Listen
the uneasy night was
moonless and haunted
and belching with thunder
it cracked with delight
borne from the laughter
found rumbling in nature
and somersaulting from youth
mercy symbolized by age
and their audible joy
spat wet from their mouths
with the pits of their cherries
saturated in hope
and echoing their innocence
in the howl of a wolf
the harmony of new sound
interrupted the beat
from the hollow of a stray
to the gypsies circling home
behind birds without wings
and gazing back at the heckler
the witnesses fell blind
in collective hypnosis
all were forgotten in doubt
and lost to a flood
for the endless coal paths
burying reality reborn
in an anxious dimension
defining stars as origami
their tails wagged with nerves
as they swallowed the Earth whole
for the comfortable sadness
pulsing stagnate in regret
their pain runneth over
into humanity's chipped cup
for the horns of infection
oozing thick until healed
like tumbleweeds on the wind
their freedom was found
at the crossbones of loss
and in their prayer fallen numb
and as fate bounced and brought
forth the rustle of spirits
perching hunched on the branches
with a gait slowed by chains
Evil challenged Good
exposing their fists in the light
and undressing the shadows
illuminating God in reverse
their possession of soil
reflected a fantastical parallel
for my mind sees life chatter
on splintered yellow film
while aging my wine to
imitate the motor's whoosh
of a faulty projector and
through its waterfall lens
the prisms distort
the faces of mummies
embalmed with the soot
of their burnt bones and flesh
and with duct tape obstructing
the dialect of tongue
they stuff cotton in their ears
and pull their visors too low
over wallpaper veils
protecting kryptonite truth
weaved tight with whore's lace
and tie-dyed in shades of blue
the actors walk drunk
stumbling sideways on stone
and in their relentless parade
the grand marshal has died
fearless Flights of [f]antasm.
To love you...
Without the burden of a thought
And you to cherish
Unencumbered by the do's
Unfettered By the don't's
Dictates of a mind addled
With the world's many cares
My heart is the verdant knoll
Stage for our breathless flight
-Hand in hand
The earth rushing away
Beneath us-
We soar.
The Puzzle
Naked
Stand of trees
Black as cracks
In the universe
Angry
Though we be
Slack as wax
In a gypsy's curse
Clueless
Till Big Sleep
Prone in the back
Of a moving hearse
We fiend & fret
Claw bloody breasts
And never know
This life's a test
A puzzle
Missing pieces
In a game God plays
To reach us - teach us
Till our time
Turns dim...
-DeRicki
Paralyzed
They argued, they fought, they yelled
One roared, one shrieked
Screeched like the siren that
Wailed a warning inside my head.
Both were fuming
Spewing acid and hate
"You mislead me!"
"I should've married someone else instead!"
They didn't notice the lone figure
Listening on the other side of the door
Helpless. Horrified.
Wondering if the hundredth time was the end.
I was petrified like stone
And utterly paralyzed
After those tumultuous days
I was never the same again.
Not quite tenor, not quite bass.
Hardly alone but out of place.
Frank in lilt, posh in drawl,
Formally built, impossibly dull.
It ebbs and flows when speaking of love
It tucks and rolls when drinking enough.
Short and crass, merry and rash,
Often dry, impossibly cast.
An accent which flows and sways,
(A Frenchman in part)
But timmersome, leastways,
English at heart.
Reflects emotion felt within;
Strong in concluding, soft to begin.
It quavers at thoughts tears remember,
When speaking of home it waxes tender.
A common range,
Widely known.
Not subject to change,
Baritone.
