pastoral romp

presently our company rounded the great green hills that divided ante-lebanon from olde saxonydavid and bathsheba dismounted immediatelytheir dwarf running hither and, yes, thitherall dressed in his yellow liveryand pouring red wine from a big green bottlemarked dangerthe clearing had been decked out in gay abandonstandards and flags fluttered in the sweetest breezestony and cleo showed up bearing gifts and ravingabout a new theatre in alexandriamy young ocelot delighted to be let free andit greeted each guest with a painful nip if they bore no giftsmy twin sister kathy was there looking radiant at a distanceshe twirled away through the treesdancing with the handsomest brutes one can well imaginethe band played ontheir violins woke the crooning nightingales who sang backupsdavid neil, yes, david neil stepped out of the lengthening shadowshe smiled to see me standing therestriding through the glade in his thunderbolt suitwhite lightning? he spoke like a ghost welcome david you are welcome here…i said shaking his hand davids already drunk on the nighthe plucks another drink off a waiter dressed as some dopey eroswhats this ?he demands of the waiter dopey eros says why sirthat drink is called drinkand it containsone shot of writhing n bluesone shot of triple secone shot to the headone ounce of raspberry pulpone shot of belladonnaone shot of deadmans tearsone shot of nepenthe……oh! said david neil interrupting him…nepenthe….go on davidsing nepenthe i saidgo on! yelled out somebody elseyes david sing us nepenthe they all shouted outdavid took up his 12 string guitarand he pulled that david neil facethat one where he stares off into the futureand he sings to you of wreck n ruinand his early demise and his late appointmentsand with indecision within decisionyou wanna hear nepenthe? he whispers to usyeah! we all answer back a unified beastok ….he grinsand re tunes […]

presently our company rounded the great green hills
that divided ante-lebanon from olde saxony
david and bathsheba dismounted immediately
their dwarf running hither and, yes, thither
all dressed in his yellow livery
and pouring red wine from a big green bottle
marked danger
the clearing had been decked out in gay abandon
standards and flags fluttered in the sweetest breezes
tony and cleo showed up bearing gifts and raving
about a new theatre in alexandria
my young ocelot delighted to be let free and
it greeted each guest with a painful nip if they bore no gifts
my twin sister kathy was there looking radiant
at a distance
she twirled away through the trees
dancing with the handsomest brutes one can well imagine
the band played on
their violins woke the crooning nightingales who sang backups
david neil, yes, david neil stepped out of the lengthening shadows
he smiled to see me standing there
striding through the glade in his thunderbolt suit
white lightning? he spoke like a ghost
welcome david you are welcome here…i said shaking his hand
davids already drunk on the night
he plucks another drink off a waiter dressed as some dopey eros
whats this ?he demands of the waiter
dopey eros says
why sir
that drink is called drink
and it contains
one shot of writhing n blues
one shot of triple sec
one shot to the head
one ounce of raspberry pulp
one shot of belladonna
one shot of deadmans tears
one shot of nepenthe……
oh! said david neil interrupting him…nepenthe….
go on david
sing nepenthe i said
go on! yelled out somebody else
yes david sing us nepenthe they all shouted out
david took up his 12 string guitar
and he pulled that david neil face
that one where he stares off into the future
and he sings to you of wreck n ruin
and his early demise and his late appointments
and with indecision within decision
you wanna hear nepenthe? he whispers to us
yeah! we all answer back a unified beast
ok ….he grins
and re tunes his guitar for a while
i’m sure youve all heard nepenthe by now
davids last big hit
before he….
but that still perhaps remains in the future
where it belongs with all other trouble
tonight we are at this pastoral romp
and lo and behold
david neil himself will sing his most achingly beautiful song
the one where the music sounds all babylonian
like it had skimmed in ninevehs hit parade
david fucking neil, man
will you look at that cat go
he plays that sad long weird phrase on his guitar
all chordal flourishes with slight dissonant implication
he begins to sing:

