A good man died today
Buildings did not close
Flags were not flown at
half mast
School children  
attended classes
and life went on
as it did yesterday
and will again
tomorrow.

But he was my friend
and people should know

A good man died today

Sitting round the barbecue
there's Paddy, Jeff and me
Mary is on Paddy's right
as happy as can be
Kath is sitting next to Jon
while Chrissy chats with Fay
Paddy passes round the brew
on an orange, plastic tray

Someone grabs a guitar
and begins a happy song
No one knows the melody
but still we sing along
Over comes old Lucifer
his hooves are keeping time
Three hot dogs on his pitch fork
(and one of them is mine)

"I hate to break this up" he says
"the boss is on his way
And if we don't pass muster
then there will be Hell to pay
So put away that beer my friends
and hide that barbecue
Now everyone look miserable
and maybe we'll get through".

A golden light came shining in
as Jesus crossed the room
Paddy swung a pick ax
and I swept with a broom
And Lucifer he cursed at us
and cracked an evil whip
And then a half gone Fosters
went and fell from Paddy's hip.

You could have heard a pin
drop as that bottle hit the floor
Lucifer just shook his head
he knew what was in store
But Jesus Christ he grabbed
that brew and gave a wicked smile
"For an ice cold pint of Fosters
I would walk a country mile"

So the joint again was rockin’
And Jesus lead the way
He said “if it were up to me
I think that I would stay”
Then he downed another bottle
And he said ‘oh by the way,
My dad would not be cool with
this so hold your tongues, ok?"

We never let the secret slip
and all is right and well
And if you’d like to join
us at this barbecue in Hell
Then we have a simple rule
you see, that everyone abides
You can come and go eternally
but religion stays outside.

Here comes Jesus
from his tomb
With baskets full
of gloom and doom
Judgment, famine,
pestilence and war

He says the end
is coming soon
I wish he’d sing
a different tune
Something that
we haven’t heard
before

He’s got Aids for Tommy
Parkinson’s for Sister Sue
There’s an STD for Mommy
(Daddy hasn’t got a clue)

Here comes Jesus
from his tomb
With baskets full
of gloom and doom
Judgment, famine,
pestilence and war

Maybe if you’re
extra good
And try to do
the things you
should
He won’t come
around here
anymore

You’ll wake up one morning
and you’ll know he isn’t there
And you will see the smiles
on the children everywhere

Oh here comes Jesus
from his tomb
With baskets full
of gloom and doom

Hippity, hoppity
what a ******* day!

We can’t forget our
nightmares
And we can’t recall
our dreams
While everything
is illusion
No matter how it
seems
But somewhere in
the darkness
There’s a tiny fading
light
And all I can do
is pray that you
find shelter in the
night

A man will know
his enemies
And a woman know
her friends
While the bishop
on his chess board
Only knows how
to pretend
And the Christian
looks for answers
In his ancient
Holy book
But the answers lie
in the children’s eyes
if he would only stop
and look

A day is gone forever
in the moment that
it ends
While a memory is
eternal
If we share it with
a friend
And the universe
will answer
If we listen for
the call
But we will have
to find a quiet place
because it’s voice
is rather small…

A Princess in the castle tower
The night has just begun
A prisoner of beauty's power
lies hidden from the sun
The darkness welcomes loneliness
the moonlight disappears
A north wind sings an ancient song
to reinforce her fears

She offers up a hopeless plea
to any god who cares
While knowing nothing ever came
from unpretentious prayers
Abandoning the waking world
she dreams of being free
Dancing on a pedestal
for everyone to see

But the morning sun appears again
to welcome back her tears
A devastating ray of gold
illuminates her fears
While outside on the windowsill
the jester starts to sing
And gently pulls the curtain closed
to hide the flaxen string

She hears the children laugh and cheer
The jester tells a joke
He wears a hat of silver bells
to camouflage the hoax
The maiden slowly comes to life
beneath the jester’s power
Another grand performance
by the Princess in the tower

I walked up to the pearly gates
and rang the golden bell
Saint Peter popped his
head out and he gave a hearty yell

He said 'what are you doing here
you're supposed to be alive?'
I said 'I blew my brains out
with a magnum 45'

'In that case I can't let you in'
Saint Peter sadly said
'You've got to take the
dark road to that other place instead'

I thanked him for his kindness
and he sent me on my way
I turned onto that evil road
and slowly walked away

The path was long and winding
and the scenery was bare
It reminded me of Kansas
when Dorothy lived there

I seemed to walk for hours
but it could have been much more
Then up ahead I saw a light
behind a wooden door

A man appeared quite suddenly
from where, I do not know
He said 'my name is Lucifer
but you can call me Joe'

He led me to the wooden door
and gave a mighty shove
The thing swung open slowly
and a light shone from above

To my surprise I did not see
the brimstone, flame or tar
Just a band of really happy folks
all drinking at a bar

Virginia Woolf and Hemingway
were sitting with Van Gogh
While Kurt Cobain was sipping wine
with Magdalene Kahlo

And Lenny Bruce was telling jokes
that made Cleopatra blush
And Hunter T. wrote frantically
As always, in a rush

Old Joe he only grinned at me
and slapped me on the back
'You didn't really think that
I would torture Kerouac?'

