I may be
I may be
Down to my bare bones
But you will have to take me
Out of here
In a body bag
To get me gone.
There might be
Nothing much to do
Out there
Or in here
For that matter
But at least I can see
What there is
I can smell it
Feel
My body-conscious
Corporeality
I am not imaginary
Handcuff me to a lamppost
Tie me down
Let me watch
As the sun climbs in the sky
The moon hangs behind
A safety curtain
Biting its nails
Bright stars fall
As cold stone
I will hug the ground
And hold on
Even as the song dies
Its echo remains
There is meaning
In a silence
A whisper in the wind
To challenge my direction
Poison my belief
I will carry the fight
Past dying
To live and breathe
Another day.
Stand against the wall
Fall down
Face first
Bend the knee
Or howl in protest
Blow me away
I am a defect.
We are easily displaced
One at a time
Count me out
Shoot first
The bullets
Make a lasting impression
On the decor
Tracing the shadows
Of indifference
That still linger
In the corner
By the nightstand
Where the drywall
Is covered in mildew
The damage
Of repetition
Breaks the spirit
Pound my bones
Into submission
It is not a game
To take lightly
Lower your gaze
There is no release
From the beatings
Even in sleep
Monsters break
You into pieces
Change the sheets
Cover my disgrace
I am as much
A coward
As the next man.
The drama of tall trees
In silhouette
Against a dynamic sky
Dry leaves falling
As rolled gold
Burnt umber
Tumbling over
Uncovered heads
Straw coloured hair
Framing
The flushed faces
Of young lovers
Stealing kisses
By the hedgerow
A splash of rain
Dripping
Onto her neck
A cold shock
In the heat of passion
A shiver of anticipation
When the wind stalls
In readiness
For another push
It was ever thus
The tree is a long-standing
Opponent
There will be no
Easy victory
But in the end
All trees fall.
There is no reprieve
Dreaming is no escape
From fiction
Truth is interchangeable
Light bends around
Every obstacle
In constant
Reflection
Finding a new way
To reveal itself
In shadow
Depriving me
Of respite
The pain of its forgetting
Held in surety
Even as monsters
Wake in a frenzy
Of bloodlust
To wrest their
Superiority
Over my beating heart
And demand the right
To claim my soul
I’m so tired
I’ve been trying
To escape my body
To exist in space
A free spirit, if you will
Without success
Nothing is easy
As a statement
Is a falsity
There is always something
Nothing is impossible
Without substance
We are lawless
Not just Newtonian
Or enigmatically Einsteinian
Pretty much everything
Depends on the belief
We exist
Otherwise, I dream
Waking is a lie
Nothing is as it appears
On the tin.
A stream of consciousness
Is not as easy
To swim in
As it should be
I am drowning
In self-reflection
Lost in abandon
Sullied by the ghost
Of spiritual awakening.