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

Enough

the beasts that till your poisoned soil

carve patterns in your furrowed brow

that signify the burdens borne

in the silence of your tortured nights

and the futility of your empty days

now you sup from a bitter cup

while reciting your litanies of spite

of love’s bloody negotiations

and the terrible price you paid

for such slight return

your sadness tastes like ashes

you have told yourself you’ve had enough.

Scars

there was a moment

when we could

have been friends

then she stared at me

she saw the scars

then they were all

that she could see

those are the

shameful reminders

of the boy I used to be

I have moved on since

my wounds have healed

but the scars remain

for everyone to see

Existential Crisis # 57i

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

I better bail out

before I’m found out

I have deviated

from the pattern

of the flock

those dopes

are sheparded

by wolves

they are helpless

and enthralled

their decline

commenced sooner

than anticipated

they had assumed

they’d be given

more time

.

Compact

give me comfort

bring me sustenance

for this is a grey world

and there are hunters

sharpened for murder

hungry for a piece of us

waiting at the door

I’ll trust you

just for the hell of it

you’ll trust me

because you’ve nothing

left to lose

when we first met

I sank to the quick of it

I knew there and then

I must have you

.