He called out to the bartender
and soon I had a brew
'I must admit" I said to him
before my beer was through

‘I expected something different
in the land of pain and dread'
Old Joe gave me a wicked smile
and this is what he said:

'Take a look around you son
and tell me what you see'
I saw ten thousand people
not including Joe and me

And suddenly it hit me like a
bolt out of the blue
'All these people left the world
before their time was due'

Joe finished up his bottle and
he tossed it in the sand
He said 'son every one of them
has died by their own hand

You see they lived their Hell on earth
on that you can't deny
They know what pain is really like
so I don't even try'

So friends I am still sitting here
it's been a year or so
Tomorrow night I've got a date
with Marilyn Monroe

We're going to see Hendrix
at the Fillmore down below
And the word is Janis Joplin
will be opening the show

And I don't believe that Heaven
could exact a higher praise
They can keep their harps and
trumpets...

I prefer my Purple Haze

All sin begins
with *******
leading to ***,
birth and life on
earth, but somehow
(if we believe the pew)
all but a single Jew
are born in sin while
forgiveness is reserved
for the picks of the herd
trampling slothful runts
beneath ***** and sweaty
***** on their way up the
Holy ladder to salvation's
elusive shore where matter
and spirit become one in
the Son's immaculate vision
of the united division of
imperfect man.
Meanwhile, we lesser beasts
are cursed with damnation
eternal both on earth and the
infernal regions until the season
of the Jew's expected return.

Burn it all...

It's *******.

I think I’m crazy
But it’s a feeling that comes and goes
You say I’m lazy
But I really don’t think you know
I’m somewhere in between
But I don’t know what you think I mean
When that old Jack Daniels gets me down

I see double
But I love you both the same
If I'm in trouble
Then please let me explain
The drinks were two for one
I didn't think that I'd come undone
but that old Jack Daniels got me down

You're my lady
And we really did have some fun
So I'm thinkin' maybe
If you would kindly put down that gun
You and I could talk
Or maybe just take a little walk
Cause' that old Jack Daniel's got me down

Tuck me in and say goodnight
and everything will be alright
and all the pain can wait another
day

Close my door a little bit
and keep my snoopy nightlight lit
and I will tell myself that it’s
ok

If I wake, I don’t much care
The day renews the old nightmare
and sleep’s the only freedom
that I know

A sunny smile cannot hide
the emptiness I feel inside
The sadness that I pray they’ll
never know

I miss the childhood that I've lost
Those scars came at an awful cost
There’s no one to confide my
deepest fear

I am so tired and broken down
The world goes by without a sound
I feel much older than my seven
years...

They see us mesmerized
before the television screen
watching obscene celebrities
basking on the beaches
in the sun
having fun
sipping margaritas
with the pretty senoritas
and they realize the wool
is already pulled
over the eyes
of America’s bleating
sheep who sleep and dream
of Kardashian glory
forgetting the gory
reality of the children
dying from the missiles
flying overhead
beneath wings
of killer drones
launched from the home
of peace and prosperity
three thousand miles from
their dessert squalor

'The time has come,' the Preacher said,
'to speak of many things
Of talking snakes and ****** births
and golden angel wings
And why Perdition’s fire is hot
and whether Christ is King...'

'Hold on a sec' the poet said,
'Before we sort this mess
I think I need an hour or so
to chill and convalesce'
'Take your time' the preacher said,
'Tomorrow will be fine'
The poet thanked him kindly
and then poured a glass of wine

And then he poured another
and another and six more
But soon the flask was empty
and he stretched out on the floor
He looked up at the preacher
and in garbled words he said:
'I think I'd rather talk
about reality instead'

Flag of my fathers

When will the winds of equality
lift you from your languid prison?

When will your 12,000,000
illegals be given shelter
beneath your furled stars?

Flag of my fathers

When will you be worthy
of your returning veterans?

I'm tired of them washing
my windows for spare change
beneath the overpass

Flag of my fathers

When will your gays and lesbians
be more than fodder for bible
thumping patriots?

I was a bible thumping patriot
once but I never hated the gays

I'm tired and broke Flag of my fathers

The bank wants my house
and the Chinaman wants my job

He's welcome to it if he can get
the Indian to give it up

The doctor wants my money
but it's all been squandered
on promises and broken dreams

I call for equality Flag of my fathers
and they call me a communist

I'm not a communist but if communists
believe in equality, was Jefferson
a communist?

