An unmarked grave.

I met him in a crowded room;
We shared the same name.
Like two weavers working the same loom
We weaved threads of silken blame.

Her said he was from the future;
Only ten years hence.
His words were like surgeons' finest sutures;
He offered ten for every pence.

I didn't understand his words;
He told of subjects I hadn't tapped.
It's as though I'd never heard
Myself in tones quite like that.

He was just an embellished version of me;
Just me somewhere down the line.
And yet I knew I couldn't see
His convictions as I saw mine.

I didn't know if he meant what he said;
I didn't know if his thoughts were as mine.
And so I strangled him until dead
With a length of old fishing line.

I buried him in an unmarked grave.
I tried to forget what I'd done.
I couldn't see anything, save
The paranoid delusions I'd spun.

I met a man from my past;
His empty words crushed my heart.
In scorn his words cast
Tore me apart.

One night as I lay sleeping
I felt a tightness in my throat.
It seems the young aren't fit for weeping
For we're the ones who've given up their ghosts.

The curse of consciousness.

What would a bee be if not a bee?

Collecting pollen for the brood and the queen.
Evil in nature does not exist;
Nor does goodness in its felicitous bliss.

Good and evil are human concepts;
Other animals are without moral reflection.
Only the human animal can accept
That it has some sense of moral direction.

The only 'evil' perpetuated in this life
Is delivered by mankind's hand.
No other animal cares to ask why
It must roam the seas or land.

Orchids and rainbows just are;
There is no inherent goodness in beauty.
Only humans can truly scar
With their notions of neglect and duty.

If there is a deity up above
Let us not thank it for jocund felicity;
Let us deplore it for not dealing in love,
But rather in famine, war, death and misery.

All of our human emotions
Are merely evolutionary abstractions;
Only humans feel devotion;
Only humans feel inaction.

Whilst birds and insects flutter
People project human qualities upon reality.
It matters not a word we utter;
Only humans deal in morality.

Love exists in all animals;
It's just a biological necessity.
But humans have higher brains
And feel enamoured with levity.

Only humans feel 'human' love;
But only humans deal in hate.
No other animal will kill its own
For revenge or God or gain.

The Earth's beauty is neutral.
Sunsets care not for mortal eyes.
Only humans can mask being brutal
With religion's 'purposeful' disguise.

Don't take solace in colour or gaiety;
This world is not meant for you.
Don't put your faith in any deity.
Don't spend your days living blindly in a tomb.

Gay.

In the 1800s to the mid-20th century
'Gay' meant to be happy; 'gay' meant to be free.
(Then the meaning suddenly changed to encompass debauchery.)

Synonyms emerged - from 'queer', to 'poof', to 'fag'.
Gay people were purged just because fanny wasn't their bag.
Muslim men kill homosexuals in the Middle East.
Christians once did, too, 'cause they thought being gay a beast.

Gay men take most of the stick*;
It appears lesbians don't get much trouble.
Sexual persecution is wrong.
Some people live in homophobic bubbles.

Christians like to tell gay men where to put certain things.
I say: take your religion and jam it up your rings!

So, the common vernacular is now 'homosexual'.
It's better to take a cock than to never have sex at all.
And if you disagree about certain sexual proclivities,
Don't be so imprudent as to intrude on other people's private activities.

*No pun intended!

How many....

How many stories of love and relief are there?
How many houses have been built?
How many lovers sleep 'neath the stars there;
'Neath the heaven's star-spangled quilt?

How many hearts have been broken?
How many kisses have been shared?
How many eyes have been opened
To the love they found there?

How many days must I wait?
How many lives will drift by?
How long must this thirst I sate?
How many lovers will slip my eye?

How many lives will I see
With a gaze and not a peer?
How many people have loved?
When will love my way steer?

How many surfaces will I stroke?
How many centres will I ignore?
How many people drift idly on?
How many people sit lonely at the shore?

How long will the Sun and Moon be separate?
When will day and night blend?
When will I bask in love's twilight?
How many days adrift will I spend?

How many words of caring will I misread?
How many kneel down and cry?
How many tongues in vain bleed?
How many lovers throw not the die?

How many people in anger spew
Words their hearts do not shape?
How many times will love renew
The hope that life abates?

Spin.

We put spin on everything you see.
Do you feel dizzy? You should.
Everything you watch or listen to has been arranged,
Designed and written.
The music that accompanies the shows you watch
Is meant to elicit emotion.
Your reaction means everything to us.
We control everything you see;
Everything you read, watch and hear.
We plan your lives so you don't have to.

We try to tell you how it is;
But not how it should be.
Those of us who do tell you
Are compelled by hidden agendas.
The good people are silenced and ridiculed;
Pinned as mavericks and militants.
The harbingers of misery are really the prophets of peace.
Others will have you seduced by fancy and insulated within your Comfy lives.
We control your governments.
We put words in their mouths and cash in their hands;
We remove all doubt from their minds.
We've invested a lot in you.
One day, we're going to collect what you owe us.

Spin is in everything you read.
You can't escape it.
But do try to remove yourself from it all briefly.
Try to poke your head through the clouds
And see clearer air.
Progress isn't far off,
But the door to the next room is locked.
Who holds the key?
Use your hearts and see.
Just love.
Listen to people.
See both sides.
Remain in the middle; be un-biased.
Be moral.
Don't be swayed by one argument.
Always look for manipulation and mistruths.
Never lie.
Never use.
Never squander.
Never give up your dreams.
Fight for a better tomorrow;
Fight for a better today.
And think for yourself.

Cats and dogs.

I paw at your skin
As I knead your lap.
I sniff at my food
And exit through the flap.

I bark at strangers
And open my jaw;
I pant, almost smiling,
And my tongue hangs down to the floor.

