CliffSongs

  Old Smoke   In the Lands of Lost Promise, The smokes of old fires linger. Bright glow now mostly ash, Blown and gone, Murmur of despair following. Fading light delivers indistinct shadow, Blurred vestiges of boundaries once known, All but forgotten In the encroaching cold and dark. Once tended radiant blazes, Revered for their warmth and illume, Burned hot at need, If heart grew cold, If mind went dark. The pyres were blamed of searing too torrid, Of lighting too clear, Beacons leading away from glooms and fogs, Where shadows conceal, Where deed may go unfound. In the Land of Lost Promise, Old smokes linger, Remnants of fires past, Embers cooling under ash, But yet hot, Awaiting staple and stock, And the winds of change, To roar back to blazing life, And light our course Out of the dim we stumble in, And rekindle the spirit that was, In the Land of Lost Promise, That we may find the way again.   Cliff...

  Monster   The monster sits in his cavern high, Watching the lowly ones not get by. For he has taken all that there can be, And they may have a bit for a fee.   And he is thankful for his continued health, And more grateful for his exorbitant wealth. And he wishes that there was more he could do, To remove happiness from the remaining few.   For his life is absent of anything like a friend, He owns sycophants only, here for their own ends. And they look with longing eyes at his purse, And inside he knows it couldn’t be worse.   So he climbs above all on his pile of gold, And pretends that he has not gotten old. And wonders why his long life is all trial, And crushes any with a genuine smile.   And he plots to poison the world he won’t survive, And poisons the spirit of any daring to feel alive, And poisons the air and poisons the land, And poisons any chance of good in his brand.   And he takes con...

  Blind and Blind   From out of the wasteland where tainted water flows, From out of the wasteland a blinded man rose. And the blinded man spake as if with authority, And the blinded man spake of all the things he could not see. And he recalled of him all the sights he had never seen, And spake against all, and even color he would demean. And the people listened, although his speech was hollow, And those of some discontent among them began to follow.   And they followed, though he could not see, Followed him feverishly. Followed without inquiry, They followed – and they did not see.   They followed the blinded man to lands barren and cold, They followed because he said the sun had been stole. They followed and many fell by the way, They followed and he said they were strong enough to stay.   And they followed, though he could not see, Followed him feverishly. Followed without inquiry, They followed – and they did n...

  From Somewhere   Once there was a man from somewhere, The greedy and the foolish he could snare. He could tell them literally anything, He told them he was their everything. He gathered him religious fanatics, And courted him fringe lunatics. And got them all to set him so high, And got them to let him suck them dry.   But some in even the smallest town, They don’t let the deal go down. From the people hear the sound, The march against the tyrant bound.   Now this man that came from somewhere, Did as he liked without a care. Flouting convention and law alike, Threatening all with fisted strike. And the foolish and the greedy agreed, His acknowledgement their greatest need. Stupidly accepting their suffering, Stupidly allowing him to become king.   But some in even the smallest town, They won’t let the deal go down. From the people hear the sound, The march against the tyrant bound.   Worse become...

    The Time of We   And they think we have lost the cause, And they think they can shred the laws, And they think they hold all the keys, And they think they can hold we.   And they think we won’t march on the towers, And they think we won’t march on the powers, And they think we are little more than debris, And they think they can ignore we.   And the time has come around again, And we must take down the crown again. And it’s time again that they must see, There is nothing so mighty as we.   And they think we do not count the cost, And they think that we have already lost, And they think that we do not see, And they never counted on we.   And the time has come around again, And we must take down the crown again. And it’s time again that they must see, There is nothing so mighty as we.   And they don’t think we’ll march again, And they don’t think we’ll march on them. And they don’t think ...

