It's transient aphasia
When the bullets only graze ya
And nobody can save ya
From the fog

And you think that it's a tumour
In a twist of Satan's humour
And you feel that you will lose your
Dialogue

Then the gathering frustration
At the failed interpretation
As nobody in the nation
Feels your pain

I know my head's imperfect
I will need some time to work it
It's just a slight short circuit
In my brain
                                rc

Terra caught a virus
'Fore the advent of papyrus
It was fifty thousand years
(Or there around)
But now she's getting worse
And I know I'm sounding terse
But her regulating system's
Shutting down

These germs are truly villains
And they number in the billions
The damage that they've done
You can't impugn
She tacitly forbid them
As she tried so hard to rid them
And she even sent a dozen
To the moon

Now she has a fever
And nobody will believe her
To deal with this alone
Seems so unkind
But Terra is a scrapper
And despite her damaged wrapper
She will never to her destine
Be resigned
                             rc

When darkness speaks,
It says, the night is ever long;
But comes the dawn.
When speak the seas,
They say the storm is evermore;
But comes the calm.
                                 rc

A country, in turmoil, a long time ago
Sent all of its tyrants away.
The citizens suddenly freed from their woe
Were left in a state of dismay.

“Freedom”, the concept, was new to these folk
After all the abuse they'd been through
Oh yes, they were glad to be free of the yoke
But they didn't know quite what to do.

Then somebody said, “We need someone in charge
To make sure the trash is collected.
He needn't be more than a p'liceman at large;
Someone we all feel is respected.”

“But how do we choose” was replied in return
“In a way that is fair to us all?”
If only there could be a way to discern -
The answer was somewhat banal.

“We could all cast a vote for the one we like best -
But just how do we narrow the field?”
“We'll pick one from the east and pick one from the west”
Their destiny there-on was sealed.

Both of the candidates chosen were men
(This was long before folks were enlightened)
And both of the fellows knew how to pretend
And thereby the contest was tightened.

One of the guys felt that he should appeal
For a kinder and gentler state.
So he helped the downtrodden, and greased the loud wheel
In the hope that the folk take the bait.

The other guy saw that the hillbilly caucus
Outnumbered the saint wanna-be's.
His cunning campaign became vastly more raucous
As he worked on their fears and unease.

Now, it's not up to me to reveal who succeeded
As that would be cocky and rash.
Suffice it to say that they got what they needed -
But nobody picked up the trash.
                                                            rc

Just in case you hadn't noticed
Existence is a paradox
Don't mean this as a metaphor
But I am really in a box

I haven't been around that much
Just in case you hadn't noticed
Been buried under all this weight
I've been somewhat less than focused

I don't mean to be a bother
But my skelebones are showing
Just in case you hadn't noticed
Frigid winds of time are blowing

I'm breaking up but that's a break
From this sameness and psychosis
I'm right here if you look for me
Just in case you hadn't noticed
                            rc

I haven't always lived in grace
No dignified aplomb
I might have cheated in the race
To medicated calm

I feel I've had more love than woe
(There might have been a miscount)
I hope it's uttered when I go
"At least he nailed the dismount"
                                   rc

Sing-song deal-making stoners in a tower
Ping-pong favourable circumstances sour
Hip-hop, rabble-rousing beatniks gettin' wealthy
Big, fat, silk-suited hippies lookin' healthy

Not gettin' rich if you're pullin' 'round a rickshaw
Clip-clop marching through this crazy mental jigsaw
Never ending placement on a silver teeter totter
If you're gonna swim, you gotta move to deeper water

Pitter-patter, rapid, measured footfalls on the pavement
Shadow slipping always kept in boundless, rapt amazement
Chest a-flutter from the garish, neon ticky-tacky
Don't be sayin' what you saw; they'll think that you are wacky

Tick tock times a-wastin'- better get a move on
Dodging 'round the traffic to avoid the lot that you've drawn
Crazy little, topsy-turvy microcosm fantasy
Live the modern moral life that comes without a guarantee
                                                       ­                     rc

