Veiled whispers startle
my polluted soul and
from the shadows she
appears.
Her hollow words pierce
the wind like soaring birds
and whither tomorrow’s
fragrant bloom.

The room spins.

Sins unfold upon
cold satin sheets.

Death's ritual accomplished
she departs leaving my heart
an empty shell swelling with
despair.

The unholy loss
of yesterday's bliss
and tomorrow’s fragrant
innocence.

Pull up a chair
and I’ll lie to you.
And I promise that
you won’t be sad
If I told you the truth
you would call me uncouth
and insinuate I might be mad

See, Oz is a wonderful wizard
While Santa Claus flies in a sleigh
In the Heavens above
there’s a God made of love
who will show you His magical
way

And a bunny delivers
the Easter eggs
And the tooth fairy
left you a dime
And Christ may have died
with a spear in His side
but he never changed water
to wine

So I notice that now
you are smiling
Then I guess that
my work here is
through
Believing the lies
is a good compromise
and so what if it’s
not really true

Some men live their lives
forcibly chained to a ball
of iron and curse God.
Others willingly chain
themselves to a cross
of gold and curse the
devil.

Odd sort of folk these
Christians...

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

Congealing reality within
the empty void.
The flame of coexistence
extinguished.
The falcon long gone.
We’re left to gaze at
an empty, brooding sky.
Ah Billy, you understood
so long ago.
You tried to tell us but we were
too absorbed in our own delusions
to understand.
Your’ “rough beast” is at the gates
of the Holy city and there
is nowhere left to hide.

Someday I will think of you and smile...

But not today

Today I will miss you
Today I will walk in your garden
and you will not be there
And today I will sit alone by the
stream weaving words alone

But someday I will hear laughter
and think of you
And someday I will walk in my own
garden and you will be beside me
And someday my heart will be filled
with joy remembering the friendship
we shared...

But not today

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...

He’s found Hell
who's searched
his mind and dared
to see his soul.
And Heaven too
is there as well
for those who pay
the toll.
But few find Heaven
from within and many
rot in Hell.
While fewer still find
anything and no one
lives to tell.

Spinning ever faster into oblivion,
the servant cannot hear the Master’s
voice
All the world burns with the greed
of the new divinity
The preoccupied masses kneel before
the glow of the sacred blue screen as
the last lights of humanity flicker
and vanish into the abyss

Oh man, what has thy vanity brought?

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

We don't need
no Bieber Fever
We don't need
no ****** songs
No bad lip syncing
on the dance floor
Barbie dolls in
rubber thongs

All in all it's just more
plastic **** against
the wall

Yes, all in all it's just
more plastic **** against
the wall

We don’t need
no **** from Brittney
We don’t need
her rehashed rhymes
No songs of anguish
from Christina
Washed up waifs
beyond their prime

All in all it's just more
plastic **** against
the wall

Yes, all in all it's just
more plastic **** against
the wall...

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.

Does anyone know
where sanity goes
when the voices
cry out in the silence?
And all that you knew
has been proven untrue
but the blood and the pain
and the violence.
If there ever was time
to collect what is mine
it’s a long time ago
I am certain.
The reward I desired
was consumed in the fire
when the gods up on high
dropped the curtain.
And don’t ever presume
that your life will resume
when insanity passes with
morning.
For the shadows hold fast
to the present and past
when love disappears
without warning.

The product
of imagination's
meandering bliss
This long sought
after truth an
uncouth concept
in the beholder’s eye
Naught but a way to
disguise the fear of
mankind's inevitable
demise.

(Hell of a thing to base a life upon)

Demons on the perimeter
stalking serenity’s
unsuspecting bliss.
Is this all that's left?
Once mighty defenses
now offer little protection
against these ancient,
clawing phantoms.
Shadows lurking
in the forest of the
psyche, await nightfall's
indifferent embrace
Alas my redeemers.
Tiny painted disks
that beat back
reality's assailants
while extinguishing
the last threads
of creativity that yet
remain.
The strain on tattered
nerves almost too much
to bare
I care not what punishment
is wrought from these efforts
to remain sane in the light
of an unforgiving God.
My mind is mangled beyond
repair.

Who is there left to call 'friend'?

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.

