the rhymes of time
TRANSCRIPT
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The Rhymes of Time by Graham O'Brien
Written in 2006 / 2007
i.A Stroll through the Capital
As I watched the rain-soaked window pry away from my eyes
I viewed someone different to my surprise
I saw the streets below full of paying customers
Cobblestones and marble they walk on
I sat for hours watching the heads go by
I had the Mountain View and quietly sighed
Up in this castle of Georgian strife
I wondered what has gone on in my life
Reluctantly picking up a guitar, I start to play
Any chord or song, come what may
I had seen this scene many times before
Less is my contradictions of mind, my intelligence grows to boreThis hapless soul whose only power is to write
About his surroundings within sight
When I woke up along the river bank the other day
The fish below were singing in a unique way
Another day alive and under
The killers of cannibals began to wonder
Time passes by as I view the giant watch of wisdom
Hanging from the tower of the kingdom
Shadows begin to fade at the break of dawn
The sun slowly rises as I yawn
Sin to be up this early at night
Struggling to keep my mind right
Sleep is for the weak and the feeble
For one night I slept in a school
Sometimes I would scream into my pillowOnly other place with this luxury is space
Books can be bought on compact disc
A new format for an age-old tradition.
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ii.Sleep is Not Welcome Here
Walking around my birthplace, an ever- changing city
Sometimes though I feel pity
For our people in need
Another church recites the Nicene Creed
The people who steal to survive should cry
Lending money and not returning could see you die
Inflation, oil, and prices are on the riseYet companies get the bigger prize
The secret of success that burns all walks of life
Taking most monies from young husbands and wives
Ambition to succeed is at a low
People just want to take life slow
If they do not find a way to get the best chance
Avoid the anger and the constant rants
Wanting to escape this dangerous place
Surveying the damage on the people's face
As I sit here now, writing a random script
Not knowing what there is to depict
Times are changing for the unpleasant
This is not some adolescent fad
Permanent damage has been done here
It is only a matter of time before friendship turns to fear.
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iii. Random Writings of a Sleep Deprived Man
I am a man of bones
Deprived of sleep, I slowly work
Eyes shot with blood
Can't recall the last time the shop was closed
Open twenty four hours and a minute
The times when the trucks unload their load
Goods and services sought for useCurtains hiding a window; a rare sight
Wondering if sand came from mountains
Total eclipses happy with darkness
Which causes light to get pissed off
The floor remains carpet but wants to be wood
Said in a conversation with a wall
The clock said to me one day that it didn't have the time
I threw the computer out the next day
A printer once said wallpaper was the answer
Before being directed towards the door
Wilderness excites me
Those koalas really enjoy those trees
The steel said to a gas once that I am the greatest
Before being knocked with the first punch
The light outside my house goes on at half-four
Wish sometimes you could turn the sun off
Newspapers report recycled garbage
Not surprising because it's made from the stuff
The waves in the sea are trying to tell me something
Lakes just don't listen as well as they used to
Pink is the new black
Let's hope brown won't want to be grey
The deep is wild, lot of unknowns
Probably where the invention of the egg came about
Introduction is like opening a wardrobe
No direction in particular just paid the first thing that comes to mind.
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iv. Inside the Mind of Insanity
I saw a bowl of mustard once
Well, it was the anniversary of William of Orange's conquest
Clouds are cool too
Another reason to make weather that much more mediocre
Had pizza for breakfast
Do they still call it pizza if cereal's put on bread?
Unaware that my room is painted silverNot gold, to use the term heavily
Dialled up a number and it said keep trying
Gave up the instant it told me I had won time
A house screamed purchase
Before being knocked down for yet another ice cream kiosk
A maverick of sorts once told the tale of legend
After catching the fugitive in bed with his mother
Under a bed are books I never read
Who would want to read about 'How to Save the World and Get the Girl?'
