Pedestal
Oh these girls claim they’re modern
Claim their pleasure’s avant garde
Don’t clock distinction, Big Big Diff
Between dominant and dominatrix
Say they want somethin’ different
Says she wants an artist, a musician
Wants to sniffle ’bout her feelins, passive posture ’bout her “hubs”
Or else she’s cool girl jaded, too cool for commitment but secret is
She still wants you to Be A Man when shit gets rough
They’ll stick the script assigned, stress fracture default
Oh she won’t admit it, not even to herself
Test your boundaries, make you jealous, act up and act out
Make eyes at anyone but an ectomorph
Just to rile a response
And when her Sensitive Man is, gasp, Sensitive
She’ll say she loves you, but secret is
She lookin’ elsewhere
Shit, she already spread her legs
Oh baby I know that hit nerve
Oh baby don’t take it personal
Oh baby you’re not numb and you
You’re not fine on your own
Such a creature confined to solitude well that
That’s an affront to mother nature
There is nothing wrong with you
There was too much to unlearn either direction
Put the anxious on a perfectly good introvert
Difference ‘tween manager mommy and a matriarch
Go choke on that Madonna-whore
I said I said a Mother Fucks
Xylem’s her favorite instrument
Mama loves her woodwinds
She don’t brook deforestation
She down catastrophic, appetite’s all shameless mess
And she don’t tap men for protection no
She splits and grips and grasps to mast
Let’s see devotion to your craft
That sticky sugar oh your excess moisture and
I’m no modern woman, no, I’m ancient and
Men weren’t built for strength alas
You’re bred for timbre depth
Texture exquisite
.
.
Sanctity of Marriage
Honey honey I’ll nip this in the bud
They might be worthy of your love But
Are they worthy of your partnership?
Who carries the eggs carries the risk
Sonny boy there is due deference
Best been some diligent digits
Truth’s long and hard to look at
Kitty cat accounts and balances
Girls go on ahead and ask:
Is he worth it?
.
Mmm dress for the occasion
Will you take it to your grave?
We’ll be the yew atop the hill
Kids cry and swear and kiss under
On Samhain a thousand years from now
And once more in old age
Someday
.
Say it to my switchblade
Foggy breaths too much to drink
Woodsmoke and leather chapped
Jitter frenetic high off a gig
Right down on crisp grass
Lips hushed as sipping shadows
Blindfolded spun around around
He’d still know the way home, home oh
Keeps to the rhythm section
Darlin’, ah, this is the retirement plan
.
Mmm dress for the occasion
Will you take it to your grave?
We’ll be the yew atop the hill
Kids cry and swear and kiss under
On Samhain a thousand years from now
And once more in old age
Someday
.
Never thought he’d live to see them
So many grays, so much success, or just enough
Man at the table still lookin’ like his mama made him come downstairs
Woman the mind is willin’ but the flesh
Get down there won’t get back up again
Creaky bones gotta keep to his papa chair
Push right up on all that, spirit, will there’s a way
No more littles send to bed nor memos on the stack
Embers snup, crackle, pop ah-pop all over that sheepskin
Bump bitten wood where I brace myself
.
Mmm dress for the occasion
Will you take it to your grave?
We’ll be the yew atop the hill
Kids cry and swear and kiss under
On Samhain a thousand years from now
And once more in old age
Someday
.
.
Highlander
Your girl shrugs a compliment
So dubious as my girl Irish said
That any man took me to wife
Must be real secure in himself
I debate like a prison shiv at lunch
And there can only be One immortal
He’d have to be the Manliest Man
Some shredded plaid lumberjack in suspenders
As if I didn’t spend half our shifts
With at least one songbird in my lap
Mama likes to fuss
.
My love’s acquired taste
A-choir in silence, storm slaked
Was always cozy in the rain
If she loves weather, she’s a witch
.
You know it’s magic when
You’re not even all that attractive
Mind your business in a crosswalk
Make to flip the double bird at an explosion of honks
Like what, fuck off
And here comes a Norwegian on a bicycle
Almost died in traffic, hauled ass from downtown
Just to say he plays bass in a death metal band
And you should come to their show because
Language barrier pause
You look like music
.
