   Songs for the Legion
   
   by
   
   Klaus J. Gerken
   
   (1998)
   

        "Jealousy is an elephant with wings of desperation."

                                K.J.G

   
   THE VISION
   
   I walked down the green hill
   where the grave site was waiting
   for someone to kneel and to pray
   But I had no religion
   And no flowers to offer
   I was frightened of words I would say
      But the words flowed so freely
      I was bleeding profusely
      With visions of humble foresay...
         I didn't know why
         but I needed to cry
         and my mother said, "Son,
             turn to the light."
   
   I said, Mother I'm lonely
   I'm not very holy
   I haven't remembered to pray
   The night's like a curtain
   It's cold and it's troubled
   A voice that has nothing to say
       "But remember the child
      Who was lost in the forest
      And the angels kept danger away"
         I don't know why
         but I needed to cry
         But my mother said, "Son,
             turn to the light."
   
   I went down to the sidewalk
   where I met a poor beggar
   who said that religion was free
   I was rude in my anger
   I couldn't be bothered
   The beggar was wiser than me
      And he wandered on
      Through the black midnight sun
      shaking his head every way
         And I didn't know why
         But I wanted to cry
         Then my mother said "Son, 
            look to the light."

   The sunken Titanic
   has ghosts to remember
   They walked on the deck in the sun
   but the high waters came
   in a circular storm
   and we fled where the ghosts could not run
      but it wasn't all right
      it was a terrible blight
      and I felt like I could not go on
         And I wanted to cry
         But I didn't know why
         My mother said "Son, 
            walk to the light." 
   
   Alone in my bedroom
   The curtains were brushing
   the wind like a wondrous cape
   A child full of wonder
   I turned to the thunder
   The thunder said "Never be late."
      But the flashing light followed
      I turned very hollow
      I said I won't ever be late
         But I wanted to try
         I couldn't cry
         And my mother said "Son, 
            turn to the light."
   
   The stars and the moonlight
   Threw desperate shadows
   I could not remember the way
   I was desperate for meanings 
   I was lonely for feelings
   I reached but the bird flew away
      But the promise refused
      A common abuse      
      And it wasted away like a nun
         But I knew I would cry
         I did not know why
         and my mother said "Son, 
            turn to the light."
   
   The summer came slowly
   The winter sun melted
   The last of the crystallized snow
   I tried to remember
   a long lost December
   where the family spirit did glow
      But the spark was a cinder
      It was smoke on the water
      The black moon refused to let go
         So my eyes built a tear
         was it grief was it fear
         but my mother said "Son,
            the light is so near." 

   I was lost in the forest
   Was Dante my mentor
   Was Virgil my guide I don't know
   There were terrible screams
   And my mentor said look
   And the horror was a terrible war
      But the mirror was brighter
      And my shade so much lighter
      I just seemed to melt clear away
         But my eyes crystallized
         in a pillar of salt
         and my mother said "Son, 
            turn to the light."
   
   I was frozen in hunger
   a storm tossed asunder
   no harbor of safety in sight
   my ship it was sinking
   no sailor was thinking
   of nothing but saving his life
      And the water was colder
      than anything older
      than what I had wanted to know..
         And I wanted to cry
         I avoided the why
         And my mother just cried 
            "turn to the light."
   
   If you asked me, this song,
   where does it belong,
   It has no beginning or end..
   It's like a great bird
   that spreads its great wings
   and throws a big shadow on earth
      And no one's absolved
      for sins that appalled
      How can God sleep soundly at night
         And I cried all night long
         And I sang my lost song 
         And my mother just sobbed, 
            "turn to the light."
   
   I longed for the mighty
   to help my survival
   but they just all laughed like a dog 
   I stumbled along
   like a lost drunken sailor
   consumed in a terrible fog
      And no one survived
      Not even the wife
      who waited too long for log...
         And I choked on my tears
         It was love It was fear
         And my mother gave up...
            "but the light was so near..."

   A ghost is a monster
   Who wanders the union
   of shadows and light, I am near
   To something not offered
   but taken and proffered
   I bow to the darkness so clear
      And I stood in the damp grass
      And stared at the grave site
      And still had no words for the fear
         And I wanted to cry
         But I could not cry
         And my mother said "Son, 
            Turn to the light."
   
   And I turned to the flame
   Which was very insane
   and I was warm for first time in life
   And the blood on the cross
   suffered a terrible loss
   There was nothing could conquer this strife
      And I stood on the mountain
      And my voice had no echo
      And I was sure that someone would hear
         But I was wrong
         Not a word in my song...    
         Still my mother said "Son, 
            trust in the light."
   
