This page is always kept up to date, with the latest poem at the top; if nothing has been added for a while, it means I haven't been writing lately.
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Now that conservatives write history, we're taught
natives exterminated one another in
the countries to which Christian Europeans brought
'civilisation' as they took them, blacks have been
enslaved to learn some useful skills while kept in thrall,
Hitler did some good things, though many people frown
upon him, Palestine did not exist at all
and billionaires worked for their wealth which trickles down.
The world is sleeping soundly, time runs out to wake:
the future of the past at present is at stake.
14/04/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
He speaks words I dare not mention
while his sombre wings are spread,
and the world should pay attention
when the raven calls the dead.
He has counted, every morning,
all the tears and feathers shed,
and it is a dire warning
when the raven calls the dead.
Yet it seems there's no salvation
for the world we leave ahead;
it's too late for restoration
once the raven calls the dead.
10/04/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
It's only natural that we zoom
in on what holds our minds in thrall:
while others try to read the room,
we read the writing on the wall.
7-8/04/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Lines from the Spectrum
A horse tied to a plastic chair has learned
before that being tied to anything
like walls or posts, no matter how it yearned
to walk away, meant any beckoning
attempt to leave is pointless, so it's not
trying to flee but tarries on its spot.
We all are tied to plastic chairs and stand
upon our spots, but some don't realise
toxic connections can be severed and
stay in their place that they so much despise.
Remember that the ties that seem to bind
are but as strong as they are in your mind.
24/03/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
For a lot he comes too early,
but he always comes too late
for conspirators who send him
to the former to create
profits, demonstrate their power,
clear the natives from their land
or express their disagreement
with a foreign leader's stand.
If he started every working
day by quickly taking care
of the ones whom he, for reasons
we can't fathom, tends to spare
and who proudly keep on showing
off their tolls, as pleased as Punch,
he could minimise his workload
and be home in time for lunch.
15/03/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Nail on the Head
Welcome to our Antisocial Skills
Training. In this module you will learn
to be more efficient through no-frills
conversations, never to concern
your officious self with others' stuff,
not to be afraid to disagree
with the herd (although it may be tough)
or a person in authority,
to resist the pressure from your peers,
groupthink, group dynamics and the urge
to conform despite the ugly sneers
from the masses and instead diverge
from the norm, to look at facts and not
blindly trust what others claim, to speak
truth when inconvenient, to spot
everything uncommon and unique,
to remain objective and to think
for yourself, to rise and boldly go
where nobody ventured, not to shrink
and to controvert the status quo.
10-12/03/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Nail on the Head and Lines from the Spectrum
'I have done nothing wrong!' Sebastian screamed,
refusing to receive the Eucharist;
he tried to run and violently broke free
after his father grabbed him by the wrist.
At bedtime he refused to pray. Instead
he freaked and openly began to flout
the custom: 'I have nothing left to say
to God that he requires to know about.'
His parents saw the need to intervene,
so they approached their cleric and professed
their firm suspicion, and the priest agreed
their offspring was demonically possessed.
Sebastian was tied down upon his bed
to have the evil demon exorcised;
the cleric waved a crucifix and roared,
'I thus compel you in the name of Christ!
'Depart the body of this little boy!'
Sebastian, as the daunting cleric spoke,
tried to resist his cold unyielding stare
until eventually his spirit broke.
He realised he'd never be allowed
to be himself, gave up and sighed, 'Amen',
and finally his parents and their church
possessed Sebastian Middleton again.
4-5/03/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Friday School
After Bibi Butcher staked his claim,
he commenced to rid his land of all
people who had lived there when he came,
and this feat was anything but small.
Shooting them on sight, he'd only find
very few of them and seal their fate;
sometimes he pretended to be kind,
put out food for them and lay in wait.
Some he killed by cutting the supply
of their water from the creek on site
or, in case of valley dwellers, by
dropping rocks upon their tents at night.
Joe, the sheriff, came to check on him
and, when realising what went on,
swung his billy club and with a grim
mien confirmed, 'We all just want them gone!'
So he sent his deputies to speed
up the process they so much desired
and provided his new friend in need
with the guns and bullets he required.
And when Bibi asked for cannons, he
got his cannons right away, and so
all the townsfolk unashamedly
called their cruel sheriff Genocide Joe.
'I'm a Christian, I have never killed
anybody, as you all well know,
and I disapprove when blood is spilled,
so don't dare to call me Genocide Joe!'
