I tried to wake up
but everything seemed made up
relevance appeared frayed and obscure
I tried to deliberate and speak
but my parchment mouth
was full of symbols and wretched dust
atonement burned like fire on the tip of my tongue
I tried to knead all my fermenting words
but my half baked mouth
was jammed with coarse ash and raw syllables
I tried to straighten up and think
but my frittered mind
was verb and plum empty
storied communion juiced and squeezed
my blazing frontal lobes
disorienting my parsley being
I tried to metaphysically move
but my ornamental body
stood rigid and forlorn
I tried a lion pose hoping to finally sleep
but my wooden eyes
could never open or shut
I tried to smother my incense dreams
but my insensitive and clouded brain
would only smolder and blunder
I tried thunder and dance
but all my words are broken
chants unsung and so much poetry still unspoken
I tried to play earthly music
but my left hand ran off with all my art and virtues
my invalid right feeling crippled and veritably lost
I've tried to inhale life and sacred breath
but my veritable soul
chokes on unabridged reality
I've tried to protest impertinent love
but my fidgeting spirit
mocks my freedom and fidelity

                       * * *

 

in a hurricane
all the surety of fruit
gets furiously blown off the tree
bruised fruit for everyone including you and me
in a hurricane
so many big branches are broken
life flushed away by rushing rivers and streams
tormented hours all of them crawling with nightmares
followed by the worst night terror dreams
in a hurricane
revered and majestic old trees
get uprooted so damn fast
falling while recalling chapters
of storms they survived in their ancient past
in a hurricane
power lines and transformers
are violently tossed to the ground
so millions sit dejected
in transformative dark
while conjecture wonders
about the pitiable things
lost and left in the poor park
in a hurricane
the insanely raging wind
wants to tear your roof and head off
crazy low pressure dictating
each execution from its ocean trough
in a hurricane
the magnificently hysterical sea
wants to tragically flood
every tangled beach and mangled harbour
a deep froth of chill and seawater
salting every garden and coastal arbor
in a hurricane
angry gales blowing torrential rain
want to show-off and quickly fill
every empty pool and low lying basement
nature and the storm gods defiling this changing world
rendering its destiny with such wicked displacement
in a hurricane
falling on our knees
everyone praying for less wind and rain easement
doesn't mean insanity is repressive or even vain
hurried along by a hurricane's impressive defacement
a finger of God creating this oppressive chastisement
in a hurricane
the world seems a different place
so much pounding wind  
driving rain into everyone's face
cowering from the obsessive storm
is not a show of cowardice or a disgrace
God only wishes all eyes open
all hearts wide open
for the whole human race

 

I heard the Queen died
all week
there has been news
heralding this Queen
a country Monarch
I've only known
during feral life
my waking views
but I'm just
a speaking bug
clinging to
imperiled rock and mossy arch
alive with life's
sugar and starch
yet my medicine mouth
growing turkey tail and bracket fungi
unlike my woolly worm and moth eaten life
void of royal jelly
no jewels and crowns
no bee's wax
every thing an absence
my carpenter ant castle
void of ant hill farms
no studs or gems or thrones
reflection from
my earthly hallelujah realm
mountains of review
but glaciers and sacred shorelines
spiritual canyons
ritually change
and the virtual Queen
is dead
shall we
metamorphose too
spin a sacred chrysalis
rich silk and virtue
one virtuous and holy day
emerge again
warmed by
our own yearning
under the blessed
burning sun
adorned with sparkling
monarch wings
rising out of the blue
such gentle sky
behold a golden
horn and helm
higher too
platinum jubilee
like repentant kings
civil queens might do
cycles begin anew
that african diamond
each tribal facet
reflecting elephants and lions
a growing indignant tide
an urgent fleuve
flooding its way
across every monarch's land
resurgence of perfect
nature with epic hope
making passionate love
a blasting tsunami
from each deep ocean
let us strive
try to cope
after every
monarch's orgasmic death
nothing can be
centre of the world
for the centre
of the world
reeks of metaphor
flowing molten tin and lead
touching upon unique
brahma and foreboding
entrenched with dig deep
excavating that hidden way
all the way to enlightenment
reach out for reason
touch heaven and the prophetic sky
live questing
pray that you
find perfect stead
so once
in a bug's lifetime
when you hear
the Queen is dead
remember
blessed garden life
always remaining
dear and near
we have to ask
why are majestic birds dying
we have to wonder
why do pilot whales run-a-ground
I heard they were happy
I heard they felt safe
but then the Queen dies
so everything changes
even the sun and the sky
floundering and running-a-ground
even spiders with their perfect webs
failing to catch a fruitful fly
so too imperfect hurricane
choked by brethren cyclone
strangled by raging earthquake
those curios and rampant pitfalls
entrapment and tiger traps
this world's curious viral illness
politics with its raging hormones
whatever should remains the same
still evolution takes over
attuned and in good stead
god's plumage
stuck in every hat and head
your heart and soul
they might
feel the same
still the odd world
goes relatively insane
the Queen is cold and dead
Emperors and Kings remain
but the Queen has died
princely jesters pause to call
reciting a wavering refrain
the Queen is dead
the Queen is dead
God help us all
the Queen is dead
God help us
one and all

