CliffSongs

  Smarts   He has all the best words, the ones that cause him trouble, Creeping on confession, gonna cost him double. He says he has immunity, and that he’s doing fine, No one has immunity, he’ll be doing time.   First he didn’t, then he did, says he was allowed to. He’s never met a consequence, thinks he is endowed to. Talks about Gravano, we listen to him yammer, Donald Trump is smart like a fish is a hammer.   Come on Donnie, tell us more, We don’t know what you’re waiting for. Your mouth points you at the slammer, ‘Cause Trump is smart like a fish is a hammer.   Who you gonna threaten next, that works so well for you. Your words are under sharp inspect, don’t you think things through? We pick up each admission in between the clamor, Donnie, you are brainy like a fish is a hammer.   Come on Donnie, tell us more, We don’t know what you’re waiting for. Your mouth points you at the slammer, ‘Cause Trump is smart like a fish is a hammer.

Panicked Attack   “Bedlam.” you say, Oh sure, is that a fact? There you go again, Talkin’ all that smack. Just more evidence They can use on playback, This is just your version of A panic attack.   All you got behind you, Is the wall at your back. May I remind you, In front of you is Jack. Immunity decision Put on the fast track, No wonder you’re unleashing, A panic attack.   Panic attack, Who’s coming after you? Panic attack, New York and Georgia too. Panic attack, You’re very nearly through, Every time your mouth comes open, You tell us that you’re screwed.   Now you’re braggin’ Roe v. Wade, You cannot take it back. It’s getting clear you’re more afraid, Of everything we’ve tracked. You want disorder, violence, And to unleash your pack – You would set on your country Your panic attack.   Panic attack, Who’s coming after you? Panic attack, New York and Georgia too. Panic attack, You’re very nearly th

  Deal   Here’s a thing you haven’t thought, You don’t think it cuz you’re not caught. You don’t think it, maybe you ought: What if he decides to take a shot?   Oh, I know what you’re thinking now: “He knows I love him, seen me kowtow. And they prove nuthin anyhow, Jesus Christ, end witch hunts now!”   He told you to, Encouraged you, He begged of you To “stop the steal” Didn’t get the win, He knows your sin, As the walls close in, Will he take a deal?     Now he’s out there every day, Counts on you to repeat his say. Subservient, you play the play, Art of the Deal may get its way.   He told you to, Encouraged you, He begged of you To “stop the steal” Didn’t get the win, He knows your sin, As the walls close in, Will he take a deal?   Evidence keeps on slippin’. Layers of lies always strippin’. Looks like he just might take a whippin’. Better hope he don’t be flippin’…   Says he wants to talk in court, S

  Echo of the Mage   Long ago, when day was new, To hide beneath a darker hue, The skies a warlock made to mar, To sully Moon and erase star.   This thaumaturge felt life hexed, So he scoured ancient text, And learned of paths perilous, bizarre, In the Whisper Mountains, where the secrets are.   A rash experiment had burned, He’d scarred himself, he was now spurned, Or offered pitied sympathy, But never constant company.   Long he had been cast aside, Something within him had died, He learned an evil repertoire, To make light a dimming memoir.   He removed himself from common crowd, To seek the means to cast the shroud, Through many lands he wandered far, To the Whisper Mountains, where the secrets are.   Ascended him to dizzy height, Closer to the source of light, To hidden cave most dank and dim, And cursed the sun and plunged within.   Searched he long and searched he deep, For the mysteries those caverns keep, Unti

