CliffSongs

  Lights, Camera, Inaction   TV doctor flapping gums at the podium, All present disregarding the odium. Camelot cruiser looking on from the side, Bolstering pharma cooks he also derides.   Big office medical disruption, Another sleepy time interruption. Whale head witchdoctor flees the scene, Tune out the drama like it’s never been.   Face the camera, Close the eyes. Nothing is happening, Deny and deny. Face the camera, Turn out the lights. Drift away In your forever twilight.   Irony in the Office Oval, Pay to play and be sure to grovel. Feed the rich and cook the poor, Get your picture taken with the cosplay Fuhrer.   Medical aid, but it’s all pretense, Tone-deaf admin on defense. Purchased devotion put on display, Commotion happens and just look away.   Face the camera, Close the eyes. Nothing is happening, Deny and deny. Face the camera, Turn out the lights. Drift away In y...

  Red Horizon   Red horizon, Sounding drum. Fires lit, Night has come.   Greed of tyrant, Arms prepare. Take up your shield, Oaths to swear.   The marching horde, It won’t relent. The bell is rung, A message sent.   Sound alarm, The rider found. Time has flown, Comes the hellhound.   What treasure does the enemy yearn? Nothing is left when all has burned.   The worm within, Treason crawls. Secret session, Reason falls.   Counsels heard, Found forthright. Provision stocked, Desperate flight.   What treasure does the enemy yearn? Nothing is left when all has burned. The night is long, and we mourn the sun, Here we stand and we will not run.   Rusted armor, Faithful sword. Defenders poised, Sing battle chord.   Farm and dell, Shield and lance. Guard it well, Dark advance.   The night is long, and we mourn the sun, Here we stand an...

October 17         Mist   Wavering twilight indistinct, Animate hazes closely linked. Rising fog as thick as ink, Carry you to folly’s brink.   Shunted to unwanted tryst, Too bewildered to resist. Coherence here has been dismissed, Lost now in October mist.   Not here is found confusion’s cure, In the mist unreasons lure. October mists so demure, October mists obscure.   What is seen is not seen, What is heard that has not been? What in autumn mists may teem? What may slip through swaying seam?   Insubstantial wavered twilight, Welcome to uncertain sight. Here unreason to take over, Lost in the mists of October.   Not here is found delusion’s cure, In the mist unreason’s spoor. October mists so demure, October mists obscure.   Is that the haze so softly calling? Into the maze you softly falling. Something in your senses shifts, A succumbing to the drift. ...

         October 14 Here There Be Monsters         (Only Cowards)   Hulking louts breeding unrest, Sowing chaos at overlord’s behest. Armored, armed rabid beasts, Upon the populace unleashed.   Marching mindless manic brain cases. Combat booted zombie disgraces. They make our streets unsafe places, These monsters have no faces.   They havoc with covered faces, Of themselves they wish no traces. Making our streets unsafe places: Only cowards won’t show their faces.   Bred to protect over-rich ghouls, Violent cosplay makes racists drool. Copycatting Adolph’s worst art, Frankensteined together from rotten parts.   Marching mindless manic brain cases. Combat booted zombie disgraces. They make our streets unsafe places, These monsters won’t show their faces.   They havoc with covered faces, Of themselves they wish no traces. Making our s...

  October 13       Twilight   What can be said of October twilight, Its thinning air, Its moon rising bolder? What can be said of the sounds That carry there, Of a song sung far older?   What has been said of the evening mists, Curling so soft Tendrils that almost catch? What has been said of the farther door, To this plane to waft, Who is lifting the latch?   In twilight we fly, In twilight we sigh, This is the no time, Reason defies. In twilight we try, In twilight we fly, This is the flow time, Kiss reason goodbye.   What can be told of drying leaves whisper, Language they speak, You once knew long ago? Who would dare mention the spine’s tingle-shiver, Forgotten warning, Of the things you don’t know?   What has been whispered of fey sound Come too sharp now, No clear sources to avow? What has been written of footfall behind you, A stranger, some danger, T...

  Fail Slow   Indulged. Coddled and caressed, All accepted, All demanded, All unearned. The tale of your sins Trails behind, A shadow, Grown larger than you. All devious, All denied, All deserved. What record reveals? Placate the masses with distortions and still, Fail slow.   Fail slow, How low will you go? This is the row You chose to hoe. We drink our health, As you reap what you sow, And stand and watch, As you fail slow.   Pieces fall, The puzzles firms, Define the edges first. Murky picture, Shows abandoned promises, Marks broken enterprise, Lensed often, Still imprecise, The tale woven dark, Without regret, Whispered of in gutters, And in greasy privacy, Must not be told open, But walls have ears, And you fail slow.   Fail slow, How low will you go? This is the row You chose to hoe. We drink our health, As you reap what you sow, And stand and watch, As you fa...

