CliffSongs

  Gun Thing   There you sit – the would-be king, Soaking up praises from the underling. Law and justice you would hamstring, All you care about is the cha-ching.   You don’t care who your chaos stings, As long as there are people worshiping. When the rifle barrel is done smoking, You dare to tell us, “It’s not a gun thing.”   The gun thing, You think it’s such a small thing, And we know you know about a small thing. The gun thing, It’s not such a small thing, And we know that you will continue to do nothing.   This script your base finds appealing, Maybe they’ll forget what you’re covering. Will you find a way to blame the left wing? What would you do if it were your offspring?   What shit at the wall will you now fling? To what outmoded law will you still cling? Another bloodbath – you haven’t learned anything, All you can come up is, “It’s not a gun thing”?   The gun thing, You think it’s su...

  Storm   The revelers in the fortress frolic, They celebrate their coffers, Grown too large to be exhausted in a lifetime, And so jealously guarded, And admired by their keepers.   Overlorded by one of their number, But less clean, Less mannerly, Less than even they, But more brutal than any of them. He knows their deeds, Thus their loyalty is secured.   The fortress makes pronouncements of intent: A slowly tightening suffocation, It insures its security by right it grants itself, And by the display of sword and spear. It trusts such strength without question, Uninterested in the doings of the rabble beyond.   The fortress has deployed its guard, Faceless thugs with questionable order, And questionable tactic. The streets and the countryside slowly empty, Windows shutter, Lights lower, Open conversation declines, Secrets keep best in the dark.   Beyond the fortress wall the public works lessen...

  Interesting Time   Keep them guessing, Keep digressing, Keep up the chaos, Preventing digestion.   Perfect illusion, Adept occlusion, Keep up the carnage, Accepted confusion.   Oh, to live in interesting times, Oh, to see the interesting crimes. The news is going nuts, It’s still ten minutes until nine, What a way to live, In such interesting times.   Make alteration, Remake deviation, Keep up the camouflage, Opaque negation.   All distraction, All inaction, Keep up the curtain, Prepare redaction.   Oh, to live in interesting times, Oh, to see the blame get reassigned. The news is going nuts, It’s still ten minutes until nine, What a way to live, In such interesting times.   Infantile, Hire servile, Keep up the coddling, Toddler style.   Proclamation, More conflation, Keep up the collapse, Our damnation.   Oh, to live in interesting times, Oh,...

Toy Soldiers   Intelligence man Lost in a fallen empire. Does what he can, Redrawing maps is his desire.   A megalomaniac With something to prove. He is shifting his maps, And his toy soldiers move.   Missiles fly from town to town, Destruction that rains on down. He wants to wear ungiven crown, Toy soldiers hit the ground.   Blood spills the desert sand, Madmen in ancient feud. Genocide near at hand, Human lives devalued.   Move toward occupation, Unsafe in hospital gown. No mere desolation, Famine now the loudest sound.   Missiles fly from town to town, Destruction that rains on down. He wants to wear ungiven crown, Toy soldiers hit the ground.   “Cleanse the land” the claimed prize, Fear the streets if you are browned. Revive all the old lies, Unwanted skins now outbound.   Chicago, Chicago! Will sidewalks combat boots pound? How long will this ill wind blow? Thinks...

  Two Weeks   Two weeks. A time limit. A promise. An expectation. A deflection. A delay. A story. An angle. A fiction. Two weeks, A myth in the making, A vow of solace forthcoming, A tactical maneuver, An apostrophe in procedure, An intangible timeframe, A stretching into eternity. Two weeks, This concept of an idea, This plan to start planning, This suggestion of a program, This inconclusion. Let us meet That we may schedule the meeting. Two Weeks! That’s all it should take! Our aim Is to Arrange a Method to Propose our Intention to Suggest our Strategy to Contrive a Policy that Lays out Our projections Of the means To institute The program that Follows procedure. It’s never been done before! It’s the best at what it is! No one else could! No one else will! Best of all: It’s every two weeks. Two weeks. The time that Time forgot. Time enough for another surprise, Time enough...

