Red River

He came at me from nowhere
In a mirror or a dream
Purpose etched upon his face
Summing up the scene

On his chest a patterned tabard
Scabard on his back
Unsheath the cold and flashing steel
And enter the attack

Feel the seconds turn to minutes
The swordsman's blade draws near
A ritual begins
That preys upon your primal fears

There's no time to run for cover
From this stark visitation
As the senses quicken
Into damage limitation

All motion ceased
Still the clouds fly forward
To another world

The heart released
Pounding onward
Tributaries unfurled

A meeting pre-ordained
Or a chance kink in the curve?
The red river flows
The red river flows

Suspended on a ledge
Spectacles unfolding
The red river flows
The red river flows

Coughing up the numbers
It's all sevens in the end
The red river flows
The red river flows

Divine with introspection
A cut without convention
The red river
Stops
 

Endless Silence

The bridge was closed to traffic
We slowed down and paused the ride
Curious the twinkling lights
Down by the waterside

We set out to investigate
Were welcomed with a smile
Invited to kick off our shoes
And bade to rest awhile

Cannot swim across the water
The gap, it's far too wide
Will not leave this place forever
Once the silence is inside

A hotel for the meaningless
Driftwood of the age
Too many here to contemplate
Too many to be saved

So one by one the lights go dim
As lives are swept aside
A last, imploring flicker
Given nowhere to abide

Cannot swim across the water
The gap, it's far too wide
Will not leave this place forever
Once the silence is inside

We plead for our deliverance
As time and life decay
While those who know what's best for us
Refuse to save the day

 

Distortion Field

Staring through the door
Distorted panes
Hungry still for more
What hope remains?

Trigger sensor switch
On dormant veins
Beckoning, exhorting you:
Pick up... pick up the reins!

But fear patrols each corner
Each unexpected turn
When rays shine out refracted
Turn in and softly burn

Caught in a piercing focus
Magnified by the glass
Spin in and out the spiral
Kaleidoscopic mask

Swimming for the shore
How near it seems
Waves are twisting now
In fractured beams

Eyes on the far horizon
Along the mazy road
Calculate the angles
Measure the load

Bend the looking glass
Deflect the light
Pinch point to nothing
Shut out the night

How do we see?
What do we re-cog-nise?
Imagery
Selling us truth and lies

Where will we be
If we step through the blind
Territory
Is only a piece of mind
Only with peace of mind
Only a piece of mind
Only with peace of mind

False - gods - break - down
Shi - mmer - then - drown
Co - lour - and - sound
Bend - light - a - round

You are now leaving the Distortion Field
 

A Lonely Idea

A lonely idea
Left outside to wander on its own

Everything is in its place
And every place will have its thing
The outside world a window pane
And TV screens a-flickering

Lying just below the surface
Oscillating to and fro
A maelstrom of activity
The real deal show

A lonely idea
Left outside to wander on its own
Despair and fear
Left inside to ponder all alone

A quivered voice, no choice at all
The devil and the deep blue sea
Hung out to dry, decay and fall
Debilitating atrophy

While deep inside the longing surges
Just to hit the levee rocks
An all-consuming frailty
So petrified of further shocks

A lonely idea
Left outside to wander on its own
Despair and fear
Left inside to ponder all alone

 

Chronologic

There's a dullness today
Taking me far away
Playing with my bones
Only to deposit me home

And the hands on the wall
Paint so many pictures
Of faces I can't see
Lives I used to know

Are you turning away from me?
Am I turning away from you?
Or do we circle each other in truth?

There's a silence today
Aching, cold and grey
Governing my fears
As time drifts by alone

Are you turning away from me?
Am I rolling away from you?
Or do we circle each other in truth?

There's a silence today
Aching, cold and grey
Governing my fears
As time drifts by alone

If a telephone call
Or the careless gesture
Reignites your doubt
The colder flame burns

Are you rolling away from me?
Am I turning away from you?
Or do we circle each other in truth?

Crawling through the forest is a mystery of life
Am I slipping on the journey, sliding on a knife?
Am I reeling in the forest with the circles at my side?
Am I asking the wrong questions?
Will I roll on through the forest, never seeing on the way?
Is it hope or perseverance is the flavour of the day?
Can I ever leave this forest, put the circles to one side?
You may lead me to the river but you won't enjoy the ride

There was sunshine today
Beaming in to play
Reeling round the room
A cog in the machine

In the pale midnight
Cold emotion's fixture
Spring will have its moon
Of movements I have known

Are you spinning away from me?
Am I spinning away from you?
Or do we circle each other in truth?

The logic recycles itself
Revolutions recoil on themselves

 

The Test

The replay says it's umpire's call
The minute hand ticks towards twelve
Our paths may cross a hundred times
We run together for ourselves

Each and every time we face
A new attack against our guard
Plant our best foot forward
Turn the edging inches into yards

And it's never over
Turn to the mark and run again
It's never over
Uncovered tracks are melting in the rain

The torment of the shortest run
As yet another sends you back
You get into your stride and then
Too soon are forced to change your tack

Boundaries lie all around
We cut towards them falling short
But hook and pull that chain away
Determined that we'll not be caught

And it's never over
Turn to the mark and run again
It's never over
Uncovered tracks are melting in the rain

Twenty-twenty vision isn't always for the best
Curb your bodyline decisions
Face the ordeal, take the test

 

Extend And Embrace

There was a girl who came to stay
At least I thought her real
With fine narcotic friends
To leave her punch-drunk in the fields

Eye witness to protection
As a foil for decay
Technicolour nightmares
From the land of green and grey

Extend an embrace to a smack in the teeth
See the black of your eyes as a blessed relief
As the ghost of her innocence spatters the wall
Taste the blood in your mouth and remember it all

We hurt the ones we love the most
In carelessness and ire
Balance probabilities
And mitigate desire

In desolation's solitude
Together all alone
Hell-bent on resolution
And a pride that we disown

Extend an embrace to a smack in the teeth
See the back of your eyes in a blessed relief
As the ghost of her innocence spatters the wall
Taste the blood in your mouth and remember it all

Embrace
Extend
Extinguish

 

Decoded

Take a number, take a seat
Wait your turn in the line
The toughest equations
Resolve in good time

Choose a pathway, seek the goal
See the world at your feet
A stay of execution
For a deadline to meet

Find your way
From the rabbit hole
As the calls unfold
Into the sky

Flee the dark
Feel the sun again
And the soft machine
Unfurls to fly

It's a wonder, it's a treat
Every call of the mind
Looping recursions
Can reset the mime

From the valleys of the soul
Red rivers of defeat
Divining the solution
And a triumph complete

Find your way
From the rabbit hole
As the blood returns
Everything sings

Flee the dark
Feel the sun again
And the soft machine
Takes to its wings

Find your way
From the rabbit hole
As the blood returns
Everything sings

Flee the dark
Feel the sun again
And the soft machine
Takes to its wings

Tanja was a good girl
Never meant me any harm
Perhaps a little flighty
With a penchant for alarm

We rode on down the river
Swaying hips from side to side
I wouldn't lick her boots
And so she took me for a ride