CliffSongs

  Out on the Slip-Side   They said. They said it was wrong in there. They said you could end out on the slip-side. They said that’s where the shapes don’t.   Whiskey courage and her promise if. The door not falling off its hinges, The building falling down around. Locked against the unwilling.   Click of the lock as my hand grasps. The handle turns too eager. The ancient entry noiseless allows. Weird welcome.   They said this is where. They said this is not where. Out there on the slip-side. Out there where the shapes won’t.   It’s too dark for so much light. The roofless span open to a sky of no-color. Sound falling dead at my feet. No echoes but for the giggle.   They said it was empty except. They said to back out in my prints. They said there was nothing to fear. They said don’t turn around.   Behind me the hot breath freezes. Behind me the fossiled stench coils. Behind me the...

  Lantern Jack and Friend   Lantern Jack was getting ready, His finest suit tattered just so! This night always made him feel heady, He kept it ensconced in one elbow.   Jack was prepared for Mischief Night, His favorite for midnight haunting. Shrieking horror his delight, Normally it was not daunting.   But this time Jack was prevented prowling, Outside his door our Jack was smitten. All fur and fang and miscreant yowling, Lantern Jack picked up the kitten.   Orange-eyed, hissing and spitting, The creature displayed nothing like dread. Claws and teeth that were not quitting, Jack had to reattach his head.   Lantern Jack had no companion, To accompany his frightful game, He now allowed that he had one, “Hellcat”, he said, “Shall be your name.”   Hellcat he fed on things I won’t mention, Suffice to say that they were horrible. Lantern Jack fulfilled intention: Hellcat became incorrigible. ...

  Once   Once, they lived in two realms: This Earth and far-off Faerie. Once, they lived alongside us, Sometimes tricksters, Sometimes offering small boon, Always warding against True Evil. Once.   Once, the raveners stood in thwart, Consigned to the wide places outside. Once, the fiends were barred, Beyond rampart, Beyond curtain, Always stalking the boundary. Once.   Once, the whispers against Faerie took root, Sidelong glances and fear of the other. Once, talk from the shadows was debated, Evidence muddied, Rumor allowed, Always sold as objective regard. Once.   Once, our guardians were put to measure, Dark mutterings not always dispelled. Once, they were distracted from the borders, Bounds degraded, Imps slip, Always influencing from dark places. Still.   Once, we banished the protectors, Cast them to the vacant outside. Once, we did not fear the darkness, Vigilant guards, Ether...

  Season’s Daughter   She feeds on moonlight. The frail luminescence nourishes, And strengthens her. She is silver steel under the orb, And she moves like water.   She walks in her own shadow. Swiftly passing, You only ever see her leave, Her approach obscured in light, Her quit soon insubstantial.   Her paths are long memory, Passed from mother to mother, Generations lost in time. Her track long laid before her, She is past and future.   Her charge is but to live, To be here, In this place, At this time. Long years before her task is done.   She sleeps in starlight, Far miles behind, And more ahead. Scant hours for rest, The trail ever beckons.   She brings the seasons, Each in their turn. The trees shall sleep now, Unburdened of their summer dress, And we will bed down for winter.   Cliff Lake 10/27/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Voluntary Ghoul   Little person with your fears and your tears, Burrowed deep inside your brain, Special plantings to twist you, Courtesy of corporate gains.   Listen to the scary ones, Play them on repeat. Learn the hate that appeases you, Let it sink into bone and meat.   They are out there, The ones that stole your dreams. Get your satisfaction, Listen to their screams.   Strap on your killing cock. Fuck ‘em with flying lead. That doesn’t make your wee-wee hard? Just mow them down instead.   Oh, how they are oppressing you, It’s all according to plan. Continually besting you, And it’s getting out of hand.   All those others you are warned about, They keep on getting nearer. It’s up to you, no time to doubt, Your mission’s getting clearer.   Strap on your killing cock. Fuck ‘em with flying lead. That doesn’t make your wee-wee hard? Just mow them down instead.   Clif...

