"friars" poems
You are going to ask: and where are the lilacs?
and the poppy-petalled metaphysics?
and the rain repeatedly spattering
its words and drilling them full
of apertures and birds?
I'll tell you all the news.
I lived in a suburb,
a suburb of Madrid, with bells,
and clocks, and trees.
From there you could look out
over Castille's dry face:
a leather ocean.
My house was called
the house of flowers, because in every cranny
geraniums burst: it was
a good-looking house
with its dogs and children.
Remember, Raul?
Eh, Rafel? Federico, do you remember
from under the ground
my balconies on which
the light of June drowned flowers in your mouth?
Brother, my brother!
Everything
loud with big voices, the salt of merchandises,
pile-ups of palpitating bread,
the stalls of my suburb of Arguelles with its statue
like a drained inkwell in a swirl of hake:
oil flowed into spoons,
a deep baying
of feet and hands swelled in the streets,
metres, litres, the sharp
measure of life,
stacked-up fish,
the texture of roofs with a cold sun in which
the weather vane falters,
the fine, frenzied ivory of potatoes,
wave on wave of tomatoes rolling down the sea.
And one morning all that was burning,
one morning the bonfires
leapt out of the earth
devouring human beings --
and from then on fire,
gunpowder from then on,
and from then on blood.
Bandits with planes and Moors,
bandits with finger-rings and duchesses,
bandits with black friars spattering blessings
came through the sky to **** children
and the blood of children ran through the streets
without fuss, like children's blood.
Jackals that the jackals would despise,
stones that the dry thistle would bite on and spit out,
vipers that the vipers would abominate!
Face to face with you I have seen the blood
of Spain tower like a tide
to drown you in one wave
of pride and knives!
Treacherous
generals:
see my dead house,
look at broken Spain :
from every house burning metal flows
instead of flowers,
from every socket of Spain
Spain emerges
and from every dead child a rifle with eyes,
and from every crime bullets are born
which will one day find
the bull's eye of your hearts.
And you'll ask: why doesn't his poetry
speak of dreams and leaves
and the great volcanoes of his native land?
Come and see the blood in the streets.
Come and see
The blood in the streets.
Come and see the blood
In the streets!
23.3k
i asked my god for rest
and in pagan desperation
he gave me apolaki
god of the sun and war
i mistook him for seraphim
God struck me down
with the force of a thousand spaniards
reaching my country's once untouched shores
*your land had a god of the sun and war
before they pinned you in virginal grace
your country wanted you to see the sun
and remember war was not for the bloodthirsty
for your people it was god's will*
i asked my god for love
and in carnal frustration
he gave me anagolay
goddess of lost things
i mistook her for a saint
archangels unsheathed their swords
celestial eyes filled with rage
*your land had known loss
long before you did
your country had known loss
long before love had made it known
you will find yourself again*
i asked my god for light
and in familiar search
he gave me tala
goddess of stars
and i stopped seeing them as stained glass figures
i no longer saw my banished gods
engulfed in the power of rome
my land saw the stars before God's first day
"let there be light" He said and apolaki bowed in recognition
tala greeted Him with a smile and promise
anagolay laughed in joy and gratitude
my country had gods before wooden crosses
before the galleons carrying friars came armed in holy water
before my archipelago had become a sprawl of cathedrals
now i'd like to think my God and bathala smile down on me
saint jude conspiring with lakapati
cherubim sleeping in diyan masalanta's arms
i'd like to think the gods are at peace
i'd like to think they would only want me to remember
to never forget every disfigured reflection of the almighty
Thy will be done.
Oct 9, 2016
Oct 9, 2016 at 4:17 PM UTC
Who knows who would
'true valiant be'
when you can't see
beyond the end of your nose?
who knows?
It has to be Sunday some day
and today is some day for some
hymns and hers (towels in the bathroom)
down the stairs
toast and preserves in the conservatory
not mandatory
but it's Sunday.
God must be reeling in shock
wondering what he has done
Jesus is getting the backlash
it's always a Sunday for some.
I'm going to queue up for my
holy wine and wafer
it's
safer not to sit upon the fence
and where else can you find this
kind of entertainment
for a pound or even less,
for fifty
pence?
beyond when I pass into
poets corner
where the monks and Friars
sort wheat from the chaff
I shall laugh
I shall rhyme
have a ****** marvellous time
Who knows who
'..would true valiant be..'
Apr 22, 2018
Apr 22, 2018 at 1:38 AM UTC
There is something so calming
About the spiders spinning web.
Something so comforting,
A song sung by the dead.
Hear it wallow in the distance
Like an unforgiven tune.
Sung by the rivers daughter,
The beauteous sunset muse.
Bask in the moonlit waters
Barely but blessed by shining sun.
Hold to your heavn'ly quarters,
The likes of which shall come undone.
