_
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                                  | | \
                           __     | |\ \             __
     _____________       _/_/     | | \ \          _/_/     _____________
    |  ___________     _/_/       | |  \ \       _/_/       ___________  |
    | |              _/_/_____    | |   > >    _/_/_____               | |
    | |             /________/    | |  / /    /________/               | |
    | |                           | | / /                              | |
    | |                           | |/ /                               | |
    | |                           | | /                                | |
    | |                           |  /                                 | |
    | |                           |_/                                  | |
    | |                                                                | |
    | |      c   o   m   m   u   n   i   c   a   t   i   o   n   s     | |
    | |________________________________________________________________| |
    |____________________________________________________________________|

 ...presents...                 Bert: The Poem
                                                        by Racer X

                     >>> a cDc publication.......1990 <<<
                       -cDc- CULT OF THE DEAD COW -cDc-
______________________________________________________________________________


    This file is dedicated to the late Jim Henson, a man who always managed to
entertain both children and adults.  He was best known as the creator of the
Muppets (R) and Sesame Street (R) and for giving life to such characters as
Kermit the Frog (R), Rowlf (R), Waldorf (R), Dr. Teeth (R) and Ernie (R).
Jim died on the morning of Wednesday, May 16, 1990 of a severe infection due to
an overlooked case of pneumonia.  Thanks for all the laughs, Jim....

                              --Racer X
                                "It ain't easy bein' green."
______________________________________________________________________________


He creeps down the hallway
Monobrow
Head like pineapple
Mind chock full o' vengeance
Body of foam
   He lurks
        and lurks
   and lurks
Dew forms 'tween his turtleneck and skin
He clenches two fists of animosity
He arrives at the door - a murderous courier
   and mutters to himself
        "This is it.
         I have to do it."
With
   a
       slow
                 sweep
His foot pushes the door
gently ajar
The soft hallway light frolics
across the face of his prey
The delicate orange sponge
covered only by a sheet
Innocence
The prowler contemplates
   and conceives
a multitude of homicidal acts
        in his already damaged brain
"How can I lynch this criminal?
I could play butcher and then play doctor
Heh
   Heh
      Heh
I could just knife 'im a few hundred times
Poison, nah...
   I'll choke him
No
   Suffocation
   Asphyxiation
I'll cut his damn head off
Crucify him
   Crucify him for HIS sins
Electrocution.  Quick.  Painless.
Wait, I want the sucker to feel it.
I could burn the son of a bitch
Set his goddamned bed ablaze
Make him suffer
         Suffer
   Colombian necktie
I'll ring tears from his plastic eyes
Never sorry before
You'll be sorry now."
The nightstalker freezes
Orange eyelids expose unconscious eyes
Blurr blurr
Coned silhouette in doorway
The sleeper asks,
   "Who is it?
    ' Somebody there?"
A violent leap
Yellow meets orange in a clash
The life-burglar darts atop the sleeper
pinning him to the warm bed
Yellow foam hands squeeze into fists
   "Bert, what are you doing?!
    Are you crazy?!"
The hammers are raised
The killer reminisces his motives
"This is for everything you've ever done to me!"
POUND
"This is for the time you filled our apartment up with water
because you left the bath running!"
STRIKE
"Remember my purple hand?
Here's one for that!"
BEAT
"Remember when you played tag with an involuntary me?!
Now you're it!"
WACK
"You're it!"
THWACK
"And this one's for Rubber-Ducky!"
SMACK
"I hate you!
I hate you!
I hate you!
I hate you!"
Endless streak of death blows
Pulverization
Arms at work like piledrivers
Drive drive drive
Fists like anvils
Sponge to styrofoam noodles
Final blow
   "I'm sorry (sob).
    I had no idea (sob sob)."
"It's too damn late for apologies."
   "Please
    (gasp)
    stop this.
    I'll never bother you again."
Yellow digs deep into a polyester pocket
Paper clips surface

        A
  wild
            chain
      of
        paper-
               clips
   "What?  Your paper clip collection?"
Like lightning
The paper clips are yanked around the helpless puppet's neck
Gasps for breath
Choke choke choke
The wire digs holes in the orange neck
"I
   can't
          breathe."
Convulsion
Sudden peace
The body ends its hopeless struggle
The courier climbs down from the corpse
and watches
   and watches
        and watches
An open window
The sounds of a restless city rush in
with a flock of city birds
"My pigeons,
My beautiful pigeons.
You hate him as much as I do.
He's all yours."
   Peck
   Peck
   Peck
Midnight snack
An audible siren
Slamming car doors
Knock
Knock
Knock
"Open up!  It's the police!"
The murderer
   h   e  s  i  t  a  t  e  s
Pushes the window
anxiously higher
l
o
 o
  k
   s
    d
     o
      w
       n
and leaps
wondering
      just
        how
          the
           sleeper
             always
              managed
                  to
                    be
                     so
                      innocent
                            when
                              always
                                   guilty



        --Racer X, 10:39 PM, Monday, 10/23/89
 _   _   ____________________________________________________________________
/((___))\|The Dead Zone........214/522-5321|Demon Roach Undrgrnd..806/794-4362|
[ x x ] |NIHILISM.............415/285-9453|The People Farm.......916/673-8412|
 \   /  |Tequila Willy's GSC..209/526-3194|The Bombay............714/897-0412|
 (' ')  |Lunatic Labs.........213/655-0691|The Works.............617/861-8976|
  (U)   |====================================================================|
 .ooM   |(c)1990 cDc communications by Racer X.                 06/21/90-#139|
\_______/|All Rights Pissed Away.                                             |