PAINTER

There’s a crazy man dancing in a field of white
not to be lost in the middle of the night
brush strokes prancing to the tune of the light
escaping from inside in terminal flight

All of our great ones are crazy alright
for some loss of reason just gives them more sight
others to escape from demons seek height
many are merely unaware of their plight

We're all crazy men dancing to the tune of the light
reaching the peaks in sanity's flight
pushing our greatness ahead of the night
putting up always one hell of a fight




BRIGHT LADY

Oh bright lady of the night
speckled darkness, fusion light
caught in evolutions lasting fight
Oh bright lady of the night

Born in dust as dust descends
oceans turmoil never ends
seen but darkly through the lens
Oh bright lady of the night

Spark given shapes
and cosmic fire
driven incomprehensible desire
and galaxy's eternal sire
Oh bright lady of the night

From crawling creatures
to reasons height
held aloft by only might
and seeking always beyond our sight
Oh bright lady of the night

Shroud of joy and angers veil
soft the fist in the mail
hung up only by a nail
Oh bright lady of the night

Waste pipe destiny
creative fumes
as falls through our hands
the precious ooze
to vanish
what we dare not loose
Oh bright lady of the night

So wrap us in the shroud of space
only frontier of our race
never more to see your face
Oh bright lady of the night




I'M NOT LOOKING FOR LOVE

I'm not looking for love
not seeking solace
nor comforting tears
not searching for promises
that last more than years
I'm not looking for love

I'm not looking for hope
not raking the embers
of humanity's fears
not chasing solutions
or illusions
when nobody cares
I'm not looking for hope

I'm not looking for peace
not scouring the world from west to east
crying out foul, demanding the shooting cease
proclaiming that all we have on this life
is a lease
I'm not looking for peace




BATTLE LINES

Someone else has already come up with the lines
I’m just a poor second
Or third
Or twelfth
It’s not that I don’t give a shit
It’s that I give too many
Or that I think I do
There’s a fine line
Between ego
And the abyss
Between the crazy
And the just plain mad
The pissed off
And the pissed on

And whose to say which monkey you are
The one who started it
Or the poor bastard
On the end of the line
It’s not as if we have any choice in the matter
Or do we ?
Nature or nurture
Spirit or flesh
Are we born or are we made
Like this,
Still the monkey
No matter which end of the line we are on

So do you take it
Or dish it out
And does it matter
If you do either
Or both
You’re still falling into that abyss
It’s irrelevant how many people you take with you

Or is it ?
How important is it
To have company in Hell
Or Heaven
The guys with the guns think it is
If you’ve got to go
Why not take
Some of the
Other
Bastards with you
If you really give a shit
You can make a point at the same time
Use a Boeing
Or some Sarin
The more company in the darkness
The better

Ah…. But you say
That’s awful
That’s black
That’s depressing
And besides
It’s only the nutters
The madmen
The fanatics
Who think like that
The rest of us don’t
Do we ?
We go happily from day to day
Putting up with our jobs
Our bosses
Our wives
Our kids
Our friends
Our enemies
We don’t go snap
And pick up our guns
We’re not mad
Just angry
And we have every right to be
Don’t we ?




CALLOUS HEARTLESS BASTARD


Hey You!
Are you a callous heartless bastard ?
Of course not !
You’re just doing your job
Balancing your budget
Achieving your goals
Satisfying your shareholders
Kissing up to your boss
Earning your bonus
You’re supporting democracy
Not trying to shaft anybody
You pay your taxes
Vote for the government
Support your family
You even give to charity
You’re not a callous heartless bastard
Are you ?




IF

If life could but heart give wings
then would not our reason sing
and that inward fire
which all men do desire
could break forth
and part the chains
that does this world require?




YOU DON'T BELIEVE

You don't believe
until you see
in rose and glass
and ice and diamond
You don't believe
until you see
staring out at you
in glare of headlights
You don't believe
until you see
and touch the flesh
rotting away in front of you
on the end of a spoon
You don't believe
until you see
shame and fear and degradation
staring out of a mirror
You don't believe
until you see
life flowing away
in red water
You don't believe
until you see




I

I the tree
the trunk
the sap
the inside out mirror
half up, half down

I the earth
the rock
the air
the turned about reflection
of darkness and light

I the breath
the soul
the mind
the darkened glass
of my own reflection

I the one
the first
the last
the inheritor
and the inherited

I the beginning
the end
the all
the does not stand
but that which falls

I the steel
and the stone
the universal atom
the quantum forever
the now
the always

I the am
the that which thinks
which feels
which is


I the me
the thou
the thee
the you
the alpha
the omega
and the in between