Friday, January 17, 2025

blue umbrella

 

there is no loss

only the walking back

to the mountain

(behind the fields)

or to dig

into the depths

translucent

the levels of crystal

from light to light

.

all our affairs

the fracture

of emotion

(the clash

of colours

true)

the image

in the lake

(the possibility

of stillness)

a knowing

beyond movement

.


the ground

of sense

pristine

always

the endeavour

the place

untouched

.

in every heart

refuge




the gift of eyes

seeing and seen

from the days

of bright stone

ruby true

no loss

in the unfolding

of time and space

to the beautiful illusion

now

an eternal

presence

at the heart




Edvard Munch Pt. 2


a picture
of existence?

in colours
bright or dark

forms
bound or free

to hold
the flow of being

a vanity
of gods

or the truth
of stone?

art is denial

beauty

is the scream

                                                                          


she steps into me


she steps
into me

she bows
her head

on my chest

my eyes

to the tangle
of beauty

my lips
to the truth

of touch




the colour the noise the space

laughter echoes in the lobby
of the abandoned hotel
time

joy

with no bearings
apart

lost in a darkness

there is nothing behind the image

the street the desert space

energy
the demiurge

without knowing

the moment from nowhere
entails nothing

no cause
desire

the anguish of need
to the desperate of reason

existence

no name




deep in the west


I choose the pure blue sky

as my point of reference
for now

and wish it
forever

that strangeness in every
man

to want

the end of time

as if
there is a stillness

(we have never seen)

perhaps

the reason
of every act

to fix space

and thought to hold

the world

there is no illusion




the earth
a source

forces define

without
beginning
or end

neither chaos
nor design

animals
live and die

man sees man

in everything




a place in the dirt


as if
possession

of space
is possible

(and against
the thwarting

of time)

we kill
for the illusion

in the name of

desire

necessity?

God




the myth of history


the president walks into the reception
and even he cannot believe
the applause

there is no doubt in this room

decisions made
to continue mass murder

theft of nations

and the champagne flows freer

and all the eyes are diamonds

at first he did not understand

went with the flow

and quietly grieved

not the deaths or destruction
rather the loss of feeling

only now has he mastered this absence

how can you be responsible
for history?

and who is to say

the will of God

any god

will tell you

anything goes

and then

you are gone

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

the state of affairs


the state of affairs
is worse than you think

it always is

behind the imagery
is nothing

and the images?

you cannot make foundation

and any structure

the devil's delight

and if not for illusion

man could not bear

the horror of man




the ground is live


it's the way of men
to kill off

each other /

in a look
a harsh word
a flattery

(and restraint
only a question
of power

tanks rolling in
on scorched earth)

we are not
slaves

of morality
Friedrich

morality is
the stillborn child
of nature

lightning wind and passion




the gift always given


to your eyes
I bring

a definition
undefined

always
a yearning

for what

I do not know




tower of glass


in the tower
of glass

manipulators

preachers

skeletons

in Prada

the only question

on the table

before

the assembly

how to avoid

the truth

and maintain

the illusion

of power


                                                                                                                              

politic for a new day


power

is

assent

(only

this)

say

nay




stock report


a warning to

the designers
manufacturers
suppliers
and retailers

of fear

the market can only hold
so much

stock / expectation

before
a crash

today's tip:

invest in

resolution

close down
unprofitable
outlets

Afghanistan
Iraq

hold back on
expansion

i.e. Lebanon

re-negotiate
franchises

Israel
UK
Colonel Sanders
Uzbekistan
Fox
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
avoid speculation:

Iran
space travel
Syria

democracy

forget futures

in short: divest

withdraw

the liquidators
are coming




the abandoned


I was told
to come here

I said to the little
bald-headed man

in the threadbare
blue serge

three piece suit

behind the old jeweller's
table

in the secret room
of tired wood

and files

his eyes looked up
in owl spectacles

cold black sharp

he said

in a clear precise
voice

the music
of a blackbird

there is insanity
in these walls

the stone is infected

here

you can feel it

the further
you go out
                                                                                                                                                          
into the city

you lose touch

it's the noise

that covers it

(that is the reason
for noise)

beyond

in the vault

there is only

the movement
of silence

in the absence
of light

you see the stars?




anxiety


the god
who comes through
the small door

without form or content
only a crackle

the sound of light

(nothing is changed)

everything is white




reflection


forgive me

for only ever seeing
my desire

my blindness

has ravaged created
destroyed

you were there

at each moment of
madness

recognized
decried

celebrated
denied

(it is the colour of ordinary

the language
of walking past

unseen)

what losses
cannot be calibrated

gains?

the resurrection of the day

and so

to nothing

of course

we live only in delight
                                                            
the display
and testament

the infinite complexity

of a beauty

once touched




the news


it is not

an embarrassment
to the government

when the court
says

it has acted
illegally

if

no one knows

or

few know
but don't

care

it becomes
an issue
for

the ministry
of distraction

information

referred
to

the department
of imagery

truth

an issue
for

the task force
of

comedians




Alcina


mind is

the frame

without a picture
on the wall

paper




text


she is
on the corner

every night

inviting

discourse

negotiating
business

translation

possession

use

the takers come
and go

time does not exist

in delight

and need

no one cares
in the end

where
she came from

or where
she goes to

history
is just her walk

on the pavement

of desire
                                                                                                                                                                                               
knowledge
pleasure

relief

the reach

the quest

the hunger

and to

the final truth

of no illusion

no fulfillment

despite

every embrace

every act
of love

or violence

there is nothing

but anguish

and its laugh

on the empty street

in the darkness

you have seen her

desperate

hands waving
at cars

calling out
to death

to take her

and in the morning
wasted

by the milk bar

unknown

to herself

you come upon her
dying

before your eyes

(and always
the question

where is her heart?)

