Caving In
You terrify and mortify
Got goose bumps on my skin,
You petrify and stupify
My heart comes caving in.
– Vagabond Prophet
Tag: poem
Blood Red
They asked me what blood type I have,
I said the type that bleeds
When you break the skin.
I found that out
When I broke the skin.
So go ahead take what you need,
It’s similarly red
And I’ll soon be dead.
– Vagabond Prophet
Carried by the Wind
If you bleed out
Of all our veins,
I’ll still see you
In every drop that rains.
We can fill almost anything
Except this hole inside,
But I filled it once before
I filled it with the tide.
We go nowhere fast
Our swings don’t meet your pars.
I get farther than before
When I look unto your stars.
Our hearts are filled with sorrows
We sing songs of glee,
I find comfort in the rising waves
Of your endless see.
Our roots go so shallow
And we still think we’re ready,
The roots of your trees deeper
They are far more steady.
I find solace in an island
Under the burning sun,
It says I can survive
That there is hope in one.
When I see clouds approaching
I don’t know what they’re bringing
But I know you’ve sent them
To stop my ears ringing.
I looked at these mountains
And to me they have spoken,
They said you’re unshakeable
That you can’t be broken.
With our legs we run and trip
And get our knees skinned,
If we could just stop trying
We’d be carried by your wind.
– Vagabond Prophet
– Another really old one from ten years ago that I found in an old journal. That’s the last oldie I promise.
Balsa Wood
If I could remake you
Out of balsa wood
Would I?
You’d be lighter
Yet strong,
Easily take flight.
The wind would push
Against your wings
And caress your face.
Ascension, descension,
Thrown by the carelessness
Of the air and the sky.
Letting every splinter
Alter your course,
Dancing on the map.
Would you even return,
Fight the current
To come back to me.
I see you in the flesh
And swear
You’re something better
Could I set you free?
Free of the land
And free of me.
Knots and imperfections
Same as now,
But you would fly.
You belong
High above me,
A distant speck.
I can’t make this choice
I’m selfish in my love,
What say You?
Wind filled wingspan?
Or me, simply me,
Pink tongue, white teeth.
I’ll be yours
To hold and kiss,
To wriggle against.
I know it’s a poor choice.
I’ve always ruffled
One too many feathers.
So which is it?
The clouds,
Cotton and dewy.
Or me, simply me
I’ll hold you close
And love you tenderly.
If you wish
I’ll remake you
Out of balsa wood
But know that if
The gale proves too much,
You may return to me
I’d make you safe again
Peeling back every ring
Of that lovely balsa wood.
– Vagabond Prophet
Slave
You said you were a stranger
But you said it so friendly that I didn’t quite believe you at first.
You offered me a bottle
When you saw that I was panting,
clearly dieing of thirst.
I eyed it with suspicion
And you spoke unto me,
“It’s a long long way I’ve marched,
thirst has no respect for drought,
And I know your throat is parched.”
I took a deep draft
Like a fool
Really daft
And I’m pretty sure I’m suffering now
Went down sweeter than love
Now tremors are gripping me like a glove.
“Take my money take my money
make this all go away,
Take my money take my money
Make this come to an end.”
With a deep deep laugh you Chuckled and spat,
“Not your money but your life! Your blood your soul your heart, that’s what I wanted, that’s what I wanted from the start”
I want everything, everything, everything that makes you you.
Eviscerated violated taken to the grave.
That’s what I want, I want a slave
You never once said no,
You never once said go,
You’re conviction ain’t consistent
You were far from resistant.
Maybe next time you’ll arm yourself against all your favourite tastes and smells
Or you may find yourself on tour in the deepest depths of hell.
I want everything, everything, everything that makes you you.
Eviscerated violated taken to the grave.
That’s what I want, I want a slave
I woke up panting
you step into the mirror,
Took a deep bow and then you said,
“If this isn’t want you wanted
Well then you won’t be haunted
But if I’m honest I think that you will be.”
– Vagabond Prophet
– First song I’ve written in about five years.
Another Scotch
When the little hand hits twelve
On the face of my watch,
I’ll get off this chair
And pour another scotch.
Yellow and sweet
In a vicious kind of way,
Taking down fences
Ferrel words at end of day.
In the morning it’s coffee
I’ll be electrically afflicted
I bounce between these tonics
When my words are constricted.
The right words never come
My mind held on a scale,
Swatted like a horsefly
Tossed by the gale.
Buzzing energetic,
All business and astute,
Or brilliant in my torpor
But wordless as a brute.
This erratic crazed ballet
Doesn’t really help,
Should make better choices,
Kale, beets, and kelp
If my habits are nonsensical
If you could call me crazy,
I’m halfway to genius
At least I’m not lazy.
– Vagabond Prophet
– Not going to lie, I was trying to write something else and it wasn’t working so I wrote this about writers block..
Unenlightening
I can hear it off the eaves
Drip drip drip.
Distant coyotes,
Yip yip yip.
The darkness and fog
Combine and decide,
Unenlightening.
Tonight we unenlighten.
The rain comes quicker
And thicker than before,
Making soil so fertile
As to be barren.
One dewy drop
Says to another,
“We’re so heavy, full of wet,
Tonight let’s unenlighten.”
That’s when I start to feel,
Along with tobacco smoke
Swirling in my mind,
I’m being unenlightened.
Flipping through your pages
Traditions get unraveled.
With your gold gilded edges,
The unenlightening is frightening.
Contradicting every wisdom
That I’ve ever known.
You put your trust in vagrants,
Rather than royalty.
You talked to strangers
Befriended cheats,
Trusted prostitutes,
Beguiling in the streets.
So I’ll do it I’ll commit,
To break the mold,
To be an idiot,
To become unenlightened.
Rain’s just pouring now,
I’ve just learned up is down,
Meaning we’re all drowning.
I’m the only one who knows.
Thank God for unenlightening.
– Vagabond Prophet
Scars, I have a few
Not a lot, just enough
To know they’re markers of pain,
Yet feel it no longer.
Like they’d had enough
And could fit no more
That part of me dead,
With resilience as a parting gift.
Vagabond Prophet
The sun comes over the hills, carving the entire skyline in an instant with artists precision.
Unreasonable faith says it will be the same as yesterday.
I believe it too.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Why should the past ensure the future?
All this wrestles uneasily, in my bones creating doubt.
Yet the sky remains the same.
Vagabond Prophet
Elijah
You said your son’s name is Elijah
And that regret brings you nostalgia,
There’s no way to dull the pain
And so you sleep under the rain.
– Vagabond Prophet
– For a homeless man I once knew.