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Tag: life

Prophet of a Lesser Age

Prophet of a Lesser Age

Published by Adrian North on 2 July 2018

Prophet of a Lesser Age

He sits square-framed and lies to me
With words of hatred and deceit.
He speaks of honesty and truth
As if they were unwanted foreigners
And talks of war with pride.

He wants me to kill, he says
It is only right,
It is our duty.
We have no need to fear, he says.
Then why am I afraid?

He talks so easily of the hell of war,
Of destruction, of others deaths,
Of the faceless enemy.
He talks of hate, he talks of evil,
He talks of suffering for his cause.

But I want peace
And he will not give it,
But I want love
And he cannot see it,
But I want freedom
And he doesn't understand it.

Am I then an enemy?
Am I then to be imprisoned?
Am I then to be tortured?
Is my cause so wrong?
Then why does it seem so right?

Oh, answer me these questions
You square-framed man.
Answer me with honesty,
Help me understand,
Why I cannot love.
And yet I know you hate me
As you hated all the others
Who came before me.
But as I go to die now,
I do not fear you, I pity you.

You square-framed man...

17/01/1990

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In the silence

In the silence

Published by Adrian North on 29 June 2018

In the silence

In the silence I hear your voice,
In the silence I see your face,
In the silence I smell your scent,
And I feel secure.

In the silence I feel your heat,
In the silence I know your love,
In the silence I sense your power,
And I feel secure.

15/05/1990

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For Many Years Have I

For Many Years Have I

Published by Adrian North on 25 June 2018

For Many Years Have I

For many years have I
Alone wandered
On the uneven path
Of my life
While the darkness devoured me
And my fears assailed me
And my guilt besieged me
I would cry on the wind
But no-one heard
I would scream to the stars
But no-one cared
I would shout to the emptiness
But no-one came
And on I walked
Isolated
Desolate
Scared
Scarred
Longing for the greater night
To overwhelm my tired soul
And end the pain

07/02/2018

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Tweetpoem#4: Winters’ cold harbour
This Too Crowded Island

This Too Crowded Island

Published by Adrian North on 4 June 2018

This Too Crowded Island

This too crowded island
Drains me
Cold wind, cold rain, cold people
Chill me
Sadden me
Make me
Homeless in my own home
Take me
On dark, dark roads
Going from nowhere
To nowhere
Through brick built jungles
Sterile sanctuary of sterile souls
Grey dank faces watching me
Through dusty windows of dust minds
Unattractive, unappealing, unclean
Living corpses crying
Putrid babbles
Of nothingness
And hate
Yet I remain
Unheard
Unseen
Unwanted
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What About Me?

What About Me?

Published by Adrian North on 1 June 2018

What About Me?

What about me
Living just to be
What they want me to be?
No job, no wife, no car
No life to live so far
And they just talk and cheat,
And lie and steal and bleat
About each other
The truth they smother
While this world bleeds and stutters and dies
But their lies
Stifle our cries,
Our goodbyes
To those we love
Both those above,
And those below, now and always.
No-one plays
In these streets any more
Everyone is shut behind their door
Afraid to give
Or live
Their lives.
Earth strives
To breathe
We leave
Our children
Love hidden
We face each other
Lover,
Friend, another
As strangers

09/12/2000

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At Swartmodder – I

At Swartmodder – I

Published by Adrian North on 25 May 2018

At Swartmodder – I

Moon shining down
Upon a lunar landscape
Of reds and browns and pinks and blacks and greys and greens
Shimmering in the heat
Of a thousand ovens

Quiver trees stand guard
Over vast emptinesses
Of sand and rock
Hot, burning my hands
As I stoop and touch their barrenness,
Their wildness and their loneliness

I feel as if I am alone
With this landscape
Nothing exists but us
Both blown by the same hot winds
Both scorched by the same hot sun
Is there any reality but ours?

15/02/1991

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When the world stops

When the world stops

Published by Adrian North on 14 May 2018

When the world stops

The coffee cup grows cold slowly in my hand
Whilst I, distracted, think on you.
Then the world surrounding me
Stops
And I lose myself in fading remembrances
My heart is warmed
And I am slowly lifted
Out of the darkness
That I have built around me
Since you left.
And when I turn back to reality
I know you are with me
Within
And I am whole.

13/07/1990

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Come the day

Come the day

Published by Adrian North on 11 May 2018

Come the day

It's ten to six in the morning
A cold, cold morning
Travel through the haze
Of half sleep
Returning to hateful wakefulness
And with it
Another day
Maps itself out
In full bloody detail
Before me

Roll off the bed
Hit the floor
Trying to wake up
Failing
Eyelids glued together
Won't come unstuck
A thousand deserts
In my mouth
Stumble to the bathroom
To shave
If I don't cut my throat first
By mistake

Brush my teeth
Up, down
Up, down
Brush
Not head

That fuzzy thing in the mirror
Is that me?
Hell, I look rabid
Maybe I am
I feel it

Dress
In what?
Something from the heap
On the floor
Something clean
Well
At least something
That doesn't smell too bad

Breakfast
Something floating
In my bowl
Oh, it's cornflakes
I think
It's so full of iron
I could rust

Go to work
Car won't start
Kick the damn thing
Sit behind the wheel
Hitting my head
On its hard rim
Start
For fuck sakes, start!

Sit behind my desk
All day
Papers pass before my eyes
Unread
Unheeded
Unwanted
Oh please let me die!

Glance at the clock
Ten more minutes
Until parole time
A bloated blurry body
Dumps more papers on my desk
'These are important' it bleats
As I try not to kill them

Finally I am finished
It is dark outside
I sit in the car praying
To the gods of starter motors
Cough, cough, whirr, BANG!
Well I guess that counts as starting
Shit! The fuel light is on

Get home, open the door
What should I eat
Whatever is in the fridge
Whatever isn't green and furry
Should I cook it?
No why bother

Sit down
In front of the TV
A talking head is asking
Whether I have had an accident at work
Hell
My whole being is an accident
Can I get compensation?

Turn the taps
Of an arthritic shower
Waiting for the water
To go from freezing
To almost lukewarm
Now where's the soap

It is way past midnight
As I hit the bed
With a sickening thump
Of head on pillow
Crawl under the sheet
And pull it tight
And hope
The nightmares don't come again

Repeat...

18/09/2000

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In the silence of summer standing