by Nick Gisburne
There is no question, you deserve to die
A sad, pathetic waste of human skin
If someone claims to hate you more than I
They’ll need a bigger voodoo doll, or pin
Your mother should have shot you in the head
Or bagged you up to throw you in a lake
A pile of meat and gristle, not quite dead
Your blank expression makes my eyeballs ache
A maggot owns more intellect than you
You have the wit and wisdom of a brush
Your imminent demise is overdue
I’d stab you, if I wasn’t in a rush
Each customer complaint will make you scream
So grab a phone, and welcome to the team
Monday, 14 June 2021
Sunday, 13 June 2021
Splintered Space
by Nick Gisburne
A priceless piece, a shard of splintered space
Is missing from the crystal at its core
Insurance puts a builder on the case
Arriving with a hammer and a saw
The hole begins to crumble and collapse
He claims his work was finished, as described
The universe, now filled with fractal gaps
Is blamed on politicians, bought or bribed
The law declines to fine the folks at fault
Their drivers, cleaners, maids, are jailed for life
And somewhere, in a gem-encrusted vault
A rich man shows the splinter to his wife
Infinity may shatter into ash
But nothing is more powerful than cash
A priceless piece, a shard of splintered space
Is missing from the crystal at its core
Insurance puts a builder on the case
Arriving with a hammer and a saw
The hole begins to crumble and collapse
He claims his work was finished, as described
The universe, now filled with fractal gaps
Is blamed on politicians, bought or bribed
The law declines to fine the folks at fault
Their drivers, cleaners, maids, are jailed for life
And somewhere, in a gem-encrusted vault
A rich man shows the splinter to his wife
Infinity may shatter into ash
But nothing is more powerful than cash
The Writhing Nightmare
by Nick Gisburne
Repulsive undulations, smooth and slick
Crescendo as the writhing nightmare nears
The deviance of every rhythmic click
Intensifies the fever of my fears
I dream my reckless probing had been curbed
But wishes will not fix a fool’s mistake
This ancient temple, hidden, undisturbed
Enticed me to a crypt, beneath the lake
Upon a heathen altar, black as jet
A sacrilege, a creature, cracked and dry
Perhaps it felt my heat, perhaps my sweat
I found the spark of evil in its eye
Bewildered, lost, my senses must submit
I know my fate, for I awakened it
Repulsive undulations, smooth and slick
Crescendo as the writhing nightmare nears
The deviance of every rhythmic click
Intensifies the fever of my fears
I dream my reckless probing had been curbed
But wishes will not fix a fool’s mistake
This ancient temple, hidden, undisturbed
Enticed me to a crypt, beneath the lake
Upon a heathen altar, black as jet
A sacrilege, a creature, cracked and dry
Perhaps it felt my heat, perhaps my sweat
I found the spark of evil in its eye
Bewildered, lost, my senses must submit
I know my fate, for I awakened it
Saturday, 12 June 2021
Dark Souls Matter
by Nick Gisburne
New taxes on the ectoplasm trade
Infuriate the ghosts who haunt the mines
No spook accepts the deal the demons made
Cadavers storm a séance with their spines
And standing (floating) far above the crowd
With cryptic meanings mediums know well
A spectre in a ‘Dark Souls Matter’ shroud
Pays tribute to the working class of Hell
With exorcism problems unresolved
The spirit world defends the damned with pride
But legal rights are easily dissolved
When all of the participants have died
From midnight, apparitions work to rule
And overtime is banned for every ghoul
New taxes on the ectoplasm trade
Infuriate the ghosts who haunt the mines
No spook accepts the deal the demons made
Cadavers storm a séance with their spines
And standing (floating) far above the crowd
With cryptic meanings mediums know well
A spectre in a ‘Dark Souls Matter’ shroud
Pays tribute to the working class of Hell
With exorcism problems unresolved
The spirit world defends the damned with pride
But legal rights are easily dissolved
When all of the participants have died
From midnight, apparitions work to rule
And overtime is banned for every ghoul
Dragon Bait
by Nick Gisburne
A crack of bone, a splintered, wrenching snap
The whiplash as the dragon’s tongue, released
Is driven to the centre of my trap
And smashes through the carcass of the beast
The bait, to him, a morsel, nothing more
But dragons have a legendary greed
Where every other hunter failed before
I know I have the cunning to succeed
My calculations, perfect and precise
Are focused on the furnace of its head
The dragon staggers, spinning, turning twice
And crashes, hard, as though its limbs were lead
A dragon is impervious to death
But not to half a ton of crystal meth
A crack of bone, a splintered, wrenching snap
The whiplash as the dragon’s tongue, released
