and if I reply
in just the right way
then maybe you'll like
what I have to say

and we'll talk until
the night meets the sun
and almost forget
we both were someone's

I'll go back to yours
and you'll say you're mine
then we'll both get lost
in soft skin and time

they'll call it love
and we'll both agree
'til we've had enough
of what they believe

then we'll say goodbye
and you'll walk away
as if I replied
in just the right way

Opposites attract
Day and night, shadow and light
We are all these things

If you mined my mind all you would find
are tattoos of you and your fine *** behind

her over there?
with the long blonde hair
and don't-****-w/me eyes
yeah, that's my friend, Marie, she's nice
she always gives me good advice
but never twice
she actually told me not to speak with you tonight
but I don't see why, you seem alright
I've got a sixth sense, I can tell by the eyes
and all I see in yours is light
dancing round shadows
that never take flight
entranced by the river in a sea of night..
anyway,
I know what she's like
it's not as if you bite
or maybe you do, I don't mind
sink your teeth in, devour me whole
strip every ounce down to to the bone
left in a pile I won't be alone
and if you can find it you can have my soul

in a darkened, smoky room
getting lost amongst the swell
third eye spies my walking doom
an angel, staring straight from hell
black eyeliner, matching attire
Designer, destined
to set souls on fire
destination heaven
no designated driver
begging for attention
I had to feed the pyre

she enjoys the tension
in it for the chase
I'm here on propension
could be any race
like a Disney princess
twice the grit and charm
every piece a twin set
she takes me by the arm
tells me I should drink this
hands me something fizzy
I downed it in an instant
started to get dizzy

and I can't remember
what she said her name was
something like Amber..
Erica.. Blair .. uhh. .
as her face was melting
she told me to sit down
but the stool kept bending
and I'm on the wood now
she's bent over double
tried to pick me up
but I'm seeing double
I might be in trouble

battle with the stairwell
I had to hold her hand
asked her what she did, she said
you wouldn't understand
I asked again, that was when
she let go of my hand
small miracle I didn't fall
'cause I could barely stand
somehow made it to the back seat
asked her where we're going
she just closed the door and said
you're better off not knowing

plan for the future
live in the moment
learn from the past
but don't dwell on it

be aware of your thoughts
don't let them control you
get out your mind
but don't lose it

life is pain
pain is temporary
death is forever
make it glorious

Hear me
Lend me your soul
Bear my heart, audio
You are replete under my spell
True Sound

People gawking
at people talking
about people talking
about people walking.

It's all for the one's you'll never meet

a word
a system
a building
a philosophy

Their onus is ownership
intended or otherwise

what will you leave behind?

It just takes one breath to catch the light
An infant spark beckoning a blaze
The sight of a burning heart never fades
One reaching hand can open more than a door
Guide you to a phase you've never been before
A single step forward to embrace the flames
It just takes one

One foray in darkness to meet with everlasting night
Fumbling through the void of an infinite haze
Without truth to guide nothing will come of your ways
Consumed by the pitch, seeking sparks to ignite
It just takes one

Find me
inhaling the smoke of summer dreams
blown in from somewhere far afield
breathe deep
exhale
deliberately
observing the mountains of ash
dust on the periphery
recently undisturbed
from the beasts ever lessening visits
once, they were ravenous
a force unbound
now bound by force
consummately conquered
intravenously consumed
tamed
with cold inattention

Find me
immovable, unmoving
as artificial flowers in spring
copy of a copy of a copy of
a
delusion of heart
where wistful winds
erase the path once tread
breathe deep
exhume
inexorably
the ghost of slanted seasons
here, in the autumn of all things
where the dead come to rest
you'll find me
still
and still

Memories
Like a fistful of sand
Leaky and incomplete
Something I can't grasp
Like talking in my sleep

Memories
Of dreams in daylight
Of things that never were
Like reflected starlight
Music gone unheard

Memories
Of cold nights and warm lips
Of skeletons and their prayers
From buried paths they slip
Abandoning their lairs

Memories
Like a stream in the night
It's darkest depths concealed
Memories
Like snow's last flight
Melts as it's revealed

What goes around comes around,
so what's going on around here?
I don't remember coming round,
it's all so foggy, nothing is clear

How'd I end up on this merry-go-round
and why is it in such high gear?

