Gord
2026-06-08 04:12 pm
Vodka, Tonic, Fond of garlic, Unaccomplished. Are you talking? I'm fond of off switch and no, I wasn't watching. I was fawned, checking boxes. I was more interested in women, dawg. Not modern artists, or marvel comics, I was more interested in guitar, Not ingesting substance or getting off. Are you listening? I am fond of cognac, Long, in tonic water. and no, she didn't want me, But I never wanted her either. Like the stomach, or the liver, Long to vomit... I have concern with what's inside, Not consequences.
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Gord
2023-09-17 07:37 pm
Was it like this all along? A bird wonders... Like gawkers, ponders what they saw... 'Would you describe me, inside of a bar?' 'Must again, you make things be so hard?' 'Wasp, like I bumble about the pollen, Following a humble belief seems wanton, When you believe in things so violent and wrong.' Bird, quickly describes in simple songs, Big cities, things it saw in the puddle, Colors of war, bees that talk. Freedom, it sings, is also simple, One really needs not drift apart. The big screen, another big scene, It was mostly a facade... Balk, talk is talk, feeling in the dark, But most of what a bird said, lived on, Proper relief is upon the soul after all... So they write less of evil on the walls, In the sky, on maps or village carts. Against nothing, see the days beyond... I suppose those concepts are behind us. Was it like this all along? A bird wonders... Is the city like a swallow, or like to swallow, and will he be the next one gone? Cause for alarm, make calls upon, Anything, but you lost the one. You love... Like a dog watching another sun set, More talk, another sun will rise again, Life for this bird is but more dogs. So like a coward, survives the storm, Shivering as they make their calls. Inevitably, to face the power lines alone.
Gord
2020-12-23 03:32 pm
Drawing breath, intending a scream, Time passes, wake from dreaming, Sometimes excessive zeal demeans, So squeak like the law itself, Garlic men, in the broadest sense, Concentrate on the bread when pressed, But what of butter and how it melts? Even of appalling strength, Does it correspond to depth, or meaning? Rocking chair, what have you seen, Beside the bedside and people watching? Even if time lacking, population immense, Despite desperate pleas: fences.
Gord
2020-10-20 04:08 pm
Is my life but a minor arc? Mirror dark, a nine of hearts, Why walk into the distant fog, Past miles of silver boxes, Simple props with silver foxes, Waiting for their turn to balk. I could write ironic of a pen who talks, Night-time bombings, a man who moved on, Wildlife watching. 'Will I be fed to dogs' The pen responds: 'Terrified by conflict you write a law, But will the dogs obey? I think not.'
Innasense
2020-10-05 08:49 pm
If all our troubles Could grow wings And flutter away How much lighter Our hearts would feel I’d go bird watching for OCD Or photograph Anxiety Capture Depression in my lens Wait quietly for Loneliness and then Watch them all take flight, bright wings While my unburdened heart doth sing
Gord
2019-07-19 11:45 am
To twitch and die, Filthy in my tiles, Robots see not I, For they have no eyes, No souls, nor desires. I could watch Shrek in the park, While people watch me, watching, Laughing at the audience. Kicking posts in the dark, Hoping to be on the bus, One they are kicked off, Pissed off, and drunk. I could flaunt, bereft of thought, While nobody watched, Like Portnoy says of the drums, A theater does not make it art, Simple beats touch their heart.
Gord
2019-03-02 05:17 pm
Seeking resurrection, I long to burn my hands, Incense smoke, friends. I tire of drawing nonagon, ocatgons, heptagons, hexagons. I have drawn triangles, circles, squares and beyond, I have longed for more irregular shapes. Older days, forgotten, songs, Lyrics erased, dreams decayed, Vocals crack on air, The priest is watching alone. I stare the beast in his eyes, and keep yelling despite.
Gord
2017-11-24 07:21 am
Hands idle, crossbow fired, Archetype tribal. Life mindful, mostly recital, Model, needle, idol, Last verse final. She writes of family, Bride bridled, man entitled, The brine hers, Facts delightful.
