slice the sky open

in the room where she waits
with her books on the stars
and the magical line
between nova and dawn
and the way the snow flurries
in the absence of light
just outside the window
where darknesses lie
and the birds of the air
and the beasts of the town
grow talons and teeth
wear surgical gowns
and howl for an audience
they follow around
by the time they have reached her
shes gone down and drowned

in the seventh heaven of a venerable buddha
lived a lovely flower blooming on a hillside
the sky was perfectly blue
the grass was divinely green
the pretty little birds sang in the trees
and lovely angels cavorted in the small puffs of mist
their golden voices filling the blessed air with wonder
their play delighted the permanent spring
their joy vibrated the tiny cymbals
and wind chimes softly chimed together
and the branches of the trees played the wind
oh to rest there, the weary traveller......
where the climes are always warm
and the water always sweet
and morning lasts forever

on an island in a lake
hiding from the law
i went by the name of
al pyne
we were a desperate crew
none would ever see their homes again
we took what we could
and we paid the price in spades
we divvied up our swag
and we fought like the thieves we were
blast those constables that came looking for us
and blast my wet powder
and triple blast my useless bible
we were forced to run
some men had their wives and children with them
and the slowest were taken down
diego lopez had discovered a cave he said
we ran after him through the trees
in the half light of the jungle
hotly pursued by the police
i saw jesus himself
yes i swear it
standing amongst the trees
shaking his magnificent head
with a panther at his feet
yes and his mother
who walked among the lonely paths
so silently she wandered by
i had no time to wonder
in case some colonial sergeant
shoots me down
so i just run
as best i could
we split up a little
outrunning the fat and lazy police
we come to lopezs cave
yes it would be hard to detect ordinarily
none of us not even lopez has been in
we all slither into its darkness on our bellies
once inside
we light a candle
we are in a dry smooth empty cave
that is large enough for us all to stand
we hear their shouts and voices outside
and we edge to the back
to the dark walls and further back
and then
a falling sensation
we have fallen down a fissure
no
we are not falling
we are floating
then
i stumble upright
the others are all around
like weve woken out of a dream
we are in a beautiful land
the sea breaks to its eastern edge
and between us lie lush fertile meadows and orchards
and no sign of any other humans
we named it telmar