  The Fall   Long ago, Beneath the waves she fell, And in her passing, The light in the world dimmed, And may not shine so clear again…   By many names was she known, A jewel and a pursuit was she. A desire and a destination, A longing and a goal, And many tarried there once finding her shores.   Unguessed treasures were hers to share, To bestow, Yet she kept not for herself, Curating for all. None were turned away that asked, None suffered if she could cure, An open hand she had, Gifting freely.   The scholar and the artisan chose her, The painter portrayed her elegant, The poet did homage. The flautist and the harpist played her beauty, As best they may, The singer made honor of her.   Widely was she known, Widely was she loved, Even from afar. Her philosophers and scribes Travelled may leagues, And many seas, To bring her boon to all lands.   Long ago, Beneath the waves sh...

  The Last   He is the last: The last sentinel, The last warder of the people, A near-forgotten relic of another day, Left behind by a mechanized world, Grown too metallic to recognize his value. Still, he strives: Resolute and unyielding, Here in a backwash of region, Where the arcane have lingered, Beings long conquered, But only exiled. Their resentment, Festered in bog and bracken, In dank places unreached by light, Continues unabated. He strives. With deep instruction and obscure tools he strives, A bulwark against the weird and the hidden, A sentry unpaid save by goodwill, He stands as the last bastion in opposition to the raging foul, He contains the monstrous that cannot be unleashed, Or the world beyond this hinterland would be quick consumed. He strives. He seeks no boon – His charge was given him by grim authority, His vow adamant and obstinate. His task brooks no abandonment: The unsuspecting will not stay...

  The Watch   What is poised against the deepened night? What ancient tower Yet stands against these times? What staunch stanchion still bolsters? What shield hefted? Does any Sun’s ray pierce the dimming day? Have all supports fallen, Has all faith foundered? Are there yet champions? Are there yet bold? What voices lifted in defiance? What songs carol against the dark? Answer these, Child, And hope blooms.   What gauntlet clenches? What psyche rages? What beast foments? How many quislings waver? Whose pockets bulge ill-gotten? What worms gnaw at our institutions? Who gathers the vermin beside him? What craven serves the mad master? What lies must now be lived? Who sees enemies at every lamppost? Why is that enemy you? Speak to these, Child, And defiance looms.   What babe is fed from many hands? What gran is sheltered by the village? What infirm has aid unlooked-for? Are your youth taught costle...

  The Faceless Men   They obey complicit order: Operation by color sorted. Rules of engagement get broader, Excuses made for old hates fodder.   Guns in the street no accident, Victims chosen for their accent. No badges signal their intent – Don’t bother asking the faceless men.   Faceless men in the street and then, People dragged off to secret den. Some are workers, some are friends, Disappeared by the faceless men.   Big black car going too far, Occupants that don’t say who they are. Not enough grabbed; lower the bar, Fascism’s course right on par.   All of this rank offence is meant, Explained away by precedent. Stoke rage and fear: the mind is bent, The cure offered are faceless men.   Faceless men in the street and then, People dragged off to secret den. Some are workers, some are friends, Disappeared by the faceless men.   Patrol the streets like prison guard, Featureless to ...

Dirty   Dirty thought It clogs my head. Much more grimy Than what you’ve read. Out in public The soiled pants. Of the public, The spoiled chance. Dirty stories That fill the air, I’m more stained than that, And you should care. Dirty, dirty, My motives murky, I see you all At my mercy.   Dirty above and dirty below – I’ll do ya dirty Wherever I go. There’s no use in being coy: Every move The dirty ploy – Call me the unreal McCoy, I am a dirty boy.   Dirty games from Dirty play, I’ll get dirt on you, And want disarray. Dirty deed In the back room. I’m more filthy Than you assume. Dirty all night, Dirty all day, Treat this land Like my ashtray. Wallow, wallow, Dirty ones follow. Just how much Will they swallow?   Dirty above and dirty below – I’ll do ya dirty Wherever I go. There’s no use in being coy: Every move The dirty ploy – Does my manner annoy? I am a dirty bo...

