The Devine Ride

ride

Every end has a start
Every beat has a heart
Every ghost has a past
Every first has a last
Every tale has a middle
Every answer a riddle
Every wound has to mend
Everything dies in the end

His search saw him travel across the great sea
Flaming oars in his eyes as he rowed to meet me
Wherever shall we venture I wondered inside
He said come on board so I went for the ride

So stealth was his smirk I mistook it a grin
In voice quite unpleasant he begged me come in
I’ve waited many an hour to take you abroad
Tears in my ears as nefarious laughter he roared

Battered and bruised my ghost took a deep breath
I objected to the rowing if it was meant for my death
But we entered the river where no sailor dare tread
I sensed from the beginning the boatman was dead

Every end has a beginning
Every savior’s done sinning
Every ghost has its story
Every angel seeks glory
Every tale has a reason
Every faith suffers treason
Every rule has to bend
Everything dies in the end

My destination arrived it came upon time to depart
The redeemer on shore still laughing pulling a cart
The hearse rolled so easy full of clay, flesh, and bone
I rowed up to the rivers bank where I got off alone

The redeemer then pointed motioning my path
I was sure it was leading to flames of his wrath
I asked can’t I stay to take just one more ride
He answered my query spraying formaldehyde

This time he just pointed to the number six six six
That’s when I knew I’d rowed across river Styx
Abandon all hope ye who enter with breath
Closed my eyes to spiraling nine rings of death

Every last has a first
Every quenching has thirst
Every ride a destination
Every grunt has frustration
Every life leaves its mark
Every fire looses its spark
Everyone has a hand they can lend
But still everything dies in the end

A Tricky Place

tricky

The past lies in a tricky place
Let it die without a trace
Mistaken ghosts will give a chase
Its only life you need embrace
Living life is no disgrace
The past lies in a tricky place
Beware

Traveling the past can be a slippery ride
Full of shadows and forgotten ghosts
Auctions and bargains from souls unseen
Shrill screaming orators of ill-riposte

Treacherous are its forbidden pathways
Paved by misbegotten and sullen mistakes
Don’t hunt for answers hidden in days gone by
Allow them to remain secret for all of our sakes

History’s a steep slope of events best forgotten
Where we camouflage our innermost dreams
The ghosts of our judgments can haunt us relentless
Your scene of remembrance is not what it seems

Some covert discretions are best left under cover
Buried deep in the recesses of a selective recalling
Because once unshrouded and out in plain sight
The new light you shed may shine you appalling

Don’t keep it let it go
No one else needs to know
Rerun’s never as good as the show
No such debt you ever owe
Leave the truth buried deep below

Don’t concede to any condition
Only you can give permission
You’ve shown enough of your contrition
The truth is not a vision
It’s apparition

The past lies in a tricky place
Let it die without a trace
Mistaken ghosts will give a chase
Its only life you need embrace
Living life is no disgrace
The past lies in a tricky place

REMEMBER LIFE?

forgotten

Soaked in the blood of an entire globe
The history of humans part one
It wasn’t written with pen and paper
Our history was written by gun

Let us not forget
The acrid stench of charred flesh from smoldering humans
Grilled across burning coals of hatred and terror
A million pieces of jigsaw humans abandoned
Discarded like rubbish
Stored in piles of impurity in huge ditches of shame
Bones of the walking dead dripping with sagged flesh
Numbers and bad memories burnt profound on their body
Experiments stretching the boundaries of decency
Hooked cross stigmata a symbol of human hatred to the Third
Is it even possible to harbor that much loathing of life?
Genocide of a Jewish nation
“If you want to shine like the sun first you must burn like it” A. Hitler
At what cost a holocaust
Remember life?

Lest us not forget
Winchester Manifest taming the natives with murder
A small pox upon thee in thy blanket of death
Soaring arrow overcome by flying bullets
Wiping out a culture to lay claim to their land
Removing their bison their village and traditions
Erasing their will through the barrel of a death stick
Does not the earth belong to all?
Another con quest in the name of the holy
Created equal but not treated equal
Lives bought and sold at a bargain of flesh
Humanity for barter in the village square
Chained and inspected then ripped from the family
Without a turn of the other cheek
Remember when
Fibers of ignorance hung with misunderstanding from weeping trees
Hoods of cotton bearing whips that cried out in sadistic tenure
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” G.Santayana
First the braves then the slaves
The Greening of America
Remember life?