when you see her
again

she is

the most beautiful
girl

in town

dancing naked

in the bar

you hear

stories of her

and know

they are stories
                                                                                                                                                                                       of stories
of stories

from everywhere
and nowhere

echoes

of a truth

yes

but not possible
to find

in her eyes

ageless




political economy


the trick is

to create the need for
surplus consumption

entice to debt

(the trap is set)


                                                                                                                                  

political economy II


wealth
is

increased production
increased consumption

necessitates

market expansion
requires

aggression

war




tractatus


I.

true action
is

negation of
possibility

I will do this

fixes

the world

sharp

II.

knowledge
is

the shadow

that asserts
itself

as light

III.

(there is no justification)

only what is held

the embrace of thought

the same river twice




at the end


birds flying

out of

the heart

return to

the absence

of knowing




Veda


and thought
just another

animal function

the moon is mind

it reflects

ancient wisdom

straight up

in the beginning
was death

and death becomes

this is the only mantra

we have refused

the earth

its smell and texture

its appearance

to assert

dominance

when did illusion
appear?

and why
this fault line

in reality

how can a tree
not be a tree?

or dirt

seek

foundation?

the stars do not know

no above
no below

the ground is true

and this
to say nothing

the horse

standing in the field

by the road

eternity
                                                                   



jack rabbit


the rabbit
in the suit coat
(too large)
has been forbidden
to visit the evil one
in the cave
(between 12.00 and
5.00 am)
he must get
written permission
to ring

the sick man
watches the rabbit
and thinks
he is a threat
to fantasy land
the sick man
would like to
lock the rabbit up
the rabbit
just wants to
hop about




sketch


within
the framework

we never get
a fix on

delight / anguish

beneath
the surface

we are bound to
as

Prometheus

there is no substance

form
or
content

only the action
of light

point / wave




and so


plain as

(what happens happens)

in the stars

in your

thoughts

there is no

hierarchy

in events

the illusion of knowledge

is the unsure god

the idol

grasped at

becomes

the fact

of separation

distinction

ontology

a theory of difference

we are led astray

in awareness
                                                                             
and its

assertion of

self

                                                                                                                               


we flow

beneath (the surface)
like fishes

above (the earth)
like birds

through (each other)
like spirits

we flow

the world is a hard

bodies /

(legs / arms)

objects

fashioned
everywhere

the furniture
of nature

watching

mountains
fields
streams

animals

passing by

we flow

in another place

that is here

before thought

behind
                                                                           
feeling

is the flowing

that cannot be

held




the blind dog


man

operates
within

justice

is the idea
of

facility

how to be

and do

in relation
to

its basis

is practice

its foundation

(loose)

agreement

there are
no

guarantees

beware

the blind dog


                                                                            

metaphysics


(no state of affairs)

ruthless

the disregard of time

has no meaning

everything in the mix
everything is the mix

prediction

the child of anguish
a vanity of thought

(baseless)

the truth is horror

the only defense

illusion

a question of detachment




Orpheus reflects


the problem
of time

defeats any clear
statement

of who I am

so

words

cannot stand
apart

and this logic

to the heart

I can only think
in terms

of paint

broad strokes

parentheses

sweeping down

pure black

for beauty
style

truth

rainbows
for the world

brackets

are all I have
                                                                                                                                   
and inside

disappearing worlds

I created

as a young god




where we begin
(to the memory of Najib Malfouz)


the first point is

the world is
without definition

(there is nothing
to fight for

or against)

this is the hardest lesson

and it is simply
to see

without speaking

(there was a beginning
before the word)

and so /
to your lover

do not hold

your children

are free to go

and each village
of the heart

or mind

and each continent
of knowledge

or faith

(and its absence)

pictures
                                                                                                                                    
of the unknowable

(we begin with everything

and nothing to be said)




addicted to indulgence


she's
addicted
to

indulgence

he said

of his
alcoholic

girl

indulgence

I think is

coloured
gold

and
magnificent

bountiful
and

abundant

it is a gift

always

sometimes
from

God

it must be

to love

everything

too much

can there be

a lacking

or

reason

to

deny?




ways of being


begin with
how it appears

everything from here
is loss

it's the oneness
you don't

understand

until it leaves
silently

in pain

and then

the anguish
for

explanation

of the absence

of everything

reaching for
the gods

trying to believe

in a hidden
world

revealed in

dust
and bones

as if
                                                                    
an elegant hypothesis
will repair

the damage

of disappearance

so

we go mad
and wear bowties

(at lavish
parties

under chandelier
light)

and learn

the high art
of pretence

the illusion show

of knowing

and knowledge

everyone
is welcome

in the tent

say the elite
panderers

of truths
and trickery

beyond this

a space / time

where someone
quiet
                                                                                                                                  
sculptures in
line

or word
or

bark

on the earth

the sky

in the heart

and lives
in terms

of the depiction

(from the inside
out)

here

at least

the world
is given

form and motion

and the strange
colours

of beauty

and you can
lose yourself

here

in this place
of recollection

(before there was
reason to forget)
                                                                                                                                   



economics


slavery

is the basis
of economic

prosperity

measured
in terms of

g.n.p.

