Yesterdays yes-men yearning, Yet the world still turning, Why is it that the wood burns? The will of the dead be turned. Then thus they thrive thinly.
Classlessly the entire generation asks, Perchance who is to breathe this air? Perhaps they know not of gasses, How easy they are to acquire, wherever. Why not just call someone a thief? Why not a liar, or simple cheat? For selling someone a leaf, Calling gold that found among peat. Couldn't ignorance be but a plea? With no common ground to stand, Everything you see marketing fleas, Ticks suddenly drop in market demand. Concept, is a concept if you understand conception. The epitome of tomorrow claim they never got the lesson.
A bridge too far is a bridge too far. Simply put it goes beyond. Unnecessarily a player struggles, To play an off-key yawn, Play chords, save the trouble. Nobody listens anyway inside of a bar. Bridges that lead to beyond, Then abruptly end in the sea. Why turn from sea so calm? You could jump to freedom.
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.
What differs us; Introspectively we diminish complexities of our forms. This is why we have technologous inventions, Rearranging norms. We apply our new conventions, First to rich and then to poor, Not this our main intention, But complex enough for sure, To be the aim of this erection, Before we put it in a whore, Let's reflect on resurrection, It is you you're fighting for.
If you're called queer, but you aren't a gay, If you rub beards with the same fag, Maybe my lips are cleft, Might be my lazy eye, My sexuality is wild. Pharrell: Come dirty it up! I take off all my clothes, Prepare for masturbation, Acting all casual, Prepare an invitation, Ask her for licks and spanks too, No, No, No, Don't want to rape her, No, No, No, Men satisfy my anger. That's why I'm giving gay life a whirl, Not genderphobic, But you wouldn't know it, I'm afraid to show it, But I want girls, But I let guys blast me, My face gets nasty, All covered in man skeet, I'm talking bad times. Not genderphobic, You wouldn't know it, I'm afraid to show it, But I want girls, But they won't grab me, If I do they slap me, Gave up and got past it, Pharrell: Come dirty it up! Why do I dream poor? My life never screams fun, I spend nights on YouPorn, Used to all this dick in my face, Somebody fuck me, Oh, oh, oh, Who wants to fuck me? Oh, oh, oh, Smoke dimes, Come fuck me. I take off all my clothes, Prepare for masturbation, Acting all casual, Prepare an invitation, Ask her for licks and spanks too, No, No, No, Don't want to rape her, No, No, No, Men satisfy my anger. That's why I'm giving gay life a whirl, Not homophobic, But a little bit dope sick, AIDs epidemic, Got me all butt hurt, On which sex I should marry, Not based on who loves me, I'm talking a party, I'm talking bad times, Not homophobic, But a little bit dope sick, Let's hope I don't get, Stuck without girls, Or without laughing, At a guy that's jacking, Me off in his panties. Pharrell: Come dirty it up!
I innocently sat sidelined, While sidewinder missiles, Blackened and filled the sky. They saw no oversight. Then calamity, personnel, Call out and rome fell, The claim don't prose well. Well, I suppose they don't. But I never was no poet.
Everyone is so depressed, Though no one likes a downer, As such casts frowns upon the Frowner, And thus becoming frowns themselves, Lusting after laughter, Mad and frown obsessed, Coat the world in spite of love or hate, Diethyl Ether, If I entertain the hatred one more hour, I may get a bullet in my chest. If I entertain my love for higher power, I may still get a bullet in my chest. Though no one likes a downer, I'll admit that I'm depressed, I wish I could be smart and know it all, But I'll confess; I'm not, and I don't. Thus I walk unto another test, Often times my thoughts are downers, This is why I acquiesce.
I'm sorry, She called me, amateur poet, Who is she? To question the merit, of an artist? I mean, Is she marxist? Does she study philosophy? I mean, It seems like her carpet, Would be stained cheese. I mean, Where was her fedora? The Woman should insulted be, Why? Equality.