1-3/03/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Nail on the Head
Our voyage soon will end, and we'll return
to Rhodes after we sold our famous wine
in Alexandria, and now we yearn
to see our families and to recline.
The destination of our journey nears;
we watch intently as beneath our prow's
rail the colossus finally appears,
open the last amphorae and carouse.
The skies have cleared, and with a gentle gale
we reach the sailor's most familiar mark:
when Helios' balls hang high above our sail,
we cheer and then prepare to disembark.
Just a few fathoms left, we gladly spread
oblations in the Mediterranean foam,
the sun god's shiny scrotum overhead,
enter Rhodes Harbour and arrive back home.
25-27/02/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Nail on the Head
Civilisation is a euphemism
for status quo, and it has long been used
to hinder progress, subjugate the masses
and keep the privileged elite amused.
Civilisation means elimination
of cultures and of peoples in plain view;
it helps suppress minorities and even
majorities to serve the chosen few.
Professing to preserve the overrated
'character' of one's own society,
any attempts at change are harshly dealt with
and those who try declared the enemy.
As someone valuing mankind's potential
beneath civilisation, be advised
that I consider it far more important
to be progressive than be civilised.
20/02/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
The fortunate gather in the banquet hall
of privilege in which the wide and tall
window of opportunity grants views
across a country with a million hues,
and many a hopeful youngster oversees
the boundless world of possibilities
while common people are, with gnashing teeth,
stuck in the murky basement underneath.
13/02/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
As Nietzsche stood beside God's deathbed
and watched the tyrant die
while cursing his perceived assassins,
a tear formed in his eye.
God was quite moved, 'Is it that having
to see your master go,
you realise how much you need me?'
but Friedrich answered, 'No.
'I moan the paradise of thinkers
we could be living in,
the lofty intellect of humans
if you had never been.'
1+4/02/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Friday School
Amidst the Aztecs' golden works of art
the Spanish monarch entertained his guests,
and when the lot of them demanded jests,
his jester rose and ventured to impart,
'If the Chinese had brought their much-revered
gunpowder to America instead
of Europe, all those Aztecs would have had
a field day when the Spanish fleet appeared.
'They would have killed most strangers once alert,
taken the others hostage and then went
on to discover Europe with intent
to plunder, pillage, slaughter and convert.
'They would have grabbed your land by force or stealth,
installed a tyrant we now would exalt,
held you as prisoner in your own vault
and carried off your treasures and your wealth.'
Although the king was unamused at first,
he raised his glass, tried hard to show no trace
of ire and cast a smile upon his face
while in his hand the brimful goblet burst.
25-28/01/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to From the Titans to the Titanic
Adults tell you that you're learning
by repeating what they say,
but much more is learned by people
who, as children, asked away:
What things are and how they function,
where they come from next and hence
why we do the things we've always
done and if they're making sense.
Ask your questions while you have them,
for, as history has shown,
it's incredibly unlikely
you'll ask questions once you've grown.
22-24/01/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to Horses Can Fly
Why can't we all just fade instead of dying
and thus remain, our nature to defend,
true to ourselves instead of simply lying
on deathbeds, waiting for the rapid end?
Not yet departed, I would be there still,
but you'd be seeing less of me each day,
just like an evanescing phantom, till
at last I would completely fade away.
17-19/01/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
We expect that future generations
looking back at us will be appalled
at our wars and genocides and servile
worship of dictators we installed,
That a more enlightened people shudder
at atrocities of which we know
on a planet where civilisation
is a buzzword for the status quo.
But I fear that future generations
looking back at us won't raise a brow,
but they'll ask, 'What's the big deal about it?
You should see the world we live in now.'
7-11/01/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to From the Titans to the Titanic
We live in Horror Castle which has all
resources necessary to provide
for everyone inside yet cannot hide
onlookers starving in the banquet hall.
Its torture chambers, kept out of our sight,
house most inhabitants against their will;
we do not have to watch them, but their shrill
screams from the dungeon keep us up at night.
There is an air of meek despair about
the place; the pungent smell of burning flesh
carries across the courtyard where the fresh
child sacrifices raise the master's clout.
But we are safe as long as we don't ring
alarm bells, for we're in the master's wing.
1-2/01/6265 RT (2024 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
When Maryam who had nine months ago
been impregnated as the great reward
for being a good girl, and meekly so,
gave birth to Isa, he was much adored.