Who could forget
Bombing for peace the landscapes of a world divided
Japan clouded in mushroom from spores of disgraceful power
To shock and awe
We had I we had II here comes III
Fossilized remains of the behemoth avenged
Through a thousand years of killing and drilling for blood
Victories measured in the tally of the dead
Soldiers tossed aside in a graveyard of artificial limbs
The Mother Of All Destruction at the push of a button
In the name of glory
Third world government LLC, DBA Democracy Incorporated

Remember pride?
Remember honor?
Trust, Integrity, Equality?
Remember life?
Remember love?
Remember poetry?

Remember when poets cared
No one was scared
Bells of Freedom rang
Songs of love we sang
Sisters and brothers
Respect for our mothers
Children with flowers
Took on superpowers
Those days of peace
When hatred had ceased
Were over too soon
Like a helium balloon
Disappeared out of sight
Destroyed by the might
Of those who didn’t trust us
The hammer of justice
Came down on our rights
Created more fights
Swept our dead underground
Laughed at the sound
The sound of our mourning

No reconstruction
Only obstruction
Mass production
And impending destruction
To each and every member
……If we don’t Remember
Life

Shadow

shadow

Deep inside the solar veil lay hidden
Silhouetted keeper of thoughts unsealed
Concealed inside shrouded trepidations
Reside the secrets of the self revealed

Shadows attached inquiring intently
Perhaps not seen yet always there
With esoteric thoughts left unspoken
The shadow listens close already aware

Enlightenment an icy cloud of darkness
Cold dark truths become a glacier formed
Revealing the cryptic internal patterns
The impression that the shadow formed

Standing behind me just to remind me none can confine none can define me
No matter where it’ll always be there free of despair to boldly declare
That it will help guide me standing beside me ready to provide me ready to hide me
Show me the way each and every day whether hidden in shade or proudly displayed

The shadow eclipsed in cosmic awe
Provides the sanctuary of our disposition
Generative force exposed in the light
Casts off an image of our self apparition

Eternal effigy that shines dark in the sun
Shaded delineation aware of our weakness
Alongside us all since the dawning of life
Our shadows know all of our secrets

PREACHER

preacher

Serpents tongue in silver plate
Wings flaming with convictions
Spewing ashes of your past
To remove your predilections

Gaze upon me hear my words
Taste truth with both your ears
I shall pacify your lost dreams
Arrange desires into fears

Ashes of a baneful ghost
Aimless flock of sheep repulsed
Heed the reckless exorcist
Drink his poison slit your wrist
Go ahead your time to cease
Pray to him to for your release
Breath his blood if your enslaved
For a stone your name engraved
Bare the cross the wicked creature
The artificial furtive preacher

Painting a message in Carbon gas
Follow the macabre out of town
Ride the desert of many colors
Looking up with eyes cast down

You are waste is what he claims
With eyes which don’t observe
A leap of faith ten stories down
End the life you don’t deserve

Enticement of a demon true
Gets his thoughts inside of you
Painted hues of missionary
Arteries sick with dysentery
On the hallowed ground he warns
Scarlet crown a head of thorns
Come with me and give your life
Leave the chaos with the strife
Perilous journey You’ll embark
Join the preacher of the dark

Tragic mirror

costume

What you see ain’t what I see
What I see is the real me

What do people see when I’m wearing my chameleon
Young man, old man, middle aged freak?
A sinner to the richeous to the devil I’m a villain
Cool dude, weirdo, out of touch geek?

People see the mask I wear and choose their favorite section
I look in the tragic mirror to see my own reflection
I reveal the piece of me which I choose for your display
You never see the lonely boy retreating in dismay

If you peer inside my onion you’ll reveal the inner peels
Strip away the many layers and find out how he feels
Behind the flesh below the muscle each and every bone
There lay a frantic framework of a hidden ghost alone

Dreadfully abandoned a scattered skeleton on the floor
Trembling bones too petrified to venture past the door
So afraid of what’s in store across that morbid portal
Panicked I may reveal myself to every other mortal

Fake award Get ignored
While idiots are crossing swords

A provocation a Mutilation
Dying is a strong temptation

Pity sorrow and dejection
Waiting for the resurrection

Desperation Isolation
Another lie a fabrication

Melancholy full of bleakness
Living in a world of weakness

Do we see the mask we wear and not the face behind it
If we attempt to see that face will we ever find it
Can they see the lives we store high upon our shelves
Who am I? who are you? do we even know ourselves?