   I awoke in the morning
   The snow it was falling
   There was soft music on the radio
   I stretched to the ceiling
   It wasn't revealing
   I knew that I soon had to go
      And the morning was soft
      Life a pillow...a loft...
      Like a beautiful mermaid at sea
         And I smiled like a child
         Running so wild
         And my mother just laughed, 
            "follow the light."
   
   It was like a religion
   Truth not a fiction
   That guided my steps to the light
   And I followed the source
   Like a brook to the sea
   And it brought me a beautiful sight
      And I understood
      That the future was good
      That the future light brilliant light!
         And I smiled at the sun
         where the battle was won...
         And my mother said, "Son, 
            welcome the light!"
   
   9 Feb 98





   ROMANCE OF THE ROSE
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I was sleeping in the garden
   Where Guilluem did dream
   I saw the shadow of the poet
   my head hurt just too mean
      But I know his great long poem
      I have it as a masterpiece
      But the night before just floored me
      It's a wonder I survived in one piece
   
   Surrounded by high walls
   Covered in deep dark thorns
   Protecting this bright kingdom
   From ravenous storms
      I looked around in wonder
      But could not find the one
      The one who's vision clear last night
      Made my head split like a drum
   
   She was so kind and gentle
   She walked upon the air
   Had her feet touched the ground
   The dust would never stir
      I said "How're you doing"
      She gave me that stare
      As if I were nothing
      But a crass cavalier
   
   I said "But excuse me
   I new here in town."
   "Then please buy a guide book,
   Don't step on my gown."
      Just then there was thunder
      And lightening struck hard
      There's not much to remember
      I awoke in a barn.
   
   I don't know how I got there
   But it was mighty late
   The moon high in Taurus
   I could see through a crack
      In a roof made of sawdust
      The straw was too hard
      It scratched me like burlap
      I swear by the stars
   
   I got up and washed
   In a stream by the trees
   The water was clear
   As he humming of bees
      It was a wonderful morning
      I wandered around
      When I came to this garden  
      Which should never be found
   
   I knew it immediately
   Because I had read
   The very great poem
   That went through my head
      I climbed the thick vines
      Looked over the wall
      And that's when I saw her
      Her beauty enthralled.
   
   I kept very quiet
   I knew if they caught
   me they'd kill me
   Never did like the thought
      But for all my stupid dealings  
      She knew I was there
      She mounted a shadow
      And kissed the sweet air
   
   I needed to speak words
   I had never spoken
   I needed to think thoughts
   that had never woken
      She beckoned me enter
      I climbed down the wall
      Like a child in the grips
      Of a vision enthralled
   
   "You are the same one"
   She said with a sigh
   I bowed like a peasant
   "I do apologize"
      "Never do that"
      She possessed such an aire
      That I fell to my knees
      And tore my gray hairs
   
   She picked up a thorn
   And pricked my pale skin
   She drank of the blood
   She said "It's no sin"
      I was frightened when she turned
      Away with a wrath
      "La belle dame sans merci", I said
      She disappeared down the path
   
   I was hungry and tired
   I ate some green apples
   Sweet as they were
   They weren't that substantial
      I fell into a deep sleep
      I had a vision of hell
      I felt like Piers Plowman
      I now know how he felt
   
   It was a dream without a purpose
   But it was powerful as war
   between the sexes and the culture
   between the soldiers and the law
      And I thought I saw good Marlowe
      The master of the play
      Who wrote of dear old Faustus
      And died in an alley
   
   There was Shakespeare in the tavern
   Laughing like a horse
   Who just won a million dollars
   In a steeple chase of gods
      And Bacon in the corner
      Perfect for the future
      Perfect for the present
      Perfect great back door
   
   But I think I knew that neither
   Were as real as my imagination
   They were hollow caricatures
   They were cut-outs in a station
      And wherever you might travel
      They're in the corner of your mind
      I don't think that you can follow
      What I treasure what you find
   
   I was stranded in some canyon
   In the middle of a desert
   The sun bleached bones to ivory
   My skin was hard as leather
      I was thirsty like a dragon
      knowing I might falter
      Never going back again
      never going back again
   
   It was hollow    
   It was frightening
   It was dirty
   It was lightning
      I didn't know what to say
      Felt like running away
      But the devil will take you
      One day at a time...
   
   I awake in the morning
   Dew on my shoulder
   The trees shivered slightly
   And I felt so warm
      But on the horizon appeared
      A fawn like a spear
      darted away ...
      the distance too near...
   
   I looked at the vista
   Of mountains and valleys
   My head in a fog
   My mind in an alley
      And I didn't really know
      What was happening to me
      Was all this a dream
      Or a sick reality?
   