  Clauses 15 and 16   Your NRA primer in hand, Waving your 15 around, Like you’re taking some kind of stand. Well, it ain’t you taking the heat. It ain’t you gunned down in the street. You don’t see the blood pooling at your feet.   “What we need is a good guy with a gun!” Well, there’s a bad guy out there with one. You cross his trail I bet you cut and run. “Shall not be infringed!” you cry. That’s the only part you know, my guy. There’s more to it and you can find it if you try.   There’s more than Breitbart There’s more than Fox. Come out of that echo box. Why is it truth you fight? But I’m asking: How can the facts hurt you? It’s only knowledge… Get your mind right.   We’ve seen children massacred in their schools. Still we suffer these blood lusting fools, Who claim they’re pro-life while the cooling blood pools. Why are you so beholden to a killing machine? How can you ignore the terrified screams, ...

  Class Act   Kindergarten is closed in Manhattan, Engoron has hard lessons to teach, To the spoiled brat in the hot seat, Who doesn’t believe he’ll get detention.   Kindergarten is closed in Manhattan, The judge says playtime is over. No more pushing and shoving, Take your seats and follow the rules.   Kindergarten is closed in Manhattan, Judge Engoron is scoring the tests. One fail already and class isn’t over yet. Comprehension now is key.   Kindergarten is closed in Manhattan, Engoron has the report cards in hand. Does the defendant get along well with others? He may not make the grade…   Kindergarten is closed in Manhattan, That’s what Arthur says. He supplies the defendant with 10,000 reasons To shut the fuck up for once.   Cliff Lake 10/25/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Flippin’   There’s a new game in town, If you don’t want to go down, It’s called flippin’. Those Trump codefendants, Who are shitting their pants, They are flippin’. There’s Kenny, and Jenna, And Sydney’s there too, See them flippin’. Oh yes, Donny it’s true, They are turning on you, They are flippin’.   They are telling their tales, Just like coffin nails, You find yourself being boxed in. Your excuses gone stale, Just another Trump fail, Can I visit the room you’ll be locked in?   Your mean Kraken team, Just some coked-up dream, They are flippin’. “Stand back and stand by” Hey there loser guy, Are you trippin’?   Just in how many cases Will your thugs slip their traces? They are flippin’. You thought they were fools, See you taken to school, By their flippin’.   They are telling their tales, Just like coffin nails, You find yourself being boxed in. Your excuses gone stale, Jus...

  The Lawn   Johnson knew what he wanted; his feelings always sure, Johnson always got what he wanted; a soul not always pure. Johnson, once a poor man, took what he craved from life, Johnson, not a nice man, feared not the use of knife.   Johnson took what you never gave, Johnson would dance upon your grave.   Gabriel, versed in the Old Way, lived but a door away. Gabriel prayed for a neighbor; he knew of Johnson’s way. Gabriel was quite familiar with his neighbor’s rantings, Gabriel found it wisest to shun such foolish pantings.   Gabriel pursued only the right. Gabriel danced for it in the night.   Johnson had a beautiful home with but one pain in the ass – Johnson had a lawn chock full of crabgrass. Johnson’s desire of a fine lawn soon became his need, John arranged to pay little for only the best seed.   Johnson watched the seedsmen well. Johnson gave the seedsmen hell.   Gabriel watched his...

  Wash, Rinse, Defeat   A stumble, and the inevitable tumble, A vote and the inexorable fumble. The persuasions and the dissuasions, And the smackdown sure to humble. Another day gone far astray, Watch the GOP resolve crumble. Given his pallid demonstrations, During his investigations How could ol’ Gym not bleat and bumble?   How can you expect to lead, When you are always beyond the pale? We cannot give you what you need, Your only way forward is to continually fail.   Is the weekend upon us, will you run away? Or are you up for another try at the fray? Put another MAGA up, how many Dems do you sway? When you keep backing up, they can’t meet you halfway. While you keep falling down, you will make no headway, While you’re fooling around, you will earn no leeway, There IS common ground, we can all find a way, If you find someone reasonable, whadda ya say?   How can you expect to lead, When you are always beyon...

