For a moment in
this handheld darkness
the world is but
an option

And so Victory and Death
Walk hand in hand
Across the barren fields
Towards a full moon
Bright as a child’s eye

The heat of the cold sun
Burns frostbites into my skin
Icicles growing in the cave of my lungs
Breath a cigarette between trembling lips

And I wait
And I wait

The moon boils the waters
A deep purple neath my feet
The foam biting at my heels
And the night smothering my eyes

And I wait
And I wait

And when I still my heart and pulse
To drown within the forest
The world blows past my shoulders
And carries away my voices

Down the street the old man cried,

“let me sleep! i’ve got nothing to hide!”

but the thieves and the mold care not for such things

as they burned and they burned

and they burned



Wrinkled ladies in oversized rings

yelled out their price for the prisoner’s things

“settle down, settle down, there’s more where it came from.”

as they smiled and they smiled

and they smiled



The youth shiver below, crude laughter in the sky

fear melting on their tongues like ice cream pie

cold hands caress heads, staining memories like ink on shoes

as they crumbled and they crumbled

and they crumbled



The marching of shadows shambled in the light

“roll up, roll up! lucky winner hold tight!”

slave to the mechanical beating heart of powders and liquids and glittering heat

as they fell and they fell

and they fell



Wriggling corpses build their huts along the naked land

stumbling past crowded bones as they long played their hand

“mercy, mercy, our children starve!”

as they withered and they withered

and they withered



The earth spins off its ruptured axis

flinging it’s occupants in a human crisis

the old moose groans and the silver trees splinter

as they sank and they sank

and they sank



Life seems forever as decay eats decay

as adults never seem to turn tomorrow into today

the only mark of the living left like pressed flowers in a crumbling world

as we wept and we wept

and we wept



People in straight suits say ignorance is bliss

well ignorance made me a ****** kid

i’ll tell you

i’ll let you

in on a little secret

misery is a card you don’t want to play

and death is a dept you don’t want to pay



The 15th, 16th, 17th century

the 21st

the ******* 100th

round and round

over and over

pushing time again and again



Oh the lessons are never learnt

and the punishments are always served

and the only ones left in it all

are corporate businesses who

sweep the ice cubes under the fridge



Oh we’ll suffer

oh we’ll cry

oh we’ll tumble and grumble until we all die



But the world will keep turning

and the mistakes keep churning

until we are left with no more

oh tales of rivers
and thunder cries
with rainstorm tears
and starry eyes

sing me a song
whistled ‘tween trees
howl me a moon
with Night’s black winds

the people light fires
in prayer to the sun
and the ravens tell lies
to the broken they’re sung

but all stories end
with a lesson or two
and this echo will carry
black winds, black wounds

Somebody texted me
About their day
And I was so happy
For them

I got a call from Ireland
Wasn’t sure what it was about
But the caller spoke Chinese
So I hung

Did someone else’s chore
While they hustled in their own world
Silently and by myself
Good job, good job

Sometimes I lay in bed
And think of all the things I might say
Lodged within my throat
A mantra in my head

A fox stole my tongue
So now my words don’t come out right
And the only thing I’m good for
Is to be someone else’s ear

No one stays to listen to my whispers
And maybe it’s my fault
Maybe I should’ve said it louder
Should’ve brought along a speaker

I’m surrounded by people
My kin are as knitted as skin
But I’m drowning drowning drowning
In nothing nothing nothing

Take me to the mountains
Mint my lead into a mouth
Let me scream out all my sorrows
Let me scream away my sound

Then maybe I won’t be buried
With all my life left in secrets
All my burdens left as monuments
Rotting underneath the stone

These shrunken hands
Sinking beyond my body
Common places, common days
My arms dissipate, regardless

My ribs compress like cliche metaphors
A long, drawn out CPR
My lips sting
And my body laughs
Like the dying rattle of a miser man

And my eyes
Dry like the wind

I sit
Lukewarm tea at my tongue
As I stare and try and try
Make this mess at my chest and my skin
Mine