The landscape narrows to a sharpened point
In grasp of fall's lost memory of spring
Flowing reeds and grass of every kind
Muddy shore where lilies once did  lie
Underwater snags I know so well
Aspen leaves afloat on reckless current

The sky alight it strikes a vicious current
Like mother nature's exclamation point
Startled, though the spirit knows **** well
The heart restarts as if upon a spring
Vivid hues confront the silent lie
Nature is not always good and kind

The night evokes dreams of a different kind
Triggering your demons past and current
You might not know just were the secrets lie
Don't waste your time in search; you'll miss the point
Take your water from the flowing spring
You'll never know which one's the poisoned well

In case you think that life is going well
Think why there are no other of your kind
You may never find eternal spring
Where gentle breezes blow in spiral current
A spider draws its net from point to point
In centre of another's death bed lie

We contemplate the stars 'low which we lie
So vast the distance yet still seen so well
Against pure darkness shines the smallest point
The universe becomes so coldly kind
Our souls an interruption in the current
So from our beating hearts will joy now spring

Ideas launch like from a coiled spring
They only serve to perpetrate the lie
You squander time and effort to be current
Now I see you've drunk from tainted well
The choice is not to be true or be kind
We could try to fix this thing but what's the point

when rage the current from the meagre spring
we reach the very point where promise lie
whenever all is well, we're paid in kind
                                                       rc

An overgrowth will suffocate existence
Emergence only comes with brutal slashes
An overgrowth will suffocate existence

In order that we rise above the ashes
A spark must then be set to light the fire
Emergence only comes with brutal slashes

A river choked with weeds becomes a mire
When blood is still, the spirit's soon departed
A spark must then be set to light the fire

Facilitate the broken, bleeding-hearted
The greatest gift in desperate circumstances
When blood is still, the spirit's soon departed

Like croupiers we hedge against the chances
And foul whatever hope could be aspired
The greatest gift in desperate circumstances

The lesson taken yesterday's expired
An overgrowth will suffocate existence
And foul whatever hope could be aspired
An overgrowth will suffocate existence
                                              rc

With silver pins and silken down
Down to bracken take the lead
Lead grey sky to bind the wound
Wound this place no longer treed

Nature now extracts a fine
Fine the dust in bitter wind
Wind a veil to stave a tear
Tear the heart of those who've sinned
                                            rc

Darkness falls in black and whittled
starkness, formed in day belittled.
Come the creatures, stalk and stealthy;
sum the riches, bleed the wealthy.

Alleys green with stench and living;
valleys pillaged, unforgiving.
Push the hidden, sick agenda
cushioned in your hacienda.

Where the first-born child's abandoned,
(Spare the second caught red-handed;
graceful in his staunch dissent)
faithful souls tithe ten percent.

Sown into an hourglass,
bones and blood and sin amass.
Who's to say we're so impious -
choose whatever suits your bias.
                                         rc

Transcendental meditation
Redefines imagination
Scarcely an attentive slumber
From the world you disencumber

Portentous is the cold daydream
Constraining not the mindful stream
It just accentuates the strife
This paradox of conscious life
                                      rc

Your spirit is felt like a zephyr in spring,
Seen in a swirl, disappearing like smoke,
Comity given on unfolded wing,
A kindness as shown to the owl by the oak.

Your strength, as the tide in the pull of the moon,
Shapes the foreshore churning rock into sand,
The wind spinning grit into massive sand dune,
Delicate balance is held by a strand.

Your beauty is seen as a billowing cloud,
Defined and beheld in evolving awe.
If words could express I would shout them aloud,
To give solid form to this heart made of straw.

How lucky my soul to be given respite,
Spending my days in your shimmering light.
                                                   rc

Privileged pilgrims preaching pious
Cherry-picking epitomes
Poisoned wells are leaching bias
Piped into the servants' homes

Faith is disingenuous
Extracting rented paradigms
Platitudes most tenuous
The death knell of the era chimes
                                       rc

The narrow path,
the straighter course,
would save us grief
but roadway turns
permit the journey's climb.
                          rc

I have no understanding
Of just what you are demanding
But I know that you're remanding
Me to hell.
I'm a stranger to the scene
But I'm stuck here in between
And I feel there should have been
A warning bell.