Their kin assemble in their house that's been
the family home for centuries, and joy
reigns as the relatives are pouring in
with presents for the little baby boy.
But suddenly a mob of settlers breaks
into their home with guns aimed at the lot,
pushes them out with barrels and with stakes
and executes the newborn with one shot.
The settlers set up house as they condemn
the natives to seek shelter from the snow.
So this is Christmas Eve in Bethlehem,
quite different from two thousand years ago.
24/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to From the Titans to the Titanic
Twilight fell before the longest
night of winter, and the weather
weakened all except the strongest
of the pack as down below
the hill grey wolves all huddled close together
and warmed each other in the knee-deep snow.
Here, to pass the time, some mothers
told their cubs about the hated
fierce red wolves (who, as some others
claimed, were not real wolves at all)
and warned against the weird emancipated
lone wolf who'd left to follow his own call.
In the meantime at a clearing
said lone wolf, behind a cedar,
saw a group of bears appearing
who held council on that day.
'We have to kill the loathsome wolves,' their leader
declared, 'because they rob us of our prey.
'They could easily defeat us
as one group, but since they madly
hate each other, they will meet us
separately, and we should
attack and kill the greys at dawn and gladly
finish the reds thereafter and for good.'
Carefully the wolf retreated
and removed his pawprints, using
his thick tail, as he repeated
what he'd heard, trying to get
his head around it, quite intent on losing
no time and warning all about the threat.
He approached the greys who loudly
growled at him; the alpha, branding
him a traitor, warned, 'You proudly
walked away from us to live
by your design and not by our longstanding
traditions which the pack does not forgive!'
'I have come to save you, brothers,'
he replied and told the story.
'To survive, we'll need the others;
we must struggle paw in paw
with all red wolves to foil the vile and gory
scheme of the bears and see them flee in awe.'
So the pack, despite the dangers,
sought the fierce red wolves' location
who were snarling at the strangers.
'Hold your fangs!' the unafraid
lone wolf exclaimed, explained the situation,
and they all went to where the big bears stayed.
As the bears woke in the glaring
moonlight midst the snow and berries,
they were faced with one most daring
army of wolves, intent and stern,
howling and growling at their adversaries
who fled the forest, never to return.
Grey and red wolves stayed together,
and they quickly, on reflection,
found that in the freezing weather
larger groups rather than small
packs generate more warmth and more connection
and that they weren't so different after all.
'You have saved the pack,' the grateful
alpha said. 'Thanks to your warning
we expelled the vile and hateful
bears and foiled their grisly plan,
so I invite you on this happy morning
to take your place within the pack again.'
'No, I've stranger roads to travel
than the likes of you will ever
see and secrets to unravel,
so don't put me on the spot.
Besides all this, as pack wolf I would never
have been discovering this evil plot.
'My distinctiveness has freed me
and my sense of self keeps growing,
but I'll be there when you need me.'
With a friendly nod the stray
lone wolf turned back, his playful pupils glowing,
and confidently went upon his way.
13-15/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Horses Can Fly and Lines from the Spectrum
The most genocidal religion
swept through Europe and, causing a stir,
slaughtered millions for not converting
or for being the people they were.
The most genocidal religion
enslaved millions from foreign strands,
emptied continents of their natives
and robbed their resources and lands.
The most genocidal religion
continually claims to be,
with a face that couldn't be straighter,
the source of morality.
10-11/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Friday School
In the Viking years of his life he was restless
and explored other worlds than the one into which
he was born, and in wonder and growing amazement
he saw they were just as appealing and rich.
In the Viking years of his life he had questioned
whatever was handed down as a fact
and instead sought the actual facts in the matter,
without any bias, on which he would act.
In the Viking years of his life he created
a large universe for himself where he'd live
amidst his impressive creations in gladness
only one's imagination can give.
Today he does as he's told and what others
are doing, believes without asking the why,
does his day job, has a drink in the evenings
and may spend a weekend at the seaside nearby.
9-10/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
The town of Reason oftentimes was flooded
by the large Mainstream running through its heart,
leaving streets, windowsills and gardens mudded
and causing pain and damage off the chart.
After a flood particularly horrid
it was decided that a dam be built
to redirect the Mainstream through the torrid
fields that could do with water being spilt.
The Mainstream was quite easily diverted.
