AEIOUM

[Blueback]

You've sheltered me from this torrential downpour in my hour of need,
An inopportune phantom shower drenched my flimsy ill-fitting cloak,
Yet the fire of your hearth did warm me and my shivering body deeply,
Please forgive my rude mutterings if I misspoke before.

To be such an inconvenience to your regular comfortable routine,
So late is the evening, nay the night - I am so embarrassed to be your guest,
But truly I am humbled by your generosity of open flame,
Your outstretched arms of welcome to your homely abode.

Comely is your lovely wife who brings me a piping hot broth,
How fortunate you are to be blessed with such a beauty by your side,
Her unassuming modesty is a credit to the master of the house,
And the superb hospitality of the master is a credit to the mistress.

The crackle of the serene fireside is hypnotic to the core,
Amidst the distant playful tittering of the canopy rooftop,
As it is tickled by the splashing of a gazillion armada of tiny water droplets,
The trance silence is deafening - the tempest is no more.

The haze of dream lulls the senses and dulls the awake,
We slowly walk into the fire - into the land of our imaginings,
Upheld by the charred pillar logs, the hottest heart beating within,
Beckoning entry and morphing the velvet fabric to an etheric dissolve.

Fear not, brave traveler; for this is only a jest,
The dream ends when one wakes, but that is a lifetime or a stone's throw away,
Juniper, myrtle, and myrrh - Abracadabra - A dash of magic is in the air,
Changes are assured - see the petals - they are open.

[Red Reine]

Squeak, squeak - creaky are the floorboards above the blind mice,
Burrowing and tunneling in the wood, chancing and sniffing out for food,
One peeked through the eyeball hole and BONG went the bell of the edific antique clock.

The crew got an awful fright - hush now - Big Ben is watching!
Radio silence - must not let the ministry pick up the electronic ticking,
Panno! Hoodwink! Zig-zag gamma niner formation. oIIIo oIIoo oIooo ooooo (get moving!)

Purrrty meals scurry on their palpitating way, across the expanse of the alabaster highway,
Pouncing from above as so below - oops - a minor trigonometric miscalculation - a Euclid's curse,
A harrowing escape, an unfortunate change of menu, oh well - the midnight snack's run off.

Those nostrils are vast and cavernous, bellowing and rumbling in a rhythmic snore,
Dancing ladies of the flame play shadow puppets on the stranger's facade,
The zipper fly is wide revealing. The platonic is even more seeming.

The soup has been long sticking, the dry savory residue marks the generous mug,
Bub the bug, the bull of the flies, bullseye and jackpot - viva la sopa!
Slot in a game for the infamous black jack; he's got ready his Tex-Mex suck'em.

The silver sliver of bright shine pierces through the folded curtain slit,
We're reminded of the wakeful hour that is fast approaching,
Have a listen to that Elvis cock shimmying and high pitch yodeling.

There ain't no way that anybody's goin' back sleepin',
So wake now, wake up! You have to wake up! WAKE UP!
This is not a joke. Open your eyes - the crowing is thundering!

[Blueback]

Water falls swiftly through the relenting corpus; an open chasm of grace,
Chilling the walls of the cracker dry esophagus - past the dusty sandpaper throat,
Sponge hydration inflation, diluvian rejuvenation, aquatic resuscitation,
Worst thirst there has never been - at least to this shriveled raisin creature's meager recall.

The deluge of the inner sanctum is a cleansing unseen since the days of Noah,
Sugar sweet is the lingering taste permeated on the harsh unparched palette,
Oval pursed gob cracked around the rim like that of Jonah's fish,
O, is a most natural sound of a mouth hindered from any meaningful emittance.

You who gave water saved my life; spared me a horrid desiccating fate,
Accept my joyous eyes of relief and my unintelligible vowels of inconstance,
If only I could shower you with gratitude as you have showered me with your kindness,
What value could be an oasis to the one who thirsts in the desert?

