Cats Under My Feet by Klaus J. Gerken (2013) hurtin blues just came back from the station ain't goin nowhere fast just came back from the station ain't goin nowhere fast my baby is a-leaving and i'm goin on a fast there are church bells ringin somewhere there's a wedding in the make there are church bells ringing somewhere there's a wedding in the make I ain't got no wedding ring and i sure ain't got no cake ain't sayin i was jilted she said she had enough ain't sayin i was jilted she said she had enough i don't understand women when they leave it's mighty tough there's a fool born every minute the circus is in town there's a fool born every minute the circus is in town what I can't suffer in silence whiskey's gonna drown just came back from the station ain't goin nowhere fast just came back from the station ain't goin nowhere fast my baby is a-leaving and i'm goin on a fast kjg 637am 1 july 2013 * eve she's a gypsy roller coaster she's a health nut and a smoker she buys apples and buys diamonds in the shop of peter simon reads the book of holy water leads celebrities to slaughter she will never ask you questions but will always make suggestions and your duty is to please her with the pleasure that you suffer and it's not from lack of trying you can't save yourself from drowning in the waters of the Jordan where she smiles and sends you visions with your knees so red and ugly she calls you to your duty you swim into the mattress and wish she were a waitress but she knows you like a shadow and imprisons you in moon-glow there's a sigh that breaks the body like a crypt that is too holy to enter without purpose so she gathers you in purpose and it's not from lack of trying you can't save yourself from drowning in the waters of the Jordan where she smiles and sends you visions there's a purpose in the morning when she stretches without warning like a feline gently purring or a spider in the offing her kiss is concealed hemlock and she owns your time and clock that weighs you like a monarch in the shadow of a lark if i leave, you will not miss me she smiles and asks please kiss me and it's not from lack of trying you can't save yourself from drowning in the waters of the Jordan where she smiles and sends you visions kjg 712am - 1147am, 1 july 2013 * cuppa the premise is the menace if it doesn't hold the water a cuppa tea will hold. kjg 349am, 2 july 2013 * Home There's a place where I was born Near the North Atlantic Sea Where the air is full of salt And the fog you have to see With the summer sun so bright That it glitters on the sand Where the beach extends for miles In either way When I went back years ago I was a stranger in my home Taken far away when young I was rattled to the bone It is sad to see the ending It is sad to see the past I am lost on the horizon On the quay Oh I haven't given up There is hope in every day I'm just teary-eyed to find How fast it's flown away The future comes so fast There's no time to delay So enjoy each moment when You can each day There's a place where I was born Near the North Atlantic Sea Where the air is full of salt And the fog you have to see With the summer sun so bright That it glitters on the sand Where the beach extends for miles In either way Oh I haven't given up There is hope in every day I'm just teary-eyed to find How fast it's flown away The future comes so fast There's no time to delay So enjoy each moment when You can each day KJG 613am 2 July 2013 * something that doesn't love a cat furry soft and fat wanting dinner pat purring in your lap lying on the mat kjg 620am 2 july 2013 * If you use deception to teach others a lesson, all you will be teaching is deception. kjg 2 july 2013 * New pupil approaches master: Your Holiness! Master approaches new pupil: You dumbass! kjg 146pm 4 july 2013 * You've the best wines I hear, Though some dispute that, sir. Four times widowed they say. What's more...Some wine? No way! kjg 110am 5 july 2013 (from Martial IV, 69) * Your bald head is so shiny it glows, Pray tell me what oil or polish you use; The sun must be mad with desire! Beware you don't blow a good fuse! kjg 120am 5 june 2013 (from Martial VI, 57) * "Be honest with me Marcus, give it to me straight: Did you like it? I really want to know..." You keep asking, whether reciting poetry or Pleading cases in a court of law-- Always asking, asking, hoping for an answer... Well, Gallicus, I guess I have no choice then. Listen carefully; here's my honest opinion: No matter what I say, you won't like either way. kjg 914am 5 june 2013 (from Martial VIII, 76) * Master says: Smiling Buddha always has something to hide; Grumpy Buddha wears his emotions on his sleave and has no discipline; Serene Buddha is dead. kjg 232pm 6 june 2013 * The Nickelodeon Player He plays his nickelodeon at the church steps to entertain the crowds in hot and humid sunstroked weather waiting for the doors to open for the summer chamber music concert in the dark cool interior... Round and round he cranks the crank the tune is a lively march with cymbals struck at appropriate moments waking the drowsy crowd who clap in suprised joy The wooden vault like doors open and the crowd files in... The nickelodeon player packs up and makes his way home alone. kjg 221pm 8 june 2013 * Pupil asks: Master, what is Buddhism? Master