I swing about a bauble, I scream about all belief, And claim it to be fallible, I run to where the light doth scramble, To a place where all the truths are false, And dreams are able, and soar about my bauble, Radiant light of torch-lit dragon stables, I sing in fable, and swing about my bauble, All the dragons burnt alive by gas, Spilled off tables knocked and set alight. The old king has no ace to punish strike, Now that dragons are not able to end life. A workforce overthrows the king unable to know why, A mutiny by accident with baubles as our knives.
Brown the new black, White the new Arab, A new wave of terror, The whole world is scared of. A new version of false flag, By creating false nations, Causing in artists a self-flagellation, All these rebellions are government run, Occupy is government run, The Arab Springs are government run, Benghazi was government run, Movies are made using government funds, Syrian Opposition on The Simpsons in 2001, A decade later formed in Syria, Why so much talk about guns, Alcohol, war, and marijuana? Using themes to denigrate people, In the very grounds that they run. Leaders were raised on Hare-Abian Nights, Now they kill Arabs for fun.
I'd strike out the sun for harming sinews, This service I'll pay myself as a fine, Enlarger of kingdom if ever I die, 'queathing my soul for the roar of a lion. I giveth thee lukewarm blood of a newborn, God my appetite; I hunger for power. Shrew Lord of perpetual night liveth nigh, Covered from danger in half-lighted fog. Co-sign and write before bloodlines congeal. Our magic will bring desolation to smog. Fill the lines afore 'why?' and 'oh sigh' Flog grace and damnation 'till three parts combine.
In the name of women's rights, Two young men get pissed and die, By the blade in his own hand, By the rope he himself tied. In the name of women's rights, To never find out why, To never hear converse opinions, A mental homicide. Bitches screaming loudly, 'til their voices touch the sky. A lot of them are guys, Barring men from their own brethren, In the name of women's rights. Hoards of them unite; Birds in search of civil war, Spread their wings in flight, Planning only in the sun. They tear away the night, Blocking doors and bearing torches, Forcing entry via fight. As such, I fear I might, Find my way to unknown speaker, And be confronted via knife, By fanatics without wives, Or fanatics without husbands, Living stark perverted lives.
I find fault at the way we speak. Common practice happens to be harmful. Why not cause change? Because It's not change you seek. You seek far less than mediocrity; Practice harder and ply a trade, Realize what it is to carry an armful; I find fault at the way kids speak; The common practices, owning Iphones. Of their needing to cause change. Of standing and telling me I'm the cynic. Standing with less skill than Dionysus; The propaganda industry only has 50 years; No readable peer review, judges or pundits. Industry fooling people into contributions. No revolution, strictly opaque movement. True knowledge occult only by emotion elicited. We just don't need a German Nazi Party revisit.
Dammit, why? Scenes go by when hips moved side by side, Striding by wayside before waving good-bye, Parallel shutting her eyes; My shoulders shudder when boats pass me by. Before air was too dry, Before I was too late to try, To crack a smile to the heavens wry, Asking why. Dammit, why?
" This next piece of writing, contains strong sexual content material and graphic language. Many people find it both harrowing and disturbing. It depicts and catalogues a series of true-life events. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, of which there is one; the laws of libel prevent my naming and shaming the guilty; of which there are many." * Reader discretion is MOST STRONGLY advised - As it may easily offend. For this I make no apologies. Events like these are happening HOURLY all over the world at this moment in time, and society as a whole SHOULD be doing more to prevent such misery " ........................................ " IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE, .....CAN IT?..." It's Sunday, She's staying at dad's flat tonight. She adores him; With the trust that is naturally instilled In a child. Dave, her father, Plays cards with his friends; While she watches, smiling. The pot is short; It's his call. He must make amends. Forty pounds is the bid. With a knowing nod, Colin folds his hand; And taking hers, Leads through the door To she knows where. The now empty bedroom That she sometimes has to share. Shush - don't make a noise; Your stifled cries, Will frighten the toys. Who sitting in silence, Can only watch. As Colin slowly unzips his trousers, And loosens his belt another notch. Her favourite doll, alone in the corner, Draped across the wooden chair; Can but bear silent witness To the saddening pain She experiences there. Next day, She is driven to school; By her dad. In a tatty Volvo. Be-spotted with rust coloured Splodges of primer paint. A stark anachronism Of Swedish sexual liberalism The grubbiness of the grey, Mirroring the semen-soiled nightdress; Of the night before. The paint spots, Ghostly echoes Of dried blood stains Splattered on the white fabric. Heralding her lost innocence; That she would need to wash out Later in the day. When she finally returned To the living hell That served as home. He pulls in at the pavement Saying yesterday was fun And that they should do it more often. He tells her to take care of herself. Sick joke, what? But no-body's laughing anyway. Deprived of decency By her father In that he doesn't even open the door. She rises from the well-worn seat And gets herself out Just like countless Whores before. In some final bizarre sexual gesture As he slowly drives away He also discards the now empty Crumpled, finished cigarette packet Aimlessly through the window Into the uncaring street. It in its turn, would be picked up By some scavenger hard up On his or her luck Anxious to discover If it held any small delight. And on discovering not, it would Be consigned as worthless rubbish And be discarded yet again To a life on the streets. Until eventually, battered and crushed By countless uncompromising souls It would cease to be recognisable For what it once was. Circles within circles. Such is the life we lead. Four friends, sit Sharing girlish giggles. Talking tampons and towels. Discovering the inward Functioning of females For the first time. Smiles, over sharing Secrets of sexuality With their mothers. But she's not laughing. Sitting in the classroom She is longing to tell, someone, About the happenings Of the previous night. To be able to unload All that crushing fear; That is building up Within her frightened frame. Afraid to go home, She hangs around after class Anxious to explain her reasons. But no-one is listening. Nor can they read The pleading in her scared eyes. So she goes home alone, again. Sitting watching television, A break from the drudgery Of endless days Doing household chores. Fear strikes her heart As she hears the key Entering the outside door. Because the washing has taken so long And about it, she cannot tell; The dust she hasn't cleaned From the TV Only causes her mother again to yell. Her anger quickly turns to rage; Followed closely by a beating, And another verbal tirade. Then follows the shouting And the slapping. The angry name calling Infers that someone is a whore. Leading to her being pushed downstairs And landing on the hall floor. She pushes Amy into the cellar cupboard, Then callously locks the door. Leaving Amy, cowering in huddled fear, Upon the dark, coldest floor. Later, in her room, Curled up, tearful, Trying desperately to block out the pain. Lies listening to her sad sobbing. She closes her eyes. Escaping sleep is not easy in coming; But further along the hallway, Someone else is. Urgently calling for Amy Beckons her to her mother's bed. There, between thrashing thighs, And deep moaning sighs, Amy is forced to give her mother Sexual 'head'. Coming home, To the usually empty house, She cannot help but notice The smart car Parked outside. Putting her key In the door, As she has done So many, many times before; She is met by Geoff, The new man, in her mother's life. On the surface He seems very nice. Picnics of strawberries, wine And chocolate ice. And even washing up, Afterwards. School sports day comes, Giving her the chance To exercise her rights As a child; To youthful fun. Sack race successes, Loud accolades. Hiding the depths of depravity, That lies dormant. Buried deep within. It starts with a present, At bedtime. " Put it on, and come and show us how it looks." Simple games, Amongst the adult friends. Pictures are taken. Childish at first, It soon turns nasty; Leading to lewdness and lechery. Removing Geoff's trousers and pants, While her mother looks on; And laughs. Then starts the painful ordeal Of nightly rape. And the utterances of the threatening lie That if she ever dares to tell someone It would surely cause her to die, After a time, She can bear no more Of Geoff's disgusting behaviour. Goes to her father's workplace Hoping on hope That he'll prove to be her saviour. She tells him all That's been going on; And could she come to live with him, Please? Fraught with anger, Fired by fear; He goes and gives Geoff A beating