dashing captain dirk

here's to our dashing captain dirk
of the wild and wondrous frontiers
swashbuckling his way around and
about this known world and beyond

with plume in his cap, a butt in his yap
and that twinkle in his one good eye
there is nary an impossible mission
that he could not accomplish or claim

say hey diddly-dee diddly doodle !
sing the salts and the yobs of the sea
as they again venture off to explore
out where no man has dared go before

say hey diddly dee diddly doodle
say hey diddly doo diddly dee !

between these lines

these are not just lifeless scrawls
that skip and dance across
your smug complacent vision
but guttural howls, salacious grunts
and soul-searing screams
raging here between the lines
can you dare to look or listen
are your sheltered eyes and ears
prepared to hear and see ?
there's but one true mission for
these words here spat and splattered
upon this prehistoric wall
not to offer ease or comfort
nor further numb or blind your
precious petty suburban views
but to plead with you in earnest
that you might now awaken
so then to feel the awesome surge
of all of life and woe and death
that flows so sweet and hot and urgent
throughout your living veins
it's always been for you alone
to choose to drink of this
primordial blood-soaked truth
do you dare risk to slake
your secret feral thirst or just
settle for your tepid tea and toast

sins of the fathers

my father, you have murdered me
too many times to count
each death more cruel and ruthless than the last
i understand now why i had to perish
as my love was far too much for you to bear

i could not ever lie for you
and this would not suit your needs
if only i had found a way to lie for you
i then would not have had to die for you
there was no role for me in your unholy script

your father must have killed you many times
long before i ever came along
my fate was sealed in blood and stone
by your father's father's father
and those before who fought and strove so he and his might live

how can i blame thee who spawned this unlikely victory ?
when it was you who died a thousand brutal deaths
and so, was compelled to slay your only son endlessly
how could you know the peace i have been blessed with
one you dared not ever dream for in your days

my father, you have murdered me
oh so many times til now
and though each death more painful than the last
had i not been slain by you those myriad of times
i would have never known the healing grace of life reborn

except for you

you're always welcome here
we shall turn no-one away
our doors are always open
whatever you may do or say

except, of course, for you !

our constitution etched in stone
decrees that everyone may enter
we set aside our personal views
so those in need might find relief

except, of course, for you !

you who are neath the least of us
that dares to break our silent code
and then flaunt this in our faces....
we'll tolerate anyone without fail

except, and especially, for you !

of love and loss

buried neath these wracking sobs of love and loss
a tiny hopeful seed lies dormant
waiting for that one sweet healing drop of sorrow
to meet and kiss it's parched and withered shell


....work in progress....

clones and drones

no smiles or chuckles for you today
as you're not decked out in the proper duds
how dare you call out our sneaky racket
just who do you think you ain't ?
if you're not in tune with the party line
you don't get into the party
and if you don't get into the party
you don't get any of the cake
and if you don't get any cake
your very existence is at stake
so get with the program, laddies and lassies
before it becomes too late
the game is all laid out to follow
just do what the others do
wear what the others wear
and most crucial of all, say what the other ones say
there ain't no room for weirdos and freaks
trust that it's better if you play it this way
the rewards are great and aplenty
you get to be clone and drone of the day
while your kids dream of riches and freedom
just like you did back in the day
never mind that they'll grow up to be
a snappy new army of clones and drones
designed and resigned to toe the party line
so their kids might dream of riches and freedom
ad nauseum,  ad infinitum
clones and drones, clones and drones
this is the way and the wave of the future
the carrot must always be dangling out there
but don't dare reach the end of the stick

the broken ones

i speak now for the broken ones
huddling in the dingy shadows
at the corner of your eye
those who've come to see
their tears are wasted
on the likes of most
who daily pass them by
i weep now for these broken ones
with drops of ancient grief and woe
from lifetimes past i can ne'er fathom
i mourn now for these broken ones
who seem to have forgotten how to cry
for this deep well of sorrow
is still so very far from dry
i pray now for these broken ones
who seem to have abandoned hope
and trust that god will hear this plea
as this broken one by grace alone,
now stands before ye whole and free

