the colours of the night

the moon was slung real low       in a big lazy coupe de ville     so close I could have smashed her windows        but I don’t carry no stones in my pockets       I’m merely  packing bones        I beat the sun into an early submission         it’s gonna be dark       for some time to come

the world has dissolved at my fingertips        I know every colour of the night      they were revealed to me          one layer at a time     it’s not so confusing           I saw it for a second         it flickered in and out        the symmetry of being      has never been in doubt

drop da bomb

 drop da bomb      on all gods and monsters

drop da bomb      on the alpha dogs

drop da bomb      on the smiling killers

drop da bomb      on the social network

drop da bomb      on the tower of babel

drop da bomb      do us all a favour

drop da bomb      end this slurry culture

drop da bomb      before it’s too late

the fifth wound

 this is the year of the locusts       the season of the pig       they dragged me to golgotha        and tried to paint me red          don’t ghost me now        just because you can       you might need a friend       further down the line        it’s a small world      and that’s a fact     we were bound to meet again      I drew strength from that           I’m counting once for sorrow        and hoping twice brings joy        I don’t pray for silver     I only pray for gold              so  come on help me out       minister to my wounds       don’t pin me up again        with your psychosexual harpoons

vampire weather

 it’s gone dark oppressive       in the nether latitudes      where we are imprisoned in endless night        there are suckers here        who’ll bleed you dry       they’ll steal your words       and feed you lies      I stand accused of the things that I said      but I won’t beg for mercy         I’ll never kneel      or bow my head       I’ll strike no deals with my oppressors     you know I’m not crying           coz I don’t feel sorry       the night is seeping in         but I don’t seem to worry

mister machine

 my outside woman        stole my sleep        that’s okay        I got my inside woman to cook my meat        she won’t drag me down        and she won’t turn me loose        she loves me like a friend      coz we have a thing        that shines in the dark       she don’t care where I go        as long as I come back

 I’m as regular    as clockwork      straight as a die       and crooked as life       no-one tells me what to feel         or where to go      or when to sleep       do as I will      that’s  the whole of my law        I got the mambo    and the strawberry jam       I do what I want         just coz I can

 I wasn’t meant to be tied down      I have too many friends         doing my rounds         I may be losing all my wagers      but I still feel lucky         I’m still in the game       I’ll go down loving        I have no choice       I’m mister machine         lighter than air        they say that I’m bad       but I don’t seem to care

lies

 got banged up         for telling porkies                wasn’t the first time           won’t be the last             lies are social lubrication             truth is a pill       that’s hard to swallow       lies are a common human currency            truth is a jewel beyond comparison                       so rare that no-one sees it    if it stares them in the face           I’m saving mine for maximum impact                      it’s my secret weapon          my get out of jail free card                         the final resort         when lies won’t suffice

sister midnight

 she sees meat          where otherwise serpents shine  she carves deep      her bloody policy             seeks only to divide            I knew her long ago     in the once upon a time    but we were never friends            and she’s no kin of mine               here comes the night         the night that bears her name                   this bed of nails was a gift of design she said our wounds would keep us honest                       but that was just  a lie        she left  her mark on me                      and taught me not to promise        things I can’t  deny she came to me a refugee       there was some truth behind her lies           she knew I was a thief        but I never picked her pockets                       and she never asked me why                      but we shared a century of torments                       under midnight skies

purple hearts

 you’ve been busted comrade                  we know where you sleep      we have this place surrounded                        your delusional thinking                will not go unpunished             you are not immaculate                        you are just criminal          and you have no friends                   you shall face the scaffold         totally alone

some say that genius         is an affliction of the mind   that torment inspires beauty       and the hand of god  has blessed the afflicted                with his loving touch                   but they’re yanking your chain              madness is a lesion of the heart              a slashing torment of the soul                 and no-one hands out purple hearts     for self inflicted wounds

Gethsemane

 are you one of the beautiful people?   

were you provided the opportunity to shine?

you need a friend who can hold you up           

I know where you can cut a new deal

but you gotta get righteous

buy the t-shirt

and tread the path

that leads to glory

you’ll find new friends

among old enemies

making deals

in public lavatories

coz loaves and fishes

don’t mean shit

when your pockets are empty

and you’re dying for a fix

Abercorn Beach

 did you get some peace   when peace was offered?   or is your hatred still a sacred cow?    did you stick to your guns   is that a virtue?   yes   I know the words    but I won’t sing along

anger is stupid   and stupidity kills    so dig me a hole   right next to yours    I’m no genius    neither are you   but I can see   that victory is impossible   in a war between friends

there is only losing    in your philosophy    the final blow   will leave us both morbid   and stranded on the shingles    with memories of drowning boys    who were taken away early   by the ebb of a turning tide   

astrology

 bleeding out between the stars

it was written in my sky

that I was born of the night

to be bioelectrically crazy

and idle to the bone

but it’s not such a raw deal

how can I complain?

when midnight serpents shine

in gardens misty wet with rain   

and even the constellations

are pounding out my name

existential

 this place    burns me out                 with wearisome  repetition    its suburban cliché                   weighs heavy       on my doldrums          and I’m drowning          in an ocean     of sundays            I’ve gone native    in the great nocturnal        I’m flying solo       from now on in   but I'll bail out     before I’m found out              for I have deviated         from the norm so blanket me                with tar and feathers                lead me to the killing floor                   I’ve had enough of the social system        my heart is heavy dread and my bloody knees are sore