  Backroom Love Affair   Here is the story of you sycophant kooks: It would be funny, except for the nukes. Comic book villains, who voted for them? We want no part of your inane mayhem   Threats to the left and threats to the right, Pretense and nonsense, then back from a fight. Soft fattened mice pretending to roar, But the tigers are prowling and they’re keeping score.   Over and over and underperform, None of this stuff comes near to a norm. Stupid or blind or basically lazy, Why are you caving to and serving crazy?   Overindulged and unqualified, Lay out a million bucks and you’re inside. No matter that your resume is inflated, There is love for the uneducated.   No more fear of making any retraction, You are an integral part of a bigger distraction. You have no qualms as you watch the rapine, Deny, deny, deny, and you’ll get away clean.   Over and over and underperform, None of this stuff co...

  Tides and Tithe   What value has valuation? None, I think. Do you value gems? Do you value gold? Do you value numbers on a screen? Value is arbitrary. Value is momentary. Value is circumstantial. Attend: Salt has been valued equally to gold. Aluminum has been valued more than gold. Silver was valued above gold. See the man! He has been locked away more than this week. He has been given only water. He is offered a pound of gold in imprisonment, Patterned as he cherishes. He is offered a pound of steak in imprisonment, Prepared as he likes. Which will he choose? Starvation is the great motivator. At times I have been reduced to the essentials: Food, clothing, shelter. It may happen again. Maybe I will survive it. Maybe I won’t. Neither matters because Eventually I will not survive – Not at all. Of what value will my small luxuries be then? To me… Nothing. Therefore, what value have they now? None of them are...

  Technical Foul   How did the signal go awry? Point the finger at the other guy! Responsibility need not apply, If confusion you amplify.   Investigators on the prowl. Newspapers begin to howl. Don’t give in, throw in the towel, It was just a technical foul.   Never mind why the wisemen scowl, Keep shoveling shit with a bear-sized trowel, Feel the tightening grip in your bowel, While you commit to your technical foul.   Don’t worry, your job is fine, Just say it was all by design. Or that there are new guidelines, Or you were hacked by him sometime.   It’s all less than what it seems: Who knows what F-18 means? Let them bitch and moan and growl, Simply a technical foul.   Never mind why the wisemen scowl, Keep shoveling shit with a bear-sized trowel, Feel the tightening grip in your bowel, While you commit to your technical foul.   Cliff Lake 3/27/2025 Copyright © Clifford Lake 202...

  Tuesday, In the Year of the Plague   Adrift I am in information, Canard concocted without cessation. Am I drowning in misconception, Or in the more turbulent deception.   The ship careens: I am thrown. The lies are paid, the truth on loan. And how to brave the cruel cyclone, How far away is certainty blown?   Fact buried beneath the wave, How many left that we must save? Sharks in the water, legitimacy bleeds, Know they will give no quarter, what of our needs?   How do we with the storm contend, What reality are we to suspend? Acidic lies rain without end, Beneath these waters will we descend?   Honesty’s lifeboat under duress, How do we paddle out of this mess? Can the ship be righted out of distress? Who will answer the SOS?   Abandoned we are in heavy seas, Afloat and unmoored in oily sleaze, Tossed by storm more like disease, Gods swept away we might appease.   Off course, backs...

  Low Thing   Clumsy betrayals, Blunt blades bludgeoning, Dull pronouncements shred, A disease chosen to salve defect: The cancer ruptures and spreads. Brutalize petty grievance, Take offence at whispers, Penalize the broken. Redemption cannot be had, But it can be pretended. Mispronounce the lie, Reapply the misstep, Unappreciate the fallen, Present all corroded truth, A charade harvesting gold sustains. So few, so few, Allowed by reason of empty belly, Made powerful through inaction, Overestimated - yet still flesh rotted, Can it consume itself? Degraded testimonies, Disturbed distributions, Defaced Declaration, Displayed debaucheries, Delighted despots. Electronic ascension manifested. Enumerated empires enacted. The controls removed from the operators: Drones in service to treasuries; The cost of calculating the cost. So few, so few, Iron fists in soiled gloves, Maintained in bewilderments. The lowest ha...