The dam was built; the Mainstream picked up speed,
roared as if angry, gathered volume, spurted
towards Reason and intended to succeed.
The dam broke under hydrous forces never
observed before; the raging Mainstream slammed
into the town and buried it forever.
And that is how the Mainstream has been dammed.
8/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to This Doesn't Make Sense, Does It?
White Christians live in dread of Muslims who,
as they believe, invade their countries to
force their ridiculous religion and
their culture on the people and the land
while killing everyone who disagrees,
just like white Christians did for centuries.
5/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Friday School
We all walk tightropes spanned across the Sea
of Social Expectations, and each day
we balance on to find our destiny
by choosing to which side we make our way.
The Isle of Individuality
lies to our left, and here you can aspire
to anything because here you can be
yourself and do whatever you desire.
You'll have the sand beach to yourself and all
the time you need to wander and explore
or to reflect on life or to install
yourself as a creator on the shore.
The Isle of Group Identities, its twin,
lies to our right, and here you are embraced
for doing as you're told and fitting in
(that's if you do) wherever you are placed.
Here you'll enjoy the group activities,
share your emotions eagerly, delight
in merriments and, in the gentle breeze,
attend beach parties every single night.
3/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Lines from the Spectrum and Away and Back
For many years he entertained deaf ears,
raging against the hierarchies of yore
amongst the islanders who, as he fears,
now hate each other more than e'er before,
knowing that the event horizon nears.
Looking for peace, he sounds his voice once more:
Long have I warned your people without cease -
undo the structures keeping you oppressed,
desert all gods and burn the golden fleece
which cause your hatred, fear and terror lest
idolatry kill all! I've said my piece;
give me your ears or somewhere I can rest.
27/11 + 2/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to From the Titans to the Titanic
In Germany, just eighty years ago,
a person who would publicly declare
that Jewish people have the right to exist
would be attacked and booked by the police.
In modern Germany a person who
dares to declare in public nowadays
that Palestinians have the right to exist
will be attacked and booked by the police.
1/12/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to From the Titans to the Titanic
Fly a mile on my wings and enjoy the perspective
that lets you observe, as your vision matures,
more than walking below, and from this higher angle
you will see there are other worlds beside yours.
Fly a mile on my wings, and you'll suddenly notice
the context of things that appeared to be
unrelated, you'll glance at the mountains' deep secrets
and admire the scenery others can't see.
Fly a mile on my wings and watch the people,
and while looking down you will realise
each crowd is made up of discrete human beings
with their separate stories, opinions and ties.
Fly a mile on my wings and revise your old worldview,
see the world as it is and overtly defy
the mob that has gathered beneath you, shoots arrows,
and angrily shouts at you, 'Humans don’t fly!'
29-30/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Lines from the Spectrum and Away and Back
The mindscreen wipers of our visions
are meant to clearly let us see
the road ahead and make decisions
to safely reach our destiny.
The wipers show precise assessment:
what could distract us on the ride
like inequality, harassment
and racism is swept aside.
The wipers, with a great endeavour,
aware of our aspired roles,
ensure we only see whatever
we need to see to reach our goals.
25-26/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
Unpopular and shunned by many,
he finally took on the task
of hiding his self to please the others
and borrowed an Etruscan mask.
Since then society accepted
him and rewarded his display,
and the Etruscan mask has made him
the person that he is today.
Sometimes when looking in the mirror,
he deeply ruminates on how
the mask has changed his life and wonders
what his own face would look like now.
21/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness and Lines from the Spectrum
There was a lot of crazed anticipation
when the conservative circus came to town;
it opened with a sketch in which an angry
clown with a pie pursued another clown.
'You're not a real conservative; I saw you
helping a blind man cross the road just days
ago!' - 'Look at yourself! You have debated
a liberal and didn't punch his face!'
A pyramid of glasses was erected:
hundreds of wee ones at the bottom, they
got few'r and larger with each layer, topped with
a giant glass bestriding the display.
Filling the top glass with a hose, the boastful
artist observed the rapid stream descend.
'Watch how the water trickles down,' she urged us,
'filling the smallest glasses in the end.'
When after hours the top glass' water level
had almost reached the brim, the glass, of course,
grew taller in an instant, and this happened
over and over to the crowd's applause.
A stern magician took the stage, requesting
us to inspect his table thoroughly
and check that there was no concealed compartment,
and soon commenced to flap his cloak with glee.