  A Small Jolly   Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. That’s how it goes, isn’t it? Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. A ritual for this time of year only: Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk.   Ssssshht. Ssssshht. Ssssshht, The slow drag now, Ssssshht. Ssssshht. Ssssshht. This walking entertainment: Ssssshht. Ssssshht…   Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. The changeup! What fun! Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. An amusement best enjoyed solo: Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk.   SSSHK! SSHK! SSHK! A forceful application! SSSHK! SSHK! SSHK! How the frail corpses fly! And settle… to: Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk.   Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. Almost home now, Ssshk-ssshk-ssshk. One more big run at – …       HEY!!! WHO RAKED THE LEAVES HERE????   Cliff Lake 10/18/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake

  The Night Caller   What tainted wind brings him, What dread longing calls? A hunter yes, And a taste for the red.   A night-thing, No light will abide him. A shadow sometimes, And wings in the dark.   A lust in carmine, A thirst forever unslaked, A death and a life, Bereft of the ecstasies of torment.   Long years that stretch the centuries, The long sleep abandoned, A continuance half in the grave, Half in the hunt.   What tainted wind brings him? What dread longing calls? Have you heard his song in your black heart? Will you too walk on the other side of light?   Cliff Lake 10/18/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Empty House   Where have they gone, Why have they flown? Do they think we’ll forget Their incapacity shown? Ring-Around-The-Podium, The GOP at play. Ignoring the public’s odium, They’ll get more nothing done come Monday.   And they file in once more, Because it’s Speaker voting season. Will they ever make it to the floor, Maybe someone normal can ease in. Lock the gate and bar the door, Time to get their legalese on. And we hope they accidentally, Commit an act of reason.   It’s time for nomination, What’s the worst that can hap? Settle for some abomination, Insecure under its red cap? Some frothy-mouthed automation Sputtering the same useless pap. Or can we hope for a cessation, Get someone reasonable and call it a wrap?   And they file in once more, Because it’s Speaker voting season. Will they ever make it to the floor, Maybe someone normal can ease in. Lock the gate and bar the door, Time ...

  Hammer Time   Kevin McCarthy, used and disposed, Because he allowed something to get done. Elevated and then deposed, Kevin was over before he’d begun.   From the ashes the proposal cast: A Gym membership is the way to go. But the voting past him passed, Leaderless, they’re on with the show.   So read the leaves and rattle the beads, It’s time to vote for Speaker again! Pull someone out of the weeds, Give him the hammer and then, Let him deal with the bad seeds, Wielding authority they let him pretend.   Now the secret shenanigans begin anew, The scream of the crop behind closed door, They pass the brain around, so they know what to do, God help us if they find them one more.   So read the leaves and rattle the beads, It’s time to vote for Speaker again! Pull someone out of the weeds, Give him the hammer and then, Let him deal with the bad seeds, Wielding authority they let him pretend.   ...

  Downhill Run   Driverless and careening, The miscarriage Rumbles and creaks without destination, A headlong rush into the don’t care, Into the don’t know, Into an oblivion unseen, unexpected, And inevitable. The miscarriage, Powered by it’s asses in the traces, Piled high with packs of empty promise, Crashing again and again Into abutments and barriers, Blockages erected to re-true it’s aim, It’s occupants screaming to change course, Yet none with the reins in hand. The miscarriage, It’s passengers crazily eager for more speed, Rushes ever more madly on its downhill run, Unmindful that its trajectory Can only end in a sudden   Stop.   The miscarriage, Constructed of lies and empty ire, Painted in slogan and artifice, Reels ever downward, Its impetus governed by gravity, And a lack of foresight in its occupants. From among their collective blindness, A new driver will be chosen, To spur them ever onwa...