I don't remember touching down,
I don't remember the all-clear
Since take off I can't hear a sound,
I need to pop more than my ears

All I remember is the bend you drove me round
So why am I alone
paying to play in a haunted fairground?

Aw yeah, I fancy her, she's fancy, man
I'd love to get them fancy pants
on the floor like a fancy dance
the Spanish ones about lust and romance
I haven't got a chance
feeling chancey man
She's looking over, getting glancey, man
raised the ante up, I'm real antsy, man
She put me in a trance, real trancey, man
I can hardly stand up, need a stand-in, man
can't hardly talk, and she's chatty, man
telling me about her long term plans
all I want is to feel her arms
wrapped round me like an army of plants

my lifestyle is dead style
out of my head style
every day's the wrong side of the bed style

I'm living so lifeless
like painted-on eyelids
my life's only priceless because there's no price list

not blind but I'm sightless
no wings so I'm flightless
no things to take sight of and fly for or ride for
or die for or try for or lie for or strive for
or cry for or smile for or open my eyes for

making steps is unwise like Gandalf's demise
wiping dust from my eyes, I set sight on the skies
still can't see so surmise it's my final sunrise
a well of wet decisions doesn't ever run dry

I just got ignored
so I pray to the devil
cause he listens more

I never had a thought that wasn't preceded by ten
confused by five
seconded by none
writing them down feels impossible
like choosing your favourite line from your favourite song or fully comprehending what it is about the beat that makes you move

my thoughts don't flow freely
they scatter and smash
cascading like the great flood without even a paper ark for respite
structured without form
prone to sink at the slightest wave

my thoughts misbehave
run riots
race wolves
some fly off to the ever after
and the darkest hover round like distant drones
a distraction
a constant buzzing
a worrying sight

I don't think I'm doing it right
I'm not supposed to think
just write

but my thoughts won't do what they're told

I brought her to the water by the moon,
To share with her, the shade beside the sea,
I gave to her my eyes, that she might see,
and sang to her the most afflicted tune.

I prayed of her what she might ever do,
When faced with all the mightiest would fear,
She whispered, through a solitary tear,
A crystal verse to stay her last adieu.

When fires of gold have shed their morning light,
When embers fade and only ash remains,
When enemies of old are at the gates,

Do not embrace the darkness of that night,
Or think upon those ashes with disdain,
For all that might remain will share our fate.

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you are currently position number 1 in the queue

time
just a location in space
that keeps you in line
puts you in place
take some off
it takes your place
ticks you off
shapes your face
makes you late
consumes your days
makes you nervous
makes you wait
takes you out
takes itself
offers wealth
exchanges health
for similies
and nurse's smiles
and promises
to stay a while

It's the burst lip
slowly healed with tongues
softly
aching
warm as the sun

It's the grinning tooth
making incisions
sharp
through the heart
of its chosen victim

It's the once empty mouth
compelled to devour
the words in-between
the speaking in vowels

It's the voice that calls
before it's too late
the one
you always tell to wait

anxiety
fits like
a scarf
of fine silk

wrapped
too tight
around my neck

Everywhere I go
They tell me I'm too ill
I won't make it to the door
I'll never get up that hill
They say I've got something for you
It's a handful of pills
Some bad information
And a battle of wills

With these demons inside
Eating me up alive
They won't stop screaming
I tried
To make them cease
But they hide
I can hear them
They lie
Somewhere deep in my mind
I can still feel their eyes
The screams will never subside
Now I'm

Going down that hill
Chewing every pill
I've had my fill
Of this unbreakable will
An unshakable thrill
The stranger is in
This door is unhinged
And I'm walking straight in

Something awoken I long thought dead
Something broken, back from the dead
The long sleep felt too long in my head
Now I sleep with everything she said

Something smoking in my bed
I was choking while she bled
Turning hope from black to red
then back to black the minute she left

I've traced her steps and every one led
to water I can't walk on or even tread
Still jumped in, now I'm sinking like lead
Going down quicker than the sickest head

At the bottom I float not living or dead
Stuck in a limbo of my own intent
My prayers returned, unopened, unsent
All i have left is the long cold descent

