Anthracite

Once I was a river
Reaching as a tree
A light in the dark

Now the stream grows dry
And branches come crashing down
The light becomes a glow

But this is welcome
To sit with nature
And become the stone.

Don’t be afraid for me tonight
The sky won’t fall and wheels still turn
Don’t be scared while I’m out of sight
The river may run but the water burns

I cannot speak or say what’s true
Though here, imprisoned behind my eyes
Sits heavy this heart of blue
Forget it, just leave it where it lies

Don’t speak, don’t say out loud
Just keep it down just beat it back
turn away melt into the crowd
as the light within fades to black.

Take a few steps into my mind with me

Embrace my madness where 1 equals 3

It’s not so bad once you’re here with me

You cannot see the wood for the trees

Amongst the flotsam and froth of the sea

Maybe there are little bits of you and me

It’s not madness if you share my tea

So please take a few steps

And set me free

For the heart crushed under the weight of rejection
And the soul that cannot understand the violence of living
For the snapping jaws in a child’s swollen, empty belly
And the mother forced to watch with a dry breast

For the boy in a foreign place, his face against the bars
And the girl crying as she earns a meal from a stranger
For the father out of his depth finding comfort under a bridge
And the mother blaming herself for a bankers callousness

The herded gather for safety and survival, and yet
There is a failure for us to not see further than ourselves
The fat shepherds are immune to the vision of man
There is always a fight to be had,
and there are always reasons to be kind

I’m not sure of many things

Are we prospering or in decline

Whatever it is I don’t think it’s me

It’s not chosen but by design

There are those that judge

Knowledgeable just by seeing

Forgetting vital facts

They are fallible human beings

But I see revelations and wonder

At people and the big blue

And thankful realisation

I’m not like you

Relaxed with the outcome

Knowing it’s all just fine

Though I may be a bit mental

It’s not a fault but by design

Just watch where you step
Pools of tears are plenty
Despair or joy
No way to tell
Try and dodge the mad crazy
Clusters and groups everywhere
Chosen or genetic
Can’t see through the mantle

Stop yourself thinking
Revel in the oil of nothing
Medicine or poison
No matter, I’ll enjoy it for a while
Floating like an all knowing being
Comfortable now in the chaos
Genius or madness
For now I’m enjoying my smile

Even though the windows are closed tightly I can hear the birds as I drive down the hill

The 3.6 litre engine winds up as I hit the flat and the bird song fades in the dark mirror

I flick a small button on the steering wheel and noise springs from some unknown place

A melody dressed up as someone’s pain floats from the radio but is rather numb

Then the news comes on with a noise like a thousand seagulls on a paddocks fresh till

‘Welcome the latest breaking news for the South East’ she says with a tremor of terror

Coaches complaining about refs and a shark from NSW called fluffy with a cute face

“What the hell is NSW doing in the SE news?” to my horror I realise we are that dumb.

There are animals being skinned alive, majestic beasts being hunted for sport and the kill

Humanity is suffering for a dollar and animals become tokens to prove they are inferior

Bankers cry at gains to small instead of a family living in a car not fit for the human race

730,000 children in poverty in Australia as the Politician thinks about his muesli – peach or plum?

A lawyer squawks he’ll get your Super for a fee, when you’ve fought to long and had your fill

The insurance man in white points to tiny words as he steps back from your spilt entrails in horror

Charlatans walk freely amongst us, protected as they gouge us, taking more and more space

But social cannibalism is not news. Overpaid coaches, millionaire players. That is our sum.

Roll your penitent thoughts away, you might find they are not needed here

Lean forward into the wind and push, push aside things not yours to own

Realise resistance to your movement is the moult of some horrible beast.

It is not light in your peripheral; maybe its hope and maybe its fear

The hiss you hear tries to seduce you, attempting to make you its clone

All this is committed to memory, as on its carcass you joyfully feast

Thinking about heaven
and if there is such a thing
would it be better than now
or maybe the pain doesn’t cease

most of all, who would walk with me

Thinking about this world
and aware of the unseen
what bends the mighty branch
what is the invisible weight

who would walk with me

Rain drives into my eyes
dark thunderous clouds roll
bouncing like a boxer about to strike
and I’m not afraid to be alone

But wonder, who will walk with me