white hot fury

you don't know, do you ?
you say you can help me
your fancy paper in that cheap glass frame hints you might be qualified
but you don't know, do you ?
do you know the white hot fury of hell's eternal flame ?
can you comprehend this ?
there are no words to describe the pure horror
yet you always have words
plenty of words
too many words upon words
too many thoughts
too many questions
too many educated observations
too many clinical analyses
too many current theories and approaches
too many politically correct limitations
too many 9 to 5 presumptions
i have been there
i have been at the center of this white hot fury
i have burned through to empty dust and ashes
and by the grace of powers beyond my ken
i have risen from those faltering embers
i now turn to you for guidance and solace
but you don't know, do you ?
you speak of prescribed earthly strategies and tactics
i am a survivor of an other-worldly nightmare
you say you can help me
yet you know nothing of where i have been
i could teach you of the white hot center of that which consumes all
you don't seem to care to know
you don't ask
no-one asks
no-one seems to care to know
out of mind
out of sight
no problem
trust this
you do not want to burn in this white hot fire
it is eternal
boundless
limitless
endless
forever
this white hot fury again blazes within my mortal breast
i expect to be consumed
i do not anticipate rebirth
only those who've been to hell and back can know of what i speak
you don't know, do you ?

war zone

i was hurting and did not know where to turn
i tried to tell you of the pain and why i believed it so

there lives a damaged child within that dares not ever speak

when the double-think within this mind has taken it's grip on me
i become confused and scared and don't seem to know what's true

i know your best intentions are borne of a kind heart and spirit
the unchanging fact is this, you are not me, and i am not like you

i've told you many times of utter terror that flows through me at times
no matter what my sane mind says, i become frightened beyond words

these fears have roots, there is no doubt, in ancient woe and terror
still though, here and now, this emotion knows no logic

it's as if i were back in that war zone, again and again and again
landmines scattered everywhere which might explode at any time

no-one can know unless they've been afraid of every living being
the only solace to be found has been to keep away from all of ye

i am mortally afraid of you, and you, and you and you and you !
when you come together, it can become too much to bear

this is the truth of this wounded soul, do you think i wish it so ?

endless river

countless voices of those i've loved and known
trip and ripple o'er these holy rocks and stones
i am the stream that breaks into the endless river
i am the sea that welcomes all there is to rest in me

lost mountains

the chill evening song of these lost mountains
soothes my brittle heart into brief and welcome slumber

i am as far away as one might ever be
from those and that which caused me joy and woe

my love for thee has long been one i'd surely die for
though not deep enough it seems, that i might choose to live

i know you're there, i often hear thy gentle breathing
your heartfelt blessings float on every hillside breeze

but fickle fate has shown i cannot bear your presence
and so tis by my absence that i may best serve thee

everything and all

something sharp and brittle
seems trapped beneath this trembling voice

i am so weary and long for solace
i need you though i know not who you are

i have come to peace with holy mother nothing
she is my final resting ground

but you, most intimate of strangers, you are my everything and all
it's you i call to help me with this plight

i do not fear the night's dim shadows
but the searing fire of day fills me with dread


....work in progress

the prey

the hunter's searing eyes of hunger are fixed upon the prize
his sleek and shivering sinews coiled to pounce and strike
this is that perfect bloody moment that each is destined for
as predator and prey now consummate their timeless tryst

the predator

he knows or cares not
what it is that drives him
but primal lust demands
he must seek out his prey
ancient laws of life and death
deep beneath his instincts
compel him on towards
his precious perfect prize
it's neither good nor evil
clouds his urgent feral vision
only but to stalk and wait
until that timeless moment
when hunter and the hunted
shall again become as one

to risk it all

i vow to risk it all
and lay my naked trust upon your altar
as if i were a newborn babe

the veils, the masks, the postures
must all fall away
as by your grace alone my fate is won

oh, sweet holy mother of us all
whose timeless womb now beckons
that place from whence i came

the epic battle now has ended
sword and shield are laid aside

oh, sweet holy mother of us all
i commit this weary spirit unto thee
and do surrender to your eternal winding river
so to flow into your boundless tranquil sea