batman poem is more of mixed of Tang and Sung poetry method, images to construct a moving picture. after I watched the 2022 Batman, I texted to my friend, I was like, "yo! The Batman movie is really great! more humane more vulnerable, more character tension that exerts more strength. so great!" I have a problems, thoughts of voices in my head every time I got excited by an experiences of reading or watching or hearing some great stories, the thoughts kept going on my mind in daytime or night, sleep is always a problem, if I give in those thoughts of images and voices, then I have to get up ten times from my bed to note down those lines, that second day at work would be a struggle, those thoughts keeps coming, so I have a few scratch paper in my pant pocket I just jot down them, and the images and voices would change and edit the previous lines of the night. To someone has an easy job, not to focus on the task, this mental phenomenon would be a blessing, no writer block that everyone wish to have, multiple different personal identity voices. But if someone must hold his job to get by, that could be a problem of big flop on his work and he might end up finding an another job or end up on street like the talents who speak to themselves that we pass by seeing them on the way to our work or home. So I often just ignore those voices and images, I don't put down on paper immediately, I don't entertain them, deeply I know those images and voices lines always there, anything and anytime will be triggered by a similar experiences or just a word or name then they all emerge to the surface in a full force. Batman poem lines were buried down over ten years, become clearer, probably Superman too.

Joker, smile, that term of image is truly how civilized society based on. This gesture actually really builds us, probably we just don't realize it, thru literature or art, Mona Lisa, Sui Dynasty Buddha statues, iconic yellow smiley face to all the films actor and actress faces, to horror films clowns, and everyday peoples faces, co workers, passengers on the train, neighbors, your close friends, intimate partners, parents... many subtle emotions all communicated thru this simple gesture, and we are so natural to distinguish the meaning behind that, even our pets, cats and dogs, they do smile, we know. but they can't hide their intention and feeling from it, they are straight forward like infants purely good no evil dints, only adult human can disguise our smile, we learn as we grow, that smile can draw a line or space btwn two persons in a momentary exchange as an clear signal, the same smile can tell that person wants love now or wants you to go away telling you she has a headache even to a person who never had any kind relationship watching that part of film scene, and that guilty smile of love one who asking for forgiveness saying sorry or just acting, or stupid naive smile of partner offering to mend some past. and actress and actors are experts on this art, then salesmen and politicians, criminals, serial killers, bully who kicked shit out of you years ago then he can act like nothing happened seeing you again, gropers and rapists at close social party, a clown's face sticking out of an ice cream truck window... more scary than scream movie's horror mask. I never get horrified by a horror films, unless some dirty disgusting poop sprayed into a beautiful actress bleeding face or a close shot of actress body parts cut up, yak that's unbearable. but nothing more scary than a simple smile of a killer.

And recent years, as Putin's war happened in Ukraine, Trump won the election and lost second, Xi fumbled China economy thru his egoistic political empire stance, as I looked at their photos taken at their high points, from starting the war, winning the election, taking the chairman seat to sinking in the war swamp, lost the second election, and sacked China into a hopeless economic political disaster, their face emotion totally changed, they looked lost comparing to their overly cocky smile in the past at conferences, and they are not Hollywood A-list actors, they never had acting lesson, they don't have natural acting talents when their plan goes to shits, they can't stay in their characters. their photos showing their emotion suddenly made connection of the Joker's face, the smile characters, and I searched looked at Stalin and Mao's picture portrait posters and photos and found common theme and feeling of it. So I decided to pen down the thoughts of Joker in a 1st person narrative, I usually avoid writing bad thoughts, ignore them as junks, but I think Joker's face and that smile really tells us something how we can construct our society from trust or totally dismantle the social fabric by betraying our simple yet most power gesture. we are like insects in the jungle, all the blissful things blossom in super sizes, the infinite shapes of green leaves and flowers are sizes of houses, but we can be equally all victims and trapped in a splendid wondrous realm of cruelty and exist in the state of death when many individuals do not honor that simple gesture of smile with his honesty and moral principal. Pretty terrifying to think about it. Anti social, anti establishment and violence on innocent children and women justified as rights and honesty or simply A Complex Issue as an answer even from the view of ChatGPT3.5 thru the smile expression not as a bridge and handshake of truce and peace but a veil or a mask as scheme of violence, that triggered my mind of Shakespearean monologue not in his unmatched style but at his depth of seeing the dark part of a beast. I am pretty happy to pen down the thoughts and lines non judging. Since I have some kind of power then I must carry out a part of responsibility that gravitates to who/what we or some of us are, the genuine human expression we either have lost in some culture or betrayed in another, that basic social value is gone.

 

 

 

 



Sunday, October 29, 2023

Batman

 Batman

Laijon Liu 20231029

 

Thick gloomy clouds hanging over the city

covering that part of the world never gets sunny

the central city hall building stands like a tall fortress

the last besieged tower turns on its signal light for help!

far away in the suburb, there's a dilapidated castle

behind its rusty gothic gate, brown leaves buried path

gushing thoughts swarm out from the depth of memory

drowning noises of beating, screams, psychotic laughing

rain reigns the city, raindrops beating the pavement

that blurry scene forever shrouds the man's vision

his bulletproof suit & cape, too heavy burden to wear

ammo loaded armored car is his black casket on wheels

he drives out at evening, to stop all that happening

a pain-triggered bat, flies out of a cave into the night

 

 

 

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Superman

 Superman

Laijon Liu 20231028

 

That dim flickering light in the deep night sky

grows bigger and brighter by the second

the heart of Man races against time

across the universe to reach the past

his will defies gravity, bends the space

to fulfill his promise, to mend someone's dream

the world is round, he circles and scans it

the universe is flattened along with all its beings

that flickering light grows brighter and brighter

fueling blinding flame and deafening sound

that huge burning rock plummets into the air

someone forever stares at the sky, long waiting

the wheat field in Smallville is now golden!!

