CliffSongs

  Cleaning   Lolita Express, Flight log distress, Where it has gone Is anyone’s guess. The pedo list, How can it be missed, It was never there – You get the gist.   It’s been made clear: it once was here, But look how easy to make disappear. Smutty document, to the masses present, But now it is gone, let it go malcontent.   Lolita Express, Flight log distress, Where it has gone Is anyone’s guess. The pedo list, How can it be missed, It was never there – You get the gist.   There on the desk, names named grotesque, How to get rid of such a mess. Conclusion forgone, they won’t catch on: When they ask again, it is gone!   Lolita Express, Flight log distress, Where it has gone Is anyone’s guess. The pedo list, How can it be missed, It was never there – You get the gist.   Remember that special island, We’d fly there and get high and, It was our secret style and, Why did he ...

  Letters   Dear Mr. Japan, do take this letter, So I can pretend that I am better, And increase the consumer debt or, Ride out all of this stormy weather.   Dear Mr. Korea, here is your mail, An economic coffin nail, An Oval office Independence Sale, A distraction beyond the pale.   We’re tearing it up and tearing it down, Watching it all get blown around. We are safe here in our fortified town, Close your eyes as the shit goes down.   Dear Mr. Doge, respond to this text, Step it on up, what to stomp next. You are in charge of the government wrecks, Placing the heavy boot on all of the Deep State necks.   Dear Mr. Cabinet, open the chat, Let everyone know just what we are at. Security these days has become such old hat, When the blame comes, you just fall flat.   We’re tearing it up and tearing it down, Watching it all get blown around. We are safe here in our fortified town, Just close your ...

  The Broken Promise   The broken promise: This is what we are, The broken promise. We held ourselves so high, But that was only our estimation – Now we swim with our sewage. Our systems aren’t just breaking, They are not just being degraded, They are being savaged, They are being inverted upon themselves, And perverted against us, All of us. We are the broken promise: A beacon pledged, Now stained in red, And glaring orange. A light that shines not for humanity, But that illumes our inequities, Our inadequacies, Our failure. We are the fading spark, Creating our own ash, To be blown about, By an ever more despairing wind. We are the ray that could have been, That should have been, That is no more. We are the broken promise: A voice against the din of oppression, A call to betterment, An exclamation of hope, and of fervor, A roar against madness and degradation, But we are become a screech, An expression of ...

  Served   The comfortable betrayal, The heavily feathered nest. The approval of the faithful, The lack of the people’s best. The mocking of the learned, The unconsciously averted eye, The loyalty perverted, The conscience no longer nigh.   Servant of the people, Do you serve yourself first? When all is said and done, Have you done your worst? Servant of the people, Serving up deceit, After all the spins you’ve spun, How will you keep your seat?   The conditional nay-say-all, The denials when too pressed. The need to downplay all, The needs gone unaddressed. The accusal of the watchful, The refusal to meet the eye. The obeisance to the fraudful, The allegiance to the lie.   Servant of the people, Do you serve yourself first? When all is said and done, Have you done your worst? Servant of the people, Serving up deceit, After all the spins you’ve spun, How will you keep your seat?   T...

  Exodus   Selections on the shelf going small, No one left to make the haul. Piles of unused drywall, Masked men have answered the call.   Alligator alley prison wall, Florida man on the ball. Veggie absent from the stall, Wallets empty and still in thrall.   The unherded bovine, Unfinished roof short of skyline. The fruit rotting on the vine - They say the exodus is going fine.   Commodities going unpacked, What’s left found on the racks? Pallets unmoved on the tarmac, Leaving the grocery with the empty sack…   Forests left to burn black, Trails too overgrown to track. Hotel luxury gone unstacked, Which of you takes up the slack?   The unherded bovine, Unfinished roof short of skyline. The fruit rotting on the vine - They say the exodus is going fine.   Isn’t this what was voted for? Isn’t this what was in store? It’s getting worse, some call for more, Shortsightedness galore....

