Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                        Their Ephemeral Temples Look Much the Same

Their ephemeral temples look much the same
In a semi-circle the faithful sit or stand
And turn their eager faces to an altar flood-lit
To be magicked by their leaders and gods

They wave their arms in ecstasy and awe
While lantern-slides of flags and martyred heroes
Ripple as electronic waves beamed into their eyes
Commanding free obedience through spontaneous scripts

At dawn

Contractors will tear away the plywood and paint
Take down the plastic statues and columns
The recordings of programmed emotions
And heave them into the beds of rented trucks

Preaching or politics, or some other game:
Their ephemeral temples look much the same

Preachers in another storm

‘STAY’ whispers Mother

Followed by another joint

hands are met

and with him I crash


My bloodstained shadow

running

thrashed onto the walls


Cray-Cray Calling

Dos Tres – Another! Better!

Quatro Cinco – What a disaster!


T’was never my intention

But I succeed at my own failures

for there has always been a reward after my tormented failure.

-

But You can’t say I left you empty handed

you can’t say I didn’t offer you all I had

I just left

for I found better.


I know – What a ***!

I left the pack
Cause of too many whispers
And all of the filters.
You want the listeners
And I want the strippers
They are not prisoners
They are practitioners
Unlike you “thinkers”
You gossip like sisters.
Talking **** in your slippers
And all I hear are whimpers
From all these high up sinners
Reading made up scriptures.

Life's just hard.
Have you heard?
This song's for all.
Just a word.
We all work.
We all strive.
None of us
Get out alive...

Life is HARD.
We ALL cry.
God's no Santa
In the sky.
We have to live.
We have to die.
God's no Santa
In the sky.

Just cuz you're "good"
Li'l girls & boys
Don't mean you get
Designer toys!

Don't you listen
To preacher's talk!
They DECEIVE!
They will WALK!!

The biggest LIE
THERE'S EVER BEEN!
Kenneth Copeland
Joel Osteen!!

Listen here
To this ink!
It's much deeper
Than you think!
God got it all,
The kitchen sink...

But He don't hand out
Yachts & Porsches!
Mansions. Jewelry.
Bet the HORSES!

He's got RULES!
He don't take guff!
Folks! The Lord
Has had ENOUGH!
Don't you know?
God is TOUGH!!

Don't mean to snoop.
Don't mean to pry.
But in YOUR prayer life
ALL A LIE??
Listen people...
You can try.
But God's no Santa
In the sky.

Catherine Jarvis
12/9/2019

The cracked window brings the light, beautiful to many, yet vile to to my sight.
                  Can I sleep?
                     don't remind me of what I must do.
                  When they weep

Leave me my silence,
leave me my grace,
leave this ***** grimy disgrace.
  We all should lie in obscurity.
Leave me this mourning
Leave me this bad taste
Leave me this sad and sorry waste
   Living world of impurities  
Cracks in the pavement
They wont break her back.
but don't break your neck.
I will make it through. 
  
    We all should lie in obscurity.
    In  a world of such impurities                        

Left in the distance.
Recognize the light.
Walk the paths of fear,
Acceptance takes flight.
Cloudy eyes may not see.
I'm not here to race,
It's another dawn ,
and the darkness breaks
In my opponents
I see great teachers,
family, monsters,
Scared men and preachers.
Lie in the shadows
Lie in the twilight
or a darkened room.
to embrace the light.
Such cunning,such sleight
Hardly believe your eyes
Phoenix taking flight
Takes us by surprise

Does anything have one side?
Truth found in a lie
Does anything have one side?
Truth found in a lie

Try to tell myself
brush of the ashes
you lived through the flames
some disfigurement
I killed love itself
with a thousand lashes
I know I'm to blame

The killing wont stop
This is just a play?
Will you make it through
Make me feel something

A knife on a strop
but it never slays
Just black and blue hues
This the love that stings

Leave me my silence,
leave me my grace,
leave this ***** grimy disgrace.
  We all should lie in obscurity.
Leave me this mourning
Leave me this bad taste
Leave me this sad and sorry waste
   Living world of impurities  
Leave me my silence,
leave me my grace,
leave this ***** grimy disgrace.
  We all should lie in obscurity.
Leave me this mourning
Leave me this bad taste
Leave me this sad and sorry waste
   Living world of impurities
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM ME
I COULD SQUASH YOU LIKE A FLEA
BROKE THE SKIN MADE YOU BLEED
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM ME 

The cracked pavement  stained like night, beautiful to many, yet vile to to my sight.
                  Can I sleep?
                     don't remind me of what I must do.
                  When they weep

Leave me my silence,
leave me my grace,
leave this ***** grimy disgrace.
  We all should lie in obscurity.
Leave me this mourning
Leave me this bad taste
Leave me this sad and sorry waste
   Living world of impurities

Leave me this morning

We all hold the pen in our hands, we all sing the tune
many stories will be told, many pouring out their soul, was it love or rock and roll

I dream of greener pastures
and I ain't getting any younger
struggling to find the time
searchin' my pockets for pennies
lottery tickets and sunshine dust
well I never put my eggs in a basket
imagining the fruits of my labour
were full of vitamin c
they always told me education was key

No, I don't rely on a teacher
or confide in someone who doesn't
confide in me
well I hope the demon's love is true
or I'll find myself even more lost
hopelessly used and abused
and I'm just killing time
oh yes, I'm just killing time
starting to think that time is killing me

Dreaming of things '*** I'm a dreamer
and we ain't getting any younger
you said you'd get married when
you're twenty-five and I said
I'd quite like to get married now
but I can't find the time
searchin' for the minerals to ask you
can't afford the wine or pleasantries
they always told us we need to believe

No, I don't believe any preachers
or confide in someone who doesn't
confide in me
well I hope the demon that loves me is you
or I'll find myself even more lost
hopelessly wasted and confused
and I'm just killing time
oh yes, I'm just killing time
starting to think that time is killing me

I dream of strength and closure
and I ain't getting any younger
once I was three weeks sober
searchin' for reasons to quit
starting to think that I never needed it
well I never had any eggs in my basket
but I always had a *** to **** in
and a window to throw it out of
they always told me that what goes up

No, I don't get my hopes up
or confide in someone who doesn't
confide in me
well I lie because I hope my dreams come true
or I'll find myself even more lost
hopelessly sinking without you
and I'm just killing time
oh yes, I'm just killing time
starting to think that time is killing me

How could you pray in peace
and expect fortune
when you've destroyed
a creature that is unborn

How could you **** someone
in the name of the person
who told you not to ****

how can you sleep without worry when you discriminate yet recite words of bringing peace and unity

how can you be happy
when all you do is be someone
who speaks but doesn't do

-Kaya

We're all hypocrites
preaching word of God.
It's not what you do
Monday to Friday, 9 - 5,
that interests me,
it's how you choose to spend
your Saturday nights
alone.
And more times than not,
you'll find the preachers
spanked up in a brothel
or in the neighbours bed
when the one who placed
that ring upon their finger
thought they were walking the dog.
Wear an 18 karat gold cross,
hang all the Live. Laugh. Love pictures
around the family home
and go to church on Sunday's,
but everyone knows
they sit on that prostitutes hand print
she left on his xss.
They sit lopsided too.
That handkerchief doesn't fool anyone.
They only carry it for the paranoia
that residue crack they snorted
off her chest still lingers
around their perfectly trimmed nostrils.
We're all hypocrites
preaching word of our own religions
and changing the bedsheets
every fxckxng morning.