alas babylon

a certain scripture doth proclaim:

“alas, alas,
that great city babylon,
that mighty city!
for in one hour
is thy judgment come”

what is the meaning of this?
who is babylon?
when is the timeline?
(a joke about time)
wherewith shall the judgement of fire be proclaimed?

this is an ancient prophesy
we have entertained numerous interpretations
however
all are most likely delusion

we circle a yellow star
and that is the way that things are

..but..

where is the missing momentum of the solar system?
why does sol not contain it?
are the laws of physics violated?

consider nemesis
that dark star
is really a misnomer
brown dwarf is more accurate

why now,
the collective amnesia of your society?
how many years back
does your history go?

surely
surely
everything that has a beginning
has an end
including this present civilization upon the earth

the rich shall cry out to the gods
of the mountains to cover them
fearful against that terrible judgement
of some ‘lord’

who do you serve?
and why?

pockets of life
here and there
shall survive that horrible onslaught

the wisest
thrive the strongest
in tune with the song of planet
settling the dusts of a new world

kerblinkers

‘how will we ever remember this?’
we exclaimed
and the faeries inside the forgetmenots
stamped their clear-hot image
green and blue and golden in our mind

(forgetmenot.. again)

and they laughed at our astonishment
at their presence within the trees and flowers
‘we’ve been here all along’
they teased

‘why then, have we never seen you before?’
we inquired

for that we needed
hour-glass glasses
looking in on one side
taking a spin at the middle
spiralled up for a look on high
peering back down
and all around
rocks dissolving into fractals
and back into rocks again

(breathe some air you fool)

kerblinkers were their name
those hour-glass glasses
spun from down to up
and clear back down again
spreading out the mundane possibilities
slices of life variances
gaps filled with a dimly glowing fluid

and what lovely wildflowers
those forgetmenots

huffing hopium

‘faith, hope and charity
but the greatest of these
is charity’
some guy named paul apparently said

hope

hope was the last evil
to escape pandora’s box
before s/he finally jammed the lid back on
given to the inhabitants of earth

hope

pacifies the dark times
adds strength to endurance
is also practiced by owners of
stocks and bonds and retirement plans and the lot

hope

it all works out
that some goblin
tends the light at the end of the tunnel
handing you a shovel
and pointing at your after-life work

hope

bears all things
believes all things
endures into the great here-after
and maybe that’s just fine

hope

have you tried it?

raindance

the watchers watched on high

(these ones were pure
unaffected by hairstyles)

an earth go round and round
as the ends drew nigh
to begat benewed beginnings

until they spotted
a human form
trying something new

a rising insignia
above ascending flame
fed also
by heavens above
a symbol known to all
a symbol known to no-one
as above
so below

hovering rarefied
hanging in aether skies

a squiggling snake
sneaks its way past
some unknown ancient obstructions
lit from tail to crown

it was a dry, dry summer
weeks without the rain
smoky skies bleared the sun orange
and it was hot, hot
but somehow not as hot
as a yellow star in crisp blue air
shining over vibrant green forest

clouds overhead
sparse, sparse
barren thunderheads striking new fires
townsfolk alarmed
gossiping
of the latest home casualty
felled to the acrid flames

electromagnetic
hypersensual
sensetronic
[.]
cylinder of energy
glowing staff in the middle
forms about the centre
wisps of energy
spiralling in a whirl
into top and bottom
inside goes up
outside goes down
pushing out
into the psychic world

lightning flames upwards
from the clouds
to interact with ionosphere
extra hydrogen ions
attracted from the solar stream
bond with the oxygen in the sky
electrons swarm
to the new nucleus
happy to be married
(apparently)

rain falls down
a gentle patter upon the ground
smoky skies clear just a little
and the people breathe with relief

what now?
pulsate the field?
keep it steady?
.keep it steady.
that is the natural equilibrium of things

but alas
everything that has a beginning
has an end
rotating around the null space point
of passionless observance

a return to natural circumstances

spine so tingly and hot
and itchy
up and down
a bliss of refreshing shivers
a delicious sneeze in the night

the watchers added
a careless scribe
into their curious stone books
they yawned with boredom

