Myriad-dark• Show poetry

I am very attracted to the dark because it hides so much, yet reveals so much too. I like the challenge of being able to write intelligent pieces without it sounding trite and false. I don't tolerate fools gladly (like most Aquarians...) & I love to write because it is my MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION!!!
I believe in the credo: "To thine ownself be true" & I like to think my writings reflects that belief.
For the most part I write to explore those parts of the psyche some consider dark. But then how dark is dark if you don't; or won't see the shadows dancing there...
I am a besotted fan of the writings of Leonard Cohen; beat poetry; street poetry; Lennon & McCartney; Pink Floyd; Tolkien; Clive Barker; John Connolly's Charlie 'Bird' Parker novels; Jim Morrison & The Doors; The Stones;& an aficionado of film & live theatre

If I was to sum up the total span of my existence so far, these are some of my favorite pieces that says it all, because they all come straight from my heart & soul...

WHEN WE WAS

when we was music
we wore shades to hide our dreams
pupil dilated fantasies
man we dreamed
oh yeh!
how we fuckin' dreamed
we buskered up the turnpike
creating thematic storms
we picked our way to paradise
for nickels and pennies
when we was music
we played a boney tune
without skeletal exception
we laid our music bare
and our image was traumatic
we caused a minor panic
in subways and corridors a-plenty
we echoed like a pandemic
when we
when we was
music...
man! we was...
music!


Spaces and Other Places
[words & music by D. E. Barnett]

I have seen the pain and sorrow in one life
To last a whole lot more
And the visions seen inside my head
Lay strewn outside my door
There are too many things upset the balance
And leave their mark on me
And the truth is often hidden deep
Too deep for me to see

I have felt the world closing on in me
Filling up the darkest place
And the way we shout out all our sins
That are screamed into my face
Well it's enough for me to run and hide
There's too much angst hanging around
And if we tried to tally up the score
There'd be more bodies to be found

I've felt the past closing in on me
And it's driving me apart
For all the reasons I can't explain
It leaves me in the dark
And yet we still stumble through this maze
Getting more twisted up inside
As we make excuses for ourselves
Going slowly out of our minds

Now the dream is over for this time
And for now I'll say goodnight
Don't be tempted to take one more look
It will jam you up so tight
There are days and there are days
When the music just won't start
And it's in those moments of deep despair
When I feel so far apart

Take this time for self reflection
To make some progress here
If the words won't come on to the page
They never ever will appear
I've seen too much to take much notice
So I'll ignore it this time around
And sit this dance out and watch awhile
As the rest go 'round and 'round...


All Through the Night
[words & music by D. E. Barnett]

So where do we go from here?
When there's no where else to go,
Things are never what they appear to be,
Even less so when you know.

It's not easy to explain how,
Your world can be turned upside down,
Without an explanation of why,
You end up spinning out of control.

Although,
All through the night,
In the dark I miss the light...

Cause I don't want to know your pain,
I've had enough to last me a lifetime,
What I lost I never re-gained,
And it makes me sadder even knowing.

That,
All through the night,
In the dark I miss the light...

So I don't want to know what you seek,
It makes no difference anyway,
The more you own the less you keep,
And it makes no sense to lose so much.

Because I can't explain why,
It never made much sense anyway,
And the longer I try to understand,
The further I keep slipping away.

Because,
All through the night,
In the dark I miss the light...


Dark Devotions
[Words & Music by D.E. Barnett]

The constant motions,
And swirling oceans,
Of dark devotions in your soul,
Sleepy movements
And conscious moments,
That make up all the parts that you control.

I've seen it all before,
Spoken the words that opens doors,
And made the usual sacrifices on the altar of the night,
You make it all seem,
So wholesome good and so clean,
And yet I still awake this living dream cold and full of fright.

The constant scheming,
And understated meaning,
Whenever I start gleaning through the words,
That build like castles,
Mounds of endless hassles,
Until every sentence spoken is lost or blurred.

There are no actions,
That cause greater reactions,
When you drop the life you're holding and it smashes on the floor,
You do the things that pleases,
By simply sweeping up the pieces,
And all that's left are bits that we went over once before.

