2020

we put all our eggs

in a single basket

and cast our lot

with the viral load

but there’s nowhere

to run in the great pandemic

nothing to do but hunker low

some say we’re judged by God

or that nature has rejected us

we sift for patterns

in the random chaos

and set to sea in thin rafts

woven together by promises

launched onto turbulent waters

more in hope than expectation

Positive

poor boy’s all fucked up

he has a runny nose

he got hit in the face

with a horseshoe bat

but went undiagnosed

they called for isolation

but he was last to know

he only picks up static

on his clockwork radio

the devil stole his breath

but no one gave a shit

until they’d tasted death

and everyone was sick

Without End

these are the days

of weary obedience

to the fearful edicts

of frightened men

we are yet savages

beneath our surfaces

and we hunger still

for reassurances

beyond our borders

so sit yourself down

to take sustenance

at your father’s table

take what you will

from what’s offered

not by violence

but through love

and the good grace

of your lesser demons

the aching hours

drone into eternity

and we are alone

inside closed eyes

within our memories

our pain has no past

our pain has no future

our pain has only now

in days without end

The Augurs Of Change

I caught a glimpse

of tumultuous change

and heard the song of ages

ringing out like a bell

welcome to the new cycle

an electro magnetic reality

history is now irrelevant

all things must pass eventually

this world is transformed forever

the future is being forged in fire

Let Me In

give me shelter

from the tempest

feed me now

and evermore

I will be your

power and glory

your touching stone

and favoured whore

they’ll call us demons

when they tell our story

but we have the juice

that transcends all sin

I got my hands

on the keys to heaven

just open the door

and let me in

Captain Chaos

the mysteries of life     seem to defy explanation       but I got the prickly answers     festering in my ball sack     it don’t take a psychic    to chart my approach     an electric horizon     all fire and thunder     crackles and spurts     with them golden bullets        the fruit of my loins   

murder and mayhem     lurk in my shadow       so open the door    just let me in        I won’t be no bother      or give me your cloak     this is magical weather     give me your cloak       and I’ll cast you a spell

this poor boy     gets all ego inflated     and is counter-indicated      for most applications      I’m good for a laugh      but don’t ask for directions      my bipolar co-ordinates      mean I’m lost and  found      in repetitive cycles    

however    due to the unique way        my head is located        I get to harmonise        with those dissonant values       that tie other people      in  gordian knots        this heavy soul      walks on many waters        a friend to all men      but master of none

History

don’t mind

this old dog

I have rubber teeth

and my bark is worse

than my bite

but

I got some paper

in my hand

says I can take

your day

I’ve been

inoculated

against your truth

with knowledge

and my crew

has cast lots

for your shit

so strip down

dummy up

and listen

your empires

of deception

will be washed

away in time

and your emperors

will stand naked

in the dock

of history

to answer

for their crimes

*image: Akhenaten the ‘Heretic Pharaoh’.

.

The Big Bang

it all began with the big bang

and that sudden realization

of the loose arrangement

that binds the race

in instinctual fear

so you’d best cast me out

I have a dreamer’s disease

I’m a philistine and a cannibal

my light comes from within

I got a cut rate education

stolen between knotted sheets

and from the borrowed books

I neglected to return

I was an idiot savant

a music hall visionary

in the insane old charade

called show business

the charm

of that former life

has long since worn thin

the antidote to glamour

is working for a living

everything is hard work

slacking is the hardest of all

mind numbing boredom

scoops your insides out

fills the spaces with stardust

Mumble Beads

you bought a bag

of mumble beads

presumably

to ease the burden

of an empty existence

but the placebo of prayer

is like an opium dream

you can’t hold on

to what isn’t there

the momentary relief

gleaned from holy balsam

is the redemption

of stolen goods

in exchange

for empty promises

and vicarious atonements

are hollow gestures

for an audience of none

for no-one else sees

the trip you are on

.

Death Deifier

I dragged

the low end

until I found

the hard edge

that’s how come

I lived for so long

sure, I’ve had

copious licks

on the sugar stick

since then

but I still know

where the heat

is stashed

and I’ll dig mine

before I dig yours

you’ll see them both

and appreciate

the signified

before I fill yours in

Déjà vu (Revisited)

was it animal waves

or the scent of blood

that baited the trap

that captured us?

we had ringside seats

but were with the gods

ours were edgy vices

those stolen moments

were crimes of passion

but you were seamless

in your auxiliary actions

I figured this was not

your fist time around

but had a queasy déjà vu

that vertigo of the libido

when you regurgitated

the standard disclaimers

and the magic was all gone

your words were so familiar

I could almost sing along

because I recalled the singer

who used to sing that song

Just Desserts

naked as a peach pip

stoned as a cherry

my strawberry tart

wet dream topping

knicker-dropper glory

your raspberry fool

scoffs passion’s

bitter berries

forbidden fruit

baked in a pie

that fleshy pulp

juice sticky fingers

hot love sundae

my just desserts

apple of my eye