simpatico

I could have tried harder    but I couldn’t be arsed    I take things in my stride     or I don’t take them at all    we talked the house down     about man, and god, and love     how everywhere in the world they hurt the little girls     but you’re not a little girl     only your pride got hurt      you told one colossal lie     but I don’t blame you at all     we were never simpatico     I think we both know that     but I have no regrets     that I can squawk about

Jonah and the whale

 

“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah…”

I know an allegory when I see one. This is a tale of redemption and forgiveness.  You better obey the Lord, because he can fuck you up. I empathise with Jonah.  I have been fucked up. When my friends cast lots against me, the world swallowed me whole. My three days and nights lasted an eternity – until I finally discerned the truth. You can take that fishy story with a pinch of salt. Don’t take any text literally. Call it poetic licence. Sometimes fictions make more sense than facts. That doesn’t make them true, they just come disguised like that. The truth part is up to you.

There are fictions we choose to believe. There are fictions we can’t see.  We might as well be blind if stories have us crouching in the dark. We might as well be deaf if we will not hear the truth screaming in our ears.   We are only as honest as our curiosity.  It’s curiosity that wields the blade with which we dissect ideas. We were gifted with minds, so that we could think for ourselves. That’s what makes us human beings. That’s what being human is. If there’s a spark of divinity in that, it was born within our minds.

Do something crazy before you die

                                 

Do you ever think about your thinking?  Is your mind just a place to hide?   I met the Buddha the other day. He was panhandling for change.  He recognised the face, but couldn’t recall my name, He said. “do something crazy before you die, “  then fucked off down the street. It had to be the Buddha -  although I must admit he’s changed.  He’s still the man I knew from a different time and place.

Do you ever think about your thinking?  Does your mind illuminate your life?  Stranger things have happened, but I couldn’t tell you when.   If you identify as sentient, you’re not alone in loneliness.  This old world is crazy. You’ll never figure it out.  Just don’t take it too personally. You’re only passing through. Try to bear that in mind whenever the world disappoints you.   It’s not just sage advice.  This here’s a word to the wise. Do something crazy before you die.  The opportunity won’t come twice

music for parties

 we’re all about the night      so go on      give it a little extra     stick the boot right in    we’ve been waiting on something special       it’s time you took your turn       let’s get out of our skins       we can celebrate together      puncture the night with song      tonight will live forever    coz the party never ends      where young hearts run wild and strong

…and the buddha makes three

 

I’m sparking up a formula     with no specific ingredients      can you follow that?     will it make any difference?      I’ve had too much to think     and now I need a rest     still, it makes the nights more interesting     to think until you think you’re full     do you ever think about your thinking?     I suggest you do     we can compare notes     you, me  and the buddha makes three    the mind is a rubber band      it’s got elasticity     when we stretch and flex    the universe bends in sympathy      I see a bird perched in a tree     I am the bird      I am the tree    when I sing the song    the song is me

crave

 

I’m strung out on everything     I can never get enough    I got this hole inside I can’t fill    an urgent hunger    deep frenzied and lustful     it’s driving me around the bend     I need something to ease the pain     like sex, drugs or liquor      something that will get its teeth into me      the remedies lie close at hand       but I’m not gonna let that happen       I won’t let it consume me       I’ll turn this ache into energy      coz it’s an itch that I can never scratch     heaven knows I’ve tried    this constant craving  cannot be sated    it’s a bitch to the very last

dreams

 some dreams are terrible     some dreams are sacred      their fragments alive only in memory       she treads through my dreams with delicate feet     I pursue, but I never quite catch her        she rides on the breeze - just out of reach     I dreamed she was here last night    I did my best to be appealing      she glowed in appreciation      how I enjoyed putting out the charm      and watching it connect      better than putting out fear and watching it twist with calculated effect     