           * * *

 

foot prints
in the sand
like star tracks
across the sky
Oh! Brahmaputra
lovely lotus flower
perfume around the earth
what hurt and regret
does the sacred sun have
Oh! blissful moon
tragedy never escapes you
still by fate you orbit
if you were Emperor
commanding oceans
demanding love from hearts
would each moon beam
be some trickle of faith
could every eclipse
be a function of destiny
on each biblical morning
when we typically find
icecaps being defeated
should we truly discover
all the oceans have died and failed
when all our food stocks
have rotted and are depleted
when contorted civilization stinks
when everything that exists seems conceited
will all those flushing tracks we leave
crushing bugs and stepping on ants
what kind of thugs are we
maybe lack of water will clear our minds
perhaps acid rain will sequester our progress
let us wonder if starvation can infuse enlightenment
while confusion keeps us at war
battling with our incessant selves
regressing with our planet
folk tales could cure all this
love songs could help us make a positive shift
what about all our fears and tears
what about finally shifting gears
revision through our rear-view mirrors
reviewing justice and integral dreams
seeing life through spiritual eyes
one chant and mantra after another
prayers from every sacred cave
if prayers are heard will we be saved
so this metamorphosis
this glaciated kind
a recipe from dinosaurs into birds
confusing our viral nature
perhaps some intelligent stature
will suitably revere flocks and herds
natural food for our godhead mind
such a pity this final reality
finial cementing over spiral jungles
concrete thoughts into vinyl deserts
we keep polluting rivers
insist on depleting oceans
this rank atmosphere
creating rampant plagues
begetting destructive war
leaving us lost and homeless
forgetting all those forgotten poor
abusing innocence and children
enslaving voiceless women
shackling broken men
another token mass extinction
even spiritual degradation
cannot match our demon worship
our insipid greed
our blatant hate
our raging anger
all our human lust and disharmony
banking on dysfunctional politics
elevating elected bandits and gangs
such gruesome torture
delegating every misguided society
corrupting true religion
amassing broken hearts
imprisoning our wretched souls
as if we are playing our sacred part
as if we are masters of the lawful universe
as if we are gods right from the thoughtful start
leaving footprints in coarse sand
like we are the artist and not the art

                              * * *

 

what if the world
wasn't green with plants
what if there were
no poems or dance
what if the planet
wasn't blue with water
what will happen
when the planet gets even hotter
what if suddenly
music stopped
would you feel unbalanced
sadly collapse and flop
what if your heart
suddenly stopped beating
what if existence
was even more fleeting
what if the sun
refused to shine
what would we do
without fruit ripening on the vine
what if there were even more things
humans simply could not transcend
what if everything
decided to disappear and end
what will dreams be
when the living world truly ends

                   * * * 

 

I know too much
so my heart is heavy
all those things
making my soul cry
I know way too much
which leaves me broken
all those things
that make me weep and sigh
I don't know anything
even though I've heard
all those terrible words
danger and plight have spoken
I don't know anything
still in my dreams
I recount everything
those tragic things
that make me
want to burrow
deep into the sorrowful earth
those drastic things
that have turned the world
from what magic used to bring
which used to make me want to sing
instead of making me crumple and cry
making me think that everything
is simply wanting
making me useless and senseless
so in my careless dreams
seeing things that depress us
I see the perilous end
sensing demons that distress us
those things I know and don't know
simply making me want
to disappear and die

