CliffSongs

  Near End   It is now very nearly the end, As down your rocky road you weary wend: Fallback positions you dear defend, Searching stony faces for a final friend.   The seeds of ruin spread in manure deep, Living off the backs of others, your return is cheap. You fear the judgement you will final reap, As off the precipices you created you leap.   Why don’t you remember where you came from? How will you answer the beat of your funeral drum? Your day of reckoning is approaching chum, Do you hear the beat of your funeral drum?   You show up in state in your soiled gown, While watching all your webs come unwound. See how your world goes upside-down, What an unwieldy fate you have found.   All of your plans go un-gelling, Every day more enemies need felling. Everything seems like it’s going helling, And yet you’re still the cat that needs belling.   Why don’t you remember where you came from? How will ...

  Flow   A standing stone, or just bare bone, A shadow beneath the trees. A fleeting song, we are not long, Merely faint notes on the breeze.   The rivers of time flow between the stars, Where are the islands of those streams? Though it seems in life we travel far, We may be merely our own dreams.   So, hurry, don’t worry as you scurry, Try to keep gaining in the chase! So, hasten, outpace them and outrace them, As the eons amass, we have but this brief taste.   Time erodes and thus leaves its mark. We so fumbling and eager in the dark. How will we manage the days we are given? We not so mighty under the infinite heavens.   We are moments that ripple barely leaving a trace. Years consume monuments, they erase the face. These aging hands, where does the time go? Nothing withstands the inescapable flow. Then hurry, don’t worry as you scurry, Try to leave a mark in this space! So, hasten, keep pace then a...

  Winner   What cold win have you got to now? Why does uneasiness still furrow your brow? How did the undercutting not work out as planned? Why has the victory left you this unmanned?   What are you chasing that never strayed? Was it yourself that you outplayed? What did you claim that would not belong? Was the knife at your back yours all along?   Who is inflamed with all your betraying? That is the shame of all your preying. Success you claim, but it’s loss you’re displaying, There is no game if you’re the only one playing.   What was gained at the end of day, Was it too little, will you not say? Are your actions too demeaning to defend? Was there ever a meaning to the end?   Why did the everything go sideways to the plan? You were the comic playing the straight man. How did the whole everything go so wrong? You were the fox in the chicken coop all along.   Who is inflamed with all your betraying?...

  Grapemine   Poison: The sweet perpetration. The societal sensation. A personal levitation. Poison ever the chronic conflation.   Venom: Some fearless flotation, Word of mouth mutation, Involved though no invitation, Your involuntary integration.   Prattle, tattle, What matter whose life is rattled? Chatter, ratter, Severed reputation on a silver platter. Hearsay, near-say, A small matter of peer-slay. Defame, inflame, The bodies lie shattered in the gossip game.   Scandal: Trade in titillation, Maybe fabrication, Some outright creation, Or oversimplification.   Rumor: Character assassination, Infamy without citation, Aspersion through fixation, Influence castration.   Prattle, tattle, What matter whose life is rattled? Chatter, ratter, Severed reputation on a silver platter. Hearsay, near-say, A small matter of peer-slay. Defame, inflame, The bodies lie shattered in t...

Loopback   Have you seen the sniping sabotage, Cryptic campaign camouflage. Petty plyings that go pale In the light of bared betrayals. Have you seen the misdirection, Self-inflicted prepared projection. Have you seen the galloping guiling Behind the superficial smiling.   Round and round, Who is it that you confound? Up and down, Isn’t the injury inbound? Pound and pound, Watch all the mistakes compound. Down and down, It’s just getting this lost… That you’ve found.   Treachery in ready residence, Capitalize on the captured confidence. Dare the duplicity dispense, Sellout is some sort of self-defense. Forked tongue duly doubletalks, Backpedal in sorry squawks. What more will you heavy hawk? Enough with the seedy schlock!   Round and round, Who is it that you confound? Up and down, Isn’t the injury inbound? Pound and pound, Watch all the mistakes compound. Down and down, It’s just getting this ...