I’m a kindly old ruin    or so she said     a man with no soul     an ancient plumed serpent with come to bed eyes      I was designed to produce offspring like every other creature     not cower in the suburbs shining my dick     I’m now sixty four     and coming of age      (about fucking time)     I’m no longer afraid      just too old to do much about it      perhaps I’m too aged      to still cut the mustard      but a man can still dream     if that’s all that’s left him     a man can still hope     that dreams can come true

precious

some cats take the hump      at the slightest provocation      they expect to be offended      in fact, they must be offended      it’s a form of self defence       something they learned when they were young        they think they’re pretty tough       because they make a fuss       but then, everybody’s tough      until they take a kicking       the knowledge of certain death     will concentrate the mind     on the important things in life    

some cats cultivate an air of sobriety     it’s not so easy to offend a sober mind      I have spilled some wine      but I was diving for pearls     I used to think I was precious         until I stepped off the edge of the world     now I have nothing to defend     I no longer take offense      it’s a queer kind of freedom      that sets a man against himself     but  I see every aggravation as  a personal test    coz my enemy lies within     if that makes any sense

anthem of the heart

 is this my reality?    did I bake it myself?     or was it imposed on me?      I have to know where I am     or I won’t find my way home     and I’ll have no place to sleep       when there’s sleeping to be done       I have to know what’s mine and leave the rest alone      whatever path I take     I’ll keep a piece of myself apart      coz I was born a singular being      nothing changes that      but everything I do    becomes a part of me     so I never steal more than I can carry     

I followed the ideology of sex, drugs and violence       but nothing gulfed the chasm I felt inside     love was supposed to cure me of that      but there’s no honey in any philosophy that advocates slavery     I march to the sound of a different drum     the freedom I seek lies within    where a revolutionary heart ignites my conscience       I’ve heard many different singers     interpret this same song     they often change the lyrics      but they seldom get it wrong

another false dawn

 it’s early in the morning    and I can’t get myself straight     too many dead people in my bed     they will not let me sleep     lord,  deliver me from evil      deliver me from dreams      take me where the grass grows green     and a man can find some peace    I fear the devil stole my shoes   and sold them to a priest     now I walk and talk the blues      but I can’t find no relief

a king without a crown

give me a mask and I’ll speak the truth      I don’t need anyone to turn me on     I do alright on my own     I don’t have a dog in this fight      so just leave me alone      there’s chaos in the system        we’re all out of order     every life is on fire      all we wanted was a pot to piss in     but the shame was on us     when the seventh seal was broken     silence dawned in heaven     the fascista flag was burning      the sky came tumbling down      we required a human number     for a king without a crown

love the sinner

 I’m not really tired       but they say a rest is as good as a change     so, I’m off upstairs     where the stars might anoint my eyes     with a billion kisses     that hopefully sew my eyes shut     and send me happy dreams       I’m rolling over into tomorrow       when I might get some relief

I made a deal with god     at least, I think it was god     it was dark      and he didn’t speak     but I’m holding him to it      or I’ll cancel my subscription      my demands were quite reasonable      I need a little peace     I’m working on my memoir     the diary of a thief     in part a work of fiction     it outlines my beliefs

I’m not a holy roller      I don’t really believe in god      I don’t believe in little green men     or anything supernatural     but it’s part of my naïve charm     to believe preposterous things      I believe that words are magical      that music is sacred      that facts are often fictions     and fictions are as powerful as facts    I believe that love is the only agency      that can save humanity

I can love for no real reason      without knowing why     or when    or where     or if it is proper     or even appropriate       I could open up      as an ever blossoming flower     to love in my imagination     or with my flesh and bone     the universe conspires to bring me love     for there is madness in love     that’s why madmen make the best lovers

you have to love the sinner    even if you hate the sin      I have previous convictions    I have loved too much     and I have loved too little     I paid my debt to society     my heart’s been broken     I bled out for a bit     but I learned to love my enemies      and I’m prepared to loathe my friends    love can turn you inside out     there’s no room for caution with love     I’m ready to let it kill me      because everyone will take a piece     but some are worth the pain