CliffSongs

  Paralysis   Motionless, he rises from his early morning bed. Stagnant, he cannot get outside the inertia in his head. It’s all the same, the day’s refrain, the things that he has said, He just maintains and makes no gains and goes to work instead.   Static, she moves the day, her deepest thoughts ask, “Why?” Passive is the way today, but it’s not enough to cry. Stationary as she buys the things that will never fill her life, Immobile as the system pulls the strings, apathy dulls the knife.   Paralysis! The days have all gone gray. Paralysis! Unchanging in their array. Paralysis! We’re gripped in unending maw. The fog won’t lift, and so we drift, As time continues to gnaw, Paralysis has got us all in its decaying craw.   Drowsing, we plod through years, faithfully at our jobs. Rousing, we see the same in the mass of nodding mobs. As sheep we’re driven, supporting thankless snobs, Our true selves now slowly riven; what spark is left now

  Ten Minutes ‘Til Tuesday   Well it’s ten minutes ‘til Tuesday and, Monday’s pull is too strong. My eyes won’t barely close and, My mind roars on and on. Just what was it that she said? Why did I take so long? It’s ten minutes ‘til Tuesday and, I’m stuck here on Monday’s song.   It’s still… Ten minutes ‘til Tuesday and, Monday won’t move along. Lyin’ here awake in bed, I know I’ll greet the dawn. So many things I could have said, Why can’t I just move along? It’s ten minutes ‘til Tuesday and Monday just takes too long.   It’s ten minutes ‘til Tuesday… Why won’t Monday just be gone?   Cliff Lake 11/28/2017      Copyright © Clifford Lake 2017

  Behind Beauty   Behind beauty always a shadow lies; Darkness exists even in the fullness of day. Glory pretends its virtue, Growth exists not without consumption. Above the blaze is always smoke, Is truth born out of hatred? The exhortations of men sound hollowly, Is love born out of fear? Charm and wit projected falsely, A pretty smile may hide envy and spite. All must die so that all can live, Only entropy is steadfast. Comeliness has its price: Today’s grace is tomorrow’s decay. All will end – such is creation’s only promise, Now is the moment you live in – make it count. Behind beauty always a shadow lies; Darkness exists even in the fullness of day. Fear not the shadow of the uncertain tomorrows, There is the light of today; Let it warm you while it lasts. Cliff Lake 1/2/17 Copyright © 2017 Clifford Lake

  Keep The Dream   Keep the dream in front of you. For heart and soul, you must stay true, Let your nightmares fade with the dew, And keep your dreams in front of you.   So many things seem out of reach, At times the world your mind may breach. And your hopes evil will try to leech, So, this one thing I must now teach:   Keep the dream in front of you. For heart and soul, you must stay true, Let your nightmares fade with the dew, And keep your dreams in front of you.   Gold and jewels can hardly shine, Next to the colors of a pure mind. Abandon hope and I’m sure you’ll find, Without your dreams you’re truly blind.   Keep the dream in front of you. For heart and soul, you must stay true, Let your nightmares fade with the dew, And keep your dreams in front of you.   This world may seem as if it’s full of hate. It can’t get through if you close that gate. Reclaim your light; it’s not too late, Forget your dreams and you seal your

  Falling Down   ( Same pace and feel as Hypnotized by Fleetwood Mac )   There’s a drunken man Sittin’ in the corner, He’s got no prospects before him, He’s just sittin’ there gettin’ older. He’s not talkin’ to no one, He just orders another round. His luck’s not gonna be lookin’ up – ‘Cuz he’s not done fallin’ down.   He’s not movin’ on. He’s not gaining grace. He’s not catching up; He’s not keeping pace. He’s not doing much more than hanging around. He’s not learning any lessons because he’s much too busy Because he’s falling down.   She watches from a different life, He left her with so long ago. She tries to understand it, but, Some people just learn slow. He left her with enough pieces For her to gain some ground, But soon he was behind her, A voice that keeps getting fainter... As he slowly keeps falling down.   He’s not movin’ on. He’s not gaining grace. He’s not catching up; He’s not keeping pace. He’s not

  Unlost and Found   Whispers in the marketplace, Truths cannot be hidden from enlightened ears, From informed eyes. Do doubts rise there? They may be quenched by quiet confidence, By experience told that’s not forgotten.   Enigmas in the everyplace, Authenticity unlooked for that finds you. Veracity sees veracity; the principled recognize. Whispers in the marketplace, Knowledge is everywhere. Take it, it’s yours.   Cliff Lake 7/23/2022 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2022

  Lost     When you’re lost Do you always know that you are? You see a light Is it yours? You stumble and grasp But promise is fleeting Or not given at all. “Never” is as inconsequential as “always” Only change is eternal. You are lost. Are you to find yourself? Or must someone find you? Will either serve? Will both? How can you find the answers When you don’t know what the questions are? And how do you stop asking?   Cliff Lake 11/12/2014 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2014

