April Is The Cruelest Month by Klaus J. Gerken (2013) April is the cuelest month The bottle's gone but not the wound * 3 AM Blues I was sitting on the sidewalk Contemplating life When this beggar walks up to me And says "the time is rife" I say "what do you mean by that" He looks into the sky Points up to a stratus cloud And says "I never lie" "But Godot was all powerful "I thought you knew all that" I said "Jesus was a shortstop" He told me I was fat So we parted ways 'mong many He went and picked his trash He shouted "I've a PhD And danced the Monster Mash" Just when I thought the silence Made the noise too rough A punk band played rumba To prove that they were tough They played in some back alley Where a Buddhist Temple stood They said the food was lousy But the combat was quite good Just when I thought the evening Would argue with the dawn A Frenchman came along and burned A hole in someone's lawn So fences were erected And the UN forced a deal No one wanted nothing The other could not steal I didn't have my glasses So I couldn't read the news The TV screen was empty And the postman blew a fuse So I said "I'm off already" And waved to Sally-Ann She blew me several kisses And flirted with "the man" At home I took a shower And lingered in the tub I blew a perfect bubble And gave myself a rub Then I went bananas And wrote upon the wall "Whoever gives you nothing Has to give you all" kjg 356am 1 April 2013 * The aim of poetry is conjunction, not confusion. kjg 730pm 1 april 2013 * Youth And Age I laboured in the hunger of my years As youth claimed sustenance from visions never clear in the freezing garret scheme of things. Cold hands wrote warm words, and wine gave inspiration even to tears. And love, o love was all those things Forgiven, forgotten, remembered, committed And shattered, that art forever claims Through future hope and winter dreams. I will retain the rain and sidewalk restaurants And friends who were the gathering of thought That bore into my heart a future, yet to manifest itself. And looking back Both future and the past embrace in age. kjg 758pm 1 April 2013 * Pupil: What is the meaning of master? Master: You! kjg 322pm 2 april 2013 * Master to pupil: Quick! Who am I? Pupil: A lie! Master rises, sits next to pupil and both stare at empty chair. kjg 352pm 2 april 2013 * wasted wasted and worn out older than torn out wrapped in a blanket of steel nothing divides him nothing abides him nothing he gathers is real the powerless moments collect such dark omens the bottle is all he can feel the walls cast a shadow upon his bravado and his ship has no rudder or keel he walks in the mornings through difficult warnings and sometimes he strikes a good deal but sooner or later he steps on a gator and becomes someone's desperate meal. kjg 1021am 3 april 2013 * cling let us cling to something religion politics sports even something intangible where no one wins or loses something that's not made of money or exudes power and a gavel over others we are just small animals on a small insignificant planet in an insignificant galaxy among many our astronomers have taught us that we are no longer the centre of the universe if the universe even has a centre so come let us cling to something even if just a tree or better yet each other kjg 1117am 3 april 2013 * Letter to God Dear God out there somewhere have you ever noticed that we only need you for the money you bring in? Sorry but you must have known that overturning the money lenders' tables in the Temple wouldn't change anything and to crucify your son who they say was you just to save a few souls when over 5 billion people don't even believe in you is kind of desperate don't you think? I wish you all the luck in the world if you can pull it off and as the evangelists always say soon you will return and move into your palace after all they are collecting all this money so you can live like the pope isn't that what poverty and humility are all about? kjg 1128am 3 april 2013 * All poems copyright (c) 2013 Klaus J. Gerken Published by Ygdrasil Press 2013