  Table Blues   I woke up under the table, I never made it to the bed. I woke up under the table, With a note next to my head. “Understand this when you’re able, I’m gone.” was what it said.   I am trying to do better, Maybe get another chance. I’m trying to do better, Bring back that old romance. But she told me in her letter, She won’t spare me another glance.   It’s cold here on my own now, All my days have gone all gray. It’s so cold all on my own now, It don’t matter if I go or stay. I gotta get through somehow, And get these blues to fade away.   I gotta get past this somehow, Get these blues to fade away. I’ll get past this somehow, Maybe she’ll be back one day. I’ll find my way through somehow, Get these blues to fade away.   Cliff Lake 12/23/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Colorado Blue   A mile high they say goodbye, A removal from the queue. The try guy, won’t let him fly, Stuck in his canoe. Hear him squeal he will appeal, More arguments ensue. With more reveal you know he feels, Colorado blue.     Colorado blue, conman, Did you think it through? The best of plans can hit the fan, Now you’re Colorado blue.   Thought you were head honcho, And Constitution eschew. Maybe you can buy a Bronco, Throw everything askew. You’re trying to trade on your name, Here’s something you can chew: This course was never some game, Now you’re Colorado blue.   Colorado blue, conman, Did you think it through? The best of plans can hit the fan, Now you’re Colorado blue.   Colorado blue. Can the SC help you? Do you think they have some due? Or is this the tightening screw? Colorado blue.   Cliff Lake 12/20/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake

  Recipe   Take just the right things out of context, Mix in some misinformation, Photoshop some stuff and next, Social media for propagation.   Now take concerns and whip into fears, Sprinkle the right indoctrination, Stir in some othering at high gear, And separate learning from education.   It’s just your recipe for disaster, Your means to an anarchy faster, Some kind of scuzzy ringmaster, Mixing up your recipe of disaster.   Fold in some racism and blend, Try a little applied filtration, Bake it all with hate and pretend, You never meant the altercation.   It’s just your recipe for disaster, Your means to an anarchy faster, A method to become overmaster, Mixing up your recipe of disaster.   See the steps exposed one by one. See the unraveling begun. See tearing of the web you spun, See you coming all undone.   It’s just your recipe for disaster, Your means to an anarchy faster, You think you’re some sort of spellca

  Let’s Music   Let us gather the warlords, From all over, in all the lands And bring them all together, To listen to some bands.   Let us have a festival, A Worldstock, if you will. If they’re out there groovin’, Maybe they’ll learn some chill   Maybe it sounds too simple, And nothing like a plan. But will music reach them If nothing else can?   Let the music call them. Let the music bring them. How can they hate one another, When they find they are dancing with a brother.   I’m aware of my naivete, And how some cannot be reached. But children dance with all abandon, Maybe that’s the lesson that they teach.   Is this too much to ask? Has hate gone on too long? Is it too much a task To get lost in some song?   So, break out those instruments! Together we can find the way. Let us join in celebration, And play the wars away!   Let the music call them. Let the music ring! How can they hate one another, When th

  No Registry, No Choice   I don’t get the new GOP, I can’t catch their drift. Why can’t you register to vote? I don’t think they’re too swift.   Everything they try Is some abortive attempt. Wearing Chinese made hats, And a lot of contempt.   If you’re looking to get everything wrong, Follow along with some red-hatted coot, They have tailored their new motto: “Have foot, will shoot.”   NRA beholden Playing the social media game. Wearing their 15 pins golden Every voter bleeds the same.   No vax for them, Some sort of blood purity. It only takes 23 and me, To shake that surety.   If you’re looking to get everything wrong, Follow along with some red-hatted coot, They have tailored their new motto: “Have foot, will shoot.”   Don’t they see avoiding the facts Exposes the neck to the axe. So don’t re-up your registry, And get taken down nifitily.   Go ahead, be mad at this era, Voting becoming a youth activity, T

  Troll Toll   Hello person, have I got a deal: Does the sound of money have any appeal? Is the bulk of your wallet less than ideal? Take the cash and forget those ideals.   Here’s your script, you know what to do, No, it doesn’t matter if it isn’t true. Suppress your qualms, don’t get in a stew, What has a conscience ever done for you?   How much for your loyalty, friend? My pockets are deep, it need not end. Just say these things and the truth will upend, How much for your loyalty, friend?   Now don’t let these guys confuse you with facts. And if they do, just claim you’re attacked. You don’t have to vote R, it’s all a playact, You can trust us; we got your back.   How much for your loyalty, friend? My pockets are deep, it need not end. Just say these things and the truth will upend, How much for your loyalty, friend?   Now don’t you forget where you got that dough, We’ll tell you what we think you should know. Don’t ask any q