  When It’s Gray   When it’s gray, You do not sample the light. You are not betrayed in the dark, Shapes are formless, their meaning indistinct, When it’s gray seduction is too close.   When it’s gray All the edges are blurred. You may not reach for support, Anything can be a blade, When it’s gray the unexpected can cut twice as deep.   When it’s gray Movement has no meaning. There is no forward, You cannot go back. When it’s gray no direction is better than any other.   Cliff Lake 12/21/2014 ©Copyright Clifford Lake 2014

  Walk   You walk and the direction is unclear. Backwards is not an option, Time moves in one direction. You walk and you may move with someone, You may be alone, Stasis is impossible, Time does not allow. You must walk, You are alive. Not all decisions are yours to conceive. In the end, you can only put one foot in front of the other. Though you stumble when doing so, Forward is the only way to go, The past is already gone. So stumble bravely, Time is the healer, And forward is the only direction available.   Cliff Lake 11/15/2014 © Copyright Clifford Lake 2014

  Half     Half a life, Half a love, Half a hope, Half a dream, And in the end, You have to scream.   You cannot have what you barely see, You cannot hold with inconstancy. There is no hope where there is no truth, You can’t hold smoke with nail and tooth. It’s a half a life when you live a lie, And lonely tears are the ones you cry.   Half a life, Half a love, Half a hope, Half a dream, Can’t find an end; You chose the theme.   You cannot love when you can’t forget, A shit-stained passion you now regret. A promise made in soiled sorrow, Rots any promise of a bright tomorrow. Your future rutted by karma’s wheel, Your present crawls with the dirty deal.   Half a life, Half a love, Half a hope, Half a dream, There is no end, It’s so unclean.   Half is here, Half is gone, Half of all, Half of none. And in the end, You’re half undone.   Cliff Lake 8/8/15 Copyright ©Clifford Lake 2015  

  The Loser   There he sits in front of the box, hypnotized by a fate he created. Who has abandoned him? Loyalty was always a one-way street. One by one they fall; inch by inch closes the inevitable. “Why me?!?” he wonders, “Losing is for suckers!” he reminds, Still the box makes noises he does not want to hear. He cannot look away; the room feels smaller, filling with his odors: feces and sweat. Some things are familiar…   There he sits in front of the box, heated by words that cannot be, yet still are spoken. Who has he abandoned? They must stand by him still; loyalty is all! One by one they fail; inch by inch come the lawmakers. “Who are THEY?!?” he shouts, “I am always the winner!” he details, Still the box tells secrets no one was meant to hear. He will not look away; the room is hotter, filling with emotions he does not acknowledge: fear and doubt. They are getting too familiar…   Still, he sits in front of the box, inflamed by truths no one ca

  Stained in Red   You, Republican, when will you understand the chosen color of the GOP is red?   Red.   It is the stain of your party. It is the color of the blood on your hands. Why wasn’t Sandy Hook enough? Why? What wasn’t learned from Columbine? What blinds you to a lesson played out over and over? A lesson in blood. Did you think the Harvest Festival was meant to reap bodies? Do you think that now?   The chosen color of the Grand Old Party is red.   Red.   It pervades your party. It is the color of the blood of children staining your hands. Why is it you cannot honor the dead of Parkland? WHY? What have you learned from your precious NRA? Is it that in time one can learn not to be shocked? Do you think the count of bodies is not yet enough? Do you think their deaths serve the greater good? Do you think at all? Do you feel?   The chosen color of the Republican Party is red.   Red.   It defines your party. It

  Notes From Four July 2022   The guns are blazing in Highland Park and it’s not even noon. But let’s protect those SA 2 rights all out of proportion to prudence, Because there’s varmints after the chickens sometimes, And prairie dogs need shredded in South Dakota.   How dare you distress me with your freedom?   The religious Right have taken control of the highest court in the land. And the violated woman, maybe her daughter are forced to carry through, Based on incomplete understanding of a book 2000 years old. Yet somehow violence borne is the Word of God.   How dare you regress them with your freedom?   Or the printed page is somehow the only influence of your children? Are you so weak that your own actions do not leave some impression? That your words, your deeds, your attitudes have no effect? That an inanimate object becomes the one thing that you suspect?   How dare you suppress us with your freedom?   Are alternative lives so frigh

  The Supreme Thwart   And so, this year our nation’s progress is coming up too short: Flamed arrows shot by the unseemly scheming Court. Autonomy, good sense and sanity is what they would abort, A blue wave, our freedoms saved, must be our set retort!   Kavanaugh and Thomas, so bound up in religion, Gorsuch and Barrett the same in their onerous decisions. We see today’s Court overweighted in division, It’s time we implemented long overdue revision.   Everything is changing, they remain the same. Walking back the country in a stupid vicious game. They’ve squandered all our innocence and introduced such shame, We won’t put up with it, we’ll have the evil all unknit, and see them all enchained.   Prayers and guns, where “Christians” run are seen as hand in hand. But Jesus said, “The sword’s too red, you do not take that stand.” But on the Right, they have short sight, firearms they will expand, While this Obscene Court will still wield the coarse b