The Sophist
2016-03-30 12:00 am
I can see her; kissing now. My Melita; buzzing round. In the country, In the town, In the streets, And on the ground. On the subway, In the suburbs. Skipping supper; Back street clubber. Just a number. Body of stats, Sizes, Dimensions, Hobbies. Pride; Absentia. Lies she said, And I believed them. Yeah? Did I believed them? Yeah. She did too; Watching me receive them. Not well. She buzzed away, Asked if I could leave her. Not today, I chased, Now I still can't see her. Now I'm still left waiting. Thoughts of honey, And my Melita.
The Sophist
2016-03-21 12:00 am
After everything I see Before me in the seats Cynics in the streets Dissecting the diseased Everything I see Finding something to believe Giving credence to contrarians Heretic as it seems I laugh Just trying to fit in Kidding like a kid Laughing Making them believe Nothing as it seems Only people watching People watching leaves Quietly in peace Raging afterwards Sighing in relief Totally alone Utterly at peace Vexed with my existence Waiting patiently Xeroxing mentally Yakking at the internet Zoning out on poetry
The Sophist
2015-09-10 12:00 am
Day 1: No stoic women and no false metal, Living the life, Inside of a kettle. Hopping and jumping, Trying to escape. Grinding my teeth, While the symphony plays. "Does it feel great?" "Yeah, it really feels great." "Now what should I do?" "I'll cry the next day." Weeping, Watching the moon start to settle. Disappear too soon below false nettle. "With such regret I will miss when I die, So I dream to escape the world I deny." Day 2: I sleep; The moon and my mind both settle. I no longer jump; Steam fills my kettle. These stoic women; Fawns for false metal. Living my own life; Fit in fine fettle.
The Sophist
2014-10-16 12:00 am
Perceptions growing crazed between schisms, Deceptions of the rain going with them, Exceptions never made to drink chrism. Receptions always strained, So please listen, Meditate on chronoceptions of infradian rhythms.
The Sophist
2014-09-04 12:00 am
Both sides support reform, God I feel dumb, Then I go back to watching porn, That still too is dumb, Ah, ugh, I'm wracking my poor brain, Surely nothing can be done, If something clearly is insane. Begone to the pits of apathy, Where men are fighting to succeed, Be free from binds which binding me, Lead me blind to blind society. Truth be told it would be great, To record sounds and meditate, Without hoping to get paid, Ad space isn't free, We pity ourselves if ads are sent to peace. We sent our brothers off to war. Speaking of the fun; Fighting for a rival hoard. Dying in the sun; Pierced by a brother's sword. Ah, ugh, I'm wracking my poor brain, Thieves thieved some time for fun, Our heroes appearing more and more depraved. To share the same disease, Tortured through our dreams, To decay among the trees, Torment; a short and brutish piece, Yet all of it is great, Bleeding essence every day, Alderson loop of disjunctive melodies, Existence sings in remedies, Never will the tempest ease, Yet underneath there lay a silent tone, Arranging scattered harmonies.
The Sophist
2014-08-28 12:00 am
My mother thought that being silent was smart. This is why I spent days in the dark, bed-crazed and my heart sobbing. I was ignorant of light blocked by goblins of my mind hoping to keep me trapped in the land of forgotten. Now I'm plodding; plotting my escape daily to find peace whopping, lock it with me in a coffin and die flopping; watching my life pass before my eyelids drop and my chest begins rocking. It's like trainspotting or going yachting; either way it's going to cost me, and either way I'm rotting. I like to believe this is my personality popping, but I also believe that everything I do's common. I'm not smart, I'm not witty, in wealth I'm not sopping. I'm not silent, and I pity the poor for their problems. I'm not here to cheat people or shit on their knowledge. Prithee a moment where people aren't thoughtless; prithee a moment to claim a few losses for a man who silent misfortune made solemn.