  Last Stand of   No armor had he, just a good sword And an old horse. A fair heart aging now, So is life’s course.   Came he riding, the old soldier, At easy pace. Wars long over, both lost and won Written in his face.   Came to an inn, road-weary guard, Here was denied. Not for the first time he prepared And would camp outside.   From a window quickly shuttered, The pleading mien. Within had he spied, More than one face seen.   The ancient trooper smelled trouble, Instinct did not fail. Sword loosened, blood coursing, Once again he hails.   A coarse visage, a quick deny, Underneath the fear. These lodgings were assailed, His course made clear.   A call again to warrior’s blood, And fight once more. Innocents plighted needing care, He breaches the door.   Ruffians, robbers taken in surprise, He dispatches two. No place to put his back, He is too few.   Advanced upon by remaining three, They take thei

  Sleep   Being too aware of the tramplings of Man, Where do I take my comfort now? From the plastics in the water? In the food? Will that render me indestructible? Or just a replication of who I once was?   What quietude am I to find In the caging of other beings No less deserving of their place, No less deserving of their freedom But now contained In order to save them from us?   Where do I take my rest From the pursuit of violence Excused through split tongues Reading what they desire From warnings against What they would rather choose?   How can I in faith blind myself To the suffering I cannot mend, But can speak against To those that do not hear? If ignorance is bliss, Is stupidity the heaven craved?   Would that I could sleep Through these tribulations, And through inactivity And guilted silences Absolve myself of things I have not done, But could have affected.   How do I find repose Knowing the self-de

  The Inquiry Begun   The Minister of Fallacy Announced he has begun, A probe into the father, For the perchance of crimes, Possibly committed by son.   He spoke of a web of nexus, And deals done beneath the desk, And what all this could portend, For what could happen next.   “These crimes that we imagine, Will be so easily found, That’s it’s taken all these months, For us to scrounge around.”   Thus he spake and made a decree, That the son should be brought in, To be fully vetted and, To name the criming kingpin.   Then he puffed out his chest, And smirked and glared levelly. He was pleased to provide, Investigative revelry.   So it seemed that both father and son, Were presented with a quandary: Would they have to duck and cover, Or would they air the dirty laundry?   Then the son sent notice to the board, “Why, I’ll come in and do so gladly, I’ll bring letters and receipts, And present them for all to see.”  

  Moleania   Have you given a thought to poor Melania, Caught up in the felonious drama? Cooped up in the motel with hardly no one, How is she to get her shopping done?   Is she to use last year’s handbags, And what’s she to do about those eyelid sags? Down there in the so heated Florida sun, Surely, she’ll soon need some more work done.   Does she really enjoy playing hostess, To so many overcharged show guests? Is she still of the elite or, Is she become just a hotel greeter?   What is to happen to her poise and pride, As her chosen one is repeatedly tried? Is there a way she can escape this fate? Or is she contractually obligate?   What is to become of Melania now, As the air is let out from the inflated cash cow? When the curtain rings down what will she do? I really don’t care, do you?   Cliff Lake 11/25/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  The Riders   Messengers of warning, Messengers of hope. I saw them come riding. I saw them ride away.   Out of the darkness, Out of corners of fear, An implacable oppressor, Wielding knife and sword and spear. Servitors of an ancient crone, Dealing death, ruin, and wreck. Madness in their every move, They must be held in check.   Messengers of warning, Messengers of decree. I saw them come riding. I saw them ride away.   The darkest storm now gathers, A force too vast to number. A peaceful realm is threatened, We waken from our slumber. The call goes out across the land, “Defend yourselves or flee!” The most of us will make our stand, We will not take the knee.   Messengers of warning, Messengers to muster. I must now be riding, I will not ride away.   Now our people gather, The enemy draws near, Our numbers have become vast, We are facing down our fear. The defilers try their advance, But my countrymen m

