Bedlam, or the Metamorphic Anastasis of Anathema ~~~~~~~~~ Selected Poems

Anathema! Anathema! A dream is a scream in the heart of the dreamer They tell me I’m a devil and a schemer Anathema Anathema! Forgot my own name Caught in the storm of their rules Regulated reality to make us fools It’s their claim to fame to tatter us with shame Turning us against the other Sister and brother - enemy kill lover For the taste of acceptance inside their claws The devil himself in the mockery of the Caws Orderly conduct performed with precision Precise mannerisms to fail the hope That anyone might keep their own self in suspension As the void covers all like a cloth of rope Hanged are our faiths on this chalked-up reality Written with crystal white on the bones of our humanity To twist the tides in favor of the Magistrates Who sells us a sliver of gold - unbearable weights Tuning our stations to a radical hum Not a dry land in which to heal All while banging that cymbal n’ drum Wearing what they say is appropriate for zeal Felt board woes and deadly blows To the heart of wonder set to plunder Every callous route in this hapless drought Can’t take it anymore - please, someone else take the floor! Anathema! Anathema! They’ll say if I declare these truths Trying to solve my verse with proofs But no math can quantify the heart As it beats for a dawn, a new start Anathema, Anathema! I’m Anathema!

Catastrophic isolation! Veiled hopelessness Suspended animation! Leading to refereed bliss Ok, it’ll be just a little bit of time Till the fist in this institution of illusion calls it a crime To pour love onto Bedlam Hate be their harem Call us sheep when we want to think! “It’s a disease...” I walk hallowed halls, stony and cold, just to drink! Away these fleas... Myth on my mind cause I’m just a man with imagination Want to see what I might find in scrolls bold and old - a mental vacation One day to the Tasseling! Hands up and sing… It’s gonna be alright in the lime of the light Feels sour, this kind of hour, but we’ll shine On the procession of time - O the linear line! Ya ya, you keep the medals and the trophies ancient A measly penny for a lifetime of rent But who am I kidding, what a winning To hold keys to the palace of the Magistrates - O, those pearly gates! “Sit down, class!” Orderlies command with ease Heart at half mass “Page 9509, please, focus or face the Bs!!!” Shhh… it won’t be long now Hand to the plow…