   It wasn't sylvan fields
   It wasn't pensive shepherds
   It wasn't forest nymphs
   It wasn't paradise
      The stream was just as polluted
      As any downtown street
      And I couldn't tell you why I came
      And whom I should have met
   
   I went back to the garden
   Where a purple rose did grow
   I plucked the rose and left it
   In a field of purple snow
      But the caretaker of the garden
      Was jealous of the act
      And he threatened me with expulsion
      And he threatened me with tact
   
   I said how dare you threaten me
   Your mother was a whore
   He ran to get a dagger
   Made of golden ore
      But the lady interceded
      She wanted no one killed
      At least not in her garden
      It made her somewhat ill
   
   Apologize she said to me
   Apologize or else
   Whatever had come over her
   I thought it somewhat false
      But suddenly the sky fell down
      In a deadly hail
      And the lady ran for cover
      To wrap herself in veils
   
   If there's moral to this story
   It's got to be somewhere else
   For there's nothing here but glory
   of a wound rubbed deep in salt
      I found this place by envy
      I found it in a lurch
      And I knelt down in a prayer
      I could not say in church
   
   I was hungry cold and lonely
   I was burnt out like a corpse
   I was frightened like a cougar
   Hunted in the bourse
      And I wanted just to be home
      On the couch watching TV
      I wished this dream was over
      I wish I were in Greece
   
   But the lady was relentless
   Like the storm I'd just endured
   A beggar came a-crawling
   To the door and asked a cure
      She offered him her bedroom
      And a night of open sex
      I closed my eyes and wondered
      What would happen next
   
   The storm finally abated
   The sun came out in force
   The caretaker with a lantern
   Guided us to shore
      I thanked him for the money
      He stole from me before
      He said you're might welcome
      Don't show your face no more
   
   But it was like I suspected
   This was the river Styx
   I looked around and sure enough
   The lady had a mink
      I tried to help a sailor
      Who thought that he had drowned
      But Lucian gave no answer
      And Dante waxed profound
   
   By the fountain was Lucrecia
   Washing blood away
   With twenty men-boy servants
   She couldn't really stay
      But it didn't really matter
      The rose what I wanted
      And the lady was my failure
      And the lady had me haunted 
   
   We descended so much deeper
   Than we ever were before
   The stench and smoke appalling
   Like a festered open sore
      I asked Paulo and Francesca
      What they did in life
      Paulo said I failed her
      Francesca said "You're right."
   
   Oh what a perfect couple
   Made to match in Hell
   They ran around quite naked
   And jumped into a well
      Dante shed a silent tear
      And Ovid laughed out loud
      I knew what Ovid wanted
      But Francesca was too proud
   
   There was a priest who wanted diamonds
   There was a monk who wanted sex
   There was a nun who wanted promise
   There was a deacon in a dress
      I guess no one objected
      I guess they all forgot
      The first rule of the order
      Which was...tie a knot...
   
   But I'm a diplomatic
   Lutheran of sorts
   But I heard the pope killed Lutherans
   For sport...
      Don't think I believed it
      Always been quite holy...
      But sometimes one must compromise
      Wipe a tear - believe the story...
   
   Oh save me from this glory
   If there's any glory
   Save me from this fall
   From the second story
      For wine's the blood of Jesus
      And bread's his mighty flesh...
      Who would ever think it
      I never could have guessed...       
   
   I was assaulted by religion
   I was assaulted be the Eucharist
   I was assaulted by a pretty priest
   I was assaulted by a god
      And all I wanted was this woman
      Who made me very hot
      Who was I to offer
      What I haven't got?
   
   I was raised by this clear woman
   Who had a vision in her head
   She was like a saint's enclosure
   There was darkness there was death
      There was love that was so mighty
      That no one could survive
      I hated her with a passion
      I loved her with my life
   
   The closer we got to Satan
   The colder it became
   Hell's not fire and brimstone
   Hell's a storm gone lame
      Hell's the clamp of madness
      Hell's the clam of love 
      Hell's a great gas oven
      Hell's an open blouse
   
   Hell's a perfect sweetness
   An angel might impart
   A saint knows how to suffer
   A saint tears out your heart
      I wouldn't want to be one
      It's too difficult to prove
      Just make me a regular barfly
      And I might just tell the truth
   
   But the devil was a frightened
   Animal I found
   Half consumed in slaughter
   Half interred in ground
      And I ventured fire was water
      And I ventured water good
      The devil roared like thunder
      And drank a cup of blood
   
   "I'm mighty and I'm holy"
   He shouted with a punch
   Into the hollow atmosphere
   He stopped to eat his lunch
      That's when we found the corner
      And a cave that lead to light
      The light of great Arcturus
      The light that lead to light
   
