CliffSongs

  Flight of Atlas   Atlas flies, Helios beckons. What solitary sojourn Has set him on this course, His aura trailing after? What dark depth has spawned him, That he would make this glancing skirmish, And sail on unbowed, But not unmarked. See the sages cast their sight upwards! They will have his secrets! They have descried already his eccentric flight! They have calculated him hyperbolic! They have given him many names, But he answers no call. Atlas flies, Third of his kind, Or so we have observed. We watch from below, Though his speed outpaces our songs of him, He has not escaped our watch. Brave Atlas! 6 miles of him have traversed unknown arcs, He flies through our heavens, His banners flowing behind, Speaking no threat, Except to those mystics That seek to educate their purses. Atlas flies! Cast your vision upward then, That you may catch a glimpse, Before he hides behind the sun, And then emerges, And ...

  Dry Tides   Roaming sands across millennia thrum, Dry tides swallowing wisdom. Structures re-found in the wind, Did we begin again?   Failing towers, subdued walls, Do riddled texts describe the falls? Lost yesterdays gone dim, Have we begun again?   All that was known is unknown, All that was is not, All that was seen is unshown: Empire gone to naught. Tales lost beneath the waves of time, Peering into lost lore, Sing again forgotten rhyme: All of this has gone before.   Boulevards run beneath the seas, Statue peers but does not see. Broken spires unkissed by sun, Altar’s fires long undone.   Symbol and sacrament we cannot scry, Rehome upon the past not knowing why. Shallow praise of how far we’ve come: The gods we raise are just redone.   All that was known is unknown, All that was is not, All that was seen is unshown: Empire gone to naught. Tales lost beneath the waves of time, ...

  Sweet Suppression   Now don’t get the wrong impression, Or cave to base suggestion, What is this odd obsession, We must cease this weird procession.   Let us proceed with discretion, Nor make any true progression, Just move forward with aggression, And wield some sweet suppression.   A little sweet, sweet suppression, It’s like a discrete confession. How long ‘til complete repression? Have a taste of that sweet suppression.   We’ll get some House intercession, Get them to interrupt their session, Tell the base to try decompression, As we deny any transgression.   We are losing our self-possession. Engaging in wild self-expression, How do we manage repossession? We can start with sweet suppression.   A little sweet, sweet suppression, It’s like some discrete oppression. How long ‘til complete repression? Have a taste of that sweet suppression.   Avoid all questions, Make no concess...

  Moments   Sunshine sparkle, one drop of dew, Temporary jewel, and many-hued. The winged chorus now greets the dawn, Will you stop to listen or hurry on? Too soon for traffic, or working noise, This juncture static, the instant is poised… To move off is tragic, distraction annoys, Such simple magic nature employs.   Take any moment in your embrace, Or simply choose to sit and wait, For the moment to happen to you. Such precious seconds lasting too few, Capture the moment and the moment is you.   The first flake falls, silence surrounds, Such is the first of winter’s sounds. Gray sky above, a shiver below, Escaping inside should the wind blow. Crystalline drift without a noise, To remember these seconds can be a choice. To move off is tragic, distraction annoys, Such simple magic nature employs.   Take such a moment in your embrace, Or simply choose to sit and wait, For the moment to happen to you. Such p...

  Edge   Should you find the edge of the world, What would you then? One step forward and Might you be carried out of time, Swept to existence ethereal, Or to some terrible end, Or worse, Eternally fall through an empty cold, Frozen forever, And forever unfixed in space And time. Would you find the edge of the world, If it meant you must step forward, To be carried forth in existence, Forsaking your time here, To grasp for the ethereal, Or to understand terrible truth, Or worse, Understand nothing, And simply forever fall. Could you find the edge of the world, If the path were plain before you, Some step onward, Carried forth through time, Or beyond such contrivance, To become ethereal, Understanding things of terrible meaning, Falling beyond space and endings, Forsaking what came before, As if that once had substance, Or meant anything. Where is found the edge of the world, Will you step forward, Toward a p...

The Colbert Retort   Suppression, Repression, Transgression. The bully in the hotseat makes complaint and –   “FREEDOM!” they cry, Let the denigration mantras ring! – As long they sound their own chosen targets… God forbid an unwanted truth be spake – Disinformation bubbles are fragile.   Epithet, epithet, epithet, Disparage, defame, and deride, What fun when directed at people You already don’t like. Let no return be made! Let no fact reply! The thinner the skin, The deeper the pierce.   What night-call dares defy? What compare spoken in dare? What mock made in the night? What easy observation thwarts? Here is a tongue needing cut! Here is a voice requiring choke! Here are wings craving clip! A cull is called for.   Suppression, Repression, Transgression. The bully in the hotseat makes complaint and –   O ye corporate craven, Power is a granted thing, And knees begin to ache when b...