  Last Ride of the Sedition Caucus   Gathered in your enclaves With colleagues you barely trust. Hoping to keep your necks saved From the prosecutor’s thrust. You play the pantomimes out, While your arguments combust. Call up another inquiry with a snarl and a pout, Another sham that blows away like dust.   The horse is dead, What do you beat it for? The horse is dead, Why do you feed it more? The horse is dead, What do you need it for? It won’t carry you so far, Just exposes what you are…   So you all just sputter and fume, While you stab one another in the back. While all the adults in the room, Sigh and brush aside the feeble attack. Your own lies you eagerly consume, Running headlong down the wrong track, Attempting to avoid a shared doom With the rest of the maniacs.   The horse is dead, What do you beat it for? The horse is dead, Why do you feed it more? The horse is dead, What do you need...

  Musing on Doors   Indictment Man, You and your confederates, Reduced to nuisance politics, Affect less and less, Spiraling the lot of you Into a trap you helped make. It’s complete closure Is not so inevitable, no, As it is ordained.   See the many You have spurned. See the many You spurn today. Who among them Holds the Ikeys to your future? Rather, who among them Does not? Pleas going unheeded, Confessions another matter, We see you very well. The darkness before you Is a door that closes only once… And will never reopen. You fear to be On the wrong side of such a door. The inevitable has no such cares. And though such doors loom wide, They but lead to smaller confine. Maybe there will be TV…   Cliff Lake 9/19/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake

  A Peace   And he came among the clamor of them. And at the sight of his face They rested.   The earth had grown both wild and weary. A garden of many wonders too abused to weep, A people of many gifts too misused to sing, Now they just shouted, Or screamed. Born into lives of low, inexorable torment, Or born into lives that command such delights, Each loudly proclaiming their existence, Until There was no repose for any.   And he came among the clamor of them. And at the sight of his face They rested.   Then one did not strain To hear the rustle of the bird in the bush, The scrabble of the chipmunk on tree bark, The stamp of a far-off deer warning, For a hush had come. A long strife ended and with it The tumult such strife brings. Then there was no more shouting, Nor were the sighs of oppressed heard.   He had come among the clamor of them. And at the sight of his face They rested.  ...

  Shouting Things   The shouting things that surround. A multitude of voices, Pick your poison or your prison From the many choices.   A rampaging beast, It’s claws dulled through ineptitude, Empty of substance as it has ever been, Loudly proclaiming it’s cause, While stripping away its own veils.   It’s minions promise protections That they may not secure, And will not survive. They huddle and plot new devices, Flailing attempts to keep hidden the web That they fell into out of simple greed.   These are the shouting things; Empty lives trying for meaning Through propping up The emptiest among them.   The beast lit large yet, It’s shadow larger still, It shouts loudest of all, Yet for all the volume It says no more than it ever has. It is indeed only a larger empty.   The trapped tiger roars loudest Just before it’s end. The paper tiger burns brightest Before it is reduced to ash A...

  Brandon Dark   The books burning down in Miami, The shenanigans in Tennessee, The situation sometimes looks real stark, But now our Brandon’s gone dark.   The pro-life enforcers filling the court, Razor blades in the Rio Grande. The 2A creeps shooting wide of the mark, Let’s go Brandon, Brandon get Dark!   Everybody put your hand in, Democracy is where we’re landin.’ We don’t need no stand-in, Let’s go Dark Brandon!   How long will the right Go to the extreme, Can’t they walk in the light, Must they remain mean? Claim they walk in Jesus’ steps, But wherever they walk, They just leave a mess.   Transphobic marches in the red states, Hatred and misery accelerate. MAGA craving monarch, But we got Brandon, and he is dark!   Everybody put your hand in, Democracy is where we’re landin.’ We don’t need no stand-in, Let’s go Dark Brandon!   Cliff Lake 8/28/2023 Copyright © Clifford L...

