baleen
the faces of these buildings
are like the mouths of baleen whales,
meant to pull in, to filter,
but are largely there
to keep things out…
I keep gnawing at the inside
of my cheek…
they don’t want you to be bored
here — they want your mind
consumed with stuff
I guess it’s bad to sit and think…
a mind that wanders
is a mind that might escape
a mind that might realize
the freedom it possesses
you gotta always keep
your hands moving,
always keep your eyes
glancing…
keep shifting in your seat
—shifting?
I’m squirming,
shrinking under this light
—god forbid we let it be dim,
and because it’s so gorgeous
outside after all,
and you don’t want to fall asleep
—don’t close your eyes,
you might slip
away and bear witness
to a different sort of reality
they say nothingness is the enemy,
but is it? nothingness gives rise
to a kind of brilliance,
to anything that’s possible
—it’s when you are encompassed
by the fog of all things,
of always doing more things,
that you become lost…become caught
in the net of other people
—so stay nimble
and let your thoughts
catch continual fire!
don’t let the masses
put you out
Garbage Notes:
I would say the core of this poem is that it’s about the tendency in our society for institutions to want to always keep you busy. If you’re doing-doing-doing all the time, there’s no window of opportunity to, let’s say, zoom out a bit and really see your life for what it is. There’s no chance for you to imagine other possibilities.
The baleen thing refers to this one building I used to work in a while ago. It was a very brutalist style of architecture, and it had this imposing quality of a big whale sucking you in. And the whole imagery of the place was designed to make you feel small and useless.
And it got me thinking that that’s a lot of what happens in life. You sign up for promising things, maybe you want to take a chance on something, you’re not sure if it’s the right opportunity for you…but then it sucks you right in, and then because you’re so fucking busy all the time, there’s no room to breathe, and before you know it, you’re getting digested by a two-hundred-ton behemoth.
It shouldn’t be considered a bad thing if a person just wants to sit back and think. Reflection is important. Quiet mind-wandering isn’t the same as doing nothing. But so many people judge you harshly if you’re the kind of contemplative person who needs a while to reflect on reality before taking action.
It makes sense. The world wants you to make mistakes. Shit is designed to profit off your mishaps. The big fish want you to move fast, because if you’re moving that fast, you’re operating on instinct. And people tend to fuck up when all they do is act on instinct.
We’re higher-order primates. We’re not fish or rodents. We don’t have to run completely on impulse. But yet we tend to act like these hyper little squirrels, running around all feral, looking for the next nut to crack.
We’re better than that. We have to stop running around sometimes. We have to remind ourselves to GO SLOW. We must choose to close our eyes and listen to the space around us. Take the time to sleep and dream, and when we can, wake up slowly so that we can actually remember those dreams.
The only way you’re gonna start to see a different reality, is if you debug yourself a little. Reprogram—whatever fucking machine metaphor you wanna use. Because you see, the human brain might seem fast as lightning, because of how fast our neurons work and because of how rapid we process sensory information. But the speed of thought is NOT as fast.
We actually think on a scale that’s a lot slower than, say, a computer. So don’t feel like you have to act like a machine to compete in today’s world. Rediscover your slow humanity. It’ll make a huge difference for your creativity, for your relationships, and for your sanity.
My favorite line in the poem: “Nothingness is not the enemy.” Because it’s truly not…Absolute nothingness, or at least our ability to pay close attention to it, is what gives rise to brilliance.
Franco Amati 2025
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Those 'baleen' buildings were 'architected' in the 1950s. An interesting connection might be: that era was the ascendance of 'The Company Man' - - "Executive Suite; The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit"; IBM ("I've Been Moved" was the mantra of their up-and-coming junior executives). The era of, as my father used to admonish me with: "Tim, always be loyal to the company and they'll take care of you." Baleen is exactly right. I somehow managed to slip out between the teeth.
Slow is Smooth; Smooth is Fast. The EMS phrase.
It’s brilliant—the poetry, the behemoth, the shifting—my ADD took me right back to my mind never thinking about math during the 0730 hr Math class in High School when the thoughts always swirled—constantly shifting.