  Song of Stone   She groans. Beneath your feet, deep in her bones, Her cries on sour winds are blown, Poison on every street is sown, The blame most dour is well known, She groans.   Alone. Far from warming father thrown, Flung through freezing space she’s flown, Unseeing eyes on her face have grown, Out here singing her song of stone, Alone…   She sings her pain, With every bone. This longest sorrow, This mother’s moan. Does she call, Does she disown? Have you heard – The Song of Stone?   Bear on, She’s sung to her moon so long, Singing of millennia gone. How many nights, how many dawns? How thinly is her patience drawn? Bears on.   Belong. The multitude of beings throng. Their instinct lives in the song, How did man get so headstrong, How do we hear the tune so wrong, Belong.   She sings her pain, With every bone. This longest sorrow, This mother’s moan. Does she c...

  Home is Where the Assault Rifle Is   The promises deflated, The charts pointing nowhere. The statistics dancing to the strident melody, The midnight rant, The better bully welcomed. What warm air can further pump the ego? More guns. Get them out on the street where they belong! Bring the fear home. Show the world! Flaccid power display. Shake your fist at the lies you tell: That’ll show ‘em! Bring the fear home, Swamp the streets with the unnecessary, How that wets the pants! Power over your groupies slipping, You show them more guns, That’s entertainment! This is the circus, Will they do without the bread? Have you found your Colosseum, Or the Bastille? More guns then! Bring the fear home! March the military round and round! When two or more are gathered in democracy’s name, Is that a riot? Certainly some find your moves laughable… And some find lockdowns distasteful, And most of those voted for… More guns th...

  Dead Silence   Why do you shout so? You have been heard before. Though not all your words have been so clumsy. Still, some have disguised their intent. Too long you have professed charity, Too long you have written the moral. Too long behind the compassionate rifle, Too long taking careful aim. Soiled virtue your superhero cape, You become the cartoon villain. The generous hand can also wield the whip, What price goodwill? Transactional friendships tire eventually. Broadcasted voice gone strident, Your red glare rocks the ramparts, Stripes and stars inverted fly. Has your twilight come at last? Or is dawn yet coming, Not as much a rebirth as a lesson: Dark will not endure. Will you again be a giant, But more gallant, More genial, More grounded, And less grinding. With such hands, Giving could be lavish, And still provide comfort at home. No miser has yet carried his savings beyond. Let these times be the pain of g...

  Copping the Disguise   Cop the disguise, Terrorize.   The smiles into eye unentered, Poison penmanship dripping gratitude barbed, Shared experience of shared invention, Doubled faces birthed of troubled graces. Manipulators manage, Missed messages mangled, Mixed messes meddled, Maimers most malevolent.   Cop the disguise, Terrorize.   Led astray by one’s own lead, The path accelerates, Going inward, Getting nowhere. Fly, you fools! Choose your misdirection! Onward, onward! Where have you gone to? Where are you now? Who are you now? You’ll never tell.   Cop the disguise.   Choose your form, What will you do when the label comes off? Unmoored association, Unmasked aberration, Unhinged accumulation, And above all: Constant customization. Can you still hide behind the shine When the chrome has got too soft?   Terrorize.   Presume, present, placate. Practice ...

  Contested   The rose in the garden stretching thorns, The sweet embrace awaits… An innocent lambskin concealing wolf within (my what big teeth you have). Access the displayed beauty, Win more than the proclaim. Experience warns: Not everything is as it seems, Caution is valor’s better measure, The thorns revealed, The teeth unveiled, Let the bloodletting begin. Poison points made, Does the other know? Education ensemble escape enactment, This game has no winners. What can one make of the separate claims? Depends on who they’re talking to – They never sound the same. Suffrage! they exclaim to one another, The refrain rings hollow third party. Cracked mirror reflections cast, Jagged perception presented. Exposition elapses elusive, Can’t be seen through selective confusion, Occam discarded. The thorn that pricks itself, The pelt that gnaws at the caught leg, The venom sweetened served, The side-eyes of the each, T...

