rules for wars
and other fictions

and the grave digger
gives me a nod
hands me a shovel of thunder

what to tell the children?

shadows can't exist
without light
and on my bended knees
lightning in the air
looking up

what to tell
the little boys and girls?

be amused,
smile,

darlings, it's not odd, not at all

we humans shed our skin like snakes
and one man's freedom fighter
is another man's terrorist

hell broke loose in Palestine
hell broke loose in the Ukraine

the angels' weeping choir
and cat eyes turn grey as the sea

the cat stares into the fire
cold as the sea

child, have you seen some
awfulness?

what could it be?

my cat howls into the fire

what to say to the children?

(welcome to the night)

pawns and kings, the rooks
the bittersweet comedy
of the heart and other losers


what to tell the children?

slightly crooked
it hangs

but a painting
none the less

of a not-so-perfect
vessel

that carried us
down rivers

and out to sea
as we journeyed

far and wide

When chained in the abyss of sorrow
There's no light to show me tomorrow
I hum to myself sweet tune of a song
That lights up my heart before long.

It's the song that sets me free
Rain on the leaves, winds on tree
Cackle of a hen, cooing of a dove
Tides on the shore filled with mangrove
Night owls' hoot, cuckoo's refrain
They're all music made to **** pain
They dispel the dark, show me the way
Say life is a gift, live it everyday.

Trust and betrayal
Love gone on a sail

The heart mustn't get clinical
Or the brain will get cynical