  Dragon in the Garden   It was born in the land of queens, Its ruin should have been foreseen. A reptile sired by the vile, It makes good use of the corrupt machine.   There is a dragon behind the garden wall, And it claims not to be a dragon at all. But it belches and it burns, And steps on anything it considers small. There is a dragon in the castle keep, A dragon who is burrowing in deep. And it thrashes and it crashes, And it burns your land around you while you sleep.   It crawled Gotham, waste in its wake, Offered less a deal than a take. A love of wrong far too strong, On the make as long as you stake.   There is a dragon behind the garden wall, And it claims not to be a dragon at all. But it belches and it burns, And steps on anything it considers small. There is a dragon in the castle keep, A dragon who is burrowing in deep. And it thrashes and it crashes, And it burns your land around you while y...

  Stories   One conversation here, Another across the way. No information is dear, No care to what you say. No outcome becomes mere, So, speak without delay, Just this one thing is clear: The game is how you play.   Welcome to the Gossip Game, On the entry form put anyone’s name. Go on now, there’s no shame, And we will treat you just the same.   What did you tell the one, And what did you tell the other? Who is it you would stun, Would you re-catch a lover? Is this your idea of fun, Do you feel undercover? will you feel you’ve won, When all the facts are smothered?   Welcome to the Gossip Game, On the entry form put anyone’s name. Go on now, there’s no shame, And we will treat you just the same.   Talk and talk and squawk, You cannot walk the walk. Squawk and squawk and squawk and stalk, We just sit back and gawk.   What trouble do you stir, Is there an end you crave? Is chaos j...

  Hideaway   The tracks laid long ago, Where they lead you already know. A spiral traveled many times, Singing too familiar rhymes.   Comfort and complaint are found there, Insubstantial, composed of air. Intangible and all too real, And so well known, there’s the appeal…   Visit paths long untrodden, Faces beckon long forgotten. Delving the past, intensive gaze, Serenely lost in unending maze. Cotton swaddled, dimly lit, The hook that’s lowered, the unseized bit. Unsevered past, recaptured muse, Already lived, who can refuse?   Run around that same old ground, The restful familiar surround. Ignoring troubles inbound, Sink in deeper, become unfound.   External goes undetected, Internal sheathed and protected. Hardships, and stress all let go, Return to things you used to know…   Visit paths long untrodden, Faces beckon long forgotten. Delving the past, intensive gaze, Serenely lost in ...

  Shade   The pulses, The ones and zeroes, They echo across a creation as intangible as breath, Their reality is the product of arrangement, Constructs that disappear, dissolve, disengage, With the flick of a switch, Or the whim of a nature uncontrollable. What real phantom will you embrace? What impalpable rock sets your feet? What two-dimensional figure do you reach for? Only the glare of the screen answers. Words. Words, words and words. Colors and sounds from any distance unresolved, The flat plane observed, Lifeless, Though it resembles animation. Without a mouth of its own, It consumes. There is no reality here: What is meant to be seen is seen, What is meant to be heard is spoken. Words. Words, words and words. They are but a shade of the speaker, Insubstantial as the breath required to speak, What is seen is meant to be seen – Reality has more bruises. Imperfections hidden by pretty phrase, Implications misr...

  Beast   The chest is now no longer unbeaten, The hulking imbecile is pacified, For now… Only for now. But the ego hungers, There is no satiation. No reward is large enough, No praise loud enough, No blood hot enough to satisfy, “More” is the only answer it hears now. The beast is ravenous, The animal is rabid, The creature rages, And still it is uncaged. It will not be tamed, It cannot be tamed, It will rain itself upon the world as acid and fire, And still it is uncaged. It has revealed itself: It is lunacy embodied, It is a careening carnivore, It is demonic and unmanageable, And it is eyeing a terrible weapon: It wishes to release hell, And all of us know this. It must not be allowed. Yet, The safeguards have been gnawed upon, The controls are weakened, The buffers assailed, And it senses its moment… It must not be allowed. It has wished its entire existence to be feared – Now is as good a time as any f...