Sanctimonium
Somewhere out there
beyond the darkness of
unknowing
Past imagination and
just to the left of a dream,
lurks the ego we call God
Hovering forever on the
edge of the psyche
Hungering for the prayers
of sodden beggars and
be-sodden Holy frauds

What does it say about
mankind that we have
created for ourselves
a deity filled with
self-righteous fury,
lacking any mercy
for humanity’s frail
offspring?

We are religious masochists,
chaining our lives to the
delusion of original sin while
hanging truth upon a cross
of shadow and superstition
for the sake of a Heavenly
reward.

God help us...

In the
chasm
between
two thoughts
lies the garden
of bliss.
Easily found
but not easily
entered...

A night as dark
as dark can be
a wind to chill
the bone
And peering
out into the void
I feel so all alone
But then I feel
you next to me
a comfort through
my fear
And even though
you don't exist
I'm really glad
you're here

Virtue and sadness
Two sides of a single coin
Anyone have change?

Mighty Cupid shoot thine arrow
**** the ancient yuletide sparrow
Singing out upon the window of
my jaded misery
When it was I don’t remember
Long before that lost September
When the sky was everlasting
blue and yellow fantasy
Long before this present sorrow
Long before the dark tomorrows
Innocence was still a virtue
lost to us in passing years
Looking back I have to wonder
when the rain and ancient thunder
first began to cloud my vision
giving birth to shapeless fears

The lonely spider
Weaving strands in the moonlight
A vivid sermon

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

In my search for truth
I knelt on the temple floor
Sore knees were my prize

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

You left a stain on
every day of my
childhood
You soiled my spirit
with the blood of my
soul
Perhaps it will take
all the flames of
perdition to make
right what you did
to me but I doubt
you could burn long
enough for my anger
to be appeased
You made me
a victim, a hater
of a fellow human
being
I wished you dead
so often the angels
themselves could
not hope to fathom
the count
No, my hatred has
left me well beyond
the grace of Heaven's
golden realm

My consolation?

If I too must be
abandoned to
the eternal pit,
I will pray to
whatever god
may hear a
lament from
such a place
that I alone
be permitted
to stoke the
flames beneath
your fetid carcass
And even if God
on high chooses
to someday pardon
your unholy trespass
do not dare to smile...

I do not forgive so easily.

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...

Few dare to
moo at the
zoo.
They sit quietly
on their ***
in the grass
praising the
stench of the
pew.

What else can
they do?

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'

Scene:

A spider in the fire light
weaves a solemn web

Cue the drumbeat, slow and steady...

Now the bass...

Bring up the volume...

Narrator:

'In death, breath no longer has meaning'

Increase volume on bass...

'In life, it is the essence of being'

Cue the trumpet, slow and mournful...

'In sleep, we walk in both worlds and exist in neither'

Cue the second trumpet, softly echoing the first...

'Some men paint their dreams'

Slow fade out...

'Others, their nightmares'

Screen fades to black and music stops...

'What will you paint in the hours before dawn'

Five second pause...

Switch off...

‘Together we march
in lockstep precision
Shouting on high our
collective decision’

"NO!"

'But you haven't considered...'

"NO"!

'But you deliver nothing
in the way of...'

"NO!"

'What do you say about...'

"NO!"

'I know you have your doubts,
but we can discuss...'

"NO!"

'If you would only just listen...'

"NO!"

'Fine then! Just stand there like
a glistening wall while our country
falls to pieces'!

"NO! Er, um, I mean look everyone!
The liberals say our country is falling
to pieces! They hate America!"

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.

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

Who before me dared look
into your pale heart and
question your decrees?
Not the Jew
Not the Muslim
Not the Hindu
Not the Buddhist
And certainly not
the Christian
None
Before me there was
no one with the courage
to stand before you,
yet here I am
The Albigensian
The seeker of divinity’s
original light, here before
you to reclaim what was
taken from us by sightless
fanatics nineteen centuries
ago.