down by the ocean
down by the shores
shifting sands
octopus woman
holds 8 drinks
in her 8 hands

in one hand i hold water
in one hand hand i hold wine
in one hand i hold yours my love
and another i hold thine
and in the fifth is honeyed ale
and in the sixth is coke
the seventh is a mystery
but the eighth
ah the eighth
it s my own little joke

nepenthe
oh welcome forgetfulness
forget forget forget….yourself…

the mob howled their applause
flowers fell from some lovely scented place
the peoples spirits bucked up and happiness was truly abroad
well done, david neil!
david shrugs: aw its just a songy song …its nothing really..
a kind of mist comes down
everything travels within its aureole
mescalito pops in and remembers us to a friend
david n i step outside the forest for a moment
i take the melting mirror
he takes the door in the tree
we meet up outside the exit sign
which flashes dimly within the clinging mist
david pulls out a joint
he lights it up
so how you really doing, man ? he asks
yeah fine jus’ fine …i say
are you sure? he says offering me a smoke
nah …i say ambiguously
david shrugs
yeah he says eventually
it really is time you went straight

not what you think

none of itoh childeits so much stranger than fictionwhich poet could ever dream this upevery level has another levelwhen i do this or thati do it on a symbolic levelon a real and surreal and hyper real levelon a physical levelon a level of another million glorious implicationson a sexual levelon a suggestive levelon a mythical levelon a prehistoric levelon an astral levelon a causal levelon sea levelon sensuous levelon an evil levelon a moral levelon a financial levelon a macro levelon a microscopic levelon a humourous levelon a magical levelon a spiritual levelon a poetic levelfill in your favourite level hereyou olde devilyou olde white devil….the levels are truly infiniteyou can move in any direction you likeif you have the validity of any movesi mean a fucking pawn cant just jump in any directiona pawn is a pawn in the game babybeing pushed straight along by fate or dutyor whatever unseen fingers urging it alongbut pawns always contain the incredible abilityto become anything they damn well wantif they can only get therebut there is where all the magic isyou could wander this earth and never bump into a single magickal thingor you could live in an age of miraclesand be surrounded in it and move in the lightand remain in the lightof courseyou know i’m gonna sayha ha babythis is not that ageand indeed it is notbut still there must be cluesif youre ready to lookif you keep your mind openand youre ready to fly right out if youre skull cant contain youuse the old waysyoga is waiting to help youthe plants are waiting to help youbreath is waiting to help youyour past livesstacked in every conceivable directionare waiting to help youyou wouldnt even have to break the lawbut jesus they make it hard for youwhy do our modern […]