‘show us
new
something under the sun’

the choosing

you were playing in the water
a swamp
with lilly pads and frogs and salamanders
floating on a little wooden raft
carefree
warmed by a pervasive glowing light

when you heard a call
it came from a stone building
where the winged ones lived

you ran with joy
so loved were you
by these radiant keepers
you watched a movie
about some lives

a space pilot, dodging destruction!
excitement and adventure
that life ends suddenly

a shepherd, watching over leathery sheep
painted black under a red star sky
shadows deep and long

a gardner, of modest skill
at one with a purple planet
generously feeding your village

a human, cast upon the earth
there is sex there
and the ability to deceive

you giggle
you point at the life you like best
and down you tumble
wet in a womb
safe and protected for now

then

a snip
a smack
an impatient encouraging word
breathe
breathe little one!
WAAAAAA!
your first sound in the world

the hermit and his well

once upon a time
there was an aging hermit
living alone in a forest cabin

each day
the hermit chopped wood
and carried water
from a stream down the hill
but it was hard work
carrying water up the hill each day
so the hermit determined
to dig himself a well next to the cabin
that he might have easier access to water

with great enthusiasm
the hermit set forth with his spade
and began to dig a hole in the earth
the first few shovelfuls were easy enough
a bit of plant cover, soils, small rocks
further down the digging was more difficult
with larger roots and stones

and so the hermit
wiping his brow
looked for a more promising spot
and began to dig a new hole
this time
the hermit made further progress
but again
rocks and thick roots and clay
hindered his work
so the hermit went to another place
and dug another hole
with similar results

for months this went on
until the hermit
still not striking water
gave up on his plan to dig a well
and resigned himself
to carrying water
up the hill from the stream

one day a pilgrim chanced upon the hermit
struggling up the hill with water in tow
and the pilgrim
driven to compassion
helped the hermit and his water
up the hill
and to his cabin

the pilgrim witnessed the ground
all around
littered with shallow holes

“what is the meaning of this?”
the pilgrim inquired

and the hermit
reluctantly recounted his tale
of the great amount of labour expended
for no reward
and of his resignation
to carrying water up the hill from the stream
until the end of his days

“friend!”
the pilgrim exhorted
“if only you had stayed focused on a single hole
surely you would have a fruitful well by now!”

this is the moral of concentration

the lost soul

we found her
wandering in the fog
lonely
confused
mumbling in the darkness
so we gave her a hug
and she recognized us

“i know you!” she exclaimed

but we had few words
walking down a city block
of the ‘real world’
we had to keep our wits about us

“take a look over your head..
..do you see the star?”
we inquired

“no!”
she lamented
“i see only the endless black mist”

“look longer,
be patient,
the star is there”
we reassured

“i see it now,
like a dim spark in the clouds!”
she was happy
to see something new

“keep looking,” we advised

and by and by
the stars began to speed by
smeared but distinct
if one chose to focus
concentric rings of smoky plasma
rounded out our rapid journey

“i want to slow down
and take a look at the scenery”
she protested

we were slightly impatient
also most patient
and meted out the moment
into parallel eternities
giving her space to explore

as the intersection grew near
we had to pay attention to the traffic lights
play with ‘time’ a little

then suddenly
on we went
sailing true
clear to that blinding bright
and it was not so bright
as to hurt the eyes
not that we had eyes to see

the borders of the wormhole star gate raced into view
ancestors were there
we didn’t know most of them
but some of them we knew
people we had encountered during our sojourn upon the earth

that fertile rock
circles a yellow star
and that is just the way that things are

a spirit thanked our guidance
but failed to provide further clarity
back down the wormhole we tumbled
back into our body