Redundancy,
my currency to the last cent
I can't seem to help repeating myself
Can't seem to stop teetering on the edge
of nothing to say that hasn't been said

An angel
in a bridesmaid dress
gliding past bodies
clones and the rest
through butterscotch smoke
to lift up my soul
and gift her lips in sin

swapping secrets under strobes
in our barstool island glow
bodies swelling at the shore
turned in waves of stereo
breathless velvet
master craft
tied her tongue
to mine
and laughed

so many once here
have now disappeared
long gone into the white

rambled and veered
on to paths unclear
faded from all sight

their bark was their bite
but this dark toothless blight
has quickly 'come revered

so we write
that we might be a light tonight
in lieu of the disappeared

other people like                  you invite me to dance
making me feel                     like I shouldn't
clueless                                   if I want to
I know I never                       know a good time
even tried                               since last time
but I lost my step                  I gave it my all
stepped out of time              gave in to the fall
now I'm too tired                  to look up from the bottom
Autumn came                        just for the view
and left                                    I knew it well
the only proof                        of how a white flag
is the break in my back        a feeble tribute
and scattered leaves             shall never appease

quietly lurking
invisible love
all thumbs and fingers
a hand from above

falling in love is easy
sticking the landing?
that's the hard part

How can you believe my eyes?
magic seeks the commonplace
morning light has passed us by
bitten tongues will bleed disgrace

All this light is empty space
illumination at a price
I don't care to show my face
how can you believe my eyes?

Left your home seeking the light
tragic, gone without a trace
stars are wandering tonight
magic seeks the commonplace

Host of a forgotten place
lost the vision to your sight
new moon waxing as it wanes
morning light has passed us by

Angels mourn the devil's night
beauty lies in fallen grace
frozen flames are burning bright
bitten tongues will bleed disgrace

Look upon my hollowed face
anemic bones can bear no lies
torn by your spellbinding ways
show me your pale heart this night

Then, I might believe my eyes

They say good things come to those who wait
And only fools rush in
But I missed the boat the other day
While sitting on the fence

They say hands so cold
Tell of hearts that are warm
But that can't be right
What I feel is a storm

They say two wrongs don't make a right
And what goes round comes around
They say shoot for the stars
But keep your feet on the ground

They say there's a window
That can see to the soul
But if that is the case
Mine's surely a door

Out of sight, out of mind
Out the picture, out of time
Out of luck, out of touch
Out of order

But don't cut any corners
Haste makes waste
The first cut is the deepest
Cut straight to the chase

They say knowledge is power
Ignorance is bliss
And practice makes perfect
(what about a kiss?)

They say life is what you make it
And there's plenty fish in the sea
But I'm no pescatarian
Just bark on the wrong tree

They say the rotten apple spoils the bunch
But it doesn't fall far
So take a leaf from someone else's tree
And always follow your heart

keep turning me red
begging me
to make the blood beautiful

I look at you and see my undoing,
a picture I paint from a memory.
It looks like you know what you're doing,
deceiving, as many looks tend to be

Flowers will always sing beautifully,
fearless and blooming in throes of a fall,
a lost language, ringing out truthfully
yours is the song I hear loudest of all

Devil-may-care, a lamb to the slaughter,
awaken the beast from a dreamless sleep.
Your petals fall to greet the still water,
a gentle sigh breaking through to the deep.

I hear your call and I feel so alive
I touch you and fall through an empty sky

They want to rub us out
like Jack never met Jill
vigorously
whether it's with culture or with pills
we're excised
by the rising tide below the hill
we'll die up here
who will be the one to make the ****?

They want to put us out
to pasture
like a light
They want us all to doubt
we have a real reason to fight
They've got us figured out
so They think
well, They might
switching up opponents
quick as day turns into night.

They want us to be quiet
as a mouse is to a man
They want our only diet to be
yellow eggs and spam
They want us smiling sweetly
like our teeth were made of jam
up here we only grimace
at Their sinister advance.