(is not
commonwealth)




democracy


the idea of
rights

without
property

the illusion
of

equity

for the exploited

a cover

for
the wealthy

few


                                                                                                                         

government
(for Roxie and Rendall)


the
language

of
power

is assertion

always

question

always

doubt

the assertion




Song of the Decameron


the issue is
self

and its range

its domain

a matter of
definition

you could
regard yourself

as responsible
for the world

or only as far

as your eyes
can see

ethics

is this decision

the question

where am I?

.

possibility
begins

where reality
ends

we think beyond
the moment

what to bring about?

what to leave
unmade?

therefore

what I should do

a future act

always

an hypothesis

that can never be

put to test


.


a good outcome

that desired

brought to be

and this only
within

the framework
in which

I see




be silent

the syntax
of beauty

is without
sound

the form
in motion

fixed
on a page

a secret
eternity

not to be
said




the leader


the death of the first soldier
was what he dreaded most

after the fact
a new knowledge

like the criminal's
(I am of this elite)

with the difference
of power

and the philosophy
of Pythagoras

(a metaphysical relief)

                                                                                                                              


the old town


pure drink
pure thought

there were days

before light

on the street
of creatures

before

the coming

of the world




the successful politician


is not

what he says
he is

truth is death

who would leave
themselves

that exposed?

the art is

acceptable
illusion

and for this to be

the electorate

need to be
brought into the tent

to conspire with

to be conspired with

so that

the lie

expressed is

the lie shared

everybody knows

the man
on the podium
                               
just

represents




deep blue


the world is not wide
and it is not bright

its colours are pale

torn strips of cloth
flapping in the wind

people
do not look out
rather in

to see
what they are

(not what they could be)

and in this
great ordinariness

laughter and tears

and the going about
of business

leaves
in the autumn
wind

there is nothing
of substance

only joy and sorrow

birds of flight

to the end of days




the world is


it's

an empty
hotel
        room

in
a broken

down

boarding house

where

the residents
are all

drunks
and

crazy women

(the night is endless)

the sound of
smashing

bottles

doors being

kicked
           in

the agonies
of
     sex

or
violence

against
                                                                                                                                    
white
washed

stone walls

you never
see

anyone

in the hallway




I walk in old mysteries


what to say of this

histories / regions of
space / time

selves

(barely known)

right now

I would like to hold
this moment

it would be enough

the one that didn't
fade or

disappear

has already gone

(this impossibility)

and a sadness
of things lost

loves

dead and buried
echoes

from the tomb
of echoes

(I don't understand)

and have been
near

the door of madness
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
a ray of light
as it opened

just slightly from
shut

(the mornings can be
dangerous)

it's just hard dreaming
all the way

the brutality of
daylight

the soft of darkness

my small aspirations

in this infinity

it comes down to
a few rocks rolling

beginning
or end




what I wanted to say is


the senses
are not reliable

what do they touch?

the days
will show you

you must question

and then

whatever it is

is forever lost

your journey starts

at nothing

who can stand
this freedom?

you begin
to make this world

with each step

it collapses
into place

(just like it used
to be)

and bodies

are as real
as they can be

you think you
can reach
                                                                    
from the inside
out

perhaps

it's not that clear

the question of
touch

or more seriously
grasp

what




last man standing


so

countries are invaded
people killed

governments
come and go

crimes fade
from the screen

to be lost

in the argument
of history

only in the blood

of a madman

will there be

the knowledge

held




syllogism


p.1

the dictator takes power
rules with the illusion
of control

(his measure is the misery
of his subjects)

p.2

the democrat buys elected
office

(only effective if
image and knowledge
are controlled)

he is a beggar
at the kingmaker's table

citizens are buffeted
by the instability

____

outside of government
man is free

bitterness the way of power




USA today


Bush

I suspect

has come
to believe

out of fear

what

he is told

to say

.

the ideologues
behind the scene

peddlers

buy and sell
image

contracts

countries

lives

(all in a day's work)

.

Condi

knows

she can succeed

and it is
                                                                                                                                                                                             
the reason

why

anything
she wears

fits

(white shoes)

.

