GRASSHOPPER by Zac Dunn | Art by Daniel Whittington & Mark Mothersbaugh

Mark-Mothersbaugh,-Untitled,-May-1,-2003,-ink-on-vintage-postcard_GRASSHOPPER by Zac Dunn | Art by Mark Mothersbaugh & Daniel Whittington
Untitled, May 1, 2003, ink on vintage postcard by Mark Mothersbaugh

GRASSHOPPER
By Zac Dunn

Art by Mark Mothersbaugh & Daniel Whittington
Published Issue 099, March 2022

Hounds tooth 

Foaming at the mouth 

A shiny briefcase 

And a bad case 

Of chronic halitosis

One foot in front 

Of the other 

Stepping over 

The scorched earth 

In your wake 

A master of the universe 

But utterly perverse 

Fist full of dollars 

Heart full of rocks 

A smiling so bright 

It makes you wanna 

Feed it concrete

Behind giant craters of greed 

Staring down the muzzle 

Of a bazooka 

In the name of vanity 

And utter distain for the elderly 

Not knowing who you are 

Steaming ahead at full speed

Helming the Titanic

Captain my captain 

We are doomed 

The first mate exclaims 

But there is no ship 

No iceberg or Leo or Kate 

No band playing as the 

Bow slowly breaks 

Women children first 

The doors slam open 

The people all stand up 

The fog of the previous moment fades 

Up flights and polished boxes

High into the sky 

69th floor in the fore’ 

Ferragamo’s still wet from the rag

The face behind the desk 

Sstands and ushers you in 

The men are all there sitting 

Sizing up the bag of bones 

Brains, balls, blood and dastardly intent 

That stands like a scarecrow 

In a fallow field …

The work is never done 

It can’t stop ever 

A hand and voice call out 

From far off across the 

Mighty cherry expanse 

Uttering some gibberish 

And arithmetic 

Blubbering about 

Collateral damage 

To the palm and the digits 

Thrust brashly in said direction 

Extending a one word extinguisher 

NO 

No one can stop this thing of ours 

This crusade of conquest 

This manifest of malicious destiny 

Versus anyone and anything 

Just as we put lead in the water 

We will put the poison 

back in the Kool-Aid 

Dead silence

The old man looked confused 

He grit his teeth and stood up 

Slamming his boney rooker

Like a thunder clap 

NO 

No young man

How can you hear the grasshopper

At your feet?

When you cannot 

Hear your own heartbeat? 

Daniel-Whittington,-Lubber-Grasshopper---Best-of-Birdy-Issue-004Mark-Mothersbaugh,-Untitled,-May-1,-2003,-ink-on-vintage-postcard_GRASSHOPPER by Zac Dunn | Art by Mark Mothersbaugh & Daniel Whittington
Lubber Grasshopper by Daniel Whittington | Best of Birdy: Issue 004 – Artopsy

Zac Dunn is a psycho-social mechanic, father, musician and dreamer. Check out his music and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.


Daniel Whittington is a Pennsylvania-born illustrator specializing in pencil and marker.


Mark Mothersbaugh is one of this era’s most unique and prolific composers. Deeply aware of the ability of precise, multi-faceted artistic expression to deliver vital social commentary, he has perpetually challenged and redefined musical and visual boundaries. Mothersbaugh co-founded influential rock group DEVO, and then parlayed his avant-garde musical background into a leading role in the world of scoring for filmed and animated entertainment, interactive media and commercials. As an award winning composer, his credits include Moonrise Kingdom, 21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Enlightened, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, and the hugely successful Rugrats television, stage and film franchise. Through his multimedia company, Mutato Muzika, Mark has scored hundreds of commercials. Mothersbaugh received the BMI Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement at the organization’s 2004 Film/TV Awards. He can currently be seen as the art teacher on the hit television series, Yo Gabba Gabba! See more of his work on Instagram and his site.


Check out Zac’s February Birdy piece, GRAVYand Mark’s installs, When He Fell Through The Trap Door, Then Everything Started Going WrongandWhere Do We Go From Here, or head to our Explore section to see more work by these artists.

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  1. Pingback: Humidor of human filth by Zac Dunn | Art by Jack Grupe - BIRDY MAGAZINE

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