  Player   The table was never level. Solitaire was never dealt. When the cards are shuffled, The losers ante in again.   The chips are soiled and broken, The players worse than that. The cards are marked but can’t be read, Until you already hold them.   Never asked and in the game, No seat at the table to reclaim. No winners, no hall of fame, Play or fold, it’s all the same.   Only the dealer touches the deck, Every player makes their own rules. Try to focus on the cards you have As the smoke fills the room.   Players drift in, players fall out, The drink passed around freely. You pay for the perks you never requested, The doors are locked, and how did you get in?   Never asked and in the game, No seat at the table to reclaim. No winners, no hall of fame, Play or fold, it’s all the same.   The cards are dealt in the endless night, The dealer has all the chips. You wait for the pl...

  Sorrowsong   I heard whispers on the spring breeze: A celebration beneath the trees. It was arriving as soon as soon, Under this spring’s fullest moon. The procession began late afternoon, And on the wind a nameless tune. I followed, wandered far from home, To spy this observe all alone.   And I sing my sorrowsong Beneath the smokestain moon. Of a world that may be gone, And is long past it’s noon. Still, I seek the fairy ring Once known on forest loam, And if I have to, I will sing And there will dance alone.     I trailed these animals both great and small, They gathered ‘neath trees stern and tall. Assembled in a faintly glowing ring, From the darkness I heard voices sing. Music as water cool and clean, Or visions of a world that might have been. I watched from cover lying prone, Though they were many, I was most alone.   Hear me sing my sorrowsong Beneath the smokestain moon. Of a world t...

  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...

  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...

  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?                                   ...

  Oldan Blue   Oldan Blue was nearly seventy, And he would play guitar for you. Oldan Blue is getting up there, And music was all he ever knew.   Oldan Blue was always travellin’ round, He would sit down anywhere to play. Oldan Blue would play his blues harp, And make the dark feel like day.   And the people would gather to him, To wash away their daily plight. And the children would then dance, And forget it was night.   Now Oldan Blue will play piano, Sounding like a chuckling stream. And Oldan Blue will play his trumpet, Dissipate fear into faded dream.   And the people gather to him, And fret not the tyrant’s fight. And the children get up and dance, And forget that it is night.   Oldan Blue is a drummer, He pounds out what he cannot say. Oldan Blue makes his music To chase the people’s cares away.   Oldan Blue plays in defiance Of the rich man’s miserly bite. And the children...

  The Mad   What false fog obscures the eye? Who can breathe that dirty brown? Burning fields rain ash into the sky. Deadly raptor roars overhead, From above explosive darts fly, On orders from the insane, Who call themselves the good guy.   In someone else’s sin we’re clad, Is he thinking about Using the launchpad? And when it all goes bad, Then will we realize We are the mad.   Aren’t you glad you get to work? Count your blessings in layers of soot: Dutiful progress do not shirk. Mother Earth gives her blood to burn, Moon and stars swim above the murk. We crawl the ground and brighter shine, While we bleed ourselves with blackened dirk.   In pursuit of greedy sin we’re clad, Are we thinking about What grime we add? And when it all goes bad Will we deny that We are the mad.   Look to nature for the contrast - Are we clever enough? Leaning into mistakes of the past. We lull ourselves in b...

  Dreaming Darkness   This cannot be real, We have fallen into a dream. This is not reality, Things are not what they seem. We have drifted away from the track, This is the wrong scheme. We are treading deep water, Have we lost our paddles to the stream?   What storyline is told By the sneering mouth full of lies? Are all of these minds so closed That they cannot pierce the disguise? Are they so driven to accept The promise of an unearned prize? Do they know where we’re headed, Are they hypnotized?   When the nightmare is over, Will the sun shine a darker hue? When the dark dream is ended, Will there be a dimmer view? When the ordeal is complete, Will the wages come due? Will we rise refreshed or, Will the sun shine a darker hue?   We are plunged into this darkened realm. I tire of this unreality. Dregs are risen from the bottom, We bow not to monstrous society. A trap built of hallucination: A ...