Flag of my fathers

They tell me to leave if I don't like
the way things are but where will I go?
Mexico's crowded and Canada's cold

The government tells me 'get a job'
but the corporation says 'get an education'
The University hands me a bill
and when I can't pay
they tell me 'get a job'

It's all ****** up Flag of my fathers

It doesn't make any sense

I've got a headache, leave me
alone

I'm so tired

Watching shadows crawl across
the wall is dull even for a slow
witted fool like me

Flag of my fathers

Why are we at war?
Why are we closing our museums
and demolishing our libraries?
Why are we feeding our military
and starving our vets?

It's too much to take
Flag of my fathers

It's too **** much to take...

The owl and the ***** cat
went to sea in a boat
without an oar
When the boat sailed home
the cat was alone
and the owl was no more

Hey ****** ******
I’ll tell you a riddle
and I bet you’ll never guess
That Jack B. Nimble
was Jack B. Quick
beneath Miss Muffet’s
dress

Little Sol Hornstein
sat next to Maureen
eating his Christmas
pie
He stuck in his fork
and pulled out some pork
And said ‘what a bad
Jew am I’.

Wee Willie Winkie
Tiptoes through the house,
Upstairs, downstairs
Quiet as a mouse.
Closing every window,
Locking every door,
Drinking all his daddy’s beer
And barfing on the floor

The hippy dippy spider
went uptown to score
He got a bag of ****
from the hippy dippy
store
He smoked up all that
**** with his hippy
dippy friends
So the hippy dippy spider
went uptown again

There was a crooked man
Who walked a crooked mile
He met a crooked woman
Who wore a crooked smile
He brought her to his crooked house
And upon his crooked bed
He had his crooked way with her
(And now the ***** is dead)

(And from an old restroom wall)

Georgie Porgie, puddin' and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry
When the boys came out to play
(He kissed them too cuz' he was gay)

Once, long ago
I gazed upon
the world with
conformity’s eyes
and found it absurd

And I cursed existence
and my fellow man

I built a wall to defend
the tattered remnants
of the sanity I perceived
I still possessed

I built a wall that quickly
became a desolate prison
standing cold in the face
of forgiveness and love

I ignored beauty’s gentle bliss

I insulted love in the name
of an antiquated morality

Oh spirits
Oh demons
Oh harbingers
of what lies
beyond
perception

It was to you
that I entrusted
my salvation

It was to you that
I prayed in expectation
of deliverance

I begged for naught
but a cessation of being
to relieve the nightmare
of existence

In desperation
I grasped the reins
of intolerance

I drew the sword
of superficial righteousness
carving a swath of condemnation
through the ranks of my brothers
for the sake of a disapproving God

I wounded virtue in the name of heaven

I exchanged reason for faith

I threw compassion to the dogs of indifference

What pain has my existence
brought my fellow man?

My path to salvation lies
hidden among the bones
of those I once held dear

Heaven should not
exact such remuneration
for paradise cannot be
purchased with the blood
of hatred and the
tears of martyred tolerance

I will not kneel before
such an altar

Not again

Never again

Political ****** lining
their pockets with gold,
mined with the blood
of America’s youth
**** the world
and all who would
rule it!
Who asked you to ****
for liberty or cheap oil?
The spoils of war will
not buy you a reprieve
from perditions flame
or indeed a single extra
day in the world of the
living...
But then, what do you care?

You are dead already.

Paradise within.
Sin vanishes with
the light.
The night has passed.
At last salvation and
reconciliation with
God.
Eternity in a drop
of water.
Forever in a grain of
sand.

Through the centuries, ecclesiastical types have called poets deviants and inferred we would burn in Hell for our heresy. I've often wondered what the rhymes of a condemned poet might look like...*


#1
The serpent got
a ***** wrap
as well as did
the Jews
And if you read
between the lines
you won't believe
The news

#2
As I'm not
a Christian
I think it
quite odd
That I should
be punished
by a biblical
God

#3
God the father
and his boy
appear to find
the greatest joy
deciding who
will sing or fry
in pits of Hell
or Heaven’s sky
Me thinks I’d
rather burn in Hell
for truth be told
I don't sing well
Besides in Heaven’s
realm I hear they’ve
put a ban on wine
and beer

#4
Scribbled notes
on wrinkled pages
offer up my
rants and rages
To the gods
both big
and small
who really
don't exist
at all

#5
Going to Hell
is not my intention
For Hell I believe
is your little
invention
Ingeniously
Crafted for
scaring the
masses
By threatening
Flame if they
don't kiss your
*****.