replies: Haven't got a clue! Pupil says: But that's what I'm here to learn! Master says: Then learn! kjg 1141pm 8 june 2013 * Orchard I jump the fence I'm on the ground A farmer comes With gun and frown I say how are you He asks what's this I say an apple And blow a kiss He points the gun between my eyes I shake my head Can't tell a lie I bite the apple He say's you're dead I say is hunger Worth your lead He says suppose not And picks a red Have another We laugh instead The moral is I suppose Steal an apple Lose the pose. kjg 1152 pm 8 june 2013 * Love Song London bridge is falling down On the crown London Bridge is falling down Be my baby London bridge is falling down On the crown London Bridge is falling down Don't say maybe London bridge is falling down On the crown London Bridge is falling down She's my lady. kjg 1208 9 june 2013 * The Tux and the Lady There once was a woman With bright yellow hair She was a diamond collector And loved munching pairs She dated a tux All very discreet Sometimes they were Even seen on the street But as things will happen She got hit by a car Her last words were Darling Now you've gone too far! kjg 1236am 9 july 2013 * Cafe Poet The poet in the cafe Is writing a marvellous play If he's written two lines I would doubt But it will be brilliant when out Yet for years his table reserved Is the office he served He takes his poverty with chin up Still owes the waiter for a cold cup But he's got the respect he wants From everyone and yet he just can't Get the third line..I chance His pen refuses to dance Attends all the great readings Of poets who rave without meaning But he knows he's better than them Just wish he had ink for his pen But just when he gives up Along comes a government grant So he pays up his bill And resumes what he can't. kjg 156am 9 june 2013 * Freedom is the illusion of less heavy chains. kjg 203am 9 june 2013 * Pupil grumbles. Master says: Bitching helps! Pupil says: Fuck! Master says: Gesundheit! kjg 1234am 13 July 2013 * Master runs around the room like a chicken with its head cut off! Pupil shouts: Master, what is wrong? Master shouts: I have lost my head! Pupil says: But Master, your head's still there! Master looks in the mirror: Yes, but it's the wrong head! Pupil says: I don't understand. Master says: But my left side's on the right and my right side's on the left! Pupil laughs: But that's just a mirror image. We can't see ourselves! Master smiles: Now go away and think about it! kjg 14 july 2013 * Pupil asks: Master, who was Jesus? Master: A character in a bunch of books. Pupil asks: Who is God? Master: When the sun rises each morning and when the sun sets each night, that is God. Pupil asks: What is life? Master rises: When you breathe. Pupil asks: What is death? Master leaves the room. kjg 1225am 15 july 2013 * A bloodthirsty God is a murderer I shall not want. kjg 1239am 15 july 2013 * Master says: Enough of this foolish talk of religion! How are the termites doing chewing up the temple? kjg 122am 15 july 2013 * Apart It's so difficult to live in Lotus Land When you don't partake. kjg 236am 15 july 2013 * Monks Christmas Chant Wreck the halls with what you sellum Falalalala lalalala They will buy belief on vellum Falalalala lalalala Praise the monks in their apparel Falalalala lalalala Fiddle de dum we want to scareum Falalalala lalalala He has come to bring salvation Falalalala lalalala If you keep your assigned station Falalalala lalalala I deny you no free willum Falalalala lalalala I will bet it goes a-sinnun Falalalala lalalala After all we are just human Falalalala lalalala Forgive forget and go to heaven Falalalala lalalala kjg 259am 15 july 2013 * Socrates my mentor taught me well; I will drink a cup of hemlock and go to Hell! kjg 311am 15 july 2013 * Dante grant me the First Circle of Hell; With Virgil and Homer I want to dwell! I'm not quite religious as you can tell... But the purpose and questions have served me well! kjg 318am 15 july 2013 * I think I'm going to begin selling blindfolds... that should be quite a lucrative market! kjg 353am 15 july 2013 * I'm waiting for my first cup of hemlock; But I'm sure they'll let me live: after all No one reads anything on Facebook anyway! kjg 455am 15 june 2013 * Diversion There's a clear sky above And some damage below I'd send you a dove But protocol's low They keep targeting this And targeting that It's like a fedora When the head's just too fat It fits when it ought to But never fits well When ego is present I hear heads kinda swell Oh come and say something There's thunder and thorns Swollen excitement Just misses the horns If we claw back tomorrow There won't be a today The splinter is always A second away. kjg 530am 15 june 2013 * Tabernacle In the heat of the summer when the bats fly low there's a ritual commitment where the blood must flow the gold of the alter glitters to blind the priest twists the neck of an innocent dove...I find god so amusing a bloodthirsty mess whatever is twisted HE seems to bless If I have to be a servant to god and his clan I'd have to decline I'm not even a fan. kjg 9am 17 july 2013 * My mother's mother was jewish and I'm my mother's son uncircumsized not even baptized guess I ain't gotta serve no one! kjg 953am 17 july 2013 * The Book I threw the book away there was nothing it