The Sophist
2014-07-22 12:00 am
I hear a voice, A voice that is screaming, Words with no meaning, From lips I can't lean to, If I try. By chance or by choice, By passion or comfort, One or one hundred, Sounds you can run through, In your mind. If you give it a try, You can accidentally bike out onto the road, Get hit by a car, You can get drunk and die, Body falls on a button, Makes the world explode, It isn't that hard. If you're not young or retarded. Theseisms destroy, All classical meaning, Those labels you're dreaming, I'm going to eschew them, If you try. Sit back and rejoice, I'm not trying to free you, Nor'm I trying feed you my truth, View beauty in tandem, Anytime. Life isn't a crime, Keep your mind on a lovely abode, Eyes watching the north star, You can get drunk and not die, Live all that is written, 'tis the will of the poet, La palmure! J'am trop tard!¹ Soft sophist; sophisticated hardly. Footnotes: 1. La palmure...tard "The web! I'm too late!"
The Sophist
2014-03-12 12:00 am
Seek introspection elsewhere. I'm here to burn my hands on incense smoke, Telling God stories of my trysts, Of all the times he missed. To a world I doubt is there I'm yelling my plans to an absent bloke, telling God stories of my dick, Of all the dames I dream it chokes. Vocals crack on air, The priest is watching alone. I stare the beast in his eyes, and keep yelling despite. I draw a circle, a square, Triangle, circle, and begin to invoke, Two homunculi inside, The smallest circle defined. Behold, contrast and compare, Presenting the Philosophers Stoned, Their knowledge is blinded, And wisdom unwound. Priest still watching me stare, I rub ash on my forehead and go, To the front of the alter, No foot dare to falter, I scream and still nobody's there. <img src="https://www.aspoet.com/src/img/avatars/philosopherstone.gif" height=300 width=300></img>
Dusti Rodes
2014-03-05 12:00 am
Memories of Menorca The solitary star The lone gull Lack of light dark and deep Guarded by the lion-dog In two-tone green and black and white Part Chihuahua, part Pekinese. Sunrise over Citudella Purple and pink Blues and browns Age old ruins Built of rocks That are tumbling down. Out of the stillness Came a rustle The wind whispered "Morning" Gull winging, effortlessly Sparrows busying in their daily task Of feeding their families. No different from other mere mortals Who stand and observe Through peephole portals On life below and above. Pylons, all in a line, Taking power to the people. John Lennon would be proud. Illuminated cars, kerb crawling At dawn's half light; Wondering whether to switch off As it is no longer night. To hell with sunrise Watching the clouds come up, Shrouding the stars With their whiteness From the deep dark blue Of Menorcan night. An old boy, reminds me of myself, Lone party goer, maybe? One hell of a walk From Cala Forcat After our session at Night Fever. Sun rises over Citudella And Cala Blanes. Rabbits running, Ants busy, busy; Relaxing perhaps, For a jam sandwich Carelessly cast away. Before the heat forces Them to siesta, On a Menorcan morning At the end of June. A lone songbird, Chortles its wakeup tune; My bag, bathed in Menorcan sunlight Casting shadows of strangest hues The old currant bun Promising a day of brightness. Painted by light, In Nature's brightest colours, The single rock on the lawn Looking like a monolith From eons past. A donkey, braying, Radio, playing People, singing, And speaking in Spanish. Then, Rick Astley, In English. Never going to give you up. Menorcan memories. Dusti Rodes (2002)
Dusti Rodes
2014-03-05 12:00 am
A Day in the Life I Morning Up early for a Sunday The clock says eight But even that's late For what we have to do And where we've got to be Breakfast hastily eaten A schedule that has to be beaten The taxi comes just on time The clock strikes the half nine The train will leave at ten So we have to be there then II In a railway waiting room People sitting Waiting for the train Some just there To get out of the rain The sun is starting To shine now Making the outlook Better somehow The fire Glows brightly Offering security In its warmth There must be a hike Somewhere By the amount of people Going there Dressed in their anoraks And their boots A passing express Gives warning toots Waiting for the train To friends Still far to go Before our journey ends Although having already Come this far Still there are miles To be travelled By car Sitting patiently, waiting For the train Marking time To the pouring rain III A ride through the countryside At our destination We are met Commiserations Hoping we did not get Too wet