   And on the sweet horizon
   We saw a castle waiting
   Waiting for the three of us
   Myself the lady and the knight
      But the knight I've not yet
      Introduced
      He could be Jacques de Moley
      He could be the great Bruce
   
   But the lady was so skeptical
   She could not hide her tears
   She sent a shiver up my spine
   When she called in the arrears
      The she wanted the head of everyman
      She wanted blood and sweat
      She wanted everything I lost
      When love was in my bed
   
   But a long trek was ahead of us
   And the forest was so dark
   There were animals which could never've been
   On Noah's wooden ark
      But be that as it may I guess
      A quest was what we had
      And I'll be damned if God's own devil
      Would rain disaster on my head      
   
   One night we saw an angel
   Another we saw a witch
   In the morning we were ragged
   Looked like water in a ditch
      But it wasn't too long
      That we stood before the walls
      Of a dark decrepit castle
      Deserted in the fall
   
   But the door it opened slowly
   An old beggar let us in
   "Where is everyone I said"
   "In your head" he grinned
      "I don't understand you"
      I said very much annoyed
      "You don't have to"
      And he walked away into the void
   
   "There's something very strange here"
   The knight at arms did say
   "Of curse I'm not an analyst
   It's a subjective thing I say"
      I looked at him and wondered
      What he was about
      But the rose he held bled crimson
      And I felt I shouldn't shout              
   
   We were led into a bedroom
   Dust covered everything
   The sheets were torn asunder
   And the walls were paper thin
      I thought I could hear breathing
      In the other room
      But the old man whistled
      A tune I couldn't stand
   
   A desperate absurdity
   That Artaud would have relished
   Made substance of the poison
   That clung to every trellis
      I didn't want to know this
      I didn't want to care
      The widow was too open
      And the cupboard was too bare
   
   The lady, very frightened
   The knight jack of trades
   Me I just grew steady
   Blowing dust away
      I do not want to say it
      But had a bad bad cough
      Blame it on the weather
      Blame it on the moths       
   
   But I saw a golden army
   Creeping through the night
   Standing like a convoy
   In the dawn just out of sight
      A great big battle coming
      A glorious reprieve
      Do not give me shelter
      A soldier must believe          
   
   Was it Agamemnon in his armor
   Was it Hector with his shield
   Was it pretty boy Achilles
   Was it Helen who appealed
      It was none of those poor devils
      It was a vision half demented
      By a fool who thought tomorrow
      Was a fate that he resented
   
   I couldn't really prove it
   But it had a ring of truth
   The lady was a black rose
   The knight the Don who outlived youth
      It became a simple matter
      Believe or go insane
      I chose my own bereavement
      And sneezed to clear my brain
   
   I woke up in a bedroom
   I hadn't been in before
   A lady dreamt beside me
   I headed for the door
      The morning frost was cold
      The sky so crystal clear
      I was almost tempted
      To go back and sleep some more
   
   But I had a prior appointment
   Be damned I know with whom
   But I thought it best to leave her
   In the cradle of the moon
      So whatever is presented
      By this very frightful song
      Don't linger in a house of cards
      Where you don't belong.
   
   Feb 10 - 13, 1998 
   
   
   
   
   
   LOVERS
   ~~~~~~
   
   All these lovers who offered up their lives
   All these lovers who couldn't get it right
   All these lovers who waded to the shore
   All these lovers who missed the mighty war
      All these lovers who headed for the door
      All these lovers who did not want for more
      Were frozen wax eternal evermore
   
   And no one comes to see them
   No one comes to stare
   Alone these lovers remain
   A failure in their lair
   
   All these lovers who faltered left and right
   All these lovers who wilted in the night
   All these lovers who's roses were decayed
   All these lovers who were forever late
      All these lovers who failed to step inside
      All these lovers who froze before their pride
      Were frozen where they stood that night
   
   And everyone comes to see them
   Everyone comes to state
   Alone these lover remain
   A lesson for the other one's out there
   
   All these lovers who gathered at the door
   All these lovers who failed to see the score
   All these lovers with blackbirds in their pies
   All these lovers drown before they fly
      All these lovers who came the way they went
      On their knees hoping to repent
      Were frozen in the hope no one would lend   
   
   And everyone tries to look away
   No one wants to see the tear
   Frozen in the corner of each eye
   All these lover failed to catch the lie
   
   All these lovers who followed those before
   All these lovers broke the ranks once more
   All these lovers floundering to shore
   All these lovers lost beneath the oar
      All these lovers searching for the light
      All these lovers drowning in their might
      Frozen in the eye of the moonlight 
   
    And everyone tried to run away
    No one wants to see their faces
    Frozen they remain
    Lost within their places...
   
   All these lovers walking down the line
   All these lovers smiling in their prime
   All these lovers ending up alone
   All these lovers searching for a home
      All these lovers frightened in the night
      All these lovers lost within their fright
      All these lovers what a sorrowful sight
   
   And everyone cannot take them whole
   They laugh and sneer and tell their dirty jokes
   But these lovers have something they don't have
   A history of trying where others have just given up...
   
   13 Feb 1998

   
   
   
   
   SOLDIERS
   ~~~~~~~~