Make my box of random trinkets
All different sizes but each in
Their own, small compartment
A mess but my mess and my mess I understand
But these clothes spill from my drawers and from
The bottom of my bed
And soon it’s just itching polyester
And nails-on-chalkboard fibre

My face is drawn tight
On the brink of spilling static
Cause under these nerves
And vessels and sinew

I’m just soda and mentos
And time

Flip a coin at me
Make me your wishing well
Your secrets in my ear
All them mine to tell

You can run
But you can’t hide
Count the candles you’ve blown out
Count the bullets till you’ve died

Oh dear

You’ve fed yourself to the monster
You’ve led yourself astray
No point running faster, faster
You’ve only yourself to blame

The concrete sidewalks
And metal rails
Are dry and wrung of rain

But the soil remembers the storm
And the trees don’t forget its taste

And to love
Oh to love
The Unseen Ones hate us
They hate for we choose hate
When we can love where they cannot

Dance! The world dances!
The rocks the soil the river the trees
The worms the fish the birds the city
Waiting for your next miracle

Wake from this dream
Like putting in ear buds
Forgetting you turned the volume
Up up up

It’s the folly of man
To think us a march
Of drumbeats and boot-steps
Of razor edge lines

Bloom! The flowers last a day!
So cherish them!
Hail them!
We may never live another life

I love the same way
the bees love my carcass
Cause my body feeds the ground
for flowers to grow

And I hope that you feast
on their honey
Cause that’s the only way
it’ll get to you

I love the same way
a bomb loves the fire
Cause when it kisses that is all
it can see

And I hope the war ends
in your favour
Cause only then all the deaths
will have worth

I love the same way
the birds love the horizon
Cause to follow it is to fly
forever

And I hope at their end
you will find only feathers
Cause then you’ll know that their freedom
wasn’t free

One day they’ll ask me
(in my dreams)
Where my art is found
My resume for my right hemisphere
My creative licence card

And I’ll say it’s found
obviously
In these poems I write at night
Restless hands and wordless ranting

It’s in the little yarn projects
I’ve picked up and put down
across a year
And my crazed grin when I have to frog three ****** rows

It’s all the handmade cards I crafted for mother’s day
for every year in my life
Because she once dreamed of being an architect
And smiles when resigned to helping to do my art homework

It’s the dried flowers
from manic fascination and collection
Pressed under a stack of books
Sort of forgotten when I tell myself
I’ll paste them on paper tomorrow

Not a bone in my body is professional
Not a bit of me says Van Gogh
But only I see my museum
And only I critique my art
So at least my abstract portrait of craft
Won’t have a missing ear in it

I need a picture on the wall of my coffin of stone
Put on a pedestal
Put on a shelf
A thousand years crusting tears on my self

Paint me immortal
Paint me a Saint
Or paint me the nightmare that everyone claims

Cause I am a paradox
A knife’s bloodless blade
A faceless body in the mirror
I can’t wipe away

Sinking on land
Quicksilver sand

Poison on lips
Drowning the tips of my
Sanity
Profanity

The sting of a bee hurts less
Than the thought of you leaving
Cause I dance the fine line
Of empathy and tragedy

Oh the church bells will ring for
Dancers and fools
Pantheon of Justice
Your name’s just a tool

Oh the road ahead is dusty
And the trees are barren fruit
But my back is to your hangman love
And I’m sorry I’m leaving
So soon

Give me a dollar until I am dead
Paint the whole sky blue and red
Count out the days until tomorrow
I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for the rains to fall

Stop the car just to yell at the trees
Close your eyes so you can feel the breeze
Write down your history so that you aren’t forgotten
I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for the leaves to fall

Line up your books in all the wrong orders
Put on tinted lenses for the city in different colours
Call your brother’s voicemail just to hear him again
I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for the towers to fall

Burn up old certificates for the fun of it
Eat a hundred chocolates for a golden ticket
Watch every blockbuster here in town
I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for the tides to fall

Whisper your wishes across the ocean
Trace your crop circles out in the open
Three letter words are hardly important
I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for the hammer to fall