                  * * *

 

burn all life's bridges
as existence tumbles
resist falling down
into some feckless underworld
those reckless bridge trolls
chewing on raw snails
feasting on bloody flesh
gnawing on broken bones
do the brash remember
the course of sweet surrender
even though fete nature is clever
still nervously biting
ragged lives and finger nails
draw another soulful line
the folly of goodness and frailty
dashed in coarse sand
what in heaven's name
are troll's harsh demands
some smashing dialogue
good life mashed to bits
when cruel lines are drawn
resulting in stitched up warring
every bitching ultimatum
those careless bridge trolls
never ever sharing
slicing and dicing sprites and elves
is perfect life dwelling
in some pricey bog
goodness gracious
how does it feel
to be a prisoner and a dog
a slave to trolls
ask displaced sprites and gnomes
watch as graceful elves and faeries
gather tender bits
from what remains
of their nature homes
watch while they flash away
dashing into rolling far-off hills
such reflective light and folly
oh the sad regretful glowing moon
what knowingly happens
when every flowing connection
every sturdy bridge collapses
when trolls with their viral infection
disrespect sprites and elves
does magic simply disappear
inflection due to happenstance
what are the tragic circumstances
of story book life and true romance
where faerie tales and middle earth
sorrowfully and abruptly end
because of horrid
awful happenchance
because of mindless trolls
emerging from deep dark holes
burning and destroying bridges
that elves and faeries
always strive to defend

                    * * *

 

who said
we need that
who decided
we'll go to war
was there
a referendum
people voting
let's go to war
or marking their ballot
let's stay home
be good neighbours
live life as lovers
not devils and terrorists
who voted for drastic war
who chose desperation
over relational peace
who benefits most
from bullets and bombs
millions upon millions
all those multi-billions
how much wealth and gold
chattel in their castle vaults
how much health and peace
can gold buy anyhow
how much freedom
does greed and war bring
how much humanity
less truth and justice
can goodness rise
above war's dark profanity
can compassion and light define
morality and divinity
can enlightenment
revealed in real earth time
heal war's crimes
rebel against war's evil insanity
can there be
revelation in destructive climes
can there be
elevated reasoning
in any warring season
where nothing
is ever easy
simply nothing
majestic or divine
simply nothing
passionately sublime

               * * *

 

I watched the tide
come in today
like wicked love
elastic flowing in
romance from afar
I watched ecstatic stars
passionately circle
mishmash o'er the sultry seaside  
amended plastic
urgent across the sheltered bay
where crashing people
come to dash and cope
flirt with romance
return again and again
a last reception of hope
as they laugh and play
such brash inception
spreading conceptual blankets
patchworks of tank tops  
criss-crossing sandy beach
dedicated rank and file
relational life speeches
that vain stank
those dead end stops
calamities with bikini bottoms
tattooed skin in show-off  throngs
even more boasting
revealing thongs
summer heat and colour
that sunburnt tint
across the sunlit reach
you came to wade
most don't get the wit or hint
divergent shifting shallows
stealth with barefoot steps
swimming with immersive rhythm
roiling with subversive love
surfing algorithmic permissive tides
avoid see through jelly fish
transparent tentacles and painful stings
evade great white sharks
beseech sponge and tube worms
buoyed by virulent vents
toy with deep sea things
beneath the cold deep sea
try asking Neptune and Felicity
will summer flings teach fecundity
oh electric love master
your contrast full of arcs
eels sparking eccentricity
mouthfuls of lasting grit
remarkably fulfilling
every vast and gaping hole
perhaps what brazen brings  
can there be
an actual goal
emotional traps
grappling with every wanting soul
blazing daunting trail
ghosts at every haunting depth
spectres in the chill and dark
leviathan with shark teeth
frightening chapters in every way
measuring insistent solar rays  
enlightening with every bite and step
corrupt with oceanic seizure  
pleasured by erupting undersea volcanoes
disrupting love's eclectic spark
that trying grit and annoying sand
a mouth full of blowfish
toying with your wicked tongue
a heart full of stringy clams and muscles
a boat load crammed with emotion
all those clinging barnacles
dreaming that is never fun
lying on a unfurnished beach
washed up alongside bruised romance
tidal love with crass advance
burnished by love's cruel hand
watch the rising  tide
kiss the burning sand

                  * * *

 

we're living
on borrowed time
so many
broken moments
so many
token figments
those feral pigments
every foment dream
seems uncanny
every steamy fantasy
seems insanity
we're living
on borrowed time
so many
frightening nightmares
so many
earth shaking comedy of terrors
segments of incandescense
everything seems
bits and pieces
life's eternal essence
which came first
paternal thought
or maternal light
all this worldly thirst
everything that's not
this daily fight and plight
we're living
on borrowed time
even if
we're giving
even if
we're forgiving
life's a tragedy
everybody quivering
this infernal shivering
God's and yours and mine
there's a lonely song bird
chained to its forever perch
still a trill of notes
may be heard
from its warble throat
eternally trapped
in its blessed church
those suicide dreams it has
captured by this life long lurch
flying free and soaring high
searching for a perfect song
norm from egg to rapture
such a short and cruel life
brutal careless storms
over borrowed time
fire and that killing knife
theirs and yours
and often mine

             * * *