the people
are traumatized

by the failure
of the myth

God

and

country




the way of it


it's
a space
this place
called
mind
or
nature
(human)

and within it
possibility

fixed

a fluidity
within bounds

depth
unfathomable

the reason
for journeys

into

an infinity
of roads

out from
(the centre)

for all this
magnificence

(the story
the reason
the being

of art)

the ever constants

of the animal
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
never
permanent

always

a roll of the dice
hollow

and finally

predictable
as death

the ancients

saw with world-weary
eyes

recurrence




today


I return
to the listlessness

of everything

it's the day
this Summer day
in Spring

when a child
in the school yard

sitting invisible
in long grass

only the grass
and the heat

and the play

I was apart

and languid

the summer breeze
through the grass

Australian heat
and dirt

as a young man
on campus

the endless days

the space
of youth

you can step
out

of the world
                                                                                                                                                       
and still be

centre

dreaming flows
out

and is life

you are

the dreaming

I have only
the memory

of this truth

it is not

in these bones
now

I am someone
who would not
be

recognized

by those

eyes

that person

was killed
repeatedly

until

the sky fell
away

today

I am old

and somewhat
more

attached
to the rails

just this summer
breeze

swept through

and found

lost worlds

before I knew




a meditation on the occasion of Dick Power's death


the spirit gone
the door shut

(the world loses
a dimension)

only the outside
the body
              remains

at the mercy
of the world

to become
indefinable

or as Dick would have said

'fuckin' beautiful!'




and so
for death

an end
to thought

within

a frame
of reference




architecture or madness as the key to delight


it's always a question of style

conflict is the failure

to discover a unifying idea

that sits well in the dirt

it's not a question of truth

rather invention

the satisfying illusion

that holds up the sky

or

just simply the decision

to work on the one piece

forever




no true south


this house is in a place the place is real how it is described depends on where you are
perspective what can be said is what is seen beyond its showing the world is based on
nothing so you are what you appear to be the possibilities are endless there is no
definite description

(the illusion is real)

                                                                                                                     


the free heart


reason is
the flow of blood

reason for reason

the making of crystal
spheres

a game of need
and fancy

at the centre
of each thought

each act

the space eternal

(you can dispense
with explanation)




art

forget what is created it is dead in its realization (the fix of form) it is the breath before the death the escape of spirit

in the cage of necessity




for Jude


it's really

the panorama of colour
the wavelengths
of light

moving in and out

the sensual dance
in every act

(a sea of beauty)

the exotic sound
of each movement

the true singing
of no form

(creation's endless
cacophony)

in each and every
spoken word

thought

its shape speed direction

the sculpture
of nothing

with terrifying
precision

angels weep

the beauty of crystal
dreaming

never to be again

(the world disappears)                                                                            

time is still
space falls apart

only the heart


       

and always

the dialectic
of appearance

and what is
beneath -

we have
no clear

fix

on the inside

of the shape
of consciousness

and so

the reach
for definition

to a presentation
that fits

expectation

in the eyes
of others

(who have
no idea

where

to place
themselves

if the truth
be known)

any action

or

way of being

is equal to

any other

on any day

it's just

a question
of numbers

and who can

or does

create

the illusion
of

authority



                        
space


the endless breath

before knowledge

time

the rich quality

of melody

.

the closing in

is the death
of beauty free

as a season goes

(never to return)

in its place

dry intelligence

and sharp vision

knowing how
it works

the liberation
from dreaming

and the loss

contraction

to the details
of being

                                                                                                                                   


Ian Rilen


he faced and felt the terror
of this existence

he embraced and loved anyone
who came to his eyes

his spirit was free

and when he rattled his chains
the world was rocked

who could forget that smile?


                                                                  

epistemology and war


each act
demands explanation

where we run
the risk

is explaining the explanation

and the further out

explanation of explanation
of

the point is
Ockham's

originally

you see

each net
does not just
enclose

it creates
realities

and the question
becomes

what
is being accounted for

and all this
before

action

though never
is it

this neat:

thought then action

my point is

explanation
can lead to

blindness

I favour

limiting

the domain
of account

and simply
operating

as close to

the bare facts
as possible

what's in your face

you might say

(avoid the trap
of ideology)

calling a spade
a spade

no guarantee
of success

or truth

just less
of a mess

to gather in

win or lose

                                                                                                                                                                                      


the other                                                                             


you see
each one is a god

intelligence is

bright
primitive

electricity

never
underestimate

the power
of another

to create or
destroy

(everything)

consciousness

has no
natural

predator




the spirit
needs

the sound

the unheard
music

of

word

the rhythm

of

syntax

beneath

all language

the erotic
dance

of

poetry

in

the flowing
robes

of river

and

sky




here's the thing


I could
give you
an account

a statement
of myself

and it
would be
something

to run with

even so

doubtful
at best

(as if
the speaker
has sole
possession
of the words

spoken)

you would need
the propositions

the stories
of others

to approach
something like

a complete
picture

and these
perspectives

(let us say)
true
enough

at time
and place

but what
is this

to say?

even heartfelt
there is no

necessity

every thing
everyone

only
a possibility
of time

so

for practical
purposes

we create
and enforce

paradigms

of thought
knowledge

vision

OK

but the mind is
fluid

and it cannot
be still

you see
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
we always
escape

and definition

just the need
for reference

it is knowledge

that is at
question

motion is motion
regardless

of frame

rest is rest

even

without
an absolute

I was going
to say

keep an open mind

on yourself




the argument from grace


consciousness
invents

the substratum
is knowledge

the only
foundation

to the absence
of

pure
experience

is nothing

it is
the centre

out of which

mind
makes

the world

is thus

once created
the source
of creation

(the hypothesis
that was never
put

once embraced)

so

on Tuesday
                                                                                                                                                                                                             
I will make
pancakes

and invite
Sarah and Nola

to tea with Jude

in the dark room
of joy and sorrow

at the old house
in the trees

where it is
always

autumn and dusk

(beauty

is any

equation)