My love’s acquired taste
A-choir in silence, storm slaked
Was always cozy in the rain
If she loves weather, she’s a witch
.
Listen, listen, they’re like fancy cats
You can leave ’em raggedy ass
But they really function best kept
Like it’s their own idea, avoid eye contact
That one takes his milk by the trash can
Ooh, ahh, that’s a nice warm bed
Shifty glance, door’s still open
Exchange pleasing rumbles for pets
I just, I just wanna see this blanket it’s good
Gasp! My brothers in filth!
I have been domesticated!
.
My love’s acquired taste
A-choir in silence, storm slaked
Was always cozy in the rain
If she loves weather, she’s a witch
.
.
Timestamp
Cool cross-breeze, rustle of wings
Eyes dry, knees ache, working late
Ponytail, pen scribble, gurgle ribs
Somethin’ keep catchin’ the quiet
Comb the snag a golden thread
How old were you then?
The night when first we wed
.
She crept in outta nowhere
Sudden slip of dawn at midwinter
Mead punch whirls as wake the dead
Laid him down and she’s come to collect
.
No matter the miles and stadiums filled
There’s precious doodles on my fridge
Wallet’s just your weary likeness downcast
Packed with pressed leaves and guitar picks
Your fingers hard as spindle tips
And I know you fluster when I say it so
I’ll drop you off and pick you up again
.
She crept in outta nowhere
Sudden slip of dawn at midwinter
Mead punch whirls as wake the dead
Laid him down and she’s come to collect
.
My baby I don’t like crowds or loud noises
For all my vibrance I’m sober as a heavyweight
I’ll catch you on the flip side where we can just Be
Until one of us is moved to speak
I through you or you through me
And happily. That ever after?
It’s the end
.
.
Hex Appeal
The irony is she never dreamt
Like the poet born the one life he isn’t
She’d know him by his negative space
And write him into existence
.
Aengus was an author’s note
.
Like the goat-herd pled the shrouded hag
To teach him how to dance
For he was a good man, a loyal man, a kind man, a strong man
And she had taught him that
.
And could she not understand
What it is to be father cursed from birth
To never take a wife, the only thing of worth
Unable to offer the love he’s capable
.
The dance of a thousand steps
Is a dance for two people
And even half those steps a feat impossible
Or so he thought, or so he thought
.
A man so earnest had a witch sneezin’ honey
.
The irony is she never dreamt
Any future cast in third person, tired mirror
What it is to be cursed by birth and purest silver
Captivity of circumstance
.
Exact words
.
What use are riches or world travail, roots internal aerial
I’ve grown to fill the space given, when given nothin’
I’ve nowhere to keep it all, all I’m capable
So given the chance, go on, ask a girl to dance
.
For all the times I couldn’t
.
.
Cygnus
You call them Valkyries I call them
The Murderess Muse Division
When Mother Earth sends her advance guard
QMP’s an EMP, it triggers the alarm
That is not passive aggression
Exact words: Chooser of the Slain
They don’t descend to shield men
That’s nobody’s maidens
Any more than a hero is Cú Chulainn
I said what I said
Wouldn’t know good reason from a hole in the ground
Just a guard dog up and kills its own flock
‘Less a buncha women get their tits out
Can’t keep his patriot in his pants or his hands to himself
Rapist can’t recognize his own son
Any more than genuine consent
Here comes the cattle raid bitch
No bullshit, full stop, it’s there or it isn’t
Aengus he is not
That tomb predates the Tuath Dé Danann
Come winter there is due deference
Coulda shoulda been abortions
You aren’t owed her flesh at any century
A mistake is a mistake through to antiquity
No lines and no agreements in accordance
Consent is there or it isn’t
Automatic psycho-somatic resistance
I’ll give you a Bloody Sunday
Sess it our with your lads in the pub about
Mary Magdalene on the rag
Red wool papal, coat to rose goes straight in the trash
She is a woman whole unto Herself
And you do not have authorization
There are deeper laws, and I’m the one who wrote them
Oldest mother means oldest inspiration means you’re fuckin’ done
No, Macha’s pains were far from the end of it
I said I said she’s come to collect
Ragnarok’s just another epochal episode
A Solstice Special of Call the Midwife
Pass the placenta or else there’s sepsis
Truth is your fat head your loud mouth
Were only crowned when they came out
Of her “Modesty”
Conception is a partnered dance
And she’s meant to take enjoyment
Stain as many sheets as she sees fit
But creation is a solo gig
And a man’s one job is to make her agony worth it
That’s it, that’s it
For as long as she deems him fit and he be willin’
Savin’ grace of the tannistry system
The battle against annihilation is won by who loved her best
Was never about the biggest club and clothes don’t fit
The Dagda can fuck right off with that bait and switch
That’s no Chieftain that’s a Tenant ain’t paid rent
A Kingmaker is herself the Sovereign, you’re just the trad quintet
P-p-preservation, my status, my bog, HA what’s this “my” shite?