#6
Such a simple
happenstance
No books to
study true
No condemning
sermons from
the everlasting
Jew
And since
His love
is only for
the chosen
and the few
I think I'll pass
on Sunday Mass
I've better things
to do

#7
Galileo’s castrated
brilliance shackled
to an empty cross
as demonic paramours
burn in the city square

#8
Rest assured
the herd will
follow the absurd
proclamations’
and the institution's
philosophical solution
to the daily grind
that binds us all
to this stalled
morality we
have mistaken
for God

#9
'Peace on earth
and love thy neighbor'
Cried the man with
cross and saber
Even as he slaughtered
millions for the crime
of pagan birth

#10
Cups and saucers
filled with gold
but not a cent
may we behold
for we are not
among the few
selected by the
ancient Jew

Beyond the chaos of the border
between reason and disorder
lies a world that ever beckons
to the darkness in my soul

A land of everlasting laughter
that was once and will be after
all the things we thought
we fathomed turn to dust
in granite holes

Take me far beyond the steeple
to a land of unscathed people
where no single rule or concept
dooms us all to God’s abyss

Show me love without condition
without heaven or perdition
where no act of false contrition
guarantees eternal bliss

The rain was coming down so hard
it drenched me to the bone
I saw a wooden structure
in the distance all alone
I made my way unto the door
and shouted loud and clear
Old Noah popped his head out
and said 'son get out of here!'

The door slammed shut abruptly
and I stood there like a fool
This wasn't like old Noah
to be acting so uncool
I pressed my ear up to the door
and thought I heard a goat
Then all at once I realized
this structure was a boat

A boat indeed filled to the top
with horses, sheep, and fowl
And every other kind of beast
that clucks or brays or howls
I knocked again and shouted
to be heard above the din
'It's raining pretty hard out here
come on and let me in!'

Old Noah shouted through the door
'I'm sorry but I can't
I'd welcome you most gladly
if you were a duck or ant'
'A duck? You must be joking
now come on and let me in
The water's rising very fast
it's nearly to my chin'.

I’m sorry I don’t make the rules
and I don't mean to be rude
But I’ve got a lot of work to do
so friend I guess you’re *******”
‘In the name of God I’m begging you’
I pleaded and I cried
I’m going to die right here and now
if you don’t let me inside!’

The door flew open suddenly
and Noah gave a frown
‘Well get your *** inside the ark
before you go and drown!’
Most happily I came inside
but Noah looked quite ******
'We're going to be in trouble boy
when God gets wind of this!'

'But I'm sure that God all mighty
would not be so unkind
You showed me love and mercy
when you rescued my behind'
Old Noah clenched an angry jaw
and furled a mighty brow
'I don't think that you understand
the situation now

God was most specific
on who could take this ride
If he knew I let you in here
he would have my ancient hide'
Then all at once the heavens cleared
and the water ceased to fall
the birds were singing happily
and the sun was standing tall

Noah stood in disbelief
confusion on his brow
He shouted out unto the sky
'What do I do now?!?'
He stood for several minutes
as if waiting for a sign
Then grabbed a piece of parchment
and began a simple line

'For forty days and forty nights
the wind is going to blow
and the rain will fall in buckets
unto the earth below
And evil then will parish
leaving Noah and his crew
and about a million animals
to begin the world anew'

'Hold on there!' I scrutinized
'You're story is absurd'
But Noah kept on scribbling
as if he hadn't heard.
'There was no flood'
I pointed out
'So why tell folks this lie?'
Old Noah put his pen down
and he gave a weary sigh

'A couple thousand years from now
when people reads these lines
They're going to think me quite a guy
for saving all mankind
In fact I think I much prefer
this version of events
At least my future progeny
won't think that I was bent'

I must admit his logic
made a lot of sense to me
The man had built a massive boat
ten miles from the sea
His character could not withstand
a thousand years of shame
And if I were in Noah's shoes
I might just do the same

Nothing to do with shampoo bottles, empty or otherwise I'm afraid. Just some rambling nonsense from an over stressed imagination.


Sitting alone
listening to
tunes Lennon
never lived to write
I find the sight of
sunlight streaming
through the blinds
quite depressing

I'm guessing I should
say **** it and pull
the trigger but the
bigger picture looms
large before me

The contemporary
decay of society
more than I can
tackle at this crackling
moment of existence
but tomorrow after all,
is another day.

Look at that!
Three choppy
little verses all
much too sad to
ignore
(leading now
to number four)

Hey, how bout a joke?
An Irish bloke walks
past a pub...

What? It could happen

Blimey, me rhymes
a sodden mess.
I guess I'll hang it up
for the night and fight
the great fight in the
morning. If you've
read this far, you've
got my gratitude.

(And sympathy)

This really isn't Heaven
and it ain’t exactly Hell
A fleeting glimpse of
freedom at the bottom
of a well.
They say they’ve got
the answers in their
jaded Holy book
And they tell me I’ll find
Jesus if I stop and take
a look.
Existence is a strange thing
and death is stranger still
And they say there’s no
religion in those tiny little
pills.
But what the hell do they know
in their ivory covered halls
When the devil’s on the
rampage and he’s got you
by the *****.

