Skywards

Speaking with my lawyer
Monday 30 December 2024

I can see a golden city
On the horizon far away
I think that I could reach it 
If I could sleep just one more day.

Speaking with my lawyer
He says be careful what I say
Should I meet up with the troll king
As I go along my way.

I’ll climb a golden mountain
Climb it all the way
When I reach the fountain
I’ll sit there all the day.

Speaking with my lawyer
He advised me what to say
When talking with the troll king
Just don’t look away.

I can see a golden city
On the horizon far away
I think that I could reach it 
If I could sleep just one more day.

Speaking with my lawyer r3

I’m a radiation man
Born just yesterday
In a bright flash of light
That took my life away.

That’s my face before it all
In the midst of that light
Scorch marks on a wall
Died and reborn last night.

I’m a radiation man
Birthed by a fiery knife
Not sure that I understand
All that happened in my life.

Walking in a city of ruins
Looking for someone new
Melted walls and dusty tombs
Surely there was more to do.

I can walk and even talk
There’s no one here to see
In a city made of chalk
There’s not much left for me.

City’s dead but a siren goes
Feel it beneath my feet
Echoing in caverns low
Unpeople wake from sleep.

Unpeople will soon be up
Not just to live and die
Angels of destructive thrust
Built to pluck out enemy eyes.

I’ll be gone before they rise
Journey onwards as I will
Shake off this city wise
Find solace on some hill.

I’m a radiation man
Born just yesterday
In a bright flash of light
That took my life away.


Radiation man r3

I advanced east into the setting sun
Climbed up stairs from roof to ground
Strove for heaven and turned around
Embraced freedom without a sound.

Became a Buddhist by worshipping time
I drank water and then I drank wine
Swam the Nile, washed up on the shore
Recited the alphabet for an encore.

I turned right and inside out
Whispered until it became a shout
Shuffled cards all day in the square
Wrote three books a week for millionaires.

Began with nothing, won every race
Times changed; I lost my place
Gave up trying to end my life
Played the bagpipes, danced with a knife.

I grew older until I became young
Relied on intuition until it became numb
Exercised until I lost the thread
Gave up running and dined instead.

I never left a table full or empty
I never met a person but I met plenty
Ran away for another season
Always looking for a better reason.

Duality r5

Hannam

I very slowly
Came apart
On that morning
Of the heart.

When dust settled
I had gone
Nothing left 
Of legs and arms.

There I lay
All apart
In the morning
Of the heart.

Fell down
Into empty air
No one left
Nothing there.

In the morning
As I came apart
My lips lay scattered
As was my heart.

There I lay
All apart
In the morning
Of the heart.

Lost my body
Pieces everywhere
Some on the floor
Some on the stairs.

Here in the morning
As I sang a song
I finally noticed
What was going on.

There I lay
All apart
In the morning
Of the heart.


Morning of the heart r2a

1. I stood in the foyer
Of the Hopeman hotel
Gazed out at the entry
Past a stairwell.

Gazed up at the ceiling
Covered in stars
Gazed down at the floor
Its black vertical bars.

Soft music was playing
from the old wicked east
Exotic dancers
At an exotic feast.

2. I stood in the foyer
Of the Hopeman hotel
Guests coming and going
Rajahs and swells.

Some in chairs
Some at the bar
Drinking and talking
Hookahs and cigars.

Dim lights flickering
The evening wore on
Crowd wearing away
Sensing coming of dawn.

3. I stood in the foyer
Of the Hopeman hotel
Blinked momentarily
The splendour was gone.

Dusty cracked windows
Concierge looked sour
Somewhere a siren
Howled hour by hour.

I stood in the foyer
Of the Hopeman hotel
Gazed out at the entry
I remember it so well.


The Hopeman hotel r1

An acorn grew
Into a mighty tree
It stood in a yard
And watched TV.

And as it stood
It quietly sang
I once was a forest
When the world began.

I once was an acorn
Now I’m a tree
Grew by a stream
In a forest of me.

The forest thinned
With the passing years
I grow in a yard
With my solitary fears.

I once was an acorn
Now a tree
I grow in your yard
And I watch TV.

I rattle the eaves
I bang on the wall
You’ve forgotten the trees
I remember it all.

I once was an acorn
Now a tree
I once was a forest
A forest of me.

I live in your yard
In a singular space
I once was a forest
That’s been erased.

You once were a nymph
That lived in the trees
Now you’re human
With house and TV.

I scatter leaves
Here and there
Some in the gutter
Some on the stairs.

You walk through leaves
On your way to the gate
You’re about to leave
You’re running late.

A nymph in the forest
A nymph in the trees
Now you live
Without memories.

You once were a nymph
That lived in the trees
Now you’re human
With house and TV.

I once was an acorn
Now a tree
I grow in your yard
And watch TV.

I scatter leaves
On the roof
I scatter leaves
On the stairs.

And as you walk
Along the path
I scatter leaves
Into your hair.

I live in your yard
In a singular space
I once was a forest
That’s been erased.

An acorn grew
Into a mighty tree
It stood in a yard
And watched TV.

ILY

Tobias Bryngel

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