Everybody is different
and everybody’s the same
And everyone is a player
in this crazy little game
But the game it has no winners
and we’re lucky if we survive
The saints, the fools and the sinners
No one gets out alive

Don’t be sad when it’s all over
and the game is put away
Shake hands with all your rivals
and be happy that you played
It’s time for other children
to step up and roll the dice
Take a chance along the Boardwalk
walk away or pay the price

And you sit alone in the darkness
when the game of life is through
And you look up to the heavens
because there’s nothing left to do
And you think about the ending
as you slowly drift away
And you can not help but smile
because you got the chance to
play

Sitting on a park bench
cutting up a pear
Having me a talk with
a guy who wasn't there
People passing by, they
all gave me funny stares
But I just kept on talking
to the guy who wasn't
there
Then a man in uniform
said 'son come on with me.
You’re scaring all these
people with this friend
they cannot see.
I’ll take you to a special
place and they’ll give you
lots of care
And they’ll help you with
this fantasy of talking to
the air'
I said 'well OK officer
I’ll gladly come with you
But what about the thousand
folks all sitting in the pew?
I saw them at St. Timothy's
all packed in like sardines
Talking to some other guy
that no one's ever seen
So I think it would be prudent
And I think it's only fair
That you send a couple
buses for them people
over there.
Then take the great big lot
of us yes all one thousand
one
Over to that special place
you mentioned in line one
Or maybe it was line thirteen
in truth I do not care
As long as we can all converse
with the guy who isn't there.

Another song. I really need to see about recording these things. All I need is a band and a studio...lol


verse

We scratch and we claw for the answer
but no one pays heed to the dancer
Her movements convey revelation
but we still kneel and pray for salvation

Will we ever see?
No we’ll only see what we want

Will it ever be?
It’ll never be what we want

verse

At the end of it all I envision
the truth will demand a decision
Will you quote from the book of delusion?
Or admit that it’s all an illusion

Yes I truly do
believe that you will see

But it’ll be too late
for the likes of you and me

verse

In the depth of our soul we remember
But the flame's burning down to an ember
In our heart lies our own absolution
But we look to the sky for solutions

Yes I truly do
believe that you will see

But it’ll be too late
for the likes of you and me

up tempo, bridge

Tomorrow comes on broken wings
But you reject the life it brings
Preferring false reality
To the world you clearly see
around you

It’s time to fish or cut the bait
So gather the collection plate
Messiahs standing at the gate
But still you sit and hesitate
It astounds you

Confusion's never what it seems
The world is filled with broken dreams
The choice you make is crystal clear
Tomorrow's hope or yesterday's fear
You must decide

For my part I'll choose to love
And if there is no god above
I'll rot beneath the broken ground
But in my heart I'll know I've found
the answer

In the heart of the dancer

In the heart of the dancer

end

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

Open wide and
hide inside
I can't abide
this shattered
life.
The strife
The pain
The insane nights
that shatter dawns
eternal light

My happy dream
seems silly now
in light of mercy’s
boorish joke
She spoke a word
and left me dry
Absurd, alone
to wonder why

But truth be told
I do not care
These uncouth
jokes and life unfair
Are symptoms of a
foolish dream
I've conjured up
within a scream

And stifled though
this howl maybe,
it preserves a grain
of sanity
That just may save
me in the end from
what they tell
me is pretend.

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

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.

'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'

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?"

You mock me with
your translucent vanity
fashioning mythical
visions of a man beyond
my humble station
How can I hope to
fulfill your jaded
expectations when
my only unique
impulse is original sin
(which isn't all that
original anymore).
In a world of carbon
copied beige you expect
me to stand head and
shoulders above
mediocrity...

Ok Father.
I'll try

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

Do not this cold grave open
for the dead should be left
to ponder the silence
of their transgressions
The earth holds no
promise for the living
while the unreachable sky
mocks us with brilliant
hues of vanilla clouded
bliss
I hear the sea calling
from every corner of
my conscious being
Calling and calling
her children back
from the abyss
Yes, the sea is where
we shall make our home
The sea, which gave us life
will be our refuge

The sea...

The character appearing in this work is fictitious but then again, aren't we all?


Like Humpty Dumpty
on the wall
My shell is cracked
and that ain't all
Below the neck
I'm hunky dory
While up above is
another story

What sits on top
is food for crows
Don't ask me why
I do not know
Perhaps I fell
upon my head
while sleeping
on a waterbed

To tell the truth
it doesn't matter
why the little
neurons scatter
every time
I try to focus
on the world
that's passing
by

But in my head
it's rather cozy
Everything is
bright and rosy
So I shall
remain in here
Beyond the
Sadness
and the fear

The world falls apart
All our dreams reduced to ash
Clouds pass unaware