none of it
oh childe
its so much stranger than fiction
which poet could ever dream this up
every level has another level
when i do this or that
i do it on a symbolic level
on a real and surreal and hyper real level
on a physical level
on a level of another million glorious implications
on a sexual level
on a suggestive level
on a mythical level
on a prehistoric level
on an astral level
on a causal level
on sea level
on sensuous level
on an evil level
on a moral level
on a financial level
on a macro level
on a microscopic level
on a humourous level
on a magical level
on a spiritual level
on a poetic level
fill in your favourite level here
you olde devil
you olde white devil….
the levels are truly infinite
you can move in any direction you like
if you have the validity of any moves
i mean a fucking pawn cant just jump in any direction
a pawn is a pawn in the game baby
being pushed straight along by fate or duty
or whatever unseen fingers urging it along
but pawns always contain the incredible ability
to become anything they damn well want
if they can only get there
but there is where all the magic is
you could wander this earth and
never bump into a single magickal thing
or you could live in an age of miracles
and be surrounded in it
and move in the light
and remain in the light
of course
you know i’m gonna say
ha ha baby
this is not that age
and indeed it is not
but still there must be clues
if youre ready to look
if you keep your mind open
and youre ready to fly right out
if youre skull cant contain you
use the old ways
yoga is waiting to help you
the plants are waiting to help you
breath is waiting to help you
your past lives
stacked in every conceivable direction
are waiting to help you
you wouldnt even have to break the law
but jesus they make it hard for you
why do our modern authorities attempt to cage us?
for our own good……..sorry….it cant be that
theyd happily get us killed in much stupider ways
than leaving us alone to explore our nature
our nature as much as theirs
but we have to accept the fact
that “the authorities” are stupid and scared
and have done a right royal job of fucking things up
for all of us
and why would they be likely to stop anytime soon?
they put me thru school
and tried to turn me into
a person with all his filters turned on
so all i saw was reading
writing
arithmetic
that little british voice
came on the school radio
trying to keep us in some victorian nightmare
of tally ho the empire
and cricketing stories for boys
and how we gave gerry what for
and good old captain cook
and mr thompkins gave us six of the best
but i kept on believing
hanging off aslans every word
i wanted to get into narnia, you see
cos some people out here were ruining my trip
marc bolan made it all seem so easy
days of love are always in a dream you know…he sang
it seemed to make sense
but youre battling the sheer brute force of education
my headmaster says study study study
i couldnae study
my mind wouldnt couldnt co operate with that malarkey
i was brainwashed by the fools
they didnt know what they did
just like the useless pricks who banged jesus up
or little steven who burned down the park
everybody rushing into mistakes
all of us programmed to self destruct
how can we deny everything else
to concentrate on this one channel
that they let us watch?
i’m drowning in their second hand ideas
they dont know the whole picture
and they wouldnt let us have it if they did
im talking about the kinda thinking
that keeps kennedys assassination under wraps
until we all dead
kinda thinking starts wars n bumps off marilyn monroe
yeah you know
that current paradigm
should mix in a little indian
should mix in a little lemurian
should mix in a little alien
should mix in a little triple sec
should be able to do whatever you like
as long as….etc etc etc
anyway the best fun is still and will always be free
somethings under our noses everywhere
its so funny this must be earth
isnt that just like home?
anyway
poets get paid to explore these things
what can i say?
the universe remains ineffable
even me
and i cut deep
and we all go along way back
and everything you know is wrong is also right
thats not what you wanted to hear
its not what i wanted to write
but then again i’m justa stupid pawn
(but i dont dig no prawn)

the real lemuria

these words have i been bid to declareas i struggle with this languageso long it has taken me i am a nameless magiciani travel throughout and withini move in tomorrowsome call me helio-ixxsome call me drinki come when i am calledi have been called by preparationby austeritiesby dint of willby saint petersummoned here here herelet me then tell you of lemuriai was there yesterday only yesterday only only onlyoh lemuria a magickal landhiddenonly i only iwith the keys to some kingdomsaint peter has called mesan pedro maybe he is really calledbut my language is pre spanishbuy a million mileslemuriaeverything is possible brigadoon in south americai jump from place to placei am something between monkey and jaguari move through smooth spacelike an arrowi bring it all togetheri fall in the futurethe power is mine to takei am here nowas you are my witnesslemuriadoes that name ring a bellding dong ding dang dongi am herei live on sweet milk and fruiti move through treetopswith my female consortwhom i ravish throughout the agesi am inside the treesinside inside insidein the most insidei am further insideof the most outsidei am further outsidepower flows through mei am almost nothingi am emptinessi pure alerti harness nighti surprise myself, saint peterto find i am the real dealreal dealdeal reali deal out the deadmans handgiven under my handgiven under the lawmagic magic magicvisions the choking junglethe lovely junglethe flowersthe birdsi meet mescalitoi am a mayan i am among my friendshere i am at home in the real lemuriaimagine if it was no jokethe truth this thing is so hugeand no one has a handle on itmescalito fucking hugged me manand said welcome i been waiting for youthis is all yoursyou have come homehome to lemuriaand your jungleabra cadabra