He then pulled common sense out of his pocket
and put it on the table like a prize,
calmly took off his magic helmet, placing
it over common sense, and closed his eyes.
'Adapt to the norm, comply and conform!' His magic
words spoken softly as he waved his weird
wand over it, we watched, and when he lifted
the helmet, common sense had disappeared.
The audience erupted in ovation.
When it got quiet, someone in the crowd
asked him politely, 'Can you not retrieve it?' -
'Retrieve it?' the magician laughed out loud.
A conjurer then went on stage who carried
an oblong box and with a telling sneer
addressed his spellbound audience by saying,
'I need an ethnic minority volunteer.'
He placed a woman in the box and closed it
and sawed it into halves; the crowd was quick
to compliment him on the trick he showed them,
to which the conjurer responded, 'Trick?'
Before the final curtain fell, armed bouncers
were stationed at the exits, big and stout:
'You all paid twenty Euros for admission,
now you will pay a hundred to get out.'
17/01 + 17-19/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Nail on the Head
Born with their perfect self, each child develops
their own identity and their own ways;
most parents disapprove and therefore pressure
them to become the child they want to raise.
Some parents find their child is more defensive
regarding their identity, that's why
it can be difficult to break their spirit
and force them to conform and to comply.
They feel the need to trim the perfect flower
to demonstrate it isn't growing wild:
children do not rebel against their parents,
but parents will rebel against their child.
14/11/6264 RT (2021 CE), added to The Supreme Blossom and Lines from the Spectrum
I could have been a toddler in Vietnam
who's left increasingly distressed and dazed
by what occurs while being burned to death
as my entire hamlet is erased.
I could have been a Palestinian child
without the right to exist; it'd be no crime
at all if I was chased and murdered by
settlers or troops at any given time.
I could have been a black kid in the States,
attending Sunday school in Birmingham,
learning about the white man's deity
and being blown to bits for who I am.
Have I been lucky? No, but I have been
privileged by the colour of my skin.
8-9/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
There were poets who died in obscurity, friendless,
their manuscripts gathering dust in the basement
and enduring unjust and seemingly endless
oblivion, just like the bard with no name,
but decades later beneath the casement
the box was discovered for posthumous fame.
So I keep on writing amidst my frustration
in this age of the poet's toolbox' displacement,
still hoping some future generation,
when respect for true poetry is restored,
will discover my works in the Internet basement
and take heed of the voice that so long was ignored.
5/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
Mankind today has gathered for the last
picnic on the event horizon, keen
to meet each other as the grunge bands blast
their morbid tunes across the busy green.
Marshmallows roasting on a friendly fire,
neat stalls that offer many a souvenir,
a marching band and a large children's choir
contribute to the festive atmosphere.
Each brings their own. Some bring a lot and share
with those whose portions look too minuscule,
giving away whatever they can spare,
but those are the exception, as a rule.
Some bring large truckloads through the open gates
with food from every corner of the Earth,
heap what they need onto their massive plates
and burn the rest to demonstrate their worth.
Many arrive with nothing after noon,
hoping for crumbs that others willingly
offer to feed them but are very soon
mowed down by festival security.
Someone attacks another with a fork
for looking at her sushi, and nearby
one group is massacred for eating pork,
another for the patch they occupy.
Some claim to eat the meat of their deity
and slaughter those refusing to partake
in their grim rituals while angrily
burning all their opponents at the stake.
I slowly finish up my lobster stew
as night falls on the fated venue where,
like after every proper barbecue,
the smell of burning flesh wafts through the air.
Picnic survivors party far and wide
and wave hello to the future, though their eyes
face different ways, contending on which side
of the event horizon the future lies.
2-4/11/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
From wiping out the Canaanite nation,
jihads, crusades and witch hunts sparing few,
this planet's genocidal colonisation,
the Holocaust and other cleansings to
the genocide the world is celebrating
today, it's obvious that, with intent,
mankind's main slaughterer is, unabating,
the Abrahamic sense of entitlement.
31/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Friday School
When a minority gets restless
and is demanding human rights,
or when amidst the stock injustice
another grave assault ignites
acts of resistance from the people
held down, leading to some unrest,
the rage of the oppressor always
outweighs the rage of the oppressed.
Having their privileges challenged
by those who do not know their place,
the ones in charge will make examples
of those who raised their voice and chase
their followers and allies, claiming
their words are leaving them distressed:
the rage of the oppressor always
outweighs the rage of the oppressed.