people

are quite
entrenched

engaged
en route

to the imaginary
of goal

reason is
just everything

drawn
into

the centre
of being

alive

(however
this is

dark or
without

the knowledge
of parameters)

every history

a serious
narrative

of the heart

you can
choose to pray

or go

few
attempt
escape
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
so
strange

to be
an animal

that thinks
about

thought

(we fashioned
God

from this

and separated
him

out

of the picture

as if
the burden

too much
to bear)

so

we return
to the minutiae

of seeing
what is seen

within

and speaking out
as if

another knows

the great illusion
of language

(we cannot
decipher)

and yet

just this
endeavour

our briefness
is

the measure
of

(it runs on
like
a gold
chain
down
into
nothing)

and then

you discover
yourself

on the street
of delight

(as if you never
left)

between

the fit up
of history

and the openness
beyond

still the miracle
ever present

yet always
gone
                                                                                                                                   



Hicks and me


it's become
a question

of my art

and so
of me

that I cannot
approach

in words

the detention
of David Hicks

how to
begin?

what to say?

every image
unworthy

any statement
hollow

too real
for tricks

of the trade

perhaps
there are

subjects

too close

for the vanity
of verse

and is this one?
                                                                                                                                 
it should not be

rather
I think

reason for

the great poem
that makes

a difference

everything
Plato feared

should come now

in blood
and sweat

and I have

(but for this
apology)

gone dumb

perhaps
I am

closer to

the gaoler

than the man
detained?

you see
I cannot

imagine

for
David Hicks

and of
                                                                                                                                  
the sickness

that led
to this

the great silence
across the nation

why?

how?

I think

they slipped it in
on the assumption

'he must have done
something'

and

as a reason
for

the great atrocity
that was

to come

and

somewhere
between

the cricket

and

the footy

just when

everyone
needed
                                                                                                                                 
a focus

for their
miserable

self-centered

pain




nobody
knows

why it is
or what

the space
of mind

tries
to explain

itself

and then the world

(it begins
every moment)

God

is thinking
top

down

and hey
why not?

start there
or go

south

inside
vision

beyond
flesh and blood

or ground
and stone

to

physics town
                                                                                                                                                               
bright lights
big city

a different
way to hide

or

you can find
in this

here

or that attempt
to make

create

(be your own)
until

the taste
of too much

alcohol
or saltpetre

or the sun

in your eyes
and heart

slide
into another
life

time has passed
in your bones

what can you recall?

and how
would you test
                                                                                                                                   
if anything
happened at all?

well a memory
is what?

I don't know

I just believe

like grasping
the sea

getting your story
straight

is never
right

where is the place
of rest?

as if

I don't think

therefore
I am

still

                                                                                                                               


the light is hard
out here

the ground
a thousand kisses

the horses
are gods

in the fields

the fields
wait for dancers

the sky
is belief

in colour




to be ruthless
for

the present

is

to love
what you

are

and to be
true

to the world

as is

what you were
what I was

yesterday

or

in another
life

and time

is only

the reason
for now

it is not

a place
we can meet

nor should it
be

the indulgence

of the failure

to face

the unknown

in each other's
eyes




best

to grow flowers

in the old
garden

and to let it
go wild

you must
keep moving

or the weight
of possible

worlds

is too much

to bear




beneath
the apparent

the force
of sinew

and muscle

in skeleton
vital

the spirit

a disparateness

endless
seeking

definition

is the colour

the taste

the scent

of anguish




The Gatwick


corridors

dark paths
of passion

burnt out

the white haired
ghosts

in the lobby

laughing

worlds off
to each side

spaces for minds
to roam

unattached

the keeper is

an old lady
who drinks

in the crucifix
room

Hitler drunk
crawling up
the steps

bottle in hand

and God
a sprightly septuagenarian

black Homburg

bright eyes
                 
portmanteau

rings the bell



we do
what we do

it is all just
action and reaction

right
and wrong

a conception
only

of the moment

to disappear
with all vanities

in the flow
of time

and you think
you have

reason

to create
or take

another life?




mindtraps


just straight up
you and the world

it's not like you
are loved

the lake is crystal
and cold

to the heart

a beauty of wilderness

or

you are fighting
your way out
of

a nightmare
there is no end
to the corridors and the dog
knows

each turn

there are indeed
questions of safety

and nourishment

no greater than
the way of insects

and birds of flight

no threat
at all from the inside

(never forget this)

and others come
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
with their stories

of what is behind the hill and behind the sky

what is behind

your eyes

worlds come into
existence

when the stranger
appears

the imposture of notions

is the real business of the money
changers

the facade of armies

is the secret work of all
cartoonists

and you are educated

to know
the real horror is

that you do not

know

(couldn't be neater

the real hard slog
pays off

the magicians
of the world bank

mandarins

in that lobby in Geneva

smiles
tea and devastation

all around)

so the great rush to belief
like it's always Saturday night

'you must believe in something
of course'

the art of enslavement

is a simple argument
based on ignorance

you really don't need
the whole box

and dice

everything follows

QED

and so
marked with the pox

we cleanse
in battle

and degradation

as if to
prove



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
manifest


so

the space
of consciousness

is the world
in awareness

( )