And the pain is never ending
in that cold and empty pew
God has left the building
he’s got better things to do.

Far off in the distance
I hear her fretful wail
No purpose in resistance
it would be to no avail

Like Sirens from an ancient ode
she heralds my demise
Inviting me to her abode
and all that it implies

As a lamb unto the slaughter
in innocence I go
A manipulated plotter
of a life I could not know

Thus my friend I go to her
and freely seal my fate
I ask that you do not demur
for the hour is getting late

And so I bid the world adieu
and leave this disarray
As for the likes of me and you
there can be no other way

I wrote this with poetess extraordinaire Chick George (AKA Jenny). I have absolutely no experience writing sonnets and made a mess of it. She was kind enough to point out a mere 65 errors in my first attempt, making helpful suggestions and re-writing entire sections. If this deserves any praise at all, it is because of her tireless efforts to salvage my little disaster.
Thanks Jenny*


There once lived two midgets in ****** land
Who found a lass lying on a flat stone
Alone upon a beach. The grainy sand
Within their tiny shorts crept, yielding frowns
Of sorts that miniature faces command
And consternation's curses clearly read
On wee lips; eagerly they peeked at things
They'd only dreamt could be. Their visions fed
With silly notions that sometimes appear;
Oz's glory blinding ancient depraved kings.
The fire's wasted logs flaccid with despair
Left to time's inevitable decay
By nature's cruel wit unabashed, laying bare
Small-minded men seen close or far away.

In a land of 93 people
lived a preacher and a nun
In a church without a steeple
they professed to 91

The sermon was quite boring
so seven found the door
They left amidst the snoring
leaving only 84

The nun looked to the altar
and the scary hanging Jew
Twice 11 faltered
and that left 62

But the preacher kept on talking
and he didn't skip a line
Then 13 more were walking
leaving only 49

The nun began to worry
as she saw the empty pews
They were leaving in a hurry
by sixes, fours, and twos

A dozen minutes later
they were in the church alone
The ****** masterbater
and his faithful penguin drone

"So what are we supposed to do?"
the preacher asked the nun
They started out with 92
(or was it 91?)

To be honest it was 93
including priest and nun
You'd think that I would know this
as I wrote it in line 1

But the time is getting very late
perhaps I now can sleep
These lines are not so very great
and not so very deep

But they served my shallow purpose
as my eyes begin to close
And since nothing rhymes with purpose
I believe it's time to go

She gave me tea and cookies
and a blanket to keep warm
A smile of reassurance
and shelter from the storm
She pointed at a crucifix
and took me by the hand
She said, 'this is my savior'
But I did not understand.

'What is it he saves you from
and what is it you fear?'
'He wards off evil serpents
that would otherwise be here'
'You mean to say without him
you'd be overrun with snakes?'
She looked at me quite oddly
and said 'Oh, for heaven's sake

'I don't think you realize
the power of the cross
it pummels every evil
showing Satan who is boss'
And all at once it happened
as if suddenly on cue
Two enormous serpents
slithered to the door and through

She moved as quick as lightning
taking crucifix in hand
And smashed each slimy serpent
as it slithered in the sand
I sat in abject horror
as she pounded out their brains
and smashed them for good measure
three or four times once again

And when she was quite certain
that these snakes were truly dead
she hung the holy crucifix
back up over the bed
Then turning in the fire light
a smile upon her face
She said 'One cannot argue with
the power of His grace'

I asked her for a sentence
that both pleases and bemoans
She said "your brother's *****
is much smaller than your own"

We could not go out
Man were we *******
So we sat in the house
and ate all the food
We ate all the popcorn,
the peanuts and candy
And washed it all down
with whatever was handy

A knock on the door made
us pause from our feast
Then the door opened wide
and in walked the Priest
Soaked to the bone
from his head to his
toes
He said "someone help
me get out of these clothes".

Then the Priest looked
around, and then what
did he see?
He picked
out two somebody's
Billy and me

He took off his collar
and undid his pants
and with a wink and
a smile he started to
dance
He asked us to help
him remove all the
rest
And said we could all
play a game called
'undressed'
"A very fun game
I will show it to you
And I promise that no
one will mind if I do"

But our fish said
"Oh no, make that
Priest go away!
Tell that Priest
without pants
you do NOT
want to play!
He SHOULD NOT be
here promising
fun!
He SHOULD NOT be
here with his trousers
undone!"

"But I came here
to play" said the
half-naked Priest
"I know a few games
You should try them at least
These games are quite fun
I will show them to you
They involve sleeping
pills and a six pack or
two"

Then true to his word the
Priest cracked a beer
And invited us over with
a mischievous leer
“A sip of this stuff will
not cause any pain
Take a swig and I’ll
show you a new little
game"

"Put that down!” said our fish
“Make that Priest go away!
Tell that Priest without pants
you do NOT want to play!
He SHOULD NOT be here
promising fun!
He SHOULD NOT be here
with his trousers undone!"