  Storytimes   He didn’t say what he didn’t say, But he says it every day. Storytime in the middle of life.   He doesn’t say what he did, He didn’t say what’s on the vid. Storytime in the middle of life.   Watch it go down every day, Watch it go down, but what’s the play? Storytime in the middle of life.   You saw what you saw But what’s the story? They tell you it’s cheap allegory. You heard what you heard, But they claim it ain’t real, You saw what you saw, so what’s the deal? Storytime in the middle of life.   He said that he plays the cards dealt, She said that he said something else. Storytime in the middle of life.   They say other things they didn’t say, They never say what they didn’t say. Storytime in the middle of life.   They told each other, but not you, They told each other and the rumor grew, Storytime in the middle of life.   You hear what you hear, But what’...

  Specials   We are the secret special cops, Keepers of the secret ops. We don’t know What we don’t know, But the pay is good, Can’t make us stop.   We know where the secrets are, But tell us all you know. The microphones are not too far, Make sure you speak real slow.   Just relax in the restrictive rig, You’re not leaving anyhow. Can you name us Mr. Big, And is he with us now?   We are the special secret cops, Keepers of the special ops. We don’t know What we don’t know, We’re up to no good, Can’t make us stop.   We’re your friends, why make a fuss? Just tell us what you can. Really, who else can you trust, We need to know the plan.   A mystery man was in the can, Did he get a note? Who are you with, who is your clan, What was it that you wrote?   We are special and we’re cops, They give us all the special ops. We don’t know What we don’t know, Things are getting goo...

  The Not King   See that smirking arrogance, Unfettered by intelligence, Now is shedding all pretense, At acting within license.   Gaudy, fraudy birthday display, Pissing the tax dollars away. Protests ruthlessly warned away, Dictator engaging in cliché.   Schedule honoring unearned, Faking support for which it yearns. Self-celebration as world burns, An ego-stroke the main concern.   Marching madness in the brain, “Me, me, me”, constant refrain. Decrepitude, the showing strain, Ineptitude or just insane.   Watch it shirking diligence, Watch it racking up expense. Anything not praise is offense, Feeding on malevolence.   Cliff Lake 6/14/2025 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

  March of the National Fraud   Desperation the new sensation, Distractions without cessation. Shifty grifty carried on, Violence the new hypnotic song.   Fever fantasy TV star: Make California an abattoir. Who follows derailed train car, Now that you’ve fallen way too far?   Power play, don’t look away, Robbery in the light of day. Immigraton, false negation, Polls sinking, such frustration.   Fever fantasy gone bizarre: Make California an abattoir. Who will follow your fallen star, Now that you’ve taken a step too far?   Bogus bill, border shill, Undermine the people’s will. Guard deployed, so much noise, Emptied tills by little boys.   Fever fantasy super-tsar: Make California an abattoir. Who will favor your memoir, Now that you have gone so far?   Here we are, you can’t ignore! Tax the rich and not the poor! This ain’t what we voted for, Tax the rich and feed the poor. ...

  Demon Days   Unrestful buried coffin lid, Where finality is hid. Out on the edge the grass don’t grow, Dim secrets concealed below.   See unworthy start to climb, Bitter power, open crime. See demon grow fat and laze, See demon bring darkened days.   Troubled demon clutches harder, Losing power, failing barter. Fool commander, pretend martyr, Failure beckons from her larder.   Unrestful buried coffin lid, Where finality is hid. Out of the past what don’t we know? What secrets concealed below?   Make announcement, demon vying, Break pronouncement, demon lying. Flake renouncement, demon buying, Take denouncement, demon crying.   Flailing, wailing, quailing, bailing, Hear the demon’s frenzied railing. Demon loses monied lover, Demon incites violence cover.   Unrestful buried coffin lid, Where finality is hid. Out of your grasp what could be shown? Dim secrets that could be known....

