By the content of my character! he howled
Judge me by this I beg of you, brothers
Invoking that late pastor from Georgia
A counterfeit laced with expletive
Appropriation of premise without grace
Scrutinise him then by his own measure
A sheep wandering with a rabid flock
Whipped in to a frenzy by fallacy
Choosing only the slogans in favour
Ignorant of truth, bombastic oblivion!
And he is found wanting
And they are found blind
Shame be upon you
cruel ignorant people
you who’s selfish abandon
tills the earth of your loins
bears the fruit of a child
and then leaves him to spoil
and neglects him to ruin
and imprints him with terror
from your own self made demons
from your own earthly sins
It would have been better
you greedy narcissus
to have left his pure essence
as one with the ether
peace beyond the veil
and to float with the spirits
and to kiss inexistence
free from bruises and hunger
free from death of the soul
I hate the smell of hospitals
lemon bleach and sterile funk
base notes of stale vomit and
top notes of lingering death
Fresh-mopped vinyl flooring
in hues of green and pink
gives way to glass and tiles
the chill of stainless steel
People keep their heads down
try not to make eye contact
unsure what you are here for
just in case it’s sadness
I hate the smell of hospitals
It seems like we haven’t
talked for quite a while
people out there in the
big wide world
Had a lot on my mind
mostly feeble thoughts
and childish fears
about the future
Met a few new folks and
un-met a few more
sometimes it’s just
not worth the hassle
Worked on my own self
with mixed successes
I think I can promise you
I’ll be less distant
Please accept my apologies
Just a little further through the pines you said
it would all be worth it, this brisk short walk
my head way weary and my legs withheld
from a weekend of excess and decadence
but it would all be worth it, this brisk short walk
I picked up some pine-cones from the track side
weathered and brown and brittle in my hands
the mossy scent of the forest carpet on them
and now on my hands and in my memories
but it would all be worth it, this brisk short walk
Something stirred within us as we rounded the bend
some magical light filtered in from beyond
the needles of pine and the ferns on the trail
seemed golden and bright and burnished with gold
and it would all be worth it, this brisk short walk
Over a rise and the landscape was transformed
a broad-strip crescent of sand arced before us
radiating the warmth of summer in winter’s chill
emerald green shallows become depts of dusky blue
and it was all worth it, that brisk short walk
Today the world moves like
a float on an outgoing tide
bobbing about erratically
and soon out of your sight
Today the world moves like
a comet in the night’s sky
bright flash across the darkness
passing shimmer in your eye
Alone and steadfast with the
ocean lapping at the shore
dark rocky outcrops and
lush green lower lands
nourished by plentiful rains
silent and overlooked and
very much overgrown
sometimes my friend
you make me feel
like an island
I live for quiet moments
like in the summer evening
when the burning oranges
become soothing indigo
I live for quiet moments
like on the waters edge
as the tide moves inwards
and laps at sandy feet
I live for quiet moments
lying underneath the stars
blazing meteoric curtains
while our fingers finally meet
Let us take it tonight by surprise
and bind it, shackles and iron
after twilight and the sun’s retreat
let us bury it down and deep
this annus horribilis
Do not let it stay longer than it should
let us ensure its timely demise
tear stained cheeks it has left us
pits and craters in our hearts
this year of dogs
your trap spring has gone and caught me
even though I knew the score
should have kept back when I saw them
footprints on the dusty floor
I am a hope-less fool romantic
laid it all down at your door
should not have trodden any further
someone else had gone before
LVX CREARE 