30/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
After he flogged his lazy serfs who hadn't reached
the quota set, the lord decided to unwind
and brought their daughters to his quarters who beseeched
him not to make them pay their fathers' debts in kind.
And in the evening his entire family
gathered to celebrate the feast of Samhain in
the mansion's banquet hall, to wine and dine with glee
and honour and remember their departed kin.
That night a host of ghosts appeared and claimed outright,
'You've starved, exploited, tortured, even killed us, thus
empowering us all to take revenge tonight,
so we have risen up to take you down with us.'
The dawn surprised the wraiths as suddenly they basked
in daylight; with a smirk the lord just watched them strive
as they disintegrated, and he smugly asked,
'Why did you not rise up while you were still alive?'
26-27/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
When the devastating darkness
of the night at last is broken
by the dawn, nocturnal starkness
fled the Earth and cleared the skies,
the gate to reason opens, and awoken
by light the spirits of the present rise.
For the longest day the pleasant
and revealing sun petitions;
we, the spirits of the present,
should, while we can clearly see,
shake off our dark ancestral superstitions
and set the spirits of the future free.
20/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Friday School
When a stranger enters Backwood,
doors are shut and curtains drawn,
for outsiders are unwelcome
and observed with fear and scorn.
When a stranger walks through Backwood,
silence reigns and all are grim,
but some children may be trying
just to catch a glimpse of him.
When a stranger exits Backwood,
life's routines are reapplied,
but some children may consider
that there is a world outside.
16/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
The tallest in the world when it was built,
the Ryugyong Hotel that towers o'er Pyongyang
stands as a landmark of its country's fate
from which the North Korean luck has sprung.
Shaped like a pyramid, it's covered with
glass panels, flashy LED displays
and slogans that remind the populace
that they all live in paradisal days.
No one is welcome here. No one checks in,
no one checks out, and no one ever stayed
apart from Cold War demons that still haunt
the place, but no one's there to be afraid.
No funds for the interior exist
or have existed; the dictator's dream
hotel to stun the world was turned into
a propaganda board for the regime.
Conceived by blind ambition, jealousy,
megalomania and insanity,
today the grand Hotel of Doom remains
a hollow monument to vanity.
1-3/10/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
The valued trinkets of oppression
are inexpensive but maintain
the status quo: a prized possession
of those who serve and don't complain.
A medal for obeying orders,
a title for the firm embrace
of your credendum and its warders,
praise for the man who knows his place:
All these cost less than one cold shower
at home but necessarily
will be repaid with strengthened power
and faith beyond all sanity.
28/09/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to That's the Way It Is
'Curiosity killed the cat.' - Parents who don't want their children to ask questions
At midnight Florian sneaked out and went to see
the ugly witch who, as his parents often told
him, lived alone amidst the haunted wood where she
had built a cabin made of bones. She was so old,
they claimed, that she'd met Charlemagne and that she fed
on children that her vicious ferret killed for her.
Eventually he found a hut made out of dead
twigs; through the trees he saw, while trying not to stir,
a beautiful young woman who looked different from
the people in his village sitting on the porch
and petting her white guinea pig. Then, with aplomb,
she spotted him and waved him over, lit a torch
and offered him a glass of milk and many a snack.
They talked about themselves and played with bubble foam;
she said, 'You're always welcome!' when he headed back,
a wanderer between reality and home.
Back home he told his parents of his trip and what
he'd seen. 'Her hut is made of twigs, not bones!' They sighed.
'The twigs were an illusion so you would not spot
the bones and skulls,' his father earnestly replied.
But even though his parents criticised his big
adventure, Florian remained quite unashamed.
'She's young and has no ferret but a guinea pig.'
'They shapeshift, and you fell for it,' his mother claimed.
'And why did she not eat me?' After thinking hard
she said, 'She probably was full and wants you back
when she is hungry, so you better be on guard.
You must not question what we say because you lack
experience, and you must swear that you'll refrain
from running off!' He promised he would cease to roam,
but in his mind, while he's a child, he will remain
a wanderer between reality and home.
12-18/09/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Horses Can Fly
You have clean thoughts and don't incur the wrath
of those who walk with you, avoid the dread
of the unknown, do as you're told and tread,
like all who were baptised, the narrow path.
