CliffSongs

  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...

  Bits   The bits keep coming off. They don’t stick around long, They melt, or dissipate, or… When he said he was coming unglued, I didn’t think it meant This. He found it in a pawn shop, the book – Arcanum Exsistentiae , Old, Leather-bound, A curiosity smelling of... The shop owner let it go cheap. The bits don’t disappear as much as Fray? Fade? Flee? I think all of those are right somehow. I asked who was going to translate it. He said he understood every word. He also said he didn’t know how. He read some to me, Until he stopped. Until the bits started... They don’t fall, But they don’t float, They Waft, Like feathers, He said we’re feathers, The book says we’re feathers. “Feathers of Life,” he said, “Held together by...” Then the bits began... feathering... I’m going to try to get him back. I can read the book, I don’t know how, It’s still Latin but... I’m going to try to get him back. I’ll let 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 ...

  Gray Sails   Tall ship on the horizon, Gray-sailed and bringing the dawn. Tall ship on the horizon, And I will be moving on.   Some souls are borne away On gossamer wing, Some ride the breeze so free. Some souls are carried far By long lost loves, Some climb being weighty. Some souls must return, For lessons they did not see. I have returned to the ocean, To be borne across the sea.   Tall ship on the horizon, Gray-sailed and bringing the dawn. Tall ship on the horizon, And I will be moving on.   Some live life on the prairie, Their souls rise easily. Some live beneath forest eaves, These will scale their trees. Some live in concrete towers, The skies are reached with ease. But I have dwelt in the mountain, Yet still carried across the sea.   Tall ship on the horizon, Gray-sailed and bringing the dawn. Tall ship on the horizon, And I will be moving on.   Tall spars reach on hig...

  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...

  Wild Man   Footsteps that echo through time, A voice that sometimes appears in rhyme, The guise of a thousand men, A wisdom impossible to pen.   Where he walked the path remained, Nowhere and everywhere his domain. Even the hungry wolf would pass him by, And when he passed, the horses cried.   Though he lives a thousand ages past, Still some memory of that legacy lasts, Some sense of him still occupies, And when he passed, even the horses cried.   Dim manuscript tells some tale, But mere word is clouded and pale, His works shrouded in mystery, Myth become of history.   Through eras his presence rings, A man who walked beside a king, A man who from fame would shy, And when he passed, even the horses cried.   Though he lives a thousand ages past, Still some memory of that legacy lasts, Some sense of him still occupies, And when he passed, even the horses cried.   What powers did he po...

  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 Long Ago, the Far Away   I saw a clear sun in a dream, And a sky above unsullied green. I sought out seers wise and keen, For I would know what it might mean.   Brighter than I had ever known, Pleasant airs on soft wind blown. A vision of a healed world shown, A vision that felt like home.   “Long ago, far away” Words within the vision say. Long ago, far away, There my thoughts do often stray.   Long and long my quest went on, Sometimes to dusk, sometimes ‘til dawn, But just as my hope was gone, To an ancient my chase was drawn.   But my search had gone astray For I had to leave there without delay When I heard the wisest say: “Gone and gone, long ago, far away.”   Long ago, far away, Before it all began to gray. Long ago, far away, There my thoughts still do stray.   So my search continues more, To teacher’s home, and scholar’s door. Seeking knowledge, myth and lore, Nor ...

  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...

  Long Secret   They had developed the drug in secret. It didn’t do what they wanted. He had lived longer than expected. They tracked him and his movements. He disappeared while they were watching. He outlived all of them. He had lived longer than expected. He showed up in the records again. He was not supposed to be there. He had lived longer than expected. It was too long. They investigated the records. He was everywhere. He was in plain sight. They couldn’t find him. He came to see them. He came to see the test records. He disappeared while they were watching. The test records disappeared with him. They looked for him everywhere. He was not in the records. He was nowhere. He had disappeared from sight. They never found him. They wanted the secret. It would do what they wanted. They searched the records. He was nowhere in sight. He had lived longer than expected. He outlived them all.   Cliff Lake 6/4/2...

  Weapons for the Bold   Weapons of the Old Houses languish, Awaiting their time. Walled away in timeless chambers, Hidden from the unwary, Denied to the unworthy, Arms meant for the bold hand, More for the bolder heart. Forged in the Fires of Anguish, Not steel, Not bronze or even gold, Knife and spear and sword and shield, Fired strange and wondrous, And deadly when wielded by the just. Long ages kept, Still untouched by tarnish or decay, Unlocked at need for the last defense, When all other armament fails, And need is dire. For a foe yet lurks unchallenged – A monster tearing at courage and trust, A brute savaging empathy and ethos, Leaving in its wake rot and weak wills. Still it hides, Wearing the face of tyrants and bullies, Of corrupted officials, And gathering sycophants and quislings To do its bidding, Until it may declare itself in the light of day. Then will the latent spaces open, Then will the relics sh...

  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. ...