CliffSongs

  Sorry Christian   O sorry Christian, Worshipping your church, Abandoning Jesus, How far you stray.   Sorry Christian, How you love to hate, Preaching against those you know not, Their customs strange. Their clothing may fit different, Their food be peculiar, Their tongues may be a difficult hear. Do they seem garish? Do you find them unwanted? Sorry, Christian, Your brother may not always look like you.   You sorry Christian, What makes your cathedrals so great? They stand higher than your works. Your prayers speak louder than your deeds, Your purses impede your morals. You walk with Mammon, And he with you. You value value, How can you thread the needle’s eye? Sorry, Christian, Poor treasure you have stored.   Lo, sorry Christian, Will you follow Peter then, Blade too ready to hand? Would you send the unbeliever Christward early? How you celebrate blood! How fierce in your belief! But t...

  Loony Time   Crises pulled daily, Manufactured by the wily, Extracted and presented As if from the forever pocket Of the animated hare, Leaving us to ask: “What’s up, Don?” We see the signs: It’s rabid season.   Yearning to be the rootinest-tootinest, He comes off a bit too daffy, And in desperation declares: “This means war.” Still, dark secrets loom, And when asked where they are found We’re told, “They went that-a-way.” Watch him dip, dive, and dodge. It’s duck season.   Pontificate, obfuscate, complicate. Explanations reach their acme, Blowing up when handled, Requiring more answer than: “That’s all, folks!” Still, they rush headlong, Towards the tunnel, They painted themselves. Can’t they read the signs? It’s rabid season.   And it’s despicable.   Cliff Lake 9/28/2025 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

  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...

  This House   Cartoon colossus, Your puffery deflates When even the smallest hero staunchly stands. The shifting sands of your straying conviction betray you. Your doubletalk, Your double back, Your instant balk, You’re talking smack, You walk it back. Big ego, Big mouth, Small where it counts.   Myopic titan, Head so high above your boots crushing, You do not see your stumbling steps. Circle back and twist again. Whose toes have you trod today? Do they hold you in such awe, That they will forgive? That they will forget? Discount them singly, Their complete number swells. Ants eventually cart away entire carcasses…   Bumbling behemoth, Bruised in body, Drooping display, Reckless reactions, The costs are no longer marketable, The harvest goes hollow, The taken have no more to give. Hungry mouths will fill with blame, And you have put yourself in their eye At every opportunity. They will only se...

  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...

  Vitriol and the Foolish   I have had enough of vitriol. Pouring salt in the wounds of the chronically salty? Forgive me if I believe that will be of no benefit. Whether you agree or not with a person, Their death by violence remains just that: Death by violence. One does not qualify equality – What is injustice against you and yours, Is the same injustice against someone you dislike. Our First Amendment still holds, At least for today, And though that person may have said things that you did not care for, This day he was allowed to say those things. Now he cannot. Not by his choice, But by the hand of another. That is not equitable by any measure. Already I see celebration of this violence. A celebration of violence! What kind of lowlife does that? Displaying hatred of the murdered will only encourage more violence. Have any of you considered that may have been the entire point? Or perhaps that this wasn’t politically motivated...

  Real and the Play-Doh of the Now   Industrial revolution, Ersatz evolution, Substance substitution. “Progress” Plastic-wrapped changes, Pre-packaged, presented, pre-approved, Delivered sanitized and pastel-colored. Transistors and silicon processors, More than conveniences, The user becomes the processed. No more woody scent of a cool eve, No more untamed posies to brighten a morn, No more unbound brook or liberated hedge, To remind of what was left behind, Forgotten by the aged, Unknown to youth, Buried beneath casinos and chaos, Mown down and resurfaced.   What replacement cheer is now pursued? What new gods are sought? What diversions now entertain, Battery-powered and sterile? Expanded access breeds total arrest, Binge-powered dopamine dump. Downcast eyes burned by blue light, Atrophy claiming muscles, (Though not those texting thumbs). Carefully chosen information doses, Pre-selected and wrapped in the r...