But Billy and I were
a rebellious pair
And to be offered
beer was incredibly
rare
So we each grabbed
a cold one and in
one mighty swig
We downed 16 oz
like a couple of
pigs

And soon (very soon)
the room started to spin
And I vaguely remember
the Priest’s evil grin
And the sound of his
laughter as his shorts
hit the floor
And his clod hopping
footsteps as he locked
our front door

Then he took a few steps
towards Billy and me
and we shivered and shook
when he touched Billy's knee
Then all of a sudden,
or it seemed so at least
Billy threw up on the
***** old Priest
Yes up came the popcorn
the peanuts and beer
And covered the Priest
from his feet to his ear

Then without warning
and almost on cue
I started barfing
when Billy was through
The Priest gave a cry
and then lickity split
He ran from the room
(the ***** old ****)
He grabbed up his garments
and sped from our home
On his way out the door
he dropped his cell phone

So calmly and coolly
I called the newspaper
and then the police
to report the old *****
I said "you can't miss him
he turned left on Duke
He's completely naked
and covered in puke"
And within thirty minutes
the cops had their man
They booked him and
tossed him right into
the can

Then I turned to Billy
and gave him a smile
The Priest was in jail
and awaiting a trial
But Billy was pale
and didn’t look good
He seemed almost frozen
in the place where he stood
He had to sit down
and he looked pretty weak
Then he asked "when the hell
did our fish learn to speak?"

Dead
Lost
The cost of redemption
too high for humanities
dregs to bare
There is no longer light
at the tunnel's end
and my mirrored friend's
eyes are vacant with
tomorrows lost
expectation...
When will the pain end
and the sun rise on the
morning of our soul's
desolation?
Droll preachers intone
empty words of pity
from the ancient book
they've been bred to
recite.

Whiskey or beer might
illuminate the darkness
better.

A bowl

Just a bowl

Empty but for a rotting pear
and the core of a once green
apple

The shadows pass over this table
as the setting sun drifts into
the abyss of an Autumn sky

Darkness now

The bowl all but vanishing
in the solitude of a moonless
transgression

The bottle

Oh yes, the bottle

I can see it's outline
in the forgotten drag
of the day's last cigarette

Amber solace to sooth
a tortured mind and numb
a jaded soul

Until morning...

Sunlight glistens.
I listen to butterfly
wings as a lark sings  
a song from a departed
age.
Lost in a dream life seems
empty and void of substance.
The wind is still and a chill
grips bones that tremble
alone in the dim twilight
awaiting morning's
consoling bliss.

The ancient satin tapestry
hangs ragged on a wall
Depicting scenes of chivalry
that no one can recall

And as the candles flicker out
and shadows disappear
There sits alone in darkened hall
a single Musketeer

He hears again from pits of Hell
a rising steady roar
Beelzebub appears anew
to pound the drums of war

So as in every age of man
with shield and with sword
He leaves his love, his land, his life
to go and fight the horde

And as with ages long ago
he shouts the battle cry
And it never does occur to him
to ask the ******* why

So he fights and kills
for Kings and Queens
who tally up the score
And he thinks by shedding
so much blood
he'll put an end to war

I thought I knew
but I didn't know
In fact, I doubt
I ever knew

I guess it doesn't
matter anymore

**** it, I don't care

I've got three dollars
to my name and it's
more than enough
to see me through

In fact, there may
even be change left
after the curtain
falls

What?
It's over?

****, I missed it!

'Okay folks,
move along'
Says the blood
spattered Cop
'I said, move along!
There's nothing
to see here!'

That's right
Crawl back into
the neon forest
that is middle
America.
Go on!
If you hurry,
you might catch
the last half hour
of that Kardashian
show

'What was all the *******
fuss about anyway?'
Says one old *** to another

'What indeed?'
I answer from the shadows

They turn quickly at the sound
of my whisper, but laugh it off
as nothing more than the October
wind howling over the rooftops

Perhaps they're right...

Working on my first folk song*

My demons are many
My angels are few
and the time for redemption
is long overdue
For the songs that we sang
from that merciless pew
were just words from an old
dying tome
But the gates of the garden
are opened at last
and an old voice is calling
me home

So to all of my critics
and all of my friends
I’ve loved every one of you
time and again
But the wheel must turn
from beginning to end
and my time with you
is now fading
For the darkness that
soon overshadows us all
will not long be keeping
me waiting

And finally I must
in good conscience proclaim
that the gods that divide us
are one and the same
And it matters not much
if we call them by name
for the names that we praise
are illusion
For the gods resonate
in reflections of men
and within we will
find absolution

Silent clown that mimics us
May you step before a bus
And vanish from our company
Gone from where you used to be
No more to follow us about
And snicker while we scream and shout
Your haughty face that paint conceals
Would look grand beneath those wheels
While the stain you leave behind
Would serve to warn the other mimes
Silent clown that mimics us
May you step before a bus

And Jesus said, "He who drinks from my mouth will become as I am and I shall be he"

Gnostic Gospel of Thomas vs. 108


1
They sang and
they danced in
praise of the
Savior

And I left the church

I walked quickly
and I was at the
water's edge.
A man waist deep
offered to baptize
me in the name
of the Lord...