  Desserts   Robber baron, liar, fiend, Destruction path smiling careens. Adderall or ketamine, Twisty promise from these are gleaned.   Drug-addled and ego-bound, Self-proclamation gains the crown. Grab it all and run aground, Scuttle the ship and let us drown.   It’s going wrong and getting worse, Time to empty the bloated purse. Hit them where most it hurts, They are earned these just desserts.   Sycophants and worshippers, Unimmune from forfeiture. Gardener and carpenter, Shield yourself from extortioner.   Close the doors, go to ground, No more interest to compound. Barter, trade, that will confound, If it’s gone, it can’t be found.   It’s going wrong and getting worse, Time to empty the bloated purse. Hit them where most it hurts, They are earned these just desserts.   Cheater, coward, scoundrel, thief, They would have you suspend belief. Undermining without relief, Instal...

  Letter to a Red Hat   Complaining that you are the small guy. That you have been made to crawl by. That you have been made to stall dry. Congratulations, you are the fall guy.   Gathered together in sweaty throng, Making you believe that you belong. Look at you find out you’re wrong, Look at you find your way into this song.   They turn their backs and walk away. Baring the fang at the weakest prey. I want to know what’s the takeaway? Welcome to the new squeeze play.   When did it go inside out? When did you begin to doubt? When will you begin to shout? You think you’re getting a bailout?   They turn their backs and walk away. Baring the fang at the weakest prey. I want to know what’s the takeaway? Welcome to the new squeeze play. Things you’re needing that they crash, Things you believe in that they trash. You made a choice that was much too rash, You made the choice, they get the cash.   ...

  Momentous   Moments get precious these days. A smile, A sound, A whisper, A frown. Any may carry the weight of your waking, Any may weigh heavier in sleep. What will you carry to your pillow?   Moments are precious these days. A word, A silence, A laugh, A sigh. Any may carry weight in your walking. Any may bear weight on others. What care do you embody?   Moments neglected these days: Civility, Kindness, Courtesy, Care. These once had weight, Now they are too weighty for some. Where are they in the balance?   Moments too precious these days: Skies, Scruples, Sacrifice, Silence. These have weight in the memory, Though not all weigh you down. How light do you step?   Do you carry your weight? Or are you weighed down? Do not let your head hit the pillow too heavy, Not all weights are yours to carry, And not all you carry need be a weight.   Moments get precious these ...

  Lesson of the Lazy Day   What’s that I smell on the air? The crocus blooms and gets on with life. See that rabbit over there? He is unconcerned with war and strife. Not for him complicity, Sunny skies and fresh grass are enough, I long for days of simplicity, I’ve had my fill of the other stuff. I see the birds soar in the air, It is they that are the truly free. Feeding and nesting are their care, Would that we had their sensibility. At dusk the fox goes passing by, He gives no more than a passing glance. Another creature beneath the sky, Unencumbered by man’s penchants. The possum is not behind in rent, The geese do not ever clock in. Trees give shade without recompense, What insanity are we locked in? Is it not enough to watch the clouds, And listen to the grass grow? Why do we hustle along in crowds? Why can’t we just let life flow? See the lazy circles of the hawk, Watch the cows as they contemplate. Are they consc...

  Stormcall   Thunderheads breach the horizon, Lightning stabs giving warning. Hear the winds in their uprising, The storm is at the door by morning.   The blundering is all crash and clank, The plundering, who makes bank? Feebly fronting before us all, Forecasting their practiced fall.   A tightened grip forged from steal, You signed the papers; this is the deal. The time is past for feigned surprise, The weather’s bad, the gales will rise.   Thunderheads breach the horizon, Lightning stabs giving warning. Hear the winds in their uprising, The storm is at the door by morning.   Gathering the fringed supporters: Marching minions awaiting orders. Whipping them to breaking strain, Come what may, they will bring pain.   Claiming witness, judge and jury, Saving the forces for the fury. Every day a new perform, Thinking they’ll outlast the storm.   Thunderheads breach the horizon, Lightn...