the idea
of the outside

is hard
to the touch

a spectrum
of colour

the anarchy
(a beautiful)

of sound

and scent

another mathematics
of desire

mind
touches only
mind

and this a secret

hidden
in eyes

a plane of being
(delight)

above the games
of knowledge




the action of daylight

the diversion
of science

necessary
to safeguard

the sacred

clarity
defying language

before
all vanity

the world is open

) (

I am mad

                                                                                                                                 


demolition
and

reconstruction

is the logic

of God

trapped in

mindless
repetition




he said
to the young bloke

it's a dangerous way
to be

to throw off
the material world

possessions
and things

the physical world

holds you together

your spirit
cannot be compromised

by your body

your mind
is just

its idea

do not deny
or separate out

embrace

your essence
is the unity

of all

things
                                                                                             



the point of history is

the recollection of
possible worlds

(how you configured
the sun

and the moon
in phases)

the constructions
of thinking

that made for strength
and joy

(days of delight)

know

you are beyond
the facts

a panorama
of colours fading

nothing into nothing

(and for no reason)

the centre
eternal

time and space
endless descriptions

of

matter and mind

textures
covers for                                                                           

the great absence

(is beauty)


                                                                                                                                                        

delight


is/
the street of
angels

hearts flying
to eyes

eyes to stone
eyes to sky

night falls
black

and we are
skeletons

bright




the secret art


when mortality
descends

like
a clear-eyed day

say yea

and be as still

as a peerless lake

or if the fact

a chill
to the spirit

a crippling
of the heart

seek
the timeless

in thought
and sense

immersion
in the moment

is

the secret art




Molly the cat chases birds
I write philosophy

 x = x




road song


worlds
shut down

but you keep going

on the meta highway

there is no stopping

this space here
is always true

and time
a translucent shadow

disappearing back
to nothing

you have no idea of

the reason for

towns passing by

the landscape

pictures
painted on
pictures

a perfect cover for

the eternal heart




meta survey


the surface is hard
ground / light

inside / (beneath)

the world is mind

the knowing
cannot be seen / touched

there is no geography

only
rest or motion

the body

reflected




the word is


you can't occupy

a country
a heart
a space

there is no fixture

only simultaneity

and this really

a question of
perspective

an ideal positing
of place

a pretty idea

necessary
and false

the days should
be tempered

with whiskey

the nights
with prayer

words
are the game

we are trapped in

laughter
the only escape

suffering
pins us

to the ground
                                                                                                                                 
protect
the senses

discipline
the heart

there is only one
direction




9/11


during the attack
he sat

in a school room

an aide
came and told him

mr. president

the country is under attack

he sat

why no response

no movement
no act?

perhaps
he knew

before the fact?




the one-legged Brahman


is without abode
or foundation

the true position
is no position

or any position

what you sense
what you think

what you feel

any point
becomes the point

becomes
the way of seeing

therefore

the world

is without
foundation

and space

the ground
of possibility

atman
                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                           

a thought:

the outside world
of physics

the surface

is given in consciousness
as determined

the inner life

is without fixed points
of reference

so

we are never sure

how close to get

to the other

or indeed
what this means

for some the insecurity
of intimacy

with all its doubt
and impossibility

is resolved

by denial

and the simple
focus

on what appears

(at times we must all
retreat to the world)

for the passionate
                                                                           
the only strategy is art

what you create
with another

out of the madness
of love

even so

if you step back
in your thought

(and this move
is always made)

you see

the first truth:

there is no way of it

we never know

how to proceed

and so

I would say

in the end

(for me)

beauty

is the only ever
reason

to go on                                                                            




the elegant stance

is no position

the point
of no perspective

it is the grace
and dignity

of nature
without man

or the street
sculpture

without meaning

                                                                                           
                                                                                        

between
the given of now

in all its colour
and shape

and the totality

the blank reference

the end of thought

the spirit
contorts

for equanimity

and so
the anguish
of eyes

and limbs

the accident of joy

the quiet terror
of continuance

(the impossibility
of knowing)




the back room boys


know

there is no
foundation

to idea

of how
to be

and so

they direct
focus to

for and against

a constant
dialectic

they think

avoids
the truth

of defeat

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             


you move
from the centre

and see the world
thus

others
see you as

a presence

of and in

the surface
of dust




lives lived

in utterness

brightness
at the heart

of stone

spirits
schooled

in the mythology

of sky




behind the hard
physic

of face and body

the absence

a desperate sketching
of line

on line / in line

no figure still

no picture true

energy
as
energy

seeking itself

consciousness

the madness of God

inside

the mask

of the world




shop girl


from a leather chair

(motion)

on diamond tiles
reflects

just like the mind

the shadow world
(underground)

in China
it is the same

but upside down

(from where you are)

a dead girl sits
in a shop window

still as alabaster

(in evening wear)

hands on her knees

eternity
will corrupt

and decompose

eventually

we will have nowhere
to go

(at the end of time)

children running
in delight

                                                                                                                                  


from a cottage by the sea Pablo Neruda looks out


it is
the final
act

that determines
the value

of all
that comes
before

the last act
is always

a cutting off

avoid the end
of things

and if you are
to suffer

a killing
of the heart

know
thereafter

you will only
ever see

white




the mind runs time
like a strict pimp

the realities are all
there

after appearing
the fact is eternal

just beneath
the surface

in the spin-off
worlds

(and without perturbation)