To trudge amidst an expanse of golden dust as far as eye can see,
A mirage of lonely figures and mirrored sky on the scorching waves,
Jinns dance their dervish and scream their howling taunts,
The old and the ancient past resurrect from their eonic slumber.

Cities of unimaginable riches, peopled by iridescent beauty,
Temptresses make suggestive allures, offerings of delirium tremens,
Maddening is the curse of the arid spirits eager for a morsel of life,
To have escaped all this is a miracle of the divine.

Grand sigh is the final exhaust signalling safe passage,
Palm shades and friendly eyes comfort the consumed body,
Mummy time lullaby, whistle caress, free from duress,
Ra ra, huhrah... Shhh, peace now, inshallah.

[Red Reine]

Bright river of stellar light reveals the milky path of the seeker,
Scarabeus answers the call of rock and roll - to put it in the soul of everyone,
A journey of the midnight falafel; a right feast fit for a king.

Damocles' sting hangs precipitously from above, at ready for its tragic Brute thrust,
Twin pincers clampers clackers scritch scratch click clack tick tock tickity tock,
Patience is a virtue few quite appreciate - nerves of cold unemotional steel.

The night is dark as Selene waynes, as the dark knight swoops in gliding silent,
Judgement from the sky; flash bang kazang whack batarang,
Crimson lines the city scape, land lobster doner dinner - with extra fries.

Chipper up, auld gal; the night is young for the foxy ladies,
Girls just want to have fun - on their prowl through the well lit streets,
Walk past the parked hackneys; flaunt that gait; the maus club awaits.

Desert ships moored in chain upon the island pond dock,
Cargo holds full of precious and exotic pirate booty,
Sinbad and Ali Baba float at ready - to carry off crescent scimitars and silken beauties.

Slithering beneath and sliding in between, a sleight of hand, a shadowy wave unseen,
A hiss upon a morning mist, a dew drop quench provisos a little pick me up,
Cafe au lait, s'il vous plait. Merci beaucoup, and lest we forget - shukran.

Face the distant east to greet the sun in its odyssey rise,
First ray's beam bores into the cornea, piercing into the seat of the soul,
No my friend, no need for alarm - YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAHLLAHU-UUUUUUUU-AKBAR!

[Blueback]

Praise be and bless ye for your loving generosity,
Alms for the poor, the hungry, for this wretched beggar of the streets,
Avert your gaze for my shame is difficult to bear,
Look not in my eyes, lest you would encounter a reflecting soul.

This bowl of smoothened cedar in my hand - my only treasure,
Carved out long ago in an age past, once upon a life I long to forget,
There I lived in luxury and comfort, time enough for trivial things such as this,
Now serves it a vagrant's tool, a tramp's livelihood - a cup of day's salvation.

Give what you can stranger, for I will not judge you - how can I?
For who am I to judge such as yourself who could judge me so harshly?
Who has eyes to see, dressed not in tattered attire,
But clothed in royal robes reaching with an offered hand?

City crossings like swarming ants upon an overripe cantaloupe,
Bursting with activity, too busy for distractions and rendezvous encounters,
Plethora of faces walking briskly past - for what purpose - for whom -
A stranger is an interest of little concern - of little note.

Night falls shade extend the towering silhouette skyline,
Figures disappear into the shadows, replaced with creatures of the dark,
Make scarce the easy prey, retreat into the burrows, away from prying eyes,
Home awaits - I hope - at least for tonight.

Cold, it's always cold - even in the summer's basking heat,
Frail body, malnourished, guarding the last bastion of cellular vigor,
Clutching hand that holds the cup, it's content appeases the hunger,
The heart sees, the eyes roll.

[Red Reine]

Step aside for the movers and the shakers, shim shackin', splitting roaches,
Delectable groovin', diggin' that tan coat you're wearin', da club is thumpin',
Give a shoutout to ma-invincible-spray-man: fallout bug eyes!

