Poems from Clifford K. Watkins Jr.
Collage of Eyes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
we're useless without a shot at bliss
paltry organs oozing from clinched fists
wet lips puckered with no one to kiss
but why is death so easy to resist
I'm afraid there's nothing more than this
religion and madness
hold your ground
we'll all ride
god is on our side
amen
one word makes it okay to destroy
euthanize
and unfurl
the two biggest monsters in the world
christianity and the unconscious mind
divinity and dollars for the blind
a collage of eyes
something to find
who'll honor them
fine
reminded of what's behind
it's all mine
a fiery collage of eyes
my reflection on the river's rise
a single flower
clandestine mind
to follow
or crawl so blind
despite ourselves we forge on
creatures burrow into abstraction
free from judgmental eyes
inside we harbor a plethora of lies
we're useless swells
nonmalignant tumors
the best we can hope for
maybe a sense of humor
Souls Are Streaming
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm alive
I'm dead
the world is in my head
I'm an angel
I'm a demon
somewhere souls are streaming
so surreal
I can't feel
make it real again
It's getting harder to pretend
the misery is why
I'd rather fly
we breed
suffer
and die
believers in our own lies
clinging to life
hurling obsidian knives
we escape reality
and transcend the sky
A Moment of Happiness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
a moment of happiness
the fiery rush of anger
what does it mean
a towering erection to service our genes
a haven for germs
one day soon eaten by worms
the insane babble
living among the rabble
listen for ideas will spill
only wanting to feel anything but humiliation
humanity
a coming of beings to no certain destination
I'm a god
I'm a fiend
I could be anything
I'm sincere
I'm perverse
a mere dreg of the universe
Cold Wind's Mockery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
our thirst grows empty with the planted seed
as we tailored for indifference bleed
a stranger caught in rusty water's reflection
captivated by hollow-sun recollections
caught in the midst of stolen intention
the sin of stolen beauty
how we are all betrayed
meager faces fall in disarray
a stranger lurks in the mirror searching direction
be content with imperfection
crayon blackness
the darkness everyone fears
close your eyes until it's real
a stranger is breathing near
memories empty
whispers spill
invitation to alcohol and pills
thoughts scatter in chimney debris
only wanting solace
oblivion is free
shotgun
the killer still chases me
cold wind's mockery
mocking ideal seeds
eyes open as similar clouds abound
angels mock our actions
and corpses fill the ground
Alone
~~~~~
alone with my friend
considerable time
taking anything to derange the mind
a look behind barrier walls
where a phone rings
but no one ever calls
maybe I'm a perverse thought
corrupting crystal perfection
or merely a fool without direction
an animal just like the rest
counterfeit at best
I ramble on
pen tries to coagulate
lit a cigarette
opened a window
the smoke escaped
shake a pen until it bleeds
abandoned cellar once served its need
preserves to shelter
mouths to feed
the plentiful garden envies the virgin seed
the ink begins to wane
pinch myself
hello pain
an excuse to feel
enter the mind's valley where nothing's polished
and no one is real
I see a vase of plastic flowers
floating in the blood of another shower
falling to depths unknown by average cowards
alive as waters rise
confusion is still
awaken before night empties
or waters spill
A Hole In The Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
welcome to this world
we enter the race
of brilliant colors
and pollution's swirl
we forge toward an accomplished mind
soon polished
and no later refined
but still eaten away
as all man kind
a hole in the sky is a corpse in the ground
there's no escape
reality sends us cascading down
dear lord of divine dominion
end this madness
and let us dregs unravel into sweet oblivion
The Scene
~~~~~~~~~
the scene
crooked shadows
misery strings
life behind windows
envious of wings
mildew paints faces in the hall
open gates
lives fall
porch lies rotten in our memory shed
soon forgotten
pictures in an album
branches on a tree
imagine lives
forever green
film projector
we decorate the screen
awake
smile at the ceiling
gasping for air but still breathing
conscious but shaken
unaware of the scheme the dream was shaping
numb thoughts surrender
whispers spill
unable to remember
Envious Gods
~~~~~~~~~~~~
waves crash on foreign shores
blood fills the ship and the ocean floor
swallowed by salty water
can you see my face
close your eyes
try harder
we're meager puppets
hand tailored
engulfed by night
eaten by the sailor
mystical sea of lost souls
and deep violence
forever clandestine beneath languid water
and mute silence
Venetian Blinds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's never relevant
the mouth is an arid
cotton desert
breathing thru lungs of black
mined coal
torching the mind
excavating a soul
a rapid fire of happy hearts
where wisdom falters and destiny embarks
on a ceremony where life flickers in simple sparks
following the streets
cursing a mockery of dreams
the last gasp of a fiend
clasping a crucifix
wallowing in the obscene
like a serpent in a cavern below
waiting to be uncovered and exposed
hearts flutter
bodies contract in electric motions
of silvery-green heat lightning
startling yet enlightening
The Wilderness
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the wilderness is a portrait of realness
a lost world eternally captured in stillness
coal black eyes burn in salty surprise
god is a fleeting memory
heaven a soft chorus
eyes squinting
fixated in the worried womb of the bleeding forest
kill the poor
and feed the florists
she ponders in a plethora of fiery carcinogens
legs open ready for sin
chasing her lost horizon
are we infinity
horizons saturated in radiant hues reveal true divinity
dance in the acid rain
faith and dances
dying and chanting in obscene ritual pain
I'll pinch a smidgen of religion
a torpid legion
minds asunder
coveting separate regions
wallowing maniacally
bathing in the acid rain
it always ends the same
*
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