  Deniability Plan   The appearance of truth, That is the thing. Let us accept plausibility, As the facts may bear our fingerprints… What story would you hear? Who would you have blameless? A few buttons pushed… A few egos stoked… Heroes created from mere air. Or is it demons that you seek? Phantoms begot to attach your hurts to, Injuries perhaps also taken from the imagination, Still, real enough to be spoken of, yes? Sly victims… The willing misled. Will you call foul when the light shines clear? Will you admit your mistake? Will you admit it was no mistake at all? Will you cower yet behind convoluted conspiracy? Or will it be enough To point to the single source You would not abandon? Are you satisfied today With the appearance of truth? Are you so tied to dogma? Are you so bound to unexamined doctrine? Or is it simply less burdensome To accept The appearance of truth? Things are sometimes as they appear… Maybe...

  Bubble Bro   Wrapped in his bubble, His outlook colored, Diffracted and smeared, The fragile filters occluding, But smelling clean enough to be tolerated, Maintaining their oily coruscations.   Warped in his bubble, Unaware of externals, An ego self-maintained, Subject to easy injury, One only needs a fact To prick the shell.   Wasted in his bubble, Sucking the oxygen from the room, He trumpets his disdain Of the troubles of others, And tells how their harms Affect his bottom line.   Wandering in his bubble, He sees only so far, A view restricted by comfort, A perspective painted in pennies, Would outward reach shatter The self-imposed blister? Wrapped in his bubble, He feels shielded from scrutiny, If he does not see out, Who may see in? But really… Who wishes to peer beneath so thin a skin?   Cliff Lake 3/4/2025 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

  This Time   Who is that everywhere, Some hopped-up billionaire, It’s overwhelming and mind-numbing. Who’s pushing you down, Some krazy ketamine klown, Did you Nazi this coming?   Do we watch this man break it, Do we stand here and take it, Are we to allow all this slaughter? We are better than this, Tell them cease and desist, Make them bend to the law like they oughta.   In for a penny, in for a pound, When do we stand up And stand our ground? In for a pound, in for a penny, The time is now, This time is as good as any.   Some interfering jerk, Pretending he’s doing work, But he’s really just juggling axes. This mumbling cretin, We know what he’s gettin’: Contracts and a break on his taxes.   He wasn’t elected, Let’s see him rejected, Send him back to where he came from. He props up a clown, Let’s take him down, Send him home without a crumb.   In for a penny, in for a pound, ...

  People   The little dog likes his walks, The man likes how well his pet is trained. He bags up the dog poop, Good citizen. He leaves the bag on the sidewalk. People are the worst People there are. Is half an effort Worth the trouble? Would asking him that Waste oxygen? She signed up for the climate newsletter. She forwards it to everyone. She thanks herself for doing her part. She won’t donate. She finds plastic bags provided More convenient than bringing a reusable in. Is the non-effort of one person so bad? How about the million just like her? People are the worst People there are. Don’t tell me of good deeds Performed to salve a conscience. Don’t show me help That is only assuaging guilt. Why are the consequences Someone else’s problem? How long before They stop performing at all? The little dog has a bladder infection, The carpet gets a bad smell. The shelter can only keep so many at a time… People Are...

  It’s So…   It gets weirder. You never know when, Until you’re there, And then it’s so weird. You try to piece it together: The how, The when, And why nothing fits Until it does - And then it hits you: It was always weird.   You got weirder. You tried to normal, But you weren’t there, You were too weird. They tried to take pieces of you, Your why, Your who, And it gave them fits, Until they won’t, Because it hit them: You just got weirder.   They get weirder. They aren’t normal, They’ll never get there, They’re just too weird. They tried to fit you, Somewhere, Somehow, But you picked up the pieces. Because they won’t. It finally hit you: It’s always weird.   So, it gets weirder. The whole of your when, Your every there, It’s just weird. Everything is all pieces: Every why, Every then, And looking back, it fits, Because it does, And sometimes it hits you: That’s so we...