with a garden spade. In his frustration at failing To protect his daughter From this pair of human animals With their filthy habits so degrade. Then he storms out, Leaving Amy to receive Yet another beating From her mother. That leads her to being locked In the cupboard Once again. The broken shard Salvaged from the shattered Kitchen window By which her father had entered Proves to be the key To successful self mutilation To which Amy administers Readily. When the time comes To leave her old school The teacher's reports proclaim That Amy is both clever and wise. But they all still Just sit and listen While her mother Continues to tell The same pack of lies. How Amy sits reading Quietly, in her room, For much of the time. And how she's always Out playing with her friend; But that is untrue From beginning to end. The teacher says Amy could do With really coming out of her shell. Hopes that she'll enjoy her new school; And with that, she wishes her well. Sitting with her new found friends, Thinking that this place, Could indeed be really cool. Then one says, Someone is trying to greet her, From a van. Parked outside the school. She peers across the open courtyard. At her father, who's come to meet her. Full of reasons, Why he hasn't been more often. Excuses that money has been So short lately; Sometimes he hasn't eaten. Now he's come to take her out, About the true reason for his motives, There still exists more Than a little doubt. Having bribed her, With a Big Mac meal, With Coke and a Cadbury's Curly Whirly, He apologises that he has no more sweets; But if only he had more money, He could afford to buy her Lots of treats. Then the unsubtle suggestion, That she could really help Daddy, Just by working the nearby streets. Standing on a dim Lamp-lit street; In her denim jacket, And her flowery Short length skirt; Wearing virginal white gym socks, with matching plimsolls. Her long hair , shining, Looking very much her age. Having only turned thirteen, But for a little while. People, from which she Should get only love; Blatantly exploiting her sexual genes. Although she cannot spell Paedophile; She is painfully aware of what it means. " For a wank, charge'em twenty five quid, If they want a blow-job, charge them thirty" Practising that will corrupt her mind; Into believing love and sex, Is always something That is sordid and dirty. A sexperienced competitor, In these matters, Gives her, and her dad; What amounts to a friendly warning. This particular spot, Is her pitch. And her pimp Will not be so tame; So her father, Just moves on with her, To somewhere else. In his dubious quest It would seem he has no shame; With his repeated attempts, To get ' on the game'. The local lorry park, Proves a likely playground; For the sort of games, He has in mind. Providing a service, For all kinds Of men. The young, the old, and the lonely. Not the actual full sex, though: But just your blow and hand-jobs only. Making sure that the clients, Come in style; Being very sure to use a condom, All the while. He does a deal, Just for a full blow-job; " You know how, don't you, just go and suck his prick; It'll be all be over in a minute!" But it doesn't just take that quick. Squatting, She gives a blow-job To an unknown, Standing man. While her poncing pimp Of a dad, Sits smiling, In his grubby little van. Suck, suck, sucking, On a dirty, crusted, Foul-smelling prick, That's making her feel So, so sick. Wondering why it is That when you Want them to, they can never come Really quick. And when it's finally finished; She finds the smell of sweat and semen, Has left her feeling Really sick. Dave, buys her silence, With a fiver. Then he takes her back home; Double quick. Dusti Rodes (2009) POSTSRIPT TO ' IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE. .....CAN IT? * " Children have the right to be listened to. The messages that they give us are often painful and disturbing, and challenge our capabilities to actually hear what they are in fact saying and take them seriously. Our conditioned instinct is to recoil from what we are hearing and deny the reality of what is being said. The act of sexual abuse of a child involves a fundamental betrayal of trust, and an abuse of power, which has devastating consequences for the child. Undermining the basic requirements of a child for relationships built on trust, that are both dependable and loving. This gives rise to the premise that children not only have to be heard but also need to be healed from the trauma of such experiences. The child's right to be respected as an individual person should be unquestionable; but it is a long way from being generally accepted within our society."