No one pays attention to that man behind the curtain
Although he looks all powerful inside he may be hurtin’
If we took the time and effort to pull the curtain back
We might find an empty space in time to fill the crack

If you care to see yourself in a light that shines much clearer
Take a stare if you dare into your tragic mirror
PEACE

After The Shock Wears Off

Lost and Confused Signpost

Jackhammer pounding into the heart
Shredding the soul in jigsaw fragments
Mutilated concentrations litter the highway
Strewn about like academic road kill leaving

Shock

Mind running away in anarchistic bliss
Ignorance swirls in a freefall strangulation
Flames of repercussions burn in a panic
A concussion reverberates my disillusions

After the shock wears off everything is altered
No more crutches to guide in my choices
Absoluteness crushed under weight of survival
Allowing tangibility to rise brightly one more day

Go away reality away from my door
I can’t taste your laughter no more
No colors abound in a rainbow of tears
Just billowing smoke in a haze of my fears
I have no more faith in accusation
I have no more cunning concentration
Lucid worlds just cannot exist
Confusion erupts in a tornado kiss
Obscurity screaming far too loud
Life is a thicket of an ominous cloud
Total perplexity of my situation
Leads me blind wqith disorientation
Truth and lies are in collusion
My confusion becomes illusion
In summation my contemplation
Results in crippling aggravation
Nervous laugh and curious cough
Numbness rules when shock wears off

Enlightenment is perversely overrated
Truth is an alarmingly silent agent
Life is a teeming bubble of fabrications
Is it only death which grants us serenity

Visions unclear through violet droplets of sorrow
Pain courses through conclusions obtained
Red fades to pink until pink fades ashen white
Despite denial we perform righteous final acts

Choices we make define where we will tread
Taking us to wherever we choose to get off
Brining us home because its where we belong
After the shock has worn off

Rise and Fall Of The Phoenix

phenoix

Come on life go ahead
Knock me down once more
I can take whatever you got
Get my ass up off the floor
Kick me life you’re not so tough
Not a tough as some folks say
Years and years of constant punches
But I turned and walked away

Taken everything you got
Just can’t keep me down
You may think you’ve beaten me
But I’m still standing round
Maybe not atop the heap
But standing just the same
I’ll never take you serious
To me you’re just a game

So go ahead and smack my ass
I’ll stare you in the face
Many ways to beat you’re play
Many ways to win your race
I won’t shed a single tear for you
So you can cry into your Kleenex
I’ll stand back up dust off my ass
The rise and fall of phoenix

The Soundtrack Of My Youth

soundtrack

I was fortunate to have grown up in the era of The Beatles, The British Invasion, and the cultural shift they caused.

At seven years old one Chritmas morn
I received a present of deep distintion
My very first monophonic record player
Which I played right into its extinction

My very first single was huckleberry Hound
Followed by Theodore, Alvin and Simon
I developed an obsession of musical sounds
The Beach boys Everlies and Frankie Lyman

But one fateful Sunday on prime time TV
Four cool young lads from England performed
I knew at that moment my life had been changed
Good bye to Silly putty and so long colorform

Suddenly a music I could call all my own
My brothers rock and roll seemed too lame
I had the Fab Four their mopheads and all
And my life would never again be the same

I can see how the albums influenced my being
With every new LP I evolved fashion and style
I wanted my life to be just like one the Beatles
Every thing those Fab Four did made me smile

Meet The Beatles and A Hard Days night 1964
Dad I wanna grow my hair to my collar
With bangs hanging over my eyes
Son you’re getting another crew cut
Dad your getting a big surprise

As long as your under my roof you’ll do as your told. Your hair stays as short as I say it does.
That’s not fair I never asked to be born in this stupid world.
Maybe I’ll just run away
No son of mine is going to be one of those dirty hippies they’re all smelly and they don’t even bathe
I’m not a dirty hippie Dad I just want to grow my hair longer
Cool it and keep the faith
I’ll keep the faith all right. That’s what you lack, maybe we’ll send you to military school.
Don’t wanna be in the army, I just wanna be like The Beatles
Smelly insects? that’s what you want? That’s what I get for letting you go around with those hoodlum friends of yours!
Don’t be a jerk Dad
Don’t talk to me like that you little brat, remember you’re living under my roof
Now go do your homework
I hate living here!!!

Help! Rubber Soul 1965

Slowly letting my hair grow longer
Despite all the tough complications
Bought myself a pair of bell bottom jeans
Spouted out cool Buddha quotations

Son you look ridiculous, where the Hell did you get those clothes. What the Hell will the neighbors say
Why do you care what the neighbors say? Ever see what Billy wears?
Besides I paid for it with my paper route.
Yes I know all about Billy, he’s older than you and a tree hugging fool.
If Billy jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge would you jump too.
If it looked like fun I would jump off.
What’s that son?
Nothing Dad
Go do your homework
I hate my life!
Bratty kid bastard!

