A new poetry showcase from Elizabeth Cusack

I'm High

I’m high
I’m getting by
I’m gritting my teeth
And saying goodbye
What the hell is this supposed to be?
The moon barks in my ear
Both day and noon
I’ve adjusted my time
To the night
I was falling down a well
And he would catch me
With a charming message of love
My living muse
What a darling
My dead ones sing the blues.

More or less a dead rose
Did me in yesterday
I’ll never touch it again
The rum is just as bad
Which leaves tequila
Or Old No. 7
Bought for my ex on
The day that he died
There’s a touch of Courvoisier
Campari, Vermouth and Chambord
There is Triple Sec, of course
Prosecco, some white or other
And VSOP
The Blue Curacao is waiting
To ride a wave
As am I, if only you’d stay.
Though I think I’ll make it till Monday
All in all, I’m up on mixology.

Elizabeth Cusack, 10/23/21

I Did Not Tell You

I did not tell you, but
We were sauntering down an alley
When a witch bid her mother adieu;
She nearly grabbed my neck
As I walked by
(We are taboo)
And said words in Italian
I cannot repeat, for
I have no idea what she said,
But it sounded like a curse,
And that I would not repeat.

I don’t know if you caught it,
It happens to me all the time,
Strange women spit at me,
For I am leprosy
For loving you as I do,
Yet they worship Magdalene,
Or pretend they do,
As a lost cause due a rebate,
But Jesus was a rabbi,
Which means he was married
To the Whore of Babylon, too.

22 October 2021, Elizabeth Cusack

Beautiful

I am in the drying sun
A million songs left unsung
I want to dream with you tonight
Catch a plane
You’ll be alright
The city is rife
With petty lies
And silly fears
We drink our glass
We do not ask
There is no compromise
We will not cower
Not for an hour
We’ll kiss, my love,
Then kiss the rest,
And we will not glower
We’ll get off on the juice
We’ll be so high
A third dose will make us
Want to survive
Your cheeks are so kissable
Just like Rimbaud’s
Your eyes are unmissable
Each finger and toe
Like a child’s in my hand
Precious Angel,
When you swung round that door
There was no one but you
Forevermore
They simply do not get
Your veneration of men
Jesus, I’m beginning to see 
What the problem is
They admire only your funeral pyre
They recall the words of the master
But none of your own
The angels are behind the counter
Asking would you like some more
The ghosts are coming back
Now I must try to sleep
I know why they wish to speak
I hear the airplanes taking off
The casinos are full of cash

Waterloo or Rivulets

Waterloo or rivulets
They are all the same
You stumble or you fall
That is their game
Dry land or gutters
The fall is all the same.

Standing in the moonlight
Walking on the plain
Sirens after midnight
The bangs and then the pain
The doors that do not open
The things you can’t explain.

The screaming at the party
And then the doors are played
I love you like the midnight
I love you through the pain
I cannot find my phone
My glass is what remains.

The clothes are strewn all over
My useless pharmacopeia
Is living in the dark
I cannot open a door
I cannot remain
I love you just the same.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Please Wake Up

Would you please wake up?
But you require dreams
I lost those on an acid trip
Though it was just a drain
Like sniffing pipes 
And other silly games.

I love you like the morning
When you smile 
And play you’re tame
You love the wildcat
Though she has no name
You break her down 
As she does you
We laugh and start again.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

The Devils Are All Jealous

The devils are all jealous
And that’s where we begin 
We dance under the starlight
And like Jesuits we bend
Reaching for their iron cross
We kick up our heels and then
We kick the sand and raise the dead 
I give you all the praise
You made the universe talk.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Not a Lot of Plush

There’s not a lot of plush on me
So, draw another line
I will paint across your face
Then follow you in time
Lay your cheek upon my thigh
It is no capital crime.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

The Past

Put the past in the past
It’s just sounds and words
I am old
And I am ugly
And I am absurd
So please just let me go
You don’t need me anymore.

You stop me in the sand
And strip off your pretense
The moon is shining brightly
And we are both so wasted.

For without you
There is no song
No reason to go on
For we are far beyond.

I scream to drown out Elvis
And his little elves
We banish disco and speak our truth
And then we travel on.