Feeding Fish Standing somewhere, Feeding fish. Fairground freaks, Probably won't last Two weeks. A memory span Of less than seven seconds Or so they reckon. Why do they call them goldfish? When one is orange, And the other is brown; Swimming up and down, Around and around; As though their lives Depended on it, As it does. What have we got in common? I ask myself. Standing somewhere, Feeding fish. Fairground freaks, Probably won't last Two weeks. A memory span Of less than seven seconds Or so they reckon. Why do they call them goldfish? When one is orange, The other is brown; Swimming up and down, Around and around; As though their lives Depended on it, As it does. Dusti Rodes (2011)
Ode to Martha My muse, a Harridan hag? I don't think so! Some have familiars, in the shape of cats. Others have Spirit Guides, Which are Red Indian warriors. I don't do all that PC stuff, And say they are Native North Americans! Me? My muse is a wizened old woman. I was killing time, standing outside the Hospice shop, Waiting for my watch repair to be ready. One split second she wasn't there, I swear, The next she was! She appeared from nowhere, I'm telling you! The encounter with the woman in the grey shawl. It took just ten minutes that was all. But it will last a lifetime. Mine. Was it real, or was it a dream? Was she a witch or a wraith? Merely a ghost or a gregarious goblin, In disguise? The situation certainly had all the makings of a mystery, And all the trappings of a thriller. The people I tell just stare at me strangely. Who wouldn't? I ask myself. I'd probably do just the same, If it wasn't for the fact, That it had happened to me. She came from the North, or so she said. Irmerston is a name I recall her using. More than once. Or was it that she had relatives there? Was I really 'touched by an angel'? There was definitely ' a laying on of hands', As in the biblical sense. Could this have been an encounter of the Fourth kind? Hebrews thirteen has a lot to answer for. She said she was eighty five. And had been a Mormon since she was forty. But in some lights I would have sworn she wasn't yet sixty. In others, she had a face that had seen more than a thousand summers. I've heard of shape-shifters, I never thought to meet one. Many say I talk at tangents, And maybe they are right. I do waffle on a bit. Never keeping to the same subject for long. Fleeting thoughts, Forever fluttering, Like a butterfly in its short life span. Over the last couple of years, The diagnosis of my chronic atrial fibrillation, Has caused me to consider my life expectancy. And to realise it may be seriously shortened At any time in the near future. But she spoke confidently and authoritatively, About longevity. Quoting several incidences of people living to a good age. Katherine Hepburn living to a hundred. Her long relationship with Spencer Tracy. And made it sound so matter of fact, That Katherine had given him a cup of tea, Shortly before he finally died. It was as if she had been there at the time. Her opening gambit had been to draw my attention, To a boxed set of Frank Sinatra records. Displayed in the shop window. As I intimated earlier, I'm sure I was alone outside that shop. And the sound of her speaking to me had startled me, Into realising she was standing beside me. She started by saying Frank had a daughter, Nancy. And a son, Frank Jr. She talked about his Mafia connections. When I retorted that rumours were rife, During all of Sinatra's life. But that he had never publicly admitted to the allegations. She intimated that the reason being was, That Frank had not actually done anything 'bad' so to speak. At that moment, she gave me the distinct impression, That she might have known him and his family intimately. But how could that be? I was becoming afraid of the enormity, Of the developing situation. So I made my excuses to leave, And she let me go wishing me well. We parted. Me going my way, she hers. I picked up the watch from the menders. It must have taken all of two minutes. When I suddenly realised the terrible mistake I had made, In cutting our conversation short. I began searching the town. Shop by shop. Each individual lane up and down. But to no avail. Seeming she had disappeared the same way she arrived. Suddenly. It wasn't till I was on the bus travelling home. Feeling thoroughly desolate. That I heard her voice again. But this time it was different. She was inside my head, talking to me. She said artists, of all kinds, Needed inspiration from time to time. And she would be mine, if I let her. I know now I made a mistake, I thought I was her 'mark' in the town, And she was just getting ready to put the sales spiel on me, To buy her that expensive bottle of sherry. That she said was the only one that she drank. She'd talked about many things, And how everybody had vices. Drugs, booze, cigarettes etc. She said how hers weren't too bad. Just a tipple now and again of the sherry, That could be bought in Tesco's. (Which had been across the way, From where we had been standing) At nine pounds a bottle. Here we go, I'd thought, Here comes the pitch; “Hard times 'n' all, for an old lady. You seem a nice person, Could you see your way clear to buying me a bottle, maybe?" This is why I had up and ran. But instead, here was she offering me the gift! Some writers have residencies. I am hers. Where we will go from here, is any body's guess. Just watch this space! But I do suggest you don't waste your time, Standing outside the Hospice shop, In the vague hope she might just amble along. Because she's mine, And I'm keeping her! Dusti Rodes (2006)