Eyes wide
you do not allow
oblivious sleep
shadows branded
on my retina
reveal all contrast
tattooed on my shoulder
a skeletal hand
this illusion  
pins me down

your questions
have no answers
questions remain
asked again and again
I swear
I know nothing

You say everything
is immaterial
subjectively real
ideas existent
in the mind
of the perceiver
I am
(you insist)
a true believer

Parched and shrinking
I ask for mercy
you bring the cup
to my fissured lips
but it is empty
a vessel of air
you murmur
there is only enough
for one
what will you give
in return?

Heavy metal
arpeggios of wind
head bang
petulant faces
inured to rain
a repeating refrain
in falsehood
lies your truth

but even you
cannot halt the dawn
a dark horizon
pulls the strings
powerless
you sink
behind the cloud-
wall of your storm

is it safe now to close my eyes?
three times whisper
be gone
              bright fiend
a weary incantation
spell of protection
the yawning wind
done with howling
hums reassuringly
                            
                       *“a change is gonna come
                                                            ­      imagine
                                                   ­                            peace in our time”

That elusive thought
Danced merrily away
Into the recesses of its play

Mocking me with its glee
Prancing away without regret
Giving me no reprieve and stay

Soul searing, mind wearing
As my mind meanders
And limps through the fray

Across landscaped extravaganza
And deep inner turmoils
The demons do come up to prey

I plod on undeterred in my path
That wayward thought demon
I encounter, confront and slay!!

I've been at it for 13 hours in whisky and whining
I'm afraid
I speak more to the poets here than my own blood
And everyone is ready to leave
I handled a divorce better
If you all go
I go
What is this FUCKERY?
A joke?
Punishment?
Please fix it back
Most poets don't like change because no change for us has ever been for the better
Some of you, I've written with, cried with, spoken with, and yes
LOVED
for years
You go,
I go
You jump ship
I jump ship
I ******* LOVE you all