The Domain of Doubt

wandering
along the luminous parades where princesses preside with numb glamour
through gloomy galleries where doors ache with the comedy of fear
outside mighty arenas where men evoke the colours of loyalty
near cosmic theatres where oracles dispense chemical rhythms

I allow the proud lethargy
to litter my pockets with excuses
like a spectator without method
and my mouth bursts into subdued slogans that twist away inside the glassy breeze

fantasy and shame
are extracted at whim like beer or scotch
in this grungy bar
where I linger in vapours of hope

wondering at the burning curves
clad in feminine shades of strength
and their ripening smiles
drift through the midnight haze
touching the drinks of chance
they flash names like Ecstasy and Heartache
along the course of moods
while I consider the bets for favourable lips
those glistening to the taste of music

I move
the noise of booze staggers the field
the odds of desire suddenly cryptic
the grapes of her face tickle my memory

ah
inarticulate feet
map my indecent guilt

wandering
beneath the sky festering with cat’s eyes
I appeal to the blood-rich trees
secure the rain’s honour!
foster the moon’s humour!
reverse the earth’s costume!
exploit the sun’s fortune!
wrench me from this frothy state
immerse me in the treasure of desire
punch me with golden directions
ignite me on the majesty of language

but the voiceless answer
opens a peacock’s tail of question marks
a dance for my inert hands
to worship the spring of disorder
as the wooden gurus beat their riddles

wandering
here the fermented poster of paradise
here the warnings of true tenderness
here pieces of the tormented dream
sensations like cinema in this cold arcade

wandering
streets shout
comrades rally their smashed hero
women of tireless nobility
her moist tones float like a spent echo

as around me
day breaks suspiciously
like instant love

I bargain with the concrete morning
while passengers on their fare to fame taxi by through the tailings of night

a grandiose sigh
crystal spores erupt from my lungs
and a weary passage home appears
as I penetrate the daylight
loaded with the vagrant hopes of an
urban prophet