these words have i been bid to declare
as i struggle with this language
so long it has taken me

i am a nameless magician
i travel throughout and within
i move in tomorrow
some call me helio-ixx
some call me drink
i come when i am called
i have been called
by preparation
by austerities
by dint of will
by saint peter
summoned here here here
let me then tell you of lemuria
i was there yesterday only yesterday only only only
oh lemuria a magickal land
hidden
only i
only i
with the keys to some kingdom
saint peter has called me
san pedro maybe he is really called
but my language is pre spanish
buy a million miles
lemuria
everything is possible
brigadoon in south america
i jump from place to place
i am something between monkey and jaguar
i move through smooth space
like an arrow
i bring it all together
i fall in the future
the power is mine to take
i am here now
as you are my witness
lemuria
does that name ring a bell
ding dong ding dang dong
i am here
i live on sweet milk and fruit
i move through treetops
with my female consort
whom i ravish throughout the ages
i am inside the trees
inside inside inside
in the most inside
i am further inside
of the most outside
i am further outside
power flows through me
i am almost nothing
i am emptiness
i pure alert
i harness night
i surprise myself, saint peter
to find i am the real deal
real deal
deal real
i deal out the deadmans hand
given under my hand
given under the law
magic magic magic
visions
the choking jungle
the lovely jungle
the flowers
the birds
i meet mescalito
i am a mayan
i am among my friends
here i am at home in the real lemuria
imagine if it was no joke
the truth
this thing is so huge
and no one has a handle on it
mescalito fucking hugged me man
and said welcome i been waiting for you
this is all yours
you have come home
home to lemuria
and your jungle
abra cadabra

the interventionist gods

zeus the thunderer was no longer listeninghis daughter was berating himwhining at himsulking with himodysseus thisodysseus thathe had smiled when he heard calypsos name mentionedah calypso …..he sank into a reveriehe had known calypso wellhe would rumble out of the sky over her islandher island which was a just a point in a blue seaher island of enchantmentshe stroked his beard and gazed into the distancehe felt his potency risehe licked his unbelievably handsome lipswhile athene complained and irkedzeus stopped timewith memories more vivid than the reality of menhe revisited calypso her aisles of delightsher potions that had caused the love increasedher skillful hands that flew and hoveredthe willows alders and cypressesher ambrosia her nights like nectarbut that was all long agolong long long agoon that last timeas he was leaving calypso saidi guess i’ll see you round…. yeah…..zeus saidthey both had known it was overback in olympusathene shakes his armyoure not even listening to me are you?zeus breaks off his reveriehow dare you talk to me like that?athene glares at her fatherodysseus….zeus interrupts herposeidon is furious with this character…!athene starts listing out all odysseus’ woesOK OK OK thunders zeusodysseus ….why should he care….yet…what is it to you that he should do this or that? he asksathene is a very cool goddess i mean shes very wisebut this question hurts herbecause even though she is wise and clevershe is also very vain and very jealous and very bitter we know this because she competed for that damned stupid applebloody appleseris as the snakeoffers eve the golden applefrom the tree of life and on it is writtenkallistito the most beautifulanddiscordia as snow whites evil stepmothertwice removed as a cronesayshere my dearietake this lovely golden applefrom an old womanand she cacklesas snow white flicks her black bangs backand goggles the inscriptionto the […]