Confrontation is a vandal
(Or more like a Roman candle).
It's so hard to get a handle
On your aim
And what was the ignition
Of this battle of attrition?
To you, is this a mission
Or a game?

You're a ranter and a stamper
When you're not a happy camper.
Who am I to put a damper
On your joy?
When you use your words to threaten
Or to set a trap to step in,
They're a tool and a weapon
And a toy.
                                rc

The rain, so jealous of the sun, did hide
And let her soak up all the accolades.
Although she could not stay the swelling pride
She missed his flashy thunder serenades.

In time the earth began to dry and crack
And fractal patterns formed where once were pools.
The planet feared calamity would wrack.
The just extols now turn to ridicules.

The rain, at long last, saw the Sun's despair,
Accepting this was largely his own making.
He set about the damage to repair;
His place within the scheme of things retaking.

The sun and rain together cause a spark.
They show it in a multicoloured arc.
                                          rc

Is stupid as subjective
as the stupid say it is?
Perhaps we could examine
with an interactive quiz.

Do you feel that your opinion
on what constitutes a sin
has higher valuation
with the lightness of your skin?

Yes (  )  No (  )

Do you feel that war is justified
when governments have willed,
so long as it is other people's
children being killed?

Yes (  )  No (  )

Do you feel that your religion
is the only line to God
but tolerate the other ones
although you think they're odd?

Yes (  )  No (  )

I'm told that it is not correct
to tell someone they're stupid.
It's something I'm compelled to do
as long as I stay lucid.
                                          rc

I think about the little stuff,
The things you cannot see;
Invisible, but sure enough
A drop contains a sea.

Motes are distant galaxies,
Impossibly beyond,
Through interstice a strategy
To span the gap is spawned.

Perhaps a better microscope
Could help us see within,
A kingdom for a misanthrope
The tenets underpin.

Many of us think that there
Is life in outer space
And maybe they are well aware
Of human kind's disgrace.

It's infinitely likely that
Humanity's demise,
Will come from unknown places at
The nearest reach of size.
                              rc

Moments past are gone
but for memories
arranged in treasure boxes.
Such tempting plunder
for the unkindest thief.
                             rc

A sculptor is like the ocean
Erosion causing form
And in the depths an inner peace
While outward rage the storm

A poet is like the spider
Their fans they do amass
And both of them make lovely things
They pull out of their ***
                                   rc

Once upon a melody
In syncopated time
Words in stunning murmuration
Blithely strained to rhyme

Swirling whirling curling
Over manuscript terrain
One by one alighting for to
Circumscribe the plane

We dance along to rhythm'd beat
With colour shape and flavor
As form occurs we realize
We are each other's Savior
                                    rc

(not a metaphor)

Some think the caterpillar spins
A little sanctuary
And in two weeks a butterfly;
A tiny luminary,
Emerges all in perfect shape;
A little feat of magic
But let me tell you that's not it
The truth is much more tragic.

What happens in that little house
Is nothing short of frightening.
(Honestly, I looked it up
It's really quite enlightening)
The pupa just digests itself
Right down to primal soup
Then, still alive, it has to cause
It's stem cells to regroup.

Then it grows and grows again
Into a butterfly.
The nature is amazing;
The science can't deny
So when you see a butterfly
Do it's pollination bit,
You should remember that this bug's
Been through a lot of ****.
                                   rc

The street, good friend, is pocked and hard
In answer to your question.
My feet are black, my lungs are charred;
No boots to pour my flesh in.

Sometimes when I am bibulous
An easiness can feign.
Without that drunken impetus
The maggots roam my brain.

On dry days dust will bloom and choke.
The grit abrades my teeth.
The wet turns dirt to greasy yolk
And fouls my skin beneath.