Donovan is in our house
With his cosmic crew
I love you more than bracelets
I love you like the moon
Your fragile beauty
Your fragile pain
They cannot stop this cosmic train.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

I Can Tell

I can tell if you’re Jesus
You can tell if I’m Paul
We’ll take the staircase to heaven
Rung by rung
I have the strength to face
Another day
I’ll reach for a drink
I’m honest
I need it to really think.

I’ll make it
I’m making it
I’m ready
With Jesus I’ll be complete
He wears a serape in winter
Where the cowboys and Indians drink
He wears his heart
And it’s heavy
On his long and welcoming arm.

His hair it will flow
If he lets it
His eyes will tell more than I can
I’ll love him 
And he’ll look that way forever
Just like a man
I feel him here so strongly
He’s lying beside me now.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

My Telephone

If I could find my telephone
I’d like to drop you a line
I found your wallet in my bag
And that’s enough for me.

It’s soft and leathery
And you entrusted it to me
After eight beers at eleven AM
And that’s enough for me
I call that an act of love.

I’m beginning to believe you now
Let’s strip off all the pain
The moon is crazy bright right now
Gram and Jimi are in our house
And you are in the frame.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Donovan and Jesus

I am lying on the floor
And I’m not reaching for my phone
How could I?
I have your wallet
And you
My precious angel
Are sleeping with my phone
Or reaching for the door
Although, I am beginning to believe
I am yours
Forevermore
I was born in desert heat
In October, after all
And you were born in English spring.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Lonely Grifter

I’ve always been a lonely grifter
Why should any of your evidence differ?
The populace it always bows down
To its latest circus clown
The inquisition, they’re always in town
With algorithms that never shut down
They deal the cards and laugh
Just like your masters
Behind your backs.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/26/21

Brandy and Cream

And it’s brandy with cream
From tiny cups
Someone brought from Spain
I love you like the moon at night
Let’s begin again.

I will rhyme until
I fall or bang my head
Like a desperado in the rain
But everyone knows
I’m falling from the high seats now.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

I Can Drink

I can drink blindfolded
After all, I have paid
In blood and tears and orgasms
So please, ask me again.

It’s Four AM 
The tequila’s drunk
The brandy, well, it’s gone
But that’s beside the point
My love is never wrong.

I love your Belgian chocolate
I love your oat latte
I love the diamond in your eye
And forever I will stay.

I love your ginger beer
From Australia, you say
I do not care for tomato ale
No matter what you say.

I do not care for that girl
Who invited you to play
I’ve seen enough, thank you
And I’ll be on my way.

Do not touch my freedom
Do not test my aim
I am for the universe
But I only play my game.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Not a Thing

It means not a thing
If I lose you again
I am no plush carpet
And I am wearing thin.

I can call down Jesus
And explain it all to Him
Please do not mistake me
He carried me again.

You are everything
Though the walls are thin
And the bars are closing in
I love you, that is all.

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Stand Beside You

I want to stand beside you
And praise your god above
But I must pray for Jesus
To deliver us from the mob.

I love you like the heavens
The only love in town
I stand with you forever
On our solid ground.

I will love you till I drown
The room I’m in’s possessed
As are we all
Do you hear the carrion call?

Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21

Hit My Head

I will not hit my head again
Against your concrete wall
I will not fade to black again
When you can applaud.

And for the tile floor I broke
I’m sorry for it all
I broke my heart, I cannot lie
Teaching it to you all.

My heart is in the stall
I learned that from you all
I am going blind
But Homer was, you all.

So, sleep, my little baby
And when you do arise
I will love you like the heaven
I do not compromise.


Elizabeth Cusack 11/18/21


Poetry Showcase from Elizabeth Cusack


Poetry by Elizabeth Cusack inspired by the Dirty Three


Poem by Elizabeth Cusack for Before I Turn Into Gold Day

Bio: Elizabeth Cusack is a recovering actress. Ever since playing Rhoda Penmark in “The Bad Seed” as a child, deservedly, she has endeavoured to keep up her end of the bargain. Elizabeth has been blessed with the best of teachers over the years, mostly from the school of hard knocks. She has championed and performed in fringe theatre in America. Elizabeth edits her favourite poet while not otherwise inspired by her muse to write.