For if you catch the spider spindle
You are likely to be safe.
In other wares, their finer fares
In absence, stay awake.
I speak not for the Titan,
Or God nor Goddess alike.
I speak not for the tongue
Of the mumbling friars might.
For Alas my hearers hear this plea,
Beware the nymph of sophistry
May 20, 2019
May 20, 2019 at 10:41 AM UTC
A master of characterization
After moments of gesticulation
Your characters become universal
Images play without dress rehearsal .
First created, an idealistic knight,
Who teaches the perfect techniques to fight.
Next danced a lad of ladies' desire .
Your words described me, "a lad of fire."
A counterfeit nun pilgrimed with the bunch.
She starved her dogs to have a second lunch,
Yet, you viewed her as whimsical and tame.
The way she faked, sung, and lied was a shame.
Still, I know this false Prioress today,
Characters such as this wont fade away.
The Miller modeled your retched Scot.
I too am Scottish, but retched I'm not!
Though we don't always view the world as one,
I have the faint soul of your pseudo son.
I too would flirt with the strong Wife if Bath,
And roam with the pilgrims down that God path.
Master at comic irony, you are
The church was corrupt, relics in a jar
Or a pardon for an extorted fee.
Friars with gifts for girls could not trick thee.
Twenty four of one twenty were finished,
But the affects will not be diminished.
They say you're number two in history.
For people like me, that's a mystery.
In a quill duel between Shakespeare and you,
You'd leap to number one, Shakespeare to two.
Dec 28, 2012
Dec 28, 2012 at 7:56 PM UTC
Cameras in the walls.
Voices in my head.
Static or feedback?
LSD in water bottles.
Poison in my food.
No harm, no foul?
Blue Typing Gibberish on Digital TV.
Blurry Radio Frequency.
Communication breakdown?
Narcs wearing rainbow flags.
Cops dressed as man's best friend.
Do you see how they draw you in?
Whispers, stares and secrets.
Friends, liars, friars.
Who is really there?
Noises in the basement.
Sadistic faces in the windows.
Where is my knife?
Laughing hyenas
Spineless Lizards
Aren't they so pretty?
Misplaced belongings.
A key that looks copied.
Can we move to outer space?
Bad cell phone reception
Suspicious men in suits
Am I guilty of something?
Trauma-based mind control.
****** hell in a bottle.
What's the formula?
Reach out Reach out
Help Help
"Would you like a Noose?"
Paranoia, Ignorance
Gnosis, Bliss
Curse or blessing?
Burn a bridge
Burn a bridge
Burn a bridge?
Nov 26, 2011
Nov 26, 2011 at 1:37 AM UTC
Arise! Arise you hopeful young tadpoles.
Come forth ye mighty messengers of joy.
To arms my children... To Arms!
This be no game. Don't let it fool you..
Can't you see our trickster ? I know I can.
He's always smiling, eagerly baring his teeth,
flashing them for our prying, unsavoring eyes.
And we, we my friends, are staring dully onward
Blind to his sarcasm, blinded by our own vision.
Oh you young hopefuls.
Why do you trouble us with such ancient questions ?
Why are you not of the learned ?
All you were destined to do was shine and light up the night's sky..
Like earthly Orion's celestial belt.
Why must you burrow now ?
Arise you tender hatch-lings... break your eggs.
Can't you see how fragile your shell shields actually are ?
I know I can.
To arms my children! join me in oblivion.
The fray is but a ruse.
Fear is a coward's excuse.
Be swift of hand and light of heart.
Your minds are but sandboxes.
Were they not once empty ?
Before mighty Morphius visited our backyards;
they were all empty, barren and oh so hopeful.
Oh you mighty brother of Delight... It was your cruelty that dragged her down.
Down into delirium.
where she now giggles, cries, screams and gasps in symposium.
you broke her, although she may have been broken earlier.
Arise you miserable tadpoles. The land is warm and welcoming.
Its soil, sands and snow all ache for your budding legs.
Say No to vegetative awareness.
Say No to boredom's persistence.
Come forth you mighty messengers of joy.
Slip on your armor, this is going to be a rough ride.
Our home awaits.
And now allow me to light your bottoms on fire.
And launch you into space.
I won't stand for no crier.
And when you face your brothers; those ugly friars.
Those frogs.
These acclaimed humans, your so called kin and countrymen;
Do not hide your hatred; bury not your malice, but your sympathy.
So when you see their beady empty eyes and power hungry lashes and whip like tongues;
don't fret and don't seek to befriend them.
For their sweat is poison and they reek of cyanide.
Don't seek safety by joining them.
Arise my children and step into my light.
The cakes are all warm and today's sun is still bright.
