Power

she said the right things
she wore the right clothes
took the right drugs
read the right books
and listened to the right music
but she wasn’t right for me
there was something about her
that made me feel uneasy
she was too eager to please
her every action was
designed to gratify my needs
you’d think I’d enjoy that
but you’d be wrong
I felt caged by her love
I had all the power
and it proved a burden
.
we had a friendship
that caught fire
it was a matter of time
before we got burned
the love we shared
had a gravity of its own
it began to drag us down
it had to end somewhere
and it ended badly
one rainy night
it simply dissolved
she said she hated me
I didn’t doubt that
she wore her love
like and open wound
it was bound to leave a scar
.

The Ninth Life

on the journey back

from the crematorium

silent and heavy hearted

I saw a dead cat in the road

its ninth life had been dashed

on the black tar macadam

it looked like it was sleeping

but I knew that it was broken

and was never going home

they say cats have nine lives

while men have only one

yet a man can die

a thousand deaths

before his days are done

.

Wonders

my grandfather

that beautiful old man

shared such treasures with me

tales of adventure and discovery

in distant dark continents

and the cycle of the seasons

in the land we called home

he named the constellations

and revealed the golden ratio

at the heart of nature’s symmetry

he always maintained

that the universe was made

of those little treasures

he passed along to me

and that knowledge is a jewel

to be prized beyond riches

he was not a wealthy man

some might call him poor

but when he left this world

he had bequeathed me wonders

Once Bitten

we were enslaved

by your petty regulations

once bitten

twice shy

was a callous methodology

simply operant conditioning

with a practised brutal flourish

spare the rod and spoil the brat

was the dullard ideology

visited on your youth and mine

I saw the dust behind your eyes

you were old beyond your years

something inside you

had already died

every mother’s child

has a thousand teachers

and I was an early receiver

of your twisted ideation

tuned to your negative acuity

I learned to tread lightly

whenever you were around

Dew Drops

she went about her business

with kindness and good grace

and where she trod

little miracles sparkled

as morning dew drops

reflecting the dawning sun

like tiny prisms

diffracting and recombining

into a million rainbows

which lit the hearts

of whoever fell within

the spectrum of her love

everyone who loved her

carries that light still

.

Orpheus

you are not Orpheus

you can save no-one

you are not Christ

you shall not rise again

everybody dies

there are no exceptions

you can’t cheat death

we must live with that

once you’re gone

you can’t come back

it’s a law of nature

you can’t fight it

loss is the price we pay

for the love we share

everybody dies

and that knowledge

costs us dear

* image: Hades and Persephone listen to Orpheus’ song in the Underworld.

5132: H. Bissen, 1798 – 1868.

Machiavellian

it’s the strangers you know

that generate the most heat

those that have your confidence

are the most likely to betray you

you held my gaze a little too long

I suspect you’ve made a bad call

the arsehole of humanity

is a regular garden of eden

for the hungry devotees

of the cockroach god

go give your face a wash

you have blood on your chin

rearrange your killing stones

we’re in for heavy weather

you pledged your solidarity

with a murderous mechanism

you tried to steal my name

so you could write it in the gutter

.

Ocean Child

ocean child

hear my voice

dry your tears

you have no choice

you’re still alive

you should rejoice

reach for me

it is allowed

don’t be afraid

to show me how

for I am here

at least for now

Egg N Chips

we had egg and chips

and we were grateful

the children in Africa

had nothing at all

we dragged the low end

because we were brassic

when your stomach is empty

it’s hard to stand tall

the times sure were tough

but the people were tougher

when troubles are shared

they can suddenly seem small

Necropolis

I hate the grim necropolis

that has claimed your bones

there’s nothing here but charnel

and the memories of ghosts

I cannot leave you here

cold and all alone

so meet me in the morning

when the sunlight splits the sky

and we shall dance

in pastures green

like a pair of butterflies

.

Mob

they’re out to get me

the gossip mongers

and their lynching crew

I killed two birds

with only one stone

they called me sorcerer

I said I was just lucky

they said I was too lucky

and pointed to my women

they said I’d cast a spell

to bind them to me

and that I was father

to every bastard child

in their bastard town

I said I wished I was

for then I’d have an army

to always stand right by me

because I could not deny

my own flesh and blood

and they would know

their father’s love

instead of the hatred

of the rumour peddlers

and the vicious mob

.

A Thousand Suns

back in the day

we had idiot sanctuaries

moored offshore

on the emerald ocean

where fat cats

would call the shots

for the man

who called the shots

before the last nations fell

the top banana

sat on a gilded throne

while continental flunkies

manned his 24 hour hotline

he had a legal mandate

to commit the perfect crime

no-one ever saw him coming

but everybody knew

from his bloody footprints

exactly where he had been

he was the master of ceremonies

for the great false dawn

they say that it shone brighter

than a thousand suns

.