lewis carroll on the economy - rough

the time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things
of run on banks and interest rates and insider trading rings
of why the economy grows not, and the pains a meltdown brings

a glint in his eye, a lick of the lips as the walrus sells
false hope to an audience trapped within their shells
and the little ones listen rapt, willing prey to his spells

Buddha belly earthquake rumbles, hunger never sated
walrus and the carpenter, demons we've created
as the be-tusked, be-vested fat one pontificated

artificial scaffolds grown silently in the background
building a fire pit and spit on which to turn around
cooking up the fat of millions, eat us pound by pound

as the unwary little bivalves pay their bailout tithes
they don't realize that they are mortgaging their lives
waiting for salvation while on the cross they writhe

gobbled down with pepper and vinegar to taste
the walrus weeps as his teeth make paste
the carpenter reasons 'we can't let food go to waste'

what a price the little clams paid to be saved
to end up in the belly of a pair of knaves
happy they may be, live forever in their graves

the last flight of the cicadas

Seventeen years after the world ends
The shadow blasted earth will shift.
Skeletal trees will give no shade
To the last emergence of life
Hideous larval grotesqueries churn
lifeless ground gives birth to legion
Final cycle circling in the ashes
Spread and cover every dead surface
Bereft of predators or sustenance
One last bittersweet melody shall play
Cicada concerto in the wasteland

No one to see chitinous exoskeletons
litter the sidewalk like shell casings
Discarded templates reflect gray light
Translucent remnants of a hundred
Thousand Houdini transformations
Cover the fissured, scared, broken
Earth that was illused, illtreated
Carapace shed, antennae unfurl
Sticky ichor coats wax wings
Shimmer like glass, fill the air
Ancient, multi-faceted eyes regard
Barren ruins devoid of life,
Crawl through deserted playgrounds
Rising tide washes empty theatres
Pale ancient angelic insects
Fly through leaden skies
Consume ashes and dust
The final cicada’s wing
Flutters one last time
The song ceases
silence rules all

Camera Obscura - rough

Glass eyes tell no lies but only
record sins hidden behind long lenses.
Aperture admits as much light
as he chooses. No choice, no agency
Just unblinking uncaring ever staring
analytical, dispassionate observation

flies flit about festering fruit
rotten, split guts spilt seeds
overripe blood oranges litter the field
falling amongst corpses posed
in the act of living. Paused mid-
scream, mid-scene, mid-

Slow death of a life imprinted upon
fast film stock at ISO two fifty.
When the film is used up so is he,
direct your own life efficiently.
Extreme close up, pupils dilate
stage-fright immortalized

horsefly lands upon the reflection
of a killer in a dead man’s eye
one of a dozen sprawled amongst
the roots, died running – away, to?
From? Died running amidst
Falling leaves and special effects

Who would want to watch their whole life
again, and again and again? Could one edit
and make montage of moments
put conversation in static framing
shot, reverse shot, point of view subjectivity
continuity created, narration unrestricted

A dying man’s hand clutches, reaching
for salvation. Falls upon a fallen
orange, bloody handprint mars
the pebbled aromatic peel.
Soldiers live and wonder why
The voiceover narration declares

live your life like a movie
they said. But what kind of film
would this mess make? Who
would want to watch me? He
says to himself, behind the lens.
Calls cut, and takes five.

bleak by squiblur

And we are coming
Coming to bring light to this bleak bleak world
And we are coming
Coming in through the sounds you heard
And we are coming

Coming in through the door with a gun in hand
Don’t you understand this is a smash and grab ‘mam
And don’t say damn just hand over the cash
Jewels and china don’t start to whine or raise a fuss
Unless you wanna fuck with us and get religious
Like close to god and far from earth
Even though your heads in the turf
Similar to assault these words attack
Aggravated battery of guns go crack
Firing off rockets rising bills like stack
Now watch your whole world fade to black
Squiblur takes over handle cocked back


