liquorice roll: December 2019

A Christmas Trick

Inexperienced,

Breathing fast,

Heart racing,

Panting,

and then a primal scream before passing out.

Grabbed the cash and left.

Wizzard playing in the lobby, the night manager watching porn and eating Christmas pudding.

One good day for my family this Christmas, at least.

Did you hear...?

Can you hear the voice on the wind
Was it a howl
Shouting at the top of its voice over the owl

Did you hear the screech from the Tom
Its unique song
Listen for the chorus, a drunk man sings along

Listen for the chimes, ding-a-ling ding-a-ling
Christmas is coming
The bells are Santa’s thing

Backstreet butchers

Shivering,

Damp fabric frozen to skin,

Pushing backwards,

Becoming one with the wall.

Opposite, my boy,

His body lifeless,

Icicles grow from wet extremities,

Eyes locked my way?

Backstreet butchers took his body,

I hoped they didn’t turn and see me, as the tears froze in my eyes.

Killer Wind

30 days, 4 survivors in 10 towns.

A habitatable zone, once a thriving town. Hyper winds at night used humanities rubbish to erase us from existence.

Dusk, wind was coming. A faint glow from a shelter, another survivor?

Could we stay or would we have to fight, time would tell.

The Secret

You want to know something I only know
Shh, no tell
It’s between me and you

I’ll whisper it softly speaking soft and slow
Shh, no tell
It’s just for us to know

You promised to say nothing, said you wouldn’t blow
Shh, no tell
It’s our secret, say no!

The Solution

The plan was simple

Get the solution at any cost

Simple plans…eh “no such thing"

Facing an army, we went in heavy.
“The smell like, fresh blood and burnt meat”

The vault, solution secured, the journey out certain death.

“So I drank the solution, and woke up home, in bed!"

Wisdom so profound

Of many phrases I have found
There’s always those that are profound
They motivate and speak to you
Embrace our feelings
Help push us through
A mental shot of energy
A revive for dreams
They set us free
Wisdom so profoundly true
Remember, Dreams don’t work unless you do

The Xebec

From the east into the middle sea,
By Europe’s coastlines,
The dusty islands, of the honey sweet,
Hot baked and swathed in golden sun.

The Xebec, fast strong and nimble,
A ship to sail to great unknowns,
The crew, sweat strong and swarthy,
Hardened men to dreaming greenhorns.

Into the night they packed the bounty,
Filled to the gunnel’s a pirates treat,
Exotic spices and gifts of trinkets,
Blinding rum and salted meat

The crew aboard are primed for voyage,
The Captain’s calls, our journey’s begun
We’re fast and ready to outrun trouble,
On our quest to new kingdoms.

Kindred spirits

The first day that we met
Palpable excitement filled the air
Stomach twisted, full of knots
Steadied nerves as I prepared

Underneath the yellow lights
Silence broken by chemical hum
Eyes locked on one another
Audible heartbeats, beat as one

Time slows down in this moment
Nothing spoken, in our first exchange
Kindred spirits found each other
Awakened emotions have their say

The Spice Ring

Prisoner booking…

“Constable”

“Sir”

“And this is?”

“This is the man we caught red handed selling spice from his Indian restaurant, sir”

“That’s the chef?”

“Yes sir, caught red handed, we searched and found a cupboard full of curry and other spices”

“Oh constable...'Spice', not spices”

One day...

I was lost when you left
Yet I see you all the time
You face is etched in alabaster
On a canvas in my mind

And when my eyes are closed
I can feel your lips on mine
My breath is on your shoulders
As our bodies intertwine

One day I’ll have you back
I’ll roll back the sands of time
This time when we’re together
I won’t be so fucking blind

Old castle mount

Remember the old castle mount?

Our world; small, easy.

Countryside rolled out into an imperfect mottled green carpet,

the river cut its unstoppable serpentine curve through the wilderness.

The mail train, its cloud generator pushing soft pillows outwards and up, dissipation slowed by trees.

Remember that day?

Our last day, before reality.

Tattooed Catharsis

Needles
Bite
Flesh
Bleeds

Colour
Fix
Skins
Need

Pain
Lives
In
Memory

Tattooed
Catharsis
My
Remedy

Trapped in Depressions Wake

Bursts of raw emotion
Like corrupted data
Whirl around my mind
Like a swarm of flies
Subtle changes to my psyche
Paranoia fuels my fugue
Everyone can see
No one is looking
I reach out for help
My body doesn’t move
Senses overloaded
Screaming
Crying
I don’t understand

The Emergence

Searing pain brings terror.