   Oh these unknown frightened soldiers
   cowering in the night
   Waited for the battle
   Waited for the fight
 
   And a bright flash quite revealing
   gave them stamina and might
   and they hurled themselves
   with a mighty crash
   'gainst the enemy's great shadow
   the enemy's sharp knife

   Oh the ghost of these poor soldiers
   celebrating death
   knowing that the battle
   gave them such new breath

   And a poison dart was in their heart
   What would they do if the war did start
   Would they follow their own mind 
   would they follow their own heart
   I had no solution...I was lost from the start...

   13 Feb 98





   RAZOR ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   I was waiting by the window
   I was looking at the sky
   I didn't understand it all
   But I didn't ask why
   There was something that was missing
   There was something that was lost
   There was snow upon the avenue
   There was frost upon the frost
       And I don't know why
       But I started to be dizzy
       The ground was like a chasm
       And the input was too busy

   Great visions blew me off the wall
   Like a mirror in retreat
   There were voices I could never hear
   There were animals in heat
   But I didn't want to see a thing
   I wanted to be left alone
   I was waiting for the universe
   To turn into a stone
       And I don't know why
       But the sky came down
       Like a bloodhound howling
       Like a boa crawling

   And the voices argued through the night
   Purposefully circumspect
   Never noticing that others might have
   Different arguments...
   So I called you in the clear black night
   And you answered like a dead machine
   I can't take this call right now...
   Funny, I once thought that I could never be mean...
       And I don't know why
       But the clock struck ten
       And somehow everything turned round
       And you assaulted me again...

   Pricked by roses I still bled
   Still believe that I am human?
   Was I really what you wanted?
   You said you did, why not answer my call?
   I was at this party, you showed up
   It wasn't pretty but I thought
   Leave her to the other, I have my own space
   Whoever freed you had some kind of nerve...
       And I don't know why
       You began to cry
       And I gave you comfort
       And you concocted this great lie...

   But it wasn't that I was uncomfortable
   Brian Adams sang his song
   Bob Dylan came along
   and I was nowhere to be seen
   But the crimson rose just wilted
   And the poison told the truth
   Unlike Tristram no one drank it
   And they all went home confused
       And I don't know why
       There was footprint in the air
       Of something quite ethereal
       You're much too heavy for commitment, dear

   This is not a simple song
   It's vicious and it's quick
   Like a viper creeping up your skin
   And biting you with ease
   And you think of Cleopatra
   How Liza made her famous
   But Liza was a star
       And the sky came down
       I drank too much
       In my bed as one more whore
       A pretty good disease I'm sure

   But then this god came down to earth
   And promised me the moon
   I said sounds like a very fine offer
   But doesn't it belong to someone else instead?
   Of course it does he replicated
   It's a pattern of my life
   That's why I'm successful
   That's why you go after my wife...
       And I saw the flood
       Consume the world
       And I thought, a dove...?
       Why not just a vulture...

   But there is beauty in the animal
   The wait the hunt the kill
   We haven't learned a thing since then
   A million years away
   But as egos go we are all pride
   we think ourselves so pure
   denying that we are of earth
   the sky we want to score...
       But I saw the fall
       Before it came
       Eve's good apple    
       Had a wholesome name...

   But when the game is almost over
   And we have to turn the page
   The ending's not like lollipops
   The ending's more like rage
   Confused and hurt we run and hide
   But find each room is glass
   No walls a million eyes that stare
   And opinions they must pass
       But I saw it all
       And I turned away
       The better things
       Need no other way...