the movement
is inexorable

as complete
and vital

as a symphony

and just as embracing

as if there is
no outside

the idea is full
of reality

(there is only one)

potent / as the external
dimension

you move through
so artlessly

you might think
a sketch to be filled in

(if schooled too long
in Kant)
                                                                             
there is no masterpiece
to be made

it is all just ordinary

pale colourings
worn patterns

safe tracks

and here

the trick of the gods:
no mystery

(pimp and whore
how's that for the big
surprise)

the black beetle
devours everything

and the morning rain
brings to life

the old street

(before you know it)                            




and to the anguish
of the dead

still walking

in body suits
by Armani

and the wealth
of nations

at their fingertips

(this is the eternity)

denied to the young

and hidden from
the beautiful

(the only resolution
is to eat dirt

and go insane)

the inexorable

becomes the only
comfort

left for the mind

and the heart beats

like a lost
timepiece

                                                                                                    


it is what it is

beyond
word or
sign

the ground
of being

(the ineffable)

every form
of flesh

and blood
dirt and stone

and points
of consciousness

inside

the colours
motions

and depths
of the heart

before
cause and effect

the logic
of demiurge

the simplicity
of eyes

laughing

the utterness
of earth

to the clear vision
of sky

true




we  are without pity
and without grace

all interaction
the mathematics of emotion

x and -x

                                                                                                                             


spiritual strength

against the vicissitudes
of  life

is not a question
of reserve

there is no defence
to ordinary horror

at best we can seek
a perspective

that takes
the evil act

or an unwelcome act
of nature

from the centre
of focus

and places it

within an eternity
of unaccountable events

there is no consolation
to be found

in the totality

only an end
to the question

why




the embrace
is permanent

though
the shadows
walk away

to brightness

only the change
of frame

is left

in the glare
of daylight

the hard fracture

the iron punch stamp
of space / time

repeats
repeats

(mindless)

brutality

is deafening

and so the colours
of the world

and its motion
in planets

wind

eyes

and limb

                                                                          


flying


there is no fixture
to the heart

(so the joy and tragedy
of the young)

and thought

time cuts to pieces

as if there is a place
and date

even so

you can step back
with a breath

beyond
the illusion of
particularity

(the world divided
thus)

and watch

at the interface of

reflection
and reflected

there is no definition
no self

only light

the point
at the centre

of the flow
                                                                                     


                                                                                                                                                                                 
Islanders


Islanders
have no memory

the myth is present

and on the edge
of deserts

you find disbelief

and the making of
realities

out of the placing
of stone

here the girls are flying

boys make art
with pieces of blue sky

groups of men
and women

have no identity

outside of

the game of
making games

beyond the cities

there are only
fields of grass alive

this is the fringe
holding against

the dust storms
of unknown

gods
                                                                                                                                   



Afghanistan


is a space

that cannot be
conquered

it's people

strong and gentle

defy
intrusion

it is a place

of

ancient culture
ancient stone

it is the graveyard

of history's fools




in these days

the light is thinner

hearts
are not hidden

(the appearance is true)

there is a loss
of depth

as if it never was

behind things

(and in any case
what is darkness?)

so

we face
just what we face

and this
the real terror
of being

the gods
have left us

to the surface

without account

or a place
for dreaming

old books
hold the history

of the lost art
of searching

the fashion of the day
is all that remains
                                                                                                                                   
the sacred
has become

the poetry
of presentation


              

we move in description


it is always an argument
you make

to yourself

and all others / make
of you

the question of truth
to stone

can never be settled

never known

(it is only the reason
for focus)

in the moving frames / figures
made of soul

line and light

conscious things

burn
bright

                                                                                                               


a way of seeing when the world takes or when it is just so


there is a peace

in the order
behind consciousness

or in fact
nothing

that consciousness
can recognize

in itself

the solution
is outside our vision

we can know
that

not what




election day 2007


when emotion
seeks its death

in the appearance
of decision

in a life
or the lives

of all who reach

in unfathomable
desperation

on a Saturday
morning

to make a mark




the flow defies

ground
is a given of
biology

(and never still)

reflected in
the prism

of thought

(the colours
of the world)

awareness

a fact of
the animal

a fact of
the dirt

complexity

is only in
reflection

as simple as

the stars in a lake

or

a lake in the stars




the end of any act
is no more than

a decision
(silver bright)

to change focus

(for in the absence
of mind

there is but
one event

without distinction)




the world is true

perception specific

and conception
without ground

or on any ground

we can say

what is excluded

is the full
picture                                                                                                                                  




to the members of the next parliament


if you know the truth
tell the truth

if you don't know
the truth

say you don't know

to assume that you can

with rhetoric
or deceit

or straight-out falsification

serve

some higher goal

some greater
good

is simply

to fail
to connect

with reality

all very well

for artists

stage players

and myth makers

fatal

to lawmakers

and representatives
of the people
                                                                                                                                  



things


the material world
is

for consciousness

a metaphor

of form
and content

shape and substance

in the eyes
of indeterminacy

the acquisition
and possession

of things

is a constant
assertion of

and promise of

the denial of

an inner emptiness

and a lack of
definition




the heart is empty


the heart is empty
but for the play of
light or shadow

decisions

to hold darkness

(this the history of
substance)