Break the hourglass to hold the grains
Run after the last train until your chest heaves
Write down your last words on wilted flowers
Search for the den where the old fox hides
Out in the sun, you couldn’t be happier

Oh if someone’s listening
If anyone cares
I’ll miss my own funeral
If it means you’ll be there

Cause I’ll be waiting
Waiting
Waiting for your ***
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting

Oh peaceful solitude
Where the rain fall free
And the sun swim deep
Of yellows, corals and hues

Stay by my side
Watch the twilight slip by
Fear not the wind that whips past
Nor the waves that churn beneath

In the dark are summer daisies
In the morn are daffodils
Let the days carry you far
Let the tide follow your feet

And we feast!
For memories are made in the spur of the moment
And grins are nothing but a breath of life
Give me a smile, a secret smile
Let it be ingrained in time forever

And we love
Because we want to
Because we’re meant to
Because we should

And I trust
Arms around shoulders
Do you hear that?
They’re cheering for you and me

Oh peaceful solitude
Where the trees whisper strength
And the rivers run wild
Of golden, silks and you

Not all poetry work
and not all poetry speak
but somewhere
out there
there’s a word or a phrase
that will let you learn
how to cry again

Sunday on the school grounds
Wiping off the lead crowns
Beds set up in oyster shells
Weren’t we meant to breathe in
Sheriff’s silver casings
That fall out of the sky

And I say
Little red lies on your teeth,
your teeth,
Grinning at church bells
Atop your Van Gogh
window sill

Screams pinned on jackets and
conspiracies sprayed on knees
Black diamonds on the rocks,
the rocks,
This whisper ain’t got any
real privacy

Cutting your hands on dreams
Losing your last memory
Of white rabbits, door habits
Writhing like a royal trapped in
Big cash ins
Flayed for the prize to see

But it’s all
A
Feel
of your
Masterpiece

So meet me, meet me
My sidewalk’s got salt line
Fish in a hunting ring
Leaf in an arctic breeze
I’ve got time I’ve got time
I’ve got cigarettes and lime
Come put this fire out
And take a shot to you

I’m scared for the future
Like honey dripping from the comb
I only see in front of me and I’m scooping, scooping
I’m ready, I turn away and back
And now it’s all collapsed

Every so often I suddenly posses the eyes of a being outside my comprehension
And I slam back to wakefulness, yet never less dreaming than before
Madness, madness

I’ve seen my grain of sand sliding
Closer to the free fall of the hourglass
And now I can’t remember anything
But the misty dread of eyes
Staring and waiting

The world is having

A stroke

And I’ve got

Front row seats

I never paid for

Static sounds
and loading screens
System’s lagging
Count to three

Hey hey hey,
bad signal up here
Give a little more time
I’m getting there

Blinking lights
and reboot signs
‘Fraid the software’s gone, ma’am,
a little haywire

To be a machine,
oh
Binary, binary,
yes or no

But I’ve got a body
and a brain that don’t sync
So strip me for parts, baby
‘cause I doubt I can think

i dream of moths and ants
in decaying living rooms
sleep in my eyes
hornets in my mouth

criminals chasing me
down fractured streets
my ghost siting idle
on a broken ferris wheel

sometimes all the days blend together
and you can’t tell yesterday
apart from tomorrow

and when you fall
from the surface of the sea
where sky meets the atmosphere
and the fish swim in trees

you’ll find that not much
matters at all

my Good Ideas come at night

but seem like Bad Ideas in the morning

but I never had any other thoughts

so I guess they’re all just Ideas

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty thought he was clever and all
So bit by bit he stacked his bricks
And built it two hundred feet tall

Swinging his legs
And nodding his head
He looked down from the top
At small puckered wells
And small tuckered hills
Of the villagers all around him

And so time flew by
And his wall grew high
And higher
And higher
And in the heathens
As he touched the heavens
He cried, “Look up, for I am God!”