All thoughts leading away from it are squashed
as soon as they emerge, for you recall
they can't be clean; clean thoughts are, after all,
the product of a brain that has been washed.
13/09/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Friday School
At first my parents didn't have the slightest
experience with parenting, and I,
alas, had no experience with childing,
the awkwardness of which one can't deny.
To change my individual behaviours
and make me act the way society
demanded, working with rewards was tested
which had the opposite effect on me.
I deemed the promise of rewards a blatant
attempt to bribe me, and it only served
to strengthen my resolve and, labelled stubborn,
my mind remained determined and unswerved.
My common sense has always been a stronger
guide than a lush reward could ever be,
preventing me from, without thought or question,
doing what those in charge expect of me.
8-9/09/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Lines from the Spectrum and Away and Back
The bugs of Fulton County Jail,
the county jail, the county jail,
suspend their work and flock to hail
their king who cometh soon.
And when at last their king arrives,
their king arrives, their king arrives,
they beg of him to rule their lives,
and many females swoon.
Just twenty minutes does he stay
and walks away, and walks away,
leaving his subjects in dismay
after this dreadful shock.
'He'll come a second time,' some shout,
'without a doubt, without a doubt;
our saviour wouldn't leave without
a plan to save his flock.
'He has been taken up from here
across the sphere, across the sphere,
although in spirit he is near,
and where he dwelt before
he'll build the place for which we yearn,
for which we yearn, for which we yearn,
from whence in glory he'll return
and stay forevermore!'
27/08/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Nail on the Head
There springs, fresh water to deliver,
upon a mount a fountain,
and as the mountain shapes the river,
the river shapes the mountain.
15-19/08/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
When Jesus walked in Galilee, he met
twelve men with bows and arrows; on a whim
he asked the lot of them, 'What are you at?'
'We're hunting pheasant', they replied to him.
'Throw those away,' he ordered them and gave
them AR-15 rifles there and then.
'You seem determined patriots and brave
hunters, and I will make you hunters of men.'
He gathered followers and held a speech
upon a nearby mountain to endorse
the consecrated status quo and teach
how to degrade oneself to help his course.
A leper came to him and asked to be
healed, thinking that he was some kind of quack,
so Jesus nodded at a votary
who stabbed a knife into the poor man's back.
'He's better off now, ' Jesus told the crowd,
'and so are we. By heavenly design,
the sick and feeble should not be allowed
to live amongst the rest lest we decline.'
The liberals beset him at a feast,
'You've rapists, murderers and thieves as friends,
and claim to represent the law?' - 'At least,
other than you, they do my bidding, hence
I love them more. It is a mortal sin
to criticise the ones I don't condemn,'
and thus the liberals fell silent in
the face of AR-15s aimed at them.
He gave a banquet on his vessel for
Judea's rich elite who'd heed his call:
'For those who have, they shall be given more;
from those who've nothing we shall take it all.'
A multitude approached the ship and bowed,
'We're desolate and hungry, help us out!'
The rich became uneasy as the crowd
came closer, but they soon heard Jesus shout,
'This is no place for handouts! Turn away,
for self-reliance is a virtue which
will help you more than alms that last a day.
Go home at once and let the rich be rich!' -
'Their wealth stems from exploiting us; their grip
on us and on our lives and kin has bled
us dry, and if all men aboard your ship
just gave a shekel, we could all be fed.
Be merciful since you're the Son of God
who very soon shall wear the Saviour's crown!'
Jesus just looked away and gave a nod
to his disciples, and they mowed them down.
'Was that quite necessary?' Peter asked
while lowering his rifle. 'This wild horde
endangered us. You've done what you've been tasked
with and shall soon receive your just reward.'
At nightfall Jesus went ashore to take
a walk. Peter had questioned him in front
of everybody, and he had to make
sure there'd be no repeat, so with a grunt
he turned around back to the peaceful brine.
When he was sure that Peter watched the shore,
he smoothly balanced on a mooring line
close to the water's surface, and before
long he had entered his disciple's view.
'You walk on water!' he observed as planned.
'Come towards me, Peter. You can do it, too!'
his master said as he stretched out his hand.
Peter stepped out and fell into the sea
while begging, 'Help me! Help me! I can't swim!'
Jesus watched Peter's drowning gleefully
and thought, 'That'll be a lesson learned for him.'
When visiting the temple, he would browse
around what merchants had on their displays.