necessary for
to know the light
and so

the making of forms
each distinguishable

by its blackness

the weight
the depth
the expanse

the degree

we make ourselves
in terms of the colours
given by other hearts

the white hair of love

and blue eyes of
affirmation

just passing on a street

or the invisible hand
of denial

is no colour

or
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
an unkindness
you can never
be rid

the taste of

here is definition

(and it is the work of a life

above and under
the sea

blind or clear
sighted)

rest / is chosen

a mathematical calculation

the invention of a
platform

(imaginations
cover for

the great absence)

metaphysics
for a briefness

that moment
you stop thinking

true joy

even so

you come to know

beneath the panorama of

the great and endless
light show

there is no source

just a plane of glass

that holds no

reflection

still




madness


is every man's choice
(the decision to be

and maintain
against)

it is the history of all detail
and the peculiarity
of each list

sanity a blank slate
a theoretical template

(it is the collapse
into space)

you can protect
yourself

with reason and passion

tools for
the defence

of beauty




and so


there is no explanation
of anything

what would it look like?

a sky behind
the sky?

and for what?

we must describe
true

and each picture
drawn

is made to represent

not because it does

but because it must

the activity of being

is its own reason

this the hardest truth

of all




the picture is always
complete

each moment
fecund

there is a peace
(in the absence
of mind)

emotion
is more than just
action or its
cause

the world painted
invisible

in constant
drama

of depth and reach

(the infinities
of each heart)

unknown to the trees
birds or sky

there is a madness

not seen by stars

or felt in the sea

played out to

nothing

as if the world

transfixed




in those days
when the years were fenced
quarter acre blocks

and there were no cars
on dirt roads

only the old tree
stood for everything
past

and the beauty of time

in the sandy-haired boy

the light was the light
of the sun

here is the beginning
of awareness

only in knowledge

the question of opposites

the horror / delight
begins

out of need
and reason

the chaos of art




awareness


we live always
in context

to think outside of all
practicalities

is to despair
or imagine God

the question of joy
or suffering

a matter of mood
and the subtlety of
chemistry

/ and here even the stars
might say

so

clarity is sharp focus
and being

determined in the moment

here is precision

and the absence
of doubt

the trick is

denial / what to
exclude




the melody / and dance
is logic

the utterness in display

the eternity (mind space)
of a plant (or anything)
that grows

and returns

as if the point
just to reach up
and out

the display / the showing

the vanity of being

in the discreet
movements

of the self-aware

forms

we make out of
dirt and rock

monuments to thought

nothingness
reflected

and the words
and the rivers

flow



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
in war

the focus is the mistake

the ground is always
undefined

it is an unknown history

(you may have
some reports)

the first task
is to determine

the target

and in so doing
the outcome

the question is always

can you get at the heart?

where there are
fortifications

avoid direct attack

best to infiltrate
as an admirer

of the battlements

do not offer gold

it is the first sign
of deceit

only truth can open
the door

it is the great seducer

the enemy's eyes
always seek beyond

the presentation

you gain advantage
by appearing

to not know
how to conceal

a weakness

the making of the false
objective

is the end game

the origin of attack
needs always to be

unknown
to the victim

the act itself
is irrelevant

victory is a decision

its mark is

silence



 
indeed

the earth the sky
give structure

the heart knows
no place or way
of being

we seek the centre
of everything

every act

we look for it
as if behind the eyes
of another

or seek it as
the principle underlying
any design

in nature

we make ideal pictures
of what appears

and try to account for
this knowing

here is the end point

we cannot
be otherwise

the answer
and the question

just is

what we
do.




the senses delight

(the surface of the world)

pure apprehension
is blindness

you can go to the edge
of particularity

to touch the essence
is to hold no thing

in the great emptiness
of awareness

the desert of pure
light

the agony of possibility

(we are all seafarers)
seeking the great loss

of burden

the physics of this world

the mind
too deep inside

motion

pure and soundless




and so

every act
at every moment

for what?

energy spent

in the sound
of tears

the colour
of laughter

there were
days of nothing
even

when the outside
appeared

just the same
only paler

the possibilities
of description
of art

are quite endless

once you walk
through

the phenomenal

the question
remains

and this world
and its figments

flesh and blood
my friend

I say

but something more
yes

(or less)

there were gods
in there too

behind

the eyes
and limbs
and thighs

ideas
that resist

the forces
the passions

always

we were seeking

beyond appearance

(at the end
of body)

the point
of contact

a purity
of thought

was this it?

I say the question
is open

as if
                                                                            
this is a place
to stand

(an observation
deck

to view
the mountain)

on those good days

we can all be
Descartes

and ask

what has happened
to

the ones who walked
away

out of this gaze

back through
to the given

to live

as unknowns

in peace and
humility?

there is a horror
in this

the absence
is eternal

and I

the structures I made
to just pass by

too late for essence

only
becoming

is left

and so

you get lost

in the wilderness
of your own

making

as if this is an answer

in desperation

I beseech

the sky



(c) greg. t. charlton. 2008. 2025.
all rights reserved. killer press.

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