THE LONESOME SMOKE

In the black of eye
The darkness caked with rye
A silver tongue visonary of reciprocating thought beams back and forth understanding
The cold orb in the sky
Uncle moon sees me for what I are
A lost plebe in the night, contemplating self-ishly, a half assed donkey with no legs and psuedo sense of self
He cares not, and no longer reciprocates my thought
Staring in absolute disgust as I wittle away his legacy
Falling away silently, I make my retreat
Face numbed, lips loose, eyes packed up and bagged
Sleep now and forever hold a piece of my sanity, for here comes the unforgiving sun

The lord is my sheperd

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

I shall not want to see images of malnourished sheep on my TV.

You make us lay next to green pastures, but we don’t eat grass.

The Lord is sadistic, his livestock can’t last.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil

Except for your extremist farm hands working on your East and West paddocks.

World war three and nuclear fallout scares me to death, and probably will.

You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Although some choir boys will tell you otherwise.

Little God peep

You have lost this sheep

And there’s no way you’ll ever find me.

Leave me alone

I’ll never come home

I’m leaving your tale behind me.

Don't write poetry when it is time for a sandwhich

I am a figure of his former self

Existing only in sepia tone.

Watery brown pigments loosely form ink blot.

The crazy see only a penis with wings doing battle with Jesus.

Jesus indeed, for this is my washed up form slipping from the page before my eyes and behind them. Down, down, down into the eternal waste basket of obscurity.

I am surrounded by maniacs who attended too many shit rock concerts, who took too many drugs, who never lived long enough to see the foul choice that was their mullet hairstyle.

They sway back and forth, lighter in hand, with the loved up, blank and misguided eyes of a Burt Potter paradise. Too old to fuck with, they know I will burn

Scraggly, matted, salt drenched beard

A beach comber

A day dreamer, easily put off task by self

30 minutes of distraction etched out on page

Little point

No conclusion

Clearly a waste of time trying to write a poem today

Time for a sandwich!

At least

At least I’m the least of my concerns

This evil world it slowly turns

Up there for dancing, down there to burn

Inward, fond goodtime

Out there to learn

They will never be back and cannot return

Day after night this evil world turns

At least I’m a shape of rust and decay

At best I’m a man that worries away

Up there I see dreams floating away

Down there is the grave without a bouquet

Day after night this evil world turns

At least I will see the sun rise today

Friends former footprints  all burnt away

Up there to dance unshackled from bones

Down there to rest so cold and alone

Day after night this evil world turns.

The littlest Gnu

 This is the story of the littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo.
 Some say it is false, some say it is true.
 I will let you decide your own point of view.
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo lived with his family and other Gnu too.
 He had a mum and a dad and an uncle named Chad.
 He had no brothers or sisters but this was not bad.
 He got all the love there was to be had, from his mum, and his Dad and his uncle named Chad.
This made him feel great and he never felt sad.

He was happy like this and he loved it this way.
 But then it all changed on a hot summer’s day.
 
 All of the gnu from a place called Gadoo were eating up grass, because that's what gnu do.
 But all of a sudden big trouble did brew.
 Ten lions jumped out and they wanted to chew on the great tasty meat that came from the Gnu.

--------------------------

The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo got very upset, he didn't know what to do.

He needed a plan

He had to act fast

He froze in a panic and lay in the grass, waiting in fear for the trouble to pass….

 When the littlest Gnu finally stood up there were no Gnu to see.
 Not one friendly sign of his family of three.
 He looked to his right to see if all was alright.
 It wasn't.
 He looked to his left to see how many Gnu there were left.
 There weren't any.
 -----------------------
 

So he wept and he wept, and he cried and he cried, and then he sat down on his little Gnu hide.
 ----------------

The littlest Gnu was so very tired and fell asleep in the hot summer sun.
 
 Sssssssss.
 The littlest Gnu woke up to the strange ‘Sssssssss’ sound and he said "Who's that? who's there".
 Sssssssss.
 "It's me over here!"
 The Gnu looked around and shouted out "Where?".
------------------

 "Stop looking around up in the air, I'm down on the ground in front of you here".
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo looked down on the ground to locate the sound….

 "Who are you?" said the gnu.
 Sssssssss. "My name is Jake I'm a Black Mamba snake and I have an idea of a deal we can make".
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo looked down at Jake the Black Mamba snake and said “what kind of deal do you want to make?”

---------------
 Sssssssss.
 "I saw what happened and it's very sad, but I have an idea so don't feel too bad. I will help you find your mum and your dad and your uncle, the Gnu, the one you call Chad".
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo gladly said "yes, but I must confess I have little to offer or give in return".
 Sssssssss.

----------
 "Well, in fact there is something I’d like in return, the hot summer sand makes my soft belly burn. Perhaps you could let me ride on your back. It would save my soft belly from the hot sand attack".
 "So what do you say, can I ride on your back?"
 
 The Gnu gladly agreed and with no more to say, they walked off on their way on the hot summer day.

 After two long days of walking and talking  they stopped by a tree where two birds were squawking.
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo looked up at the squawking, feathery two.

Politely he said "How do you do? Do you mind if I ask a question of you"?

 Screech chirp Screech.
 "We already know what you’re going to say and yes we have seen gnu passing this way.
We see all forms of life that pass by this tree and yes we have seen your family of three.

They wanted to know were you safe were you free. They were crying out “where can our little gnu be?”

The littlest Gnu leapt up in the air and shouted "That's me!!!!”