Is driven to the centre of my trap
And smashes through the carcass of the beast
The bait, to him, a morsel, nothing more
But dragons have a legendary greed
Where every other hunter failed before
I know I have the cunning to succeed
My calculations, perfect and precise
Are focused on the furnace of its head
The dragon staggers, spinning, turning twice
And crashes, hard, as though its limbs were lead
A dragon is impervious to death
But not to half a ton of crystal meth
Deep as a Dream
by Nick Gisburne
This is the ending of all I have known
Weary and worthless, defeated, I die
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Torn from a body of muscle and bone
Death is upon me before I can fly
This is the ending of all I have known
Neither a grave nor a marker of stone
Only a spectre, a shadow, a sigh
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Sentenced to silence, too late to atone
No one is waiting to wave me goodbye
This is the ending of all I have known
Destiny smothers the seeds I have sewn
Lost to the wilderness, sold to the sky
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Death has no kingdom, no treasure, no throne
Emptiness, knowing my life was a lie
This is the ending of all I have known
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
This is the ending of all I have known
Weary and worthless, defeated, I die
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Torn from a body of muscle and bone
Death is upon me before I can fly
This is the ending of all I have known
Neither a grave nor a marker of stone
Only a spectre, a shadow, a sigh
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Sentenced to silence, too late to atone
No one is waiting to wave me goodbye
This is the ending of all I have known
Destiny smothers the seeds I have sewn
Lost to the wilderness, sold to the sky
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Death has no kingdom, no treasure, no throne
Emptiness, knowing my life was a lie
This is the ending of all I have known
Deep as a dream, in the darkness, alone
Thursday, 10 June 2021
The Execution Tree
by Nick Gisburne
The dead are dragged behind us in the sea
A stain, a bloody scum, infects the waves
The voyage to the Execution Tree
Brings hope to every wretched soul it saves
We drive the oars to force the fleet along
Each weary heart too rotten to repair
And in the damned defiance of a song
Our ships release an anthem to the air
With guidance from the gods, we sight the shore
The shadow of the Tree deflects the dawn
Whatever pain or price was paid before
The contract for the sacrifice is drawn
The tributes, raped and murdered, soil the sands
A payment only evil understands
The dead are dragged behind us in the sea
A stain, a bloody scum, infects the waves
The voyage to the Execution Tree
Brings hope to every wretched soul it saves
We drive the oars to force the fleet along
Each weary heart too rotten to repair
And in the damned defiance of a song
Our ships release an anthem to the air
With guidance from the gods, we sight the shore
The shadow of the Tree deflects the dawn
Whatever pain or price was paid before
The contract for the sacrifice is drawn
The tributes, raped and murdered, soil the sands
A payment only evil understands
Pills and Powders
by Nick Gisburne
Impossible to penetrate the door
Another failed escape, like all the rest
Surrender leaves me feeble, as before
A fist, frustration, pounds upon my chest
Too terrified to twist another key
I bend beneath the burden of distress
A shadow soaks through everything I see
Each second thought becomes a second guess
Obsession steals the focus from the light
It follows me, forever, into sleep
I drown in pain and poison, day and night
The well of my addiction, wide and deep
There is no way to leave this hated room
Without the pills and powders I consume
Impossible to penetrate the door
Another failed escape, like all the rest
Surrender leaves me feeble, as before
A fist, frustration, pounds upon my chest
Too terrified to twist another key
I bend beneath the burden of distress
A shadow soaks through everything I see
Each second thought becomes a second guess
Obsession steals the focus from the light
It follows me, forever, into sleep
I drown in pain and poison, day and night
The well of my addiction, wide and deep
There is no way to leave this hated room
Without the pills and powders I consume
Wednesday, 9 June 2021
Pieces in a Game
by Nick Gisburne
Apocalypse: the final way to fight
A button, activated with a thumb
A cataclysmic holocaust of light
Leaves every atom sterile, silent, numb
As clouds of poison saturate the sky
Electric storms accelerate their spread
No witness will survive to wonder why
Forever purged, a desert, dark and dead
What septic mind, what madness, would agree
To smash this world to smoking dunes of dust?