I Don't Want to Talk About It
[Words & Music by D.E. Barnett]

I don't want to be the one,
When it's all now said and done,
To fall apart,
You can take it all away,
And leave me nothing more to say,
I can't pretend you didn't break my heart.

If it isn't up to me,
When it's all said openly,
To take account,
You can throw it in my face,
It's not my place to make amends with you,
You see it's not what I'm all about.

[Chorus]
So I don't want to talk about it,
Yet when you look around life goes on without us,
Seems to me the that things that never change,
Still stay the same so little do they bring,
And the empty feelings left inside,
We can't hide anymore.

I could count down all the times,
When I thought I'd lose my mind,
Without you,
You can turn me inside out then round about,
And cast away the empty shell of me,
There's nothing I could do.

But if I took the time,
And stopped feeding you my lines,
I might succeed,
In the end I might say exactly what I mean,
Without thinking and be seen,
To want the things I really need (but now...)

[Chorus...]

Past Reflections
Words & Music by D E Barnett

You know,I know,
Our love will grow,
If you count the moments,
Feel the magic flow.

You see, I see,
You belong with me,
If we watch the magic,
Gently soothe our souls.

One dream, our dream,
Shapes of clouds in natures schemes,
Tides of moods everchanging,
Within ourselves.

Growing, flowing,
Everything is moving,
Minds that touch perceiving,
That constantly grow.

[CHORUS]
But through a sea of silence,
Wondering where you are,
Through a gateway of light,
Reaching out towards the stars,
I can't hear you, be near you,
See you, or be you...

Reach out, touch me,
Bathe me in your ecstasy,
Let the winds of change,
Dance around our souls.

Softly, gently,
Reaching out and touching me,
I can taste your aura
While our bodies stay entwined.

Breathing, softly,
Having you so close to me,
I can see the starlight,
Reflecting in your eyes.

You know, I know,
Let this magic always flow,
As we move through cycles,
Universal skies...

[2ND CHORUS]
So let your colours bathe me,
In your everlasting magic lights,
Through this mortal silence,
Reaching out on through the night,
I can't hear you, be near you,
See you or be you...


Child of Kingdom Come

Born beside a mountain stream
Child of kingdom come
Everyday she gathers dreams
For every-one...

She dances under an autumn moon
This child of kingdom come
Hidden 'neath her cloak of stars and runes
Her spider dreams are spun

Here is where the sky's expanse
Spreads as far as the eye can see
This is where she can be found
In her garments of leafy weave

Past and present crease her brow
Child of kingdom come
Her eyes are jewels of crystal light
This child of kingdom come

While...
All day long she dances with the sun

Angel Of Mercy

The angel of mercy was broken in two
From all the emotions she'd been going through
Three Sacred Heart sisters were all at a loss
Waiting there on the station down at King's Cross.

The station hand's whistle was filling the air
As the commuters were waiting but just didn't care
They were all in a hurry to catch a train London bound
Into the city where their office is found.

The old locomotive was so polished and clean
As it stood at the platform all wreathed in steam
The carriages were all lined up like soldiers behind
The leather seats waiting for the passengers to find.

The angel of mercy began boarding the train
As the three Sacred heart sisters' went back home again
The guard blew his whistle and signalled the driver
Who was smoking a capstan; he was a world war survivor.

The old locomotive began to huff and puff with the strain
As the station hand went back to his tea and scones once again
The train rattled and hummed along the old track and rail
As the houses in rows shot by like fencing pales.

Across country and forest all colours of green
The train and its' cargo were lulled into dreams
Away across rooftops and old church-top spires
The steam from the engine rose higher and higher.

Passed copse, glen and sacred grove to a place at worlds end
The old locomotive came to a slow stop once again
While back in God's own country in this old sceptered isle
The angel of mercy sat back and she smiled...

Immortal Chortle

I am beset by boundaries
of living and dying
using creativity as a drug

Climbing the stairs to the attic of my imagination
to see what cobwebs lie in wait
shuffling between shadows and music
where my true heart lies

And those words that float
in the ethers of the world wide
among the electrics and electrons
settling like dust on furniture

Of spoken thoughts left abandoned
detritus and throw away lines
that may
or may not outlive me
an epitaph to my grand delusion
I think; therefore I was
before I forgot the question
and milk

You can castigate me
castrate me
but my words will be the death of me yet...