   So tell me where's the party gone
   So many years ago
   I don't think you remember much
   Except what is convenient
   But somehow you survived he fall
   And here we go again
   You say you're lonely and upset
   Yet never ask to change
       And I don't know why
       Sing a shallow lullaby
       Blow a tear into the wind
       And say goodbye

   So there are all these lonely people
   Gathering around 
   the water cooler of the dance floor 
   getting all shook up
   And the window to the alley
   Was steamy as a kitchen
   I don't know what was going on
   But it wasn't eating chicken
       So what do I say now
       How do I conclude
       Dance beside the highway
       Try not to be too rude

   14 - 15 Feb 98





   THE DANCE
   ~~~~~~~~~
   
   It was a slow dance
   It was our best chance
   The scent of flowers in the air
   It was a simple
   Precious moment
   Bathed in moonlight everywhere
   
   You were humming
   To the music
   I was trying to fall down
   Was it funny
   Was it tragic
   Soft the night like eider down
   
   I remember
   How the lights threw
   gentle shadows in your hair
   Strands of shimmer
   like an angel
   I could not find it fairer
   
   And the moon glow
   And Arcturus
   And the lanterns so low
   I'd give anything
   To have you near me
   In this cold empty room
   
   Taking chances
   Braking down fences
   That's what life should be about
   Loosing chances
   Building fences
   That's how we turn it out
   
   It was a slow dance
   It was our best chance
   The scent of flowers in the air
   It was a simple
   Precious moment
   Bathed in moonlight everywhere
   
   Now what have we
   Just a memory
   No not even that
   God it's cold here
   Lost December
   Guess I'll go take a nap...
   
   15 - 16 Feb 98





   THE GATEKEEPER
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
   The night was dark
   And the winds were howling
   Wet leaves from trees
   Swirled around the awning
       Windows rattled
       Flesh did shiver
       I write this song
       With ink and quiver
   
   Candle flickers
   Room's so dark
   That Percy Shelley
   Lost his spark
       And Byron giggled
       When Mary coughed
       Was Frankenstein
       Born in this great frost?
   
   But a lone wolf howled
   And the pair woke up
   The twisted trees 
   Just cracked and cracked
       Oh to have been there
       Among the three
       Passion differs
       When you're free
   
   Who was Shelly with
   Who was Byron
   Was Mary one more tart
   or was she hope for the great oximoron?
       Its a tree that answered
       Its a tree that swayed
       It's a great desertion
       It's the one good game we did not play...
   
   And I thought you knew me
   I thought you cared
   From the books you read to me
   To the present curse...
       Fantasy is one thing
       Reality another
       Place me in your hand
       Be my sister/brother
   
   But whatever consequences
   Of the failure of the game
   There's a gatekeeper at the far end
   Of the storm all the same 
       And he collects the dues regardless
       There's nothing you can do
       Your life is in is hands
       It's his decision to let you through
   
   So just to simplify these matters
   I wouldn't be so quick
   To stand with any judgment
   To offer one more quip
       There more we think we're ready
       The less we know we are
       The gatekeeper looks delighted
       At the far end of the bar
   
   So the storm howls on like thunder
   And the crew can't get no sleep
   With elephant wings flapping
   They won't get no respect
       So let's write one more classic
       Let's pound the pavement bare
       And of the future, well, we'll manage
       But know the keeper's always there...
   
   17 - 18 Feb 98 - 3 am





   CAM GIRLS
   ~~~~~~~~~
   
   I'm looking at these girls
   On these "Bedroom" cams
   Some take off their clothes 
   Some just smile
   Some do much much more
   And walk the extra mile
   And some are kinda cute 
   And you wonder why they do it
   And some are just so ugly
   You'd never think they knew it
   But the ones I like the best
   are the pretty ones who smile
   And say they like the atmosphere
   And say they're just a regular
   Girl that's just like any other
       The kind you can bring home to mother
       Ah the great world of the Internet
   But I know it isn't so
   Behind the scenes they're as wet
   As any of the others
   Why bother watching this
   It's like a private circus
   They pretend that you are there
   But the camera's the tool
   That makes the viewer "fool"
   It's a desperate mistake
   To try and talk to them
   They're the one's who live the life
   Everyone else is just lookin' in
       So leave them where they are
       You'll find a better "star" without the Internet
   
   18 Feb 98





   WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
   The garden of Eden was one more disease
   That God who was perfect created with ease
   And when he was finished he threw the first stone
   To those of his creatures who refused to atone
   
   And Cain and the Abel were brothers in bond
   But one slew the other, what a future to build on
   But God he said nothing just branded the boy
   For future generations to vex and annoy
   
   But I must say one thing, Eve wasn't deterred
   She must have had Cain, The Priest's say "absurd"
   But think of it this way without this incest
   God must have created others which contradicts him at best
   
   I'm not one to belabor but which creation is true
   You know there are two of them Perhaps even three
   If God wrote the Bible, or even dictated a word
   Then he must have had memory lapsed which are pretty absurd
   
   And even of Jesus what can I say about him
   He may have really been a poor king
   But being one with a god, we'll all kings claimed that
   There was even a standard formula that came with the hat
   