  Scars   They call him hero, But that doesn’t heal the scars. Memory is too near, so He only tells the stars. If he can ever get clear though, He might quit the bars, Where they call him hero, But never see the scars.   Ten years and a day since he went away, Volunteered to protect his land. He had hardly got in and the fighting began, Still he was proud to make his stand. The 12 hour flight, boots a bit too tight, His training tested weapon in his hand. But the intel went bad, and they knew they were had, And surviving became the new plan.   They call him hero, But that doesn’t heal the scars. Memory is too near, so He only tells the stars. If he can ever get clear though, He might quit the bars, Where they call him hero, But never see the scars.   The rockets were bursting all around, then the wheels hit the ground The bullets were flying before he got off the plane. He watched one, then two go dow...

  Another Fray   Another day dawns, another batch of skews. Another day of the medicated news. Another fray to obfuscate the views, Another fray to set the brains to snooze.   The winds of war blow behind their eyes, This isn’t noble: the unobtainable gold prize. Just read the news to learn whom to despise, Just more hate in religious disguise.   They move all their pawns, And we veer off the track, The days just crawl on, And I don’t want to look back. They tell us stay home While the war games are played, Our futures are blown… These are the bad old days.   Another day and the more twisted word, Another crisis for secrets to be obscured. Into the death spiral the faithful are lured, Only a thicker web of lies is assured.   The blameless are bled while the truth is held at bay. The fat stay well-fed while children are betrayed. The world’s population is the rich man’s buffet, Just an example of the ...

  The Chronicles of Emptyman   Emptyman, He knows he’s the hero of our times. Emptyman, Needs yet another shrine. Emptyman, Equipped with super flexible spine, Emptyman, Full of himself all the time.   Emptyman, Lives a life full of fail. Emptyman, Cannot let you hear the tale. Emptyman, They’re hot on his trail. Emptyman, Just one step ahead of the jail.   Emptyman, Coming in to Ruin the day For everyone else. Emptyman, Can never find Substance enough To find himself. Emptyman Grabbing up All the everything That never helps. Emptyman, Coming in to Ruin the day For everyone else.   Emptyman, Never said what he said. Emptyman, Spots on the record he cannot shed. Emptyman, So many wrong roads has he sped. Emptyman, In way over his head.   Emptyman, Never should have written the check. Emptyman, His every move we inspect. Emptyman, How much more can he wreck? ...

  The Brutal Peace   Today I had to rearrange my head, While he explains the schoolchildren dead. Did they hear waters of cooling calm? They only heard the sound of the falling bombs. How high up must you climb To make up a war to hide your crime? How many deaths to make them cease Warring away to a brutal peace?   This is the day and the night of the Beast. On the blood of innocents does he gladly feast. How many deaths until they cease? How long until they force us under the brutal peace?   A casualty of the incompetence curse, Can’t be best of the best, so he’ll take worst of the worst. A population he cannot control, Even with the civilian death toll. Have our innocent no defense? How is this an unimpeachable offense? Only in death will they ever cease, Extracting from us another brutal piece.   This is the day and the night of the Beast. On the blood of innocents does he gladly feast. How many deaths unt...

  Attack of the 80-Year-Old Clown   And the warplanes go bash and boom, And a new distraction to consume, And the records open that spell doom, And the warplanes must dash and zoom.   Obliterated and gone forever, Back again eight months along. Some sort of hydra the head to sever, Shows up again just for a song.   Don’t look there, look over here! The cardinal points of misdirection. Popeye in the headlights; the frightened deer, Who’s up next for defection?   And the warplanes go bash and boom, And the testimony in secluded room, And the telltale records ever loom, And the warplanes must dash and zoom.   Blondi spins, descending spiral, All the wrong folks go to trial. Bigly lies found out and gone viral, Mitchell’s seat heats all the while.   And the warplanes go bash and boom, And the records that must remain entombed, And the agony just mushrooms, And the warplanes must dash and zoom. ...