The Geranium Hotel Poems

Fish on the water Scales floating back and forth Grey clouds hanging high White clouds beneath A naked man asleep Drowsy with whiskey Strange sunlight on his calves His chest slowly rising, slowly falling The smell of wild herbs Smoke from the kitchen fire Sex on old blankets Lost on Lake Daff-Dilly Old myths talk of death The women think of birth Some wish they could leave The men pray on boats Trout stumble in their wake Drunk on the water's cold The flies were made by old hands The rod belonged to a dead uncle God I hope there is more whiskey The fire is still going I want you on old blankets Lost on Lake Daff-Dilly

Good Morning A fresh reflection of fog I wouldn't live in the forest forever Only while the Casuarinas sing I thought I knew the drunken friend I thought I knew my childhood self I thought I clung to memory I know I let it go And the voice that comes from the sun Is the same that wished for ice and water The explosions in my ear at night Come from birth, from death I can hear the distorted poetry The law of that which owns me I can claw at these walls I can smoke the energy away Nail the pictures to the wall Step to the rhythm The shy beat of the Romantic Wind Are you living a life you already regret Are you feeding from the tit of muddy water What do you learn from days like today What do you take from the night of the strange dance And you have to try a little harder To feel the cock between my legs And you see me get fatter, you see me fade You see me throw myself on the ground And listen for the penny to follow The line slowly walks past Heads b