They want us not to linger lest
our love become the truth
They want us to move on
without a second point of view
They want us to point fingers
so that's just what we'll do
and who are They?
the question asked, the answer
could be you.

my knees are bruised

my stomach is full

my bleary eye has been caught


my breath treads shallow

my blood runs deep

my voice is swept by the majesty


my hands grow weary

my heart grows with them

my bones are a fortress of solitude


part them

in such sweet sorrow

my clouded lungs rejoice

the tempest rages
a storm is all it can be
nature is absolved

I. The False Mirror

that's how it starts
dull and creeping.
shadows in the back of your mind.
reassuring you that the smoke
from their furious fire
is only temporary.
"Look away
lest the Light claim your eyes!".
the thing with shadows is
the more you look away
the further in
they close.
as flames roar
the only sound you hear
is a soothing song
of dominion.
until your world
is a vision
of black alabaster
where you can't tell the difference
between shadow and caster.


II. Portrait of An Owner

we take the medicine
that consumes us.
leaks through the cracks
in our spine.
dripping
we make moves in the dark.
tripping
over useless pieces
of used-to-be heart.
they say
the road less travelled
doesn't go our way.
they say
many have been led astray.
so we wait
in fear.
with bated breath
for the next hit
to keep us in place.


III. a bête noire

we were promised planes
but given straw wings
tethered to the shore.
they remind us
we can fly
but not to aim too high
or stray
too close to the light.
that we might see
what Icarus seen.
living isn't being
without a doubt
he would tell us
he didn't fly high enough.
so, for the spectacle
we'll gladly burn
alive.
belonging to none
severing ties.
that's how endings begin
bright and sprawling.

The circle completes
The merry goes round
But I'm on the wrong side
With darkness around

This corner and that one
Miss Fortune has passed on
Missed warnings while black suns
Distort the track I'm on

Failed at school
Failed by religion
Failed by myself
Failed by the system

I could let the tears go
But this water's been still
For so long if I let it flow
It would just make me ill

****** up by family
****** over by friends
****** by society
****** over myself

The circle completes
The merry goes round
And I'm left at this side
Just darkness around

after "The Walkers" by John Glenday


In those final moments,
I walked with them
unattached,
no longer one with what is,

a sudden finality ****** upon me,
like so many waves of fire
lapping at a paper boat;

I would never cross this river.

I stop at the bank,
to weigh my worth
and wait,

just downstream of a soldier
flicking his cigarette,
directionless,
one final hiss,
in surrender to the stream.

He couldn't see us
but knew his role,
and a shiver sent him packing
all the same.

I wait,
watching the walkers
gradual dissipation,
each ebbing more
slowly
than the last.

I see them fly
far above the tallest peaks,
lost to my vision
and the insatiable sky,
their light -
scarce as it is,
consumed by the silent stars.

I hear their final cries,
the longing hopeful,
the needy and desperate,
the triumphant and the downtrodden,

I listen to their pleas,
their anguish
and their resolve,
that we might yet heal the world.

Still, I wait
without grief,
and ask only of this humbling river,
how to mend something
that was never whole?

post to the void
and a stranger or two
those passing by
           I hope you're good
I hope you avoid
what's bringing you down
I hope a smile
            can follow a frown
I hope you give
just as good as you get
            I hope you can live
without fear and regret
I hope this finds you
just as you need it
if not today, I'll wait
                  hope
and repeat it

I'm
stuck here
it's how I like it but
that's the third time this month
first it was Terrence
then Theodore
now me.
my limbs
are meant
for living
embracing
all things
from roots
to the heavens

Every bar looks the same
when you live in a cage,
every round rounds out
with a shot and dry snout.

A cold night out
without snow on the pavement,
as truth slowly trickles through the fickle adoration,
and the empty, impatient crowd
is waiting.

The spotlight hits
a white tie on white shirt,
his smile is perfection,
perfected from dirt
through years of tears and blood and lies,
pompous prattle pasteurised.

The spotlight lingers like cheap perfume
from the back of the room
on a white tie and shirt,
handsome as a groom,
he talks with his hands,
his nails, neatly clipped,
are still lined with dirt.

He holds on to hope
for something like bliss,
not quite convinced it even exists,
outside of an incidental kiss,
but the build-up is crucial
to a master crafter,
and the crowd is rapt,
from the floor to the rafters
awaiting their happily ever after.