Those trees are you
Those trees are me
It’s pretty obvious
But not obviously
These apples are you
These apples are me
It’s evident enough
But not evidently
This orchard is you
This orchard is me
That’s quite apparent
But not transparently
Wind cloud water bee
All of them you and me
Are metaphors
Meant literally
MARVELLOUS SNAKE – A TRUE STORY
You have surely heard of the marvellous snake.
The most venomous snake ever known
And with two heads:
One is openly hostile
Striking and spraying venom at the slightest provocation
The other conceals its ferocity
But some say it is even more venomous for that
Also the heads pretend to be moving
In different directions
But in fact they’re always making for the same place
With the same aim
Fangs ever at the ready
Once bitten the enemy is left
To writhe in unending agony
Not quite dead
Not quite alive
In the snake’s watchful shadow
Meanwhile the two heads are locked in mutual hatred
Even as they fend off threats
They are constantly at war
Some say they will eventually tear each other to shreds
In a storm of toxins
Spreading a cloud of venomous pink mist
To every corner of the earth
RAIN
On the day it rained blood
The vampires were delighted
And thronged the streets dancing
Like hippies at a love-in
The day it rained oil
Motorheads were in their element
Skidding around
Like drunken ducks
Quacking with joy
The day it rained pus
Everything went quiet
Except for the mucilaginous
Bubbling
On the day it rained fire
Prophets came alight
Literally
Since then it has been raining tears
But they have not put out the flames
RAIN WOMAN
I met a woman
All made of rain
I met her walking
Across the plain
We hadn’t seen rain
For one whole year
Now here she comes walking
Like a single tear
Her body flows
Her body streams
With water purer
Than a baby’s dreams
When I look up
At the dazzling sky
Not a single cloud
Do I descry
Then sounding like a mountain spring
The rainy lady passes by
THE WAR IS ALWAYS WALKING BESIDE ME
I’ve never walked in the darkness
I’ve always walked in the light
And I’ve never feared for the future
For me the future is bright
Because the war is always walking beside me
Wherever I go the war will find me
So I can never lose my way
And I never need to wait very long
Before another war calls me out to play
So the war is always walking beside me
I have no need of companions
I have no need of a friend
As long as I am sure and I am sure
That this war will truly never end
And the war is always walking beside me
And I believe you can feel it
How the war is always with you
You try to push it to the back of your mind
But you know the war is your friend too
And the war is walking beside you
ARCHITECTS OF HORROR
You architects of horror,
You vultures at the feast,
You masters of disaster,
Who venerate the beast,
You who fatten on misfortune,
Each rapacious harpy,
Cannibals and parasites
Siphoning life from me,
May you tear out your own talons,
Each and every one,
And when that is done,
Swallow your teeth.
YOU ARE A ROCK
You are a rock
A rock obeys only one law: gravity
A rock will go wherever gravity wills
A rock is entirely under gravity’s command
A rock begins nothing
Unless by chance
As it seeks some centre
Some point of rest
A rock is content to remain still until
Acted upon by some external force
Or released and freed to follow
Gravity’s path
The easiest route to inertia
Then once again it is at rest
Potential energy
As if waiting
But it cannot wait
It cannot contemplate delay
It has only two states
Blind movement or blind stasis
So it cannot hesitate
It must fall and fall and fall
And fall and fall
It must always heed gravity’s call
Or do nothing
Do nothing at all
As if content to dwell under gravity’s spell
You are a rock
CASUALTY
Johnny got his cock shot off in the war.
It really really made the poor boy wince.
But he’s still proud he signed up for the Corps,
Though he hasn’t fired a single shot since.
