Untitled (but
something to do with time and colour).
Aleatory Verse
by
Cheryl Penn
the moments -
they’re all
around us now
incorporeal
pale
residual hours
the core of
a minute
functioning at full capacity
while gun shots blow doors
and the Sent Ones
attempt
to flee.
29 hours door to door
and 10 before that
the mind is unsettled,
tearful
blue-grey.
If I get to the place
where I cannot turn back
please
-
come look for me
bring the Trojan
horse
I’ll need a side kick.
When trucks
pull up
ochre dust rolls
along with the screams.
It was previous to this
The Mad set the code.
(dressed in yellow
on splattered pristine
floors).
she didn’t
know
41 minutes 36 seconds
that THIS
was where it all started.
What are you willing to do
in the end -
is one love all that matters?
lights flickered when he arrived
unexpectedly
a guarantee to fail
it was Thursday
when
we discussed
possible time travel.
I always debated
I wanted to show you
you CAN
go back
to the end of the beginning.
How does it work
No - (rather)
did it work?
everything started
to cool once more
it may have been awkward
but
there are never clean
exits.
You tried to make right
don’t wear guilt (a
night-black cloak)
Back to lock-up
(more intelligence
than effort is worth).
why wasn’t there
room?
The pages bind
us
in one pallid
volume
forever.
I’ll look for you
(I promise)
down the rabbit hole
may
I bring a torch?
I never thanked you
for what you did
pulling me
away from that darkness
reeling
in carmine streets
unsure but aware
even The Smart would scatter.
he called
so loud
and
shrill
but the protagonist
- he wouldn’t answer
he had other fish to fry
besides; the red credits
gave nothing away
except
this was war.
an original series?
Or a pre-recording?
The rules don’t seem to change.
Just little
fading
obscure
messages of senseless comfort.
What am I supposed to be looking at?
I can’t
fix my eyes
such a
great distance
so you’re bringing it here?
carbon dated
grey
soft tissue
fragmented antique
I need stellar past samples
as we barter legacies.
the blow was unexpected
where is
the army?
this is where
you get
screaming shadows
and gyrating blows.
Would
you like to hear
my
initial reports?
91 years of memories
disappeared in a moment
even the distant memory of me.
Everything is forgotten in death
even the debt he owed.
They were friends
once
BUT MAN!!
the despair
we couldn’t watch the rest.
so they’re not with you?
eyes met
to settle
an unexpected outcome
loser
takes all.
this time there was no heartbeat
on the other side
no orange vitals
he was dying
(and)
flickering spiders
continued to weave.
Skip a year
there was no
valid name
do you NEED dark eyes
to identify the citizens
of battleships?
Barbed wire keeps them in -
ignore
warnings at your peril.
why did you choose THIS path
turning your back
on unopened envelopes
you didn’t want to read
numbers on a wall
pages born in affliction
separation by existence
a traveller alone?
did you think you could view peace
eye to eye?
your discontent is your endurance.
Another yellow slip sliding away
opening doors
night trains
(If I knew you I’d remember)
1 second
change
and events are forever not
the same
planted dreams
before questioning
did he really cross the divide?
the walls were pale blue
(unexpectedly)
the panic
button SO RED.
discover the voltage
which generates the past
cadmium power
that turned everything viole(n)t
he couldn’t understand
his own surprise.
the memories grew dim
of things left behind
a future he changed
under the influence
of deluded defiance
the skyline a silent partner
of unresolved investments.
every time we climb these steps
to a green room
(locked)
nursery rhymes
haunt the air
a staged place
three in the mirror
contributing to research
May I?
Statements of platitude
reflected in plans
you wouldn’t concede
difficult paths
you wouldn’t tread
why should you?
Its near proof
of running twisted hair
malevolent fingers
a mother taken
so long ago
softly falling tears
no protection
you CAN be a daughter again.
and The Traitor
he secured our future
we thought was our own.
Back there we couldn’t loose him
we overload and break
again
and again
is this the prediction
the resetting
the
unexpected change?
We had to leave him there
in rooms on fire
after all that
- did we lose?
-
vulnerable to all
I am the clock
Look on my face
yes, I did everything for you
you wanted
and watched and demanded
we succumbed
you
You had NO
control.
That large glass chronometer
a great space
Gothic
and hollow
chandeliers of missed opportunity.
Red stuffed armchairs
I was too slow
light through a closing door
scratched out faces
a petrified corpse
no blue Danube enterprise.
(la-la-la-la-LA-LA-La-la).
He was manipulating the past
to set the present
a call from The Institution
slamming doors
extinguished light
runners set for failure.
there is something
you’re not saying
the cycle must happen
its time to unwind
to repeat and conquer
he was in this from the beginning
a real horror story
set in motion
but those participating
always pretending
always PLAYACTING.
they buy the truth
for cheap
a catapult
a life just like yours
that never ends
they needed
keys
to the game of death
the site of all action
and she?
she never stopped not saying
all the words she meant.
Why cant we just anticipate
the beauty
of an uncertain future?
Destroying
the world to save
one person you love -
is that what matters?
his trip was one way.
And Us?
We
all out of time.
Time flies past
minutes on a airborne clock
will it work out for me?
nothing functions
with only 2 minutes to go.
how much do you want it?
its so close
so close
its fragrance overpowers.
(its
a risk always
I
wouldn’t even touch it
said
Alice
from
inside the Trojan Horse).
