CliffSongs

  Small Satisfaction   A whistle of wind, The dry rattle Of what leaves remain to sound, No requiem here. Here is nowhere, Even if it is somewhere, Perhaps it had a name once, But it is long unmapped since. Perhaps for the best: Its sole inhabitant, Past hope for salvage, Having long dismissed his own identity, Hoping for escape, To be trapped in the barren. He has no use for irony, Though he be gripped by it. He knows he will not survive here, Yet animal instinct drives him still, And finding water he drinks, And finding prey he eats, And finding shelter he sleeps, Then wanders more. It is a cleansing he thinks, A reduction to a purer form, If it is not a redemption. If he is found, Will he be known? If he is known, Will he be tried? If he is tried, Will it matter? He has already given himself to this waste, And it has given back, Though poorly. Yet it has been enough, And he will wander another day, ...

  Old Smoke   In the Lands of Lost Promise, The smokes of old fires linger. Bright glow now mostly ash, Blown and gone, Murmur of despair following. Fading light delivers indistinct shadow, Blurred vestiges of boundaries once known, All but forgotten In the encroaching cold and dark. Once tended radiant blazes, Revered for their warmth and illume, Burned hot at need, If heart grew cold, If mind went dark. The pyres were blamed of searing too torrid, Of lighting too clear, Beacons leading away from glooms and fogs, Where shadows conceal, Where deed may go unfound. In the Land of Lost Promise, Old smokes linger, Remnants of fires past, Embers cooling under ash, But yet hot, Awaiting staple and stock, And the winds of change, To roar back to blazing life, And light our course Out of the dim we stumble in, And rekindle the spirit that was, In the Land of Lost Promise, That we may find the way again.   Cliff...

  Monster   The monster sits in his cavern high, Watching the lowly ones not get by. For he has taken all that there can be, And they may have a bit for a fee.   And he is thankful for his continued health, And more grateful for his exorbitant wealth. And he wishes that there was more he could do, To remove happiness from the remaining few.   For his life is absent of anything like a friend, He owns sycophants only, here for their own ends. And they look with longing eyes at his purse, And inside he knows it couldn’t be worse.   So he climbs above all on his pile of gold, And pretends that he has not gotten old. And wonders why his long life is all trial, And crushes any with a genuine smile.   And he plots to poison the world he won’t survive, And poisons the spirit of any daring to feel alive, And poisons the air and poisons the land, And poisons any chance of good in his brand.   And he takes con...

  Swingtown   Swingtown was the place to be seen. Swingtown was the unstoppable machine. Swingtown was maybe a little unclean, Swingtown was the place to careen.   Swingtown; scandalous reputation. Swingtown; notorious temptation. Swingtown, find your flirtation. Swingtown accepts all application.   They don’t dance in Swingtown anymore, The dance hall is closed, And they burned the store. You can still go, but what a snore, They don’t dance in Swingtown anymore.   Now the story on Swingtown gets a little hazy, Things in Swingtown got a little crazy. Things in Swingtown were always a little racy, Swingtown policing was always a little lazy.   Swingtown; overnite sensation. Swingtown; snakebite your libation. Swingtown; no streetlight salvation. Swingtown; overnight cremation.   They don’t dance in Swingtown anymore, The dance hall is closed, And they burned the store. You can still go, but w...

  Blind and Blind   From out of the wasteland where tainted water flows, From out of the wasteland a blinded man rose. And the blinded man spake as if with authority, And the blinded man spake of all the things he could not see. And he recalled of him all the sights he had never seen, And spake against all, and even color he would demean. And the people listened, although his speech was hollow, And those of some discontent among them began to follow.   And they followed, though he could not see, Followed him feverishly. Followed without inquiry, They followed – and they did not see.   They followed the blinded man to lands barren and cold, They followed because he said the sun had been stole. They followed and many fell by the way, They followed and he said they were strong enough to stay.   And they followed, though he could not see, Followed him feverishly. Followed without inquiry, They followed – and they did n...

  From Somewhere   Once there was a man from somewhere, The greedy and the foolish he could snare. He could tell them literally anything, He told them he was their everything. He gathered him religious fanatics, And courted him fringe lunatics. And got them all to set him so high, And got them to let him suck them dry.   But some in even the smallest town, They don’t let the deal go down. From the people hear the sound, The march against the tyrant bound.   Now this man that came from somewhere, Did as he liked without a care. Flouting convention and law alike, Threatening all with fisted strike. And the foolish and the greedy agreed, His acknowledgement their greatest need. Stupidly accepting their suffering, Stupidly allowing him to become king.   But some in even the smallest town, They won’t let the deal go down. From the people hear the sound, The march against the tyrant bound.   Worse become...