American Taliban   Only their beliefs, their Christian right, Exalting themselves to imperious height, Dressed in red and they are oh so white. Grooming your children while they can, The American Taliban.   Desiring minority rule, They want preyers in school, As over 2A they drool, Their intentions cruel.   Only these beliefs, these Christians, right? Exalted in their desire to smite. Each taking the title of Jesus’ knight, Only the self-righteous in their Klan: The American Taliban.   These Bible misquote fools, Ignorance their tool, For prejudice to fuel, And it just ain’t cool.   I can’t believe this Christian Right, Still exalting the might of white. Still enacting their every spite, Un-Christ-like hatred they continue to fan, The American Taliban.   Cliff Lake 8/27/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Real Fake News IV: The Mockening   House Republicans are reportedly searching the Biblical Book of Revelations for “Any references to Hunter Biden or maybe Pelosi.” Representative Gaetz told reporters, “We thought maybe she was the Whore of Babylon, but she’s married so I guess not.” Marjorie Taylor Greene wouldn’t answer questions.   Marsha Blackburn, one of more than 30 Senate Republicans to demand that David Weiss be assigned as Special Counsel now says it never should have happened. Said Blackburn, "I see now that back then I didn't know a damn thing and I still don't. That's my level of commitment!" Marjorie Taylor Greene wouldn’t answer any questions.   RFK Jr. wants his own indictment after falling out of the news cycle. "In some ways I’m a bigger POS because I'm a Kennedy and I'm a complete idiot, and if I have to break a law to get elected, then I'll park in every handicapped spot and jaywalk constantly until I’m taken ser...

  P01135809   There’s a new defendant come to Fulton, He’s got RICO company. He’s gonna get his guilt on: Election conspiracy. He can’t be counting on his Rudy, Bad to the last drop. He must be soiling his booty, Cuz Fani will not stop…   He’s Atlanta bound and down, And his train has run aground. He fucked around and found Out and out he’s a clown. A loudmouth minus his spine Georgia’s tired of his line. Pride of the Republican Party: P01135809   Now he’s shorter in his stature Than he told the clerk And he’s really so much fature, I guess lying’s just his quirk. And he glowered for his mugshot Like a petulant little kid. It’s just another thugshot, And he’s gonna do his bid.   He’s Atlanta bound and down, And his train has run aground. He fucked around and found Out and out he’s a clown. A loudmouth minus his spine Georgia’s got you, you swine. Pride of the Republican Party: P01135809 ...

  Blinded Bargains   “Do your own research!” She screams for the TV. While she Breitbarts her Boner garage for everyone to see.   “Hunter Biden! Joe’s a briber!” “They’ve weaponized the law!” In the meantime, blinding herself To the criming we all saw.   She can’t stop with the conspiracies, And the rumors that are spread, There aren’t enough hammers To get the facts into her head.   So, she totters along asleep, And her mind so deeply broke, Cuz she couldn’t have been so fucking wrong, And she doesn’t want to be woke.   And the pastor screams about the demons seen, And how rainbows have gone bad. And he passes the plate and they celebrate, While they’re all of them being had.   They cannot see and they cannot hear Anything outside of their chamber. And if by accident they do, It’s so easy to disremember.   So, they hand their money over Because they’re never going to learn. But t...

  Main Event and Sideshow   The first act was played. The spectacle presented.   What was seen:   The cruelty remains. Lessons go unlearned. Obeisance and obedience overmaster.   Plans remained unspoken, There are no plans. There is retreat into conspiracy. There was gutless deflection. There endures evasion of fact.   The first act was predictable. The spectacle was the disappointment We’d hoped for.   But what of the sideshow?   Here too was the kowtow familiar. Here again the distortions made absolute. Here was introduced A more sinister contrivance, A specter of extermination, A projection of internalized fantasy. A sideshow more than distraction, But a script for action Taken against a phantasm Hatched from desperation And desire.   The first act was played, And was not more than playtime.   The sideshow was a whisper To be heard in the darkest corners. ...

