CliffSongs

  Erasure   Figures in the mountains where nobody lives, What guidance did these artworks once give? Blocks of stone transported miles, Arranged in purposed astronomical style. Civic projects erected by unknown race, Mammoth structures millennia in place. Their technology we cannot surmise, Ancient wonders that baffle the wise.   Lost knowledge we cannot bestow, What did they know and where did they go? So much of the past is gone – Misinterpret and move on.   Wars recorded between city states, Mythologically now we appreciate. Wonders written that are lost to time, Fables now or mere child’s rhyme. Cataclysms and horrors become fiction, Fears of what happened once are superstition. Heroes and villains known only by name, Legends only and no one to blame.   Lost knowledge we cannot bestow, What did they know and where did they go? So much of the past is gone – Misinterpret and move on.   Why is the...

  Circus and Clowns   Commander-in-Chief that can’t get it Strait, Won’t understand that they won’t take the bait. How did we ever become the lightweight? Will we or won’t we negotiate? How long will we claim we have a beatdown? How many officials’ noses are down in browntown? How long before the Navy sinks and drowns? What this circus needs is more clowns…   Rotate, misstate, spin and spin, Declare every new day another win. Bloviate, dictate, drool and grin, Let the voters take it on the chin. Rotate, misstate, spin and spin.   There are witches in Monterey they say, Another bootlick lucks into payday. Another toddler in line for war play, Completely untrained so anchors aweigh! See clown number one continue to fume. See him infect every newsroom. See the last adults save some from certain doom, See them keep the looney boy out of the room!   Conflate, frustrate, spin and spin. Make sure the donors never ta...

  A Breakdown of the Unit   The unit was broken early And sent into the world.   Twist and twist, Mangle and mash, They misshaped it in their amusement. They were horrified at the result. Realignment protocol was instituted, But the chassis had been warped, Though the veneer applied Lasted for long enough. The veneer was deemed enough.   The unit was broken early And lurched into the world.   The unit operated below spec. The unit operated outside projected expense. The unit was adept at the incomplete task. The unit was proficient at the aborted task. The unit showed promise in waste of resources. The unit was loud. The unit kept getting louder. The unit was janky.   The unit was broken early And broke much in the world.   The unit was oiled vigorously. The unit was oiled often. The unit could not get enough oil. The unit produced smoke. The unit produced waste. The unit demanded mo...

  Now Then   Now some crazy thing your attention snares, You can’t get away and it isn’t fair. Now someone else’s something electrifies the air, Now some new reality frizzes the hair.   Now is another day just full of fuzz, Hearing all about who does not and who does. Now something else is all the buzz, Now you have to care because.   Hearing the why, wherefore, and how, The noise that steady creases the brow, So much opinion through which to plow, Lost in the static of now.   The constant abrasion to the brain, The constant derision buried in false claim. The constant deflection as the treasuries drain, The constant direction to set the world to flame.   Now I keep hearing of peace through might. Now I keep hearing only the rich have rights. Now I keep hearing all the lies take flight – Now I have trouble sleeping at night.   Hearing the why, wherefore, and how, The noise that steady creases the ...

  Holistic Ballistic   The dog is on the rooftop, The barn under the owl. The band is playing shortstop, Behind a stolen towel.   Forty one and one to go, Do you display avowal? Lost and down and out you go, Can you use a stolen towel?   Round and round, See the Sound, Long before you run aground. Town to town, Fall dumbfound, In for a penny and gone outbound.   Tricky dickies slipping mickeys, The orchestrator calls a foul. Sticky quickies tricking prickies, Effected on a stolen towel.   Round and down, Outta town, Walk in sunlight all ungowned. Crooked crown, Clown and down, Miles to go and still unsound.   The dog is in the kitchen, The mouse relieves the owl. The band is playing nonstop, Do you have the towel?   Down and down, Here unfound, All of the voices are unsound. Round and round, Go to town, One bad penny and still outbound.   Round and down, O...

  Relics of the Long Sleep   Legends that arrive from somewhere deep. Stories that we somehow reap. Secrets we were never meant to keep: These are the relics of The Long Sleep.   Why do our dreams seem so aglow? What have we lost of the Long Ago? What did we spend and what do we owe? We dreamember what we used to know.   We don’t know what we don’t know, We try to learn but we’re so slow. Visions come and visions go, And leave us with what we don’t know.   What ancient memory did someone sweep? Why must we pay cost so steep? We somehow must make the faithful leap To collect our relics of the Long Sleep.   Stolen strength or merely lost? What vital knowledge have we tossed? A history now over-glossed: Mythologize a holocaust.   We don’t know what we don’t know, We try to learn but we’re so slow. Visions come and visions go, And leave us with what we don’t know.   Trials we ascend grow ...

  Control   What soft net is this? Caught in velvet and smoke, A web imperious and pervasive.   The shapely vessel, The assigned utensil, Rituals in consumption.   Such pretty trappings, Such eloquence bestowed, An industry in indulgence.   The obeisance is ancient, The design oft recorded, And men weep and women rage.   A honeyed tongue, A grape soured, Wheat, rice, and molasses turn.   The stein foams, The cork flies, The trap sprung in good company.   Let the voices ring! Let the dance commence! Tomorrow’s pains are yet ahead.   What sot lies there sprawled? Pass that one by, The snare has caught him, not you.   Indulge! Ingest! Imbibe! Two after work, and with dinner, with friends, You are in control.   What sot lies there sprawled? It is not you. Is it 5 o’clock yet?   You are in control…   Cliff Lake 4/11/2026 Copyright © Cliffo...

  Square Biz   It was just an ordinary day, When they cleared their throat to say: We have implemented a new frame: That way everything can look the same.   Don’t worry about all that creative stress, Just subtract all the uniqueness. That way you will pass every test, Once we begin deciding what is best.   Oatmeal, oatmeal, do you want a taste? What use is being unique –                                         (I am the round peg) If you don’t fit in, You are a waste. Dumbing down Is good for the mental health, Why bother to stand out?                                   ...

  Visions   It came to him from nowhere: So simple, So new, So prime for the moment. “Genius”, said some, “Madman”, said others, “Evil” said those that had not thought of it. He is gone, His idea remains.   A whisper deep, A prodding in the nerve, The errant breeze directs, Then the deed is done. Angel, muse, or messenger, In the dreams that drive us.   She hummed it over her coffee, So lilting, So hypnotic, So vital in this moment. “Powerful”, said some, “Trite”, said others, “Derivative” said those who did not write it. The singer is gone, Her song remains.   A murmur low, Melody in the muscle, Shadows breathing hints, Then the song is sung. Angel, muse, or messenger, In the dreams that drive us.   They seem to come from nowhere: So complex, So real, So filled with astonishing moment. “Prophetic”, say some, “Illusion”, say others, “Nonsense” say those that do not follow th...