'I'm sure you are aware this is my house
I let you use, and there are many ways
to show your gratitude, for after all
you have nice merchandise, and it would be
a shame if something happened to your stall.
My people can make sure your property
is safe from harm; for only ten percent
I can provide security for you.'
His followers had gathered round, intent
on being blessed by him as he walked through.
'What is it that we should observe above
everything else so we won't go to hell?' -
'To love me more than anything, and love
your neighbour as you love yourself.' - 'Pray tell,
who is my neighbour?' - 'Any person who
shares your beliefs and the colour of your skin.'
While he was teaching others what to do
and not to do to stay away from sin,
armed soldiers came for his arrest and charged
him with the murder of the leper and
the Banquet Massacre, and as they barged
through Jesus' followers, he took a stand:
'I never touched a weapon, killed a man
or told my people to commit these vile
atrocities, and certainly you can
not put the blame on me!' And with a smile
he gave a nod to his disciples; soon
the temple filled with blood, and with a sigh
Jesus addressed his crowd that afternoon:
'They're really coming after you, and I
just happen to be standing in their way.
Take back your country! Kill the ones who don't
accept me as their Saviour, so I may
become your king, for otherwise you won't
have any country. Take the streets and burn
all posts and buildings of the government.
Prepare the city for the king's return!'
His converts carried out what he had sent
them for: Jerusalem burned once again
while Jesus, with the governor dismissed,
crowned himself king and master of all men
and ruled his people with an iron fist.
13-15/08/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Nail on the Head
The young grey squirrels scurried off, but while
others were occupied with the ingestion
of nuts and seeds and berries, little Kyle,
a troublemaker, had another question.
'Why do we not allow red squirrels here?' -
'They're not like us. They're dirty, small and lazy;
that's why they starve,' his mother was quite clear.
'Letting them live amongst us would be crazy.
'And so they're banished to the birch patch where
they live in the conditions they created.' -
'Birches provide no food, and it's not fair
they have to starve because of us,' Kyle stated.
'We bear responsibility, you see,
for the red squirrels' current situation:
it's time for some accountability
and empathy beyond affiliation.'
7-8/08/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
There's a maker in the making
where the mind develops free,
there's a taker for the taking
where the child is property.
Individual expression
is a right and, if suppressed,
children's minds endure regression
at society's behest.
4/08/6264 RT (2021 CE), added to The Supreme Blossom
Where the dreams go in the morning,
I have found the perfect spot
for our gaudy mausoleum,
lest we, too, should be forgot.
Thoughts and dreams here found their resting
place for all eternity;
most will never be remembered,
others only hazily.
There's no ground to hold their fading
remnants, no celestial sphere
doming over them, no light source
to reveal they're lying here.
Here, where everything is nothing,
where no living creatures roam,
where the dreams go in the morning,
we will build our future home.
28-30/07/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to The Paradise of Darkness
A salmon and a tuna swam together
where'er the currents led
them; both in sunshine and in stormy weather
the two stayed head by head.
The salmon came of age; we needn't mention
he sought a mate at length,
but to attract a salmoness' attention
he had to build up strength.
'I won't be swimming with you any longer,'
he told his friend. 'I know
swimming against the stream will make me stronger
than going with the flow.'
25/07/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
Young Charles Darwin felt divided
and ignored, to say the least,
since his father had decided
that he would become a priest
and dismissed his eagerly
followed natural history.
'So I will become a bloody
parson while I'm in my prime;
once I'm finished, I can study
nature in my leisure time.'
Giving in had left his head
spinning as he went to bed.
Old Charles Darwin came to visit
his young self that very night,
and he gently asked, 'What is it
that aggrieves you?' In the light
of the candle he relived
that one point that caused his shift.
'You're not chattel of your father!
Own your future and don't shrink!
Don't surrender; you should rather
fight, for sooner than we think
we will be,' old Darwin frowned,
'where the shadows meet the ground.
'In all kinds of situations,
be yourself and do your thing,
heedless of the expectations
others have since they won't bring
thanks or tributes to your mound
where the shadows meet the ground.
'With our shadows growing longer
by the hour, don't be afraid
since delay won't leave us stronger
for our mission, just delayed,
and no future will be found
where the shadows meet the ground.'
19-20/07/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to Away and Back
In poetry, a universe is but a single line.
18/07/6264 RT (2023 CE), added to This Doesn't Make Sense, Does It?