  Time-slip   Did time just…      slip just now? There’s really no way to be sure, is there? Time doesn’t just go away, Or drop out, Or skip, Does it?   Did time just                                        Slip just now?   I came into the room to        I was in the middle of   Time is a constant. Measured atomically. Displayed digitally. Delivered electronically.                      Some days are just longer than others.                                Slip just now?  ...

  The Unbinding   The thing that is not a thing – For it cannot be, not in this world, Not in this life. It cannot be there… There it is.   Here it is.   Do not ask why this is. It is. A not-thing Emerging from the depths That now also exist Though a moment prior This was only abandoned property Possessed of simple rumor And crumbling foundation.   Now is an incomprehensible term – The gulf and it’s uninhabitant Spread before you Surrounding and permeating, Swallowing and absorbed. An incursion, An infringement, The unholy intrusion, A trespass. And violation.   The book forbidden, A relic sought, Or a call satisfied, Falls from the hand It’s reek no less stinging, It’s feel no less viscous, As if it’s form Now embeds the skin, And you are one.   What has been unleashed? What imperfect containment Can recapture? What heroic salvation Is to be performed By anyone...

  The Teflon Prayer   In these days of the Tribulation, We pray for the Great Defendant, For he is beset on all sides, By documentation and evidence, And flippers and leakers, And may no longer Live beyond consequence.   Hear our despair That one so mighty In impolite behavior And shady dealings, And self-victimization, And winking prejudice, And flagrant misogyny, And strongman kowtowing, And blatant selfishness, And outrageous disloyalty Should be equated To such as we?   How we exalted him! He is our powdered savior – Glistening on the golf course, In the fullness of his pants. Have we not made for him Garish cartoons of impossibility? Have we not made of him A paragon of all that he is not? Have we not purchased The Chinese hats, And flags and coffee mugs, And bumper stickers and shirts, And tattooed his likeness Near our genitals for our comfort? Was this all for naught? Have we debase...

  Serial Set   The urge that wants satisfied. The red in the brain. The fade as they expire. The hunt that releases. A call that cannot be let lie. It begins.   All must be precise. Timing is imperative. Planning even more crucial. Anonymity in public thrills. Stalking close enough to scent. The strike occurs with exacting rigor.   The puzzle that remains. The taunt of the search. The shadow of the sleuth. The false telltale. The eventual dodge. The biding Until the next round.   Cliff Lake 8/17/2023 Copyright © Clifford Lake 2023

  Home Repair   The house we have lived in May be more hollow than we knew: Cobwebs in the corners Blowing into plain sight. Skeletons in the basement, We thought forgotten Or buried too deeply Now wake and walk, Wagging accusing fingers, That we may heal past hurts And allow them to rest easy. We are in arrears to generations.   Was this house built on rock? How solidly do we stand? The footing I thought I knew Is challenged from on high, And from the lowest depths. The fissures in the foundations Exposed to sight And the burrowers are busy. Very busy.   Is our house so ramshackle? Can it be shaken down By the most imperfect? By children so wayward That consequence for brazen misdeed Committed in the light of day Become acts to celebrate? Allowed and seen as strength Instead of the craven corruption That eats at the walls And the flooring That the weaker among us Require that they too May sl...

  My Blues   Since you left my brain has been on lock Or on fire with too much crosstalk. Every day is another sleepwalk, My dreams in permanent dock. My thought can’t get past the clog, When will I escape this fog? They say the sun is shining, But all I see is gray. When will I get out of my way?   When will I get out of my way? Will the skies ever clear someday? Will memories ever fade from replay? When will I get out of my way?     I can still see you walking out the door. And I keep on asking what for? What was it I could not complete? How was it I could not compete? My mind stuck in the backlog, When will I escape this fog? They say the sun is shining, But all I see is gray. When will I get out of my way?   When will I get out of my way? Will the skies ever clear someday? Will memories ever fade from replay? When will I get out of my way?   Cliff Lake 8/14/2023 Copyright © Cliffor...