  The Ride   The sound of hooves resounding strong, To whom these speeding steeds belong? They run, they rush, going headlong, These pounding hooves resounding strong.   Their riders headed for the fray, Clothed they are in dark array. Their steel is bright, their cloaks are gray, These riders headed for the fray.   In dark they ride, And dark the call, In dark they ride, Protecting all, In dark they ride, Before the fall, In dark they ride, They heed the call.   They travel the reddened-sky night, Approach battle at morning light. Never swerving from their flight, Travelling reddened-sky night.   Bow and spear and swinging sword, No surrender they accord. Challenge they the coming horde, With bow and spear and swinging sword.   In dark they ride, And dark the call, In dark they ride, Protecting all, In dark they ride, Before the fall, In dark they ride, They heed the call. ...

  Watch and Pen   Tick, tick, tick, The time ticks away. What was given becomes taken, What was known is wronged, What was had is gone, What time we had has passed. Tick, tick, tick, The hour has grown much too late.   So slow the changes, The coming short-changes, The rearranges, Meaning to estrange us. What is the takeaway? What will they take today? Who will stop the decay? What am I allowed to say?   Drip, drip, drip, The ink drips away. What was written becomes unwritten, What was said is unsaid, What was there is gone, What we had is no more. Drip, drip, drip, There is no more ink on that page.   So slow the changes, The coming short-changes, The rearranges, Meaning to estrange us. What is the takeaway? What will they take today? Who will stop the decay? What am I allowed to say?   Chip, chip, chip, They keep chipping away. What was stable becomes unstable, What was soli...

  Crimson Feed   Conceal carry and the unsafe playground, An army presence and the threat of lockdown. Lady Liberty, more blood on her gown, And yet more life senselessly cut down.   How much more can we stand of this turmoil? How many more lives will we watch despoiled? How many too soon relieved of their toil? How many have been taken on this fevered soil?   Raise up another funeral mound! With crimson we feed this thirsty ground. Into this sod so many have bled. Are we to always water in red?   Just one more neighbor fed too much bile. Just one more neighbor turned into hostile. Sentence exacted by private trial, Just one more body thrown onto the pile.   Raise up another funeral mound! With crimson we feed this thirsty ground. Into this sod so many have bled. Are we to always water in red?   Fanning the flames, gas on the fire! Dance by the light of the funeral pyre! More rhetoric, raise tem...

  Endurance   Riches in dreams that I have never held, To have lasting beauty unparalleled. Thinking of wars and battles unfought, Hearts I heard beating that remain uncaught.   Islands and mountains remain unvisited, Raises and gazes remain unsolicited. All of these settings have their allure, All are mere fantasies that I endure.   Perception shifting as the infirm sands, Dreams slipping through my wanting hands. Lord help me to find a cure, For all of  the fantasies that I endure.   Striding across fantastical lands, Curing the world’s hurts with a wave of the hand, Learning all knowledge over all time spanned, Worlds I created overbearingly grand.   Retreats assembled from the thinnest of thread, Retreats I would rather reside in instead. Is escaping life’s sadness such a crazy detour, Or is fantasy a madness that I must endure?   Perception shifting as the infirm sands, Dreams slipping t...

  Uncivil   Fully loaded trash detail, Gratifying an ego frail. Hidey-hole scaredy-cat alpha male, Under the bronze he gets ever more pale.   Cornered in the most uncomfortable seat, Plans and aims more indiscrete, Scandals buried by marching feet, I hear Ohio on repeat.   How do you start the civil war? How do you justify breaking down my door? Are you so hungry for violence and gore? How do you start a civil war?   The dashed tales of hoped-for fiction, Living mannequin reveals more friction. Unscramble age addled mumbled diction, Understudy hoping for eviction.   How do you start the civil war? How do you justify breaking down my door? Are you hiding what came before? How do you start a civil war?   Lessening impunity for the too coy, Lessening immunity to enjoy. Thin ice proposal for deploy, Parading the massive decoy.   How do you start the civil war? How do you justify breakin...

  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...

  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...

  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...

  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...

  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...