  Place   There’s a dark place You never go there You can’t go there It’s too dark there Sometimes you look at it The dark place   Why is it so clean You haven’t gone there No one can go there You don’t go there   Because of the bad thing Because of the what did you do Because of the why did you Because   Why is it so clean You never come here You are here   Everyone saw it Everyone saw you They saw the what did you do One of them asked why did you They did not ask again None of them asked again None of them can ask again They always ask again   Why is it so clean No one can come here You are here It’s so dark here At the dark place But you can see You always see You can see the what did you do Until you can’t look anymore Then you don’t see   There is a dark place You never go there You can’t go there You always go there   What did you do? ...

  Belief Brief   You found comfort in the chaos crew, Gave meaning to your misconstrue. You let your reason come unglued, You let yourself be roughly wooed. Fantasy fiends you would have slew, How you narrowed your own view. You took the bait right on cue, How did it circle back to you?   They cobbled up the secret sign, Invented history to pine. Painted for you ragged decline, Dazzled you with new design. Set beasts to freely malign, Reminded they are not your kind. Gave you codes to nightly untwine, And what you read between the lines.   What do you perceive, What have you conceived? Do you live the dreams that you have weaved? Do you really believe What you want to believe, Or do you believe that you believe?   Complication, complication, This no longer a flirtation. Complication, consternation, This is you as a causation. Fantasy enacted damnation, A nightmare of your formation. Frustration, m...

  Readying   I have spoken of wars long ago, But some knowledge I put aside – Now there is more that you should know, For we will again be sorely tried.   The black steeds and blacker brand, Axe and sword and pike and pole, To come against our sleepy land, And leave no inhabitant whole.   The ancient enemy returns, Trial and misery carried. We must face this calm and stern: Innocents are sorely harried.   Gloved hand, curled fist is unhidden, Oiled words spake by split tongue, Tribulation follows unbidden – Too long have our bows lain unstrung!   In dense wood or in hidden hill, Some are bonded with secret seal, They recognize they old ill, They polish shield and sharpen steel!   The token you too must now bear, The foe would have these, our demesnes! Together son we will now fare, He gathers his war machines.   I have taught you rod, fist and steel, Your arrow flies from deadly eye...

  Conundrum   A puzzle I set before you: Why did this time go so astray? Who was elevated against odds: Crawling creatures that dark the day. Bums and rogues and criminals, Slopped their way up and hope to stay. See them prancing before you, Oblivious of their decay.   A conundrum some fail to see, Too beholden to iniquity. These uncomforting truths they must flee, The enigma ages ungracefully.   The lies that put them where they are, Their power maintained through hearsay. See them lined up against you, Arranged in tidy disarray. They remain envious of The things they cannot take away: Love, and light, and laughter, Saved up for a rainy day.   The conundrum fits too closely, Too beholden to iniquity. These uncomforting truths they must flee, The enigma ages ungracefully.   The query is already in your mind – It becomes clearer every day. Is it really such a mystery, Why it on our minds so we...

  Cold River (Psalm for a Dictator)   Cold river running, Hot-blooded gunning, Cold-hearted cunning, There’s a cold river running.   A cold river is running through humanity, A love of hate built into the machinery. The empires built on inconstancy, Grand efforts cover for the discrepancies. Allow the nurture of degeneracy, And promote all the favored conspiracy. Disallow all claim of illegitimacy, Row the cold river running through humanity.   Cold river running, Hot-blooded gunning, Cold-hearted cunning, There’s a cold river running.   Pursuing genocidal insanity, While they are pursuing their mark on history. Disregarding description of infamy, Known as infamous is still a legacy. Require their wants met in immediacy, Serving themselves only; this dire fantasy. Consequences met with their hilarity: Flooding a cold river through humanity.   Cold river running, Hot-blooded gunning, Cold-hear...