  Shootout at the Not OK Corral   Rumors flying, much denying, Disciples on both sides buying. Neither of them much on slying, Neither of them can stop crying.   Accusations spread galore, Who can guess what’s next in store? High school hijinks, such a snore, Too much power to ignore.   The kiddie games, The calling names, The big fallout, A crying shame. The messy mess That it’s became, On opposed sides Both the same.   Text and text and text and next, Which one has the biggest flex? All this noise just for effect, All this noise is all project.   The kiddie games, The calling names, The big fallout, A crying shame. The messy mess That it’s became, On opposed sides Both the same.   Both are right, Both are wrong. Both exposed Within this song. Both propped up By money strong, Both up high, Neither belong.   The big train that’s losing steam, The other lost i...

  Days and Days   Day after day what has you compelled? Day after day what madness endures itself? Day after day what nuisances into you melt? Day after day what peace is from you withheld?   Trouble, trouble, sometimes it’s double, Again you pick yourself up from the rubble. From without the palace or hovel, Reality will pierce the bubble.   It’s no use just getting by if that’s all you plan to do. It’s no use living the lie if that’s all you know how to do. It’s no use getting high if that’s all that gets you through, It’s no use asking “Why?” when the answer is you.   What is the little program for today? On which little outcome do you prey? Which little unplanned thing causes dismay? How can you stand such disarray?   What little thing has you all affray? Every little thing has the means to go astray. Remember what Frank would say: There is always more trouble every day.   It’s no use just getti...

  Hope in the Dark   It is not enough to speak of hope, Impalpable and distant often… Hope is initiated by action, Be it small, Be it unglamorous. Hope is transfused through devotion, Through adherence to a just cause, Through empathy and a kind smile. One must apply that hope: One must be that hope. Ruthless resolve is called for, And a dedication to decency. Hope may cut through bleak times, Hope may suffer through the gloom, Hope is the knowledge that the dark Always gives way to day, That the night is punctuated by the stars, And that the moon returns to her fullness always, And the patient one will see her again. Hope is not blind obedience to fantasy, But is the flower lit by a single ray of truth, A fact piercing the fog of desperation, A handhold at the precipice unlooked for, Yet present all the while, One only need widen the gaze, To see that the clouds end at the horizon, And know that all storms pass in time. ...

  Spell Check   Brash moves in the public eye. Rash moves all undisguised. Ass moves based on old lies. Suckers are born every minute, Some believe they can still win it.   All this fraud is in plain sight, Unless the news refuse to light. Disaster no longer a “might”, Are we left to swallow spite? Criminals infest the towers, Indiscrete, they flex their powers. Time is short, this is their hour, Your checks and balances they scour.   Draining even those called friends, Impudently serving their own ends. Severing ties with no thought to mend. Daily they tally the score, All they have and wanting more. Ignoring any uproar, Nakedly grifting galore.   Validity is of no concern: Abandon all, let them burn. Nimbly fascinate then spurn. Imitate what’s deemed lofty, Trashy copies always off-key. Yearning always, always faulty.   How long can they rob the coffers? Unreliably still making offers, Bu...

  Midnight Pockets   What dark enclave meets? Gathered for unholy chore. What misdeeds performed here? They leave their souls at the door.   What sigil marks them? What profane stain is scored? They vote from their purses, Greed is given the floor.   Mammon wakes them, Mammon stakes them, Mammon breaks them, Mammon takes them.   Guarded whispers, winking eyes, Craving leaks from every pore. Their every want now revealed, To whom is their fealty swore?   Mammon shakes them, Mammon makes them, Mammon breaks them, Mammon takes them. Cash spilling out from the bedroom drawer, Accounts sky-high and set to soar, Having it all and wanting more, Honest men disappear in vapor.   Witching hour vote done, Choices counted and paid for. Crooked smile on demon’s son, Knowing what is next in store…   Mammon wakes them, Mammon stakes them, Mammon breaks them, Mammon takes them.  ...