With body sores that ooze and stink,
No comfort can be found.
My sanity is past the brink.
In pathos I am bound.

You see I'm hideously scarred
And make a sour impression.
The street, good friend, is pocked and hard
In answer to your question.
                                                rc

The wind in brooding moda
Gives a sing song salutation
As spoken through the rusted fencing wires
Meadow grass awash in waves and currents
Dragonflies are seagulls on the swells
Tree tops move in cresting undulations
Limb and trunk impressed in shaky ground
I watch the moving water
Like it's telling all my stories
The river only ever flowing past
The river only ever flows away
                                        rc

You're given just enough to know
It isn't really apropos.
Your questions, verbalized aloud,
Unwelcome; put without a shroud.
You think you're getting closer but -
That door to paradise is shut.

You live your life in compromise
And wear a  pretty good disguise.
Your shadow's longer than the rest.
They pin a medal on your chest.
Success is almost granted but -
That door to paradise is shut.

So now you're old and trying hard.
To some you're held in high regard.
And now you feel the time to ask
Your ancient questions soon might pass.
They rise up to your gullet but -
That door to paradise is shut.
                                           rc

Spontaneous crystals form
in bitter cold.
Stunning fractal shapes are seen
in microscopic lens.
The landscape is so modest.
                                 rc

When I die and go to hell
A roofer I will be
My back will ache, my knees will swell
I'll serve the bourgeoisie

I'll clamber up the risky *****
Up to the very peak
And when I'm there I'll hope on hope
But never find the leak

Every time I climb the dome
I'll go out of my mind
My body like a metronome
I'd left something behind

If I ever think I'm finished
If I stand back and appraise
The pain won't be diminished
As the cramps will last for days
                                      rc

A fiddle fern will hide
from strongest light
to blend the deepest greens
and play the highest notes
of nature's sonatina.
                            rc

In the freshness of youth what you want is respect
You can get what you need if you're just circumspect
To be paid a fair wage when you work ****** hard
To be seen independent with credit un-marred

But conditions will change as you grow and you fail
When it's all you can do to just stay out of jail
And you know self respect must be gained on your own
Otherwise if you don't your own soul be unknown

As you age, in your personal skills you take pride
When the accolades come and the egos collide
You will try to be modest and try to be kind
When assaults on your character leave you maligned

It is now your ambition to take steps without cane
And to mask your expression to not show any pain
Your condition does tempt to put pride on a shelf
But, my God, can't they let you go *** by yourself
                                                    rc

Icy crystals form
in absolute precision.
Warms your frozen heart
                                rc

Isn't it passive aggression
Suggesting that class is in session
When your scattered remains
Lay all battered in chains
And it's triggering massive depression

Faking somnambulism
Staging some vandalism
It's your high anxiety
And not my sobriety
Creating this cataclysm

Your effort to fix the nation
Is really a sick salvation
By oppressing the poor
I am guessing that you're
Just causing asphyxiation

The long debated objectives
And your ill-fated directives
Are pausing the norm
And they're causing a storm
In these complicated perspectives
                                         rc

The deeds are done and done again.
That canter ride on jaggy lane;
It shook his bones to powdered meal.
Too dumb to say too numb to feel,
The flesh is but a salty stew.
His stagnant blood a toxic brew.

More weary than a morning drunk;
His shadow pale, reflection shrunk.
Words are strung in lame concession,
Frozen in that same expression.
His epitaph, in part will read,
"He took the blows but didn't bleed"
                                       rc

The kettle calls (a cattle call? Not really)
There's just us two and I just won't commit
The rain outside indicts with tears so freely
I still blindly want you to acquit

A bird is singing (stinging) acapella
Seeking leafy shelter from the gales
We're stuck inside without a cheap umbrella
With dialogue like scraping fingernails

The window pane (recurrent pain) is covered
In it's early morning alcoholic fog
Words were spat and in the air they hovered
This scene won't make the tourist travelogue

                                                               rc