I swipe at the string
And meow in expectation.
I cry out in want;
I purr to calm your frustration.

I fetch the stick
Like some floppy-eared slave.
I'll love you always;
I'll wait at your grave.

You tamed us when we were wild
And put us in your abodes.
We sleep by the fire.
Our ears prick up at the phone.

We're curious when strangers
Through your doors walk.
We're your furry companions.
We're your cheese and chalk.

Cats and dogs are different;
Cats are proud; dogs are timid.
But a dog will let you know
When it thinks it's winning.

One is man's best friend;
The other, a woman's chum.
When we die, you'll remember our days.
But think: oh, what fun! How we larked and played.

Listen to your subconscious.

I'm just gonna slip out the door;
A Freudian slip.
I keep nothing to myself;
I don't even have a subconscious.
It keeps nothing from me -
I'm sure I secretly wish to destroy myself.
Listen to your subconscious
And close your ears.
Shut your mouth.
Filter the light which passes through your pupils;
Paint it pink; purple -
A more rosy shade of all your deepest turmoil.

The small things.

You foam at the mouth.
You're on your own.
You fucking love it, don't you?
You rant in a quiet room about a loud world full of quiet lives
Lead by noisy people who have quiet thoughts.
One day, you're gonna have to settle down.
It's scary, isn't it?
You're gonna have to love another.
You're gonna have to step from these dark recesses
Like a fresh stream flowing from a cavern full of bats and algae.
These are the small things
Which we overlook.
These are the small things
Which make up the big things.
These are the small things -
Building one by one to break the camel's back.

Leaky boat.

Your head's a leaky boat,

so you paper the cracks.

The water seaps in;

the water's returned back.

You forget such simple things;

you make many mistakes.

But you've gotta carry on;

you'll be a fortress one day.

And you can stand on high ground

and stare out in self-worth;

another prick who's made it.

You weren't swallowed by the surf.

So never be complacent;

always seek to improve.

Don't live within the confines

of a sound-proofed booth.

Pinned.

Pinned. You've got me pinned;
Pinned like a fly to the wall.
Pinned with a tac and I bawl.

Pinned. You know what I'm like.
You think that I may and I might.
You ride me around like a bike.

But one day, I may peddle you;
One day, before you turn me blue.

Pinned - to your every whim.
You can dull me 'til I am dim.
When will you let me in?

Pinned. You know me well.
You're an angel from somebody's hell.
I think you're just swell.

And one day I may become your slave.
You inter me and raise me from the grave.

LSD.

Recently, I can't sleep;
My life's too vibrant for dreams.
A few drops of LSD
Ought to perk me up like high-strength coffee.
I've been witnessing ill-effects.
The crystals and bubbles roll off my breath.
The devil came and fiddled a tune.
God shook his fist from his air balloon.
And all the grass was motioning
Like the blades were one without the wind.

Recently, I can't sleep.
The light just won't let the dark in.
I see the clouds-a-roll
Like they're bantering with such cajole.
I can't help but laugh.
I'm such a sorry waste of mass.
LSD fried my brain.
If I weren't so wired I'd prob'ly feel insane.

I conversed with my animal friends
And the DDT-dead ones rose again.
I had to check my feet were treading earth;
I thought I was in the stirrups about to give birth.
LSD, pass it around.
I'm waiting for Lucy to come down.
I had a vision of Gabriel.
He said Mohammed had been popping pills.
There's no better opprobrium
Than a trip to cloud-cuckooland on opium.
I saw a wicker cow.
Her wicker teats bloodied my mouth.

By the lake.

See her standing by the lake.
The water cascades down her face.
Her tears are one with the rain.
She feels threadbare and she feels pain.

The water is very cold.
The evening air smells of mould.
The trees are shivering their leaves
As she descends into dark and peace.

Problems, problems everywhere,
Tangled up in her hair.
Hair in blonde, flowing locks.
She's resting now with the rocks.

And she hopes she'll not be missed.
They search for her in the mist.
Her perfect skin, so pale and soft.
Her body's still but her memory's not.

Sleepwalking.

I can't sleep
So I creep
'Round the halls
Of my dreams.

I'm so tired;
So full of the night.
I'm so tired,
But sleep won't bite.

I go to the
Bar at half-
Past-nine and
Stagger back.

I'm so tired;
I'm so uptight.
My eyes won't yield
To the night.

All my thoughts,
Late at night,
With knuckles tough,
Rap in spite.

So much noise.
So thick the air.
It presses down;
How I despair.

You're in my
Head and you
Thump the walls
Right on cue.

All my thoughts
Can't contain
The thought of you -
You rush through my brain.

Bell jar.

In your bell jar you don't sound.
You are there but you can't be found.
The only hand reaching out
Is circlin' the clock and screechin' out.
Oh, how did we become
So separate from the sum?
Oh, why have we screened
All the nightmares from this dream?
Well, you're livin' life in A minor.
Don't get me wrong: you have the right.
But life's one big ol' diner.
Just ask me for that apple pie.
You're not on your own,
Though you feel detached.
This is just a zone;
The world's just beyond that latch.

We ignore.

We ignore what's not pleasing to us;
And it fills me with fear
About the future for us;
Death bells ring in my ears.
And outside the theatre of war,
People live in misery.
We're sedated by our easy lives -
We're shackled; not free.
I want to go to a place
And have my tongue tied.
I want to hear musicians play
The music that gives them pride.
We live in a glorious time
And people are self-glorified.
They hear their peppy songs.
They drink their diet Sprite.

But all I want
Is to get away from this
Population of miscreants.
We've filled our pots up with piss.

But I shall think and hope
A better life's within our scope.
All we need is the drive
To sustain a form of paradise.
I pray for the sun as I stand to watch the dusk.