And so he went

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses
And all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty
Back together again

But children,
Don’t be sad

But children,
Don’t be sorry

For that night the men swung their picks
And the women scraped off the concrete
And the children stole the bricks
One by little one
Till all that was left to his memory
Was the flat crown of the ground

Besides, the bricks weren’t really his, anyways

sometimes the wind picks up all the leaves
that fall from my bark and land on my knees
and all that ive thrown and all ive suppressed
gets blown back at me in my own little mess
and the rain didnt help for the rot in the muck
and now all that i see is the pain i had held
and for some Forsaken reason my
hands touch no sky
for the Grey is above and it taunts me and lies
and i thought my roots had found peace had Found truth
in the Depths of my earth
In the Silence And my youth
But it turns out compression of rock is disturbed
And now the Soil kicks
and now the ground Jumps
and The storm it yells victory in the ocean and Rust
And my body it cracks to show all of the space
where i thought homed tranquility but out birthed my rage
and All the times I’m Empty
and all the Times i smile
all false propaganda for a Stone Under trial
And That stone will go two ways
that Stone it will crack
or it’ll reach the Point and Move Mountains
itll start to Yearn Lack
And the Ball It keeps Rolling
And It Will not stop
And Now all That Time’s left With is
Carnage and Crop

and Soon I will harvest
the blood in my roots
and the quiet will Serve my hibernating
for the next unbridled pursuit

Mmm, tempting fate
Standing above storm clouds
Icarus bled silver regret
So he could be his own sun

And the audience behind the
Heavy blue curtains weep
And the sound effects team take thunder
From their giving hands

Oh, heroic, ironic
tragedy

he burned under the gaze
of our eyes

The kids ran from the smoking pipes
Of tree branches and fog
Of mechanisms in the rotting mulch
Dragging heads of eclipses
On wish bone sticks

That was a metaphor for conquering
Unknown
But also the story of choosing
Unknown

The frogs write
their last will and testament on
Quivering mist and
Echoing answers

The fish know their place
Minds one ball of red string
And pass their history to their lawyers
As suggestions

The city is lined with
Street signs and traffic lights
One foot after another
One person and then another

Did you know the dictionary has no word
for the people who rely on patrons?
dependent
client
protégé

all these stolen words
and none to paint the world

Life is sheets of white paper
There’s a note when you’re born
And a note when you die
And a note when you eat

And behind each word is
A dept to be paid
In money in love or in pain
in quiet moments when you stand and wane

Perhaps I ramble too much
Mindless this and that like
the terms and conditions
of a tabloid subscription

Hah
Law metaphors from
Someone who’s not a lawyer

The kids ran from the smoking pipes
Of ink spills and crooked grins
Of mechanisms in the infinite machine
Nature following nature
Until they cease to breathe

History is written in prophecies
And radioactive handshakes
Yet the world with all it’s felonies
Cannot lay down in peace

It reads here, in the fine print:
Non-exchangeable
Non-refundable
Non-redeemable

The ouroboros of humanity
of plant of animal
of ocean of sky
of faceless crowds in an empty mirror
of lightless stars in a distant future

We will return
For better or for worse
It’s written in the fossils
And carved into our cells
And a written statement
is evidence enough

hello, stranger
i see we meet again
between book pages
within art hedges

the paths to immortality are
storylines and ballad chimes
i’ll see you in the epigraphs
i’ll read you in the skies

first law of
thermodynamics
no energy created
no energy destroyed

over and over
blood born blood lost
arms carved from fireflies
breath fossils in northern lights

hello, stranger
decaying and beating heart
chubby hands clinging to heaven
or trading final death-cards

the clock ticks to the rhythm of
supernovas far, far away
and prophecies printed on
abandoned beach sands

and you, stranger
walk the plank between the waking
and the beyond
my question to you is
Which direction are you heading?