  It’s a Wonderful Secret Life   “There is more to life than having everything…”   The past trails, Hidden, Yet popularized, Obscured, Yet glossy-pictured, Shadowed, And yet recorded under the brightest lights. Hype and hoopla sought desperate, Now suppressed in desperation. Is some monster lurking in the trailing past?   (Yes there is, but I won’t tell you what it is.)   Code the convo, Whisper in the public places, Say nothing and say it all, Discuss, discuss, Wrap it all in the pretty package, The matter may not be spoken plain, But the matter is spoken, And I know I will not speak it loud.   (Nor will I, since I also know what it is.)   Share and share, And share alike, Birds of the feather unmentioned. Left behind for other pursuits, Pasts inextricably tied. Darkness swallows some, Bright lights take others. Is there so much separation?   (We have certain things in comm...

  Flounder   See the story evolution, Minions thrown into confusion. Produce yet more illusion, Guiding to the wrong conclusion.   See the lying expounder: Speaking to the echo sounders. Convoluting canard confounder, Wailing, flailing, see him flounder.   Flip-flop! The questions never stop, Find another frantic fantasy to shop. Hard stop! See more info drop. Gotta squash this story chop-chop!   Minions waiting, details mutating, What result from this conflating? Restructuring and restating – No one believes; so frustrating.   Fire one, defame the other, Too many outlets to smother! Around this one topic they hover, What else will they uncover?   Flip-flop! The questions never stop, Find another frantic fantasy to shop. Hard stop! See more info drop. Gotta squash this story chop-chop!   Just a regular guy, Telling a regular lie, This time you won’t get by, It’s going to...

  Explainer   It’s starting to feel everyone has gone hostile, You should know we have already filed the file. You keep on requesting – it’s not like we care, Why do you insist on poking this bear?   Maybe you feel that we near the brink, We do what we do, it’s our criming kink. No more of your thinking – just go with the flow, What you once knew is not what you know.   It was there, now it’s gone, It’s time to move on. What are all these conclusions you have drawn – You act like we are pulling some con. Ask again, give it a shot Everything that is, now is not. Forget about the evidence you think you have got: Everybody here is already bought.   Go ahead, peep the curtain, there’s nobody there, Take another look – we’ve got lies and to spare. With the courts in our pocket and the cabinet too, Ask again and again, what you think you can do?   Is anything real, is this a distraction? Close your eyes while ...

  Descent and the Darkening   What is this waking you from your uneasy sleep? How long did it take this horror to creep? How were you to know what burden was in store? How much of this did you willingly ignore? Which of these acts are an exaggeration? How did they manage this horrific transformation? Did you not see this happen in your plain sight? Day never suddenly becomes the night.   But you ask, “Why has this trial come to our place?” The ordeal has again risen, Only wears a different face. But you ask, “Why me? Why here? Why now?” The scourge came upon us long ago, It is but ours to unallow.   Do not each look to blame one another, It was you each who forsook your brother. Shook your head, turned your back, chose to be blind, Do you think you will remain unassigned? The demand has come that you blindly agree, The demand has come if you wish to be free. The torment comes again to curse us all, We must united ...

  Ward   They are in the high places, And assume seats of power. See their genial faces, While demanding that you cower.   The law that they would retrofit, So self-complimentary. Only they may benefit: Their final philosophy.   Beware these times, For trickery abounds, And evil way and petty grievance Are too easily found. Beware these days, For falsity is prized, And serpents and scorpions Are found in human guise.   Barricaded behind blast doors, Their minions played as their pawns, Hands still unwashed from bloody chores, Do not say that you weren’t warned.   General populace ignored: Such inconveniences. Watch the rule of might restored: Intended consequences.   Beware these times, For trickery abounds, And evil way and petty grievance Are too easily found. Beware these days, For falsity is prized, And serpents and scorpions Are found in human guise.   You begged ...

  Stains   He needs a pulpit all his own, That he may look them in the eye. And a bigger microphone, That he may more loudly lie. He needs the camera in close, A fancy pen to sign the letter, He needs to be third grade verbose, He needs them to be forgetters.   And they start to see the things, The things that he is not. And they see the empty hands, The hands that they have got. And now he has Defrauded the frauds,   So, they begin to see The stains on their god.   He needs to sell the baubles, That his coffers do not run dry. He needs them to accept their troubles, He needs them to not ask why. He needs them to accept his promise, He promises everything, He needs them to accept his chaos, ‘Cause now chaos is king.   And now they see the things, The things that he is not. Now they see empty hands, The hands that they have got. And now he has Defrauded the frauds, Suddenly they begin to s...

  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...

  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’...