The invasion of the body snatchers

It carried me away

One too many Martinis and D-g knows what I’ll say

Always a strong drinker, can hold my tongue

Rarely sloppy, never overhung

 

But one too many Martinis and I’ll spend the day in bed

Having spilt without thinking everything that’s in my head

No secret too sacred, no confession too grim

No compliment inappropriate, no matron too prim

 

A Vesper is the worst

The classic Casino Royale

Three parts vodka

Five parts gin

A dash of Bitters

A twist of lemon completes the mix

Two of them and I’m a mess

 

One too many Martinis undoes me every time

 

© Ian Lilburne 2017

 

In foam-crested wavelets the ocean heaves

Rolls, billows, surges to the heavens from the deep

 

Shadowfall – edge of darkness

Shadowfall – frail fit of green

Shadowfall – winds of madness

Shadowfall – the narcisscene

 

Comprized of atoms

Composed in time

Exposed to nature

Sublime

 

Shadowfall – winds of madness

Shadowfall – the narcisscene

Shadowfall – heart of darkness

Shadowfall – Gaia’s scream

 

Away

Away

Turn away

Away

Away

Darkness falls

Turn away

 

Shadowfall – heart of darkness

Shadowfall – Gaia’s cry

Shadowfall – sheen of sadness

Shadowfall – empires die

 

© Ian Lilburne 2017

 

The opening verse is an adaptation of a stanza from Virgil’s Aeneid.

I first read a variation of the couplet ‘Comprized of atoms|composed in time’ in an article on climate change in The Guardian (alas I didn’t note the name of the writer) but subsequently learnt that it refers to Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura.

‘Edge’ and ‘heart of darkness’ allude respectively to the 1980’s BBC TV drama and the Joseph Conrad novel.

Narcisscene is mine, a neologism.

 

A LOST VERSE

Cyclones, tsunamis

Lightning, hail

Earthquakes, volcanoes

Awesome all

 

Ain’t it just like luck

Trust me to fuck it all up

Things were lining up so well

Then one dumb word sent it all to hell

 

What can I say?

Such is life

What can I do?

Go to sleep at night

What can I think but

 

Ain’t it just like life

Soften the jagged edge with light *

Square peg in a round world

The ragged shape of a human soul

 

Is there a time and a place

A kind of saving grace

That shines a light on us all?

Does a divinity shape our end **

Karma make amends

To rise must we sometimes fall?

 

Every creepy thing on earth

In its own way has its worth ***

Every creepy thing that we do

Holds a grain of truth

 

Is there a time and a place

A kind of saving grace

That shines a light on us all?

Does a divinity shape our end

Karma make amends

To rise must we sometimes fall?

 

© Ian Lilburne 2013

 

A hymn of sorts. My homage to Cohen’s Hallelujah.

*      C/f Leonard Cohen, Anthem: “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”

**    C/f Shakespeare, Hamlet: “A divinity shapes our ends, rough hew them as we will.”

***   C/f GENESIS 1:25: “… every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

 

It was a cool clear djeran day

We climbed into Sylvia’s car and headed into the country

There was a hidden forest she wanted to show me

A private place, special to her

 

An hour’s drive from town, it sat just at that point where

The city passes into the country

One of those lines you cross without knowing

A subtle change of key

 

We pulled off the road, scrambled from the car

And headed into the wood

At once a deep calm settled upon us

A glowing peace that was both in us and in the world

Even Sylvia’s excitable dog felt it

She ran ahead but didn’t bark

 

The further we went into the forest, the stronger the feeling became

We didn’t talk, merely basked in the deep serenity

Rich and mystical – numinous, if you will

 

Soft sunlight filtered through the trees cast long shadows

Marking a kind of pathway, a grid of inter-cutting arcades

While the pine-needles, cushioning the earth, softened our footfall

 

The stillness gathered round us

Was somehow spiritual

Like a cathedral

A cathedral en plein air

 

The silence of Sylvia’s pines

The silence of Sylvia’s pines

 

© Ian Lilburne 2018

MUSIC: Dayton Ohio 1981

POEM: Perth 2018

 

Baby, let’s hit the town for a while

Let me bask in your sweet smile while we’re dancing

Show me that crazy step that is yours

The way you move across the floor in the moonlight

But baby don’t get carried away

Laugh at what I say – take it lightly

 

Cause I’m a fool for love

I just can’t get enough

It’s deep in my blood

My love

 

Sweetheart, I love it when your cheek brushes mine

The way you smile in recline as you hold me

You’re a sweetheart, maybe an angel in disguise

At least, through these hopeful eyes you look perfect

But sweetheart, don’t let me in to your life

Don’t let me know what you’re like lest I love you

 

Cause I’m a fool for love

It’s deep in my blood

I just can’t get enough

Of love

 

The sentiment of the street — nimble in retreat

Keep cool, be discreet —  wreaks havoc with me

I love a grand old time

Stir the shaken lines

Set off fireworks

Ring wild chimes

Flaunt the mystery

 

Cause I’m a fool for love

It’s a hit I have to have

A case I’m yet to prove

My love

 

Baby, let’s hit the town for a while

Let’s dance away the night in a frenzy

Show me that special move that is yours

Come on, give me the grand tour, the sneak preview

But baby don’t get carried away

Lie a little on the way – say you love me

 

Cause I’m a fool for love

I just can’t get enough

It’s deep in my blood

My love

Yeah I’m a fool for love

It’s a hit I have to have

A case I’m yet to prove

My love

Fool for love

I’m a fool for your love

A fool for falling in love

My love

Yeah I’m a fool for love

A fool for falling in love

Its’ written in my blood

My love

 

© Ian Lilburne 2017