Tagged: contemporary verse
From my notebook: two new poems
I’ve been going through a notebook I’ve been keeping since 2010—kind of a “scratch” book, to horse around in. Poems, lyrics, essays and short stories, in very raw form.
Found the following two poems, which may or may not make it into my next compilation, slated for release Spring, 2018:
Learned Behavior
We emulate our gods
by turns jealous and paranoid
desirous of silver and gold
hiding our indifference
behind impassive masks
reluctantly doling out favours
callow, prone to deceit
* * * *
Nothing to do with rockets
hopeless trajectory
miles off course
navigational malfunction
spiralling out of control
threatening civilian populations
programmed for self-destruction
to prevent serious harm
© 2017 Cliff Burns (All Rights Reserved)
“Relativity” (poem)
Relativity
When we were young we
killed time indiscriminately
savagely using swords and
laser beams slaughtering it
by the hour with hyper-active
games mindless babble or just
lying on our backs making
shapes out of obliging clouds
Now time flees from us while
we are sleeping or otherwise
occupied each new morning
revealing the extent of the
damage and no matter how often
how hard we try to save or slow
time it runs down runs out always
too soon never long enough
© Cliff Burns, 2015 (All Rights Reserved)
“This door…”
National Poetry Month III: New poems & an ambient tune
A few more poems, to close out National Poetry Month. Dunno what led to this surge of verse of late—it’s not what I’m supposed to be writing, I’ll tell you that.
Ah, well, as previously reported, my muse can be pretty fickle and strange.
And just to prove that’s the case, I’ve added another recent ambient effort, one I’m very taken with, titled “String Theory”. Bizarro space music and incomprehensible poetry…good grief. Well, maybe now that Spring has returned to these parts I’ll feel compelled to get back to my real work, a project I shall elaborate on soon, very soon.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy today’s little treats:
Morris Ankrum
you could see the wires
stars hung off-kilter
Earth just a rubber ball
a funny shadow where
someone lurked, just out of frame
* * * * *
Those Of Us
who dream in slow motion
and have leaky prostates
and try so fucking hard
and who succeed, often in spite of themselves
and have no mother or father
and who must combat fear and depression
and who find ourselves inexplicably loved
and who are thankful for each blessed moment
and who know someday it must end
* * * * *
Foley Operator
You could hear birdsong
incongruous, but it was there
ambient chatter
shrill commentary
from the safety of the trees
* * * * *
Typecasting
I am tired of my role as resident cynic
the last angry man
critic of all he surveys
offering contempt in lieu of solutions
shouldering my burden of shame
well-versed on the subject of sin
while passionately opposing any notion of free will
* * * * *
And, finally, a few more minutes of music, a soundscape courtesy yours truly. Here’s a thought: play this while you’re reading the poetry—and let me know how the experiment goes.
Just click here: String Theory