One
I will speak
My stitched mouth released
The breath held back
Falls across my lips
Like gravity

Two
Do you not see?
The poison and smoke
The diamonds only mirrors
The strings that hold us down
Like gravity

Three
Sing with me
Believe in me
Let us fall on sinners
Spear of Truth in hand
Like gravity

Four
Let the people soar
Let beauty rise
Swinging with the rhythm of life
Let us not fall like once before
Like gravity

Five
Grace the earth with our voices
Feel the salty wind in every fibre
And cry with joy and sorrow
Hand in hand in peace
Without gravity

Oh the drums are beating
Beating, beating
Boom, boom, boom

I feel it in my bones
My skin
My teeth
We all feel it
We shiver, shiver

Oh how long the winter lasts
Oh how bitter the wind howls
Oh how loud the drums are
With their rumbling
And tumbling
And never ending marching

Oh we fall
Falling, falling
Burning like ashes from the bonfire

But the rain pours
The heaven roars
And, well, we must move on

Oh how the sand bites into our skin
Oh how the ice sting at our eyes
Oh how the branches grasp at our feet
With their creaking
And grinning
And never ending cunning

Oh the world spins
And we hang on its edge
And some fall off
Flung, flung

Oh brother, sister
Comrade, friend
Forgive me, for I live
And I move on, move on

Hold my hand
Hold my heart
Where the downhill ends, the uphill starts
Round, and round, and round

Oh how the dark looms closer
Oh how the dread sinks deep
Oh how the end draws near
With their certainty
And clarity
And never ending prophecy

For the end must come
In hope or in fear
Destiny is set
Fate is decided
The finale written
On faded pages

But
We choose our path
How we live to the last
So give
Give, give, give
Fight
Fight for the better
Fight for your fallen
Fight for your friend
Fight for the many who give
Give for the many who fight

Oh the drums are beating
Beating, beating
Boom, boom, boom
I hear a revolution
I taste a newer age

Feel the vibrations
In the air
Can you hear that?
It’s your people calling
Your people singing
Marching, marching
It’s a new age, my friend

Drumming, drumming, drumming

My sleep isn’t silent
I go down screaming
Screaming
Kicking

Because I’m one breath away from
Death
One whisper away from
Eternity

My sleep is quiet
So I fill it with shrieks
Just to make sure
I am alive

The rain falls thick
Like the white veil of a bride
It slides down the window,
Tracing tracks in its wake
Then gone
Without a trace

The little drain bubbles
Fast flowing and small
It carries a leaf down the lane
Who knows where it’ll go

The sun is hidden
His face is clothed
He is but a wisp of wind
Of empty shroud
Of listless pale

Away, away
Gone but a memory
And as the memory dims
As the sound fades away
With the croaking of bullfrogs and humming of trees
Away, away

Look up
Look longingly
Never have I dreamt of such a day

The air is made of muted colours
That vibrate with the delicate hum of light
And I’ll try my darnedest
Catching these fireflies in my palms
But they just slip like slow falling sand

And you snap your fingers
And the world turns off
And I’m back again grasping at straws
And shredded scripts
As I drag my lagging mind
Desperate to catch up to the play

But the actors heed not my calls
Of forgiveness and aid
And once again I stare at dust motes
Singing in the spotlight rain

Oh how far the great have fallen
Tumbling and turning in the air
Crashing, crashing
Falling, falling
Soundless breath choking their words
And squeezing out their lies

Oh how silently the fallen have risen
A step at a time
The wraiths of the earth
Looking, looking
Feeling, feeling
They drag their ball and chain
Nails on boards screaching
Reaching for a taste of sun

Oh how the innocent stand
Sword at hand
The smell of doubt
Flavourful and sweet
Behind their masks and bitter sweat

The children enter
Into the halls of glamour
Past silver busts
And rotting stone
They fear, oh they fear
They know

Tongues of flame
Lips of death
Eyes of fools
Hands of the doomed

They crawl, oh they crawl
And the innocent bear the burden
As the great fall and the fallen rise
As the past catches up and the future slows down
And those at the middle

Wait

We were born
With no silver spoons
Just the bitter taste
Of a dead man’s moon

The city bore us
In canals we were raised
We rule these paths
As rats and decay

(the crows remember)
(the crows remember)

We are the filth
That feed your trees
Catch a pigeon
Let it sleep

From dark we rise
From blood we reign
With golden seals
And silver chains

(the crows remember)
(the crows remember)

