Jack
They’re clamoring for Buddhists
At the end of this sitcom
Sometimes their hearts shake
When nothing’s happening at all
Like the gibberish they’re speaking
Wondering what it means
These underworld muses of Bedlam
Who would like a drink
Along with the monks
On a Sunday afternoon
After a brawl
At a picture hall
With mirrors breaking
And stories they’re faking
And IDs are required
They find them eventually
Then take off in a bus
And strip off on a platform
Separating the men from the dogs
I’m setting love free
Do not torture me
Hate me
But all love is blinded
Whoever said otherwise
Was laughing or lying
Love always returns
In a new disguise
Like engines of blood
Whenever it’s smiling
But love will not work
It returns later
To pick up the dead
With heads in the oven
In need of more licks
Should love be leaving?
Oh no, it’s not leaving
Although we have parted
Love is our home
I feel you above me
When I am below you
We’ve walked through these rooms
Many times before
You visit my tombs
You break through my caskets
And now we’re undone
But love is the answer
To all of our prayers
And when you struggled
Remember, I loved you
When you were trying
And I was blinded
And my life was hacked
And my eyes weren’t blue
And you weren’t true
And I was too small
My darling, you knew
I was past forty-four
And I dragged and you sagged
And I stayed as far away as I could
Like a cat on a hot tin roof
With Tennessee whisky
And butane lighters
And Marlboros in the drawer
Don’t flatter yourself
I won’t kill myself
It won’t be suicide
I’ll just be writing
And smoking a bad habit
Burning my sheets
And pushing love aside
I can smell fire
Coming over these mountains
My voice is slacking
Your checks aren’t cashing
And I’m not good enough
We drunkards do amazing things
We sit up at night
And think about things
And then play dead
And go out of our heads
Hear voices grinding us down
Until we can’t speak
Until we are sad
We change everything
Then we are glad
When you go mad
Will you return
Or will you let love burn?
Oh darling, let it die
I’ll write every day
That’s what it takes
I’ll make some mistakes
Don’t do anything
It’s just a transaction
My plan is to die
With a bullet in my mind
And no bible of great expectations
I must run to you
And be bold
Though my love is so old and slow
I try to imagine
Being at rest in your arms
But I can only muse
On the night I die
When I retrieve my heart
I will say
It was not a bad life
Did I not sin
Did I not sigh
Did I not bleed
Did I not weep
All for the love of you
Death will lie in my arms
It will help me to know
Who to believe
I’m just walking through.
Joni
There’s a lot of things I cannot take with me I’ll never pass this way again But I’m searching for love And it’s so hard to find I can’t even locate a taxi Or an easy way around The trees in this park Waiting for the axe I lean toward love And the kindness of strangers Who show me tricks As the taverns close It’s hard to get stoned On these thickening streets Of honking cars But I’m grateful To be lost and then found By a man like you So, give me your love And after you do Our story won’t end I’ll write you a song I will say I am sorry You never understood Women like me come undone We’re mystic and not easily lead But we always remember you It wasn’t enough But that’s alright I stayed away But I’m not dead yet My music still plays So, I’ll say goodnight It’s just that we were never even You loved not enough Or was it something else What exactly I don’t know Did I surrender too easily Or did I try too hard My music plays on But love never comes around So I put your hand in mine Life is a puzzle Not a means to an end With a flick of the switch Or a spike in the arm It is gone Love is good, right or wrong Every day my heart is heavy Every day I’m closer to death Come and listen to me now As I play a refrain As if nothing ever happened at all Why did love have to hurt so much We flew the Atlantic We sailed the Adriatic We made up stories as we pleased I heard your pauses And I knew their causes I was battered and bruised easily Like a doll that was used Like the wives you despised I’m just so confused You wanted romance What else could I do But to make love to you How much longer Until my body breaks And my hands start to shake Catch me as I fall When you were lost And you loved no one You decided to try me Darling, I still love you So, lie with me now And when you shake And when you are cold And when your heart aches Or when you are lost On your love, I will wait. 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.
Fevers of the Mind 