Tell me, Superman, will you be back in time?!

 

Note:

on my way back home from soccer game, I saw a little boy in Superman costume crossing the street on the zebra lines, as he passed me I noticed he didn't carry his trick or treat bucket, so I guessed this superman must have something more important to do, like save someone (my mind suddenly blurt out hey Superman, whom you gonna go save now huh?). and the some images popped on my mind, pretty romantic and classy worth a poem, as I worked them on paper, totally different image that driven out by my words, also the line 11, I can't be sure about that burning rock, whether it's a space rock or superman travels at his top speed, as most things happen in life as I see to be hoped, expected or unexpected and we fear happen to us, we wish it's a blessing yet anxious that just an ill omen. and Superman, saves his love, makes all fans feel complete yet himself in need to be saved or to save in order to be saved?... and the different timing of each individual and events timeline just complicates everything. so I was confused, any way I picked second image for that line, the original line 11 is "that rock of steel plummets into the air" so I knew that was Superman, but as I penned it down, having a second look, it was just a huge burning rock plummets into the air.

And, if I were Superman I wouldn't feel supercharged to land on Earth. His home planet bursts up a supernova, gone in a flash of burning match, following his physical mass and density reverse calculate to the weight of his planet mass that must collapse into a black hole, and he is here forever an alien. And there are countless superjerks, superassholes, supervillains, and not to mention superbitches... all walk amok and rule the planet Earth, makes people's living super hard. They Are REAL, not comic characters in the books that you don't like you can skip the pages, you flip thru all their wicked schemes and violent deeds in print, somehow you feel you have the control over them, POW! POW! POW! you finger flick the pages fast. but in real life, how you deal with them? as Superman born of good to do good in a one man league, with his super power, laser eyes, and ice blow, primitive mind driven human beings are fragile like cockroaches, but he cant squash them like they are just termites. he wouldn't feel super duper about it. even a bad man is a human being, right? Catch them one by one and throw them into jail? why waste a good man's time? I guess he better leave it all to the world for the saving job that everyone must play his part.

So he should quit his news job, buy a house at Smallville, live with Lois Lane that's his destiny, get a challenging creative hobby, non sport type, like reading novels, writing poems, painting, composing.... if every man's includes Superman's woman is saved, then the world is saved. the world exists because two stay as one. so, go make your love happy, Superman, by doing that you've saved the world.


 

 

Saturday, October 21, 2023

Monster

 The Monster

Laijon Liu 20231021


His huge pair of T-Rex eyes, bloodshot

have seen the tribulation of the past world

his dying heart somehow miraculously beating

feels the earthquake and the aftershock

mind wanders in his tiny city gardens

now long gone, to be remembered forever

he was just a child, should be everyone's favorite

but they resented his face and his bear hug

they named him the ugly and the fearsome

threw scraps & rocks at him, and shouted

his giant clumsy claws, wimpy to fend off

yet he never growled, and even can't do it now

A shadowy figure lingers in the city ruins

it's waiting for me to come back home


Saturday, September 30, 2023

Ugly Barbie is Beautiful Too

 Ugly Barbie is Beautiful Too

 Laijon Liu 20230930


Ugly barbie is beautiful too

to the eye-beholders do not believe

that holy image of God almighty

or myriad choices of Nature's rule

your kind smile radiates glory

your frown & tears, your inability agony

spit in your face, your political product

tear off that mask of your proud race

the color of skin never the problem

but heart of greed roots deep in the gene

plastic, designed facial feature with barcode

takes over the world's identity and concept

billions barbies packed in toy boxes

cranking out on a long long handling belt.


Note:

I have watched the barbie film, I liked it. only there was no ugly barbie that seems unfair to the minority race, there were banged up barbie, black barbie, and all beautiful, lovable, fuckable. but the barbie seems trying to represent all the girls, the women, taking the Feminist approach, so beauty is the label the code for barbie. I remember I had a handled down rag doll from my aunt, my mom's sister, when I could remember, because I had only four toys in my childhood. a three wheel bike missing a wheel, a rag doll blonde baby girl with one blue eye, a toy machine gun(functional), a monkey king mask. so I remember all my toys. four items formed my life and prospect or I say my hope of what I should become. so now I am stranded, accompanied by beautiful imaginary love doll with no so good eye, and I wear the monkey king mask with a lot of angry bullets. so ranting is a part of rap too.

 Racism is really the ignorant judging and selecting people by their facial feature. and resource distribution and access, residential right are set according to that. Beyonce, brazilian models, Asian film actresses... if they crowded the southern border, the Republican base and that Ex-presidential Loser would somehow 'fix' the immigration law to help them stay. So, I say:

Ugly barbie is beautiful too.

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