zeus the thunderer was no longer listening
his daughter was berating him
whining at him
sulking with him
odysseus this
odysseus that
he had smiled when he heard calypsos name mentioned
ah calypso …..
he sank into a reverie
he had known calypso well
he would rumble out of the sky over her island
her island which was a just a point in a blue sea
her island of enchantments
he stroked his beard and gazed into the distance
he felt his potency rise
he licked his unbelievably handsome lips
while athene complained and irked
zeus stopped time
with memories more vivid than the reality of men
he revisited calypso
her aisles of delights
her potions that had caused the love increased
her skillful hands that flew and hovered
the willows alders and cypresses
her ambrosia
her nights like nectar
but that was all long ago
long long long ago
on that last time
as he was leaving
calypso said
i guess i’ll see you round….
yeah…..zeus said
they both had known it was over
back in olympus
athene shakes his arm
youre not even listening to me are you?
zeus breaks off his reverie
how dare you talk to me like that?
athene glares at her father
odysseus….
zeus interrupts her
poseidon is furious with this character…!
athene starts listing out all odysseus’ woes
OK OK OK thunders zeus
odysseus ….why should he care….yet…
what is it to you that he should do this or that? he asks
athene is a very cool goddess i mean shes very wise
but this question hurts her
because even though she is wise and clever
she is also very vain and very jealous and very bitter
we know this because she competed for that damned stupid apple
bloody apples
eris as the snake
offers eve the golden apple
from the tree of life
and on it is written
kallisti
to the most beautiful
and
discordia as snow whites evil stepmother
twice removed as a crone
says
here my dearie
take this lovely golden apple
from an old woman
and she cackles
as snow white flicks her black bangs back
and goggles the inscription
to the most beautiful
and loki
disguised as kilbey as a boy
offers miss mountjoy his teacher
a golden delicious
and as she takes it
she sees a small sticker that says
to the most beautiful
and so you see
athene had righteously thought
that that apple belonged to her
she wasnt just wise
she was beautiful as well, for titans sake
couldnt a goddess be wise and pretty?
did one negate the other?
in hera…yes!
neither wise nor pretty…
in aphrodite…yes!
the original dumb blonde thought athene
but athene had it all….she thought
but ever since aphrodite got that fucking apple
she was feeling….undesired….
and…
the truth was
she was in love with odysseus
she was wise enough to not get involved with a mortal
but she still couldnt help herself
fixing things from a distance
opening some doors
pulling some strings
some times they saw each other face to face
she was an awesome lady to be sure
but odysseus had never thought of athene in that way
she was like a powerful austere aunt
how sad she would have been
to know he thought of her in this way
how surprised he would have been
to have known his protectress
harboured lustful feelings for his mortal hide
angrily athene guessed that aphrodite was behind all this
her little bastard son with the bow and the arrows
love like life
life like love
idiot love will cause confusion
athene stamped her divine foot
daddy, cant you just do this one thing for me, please?
zeus acquiesced
hermes! he shouted
hermes strolls in
a well toned young cat
pretty much naked
except for a wispy loin cloth
a golden helmet with wings that bark
and golden winged eel fingerling sandals
hermes delivers messages for his boss
zeus says
hermes…go n sort this out for me, old son
hermes says
whats the trouble, squire?
zeus says
nip down n pay a visit to calypso n tell ‘er
to bloody well let that odysseus go or else
hermes says
no problemo,boss…and what if she dont want to?
zeus says
you know what to do
hermes says
consider it done!
now right now
as you sit and read these words
hermes is skipping cross the water like a stone
hes sprinting over the vast seas
all the way down from snowy olympus’ mists
now he shoots over the tropical ocean
wherein lies the nymphs isle
if you were in a boat on that sea
you would see a golden young god
flash across the backs of the waves
rushing headlong
to where odysseus sits
watching the horizon

