Linguicide

In splendid isolation
Stood an ancient nation
So my mother said to me
As she recalled our history
In a land she did not recognise
As tears fell from her eyes

Deep within a valley
Where the stream of words did not reach
And armies did not rally
The tide of tongues hit the beach
And people lived a simple life
And spoke as they ever did
And shared a life devoid of strife
All the while that they were hid

On the knee of my mother
I learned a minority tongue
I did not know another
And there was but one
One word for love
One for desire
One word for hunger
One to inspire
Every emotion a heart could possess
And every thought a mind could express

Sundered from the valley
Adrift upon a sea
Of words I cannot understand
Who will rescue me?
On this lonely island
I watch the waters rise
As they wash away the words
My mother tongue dies

The Jailer

I once had a matchbox
I kept a bee inside
It buzzed all day within its cell
Then of course it died

Now I have a larger cell
Four stone walls - a door
Hinges locks and a key
What is it all for?

To lock it up is joy to me
Even when its empty
And hear the hollow ring within
And stand outside - a sentry

To lock it up with you inside
Now there's a better thing
To slam the door and turn the key
I stand ever willing

Who's without and who's within
Is irrelevant to me
So long as I may stand without
And possess the key

The Enemy - The Man

How I hate the wheat
How I hate the new-sown field
How I hate the thought
Of people fed and filled
How I hate the sight of land
Regular and tilled
Had I but a weapon
Then I should have killed

Let them choke upon their bread
Hallucinate and fall down dead
I will salt their field with stone
Undo all that they have done
Curse their land with pain and blight
All the work of just one night

At midnight through the fields he ran
A bitter twisted vengeful man
A dark night for a darker deed
A'scattering the darnel seed

Left and right he sows corruption
A study in stern concentration
Without a moment's interruption
Sowing seeds of his own damnation

When the grain be gathered in
We'll feed darnel bread to him

Suggested by Seventy Three

They evicted God from their heaven
And sat themselves down on his throne
Their tongue walked about in all the earth
And declared the planet their own

Haughty greedy and proud
Living the life of the blessed
At the end of their days they'll sail away
To a sunset deep in the West

And all lament and all will sigh
At the loss of a God when they will die
But I will give vent to my pain by and by
And ask the Almighty - why?

Outrage has entered my soul
Where is justice for me?
I dare to call it out loud
For my pain will not let me be

Don't fear my child for they stand upon sand
They will slip and fall without warning
Soon when I give the promised command
They will fade like dreams in the morning

Wait patiently - look only at me
The Rock of your Heart and your friend
When I tell them to go then you will know
How close you were to the end

Eight Hours of Winter

All the day long I saw not the sun
For I was working while he shone
We met on the Western road home
For a brief conversation before he was gone

He was leaving - apologising
"I must leave you - then rise anew
There must be night for tomorrow to come"
So said the sun and was gone

He called over his shoulder - passing between
Pillars of cloud - doorposts of night
They flared with copper and gold so bright
Briefly glory was seen
Then all was gloom where he had been

Tomorrow again he'll brighten the skies
Yet he will not enlighten my eyes
My darkened soul weeps - my spirit pines
For I must work while he shines