----------------
 Screech chirp Screech.
 "Follow the path till you reach the well, if you make it this far you are going quite swell.

 When you come to the well, it will soon become night, here you will need to turn to the right,then you must run till the dark becomes light.

 If you do this correctly and without a mistake then you will come to a splendid great lake.
 When you get there you’ll know just what to do, and there you shall find your family of Gnu.
 But beware and take care it is dangerous out there with Hyenas and Lions that feast upon Deer.
 These beasties would eat you, all just for the fun.
 So if you see them out there, we suggest that you run."
 
 The littlest gnu and the Black Mamba snake knew that it was a risk that they had to take.

They thanked the two birds and went on their way, with little hours of light left in the day.

They ran really fast at full gnu power and came to the well in just under an hour.

They turned to the right to run through the night, but around the first corner they got a great fright.

There were fifteen Hyenas with sharp teeth that bite.
They were looking at them and thought that they might have a dinner of two, a snake and a gnu to chomp on and chew on until they were through.
 

 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo did not have a clue as to what he should do, so he turned round to Jake the Black Mamba snake to ask what kind of action it was they should take.

 Sssssssss.
 "Do not fear those beasts, let them come here, I will protect us and that much is clear."
 
 The Black Mamba snake then leapt in the air and landed in front of the furious glare of the largest Hyena who was standing quite near.
 Sssssssss.
 "You can eat us, that is if you dare. I have enough venom in just one fang to knockout yourself and you troublesome gang."
 The hungry Hyena turned to the rest and said she decided she thought it was best that tonight they did not put the snake to the test.

 The Hyenas turned away and as wild dogs often do ran into the night with no food to chew.

 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo could not believe the things done by Jake and vowed to repay him once they found the lake.
 So the littlest gnu the Black Mamba snake got back on their way once their nerves were at bay, for they still had to walk all night and all day.
 
 They walked for a night without getting one fright, this filled the small gnu with tremendous delight. But there was trouble ahead in the shiny daylight, and it was the kind that could pack a great bite.
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo and Jake the Black Mamba snake walked down a path made of clay. There were shapes in the distance, but they couldn't quite say, what lay in their way, asleep in the sun on the hot summer’s day.
 So they walked a bit closer to see what it could be.

 It was not just one lion, in fact it was three.
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo saw that all three were still fast asleep.

He knew that to pass them they would have to creep, quiet and quickly, not making a peep.
 The Gnu tip toed past he was so very quiet.

He needed to cough but he didn't dare try it.
 He had nearly got by, he was passing with ease.
 Then all of a sudden he started to sneeze.
 Achoo Achoo.
 He let out two.
The lions woke up and spotted the Gnu.
 The little Gnu didn't wait for a second or ask what to do, he ran like the wind and didn't look back, he was sure he'd avoided the lion attack.
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo ran for fifteen minutes before he turned around.

There was no sign of lions on the red and brown ground, so he pricked up his ears and there was no sound.

They were safe for now, at least that's what they did think, so they stopped by a river to have a quick drink.
 They drank for some time and they slurped for a while, the Gnu loved the water and started to smile.
 

The pair were so tired, they had just run a mile, they failed to see the big green crocodile.
 Snaap!
 The crocodile bit at the Gnu and just missed his ear.
 Snaap!
 Then he aimed for poor Jake, to bite off his rear.
 The croc missed the pair in the first big attack, but she was still very hungry and fast coming back. The big green crocodile swam in from the south and showed off her sharp teeth as she opened her mouth.

She was getting quite close and was so keen to eat on the juicy, the tender, the tasty gnu meat.

 She opened her jaws to take a huge bite, but then sank in the water and dropped out of sight.
 
 What the littlest Gnu was unable to see was the yellow and black saviour, called Buzz Bumble bee.
 She had stung the big croc straight on the nose and had forced the great beast to make her mouth close.
 The croc turned to the north and then swam away. The croc would try and eat Gnu on a less painful day.
 Jake was the first to spot their small saviour and asked “Why did you do us this un payable favour?”

Bzzzzzzz
 "Please do not feel like you have to thank me.”
 Bzzzzzzz
 "I've seen that mean croc, almost each day, bite down on poor gnu and then drag them away.
 So I simply decided that mean croc must pay, so I stung at her nose and that’s all I can say."

 The bee said this speech and then turned away, and buzzed down the river and out to the bay.

 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo smiled at the bee and said tootle loo.
 If what the bee said was in fact true, then they must be quite close to a large heard of gnu!

So the littlest gnu put his nose to the test and inhaled the one scent that he knew the best.

There was only one thing that smelled quite this bad.

 It could only be his uncle,  the one they Chad.

----------------------------

So he followed his nose and he ran up a hill, with the Black Mamba snake hanging on still.

When they got to the top the Gnu turned to Jake saying “make no mistake, it's the splendid great lake."
 Down by the lake the gnu could clearly see the giant gnu heard and his family of three.

He was so very excited and so full of glee, It was the very best thing that he ever did see
 
 The littlest Gnu from a place called Gadoo ran down to them and they smiled and laughed and started to play.
 

And this was the way the Gnus life would now stay, so happy, so safe and always at play.
 
As for Jake the Black Mamba snake, he lived out his life on the little gnus back, repayment for stopping the hyena attack.
 
 And that is the story of the littlest Gnu, from a place called Gadoo.
 Some say it is false, some say it is true.
 I will let you decide your own point of view.