Poetic Hours Online Autumn 2008 |
Nick Clark |
The Hanged Man After I had committed my crime, They left me alone to think And that sentence, Of pure imagination, Was worse than death. Then they took me to A very public place And opened up my chest, This done so all should see My heart beat In defiance of them And myself. Those that hated me Came to laugh, Those that scorned me Came to rebuke And finally Those that loved me Came to pity And gave me vinegar For my folly. "And now for your decision, Honest lover" The friends and foe united, "Let us see if you really believe In love's resurrection" |
Chasing Wolves Didn't your Momma never tell you Not to go chasing the wolves Cos mine sure told me some She told me many times And quite often hammered it home With the Big Bible We kept on the side, The one with all the names Of my brothers and sisters And my Daddy's family In the front Even them as had died. But I was bored And I was young Bored of chopping trees And when I heard Them wolves howling, I took my gun and said 'Im having some of these' And went a walking For a long time Stalking them beauties And I did find Them Big and strong And fur so sleek And eyes that shone In the moonlight From the shadows Where they ghosted from So boldly I just raised my gun And stealthily they just came on My Daddy said "Son, Don't hold a gun If you can't shoot, And just take root I guess that means you Shouldn't have come" But I'm in a spot And they're circling round I wish I was at home right now Their teeth are awful big and cruel Hey Momma What I do right now ? |
Is That Wrong ? I still check For missed messages, Is that wrong ? Sometimes, Stupidly, I think I see The door open And think Well, You know. My counsellor says It's like someone died, Is that wrong ? Sometimes too, I go to the riverbank And watch the old lady Silently murmuring on, A never-ending flow Of deep and ponderous life, And I think of us And where she stood And what she said And how she smiled When we were here, Is that wrong ? My counsellor says I'm doing fine And it's OK for me To stand here And stare At the inviting blackness So coldly tempting, Is that wrong ? |
Cheap Music When those strings struck 'Sounds of Silence' There was no one in the place Save me and my memories But all about The other faces In the back-lit dark Were mouthing Noiseless words Whilst their eyes Replayed The lost years; The lovers left, The Old Friends forgotten, Flitting across the screen Like the ghosts of fast cars On the New Jersey Turnpike, Searching for the lost hope of youth That was so resonant In every note. That is the message Of cheap music, The songs of the soul, Thrown out into the world, That we claim for our own. |