What evil would incinerate the sea?
And yet, that curse will come, because it must
When life and death are pieces in a game
Who wins a war with no one left to blame?
Apocalypse: the final way to fight
A button, activated with a thumb
A cataclysmic holocaust of light
Leaves every atom sterile, silent, numb
As clouds of poison saturate the sky
Electric storms accelerate their spread
No witness will survive to wonder why
Forever purged, a desert, dark and dead
What septic mind, what madness, would agree
To smash this world to smoking dunes of dust?
What evil would incinerate the sea?
And yet, that curse will come, because it must
When life and death are pieces in a game
Who wins a war with no one left to blame?
The Archivist
by Nick Gisburne
I must confess that you are not alone
For those who see such wonders on display
Routinely find their senses overthrown
Though few may find the will to walk away
The science, lost, forgotten, still survives
An ancient art, too primitive to date
The thrill as each new specimen arrives
Is worth, beyond comparison, the wait
Each human head, upon its plinth of rock
Exquisitely preserved within these vaults
Is severed, cleanly, quickly, on the block
And mummified with oils and secret salts
There is no finer archivist than I
Please take a lasting look, before you die
I must confess that you are not alone
For those who see such wonders on display
Routinely find their senses overthrown
Though few may find the will to walk away
The science, lost, forgotten, still survives
An ancient art, too primitive to date
The thrill as each new specimen arrives
Is worth, beyond comparison, the wait
Each human head, upon its plinth of rock
Exquisitely preserved within these vaults
Is severed, cleanly, quickly, on the block
And mummified with oils and secret salts
There is no finer archivist than I
Please take a lasting look, before you die
Tuesday, 8 June 2021
Deception
by Nick Gisburne
Deception drives a dagger through the heart
Too powerful, too painful, to avoid
And those who seek the secrets of its art
May find their plans, their promises, destroyed
A single foolish impulse stains the skin
It pulls the threads of honesty apart
A flicker, just a stolen spark of sin
Will finish more than it can ever start
A glance, a brief betrayal of the eyes
A small, unguarded moment of mistrust
Unlocks a tiny doorway into lies
Returning what was wonderful to dust
There is no path more treacherous, no vice
Deception carries all too high a price
Deception drives a dagger through the heart
Too powerful, too painful, to avoid
And those who seek the secrets of its art
May find their plans, their promises, destroyed
A single foolish impulse stains the skin
It pulls the threads of honesty apart
A flicker, just a stolen spark of sin
Will finish more than it can ever start
A glance, a brief betrayal of the eyes
A small, unguarded moment of mistrust
Unlocks a tiny doorway into lies
Returning what was wonderful to dust
There is no path more treacherous, no vice
Deception carries all too high a price
The Last Defender
by Nick Gisburne
A surge of steam erupts in boiling clouds
Delighted children cheer as he arrives
Reflected in his sombre eyes, the crowds
Anticipate the lesson of their lives
The fables and the legends, all are true
This metal marvel really does exist
Immense, from bolt to plate, from skull to shoe
A child could fit within each mighty fist
The teacher quickly pacifies the class
And shares astounding stories from his past
A time when giant juggernauts of brass
Protected human cities to the last
They screech, and snap their talons at his face
The last defender of that hated race
A surge of steam erupts in boiling clouds
Delighted children cheer as he arrives
Reflected in his sombre eyes, the crowds
Anticipate the lesson of their lives
The fables and the legends, all are true
This metal marvel really does exist
Immense, from bolt to plate, from skull to shoe
A child could fit within each mighty fist
The teacher quickly pacifies the class
And shares astounding stories from his past
A time when giant juggernauts of brass
Protected human cities to the last
They screech, and snap their talons at his face
The last defender of that hated race
Monday, 7 June 2021
Tangled Timbers
by Nick Gisburne
She pounds the tangled timbers of the wreck
And fights to free the bodies from its hold
But kneeling on the vessel’s shattered deck
Her spirit, numb, surrenders to the cold
What twist of chance, that she alone survived?