and we walked across the street
when the light turned green

stardrive omnicron chronicals part v – dream shard

captain jurgen shuddered awake
cryo pod cleaning itself up
they glanced at the console
s/he smiled that several years had passed by
curss-sed time
jurgen yawned, “what’s new?”
the time traveller stuttered into view
more spherical this time
pulsating well beyond the starship hull
and into hyperspace
“ssssstop that!” jurgen hissed
the time traveller condensed to a small smoky orb
pulsating with light
electrical arcs casually zapping metal nearby
“better?”
“thank-you.. i prefer this view”
probabilities were mulled
the fate of that blue marble in the balance
“is there still time?” jurgen inquired
“always” the time traveller deadpanned
well
let’s take a look
still burning fossil fuels
stolen like vampires, the blood of the earth
so tragic
when energy is everywhere
a vast, still pool
powering every particle in existence
harnessed by a small, unassuming appliance in each home
“they still draw electricity from a centralized grid?”
“how curious”
‘we thought they’d be pulling energy from the void by now’
both were interrupted by a polite chime from the ship AI
“you might want to see this”, the metallic voice intoned
a sliver of what appeared to be space rock raced around sol
“do we know them?” jurgen inquired
“depends” the time traveller quipped
in some timelines
it really is an odd asteroid and returns to interstellar space
in others..
..the cylindrical ‘rock’ begins to shed velocity
those tall enforcers
were on their way
fear them not, though many may
4D has many escape routes
and they are bound to 3D
though their technology is fearsome
“if you see two more similar star craft,
you will know for sure”
the scene faded
i found myself
sailing down some twisting nether
cleanly through the sky
despite the weather
raindrops large
unaffected
shingles, nails, wood, insulation, gyprock
..a body..
mine!
jump back inside
large bits slightly uncomfortable
howling winds
kitties scared of the lightning
a reassuring pet
a reassuring purr
and all is well
all is well
[.]

eulogy for lance

it’s been a long time since i wrote from the heart
i decided there was nothing to say
so no thing was said

.

then my brother died
lance
he was 42
somehow i always thought i would die first
being the oldest child
cigarettes
a deliciously painful sin
we both shared

..now that lance is dead..

he once declared that:

“smoking will slip away from me”

at the time i took this statement as inspiration
yet he smoked as long as he was physically able
until death slipped smoke away
what now
my horrible addiction?

but

this is a eulogy for lance
my brother who has died

i’m happy he’s in a better place
it was hard watching him suffer
liver cancer
rough way to go
apparently chemo made him feel temporarily better
what does that tell you
of the pain he went through

lance had no fingers
froze them off in a snowbank in northern alberta one winter
horrifying
jesus didn’t save his fingers
and lance was more of a believer than me
horrifying

and yet
lance became ingenious about opening containers
and working on cars
his inventiveness astounded me

lance always had a plan..
my old man used to say:
“there’s the right way
there’s the wrong way
and then there’s lance’s way”

lance’s plans were often crazy
but also brilliant
he certainly had an alternate clarity on life
that i hated
that i loved

now that lance is gone
i realize i loved him
and i miss him now that he’s not here to drunk dial me
to tell me about his latest scheme
to judge me for being an honest fool

thank-you, lance
for being part of my life

a part of you lives on upon this earthly plane
in my heart
and i imagine
the greater part of you lives on..

resplendant and ascendant
shining in that radiant heaven
slipping down for a peak at the mortals
sneaking through a downwards portal
smiling, in your prime
opening another door for the portal up

thanks for saying good-bye
happy to see you’re doing well in your new body

on plans

it has been said
(loosely translated)
the best laid plans
of various meat-sacks
do oft go astray
consider
why is this?
why do plans not work out as.. planned?
one could comfortably blame
that great magnet in the sky
relentlessly dragging forth
the festivities of the day
here is why
a contract was made
back before a soul jumped into a body
of certain pains and sufferings to forebear
and pleasures and mercies
everything is perfect
exactly as it is
life could not have turned out any other way

wise king

when there is nothing to say
what can i say?

there is nothing new under the sun
everything is meaningless

the stars and the rain
fall upon the righteous and wicked alike

everything is meaningless
a vain twisting in the breeze
and there is nothing to say