Monday, June 23, 2008

George Carlin on the Ten Commandmants

George Carlin is dead, y'all. One of the smartest comedians of all time is gone. In the tradition of Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor, he was never ever afraid to go there.

Posted by Abdel Shakur at 8:43 AM
Thematic Concerns: ,

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Right on. That's one of my favorite bits of his. All hail Joe Pesci. RIP George Carlin.

June 23, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Anonymous said...

you're fast with this. i didn't even know he died.

June 23, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Anonymous said...

I actually wrote a poem about this sketch back in the day . . .


GEORGE CARLIN SAYS
~En route, Texas

either you pray to god
or Joe Pesci. Point: with either,
half the time you will be heard while
half your pleas will burn in flight.

I’ve decided to clutch
Man of the People to my stomach
and have faith Chinua Achebe
will get me back to the ground.

My last lift off, I was “little guy,” now it’s “Sir,
would you like a pillow.” My eyes refuse
the soft, meshy sedative—
watching as the plane peels away.

Dallas shrivels to an organic motherboard—
vehicles moving like bytes,
our information moving like air. Higher,
I re-read the shape of scattered clouds

from above—rows of maliceless cotton unravel
below wings. The plane content in its altitude,
my hands loosen to crack the bound spine
and I recall Achebe speaking. The story of Tortoise—

the sly shell-back who 1) got the birds to loan him feathers
2) took on the name “You all” and 3) was the only one
allowed to eat when they reached the sky feast
(You all may eat). The birds repossessed his plumage,

leaving him up here as a reminder,
do not deceive the sky or its disciples. Tortoise
learning too when entering the earth’s attic,
we can only grab hold of a ripe boll and hope

the ground will be kind next time you meet.

June 30, 2008 at 8:26 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)