What blessing, stripped from those who died this day?
She questions why the spiteful Fates contrived
To drag their dreams, their hopes, their lives, away
Perhaps they sleep, but none will ever wake
And only she will see the skies they sought
The wind, the waves, relentless as they break
Will never crack the courage she was taught
She does not leave this memory behind
It drives her to the future she must find
She pounds the tangled timbers of the wreck
And fights to free the bodies from its hold
But kneeling on the vessel’s shattered deck
Her spirit, numb, surrenders to the cold
What twist of chance, that she alone survived?
What blessing, stripped from those who died this day?
She questions why the spiteful Fates contrived
To drag their dreams, their hopes, their lives, away
Perhaps they sleep, but none will ever wake
And only she will see the skies they sought
The wind, the waves, relentless as they break
Will never crack the courage she was taught
She does not leave this memory behind
It drives her to the future she must find
Sunday, 6 June 2021
Venture Into Vice
by Nick Gisburne
I cast the bones, the runes, around my feet
My careful calculations are precise
A pounding of the heart, of every beat
Compels my soul to venture into vice
In whispered, cryptic mysteries, I speak
A cypher, tuned to touch the carnal plane
Illusion cloaks the shadowland I seek
A world of dreams, beyond a world of pain
I penetrate the soft and subtle space
And feel the flame, the wonder, warm, within
But I have come to drain this poisoned place
To smother every sign of shame and sin
Yet here the heat is primal, savage, strong
And I am burning, lost, where I belong
I cast the bones, the runes, around my feet
My careful calculations are precise
A pounding of the heart, of every beat
Compels my soul to venture into vice
In whispered, cryptic mysteries, I speak
A cypher, tuned to touch the carnal plane
Illusion cloaks the shadowland I seek
A world of dreams, beyond a world of pain
I penetrate the soft and subtle space
And feel the flame, the wonder, warm, within
But I have come to drain this poisoned place
To smother every sign of shame and sin
Yet here the heat is primal, savage, strong
And I am burning, lost, where I belong
Saturday, 5 June 2021
I Hear the Children Weep
by Nick Gisburne
My blistered fingers scratch and scrape the wall
They dig to reach that evil, other place
The children, trapped beyond it, cry and call
I somehow feel the fear on every face
I tunnel deeper, closer, almost there
Unfaltering, impossible to stop
My skin is slick with sweat, but still I swear
The wall will crumble long before I drop
They sealed them all, so many years ago
A hundred helpless orphans, left to die
They thought that no one else would ever know
Forgetting there were heroes, such as I
And even when the doctors make me sleep
Behind the wall I hear the children weep
My blistered fingers scratch and scrape the wall
They dig to reach that evil, other place
The children, trapped beyond it, cry and call
I somehow feel the fear on every face
I tunnel deeper, closer, almost there
Unfaltering, impossible to stop
My skin is slick with sweat, but still I swear
The wall will crumble long before I drop
They sealed them all, so many years ago
A hundred helpless orphans, left to die
They thought that no one else would ever know
Forgetting there were heroes, such as I
And even when the doctors make me sleep
Behind the wall I hear the children weep
Friday, 4 June 2021
Twelve Million Seashells
by Nick Gisburne
She threads the tiny seashells, one by one
A sacred task, a worthy toil of time
And when she reaches out and there are none
She breathes a song, a rhythmic rush of rhyme
New treasures on the beaches are revealed
She bends to fill her basket, shell by shell
They offer no resistance; all must yield
And always, in the heart, her sorrows swell
For every shell she threads, a life was sold
Transported from the shores on which she stands
She promises their story will be told
With tiny seashells, gathered by her hands
She hears them, weeping, calling from the waves
And threads the shells, as once were chained the slaves
She threads the tiny seashells, one by one
A sacred task, a worthy toil of time
And when she reaches out and there are none
She breathes a song, a rhythmic rush of rhyme
New treasures on the beaches are revealed
She bends to fill her basket, shell by shell
They offer no resistance; all must yield
And always, in the heart, her sorrows swell
For every shell she threads, a life was sold
Transported from the shores on which she stands
She promises their story will be told
With tiny seashells, gathered by her hands
She hears them, weeping, calling from the waves