Presser   I am standing before you, Doing what I can do, Though a myriad of things Need my attention. You want things to get through, That’s all fine and yet, boo, It’s that my crew, Is counting on my dissension.   It’s not that I don’t understand, It’s just I have to play this hand, Get some more clicks on my name. I’m not here to get things done, I’m just tryin’ to get me sum, Sportive politics is my game.     Let me get the public ear. As your rep I must make clear: I don’t have a lot to say, And I say it every day. I’m not clean but I am mean, There’s so much in these halls to glean. I don’t have much good to say, And I say it every day.   Now there’s a thing I may have done, Done in front of everyone, That’s why I may need, you know, To beg some grace. Perhaps I may have spent an hour, To delay the pass of power, Don’t you pay heed, no, Just look at this face.   I do a lot of nothing, My speeches mostly st

  The Forgotten When   They gave their all, And will again…   Come dear one and hear my tale, When it was thought woe would prevail When Man was young beneath the trees, When evil floated on every breeze.   Ill walked among, corruption bred, Naught would stem that evil spread. ‘Til from the darkest forest deep, Came Faerie Queen and she did weep.   “I seek the doughtiest there are of Men. But know that deepest wrong you’ll ken. The seat of this curse lies close at hand, It is discovered within my land.”   Then Faerie Queen put forth her hand, Her legion stepped out at her command. Arrayed in armor strange and bright, To do battle against the shared plight.   Forgotten past, Forgotten when. They gave their all, They will again.   Seven Kings of lands both small and great, Gathered force without debate. A peril that they all had seen. They led their hosts behind the Queen.   Then Men and Faerie marched as one, They w

  The Bruin and the Blade   Benny the Bruin was a murderous sort, Slice you up for a dime, or just for sport. Benny the Bruin had the local renown – Wherever he was, was the wrong side of town.   Jimmy the Blade was a nefarious creep, The cost of accosting him was usually steep. Jimmy the Blade had earned his reputation, The edge of his knife had caused many cessations.   Benny the Bruin was extending his range, He wanted more and more, even for small change. Benny the Bruin wouldn’t take no for an answer, Especially when he fell for a Spanish dancer.   Now Jimmy the Blade had become a club owner, Up to now he was a bit of a loner. Out the window that went when he hired a new dancer, I tell ya boys, she was an automatic de-pants-er.   Now Benny the Bruin and Jimmy the Blade, Not so cordial, but arrangements were made… Split the take and everything stayed fine, As long as the one nor the other ever crossed the line.   Now Jimmy the B

The 200,000   Little Jimmy James, let me get this straight: Did you do the same things that you investigate? Little Jimmy James, don your makeup, clown, Little Jimmy James caught with your pants down.   Jimmy James, do you need some time for reflection? Jimmy James, can you evade detection? Jimmy James, do you need some protection, To keep you from spewing more projection?   200,000 reasons to investigate a crime, 200,000 reasons to think that it’s playtime. 200,000 reasons that just kinda snuck up, 200,000 reasons to shut the fuck up.   Little Jimmy James, illustrious factfinder, Little Jimmy James with his dick caught in the grinder. Little Jimmy James, out in the spotlight, Little Jimmy James got yourself caught outright.   Jimmy James, now open to inspection, Jimmy James headed in the wrong direction. Jimmy James, I say with all affection, Jimmy James, it’s time for your correction.   200,000 reasons to investigate a crime, 20

  Manhattan Reveal   Information in place of the lies. Information from former allies. Out of excuses, you must improvise. Pulling the wool from so many eyes.   What do you do when the lies don’t work? How do you handle some factual jerk? How are they seeing through all of the murk? What will you do when the lies won’t work?   Contradictions, conflictions, It’s all so much fiction, To deception you have an addiction. A pathology describes your condition.   What will you do when the lies won’t work? What has happened to that complicit smirk? Will you finally just go berserk? How will you get by when the lies don’t work?   Questions, these questions, stripping deception, Why are they getting such bad reception? Isn’t it a matter of someone’s perception? Can’t just one lie get an exception?   What will you have when the lies don’t work? Culpability you can no longer shirk. Your responses reduced to a knee jerk, What will you do c