Cells mutating, I’m screaming face down in wet long grass, clothes soaked, fabric clings to the emergence.

The animal claws its way out of me as my human form is cast aside.

Now on all fours, howling to the nights full velvet moon, hungry.

Ka Dua

"Are you ready to see the spirits?"

"I am Guru"

"Good"

The guru lit the incense, powerful swirls of blue smoke filled the room, chimes softly began their song as the thick smoke gently moved them...the smell intoxicating, hypnotising as he began reciting the Ka dua.

Pixelated Reality

The man stood at the window,

a hot coffee in a chipped white mug fogged the inside of the glass.

He watched the rain,

Each droplet on the glass pixelated the view outside,

Melting stark reality into a surreal image.

If only everything in life could be changed like this.

Love Quest

Another port
Another land
I seek you out
But you're unfound
Are you hidden
Is this a test
Are you searching
Is this our quest
To find the treasure
It's in a chest
Buried deep
On this love quest
When I open
What will I find
A lovers caress
And a beautiful mind

Ode to the Fishermen

Swarthy sea dogs,
Weather beaten and wise
Ride Poseidon's ire
While Thor terrifies the sky

Pulsing weave of silver life
Heaved in by salt crusted claws
Sirens await beneath the waves
Wind carries their nautical calls

Weary hands stow the nets
St Elmos fire lights the mast
Warring gods call ceasefire
The terror of the storm has passed

Red sky bleeds out the black of night
Exhausted journey for all aboard
Morpheus calling us to sleep
The realm of dreams our final port

Deal with the Devil

The ritual starts
In Eternal fires
Acrid smoke
State your desires?
Fame?
Fortune?
Success?
Choose...
In death you won't part
You can't lose.
It's not a marriage
It's a vow
Sign your name
Ah, you wonder how?
In blood, of course.
It's a deal with the devil
No need for remorse

Appreciate the Memories

A warm fire

in the hearth
the family
sat around
having fun
and laughs
my breath fogs
the TV store
as the credits
on fantasy roll
cold tonight
no family
to warm my night
I appreciate
the memories
warm hands
clean clothes
fun times
and somewhere
to call home

My Secret

Sitting in the garden, nervous, warm wind blowing loose ears of corn from the field, they gamboled in the air innocently.

I told you my secret, my best friend, not my fickle fans, you!

You turned your back on 20 years of friendship, in a heartbeat

The silence was deafening.

Tangles of fishing line

My mind is swimming,
drowning from the tide
that raced in,
a response to an emotion.

No reasonable thought
can be formed
waterlogged and dirty,
thoughts overwhelmed.

Seaweed, plastic and rope,
tangles of fishing line,
cut into my mind
constricting imagination

Subservient Sycophants

Grey monoliths rise
A present from Hades
Dank acrid breathes
suffocate
As fat greedy toads
smoke and laugh
In tainted luxury
Wads of greasy cash
Stick like plague
To subservient sycophants
how far they bow
a measure of their obedience

The Assassins Lunch

The rice started to boil, wafts of steam curled from the pan.

City wide sirens sounded warning of the early curfew.
State troopers out in force beat stragglers.

Yesterdays assassination of the PM, a statement against corruption.

The man smiled wryly, as lunch was ready.

Very Superstitious

Mary stirred the mixture 3 times,

exactly as her grandmother had shown her.

She gazed out of the window, the lone raven was back, its piercing eyes like black crystals staring at her, a bad omen for sure.

She put a sixpence into the pudding, "I need all the luck I can get".

Signs in this world

Did you not see the signs
When you pulled the push door
then walked into the glass,
and slipped on that wet floor

Did you not see the signs
When you saw 'Police Slow'
The school children crossing
That BIG red warning sign 'Slow'

Did you not see the signs
Of the impending cliffs edge
When the road turned to rocks,
as you drove off the edge

Did you not see the signs
No feeding the bears
When you unpacked your hamper
and found a grizzly sat there

Did you not see the signs
That the climate has changed
The local river's all dried up,
There's not been a drop of rain

Did you not see the signs
of depressions insidious grasp
a reaction to events in life,
in-acceptance of how things are

Did you not see the signs
of corruption in your town
when the local council took free gifts,
to build on the only playground

Did you not see the signs
Of your countries fascist rise
when they bought the last election
and stripped you of your human rights

Did you not see the signs
did you have your eyes closed
or are you just blind
to all signs in this world.

liquorice roll