could say to impress me anyway Sacrifice and blood God kills with a flood Even clarity is mud God assigns a station They produce a nation God gets a good ration I wonder why they follow Something that's so shallow I wish them luck tomorrow. kjg 1045pm 18 july 2013 * Salvation I came down from the mountain broken in spirit and form I was willing and able but was lost in the storm Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? You told me you wanted what no one could want I gave you my habit you gave me a wound Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? We danced in the meadow the meadow dried up I offered oblation you rusted my cup Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? there's beauty in loving there's beauty in death you offered me beauty for money no less Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? I lost my commitment for what we had left now ritual must gather our slaughter bereft Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? the years cannot give back what we wanted to save tomorrow a new birth tomorrow a grave Coda: sail on sail on we're all on the brink sail on sail on what ship cannot sink? kjg 113pm 20 july 2013 * You Gotta Toe The Line If it's in a clear direction Where the nails meet the inspection There's no argument just friction Where you can't court contradiction It's a razor sharp agreement Made by those who rule arraignment In the halls of judgement's glory Where the sick revere the holy I can tell you there's a shadow In the glow of any hollow Where the mindset is too shallow To allow for what lies fallow Oh I know the truth's not welcome In the glory of the wholesome Where the servants bow to humble Themselves beneath the rubble Linger on Linger on Beneath the blazing sun See the statue of the Pharaoh Pharaoh conquers everyone All the masters in the desert Point to God who is so clever Give me what you would give never It's a sword the cord will sever You don't have follow only Remember if you care to tally Death will be surely be your master And your tribe will face disaster I have saved from destruction From slavery's reduction I have given you a function Bow to me for your induction To the only truth I tell you Is through me and not the bellow Of others who don't know me You are so so far below me Linger on Linger on Beneath the blazing sun See the statue of the Pharaoh Pharaoh conquers everyone I will give you untold nations To conquer in elation Just take this revelation And bow to my high station Sacrifice your first born To me and you'll be reborn Into my congregation My blood is your salvation I will slaughter those who rue me I'll reward the ones who praise me I will come and make you holy I will be your one and only You will build a golden temple You will worship me forever Just sacrifice a heifer I love that sweet aroma Linger on Linger on Beneath the blazing sun See the statue of the Pharaoh Pharaoh conquers everyone kjg 457pm 20 july 2013 * god think we're sheltered by the heavens think we're sheltered by the earth there's a rock that's got our number and an earthquake voids our birth there's a superpower somewhere with the means to get us good what we cannot see won't hurt us brings a warm and fuzzy mood warm and tender warm and sweet let the smoke reach god in heaven god just love's crisp burning meat i don't know what i can tell ya i don't know what i can say whatever you believe in points to ebay's "middle way" from sunspots to hot summers global warming's here to stay if you haven't got a dragon slay one anyway warm and tender warm and sweet let the smoke reach god in heaven god just loves crisp burning meat go ahead and save our forests one more tree will make it good how much furniture do you have that isn't made of wood what you say is always better than the other guy's complaint go ahead recycle matter matter isn't what it ain't warm and tender warm and sweet let the smoke reach god in heaven god just loves crisp burning meat so if i have spoken cruelly i didn't mean to make you sick company lies with the devil as the serpent was a stick so if you're working on the sabbath don't gather sticks or stones i don't like to see the mess that's caused by crushing bones warm and tender warm and sweet let the smoke reach god in heaven god just loves crisp burning meat kjg 1am 22 july 2013 * weight the rain explains what pain remains kjg 136am 22 july 2013 * Salute the Royal baby, The son of Kate and Will; There's nothing like a future king To stir the media's swill! kjg 709pm 22 july 2013 * The Lie Ain't got nothin' on my plate Goin' nowhere gettin' late Bill collector at my gate Ain't my problem if they hate It's a world of rough an tumble Can you blame me if I mumble One more rumble in da jungle Catch da ball try not to fumble Play the game as best you can We're forever on the run One more rule to make you mad For the stuff you cannot have But we all must serve the man Roasted under melting sun It's becoming all too sad No one bets to win the grave So I'm whistling on the way Through the woods and to the bay Where the cormorants go fishing I Have nothing left but one more lie. kjg 156am 23 july 2013 * Poem The morning star glows like an avocado in a field of wheat It doesn't really but I always wanted to say that! kjg 1052pm 24 july 2013 * "Everybody must get stoned" I take my Made in China Shakespeare Souvenir pen and scribble "I take my Made in China Souvenir pen" On my Made in China Recycled paper pad. Seems a fitting subject For my Morning poem. kjg 915am 25 july 2013 * Time and loss There was a time when I was young and life was new and just begun it was a constant revelation every moment an elation an holy wonder like a thunder flash of lightning but not frightening every detail such a gnosis gathered in through an osmosis but slowly linger through time's finger the mind's a sponge that dries but once if age could only retain such loss but even stones must gather moss kjg 531pm 24 july 2013 / 205pm 25 july 2013 * Old Soldier's Song I close my old gate decayed from the wind and corrosion The sunset weeps roses Wilting in my untended garden Only the thorns seem compatible to the living Crimson and royalty Make a fashion statement Soldier and subjects just bleed "Rouge le soir, bel espoir" they say One hopes for tomorrow What hope when each new day's the same Tomorrow, today, yesterday's gone A memory, dream, was it ever there My cane just makes my burden harder Hoping for rain - the summer's been dry Should repair my broken cottage It will be cold when winter comes But I have neither strength nor will Next spring the wild red roses will bloom again And I will think of my comrades fallen in the awful wars They gave me this plot of land as reward for my service But no one today remembers what an old man remembers Today it's rush rush rush No manners and no sympathy My sword hangs above my fireplace long rusted and unused my armour is long gone I have no use for armour now Age has take my strong youth My crooked back is all I have And my bread and wine and memories. kjg 525pm 25 july 2013 * Paddle Song Ain't got no paddle But got a boat But boat's a-broken And just won't float I know that's somethin' But it ain't too much I'll buy a paddle Boat needs a crutch! kjg 550pm 25 july 2013 * Consequence There's fog in my ears and a drum in my eyes I'm tired of beauty and tired of lies I roll back the carpet there's dust everywhere If there were mud on the ceiling Maybe I'd care. kjg 1140 25 july 2013 * Evolution I'm a monkey with a brain! Does that make me insane? I hope not, 'cause I believe In Nation, Church and God! If that makes me insane Then you're a bloody clod! kjg 1151pm 25 july 2013 * Pupil asks: Why aren't you teaching me anything? Master replies: Because you have to come to it yourself. kjg 129pm 26 july 2013 * Nature versus man If you wash a field with gravy It seeps into the ground; Don't wash a field with gravy, It turns the carrots brown. But if you wash a field with honey It shines and attracts bees; And the carrots will taste sweeter As will the apple trees. kjg 114am 27 july 2013 * Not So Far Behind It's coming like a wave upon the beach We somehow always think it's out of reach It's a wind that somehow chills us to the bone It's no use to even try to go back home It's a shadow cast by a great blinding light It's a truth a blind man finds without his sight It's a search for what we always cannot find And it's really not so very far behind It will test the cornerstone of any faith It will fuel the hearth of what men call debate It will trice deny the coming of the lord It will sharpen any unused rusted sword It will show you when you take that yonder hill What the past has been and what the future will It's a search for what we always cannot find And it's really not so very far behind It's a column marching to the battle drum The accountant will be checking any sum There's a hope that we will somehow persevere In the background noise of undisputed fear Like an eagle we will soar above the ground In the trenches no one hears a bloody sound It's a search for what we always cannot find And it's really not so very far behind I am really not the one to give you hope It is not my job to tell you how to cope There are books that tell you life will be redeemed In the golden halls that we have never seen It is up to each to triumph or to fail At the wall where only the living will prevail It's a search for what we always cannot find And it's really not so very far behind kjg 233pm 27 july 2013 * street song # 386 strolling down the street one day i came upon a door no number and quite hidden i wondered what it's for i grabbed the big brass handle and gave a solid twist it opened to a shadowed corridor of mist the floor boards were a-creaking underneath my feet the air was stale and heavy i wondered whom i'd meet she was a dark haired woman raven dressed in black she smoked a russian cigarette tattoos all down her back I said how are you doing i decided to pass through she said the sky is yellow and her sofa velvet blue i said what are you doing when she took me by the hand and led me up a stairway without giving a command now i don't mind myst'ry women i've had my fill of those but this one was like no one i encountered or i chose she took me to a third floor room she opened up the door she pushed me hard i ended up upon the street once more i know i wasn't dreaming i tried to get back in but when i looked the door was gone a voice said did you sin i turned around and there she was begging for a dime if you want to be adventuresome i can show you a good time. kjg 