This here’s a pussy, and she is not a museum piece, go purrr
Girls gearin’ up for a boss fight, bring the baddest tunes like a bridal train
Mama’s gonna lift the veil
And honey, honey, Bard is combat class
Who is it that will answer
When She has need of warriors?
.
.
@~^~
It’s finally spooky season and I happened to be thinking on that chamber in the Newgrange mound because that’s something a normal person does and it occurred to me that the tomb looks a bit like a cellar or larder, and the sun winks through as if you’re getting a midnight snack in a quiet house, fridge door open/close. Wee hours, up past everyone else. Army marches on its stomach and all that. I am as I’ve said the missiest pig, I like to root around a bit, make odd combinations. Two and half ton triple axle steel monstrosity with six wheel drive runs on heartburn, screams, death growls and I ❤ MOM magnets.
Anyhow the Yew Berry is the seed of resurrection and the restoration or establishment of a new lineage. She’s a failsafe, a course correct. The ancestral tree taken flesh when said ancestors have been too long silenced or disrespected, when the tapestry is corrupted and no one bears the skill to mend it. She’s the first woman in the ground, the first muse, the first mother, and the first reaper. So old nobody can remember much less pronounce her original name (much like the yew tree hollows out at the heartwood and just keeps rolling like that). Aengus heralds a break from the current establishment and the return of the Old Ways. If it weren’t blindingly obvious.
So funny story, a while back I had a dream where we were driving home in the late afternoon, and all the slap dash single story businesses this side of the monsoon flood plane were fully decked for Halloween. Orange, purple, hot pink, green and glittery. Not that ugly plastic hammy horror shit. Hand-stitched and home made, complete with marigold garlands, fairy lights, flag banners and custom paper lanterns. Cats and ghosts and skeletons and spiderwebs. Anyways, we pulled in to pick up an order at the Chinese restaurant (which doesn’t exist) and I noticed that all the shops were so lively and yet utterly empty save for the fleeting yet suspended sunlight itself. Submerged and refracted as if through a glass tumbler of liquor over ice. But somehow we were seated and awaited our meal. I was vaguely puzzled bubbled over with beautiful Halloween décor endorphins and the sheer childlike joy of the craftsmanship that I was totally focused on my egg flower soup with five spice and sichuan peppercorns + crab rangoons, practically bouncing in my seat like oink oink oink oink. Then, after a moment (or an eternity), I was like…hey, where’s mom?
Fast forward to the day I wrote Axis Mundi. Woke up and went to take a piss as usual and she was face down across her bed in the still dark when she would normally have been awake. Couldn’t hear or see her respiration. So I was like this may as well happen. Went out, fed the girls, got some carbs in me, made a stiff cup of dirty chai, swept up the Booger fluff dust bunnies and cobwebs then cleared a wide path to her bedroom because that’s something a normal person does. Started some laundry. Gotta make a good impression on the EMTs I guess. Idly thought to myself, oh hey, Halloween is in October. It’s October today. Remember that one dream. Put some gloves and a mask in my PJ shorts pockets (I refuse to wear pants before work for mental health reasons) and went back to check on things. I didn’t put them on ahead of time in case she wasn’t dead after all, because she would get offended. But she’d finally gotten up and was cleaning her dentures so I pretended I was there for a different reason and left.
So yeah that’s how things are going on my end.
