To stab a clock

How has this come to pass?
Who has tipped the hourglass
With such cruelty in my disfavour
If only i could trace the line
And stop the theiving hands of time
To have a moment suspended

Dangling moment, frozen fresh
A snapshot of such happiness
Laced with a longing ache
So beautiful in its single frame
Raw, uncaptured, untamed
I'd ride the roaring tiger forever

A token from a pile of chips
Snatched away from a lover's lips
As our limbs cash in
We collide with reckless force
An act to unabashedly coarse
That it sands itself into refinement

Smooth like you, smooth like me
Face of marble, face of mud
Cool, salty, silty, smooth
But then the seconds kill the firsts
The lasts, the bests and the worsts
Till the moment can hang no longer

Persistence

When your many streams of consciousness
Make a suicidal leap into the sea
You will have a eureka experience
And finally understand me

When the footfalls of your idea army
March straight into battle to die
And spill blood where the Earth is driest
You will grow an eye for and I

But if you think of me in sleep
When your defenses have fallen to the floor
I might see you twitch in resentment
And forever close this door

So walk on a great deal longer
plod over impossible terrain
Then I will show you what light I have carried
And all will not be in vain

The Grand Reopening

Sweep up the all cobwebs
This hotel is open again
Guests will come in dinner jackets
And sip cognac while watching the rain

Grease the wheels of the room-service carts
Load them with buckets of ice
Impregnate them with chilled champagne
Only the very best will suffice

Iron all the uniforms
Rehire all the maids
Polish all the bellboys’ shoes
Steam the creases in their plaids

Stock the larders with ropes of garlic
And meats from all over the world
Let jasmine once more scent fragrant grains
While king prawns lie among them curled

The streets will be envious beyond relief
This hotel will be splendid again
At the junction where Nostalgia avenue
Meets Confusion Main and Confounded Lane

Drive away the mendicants
There will be no poverty here
Only opulence beyond one’s imagination
In rooms that are priced very dear

If your eyes are rich with glittering tears
And your experience was very expensive
Do join us for drinks in the Wrecking-Ball-Room
Our wine list is suitably extensive

When you retire to the presidential suite
Please note the complimentary willows
We hope the stay will be to your taste
Like the salt and the mint on your pillow