And when the wobble fades out there’s always satyre
Man in the corner mouth dripping hot fire
Rabid beast unleashed rages pent up desire
Wolfman makes his stand in a bed of sand
Shifting world betrays his stance
Ends up in a heap before your glance
Falling down like its part of the dance
Shrinks back to manchild heart still size wild
Gaze seeking escape from this cage of style
Can’t see the light in the midst of the pile
Wood all around can’t see a single tree
Death all around who wants to be free
Eyes face the ground or flee into glee
Running from dreams we hardly can see
I think that my dreams are talking to me
Do they tell me true futures late at night
Or do they show me a world where everything’s right
Idyll where my heart spills so free
Real world where my blood is black oily
And my veins pump acid on the daily
Heart hides away behind walls and screens
Truth dives away swims beneath sea green
Inhale escapism just to balance the beam
Exhale hope so bright it gleams

last flight of the cicadas - rough

Seventeen years after the world ends
The shadow blasted earth will shift
Skeletal trees will give no shade
To the last emergence of life
Hideous prehistoric grotesqueries arise
Final cycle circling in the ashes
Spread and cover every dead surface
Bereft of predators or sustenance
One last bittersweet melody shall play
Cicada concerto in the wasteland
If there are no ears
To hear it, will it make a sound?
No one to see the cicada carpet
Cover the fissured, scared, broken
Earth that was illused, illtreated
And when the last cicada’s wing
Flutters for the final time
The song will cease
And silence rule all
After the last flight of the cicadas
Ends

Post-Industrial Love

Factories are dust machines
Churning out the end of dreams
Future mortgaged on the assembly line
Killing ourselves just to kill the time
like hey buddy pop a pill or snort a line
Inhale candy to feel something like fine
And dandy
finding love in whatever’s handy
or close to hand we don’t understand
gotta rise gotta stand gotta raise a hand
like stop in the name of love
before you break a heart or fall apart
reclaim the brain don’t go insane
be careful where you light the spark

breaking news we got thoughts on the loose
shedding chains to steal the golden goose
beanstalk thoughts rise through clouds of confusion
climbing so high to slay giants of illusion
elusively allusive I curse in cursive and steal purses
jack it and flip it, stack bills and tickets
to see these magic beans drip from my pen
thousand seeds for a thousand sins
pay these bills with a thousand grins
pearly whites excusing slights
flashing lights seen through the fog
pierce the smog invest the madness
inhabit this time and banish the sadness
lose the self on the edge of being
teeter tooter on the razor’s gleaming
ride your reflection up into the stars
set your course for foreign shores
dive into the mists in search of more
jump off the cliff with a spliff in hand
carefree freefall fall down downfall
swim through the air like underthere
so wet like insider her underwear
and girl relax let down your hair
just want to relieve all your cares
just between us these cats are squares
lets go get bent curved quantum entagled pair
just flee with me up the down stair
case in point you got me upside down
always turn my head around
eyes in the back of my head look funny
rear view vision's always twenty twenty
now i can see my missed chances
dissecting a thousand sideways glances

view of the lake mk 2

Walking down observatory drive I glance aside
There’s a spot that the eye seems to slide by
Threadbare curtain of leaves drawn back by winter
Snowfall levees hold, break before a flood
of memories, washed back to first days at school,
Overwhelmed by experience so raw and new
feeling the need to leave the routine
escape the beaten path, turn away from the lake
Slipped behind the drapes and found a window
with a clear view of the lakeshore, path and forest

Grounded and centered I found my rock
Crystal bubble, unbreakable transience fleeting
Cross my legs and close my eyes
unfolded heart and opened mind
Lotus soul flowers fed
by inner fire coals
tongues breathe
embers glow
petals unfurl
nirvana buds
cusp of heaven
delicate balance
unthinking being
my
thoughts intrude again
Flower fires fade away
Open my eyes and bank the coals
Unfold my legs and rejoin the herd
back on track amidst the mass
Standing apart but still on the path
amongst placid cattle driven to class
Buddha mind rises above my stress

I rarely get back to lakeshore these days
But I’ll never forget my solitary zen rock
whenever shit gets tough or I think of quitting
I can slip out of the push, the grind the bustle
Sit down and contemplate the beauty of a moment.

Breathe out my cares, dark heavy thoughts
Breathe in the air, crisp cold draught
Breathe out insanity, breathe in clarity
Breathe out taught, breathe in naught
Breathe out wrong, breathe in song
Breathe out, breathe in