Night of the Wild Cacti - Rock Verses

Night of the Wild Cacti

Rock Verses

‘The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn of the crow.

‘Expect poison from the standing water.

‘As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.

- William Blake



1

between the prophet
and the dagger

…creeps the poet

between the dust
and the tiger

hallucinates the poem.

2

Last breath of the sun

a death to remember

one demon wakes

and shakes the clocks
in the skeleton

let us remember
the anger

let us learn the curse

n burn it in verse.

3

let us remember
the lithium devil

that clambers up
the walls of wind

enters your room

and signs the final doom

in letters of acid

O let us remember Curt.

4

Thorns on the lane
that leads
to the fairy’s abode

…no one bleeds in vain

the bones of priests shall be torn

n the clones be lost in rain.

5

Are you the king?
I thought so.

Are you the king?
I am the joker.

Who made that old joke?
The King.

6

Are you the demon?
They call me so.

Are you the demon?
Well, I summon
the souls of fish-bowl men

and devour them whole.

7

Devour the prisoners
Devour the night

lick the earth
with searchlights

pick and choose the policemen

…and kill.

8

Kill at will.

Burn their uniforms.

feed their guns to worms

for all their piss
let’s give them back
some letters in acid

but give them a chance
to explain bapi sen.

9

and now the skyline cracks

we raise our wine
to forgotten heroes

n close our eyes
to ancient lies

and pray that the day
sways the hurricane home.

10

most peculiar man
where did you go
after they buried you?

not heaven
it’s too conventional out there I ost peculiar manof your lust
think

and you were never made for hell

so you return every night
to observe yourself die
among the gas and the dreams

11

kaleidoscope of rains

a pattern of ropes
in the sky

stealthily moves the guard

lay down your trump card

the one with the demon
wrapped in leaves

the fire sermon
sounds across
the last horizon

frost and wings

o singer of the mad seas
sing
scream

the sweet lotus dream

somebody rocks
the queen to sleep

with dark tales
of graves and flowers

and lighthouse towers

and your scarf
leaps about the floor

…a liquid panther.

12

whisper to the vulture

names of dead poets

it mat be able to recollect
some of the moves
made in the chess game of ribs

between mothers and thieves.

13

look for the blade

rework the eyes

write the politics of crows again

sculpt the clouds
till it rains dancers and prophets.

14

howl my wild harp

howl at the tomb

broken child looms
over the holy men

heroes of
the chemical opera
howl at the dead moon

I vomit a bullet
with prayers upon it…

while my harp wildly howls

15

noise of the blade
in your sleep

sad reggae of the soul

the blade cuts deep
…may the dice roll

the leaves return
n again
the smell of her skin

grey n blue rain
n may we all spin…

vultures in the bone

fractured kiss,
the horseman alone

you miss
the last train to lotus land

and her long hands
pull you
deeper

…into the prism of the night

do not alight
from the horse

n the hyena’s
cursed grin

drills in

are the leaves still burnin’ ?

16

lemon girl
lemon girl

unfurl your songs

white snow songs

fight the fever of graves…

Don’t fuck the stones tonight.

17

priest in the cave

save the dying monster
crying out in the woods

save him.
you need him.

18

the mad man vomits out
a bit of earth

that he swallowed as a child…

it was never really digested

and every time
the ground shook

with the bronze
curse of martyrs

it growled in his stomach

like a frigid cat

today he vomits it out…

and asks, ‘is dinner ready?’

19

horseman
remember your anger

the murder has to be avenged

remember your master

remember him,
teaching you to ride
and teaching you to speak
to alien prophets

remember the master of the winds

o how they disgorged his eyes
that saw unicorns…

and how they killed him from behind

horseman, raise your sword again
bless it in the fountain
of the eagle’s lust…

for the murder has to be avenged.

20

I want to unlearn the poetry
they taught me in school

and the songs some teachers wrote

that the choir sang like jokers
to welcome guardians to the party

and the cash some guys used
to become presidents
of hip toilet-cleaning clubs

I want to unlearn well-grammarred essay writing
on hobbies and pet dogs.

21

slice the soul

spread green chilies

heat till you smell
asylums and morgues

now enjoy the poem and the politics.