Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
(1/3)

@themountaingoats.bsky.social
Put the full Bleed Out album on the headphones this morning while trimming a tree. Then the following lines leapt fully formed into my head this afternoon, appropriate for all US-UK relations: "We may run out of bangers; we're never gonna run out of sausages."

(1/2)
When the sword glitters o’er the judge’s head,
And fear has coward churchmen silenced,
Then is the poet’s time; ’tis then he draws,
And single fights forsaken virtue’s cause;

"And if there is any hope for any of us in this giant explosion in which we inhabit then surely that's it: intellect and romance triumph over brute force and cynicism." - Craig Ferguson, 2010

and the days grow longer
the hours and the shadows
and the nameless things gnawing
at the base of the world
in the mind's pit
until the grey and yellow of an afternoon
stretches to every horizon
and evil men parade and march.
get out of town, out of sight:
there's a piece of you they cannot find.

At the back of the neck: unnameable aches.
On the shoulder: that chattering imp.
“In the infinite distance: a silence”

All of these billion invisible threads tied around fingers that every second intone: “Get up off your arse and win.”

@robertwilonsky.bsky.social Another year, another great show.

I really appreciate all you bring to this night and to Dallas. May your Christmas slide easily and happily into a wonderful Hanukkah and New Years!

Untitled (Newport Beach, CA; 2013?)

That old ghost
On the haunt again
Less present than before
But ever just the same
Ever as unsure

A flat straight road
A moon ring in the clouds
And a song to take you to the sea.

from Old Photos That Stop A Soul (2009)

She gave
a quick glance over some old photo
clicked by, recalling that trenchant laugh
tinkling away at what hour it had and is now become;
those innocent hands, folded, set...

Movement (2014?)

There is movement in the corners
whispers from behind
glimpses in the rear view
The window frame shadows a cross on the back of these translucent blinds
and another day moves across my eyes
I maintain myself in little ways
and another day moves

from "Vinegar" (2010)

a moment's panic, then the zen sets in
and everything is stations and rock gardens