Friend or foe
Your time has come
Pay your dues
The deed is done

Watch the streets
And watch the sky
Cross us once
We dare your try

(the crows remember)
(the crows remember)

You said you loved the colour green
The shades hidden in leaves
the froth beneath the seas

And everyone that knew you
learned to love the colour too
And now I see it
in every metaphor of you

I’m a mess of my own creation
Made a wager on my own nature
Now I’ve lost all the sanity to my name

You said that I died when I chose my side
And I don’t know where you buried my headstone

But parallels and pain
Are common themes in my play
And I’ll live while my story’s
Your stain

I should be going to sleep
But the shadows at the corner of my eye
Keep whispering secrets
I never asked for

I’m pacing down the hallways
Of my sanity
Waiting for a door to open
Down at the deep end

The peonies dance a slow waltz
In a breeze that does not exist
And the ivy crawl up walls
Over lamps, over windows

Come sit with me
Next to the pond
You cannot leave
So take your time

You stand there in a field
Of gentle grass and daffodil

The butterflies gossip in dances
The breeze sweet as honey
Haloed sun on your head

And I feel you smile at me
So soft, so wanted
Cradling in your hands
My heart

A gory mass of muscle and tissue
Pulsating and twitching
like a nightmare struggling
To tear it’s desperate fingers through its
******, oozing womb

And I lay under you
skin gorged, ribs cracked
Wheezing through smoker’s lungs
clinging on by a few dripping strands
of fleshy tubing

And my hands claw the earth
nails mangled and nerves ragged
But my eyes fix
Enraptured
despite these things scrabbling
at my irises
As I strain
To catch a glimpse
of
your


face

I never knew you then
I never knew you now
And
I will never know you
Till the trees have shed the last of their leaves
And the stars burst one by one
And the earth heals over again
But I think that is the point

Give me a kiss
I promise I won’t tell
Give me a secret
I will not spill
Give me a cup
Overfilled
I’ll give you my watch
My time
My life

Why are we skipping
Skipping on stones
Why are we dancing
Dancing at home
Why are we stepping on tabletops
Smiling at the raindrops
Marvelling
At how the world flows

Give me a kiss
I promise I won’t tell
Give me a secret
I will not spill
Give me a cup
Overfilled
I’ll give you my watch
My time
My life

Tell me a story
A story about love
Tell me a fun fact
I’d want to know
Tell me the reason you stay
The reason you wave
The reason we still smile and sing

Give me a kiss
I promise I won’t tell
Give me a secret
I will not spill
Give me a cup
Overfilled
I’ll give you my watch
My time
My life

Lie next to me in bed
We have all night
You’ll stare at the ceiling
Hand in mine
Close your eyes dear
Let them tear
I’ll be waiting for you
At the end of the line

Give me a kiss
I promise I won’t tell
Give me a secret
I will not spill
Give me a cup
Overfilled
I’ll give you my watch
My time
My life

Give me a kiss
Promise I won’t disappear
Tell my story to your children
My heartbeat to your dreams
Count the seconds to the sunrise
The seconds till the moon arrives
In this world
We don’t have much time

Give me a kiss
I’ll give you my watch
I know it’s not much
But it’s all I have
Every moment is fleeting
Every word is the last
But don’t you worry
In heaven
Everything will pass

The rain called like great white veils
Obscure the face of the bride
As she weeps and she weeps
Like the rain of her hood
As it rains as it rains as it rains

Rise up
Rise like the tides
Rise like the winds
Rise unmoving
Like mountains
If we die
Least we die with
Valour kissing our hand

Is that where you want to end up?
Rock bottom
How much further can you go?
Bring a shovel
Bring a drill
Bring the whole gang

Gather your children
Gather your friends
Gather the beggars
And the dogs too
Watch!
An amazing feat!
Rock bottom
Indeed

O mama!
Won’t you forgive me?
O papa!
Won’t you stay?
Just you and the walls
And the darkness below
And the sky just a glance
Through a keyhole

Such a pity
Throw a ladder down for the poor lad!
Pound on the ground
As much as you can
The world won’t hear you here