And I did not stop

Further on, a sorrowful
Mother asked if perhaps
I knew of her son
Jesus…

But I pretended not to hear.

In the forest
the twelve
approached me
with a message
of good news...

But I paid them no mind.

2
And when I came
to a clearing I met
a young man whom
I had always known.

His beard was unkempt
and blood was dripping
from wounds in his hands
and feet.

A crown of thorns sat
upon his head, and blood
trickled down his cheek.

'Do you know me?' he asked.

'Of course I know you!' I shouted.
'I left you behind at the church!
At the river, one of your followers
sought to baptize me and along the
road a Mother spoke your name.

In the forest, your apostles
confronted me with your
message.
Did I not take my leave
of them all?
I thought I was rid of you,
yet here you stand

Tell me! Why do you haunt me?
Why can I not leave you behind?'

3
He grabbed my shoulders
and I felt the pain in all
of my body and in all
of my being
and he asked me again:

'Do you know who I am?'

'You are the Christ!' I cried
'And I have heard your
story from every church and
holy man in the kingdom.
But I want nothing to do
with you!

I want only to leave you
behind and live my life

At this he looked into
my eyes and as his
penetrating stare drew
my senses to his being,
his face began to change.

He was one of the
singing parishioners at
the church.
Then another,
and another until the
likeness of each one
was in him.

Then he was the
man in the river
and the Mother,
and every one
of the twelve
and I stared
in disbelief

He began to take
on the appearance
of everyone I had
ever known and
even those I would
never meet.

His face was changing rapidly:
African, Asian, Spaniard, European,

From every race and every creed
he became everyone who ever was
and everyone who ever will be…

A few I recognized.

Mohamed, Caesar, the Buddha,
Pontius Pilate, Krishna, Herod,
Moses, Pharaoh.

Faster and faster he changed until
I was dizzy with incomprehension.
Then, as quickly as it had begun,
the celestial parade ceased.

He was Jesus again, standing before me.
His hands and feet caked in blood.
The crown of thorns still resting atop
his head.

4
'I do not understand,' I said.

And he smiled.

And again he looked into my eyes.

'You can never leave me behind.'

And as he spoke he began to change again,

And I found myself standing before another image.

One I surely knew well.

There…

In the clearing of a forest
that existed beyond the boundaries
of space and time,

I looked into my own eyes...

And understood.

The child opens his eyes and sees
a million points of light, each one
an open door to an endless
possibility.
The adolescent opens his eyes
and sees a hundred thousand
points of light, each one a door
to new hopes and adventures
The adult opens his eyes and sees
a few hundred points of light,
each one a door beckoning him
to new experiences
The retiree opens his eyes and sees
perhaps a dozen points of light, each
one a door, welcoming him to well
earned relaxation
The old man opens his eyes
and sees but one dimly lit point
of light coming from a single door
from which he hears his name
gently being called
In trepidation, he closes his eyes
and walks slowly towards that
final door, and nervously passes
over it's dark threshold

When he opens his eyes,
he is a child with a million
points of light before him,
each one an open door to
an endless possibility.

It was a Sunday morning
and by gosh what did I see
I think it was the Easter Bunny
staring out at me
He had a basket filled with eggs
and chocolate butter cups
But when he saw my shotgun
he knew his time was up

He dropped his Easter basket
and fell upon his knees
He looked into both barrels
and said “Mr. If you please
I'm just the Easter Bunny
come to spread some happy joy
From house to house
and door to door
for every girl and boy"

I considered his objection
as I held him in my sights
If he was the Easter Bunny
then I didn't have the right
But his head would sure look pretty
mounted up upon my wall
Right between the Tooth Fairy
and Santa's jingle *****

I pondered this dilemma
and I chose my words with care
"I've shot a lot of critters
but I never shot a hare"
I decided I would let him go
I'd let the moment pass
But when he turned to run away
I shot him in the ***

So now he's mounted on my wall
above the fire place
Between the red nosed Rudolph
and Cupid's smiling face
They'll be no need for colored eggs
come Easter time next year
The Easter Bunny's on my wall...

With buckshot in his rear

Complete madness
settles upon the masses
leaving ***** exposed to
the unadulterated *******
of society’s collective wit.
Christianity’s **** will hit
the fan before man awakens
and dispenses with the mistaken
notion of this delusional existence.
The metaphorical distance between
life and death is but the breadth of
a hair in the universal cosmic order
we call reality.

