When wanderers showed me another decision, A lane up ahead lifted options adieu. Where once was a path littered with madness unforgiven, Turned swiftly to a road which lost was a given. Down, through, and past ghouls where I roamed A length I did witness had I hardly been borne. Beyond intents, beyond deliberation I was lost in a path for forever ambition. Launched into desires like a reflection upon me I shared all I had with a widow of seven. She laughed at my folly through havens and glens That caused me much heartache of which I’m still shaken. I was laughing at the tragedy I’d been witness, In all of my givens I was never victim, Save only of dreaming eternal desires. Here was my folly; deeper than madness, Here was the road I had swiftly been given. To which [luckily] my stars had been lifted to heaven Aloud as I lay beneath all these twilights. Then at once – without warning – As I kissed my last maiden goodbye I witnessed what I had openly given. Shared with my gallantry: a picnic in the glen, A light long been forsaken. Here I was dined like a royal brandy-wine A Mister to a noblette, a guru to affect. Like my littered path of madness unforgiven, I was handed a chance of a rosy countenance. Here I was left as if struck by forever, Struck daft by the eyes of life’s fairer. So out of my lands I had mended and mined, Through wild abandon chalked plenty with lust. I found I had seen what’s never forgotten. Here I was. Here I decided. And here I lept at the chance to grow fond of a maiden.
For if I should swallow whole The misery I laid out clean I would become lost again Beginning all my life anew For lost was I While never biting Never taking time to chew And least of all My mind gone sly I miscalculated Depths of skies
This is not my stop This is not where I’m getting off I have not become lost But I was just reading The daily news And became fascinated With the going-ons After which I noticed You sitting there With a weird glare Just like a stare Which as you can see Has confused me As I wait here now For my right stop
There were five impressions there that day Two belonged to the Emperor King Child though he was, vast was his arm One belonged to the lady tea dealer Powdered face and blood red kimono Shimada and the Golden Lotus Black trim like a bleeding matchbox The fourth belonged to the fat man Hojiju Business tycoon but despicable patron Beard so long it caught fallen crumbs A neck so indulged it sweat on its own A stomach sized so large it was custom made His breath so grotesque nearby flowers wilted
And the fifth, sigh.. the fifth Well, the fifth is a story Designed for only respectable ears Those ears entirely ready to be cured To be enlightened upon a new journey Through and over finer paths in life Along shallow waters edge Where the spring tips of sakura blood Flutter in the wind to float on away
The fifth is a story of love and then lost A heart that danced so lightly on lilies In the sweet summers pond, so lively with life A story of silent bicycles rolling through Low hanging lanes of public parks Along delightful gardens intricately cared for Dazzling with brilliant colors Like a van Gogh day lit dream
And when love effects them When love finds it’s sacred ground amongst Great boulder rocks and tiny bonsai When love settles the folds of a deep blue kimono Flushing the face free of all blood With tender thoughts of a young brides countenance Then, at that moment is when the fifth enters Along with its strong jawed suitor In new business formal
But it wasn’t there that the fifth stopped its journey A sleek rickshaw and a sturdy set of legs Cobbly streets and dimly lit alleys Hushed movements behind closed rice paper dividers And sandals displayed in all sorts of hurry Emotions rolling down the window like raindrops in the night Comforting morning departures, comforting silence Comforting ebb and flow, engagement Rolling through like smoke From a freshly extinguished candle Escaping out through ill-fitting woodwork Of ancient architecture And passing through the heart of a lamenting maiden Deep amongst the last haiku Beside tokens with memories Beneath bamboo thatched covers Protected by fine silken layers
Here lies the fifth Forbidden from all eyes but two Forbidden from all hearts but one Forbidden from all souls but one Forbidden and almost forgotten But sacred, and coveted And lost
All my lies are filled with unskilled talent Washing out the good pages Diluting the mixture until I begin to believe them I should be sentenced to death For the nonsense I pretend If it weren’t for the gamblers For the fortunate good-will I’d find myself lollygagging lost In the lies I weave around my butterfly Dancing in my pretty shoes And printing more pages to spoil
Refined the madness will walk away At seasons end to sell your hay Share the sun, enjoy each day But don’t get lost along the way
Then if the last straw be drawn Finding you left standing on the lawn No goods leftover to be pawned It will be sorrow; all sun be gone
It’s known it’s fearful inside this head Laughter spinning around the bed The makeshift scarecrow: no wit, dead No roof to shelter, no home to stead
But not all’s lost when wits have fled A lone wild grouse found and bled Enough to feed and safely tread At least for a little while, to ease the dread
Nope, I will not do it I will not use my size to destroy I am a peaceful, civilized rhino You should know this by now Don’t you? Have I been living my life as a lie? Lost inside my head and Believing things that really aren’t?
I’m lost boys I’m quite shocked of this A bad rapport, us rhinos get We scare easily, it’s true Stampedes are natural With so many of us together But you just can’t do that to us It’s bad manners to jump up And scare us like that
But anyways, The wife’s got the water on Could I interest you In a spot of tea?