Dig
Why don’t you?
Look for your coal
Your fool’s gold
A dead man’s errand
An idiot’s wish
Dig

Maybe you’ll find something worth your time
Maybe you’ll realise a lesson to learn
But what else is there for you to say
Rock bottom
Rock bottom
Rock bottom

Fool with your wolf cry
Fool with your crocodile tears
Fool with your faux smile
Fool with your empty heart
Rock bottom
Rock bottom
Rock bottom

Just you
Just there
Just nowhere to go
Just rock
And bottom
And no rope to spare
Just echos
And chills
And death and decay
And your fate in your hands
Rock bottom

There is a desolation to grief
Hidden, buried
Rotting and writhing in the depth of the soul
And no one can see the blackened heart
Aching and curing in tears of salt

There is a wrenching to pain
Gripping, seeping
The infection and corruption of touch
Like everything could crumple
And everyone can break

There is a madness to comfort
Clinging, blinding
Feeling closer to light, to wind
Crawling up a staircase
Of bodies you’ve dragged in pursuit

There’s a silence to acceptance
Waking up from a puddle of blood and spit
Finding the faces that mouthed your name
Moths, circling the lightbulb
In your own rusted cage

I kept waiting for dreams
That I forgot that nightmares exist
So when the darkness lulled me
I ignored the flashlight that fell from my hand

And I don’t see the stars beyond
My curtain as I sit
Staring at the mirror
And sink

Sleep my darling
Sink into the dark
Close your eyes
Let go
Don’t struggle
Time will continue
There are worse things to suffer

Live your story free
Unbounded by the world
For you are the author of this story
The protagonist
I am simply a character in your book

Come take my hand
We can get lost in the forest
Raise our fists at the gods
We’ll sing to the whispers of time
And swim in galaxies

Run
Run free
Don’t let them stop you
Don’t let me stop you
Bullets in my head
Blood from my heart
I smile
Go
Forget me
I am simply a character in your book

Make us fragile
like a flower
Unoriginal, textbook
Crooning love songs behind a hat on the street
I’ve seen mice with more calluses and sinew
Tough on the teeth
Grainy and cheap
If I die, I’m tender and sweet

Make us soft
like the morning’s first snow
Harbour us, carve us
Show us off on your front porch
beady eyed and smug grinned
Then rain falls and I’m run-offs
Footprints and mud
Snowman head smeared on the driveway

Make us sensitive
like your childhood TV dial
We’ll dance, we’ll bow
Until our minds get lost in a fog of
wrong signals and wrong sounds
It’s all static and I’m all electric
My breath my skin and my sight
Then you’ll hit and swear at your box until it learns not to fight

Make us young
Like we once knew
Skinned knees, knuckleheads
Holding out our hand and taking our then incomprehensible
comfort and safety
Time will have its pound
The world will have its way
But now I’ll savour this grain that was weighed
From old hands to blemish-less mine

You painted yourself a martyr with
your blood upon my blade
And now my Damascus is tainted with
your tears and rusted pain

I was forged and beaten in quiet flames
for the risings and singings of slain
And my steel would ring crystal upon their thrones
as we show what’s womanly fame

But centuries later from charred fists
I’m set into glass and displayed
Where clasped hands and smug eyes declare my dream
and exampled as womanly fate

Yet remember
Remember
It’s in your bones and blood
Smell the ash on your face
Taste the rain and the race

We were made for walking
And stomping feet
To seek their eyes and maim

For the wanderer listens for the voice in the dust
And the lost will gain what was tamed

Sisters and brothers,
Prayers and shame
We’re warriors of water and way
We had turned to a nation of gold and rubble
We’ll turn to our stones and blade

Dig dig dig
There’s dirt in our nails
and the memories in our name
Where the weeds blossom in yellow fire
We’ll drag them into our nameless graves

I was tempered and torn in the waters of faith
Where I birthed and I sang and I laboured away
Where I’ll raise an army in the songs that I wrote
And the stars that I named in my chains

Today I will shatter each shard as an edge
and I’ll cut you as you swallow my hate
And my blood will cover as testament and crown
as you prepare for my womanly reign