King of California

No time for rest

Here comes the steady threat,

With broken bones

He built this throne

And there He hangs

His cracked head;

Stay unseen, stay unheard

When He has the urge,

For

To love Him

Is to Fear Him—

This Love

Is the sharpest blade,

This Love guts!—

With a different pair of hands

For a every different day;

Conquest is a crime

Of good intention

Apologies of

Repeat lines

Who never speak,

But for between the grind

Of jagged teeth;

The King is in recline

Felled by His own sword,

Gold in His veins

Diluted with

All-purpose shame,

This is the Dynasty He’s left—

A sprawling wreckage of Pain

A pitiful testament

Laid vast

In one Man’s name;

Here lied the King of California

Glassy-eyed

Sacrifice—

All His Dragons in His head;

Here lies the King of California

Alone in his La-Z-Boy, trailer,

Dead as his cigarette—

His legacy,

Lapsed cable,

Static on the tv set.

For all those whom my father hurt,

directly or indirectly–I am sorry.

J.M.Liles ©️2024