450pm 27 july 2013 * (Song written in a dream this morning) It Wasn't What We Wanted I followed you through thick and thin my heart was broken the times were grim the snow was heavy the mud was black there was always something we had to lack ultimately we walked into the hollow abyss of the fool i don't know what was dared ultimately no one cared it wasn't what we wanted you followed me when times were rough you walked a rope and could not laugh the sky was cloudy from the first i don't remember who got cursed no solution was conceived what we had was disbelief i don't know what was dared ultimately no one cared it wasn't what we wanted the wind got into every crack what wasn't hollow was pure black the days that followed i don't recall is there an ending or a fall before the dawning before the day we packed our bags and walked away i don't know what was dared ultimately no one cared it wasn't what we wanted kjg 5 am in dream 28 july 13 * Parting i loved you in the morning when the dew was on the vine the wind was soft and gentle through the window all the time the scent of honeysuckle made loving so secure we looked upon it later as the grandest of all cures wild roses kissed the sunlight and the sunlight kissed the dew each breath in our surrender was another life renewed the sun on the horizon rises with the dawn soon we must be leaving soon we must be gone kjg 827am 28 july 2013 * Phylosophy sitting on the loo contemplating life don't know what to do my soul is like a knife yeah yeah yeah yeah tomorrow has no meaning yesterday is gone if it is the sabbath do not mow the lawn yeah yeah yeah yeah cheaters always follow fools who give too much jesus was the saviour jesus had the touch yeah yeah yeah yeah the lion on the mountain roars until he's mute a cat jumps up and offers a broken parachute yeah yeah yeah yeah kjg 1003am 28 jul 2013 * Trust Me... Faith can't be challenged; but neither can the fool who offers it! kjg 1032am 28 july 2013 * Mister Drill Instructor mister drill instructor drill instructor drill instructor stop! mister drill instructor let me interrupt mister drill instructor don't you f*ck me up your bark is bigger than your bite and i ain't marching no! i ain't asked to have this noise and you can just go blow! mister drill instructor drill instructor drill instructor stop! mister drill instructor let me interrupt mister drill instructor don't you f*ck me up there's just so much a man can take my ears can't take much more! i hope they crucify you upside down on a jackhammer by the score! mister drill instructor drill instructor drill instructor stop! kjg 1004am/102pm 28 july 2013 * Master says: Noise is good for you! Pupil asks: How so? Master says: The more you think The less you know! kjg 153pm 28 july 2013 * just my view if god is our shepherd he fleeces us in every manner and sells our wool to those who would cover our eyes with it he has little to offer me i will not sacrifice an ox or ram or turtle dove he gets nothing from me rather i will live a simple life and never hurt others i will give to those who are needy and share what i have even with those who are greedy i need no god to tell me how to live or to even "test" me imagine that how insecure i'd have to be to test my friends and i certainly have no pretense as to being someone special someone who needs to control others and don't talk to me of forgiveness god's is always conditional i have no conditions i will still help you even if you don't like me or believe in the same things i do here is your bowl i give it freely i don't want praise or thanks but then i'm not a god i'm just a human being simple really if you believe in yourself and get rid of a few ill written books... kjg 213pm 28 july 2013 * Master says: The impression you leave is greater than the impression you want to leave; And it's completely out of your control. kjg 422am 30 july 2013 * Those who would be fools are sometimes wise beyond control. kjg 529am 30 july 2013 * Priorities Last day of July what poem shall I write to close this month's volume? Doesn't really matter does it? Jazzie's not feeling well and I'm staying up until he feels better otherwise I'll call the vet in the morning. What poem's worth the health of a cat? None that I can think of. Get well soon my furry friend, I won't sleep until you do... kjg 155am 31 july 2013 * Jazzie responding After several hours under the table Jazzie laps up some water has a good stretch and now is on my desk watching TV... That's more like it! I feel his tummy to see if it's swollen and he wants a tummy rub! A good sign I hope! But we've both had two very stressful days - maybe we just need to settle down and relax a bit. Hope that's all it is. Love my cats. Wan't to see them well... kjg 224am 31 july 2013 * Poet Jazzie wants to be a poet - He's playing with my pen! You don't have to write a poem, Jazzie, You already are a poem in your own right! kjg 233am 31 july 2013 * Don't die Jazzie, You're only three years old! I need you for another 17 at least! Come home tomorrow... Isidore and Bruno miss you! And damn right I miss you too! kjg 913pm 31 july 2013 * Beneath the stars we conquer everything, Unnoticed by the stars! kjg 1010pm 31 july 2013 * All poems copyright (c) 2013 Klaus J. Gerken Published by Ygdrasil Press July 2013