in due and proper measure

my name and nature are not in dispute
but in between the hours and longer days
we find that answers can't be absolute

the rules require that we must prosecute
our tasks and duties in the proper ways
my name and nature are not in dispute

no one who counts can hope now to compute
the sum of value in the nightly plays
we find that answers can't be absolute

you play the older tunes upon the flute
and do not smile when we throw the bouquets
my name and nature are not in dispute

a final sentence no one dares commute
the monster devours all who tread the maze
we find that answers can't be absolute

moments and hours each bear their proper fruit
all must their expectations soon appraise
my name and nature are not in dispute
we find that answers can't be absolute

all the best songs

 

all the best songs are played by angry souls
we hear the words and do not understand
the sense is best provided by creoles

the batsman always fears the one who bowls
such messages we hear as flat and bland
all the best songs are played by angry souls

you rake the foolish over hotter coals
but do not have the guts just to command
the sense is best provided by creoles

a host of metaphors must still pay tolls
to those who think our language is too grand
all the best songs are played by angry souls

no enemy would hide within the holes
that dot the mountainsides in our fair land
the sense is best provided by creoles

the deepest diggers are not normal moles
under their rule our pains will just expand
all the best songs are played by angry souls
the sense is best provided by creoles

a glimpse of river

a glimpse of river distant sight of sea
familiar places within realms of thought
each of us finds just where we have to be

a distant mountain the shade of a tree
in those materials our hearts are caught
a glimpse of river distant sight of sea

all proper moments when to frame our plea
about the meanings all of us were taught
each of us finds just where we have to be

never complain and never disagree
about the value of what must mean naught
a glimpse of river distant sight of sea

over the hilltops the wind may decree
such limits as no human hand has wrought
each of us finds just where we have to be

what's known in common by each refugee
is that the wealthy valued them at naught
a glimpse of river distant sight of sea
each of us finds just where we have to be