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