more ionian blues

meanwhilein 1250 BCodysseus still sitting on that lovely little beachon his way homeeverything he’s been throughthe men hes killedthe cities he has laid wastethe women he has hadthe riches he acquires and losesthe miles he has travelledalways struggling and strugglingalways plagued by fateundone in triumph hated by the sea god poseidonloved by wisdom herself, atheneodysseus trying to get back homeempty handedscarred and tiredhes met his matchcalyspo the witchcalypso the demi-goddesscalypso the nymph, oh!calypso on her isle of marvelsodysseus wanting wanting wanting his home and all that it contains (somewhere in 1965 10 year old s kilbey says yet you spent 7 years on that island…..!?.. ) can you modern readers imagine odysseus our hero lost in the seacomes to this islehalf drownedbattered driven by the wind and wavesa remote place as he lays on the shorecoughing out the seaconvulsing and shiveringtoo enfeebled to movein a cold feverso much driftwood someone finds himtakes him inrevives himfortunatelyunfortunatelythat someoneis the ageless immortal calypsoa lovely creature indeedlong and lithe in her viridian gownenchantressneither good nor evilthe 2 regard each otherodysseus sitting up in her bed convalescingcalypso feeding him delicate morselsmassaging his knotted back with her healing handsher maids bathe odysseus and gigglemen of his calibre dont wash up that oftennot like odysseus what it is it about him ? she wonders to herselfodysseus is glad to be alivehe is grateful for her hospitalitybut he is waryremember he thinks to himselfcirceanother witchyes odysseus had tangled with circeturning his men into swineshe had stripped him naked and commanded him to ravish hershe saidcome with me to my bedso that in making lovewe may learn to trust one another…odysseus saidcirceyou order me to be gentle with youyou who turned my men into pigsin your own house…..!but they had been loversand she willingly restored his menand it had […]

meanwhile
in 1250 BC
odysseus still sitting on that lovely little beach
on his way home
everything he’s been through
the men hes killed
the cities he has laid waste
the women he has had
the riches he acquires and loses
the miles he has travelled
always struggling and struggling
always plagued by fate
undone in triumph
hated by the sea god poseidon
loved by wisdom herself, athene
odysseus trying to get back home
empty handed
scarred and tired
hes met his match
calyspo the witch
calypso the demi-goddess
calypso the nymph, oh!
calypso on her isle of marvels
odysseus wanting wanting wanting his home
and all that it contains
(somewhere in 1965
10 year old s kilbey says
yet you spent 7 years on that island…..!?.. )
can you modern readers imagine
odysseus our hero
lost in the sea
comes to this isle
half drowned
battered driven by the wind and waves
a remote place
as he lays on the shore
coughing out the sea
convulsing and shivering
too enfeebled to move
in a cold fever
so much driftwood
someone finds him
takes him in
revives him
fortunately
unfortunately
that someone
is the ageless immortal calypso
a lovely creature indeed
long and lithe in her viridian gown
enchantress
neither good nor evil
the 2 regard each other
odysseus sitting up in her bed convalescing
calypso feeding him delicate morsels
massaging his knotted back with her healing hands
her maids bathe odysseus and giggle
men of his calibre dont wash up that often
not like odysseus
what it is it about him ? she wonders to herself
odysseus is glad to be alive
he is grateful for her hospitality
but he is wary
remember he thinks to himself
circe
another witch
yes odysseus had tangled with circe
turning his men into swine
she had stripped him naked and commanded him to ravish her
she said
come with me to my bed
so that in making love
we may learn to trust one another…
odysseus said
circe
you order me to be gentle with you
you who turned my men into pigs
in your own house…..!
but they had been lovers
and she willingly restored his men
and it had been hard for odysseus
to leave her island
and now…..
almost 13 years since he set out for troy
odysseus finds himself becalmed for 7 years
how did they spend the days?
wandering the island
calypso taught him of its flowers
the names of its birds
they saw dawn rise in the skies
they dipped in the sea
they walked in the sun
and they loved in the black fragrant nights
imagine them in her cave
tireless and ardent
the witch
with her love and magic
the man
with his long agonizing journey and his cunning
imagine the things they said to each other
imagine the things that they kept from each other
imagine odysseus’ heart torn in 2
how did the time drag or glide for him?
what could 7 years mean to an eternal creature?
yet
calypso
offered odysseus immortality
he would still be alive today
yet
but
he needed to get home
he had to get home
for the sake of the story
for the sake of destiny
for fates own reasons
eventually athene
pleads with her father zeus
please daddy
tell that fucking nymph to let my odysseus go…