And threads the shells, as once were chained the slaves
The Final Agony
by Nick Gisburne
Accept the final agony, defeat
As helpless as a tiny, broken toy
The light, the joy, the journey, is complete
Today I come with darkness, to destroy
Your body, scarred and striped, the wounds of war
Still clings to something destiny destroyed
The promises, the life you lived before
Are scattered, smoke and ashes in the void
My dream, my duty, always, is to kill
The terror, every painful piece, is true
I sense the soul, the spark, defiant, still
But know that there is nothing you can do
The more you fight, the longer you will die
But death is not a fate you can deny
Accept the final agony, defeat
As helpless as a tiny, broken toy
The light, the joy, the journey, is complete
Today I come with darkness, to destroy
Your body, scarred and striped, the wounds of war
Still clings to something destiny destroyed
The promises, the life you lived before
Are scattered, smoke and ashes in the void
My dream, my duty, always, is to kill
The terror, every painful piece, is true
I sense the soul, the spark, defiant, still
But know that there is nothing you can do
The more you fight, the longer you will die
But death is not a fate you can deny
Thursday, 3 June 2021
A Symphony of the Soul
by Nick Gisburne
She probes her power, all that she has learned
The mesmerising mysteries of sound
Her fingers lure the shadows, black and burned
They tremble as their frequency is found
A voice, temptation, saturates her mind
A whisper of seduction sweeps the stage
Infernal strings serenely weave and wind
They spill a coiling chorus from its cage
The music soars, escaping; still she stands
She shifts and shapes, exquisite in control
A sea of sound, from ever-twisting hands
A symphony, assembled from her soul
Crescendo, and the rapture of release
And only in this moment is there peace
She probes her power, all that she has learned
The mesmerising mysteries of sound
Her fingers lure the shadows, black and burned
They tremble as their frequency is found
A voice, temptation, saturates her mind
A whisper of seduction sweeps the stage
Infernal strings serenely weave and wind
They spill a coiling chorus from its cage
The music soars, escaping; still she stands
She shifts and shapes, exquisite in control
A sea of sound, from ever-twisting hands
A symphony, assembled from her soul
Crescendo, and the rapture of release
And only in this moment is there peace
Wednesday, 2 June 2021
We Fight
by Nick Gisburne
I grapple with the creature in the pit
A seething monster, summoned from the night
Repulsive organs separate and split
Disgorging deadly fluids as we fight
Its eyes are filled with violet and gold
A stare to freeze the rhythms of the mind
My fingers drive to dig a deeper hold
Aware the tail may strike me from behind
It struggles to return from whence it came
But knows I will afford it no escape
A scaly leg is twisted, almost lame
Yet still its mighty talons swing and scrape
At last we hear the fearsome, final bell
I win, but my opponent wrestled well
I grapple with the creature in the pit
A seething monster, summoned from the night
Repulsive organs separate and split
Disgorging deadly fluids as we fight
Its eyes are filled with violet and gold
A stare to freeze the rhythms of the mind
My fingers drive to dig a deeper hold
Aware the tail may strike me from behind
It struggles to return from whence it came
But knows I will afford it no escape
A scaly leg is twisted, almost lame
Yet still its mighty talons swing and scrape
At last we hear the fearsome, final bell
I win, but my opponent wrestled well
Tuesday, 1 June 2021
Government Guidelines: You Are Possessed
by Nick Gisburne
Your spirit is an asset of the state
By order of the court, you are possessed
A surgeon will extract and terminate
The questionable thoughts your mind confessed
How pitiful the common people are
Unable to exist without control
A forcibly injected mental scar
Will confiscate the title to your soul
The treatment is effective and robust
All deviant emotions will be lost
Your government is caring, kind, and just
But chaos must be cleansed at any cost
Beyond the grave this ruling will apply
A sentence even death cannot defy
Your spirit is an asset of the state
By order of the court, you are possessed
A surgeon will extract and terminate
The questionable thoughts your mind confessed
How pitiful the common people are
Unable to exist without control
A forcibly injected mental scar
Will confiscate the title to your soul
The treatment is effective and robust
All deviant emotions will be lost
Your government is caring, kind, and just
But chaos must be cleansed at any cost
Beyond the grave this ruling will apply
A sentence even death cannot defy