Blood Rite

I’m all jelly bone

and knee tremble

my brothel creepers

and crepe soul

slick with anticipation

tomorrow

is another

creosote sundae

but tonight

is a total eclipse

of reason

I bide my time

spilling my oats

on barren ground

to be washed away

in the menstrual cycle

my instruments

calculate trouble

word gets around

there are no secrets

in monkey town

Sundowners

don’t kid yourself

you know these people

just cause they button up

the same way you do

they got secrets to cash

and monkeys to feed

by day they hone

their grievances

forge alliances

and swear their oaths

as playground innocents

but at night

they are a different

species of stupid

when their kamikaze hearts

spur them to perform

localised atrocities

of obscene and banal

dimensions

.

Liars

you taught my tongue some tricks

I can weave real eloquently now

with a winning smile

and a twinkle in my eye

I've even fooled myself at times

we all want to believe in something

we all want to trust in someone

but I don't even trust myself

I'm dirty as the thirty pieces of silver

that secured my ounce of solid soul

and as deep as the phony veneer

that fails to conceal my corruption

so, ask me no questions

and ditch the disguise

save us both the effort

of more graceless contortions

as we make our final goodbyes

.

My Friend

they persecuted him

because they could

because it’s easy

to close your mind

to the different

and he was different

he was a peacock

amidst vultures

he was a libertine

in the company of slaves

he was a shooting star

who burned too brightly

and he was my friend

when there was no other

.

Shadowless

he spoke in tongues

strangely familiar

first languid

and then rabid

the queen's english

bastardised

in a paralytic dialect

of mumbles and grunts

cunt was a drooler

a mewling loser

dredging an ocean

of heartfelt regrets

and bitter recriminations

he'd traded his allocated

ounce of solid soul

for the draught of oblivion

and I’ve seen his face before

in some distant mirror

but I don't know him

he's nothing to me

.

Loner

she had those absinthe eyes

set in a fragile waifish dial

she possessed a laddish wit

that always made me smile

we were never really lovers

but we fucked once in a while

.

no, we were drinking buddies

and were seldom sober

but we were never truly close

because at heart she was a loner

and I wonder what became of her

when our escapades were over

.

The Nice

I had long since

abandoned hope

of ever forging

a masonic

connection

but had made

quiet inroads

amidst the nice

I could never

be one though

dull as ditch water

the nice

even the messianic

shun the nice

besides

my mere presence

fucks with their feng shui

.

Pain

pain will always prevail

the weather is changeable

and the heartbeat of the day

will vary from breast to breast

but the pain is a constant

source of sorrows

that never lets you rest

the leveller of young and old

and rich and poor alike

you never know just when

the dreaded pain will strike

.

Menagerie

there was no miscalculating

it was the season of ill will

those fractious lovebirds

were broadcasting citywide

they were at the ding dong

with the usual diatribe

concerning love and validation

guerrilla tactics were involved

I had to shield my mind

from their carnal dredgings

and squirmed with embarrassment

when they mentioned my name

.

Graft

I wasn’t shy

I liked to graft

but on the grip

no questions asked

sometimes it was shady

and sometimes inky black

but only a fool would starve

when there’s gravy to be had

.