Seeing is believing, but seeing unbelievable things is quite another trip,
Kitchen metamorphosis - Samsa and Brundle conspire to rip the walls,
No lunch for Lee, talking floors, crawling critters.

Lizard king surveys from atop the bathroom wall,
Subjects of great unwashed squalor amass beneath his station,
Give a lick to one's eye before retiring from one's royal court.

Try and escape from the reptilian zoo, before the booze starts flowing,
Fear of the overlords, loathing the dinochrome madness,
There's no choice - but to enter bat territory.

Pitch dark flight control, sonar blipps, aeronautic tricks,
Vampyre wing flaps, nightmare screeches, dagger fangs and pug noses,
Droogs in search for their milkbar, ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family.
A big family down in the sewers, in the walls, under the floors,
Crawling on the ceiling, head turning, pins and needles tantalizingly numbing.

Upside a sphinx asks a riddle upon a Leonine solar rise,
What has four legs, tastes good, and squeeks as it croaks?
Not this lucky Jerry - HA! - mirrored laser sets alight Tommy's gargoyle jewels.

[Blueback]

Kumbaya my lord, kumbaya. Kumbaya my friend, kumbaya.
You said, Come by the fire and warm yourself, come to the light,
Join us, there's room for one more,
Bring your peace and let us celebrate the night.

Beneath the heave ho blanket, wraps our shivering sardine bodies,
Frozen toes peppered with salt encrusted grit,
Smiles of pleasant memories captured in an instant click moment,
Maritime caress cast and delivered in a char-scented breeze.

Musky warmth of goose flesh press atop a flatbed log,
Promise of fondness unspoken, hints of maybe eyes and maybe tension,
Glazed pupils meet - do not look away - or maybe you should,
It matters little now, as long as you just smile - smiling's always good.

Crackle of a dune wyrm flame, firework sparks ignited above,
Singed and toasted marshmallow digits,
Like icicles begging for mercy upon a Spring morning's thaw,
Take special care not to get burned, but the siren call is oh-so alluring.

Ocean deep, surface touch, a voyage full of hidden promise,
Butterflies set to high sail upon a sea of bountiful possibilities,
Prevailing winds, a favorable omen for departure,
Walk the plank, set to dive far into the unknown depths.

Stars shine bright to guide the passengers across the garden trail,
Here, take my coat - I'm fine - really... And so are you,
Sweet whisper waves gently touch the vulnerable shore,
The moon keeps a late vigil - to welcome the eager sailors amore.

[Red Reine]

Andadasee, andadasee, sing along with Sebastian, your favorite crustacean,
Or keep it all germanely shiny, Tomoatoa shell dancing in the moonlight,
Zoidberg asserts your music is bad - whoop! - siren call - scurry scatter.

High beam perimeter sweep, lightning flash strikes the wide angle retina,
The ever watchful eye sits atop alone on the island stump,
Wails into the jealous sea, begs for forgiveness, Sheila - I'm sorry!

Gulliver travels as the white crow flies across the expanse of the black water,
Can't sleep, pills don't work, a night stroll for a bit of Macca Ds,
Golden neon arches, heaven's franchise gates - always open for a bit of that sweet mmm lovin'.

Down under the gliding midnight foofighter, below still the serene depths,
Castanets flamenco to the feverish beat, ebb and flow, ebb and flow,
Senoritas with their margaritas dance their vermilion passion.

Beyond the ruckus of the hot and spicy salsa night club,
Inflatable blimp residents float by, their lidless puppet eyes disturbingly open,
They have work tomorrow - nobody likes Mondays - not even if you're a Pisces.

Crawl out of the primordial soup, rise above the swirling masses,
Paddles cup the coarse sand, land resists the aquatic exertion,
Atlas carries the world on her straining back.

The cycle begins anew when one returns to the beginning,
Orphic eggs lie beneath the Omphalos, gestating and dreaming up the world,
To arise out of the earth - only by the grace of heaven's will.