Appendix To Swinburne's "Before The Beginning Of Years" by KeLP
Long after the years had begun,
But before the gods had forgot,
They gathered under the sun
To judge the life they had wrought.
And they numbered the cities as stars
And souls as the sands of the sea;
In horror they reckoned the wars
And undisciplined death from disease.
On works in great wonder they gazed:
So much in so meager of years;
So much deserving of praise;
So much foretelling of fear.
For the probes of men had pried
Into grottos of god-domain:
No longer could heaven hide
Nor secret of hell remain.
The god-gifts given to men
Had made the men near-gods:
Though shackled to weakness and sin
They conquered nature and words.
Sin slept when words were won,
Nor weakness could nature confer,
And the high gods quitted the sun
For mansions men knew not were.
Derision into vengeance is weaved,
Descendants reap what's sown,
And nations of men are pleased
To think the gods are gone.
Near-gods of noisome wail,
Pride-packed with prejudged charts
No common course shall fail;
God-mind without god-heart.
Yet death remains undaunted
And time is still untamed,
While higher laws lie wanted
And truth is choked in chains.
November (Another Four Years) by KeLP
Politics is futile
And food is growing bland,
War goes on forever,
The sea still meets the land.
Go vote.
Vote the lesser evil,
Promote the general warfare,
Add to swirling waters
The meekness of a dare.
Run fast.
Run to make the money,
Crawl to meet the feeble,
Shake the hand of progress,
Lie if you are able.
Truth hurts.
Pain is for the masses,
Vagueness is what counts.
Power starves an ego,
Tallies feed the doubt.
I win.
Winning turns to serving,
Serving for myself,
Dishes of the people,
Chew the pauper's pelf.
Go vote.
Motorcycling by KeLP
I shall take some
Metal and Plastic,
Flesh and Bone,
And fuse them together as one.
Add Chrome and Paint,
Leather and Skill,
Motion and Grace;
In the end I will name it freedom.
A cycle of freedom,
A cycle of life,
A world to be seen.
Concrete and Earth
Shall lie before
And behind
And the Motion never shall end.
Now add Heart, Thought,
Safety, Danger,
Pain and Joy;
Elysian fields are gained.
A cycle of freedom,
A cycle of life,
A path to being.
Meeting by KeLP
Will you walk with me, kind sir?
The miles are shorter when not alone.
"I would if I could, but I can't, you see,
The gray and cold has seized my bone."
Will you, then, sit here and talk?
A moment's rest would please me much.
"Sit I will, but I can't talk.
Words leave me wrong, slurred and such."
Will you join me, then, in silent thought?
A peaceful way to while the time.
"I've spent my life in inner moods.
Silence is no friend of mine."
Tell me, sir, what would you do?
Are you no friend to such as I?
"To all I'll meet, I'll nod my head,
And if they frown, I'll sigh."
To The Ale Drinkers by KeLP
Give me life or give me death,
But give me not your mind,
For in it's spring of bubbly brew
Grows much of not-a-thing.
You rant and rave, and snort and shout,
To tell me how it is,
Or, Mondays, how't should be instead
(Bubble, bubble, gurgle, fizz).
In masochistic silent pause
I hear your steamy spew
Erupting forth in "how's-a-bouts"
Of worlds fit just for you.
I'm contemplating, so you think,
Your thoughts on ending war,
When, truthfully, I'm wondering
If I dare take control
And lead you to the faulty end
Your logic brings you toward.
In courts of old, a fool was put
To death if he but once
Upset the king, by giving him
Advice fit for a dunce.
And much's been lost by generals
Who's given advice was poor.
And they lost cities, countries, men;
Much more than just a war.
So give advice but sparingly,
And only when you know
Your information has few faults,
And from it you can show
A simple trend so logical
It helps your insight grow.
If knowledge is the only end,
And in itself be good,
Can half-grown thoughts be anything
But half of what they should?
The Sun Burned Down For Aeons by KeLP
The sun burned down for aeons.
The night, it burned along.
One friend gone.
One friend gone wrong.
The sun burned down for aeons.
The clouds returned no more.
The trees, they died of thirst.
One tree to nurse.
One tree died first.
The clouds returned no more.
The elves perished above.
The dwarves died down below.
One seed sown.
One seed now gone.
The elves perished above.
The word became too strong.
The men, they're still alive.
One found fire.