Jun 9, 2010
Jun 9, 2010 at 3:51 AM UTC
the hollow man come calling
his crown of fig leaves
is tinged brown with decay
he carries a scent of late fall
and the woodsmoke of homestead cookfires
he bears with him a satchel made of skin
inside are the measures of madness
and the tools of his craft
he comes calling
to your door
sit with him at you table of plenty
and let him feast at his leasure
let him bide his time
and take his rest upon your finest linens
give him your silk shirt
and your skilled leather boot
fore this hollow man is one
who's displeasure you care not to seek
the hollow man come calling
to the headstone and the friars chapel
the hollow man and his empty echo of words
speaks in pig latin
foretelling all and yet nothing
his cold touch is bone thin
and he leaves behind a
letter handwritten on parchment
that smells faintly of bandages and
a metallic cinnamon
the letter gives the day and hour of your passing
and the ultimate meaning of your life
the cost of all the things you accomplished
and the regrets of all thouse you have loved
the hollow man
is waiting
for each of us
with a letter addressed to each
he is but a delivery boy
for the inevitable
Nov 3, 2013
Nov 3, 2013 at 9:26 PM UTC
Man without quid is half
alive--save
for friars--by all scorned.
Jan 9, 2014
Jan 9, 2014 at 3:44 PM UTC
surrounded by the smell of smoke and fire;
aware that they were about to expire;
fear settled in, they began to perspire;
they faced fate in a way one could admire;
visions of heaven, these flames did inspire;
angels, in their glorious white attire;
both singing together as one great choir;
as their two spirits rose higher and higher.
1603, age of religious ire
Oct 7, 2013
Oct 7, 2013 at 11:35 PM UTC
all hearts are filled with horror and with dread
we've hit the boundary of human reach
out here in the republic of the dead
there's no necessity to get ahead
once we have heard the words of the last speech
all hearts are filled with horror and with dread
for this we struggled long to earn our bread
and bowed low as the vile old friars preach
out here in the republic of the dead
where are are equal in the weight of lead
but none will listen as the poor beseech
all hearts are filled with horror and with dread
at every sound that penetrates the head
while silent men walk up and down the beach
out here in the republic of the dead
where none dare speak and all the good are fled
and what we learnt no one could ever teach
all hearts are filled with horror and with dread
out here in the republic of the dead
Mar 15, 2013
Mar 15, 2013 at 10:41 AM UTC
There be no more a white chapel
at Whitechapel
nor a blind beggar to see that
I saw,
they've built up a city of concrete and steel,
unreal for the real and there ain't
nothing more.
Bishopsgate waits for the next Bishop to come
St. Paul is a mugger and carries a gun
the crutched friars were tried and found guilty of heresy and at the bank where blasphemy rules
they've fooled us all
except for St Paul
who makes a strategic withdrawal.
Apr 10, 2017
Apr 10, 2017 at 12:58 PM UTC
Story tellers
Authors
Bards
Weavers of word
Poets
Heralds
Criers and friars
All on a mission
A goal in the front of mind
To tell the stories of all mankind
To teach the lessons learned and past
To those in the future so they may last
Aug 23, 2024
Aug 23, 2024 at 12:11 AM UTC
If I could speak whispering words
what would I tell you?
I've been used since birth
till death it will continue
I've seen spring
summer
autumn
winter too
naked to life's elements
I do not feel
I'm dead to the touch
I used to sit in a fantastic forrest flush
I longinly long for those days
when I felt the wonderful wind
Blow throw my spindly hair
Oh but it's gone
Instead
I'm listening to tales and weary woes
of wars had
Scars left
Tales of the neighbours wife
and wee jimmys strife
What a life
The days I long for..
when families come
with love and laughter
Galant giggles
Tenacious tickles
Forever times
but soon they depart
as I'm left enchanted
longing for the next encounter
But sometimes..
I'm as lonely as lonely gets
the lost key never found
Shrouded in a coat of sadness
Oh how I miss the place that I grew up
now I solemly sit
on all fours
as if the statue of grey friars Bobby
planted without roots
My only solace
Is the families fun
My only..
My only
Jun 8, 2020
Jun 8, 2020 at 7:01 PM UTC
Like monasteries of old, you,
lie perched on a hillside near the village
You are mysterious, somber & silent
yet there are no huge carved
Wooden doors flung open wide
to welcome weary travelers,
And you offer no bowl of soup
made from scraps garnered by begging friars
Your guests have no need of nourishment, only rest
I walk among your grey marble stones
to find names of neighbors, friends and family
I long to talk with them, see them, touch them
To share precious memories
You give me only cold statistics
born, died, father, child & wife
I cry in agony
You saints in this holy hospice
Can you not join me in a prayer,
a hymn or a final plea
One day I shall accept your hospitality
For I to will be in need of rest
I shall enter the open grave
like your soundless monks
Understand the mystery perpetrate the somberness maintains the silence
Mar 21, 2017
Mar 21, 2017 at 6:37 PM UTC