Outside the station They had parked the car Comfortable seats Our journey Not to mar We are off Through the countryside Making quite a pleasant ride Of our quest To the coast Never really deciding Which we prefer the most Ever onwards We are drawn Towards the outskirts Of Eastbourne IV Eastbourne Eating eggs Hard boiled Liver sausage sandwiches Cheese and ham Fried sausages Oranges too What a sight For people to view Throwing stones Into the sea Stopping to watch The tide roll in Then a walk Along the pier Perhaps to stop For a cool glass of beer Buying ornaments Made of glass Playing the games That made us laugh Throwing balls Into walls Listening to the radio In the warm Then on again It was said Towards the crags Of Beachy Head V Beachy Head Climbing up To the Bell Tower Pausing to view A lonely flower The long climb Winding a few The breathlessness Well worth the view On looking out to the sea So calm One could scarce believe It could do so much harm Then suddenly The gunshots Warning us of the coming rain So we quickly make our descent again The rabbit droppings In the tufted grass Is the sight I remember last The gulls wheeling On the wind Showing aerial acrobatics That Man will take A thousand years To conquer VI Newhaven When the tide Is full in It is a facade To walk along The esplanade At Newhaven For the angry waves Batter the man-made wall Persistently trying To make it fall Spraying Unwary travellers With showers of stones And the flying Sea spray That rusts Even the lamp posts Within a month The road to the west This is our quest Pass the ox-bow lake On the river That meanders Through the open fields Filled with Sweet smelling air The road takes us Past the harbour Where, the ' Chichester Star ' Lies anchored there Moored at her rest VII Brighton The Palace Pier On a Sunday Even in March Full of people Having fun Some lie on the beach Catching the sun That hides Behind the clouds Of the rain-filled sky But here we do not stay Perhaps I'll return Some other day The time has come Not to linger Drawn ever onwards By a wandering singer Dressed in sandals And in jeans Singing songs of the Changing scenes Sentiments felt By myself He did quote. He sang, Whilst I wrote VIII Shoreham Dark, dank and dismal Grey and grim Stands the power station The side, the day-tripper Does not see The squalid surroundings Of the industrial side Where the rubber factory Takes the coke works For its bride There, beside a mountain Of metal scrap Stands a fellow In a cloth cap Surrounded by Carcasses of cars Burnt out By long cold fires Wasteland covered With prickly briars Rubble strewn around Sweet papers, magazines Stones cover the ground The road carries on Pass the gasworks To playing fields Where people sit watching Others using their energy To a useless end A steel girdered bridge Spans the road Along by which The river still flowed IX Worthing Having high tea In the lounge Sardines, rolls Tea and toast Watching the sea Leave the coast Playing the pin machines With pennies Reading the paper To find the news Desperately needing To use the loos Off on our trek again Running from the Fast oncoming rain X Half a league ..... Destination somewhere In the west Selsey, probably At the very best Time, like the tide Rolling on Light of day Has nigh nearly gone The lights burning Along the road Turn from the palest pink To shimmering gold Eve draws on Darkness, soon to follow A level-crossing That isn't so level In fact, the road Looks like more of a bevel The road becomes Winding and long Making us remember The young minstrel's song Following the line Of cat's eyes Broken only By the sound of sighs A solitary star Guiding us, as of old The weather becoming Increasingly cold The long boring night Is broken By the bright lights Of the big service station At Crawley Say as they might To me, the most welcoming sight Was that of The Thorns pud At Horley Liquid refreshments For parched dry throats Although there was nowhere To hang our coats Having once Quenched our thirsts The road leads on To Billinghurst Then on down Cowper's Lane Just as it starts Again to rain In the comfortable warmth Of her home We are again Free to roam Tea for three And one for coffee Arguing who'll get to eat The very last toffee Onwards then, Homeward bound The car really seems To leave the ground Till the lights of Croydon Are encountered And as we are at our door " It was fun, we must do it more!" The two of us Climb the stairs Once again To all our cares Very quietly Into bed Nothing more It has all been said. Dusti Rodes (1975)
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