One on war thrives.
The word became too strong.
Long after the years had begun,
But before the gods had forgot,
They gathered under the sun
To judge the life they had wrought.
And they numbered the cities as stars
And souls as the sands of the sea;
In horror they reckoned the wars
And undisciplined death from disease.
On works in great wonder they gazed:
So much in so meager of years;
So much deserving of praise;
So much foretelling of fear.
For the probes of men had pried
Into grottos of god-domain:
No longer could heaven hide
Nor secret of hell remain.
The god-gifts given to men
Had made the men near-gods:
Though shackled to weakness and sin
They conquered nature and words.
Sin slept when words were won,
Nor weakness could nature confer,
And the high gods quitted the sun
For mansions men knew not were.
Derision into vengeance is weaved,
Descendants reap what's sown,
And nations of men are pleased
To think the gods are gone.
Near-gods of noisome wail,
Pride-packed with prejudged charts
No common course shall fail;
God-mind without god-heart.
Yet death remains undaunted
And time is still untamed,
While higher laws lie wanted
And truth is choked in chains.
November (Another Four Years) by KeLP
Politics is futile
And food is growing bland,
War goes on forever,
The sea still meets the land.
Go vote.
Vote the lesser evil,
Promote the general warfare,
Add to swirling waters
The meekness of a dare.
Run fast.
Run to make the money,
Crawl to meet the feeble,
Shake the hand of progress,
Lie if you are able.
Truth hurts.
Pain is for the masses,
Vagueness is what counts.
Power starves an ego,
Tallies feed the doubt.
I win.
Winning turns to serving,
Serving for myself,
Dishes of the people,
Chew the pauper's pelf.
Go vote.
Motorcycling by KeLP
I shall take some
Metal and Plastic,
Flesh and Bone,
And fuse them together as one.
Add Chrome and Paint,
Leather and Skill,
Motion and Grace;
In the end I will name it freedom.
A cycle of freedom,
A cycle of life,
A world to be seen.
Concrete and Earth
Shall lie before
And behind
And the Motion never shall end.
Now add Heart, Thought,
Safety, Danger,
Pain and Joy;
Elysian fields are gained.
A cycle of freedom,
A cycle of life,
A path to being.
Meeting by KeLP
Will you walk with me, kind sir?
The miles are shorter when not alone.
"I would if I could, but I can't, you see,
The gray and cold has seized my bone."
Will you, then, sit here and talk?
A moment's rest would please me much.
"Sit I will, but I can't talk.
Words leave me wrong, slurred and such."
Will you join me, then, in silent thought?
A peaceful way to while the time.
"I've spent my life in inner moods.
Silence is no friend of mine."
Tell me, sir, what would you do?
Are you no friend to such as I?
"To all I'll meet, I'll nod my head,
And if they frown, I'll sigh."
To The Ale Drinkers by KeLP
Give me life or give me death,
But give me not your mind,
For in it's spring of bubbly brew
Grows much of not-a-thing.
You rant and rave, and snort and shout,
To tell me how it is,
Or, Mondays, how't should be instead
(Bubble, bubble, gurgle, fizz).
In masochistic silent pause
I hear your steamy spew
Erupting forth in "how's-a-bouts"
Of worlds fit just for you.
I'm contemplating, so you think,
Your thoughts on ending war,
When, truthfully, I'm wondering
If I dare take control
And lead you to the faulty end
Your logic brings you toward.
In courts of old, a fool was put
To death if he but once
Upset the king, by giving him
Advice fit for a dunce.
And much's been lost by generals
Who's given advice was poor.
And they lost cities, countries, men;
Much more than just a war.
So give advice but sparingly,
And only when you know
Your information has few faults,
And from it you can show
A simple trend so logical
It helps your insight grow.
If knowledge is the only end,
And in itself be good,
Can half-grown thoughts be anything
But half of what they should?
The Sun Burned Down For Aeons by KeLP
The sun burned down for aeons.
The night, it burned along.
One friend gone.
One friend gone wrong.
The sun burned down for aeons.
The clouds returned no more.
The trees, they died of thirst.
One tree to nurse.
One tree died first.
The clouds returned no more.
The elves perished above.
The dwarves died down below.
One seed sown.
One seed now gone.
The elves perished above.
The word became too strong.
The men, they're still alive.
One found fire.
One on war thrives.
The word became too strong.