   And all through the ages theologians did battle
   Each other and Satan and the forces of evil
   But mostly the evil was their narrow minded attitude
   That killed millions of innocent in the name of the rood
   
   Call me evil, or satan, of whatever you want
   I've opened my eyes and you can stay in the swamp
   I've never intentionally harmed or hurt anyone
   Not like the church in the name of the son
   
   But you won't listen you can't you don't hear
   You're as deaf as Bob Dylan's Masters of War
   But I won't wish you death like he did to them
   But I do hope one day you will realize what you've done
   
   And the what will happen Who knows I'm no prophet
   I just know that war and poverty and hatred
   Will have a better chance of being solved than they will have now
   You're the biggest blight on this planet - how big you'll never know.
   
   18, 21 Feb 97





   SONG THAT SAILED THE SEVEN SEAS
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
   My sweetheart lives in Italy
   Across the wide Atlantic sea
   In a town where Cicero once stood   f       
   Defending Rome from Cataline        c   
   
       She gives me light so I can cope
       Her words are brightness they give me hope
       Her love outshines the brightest stars
       I wish she were here in my arms
       
   She writes me letters every day
   With words so precious all my darkness all my fear
   Just melts away into the spear
   Where for us that distance is not there
   
       She gives me light so I can cope
       Her words are brightness they give me hope
       Her love outshines the brightest stars
       I wish she were here in my arms
   
   I see the full moon in the sky
   And know it is the same moon that we see
   But to her the sunlight brightens 
   When it is still dark for me...
   
       She gives me light so I can cope
       Her words are brightness they give me hope
       Her love outshines the brightest stars
       I wish she were here in my arms
   
   And sometimes late at night I find
   A star we both can call our own
   And this I send her in a note
   And she responds our lives are one"
   
       She gives me light so I can cope
       Her words are brightness they give me hope
       Her love outshines the brightest stars
       I wish she were here in my arms
   
   My sweetheart lives in Italy      
   Across the wide Atlantic sea
   In a town where Cicero once stood
   Defending Rome from Cataline    
   
       She gives me light so I can cope
       Her words are brightness they give me hope
       Her love outshines the brightest stars
       I wish she were here in my arms
   
   21 - 23 Feb 98





   THE WORLD ON A STRING
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
   Voices argue in the night
   The black church bell tolls it's midnight
   The wind howls darker than the storm
   That brews within your mind till morn
   The fever's like a dripping torch
   Inflames the shadows as it scorches
   Memories of past reflection
   Silences the soul's inflection
   Now...
   
   You argue with yourself instead
   Of answering what's in your head
   Reality's as plastic sphere
   Becomes whatever you hold dear
   And nothing you can see you trust
   Even gold turn into rust
   And love is like a shattered glass
   That melts just like the hours pass
   Away...
   
   The moon sits like a silent crow
   A crescent with a ship in tow
   Where purple engines ratify
   The thirst for war and sanctify
   The love that's twisted in the surf
   Where one more death replaces birth
   And with the tide the circle bends
   To where the universe might end
   Alone...
   
   They say that god is everything
   That great conjecture cannot bring
   But I suppose god's greater than
   The bible or the holy books
   That rummage through the desperate minds
   Of holy men too lost to find
   Themselves before the light of truth
   That somehow they had lost in youth
   Again...
   
   I venture they had never sought
   What they thought free could not be bought
   The jewel was in the wooden crown
   And don't look for a fish to drown
   There's knowledge in the empty cup
   And sometime we must drink right up
   But then the soldiers will surround
   The towers of an empty town
   For luck...
   
   Sometimes I am frightened here
   Like sitting on an electric chair
   And the audience is all around
   Staring at the hollowed ground
   Where spit and garbage have accrued
   And no one calls the pick-up crew
   They wonder why no services
   They can't see that they might be it
   Again...
   
   They're failure is a wild rebate
   For poison arrows that came late
   Or some such insane ordinate
   The city council did debate
   It wasn't what they had in mind
   But it was close to supper time
   And someone had to take the lead
   And call the meeting to a head
   Again...
   
   You laugh and have the right to laugh
   But crying would be better caught
   As being of the votive air
   For after all why are we here
   If we cannot be rational
   The flavour of the month is all
   It's written on our tv screens
   And who without it would have mea-
   ning...
   
   I am not here to criticize
   I am not here to open eyes
   I am not here to let you in
   I am not here to play to win
   I am not here to be a friend
   I am not here to understand
   I am not here eulogize
   I am not here to expiate
   My grief...
   
   I am not here like you are here
   You are not here like I am here
   I cannot match you in my fear
   I cannot shed another tear
   Have I failed to understand
   I like any other man
   I try to think I'm human too
   But sometimes I am just a fool
   Again...
   
