Bryan Sefton

Elizabeth papers the walls of her mind
With cartoon characters of various kinds
Believe me, I tell you, there isn't much space
There's colour and laughter all over the place
...

Dark clouds above like high climbing mountains
Rain pouring down on the city below
Great forks of lightening, flashlight brightening
The sky for a moment then a great thunder roll
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Mister Time is dressin up in buckskin
Puttin on his coonskin hat n bowie knife
Pickin up his gun he's loadin it with buckshot
Sayin that the trails hot, he says goodbye to his wife
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I wish you life on a faulty clock
So that just as a year is about to drop
There is the click of a slipping cog
And the year leaps back so that last year's frog
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Once there were warriors who's colours were red
Wise men with ideas of gold
Once there were young men with dreams in their head
They'd sit and they'd drink in the tales of the old
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When did that simple toss of her head
Become a come on to the boys?
And when that gangly gawkish look
Become such polish and such poise?
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Is not their laughter the pouring of gold?
Put it away.
The beauty of this kiss must never be sold
Put it away too
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His face is lined with creases.
Round his eyes, crosses.
Horizontal, slashes.
Time will do that to you.
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There is a face in the darkness of the corner, and a hand reaching out for her to come
Though it's just imagination she feels it will be real when the last day of her life is finally run
Sometimes when the firelight makes her dreamy, and the days end lets her mind run free
There's a shifting in her consciousness of time scale, removing the ties 'twixt time and memory
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How far would you take me?
How far in this unnatural way?
Held aloft by unseen strings
Even the bird must flap its wings
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I met a woman in a burned out land
She had a frog clutched in her hand
'What's that? ' I asked. I heard her say
'Its my families food for today'
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'The world is white! ' Your voice seems to shatter the quiet
The early morning scene is dressed in pure untrod virgin snow
We move along in slow soft strides, feeling it crunch beneath our feet
We are content, my brother and I, the whole street is our playground
...

They said I was mad. Oh yes, quite insane
They said it's all up here in the brain
He's cracked up, broke down
Whatever level you prefer, it's still the same
...

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You are your own problem, you have your hand
in the water of your life. Stirring up
the sediment. Clouding the issue.
Your silly, crying that the world is hard
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THey needn't have made the clamorous sound
Or blasted the lights to confusion
The Windows were lit but the light had gone out
And provided the ideal solution
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Michaela wears her Mother's shoes
Comes to tell us both the news
She just kissed the boy next door
Not to worry, she's only four today
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Wise men, wise men, one and all
Who hold us up lest we should fall
Look at the starving of the world today
'Give us our daily bread' they pray
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Thought on viewing a baby's grave

'I came as a breeze
That barely blew
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'Oh! ' Said Diana 'how frightening
That the bee should have such a sting'
'Not really said one buzzing by her
They're handy for many a thing
...