Revolver, Yesterday And Today 1966

My hair finally snuck past my collar
The long bangs they covered my eyes
Dad put on way too much pressure
I began selling too many lies

Mr. Roberts said he saw you smoking a cigarette at the mall. Where are you getting those things?
I wasn’t at the mall so it couldn’t have been me smoking. Someone else was blowing those smoke rings
I never said anything about blowing smoke rings, now I know you are lying
I think its discipline you now lack
Oh for Gods sake not the military school bullshit again?
Don’t start anything you’re not able to finish young man. Now where the Hell did you get a cigarette?
I stole a few cigs from your pack old man
Don’t you talk to your father like that! Who the Hell do you think you are?
Get a haircut you insolent brat
Yea right!

Magical Mystery Tour, Srgt. Peppers 1967

Had my first sit in and a couple of rallies
Lets get our troops home from Vietnam
In hippie clothes and hugging some tree’s
Jesus they’re killing with kids with napalm

What the Fuck is wrong with you going to these peace rallies? People get killed at those things!
It’s a PEACE rally father, not a kill rally like you used to go to.
Listen you god damn Ruskie commie fag you still live under my roof so you’ll follow my rules.
You don’t even know what communism is Dad. Russia is a socialist country for your information
This is what I send you to school for you little shit? What teacher is telling you those lies
My shop teacher never mind it doesn’t matter, you don’t get me anyway
I’ll get you allr right, I’ll get you in a damn barber chair

Where did I go wrong?

The White album, Yellow Submarine,1968/69

Full fledged hippie clothes and all
As I walked all the old farts stared
Parents said see you look like a fool
They never realized I never even cared

Get a job and a haircut you lazy little punk.
Put on a suit and tie if you ever get an interview
What a suit and tie so I can be a prisoner like you?
You can cut this crap out right now, your mother and I…….what???
What the hell is that on your arm?
Its called a tattoo dad, maybe you heard of them.
Oh My God! Has your mother seen that? What are you comic book arms?
Now you’re gonna be one of those Hell’s Angels or something?
Its expression old man, you wouldn’t understand.
Understand this you young punk you better get that off your body before your Mom see’s that.
Its permanent Dad! It’s my god damn body anyway!
Taking the lords name in vain? Your on a road to nowhere.
Get a job and move out of my house!
Gladly!

Let It Be, Abbey Road, 1970 and beyond

The time comes in every mans life
Its time to spread his wings and fly
Got a job and my own apartment
Didn’t wait around to say good bye

Mom, I moved out I can‘t live with Dad no more. I found a basement apartment in Kings Park.
Son please! Stay here, you don’t need to leave, your father is just upset.
I’m sorry Mom its way more than that, he hates me and I hate him.
Son nobody hates anybody, its only a misunderstanding, don’t move away. Its not safe, we love you.
Its too late Mom, I just came to get my records and my record player. I promise I’ll come visit you when he’s not around. I love you Mom

Please don’t go………….

Wasn’t I?

wasnt

An ominous and frightful howling shattered the fragile windows of my tranquil dormancy forcing my eyes open to experience a reality. Without looking I knew instinctively that what had recently appeared real and lucid was abstract and artificial. I took a deep reassuring breath to take stock of my situation. Thank God I was just dreaming!!!
Wasn’t I?

Begging for mercy my face full of fright
Over and over night after night
My plight
A most unsettling sight
Someone else destroyed her soul
I’m not the one in control
Some other asshole
Asshole on patrol patrolling my brain
Inside of my brain putting ice in my vein
Hidden in the lining between crazy and sane
All of my rationality circling the drain
What have I done to her
Made the blood run from her
Life spilled from her
Fear chilled in her
Fear filled her
I killed her
I know she’s dead because I heard her stop screaming
But I was just dreaming
Wasn’t I?

Pools of crimson filling the space
Entrails and blood all over the place
But I’m still sleeping is that so off base?
Looks like someone tore off her face
It’s a disgrace
A putrid ogre from the depths of hell
Inhaling the fumes of a flesh decay smell
Her vile death vomit present as well
The pain in my head is beginning to swell
Stop that screaming it’s so demeaning
We need intervening
But I was just dreaming
Wasn’t I?

She vomited silent during the tussle
I twisted the knife through her hot leg muscle
Her thigh bleeding out I kicked her she fell
Never knew how good someone’s blood could smell
This is the true glory of living in Hell
The steel blade shone gleaming
Her fresh corpse was steaming
But I was just dreaming
Wasn’t I?

Rattled gasping lungs begging to die
Beg for my mercy for the end of the ride
But I filled her throat with linen and lace
Laughed at her God and spit in his face
Set it all on fire I won’t leave a trace
Her life and my deed have all been erased
No more planning or scheming
The light of her Jesus still beaming
I guess I should ask for his hallowed redeeming
But I was just dreaming
Wasn’t I?