  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...

  Storm   The revelers in the fortress frolic, They celebrate their coffers, Grown too large to be exhausted in a lifetime, And so jealously guarded, And admired by their keepers.   Overlorded by one of their number, But less clean, Less mannerly, Less than even they, But more brutal than any of them. He knows their deeds, Thus their loyalty is secured.   The fortress makes pronouncements of intent: A slowly tightening suffocation, It insures its security by right it grants itself, And by the display of sword and spear. It trusts such strength without question, Uninterested in the doings of the rabble beyond.   The fortress has deployed its guard, Faceless thugs with questionable order, And questionable tactic. The streets and the countryside slowly empty, Windows shutter, Lights lower, Open conversation declines, Secrets keep best in the dark.   Beyond the fortress wall the public works lessen...

  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...

  Two Weeks   Two weeks. A time limit. A promise. An expectation. A deflection. A delay. A story. An angle. A fiction. Two weeks, A myth in the making, A vow of solace forthcoming, A tactical maneuver, An apostrophe in procedure, An intangible timeframe, A stretching into eternity. Two weeks, This concept of an idea, This plan to start planning, This suggestion of a program, This inconclusion. Let us meet That we may schedule the meeting. Two Weeks! That’s all it should take! Our aim Is to Arrange a Method to Propose our Intention to Suggest our Strategy to Contrive a Policy that Lays out Our projections Of the means To institute The program that Follows procedure. It’s never been done before! It’s the best at what it is! No one else could! No one else will! Best of all: It’s every two weeks. Two weeks. The time that Time forgot. Time enough for another surprise, Time enough...

  The Watch   What is poised against the deepened night? What ancient tower Yet stands against these times? What staunch stanchion still bolsters? What shield hefted? Does any Sun’s ray pierce the dimming day? Have all supports fallen, Has all faith foundered? Are there yet champions? Are there yet bold? What voices lifted in defiance? What songs carol against the dark? Answer these, Child, And hope blooms.   What gauntlet clenches? What psyche rages? What beast foments? How many quislings waver? Whose pockets bulge ill-gotten? What worms gnaw at our institutions? Who gathers the vermin beside him? What craven serves the mad master? What lies must now be lived? Who sees enemies at every lamppost? Why is that enemy you? Speak to these, Child, And defiance looms.   What babe is fed from many hands? What gran is sheltered by the village? What infirm has aid unlooked-for? Are your youth taught costle...

  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...

  Home is Where the Assault Rifle Is   The promises deflated, The charts pointing nowhere. The statistics dancing to the strident melody, The midnight rant, The better bully welcomed. What warm air can further pump the ego? More guns. Get them out on the street where they belong! Bring the fear home. Show the world! Flaccid power display. Shake your fist at the lies you tell: That’ll show ‘em! Bring the fear home, Swamp the streets with the unnecessary, How that wets the pants! Power over your groupies slipping, You show them more guns, That’s entertainment! This is the circus, Will they do without the bread? Have you found your Colosseum, Or the Bastille? More guns then! Bring the fear home! March the military round and round! When two or more are gathered in democracy’s name, Is that a riot? Certainly some find your moves laughable… And some find lockdowns distasteful, And most of those voted for… More guns th...

  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...

  Conundrum   A puzzle I set before you: Why did this time go so astray? Who was elevated against odds: Crawling creatures that dark the day. Bums and rogues and criminals, Slopped their way up and hope to stay. See them prancing before you, Oblivious of their decay.   A conundrum some fail to see, Too beholden to iniquity. These uncomforting truths they must flee, The enigma ages ungracefully.   The lies that put them where they are, Their power maintained through hearsay. See them lined up against you, Arranged in tidy disarray. They remain envious of The things they cannot take away: Love, and light, and laughter, Saved up for a rainy day.   The conundrum fits too closely, Too beholden to iniquity. These uncomforting truths they must flee, The enigma ages ungracefully.   The query is already in your mind – It becomes clearer every day. Is it really such a mystery, Why it on our minds so we...