There once was a lady named Flo
who sat on Pinocchio
She begged him to lie
then let out a cry...

That was one very satisfied **

Lost between the squalid scene
of sadness, blood and death the
dream surrounds.
Waking, shaking in the night
forsaken absence of sunlight
abounds.
Silence lingers in the dark
a sudden flash, electric spark
enlightens.
In the shade the lemonade
trickles down the colonnade
sublime.
Knowing that it isn’t real the
morning sun cannot conceal
delusion.
Walking, talking, life and
death, reality is only an
illusion

In autumn’s tranquil, moonlit night
I walked through embers of firelight
And in the air above my head
flew spirits of the newly dead

Floating in October’s chill
I think I see my uncle Phil
He’s there beside my auntie Fay
who holds a flame to light the way

Round and round they travel so
into the stratosphere they go
And disappear for evermore
Gone to Heaven's tranquil shore

But what is this? I'm floating too
Upon the wind, between the dew
I see my aunt and uncle there
awaiting me with loathsome stare

But wait! Why are they waving so?
It seems I'm sinking down below
Below the ground and into Hell
****, what is that awful smell?

Around me souls are crying out
from orange flames I hear them shout
"Oh God forgive us for our sins
We promise not to sin again"

But no one answers prayers from Hell
How long they'll burn, I cannot tell
They may be saved by half past four
or burn in Hell forevermore

As I descend, below the crust
the air is filled with sulfur dust
I gasp for every drop of air
that my lungs may somehow snare

But air is nowhere to be found
as my soul floats further down
And lands upon the burning floor
to suffer there forevermore

But friend you'll want to listen clear
If you don't want to wind up here
Avoid the food at Taco Bell...

*Or you may dream you're stuck in Hell

Upside down in the void.
Annoyed by priests and
politicians who feast at
the trough of the ignorance
of mankind, blind to the
devastation their righteous
proclamations heap upon
Eden’s polluted shore.
Babylon’s ***** holds firm
their fate in her celestial grasp.

Standing before perdition’s
impartial flame, the liar,
the killer, and salvation's thief...

Dante’s imagination could not
conceive a suitable torment for
your lamentable offenses.

The forest lingers
in the twilight
of God’s eternal
oblivion while
proud limbs
bend silently
in the cradle
of Autumn’s
loving embrace

The time of man’s
dominion over the
Yew and the Ash
is long past

The mighty Oak
no longer fears
the reaper’s foul
blade for we have
unleashed the sword
of ignorance upon
our own kind

In the end
all that will be left
is the serenity
of the trees

My mom came in and caught me
playing with my bone
She said ‘my God! oh Jesus!
won’t you leave that thing alone!’
I said ‘I’m sorry mother
but you really should have knocked.
Instead you barged right in here
and you caught me with my ****’.

She said ‘I guess I shouldn’t have
just walked right through the door
But honestly I had no clue
of what you had in store
I think you need to find a girl
who’s pretty and refined
I think that if you keep this up
you're liable to go blind

I told her that was non-sense
An old religious lie
She said 'get dressed
and come with me
and Christ pull up your fly
I'm taking you to see the priest
he'll fix your problem quick'
I said 'it's him who taught me
how to fiddle with my *****'.

My mother gasped in horror
then she boxed my little ears
She put me flat across her lap
and spanked my little rear
She said 'how dare you say
such things about a man of God
I hope that when he sees you
that he doesn't spare the rod'.

I said 'I doubt that mother
and I think it is a sin
That all us little altar boys
should take it on the chin
But either way it matters not
whatever may transpire
For a man of God is never wrong
while a boy is just a liar'

No sin
No beginning
No end

No sending it out to
laundry like tailored
sheets to be returned
with fashionable pleats
in all the right places
Sad faces
Too many **** sad faces
Forgiveness is an elusive
***** these days, her gray
shadow an unrealized
contrast to our delusional
perceptions.

The Lord was my shepherd;
But not anymore.
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures with the
weak minded beasts of the
field.
He dooms my soul to eternal
slavery.
He leadeth me beside waters
of condemnation.
Yea though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for it was thou
who brought me here.
Thy rod and thy staff wait eagerly
to punish my heresy.
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
Enemies I did not have before
joining thy flock.
Goodness and mercy should be gifts
unbidden.
I have seen the hallowed gates
of thine house oh Lord yet prefer
the stables.

I find there is more humanity there…

Walking down Fifth Avenue
on a Sunday afternoon.
Shuffling to the rhythm
of the ghetto’s tortured
brilliance.
African Mozarts fill the air
with their street corner
symphonies.
Silence ensues as a slow
rain begins to fall.
The lively street soon becomes
deserted, a shadow of an ancient
memory.
Turning left on Fifty Second.
A couple huddling in a doorway.
They manage a smile as the
lingering rain continues unabated.