   Oh What is right and what is wrong
   How can I answer in a song
   My voice croaks like a desperate frog
   Upon a pond encroached in fog
   But isn't that the world we're in
   A lily pond of desperate things
   One more treaty and we've gained
   Another minute for our stains
   Again...
   
   I really don't know what to say
   The moon is fair the sky is gray
   The valley floods and those who stay
   Wonder why the gods don't pray
   But gods don't pray because they know
   The truth of things how they must grow
   And somehow it just isn't fair
   To hide when someone pays their share
   To dream...
   
   But dreaming is like mountain air
   The higher climbed the worse you fare
   There's crumbling of the mountain side
   There's the atmosphere that's rarefied
   And once you cannot breath well then
   You've got to go back down again
   And such is love and such is life
   And such is all that will survive
   In you...
   
   So what's a living soul to do
   I am not superman I am not you
   I'm just a face that's in a crowd
   You pass me by...I'll never doubt
   You didn't see me even once
   Being human take the chance
   Anonymous can be refreshing
   Just ask anyone who's pressing
   Time...
   
   But dump me an an alley where
   I'm quite to rise and take the care
   That's needed for a fallen star
   To glow again that that deep far
   Universe where we all hope
   To be when heaven throws a rope
   And saves us in the final sweep
   I mean...then we don't just repeat
   The round...
   
   You think I think it's all a game
   I guess you're right you'll never tame
   The tiger in my empty tank
   Just look around there's who to thank
   Society or is it me
   Or is it you or is it them
   I don't know how the answer fits
   You might just have to live with it
   For now...                          
   
   Conception is a private thing
   It haunts us like a wedding ring
   A piece of cake is all that's left
   For animosity bereft
   Of all the feeling we collect
   And what we think we must suspect
   I guess we're not so paranoid
   As frightened of the polaroid
   That snaps...
   
   We always want the great control
   That's over us and over all
   Human nature hasn't changed
   In thousands upon thousand ages
   Beasts we were and beasts remain
   Despite our new religious "brain"
   We think we've caught morality
   Diseased in our sobriety
   Again...                    
   
   There's nothing I can say to you
   Perhaps we are just little fools
   Roving ants upon a hill
   Empires we defend at will
   Just because we're "different" here
   But I don't see a "difference" there
   We're all the same we're all just one
   Species with a great weapon
   Yeah...
   
   We accuse each other of the lie
   Where truth becomes the "evil" eye
   And no one wants to say for sure
   What is just beyond that door
   That leads us to the common room
   Where we might have to talk real soon
   I don't think it'll be that bad
   "But look at all the fun we had
   Killing..."                 
   
   Armies rage across the sand
   The battle fries the scorpion
   The beetle does not find its dung
   On burnt out trees dead limbs are hung
   They wave like flags in blowing dust
   What fragments are there left for trust
   It's funny but from space I see
   No borders and no enemy
   To fight...
   
   But blind men see like Homer saw
   And only sighted force the law
   To look the other way and think
   That god skates on their skating rink
   But they just see the rules as game
   Good and bad and loss and gain
   But hindsight isn't common sense
   And foresight isn't recompense
   for war...
   
   It's silly how we argue so
   Like children throwing balls of snow
   One more castle fell today
   I'm the victor you're the prey
   Eagle's stalk the lowly hare
   And men with swords fight on a dare
   While gains food the other crowns
   Of gold and silver just to drown
   The pain...
   
   The pain of being who we are
   Alone against the farthest star
   A universe too great for us
   To comprehend so we must ask
   A million questions that cannot
   Be answered on a TV spot
   And somehow we forget the most
   Important thing of all is hope
   In love...
   
   So listen to my sorry tale
   It doesn't end but it must fail
   Not with a whimper or a cry
   But with a bang I don't know why
   There's something noble in this savage beast
   That walks the earth like a disease
   A greater good that seems to care
   for fools and paupers everywhere
   around...
   
   So maybe when the future nears
   We will disperse our many fears
   And truly fight the war within ourselves
   Instead of others we should help
   But I don't want to moralize
   Too much of that you'll criticize
   But be it plain and be it clear
   The future's ours and we must bear      
   The blame...
   
   Or it comes 'round again...
   
   23 - 25 Feb 98 



   All Song/Poems Copyright (c) 1998 Klaus J. Gerken
   Published by:
   Ygdrasil Press
   Site: http://www.synapse.net/~kgerken
   Email: kgerken@synapse.net
   Newsgroups: alt.centipede
               alt.ygdrasil
               alt.ygdrasil.film