Sounds like another quote from a comedy
Tragic to see a cowboy losing his prized whore
In a world where bombs drop at the sight of a mission
Funny how so many are made by people who develop spoons
A cup of coffee that is perfect
About the same chance as me becoming a successful poet
A man without his keys
Can't get into the kingdom
Important to have the essentials
Need a ladder to get of this hole
Weird how children scream while running
Quiet when sleeping to music in the background
Men with ponytails
A farmer's dream comes true
Blue skies with cloud
Like chocolate cake and broccoli
Once talked to myself for days on end
Learned a lot about the others
Leaves with different colours
Humans exist this wayA room with a view of the sea
Another reason to buy flowers
Grass and concrete do not mix
No matter what magicians say
Don't get me started on how air planes fly
Forbidden to know the laws of a stone
Why I understand, I couldn't tell you
The spirit carries on and on and on and then a little more
Like varnish on an old abused table
Which shade of white do you get when you put white paint on it?
Ladybirds are orange and black
Do not listen to books
A teardrop is different to rain
More emotion on your feet
Comets collide with planetsA good time to rebuild what has been won.
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v. The Old Hall of Non - Study
Two hundred orange and black
Three men overlooking
Another two men and a women staring at them from the back
Yellow clashes with cream
Brown and beige floors
Four green doors with eighteen exitsIf you are more daring
Filled to the brim
Or derelict depending on the season
A path to nowhere awaits the failing
Navy and yellow is what you sit on
Blue and black is what you write with
Green when a day like this is occurring
Count the dots on the wall
About nine hundred and fifty thousand last time I checked
Yellow signs of silence are met with red faces of indignation
Not wanting to play a part in lunchtime detention
At my worst, I didn't see this place
Not even a penalty sheet to my Grey collar name
Some get their kicks by getting many to feel alive
I coincidentally feel dead inside
As I look at my dreary grey jumper and
How depressing it is to wear a uniform like this
I just get on with it, ignoring the gloom
Surveying the room in a imprisoned class
Many colours are found in this hall
Eighteen lights to guide
Creates a light show to great effect
Just sitting here, writing about a big room I am in
Hall of study, shame to call it that
Considering colours dominate this most depressing of rooms.
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vi. Old Man Plane
Old man plane fell out of the sky
With people in his hands
Thirty miles outside the capital
I couldn't really understand
Rare to see the green and white
In a heap in an empty field
The people that saw this man go downSaid that he was crying
Smoke-filled tears; people dying
The scene of war has become a scene of peace
But tragedy is ever present
The doomed sleeping in their chairs
As they approached the final descent
Made a prophetic crash look like an accident
This field finally has a use
A scene where an old man lost his shoes
And struggled to stay upright
Eventually in tears, falling to the ground
Insurance was useless except for the plane
And for the few that made it
Eight people in all witnessed and survived
An event that changes any life that it touches
Wish the old man could bring me to the city
Which is bound by perilous history
Should have seen this beautiful city
But fat said it wasn't to be
I guess we all have nightmares
But it is worst when they become reality
If only he hadn't lost his cane
Old Man Plane (and about a hundred a fifty passengers)
Would still remain.
I saw the plane
Couldn't wait to go on
The view outside the window pane
Seconds later would be gone
Thousands of feet in the airOutside the cold is too much to bear
I then saw windmills below
Wish it snowed
For then the flight would be delayed
Then the game wouldn't have to be played.
I have these dreams
Of flying machines
Falling out of the sky
Many people die
But I was wondering the other night
In the sky was a burning light.
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vii. Excessive Thought Patterns
Weird how I think these things
I think too much
People tell me this all the time
But sometimes, it's good to think too much
Everything and more is covered
Sometimes more than it should be
Is it even worth writing about?I don't know really
I guess I do think too much
I need help but not directly
Going through a phase that I feel trapped
Page after page
Line after line
Is filled with rage
My life would define.
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viii. Thoughts of the Future
My future is uncertain
Will I become a success?
Or will I wither into the abyss?
The first one would be nice
Because then I can see myself living
But if the latter happens
I cannot see beyond itAm I depressed?
Do I even know its definition?
Am I so sure that my life will turn out in a certain way?
Who am I to judge whether I'll achieve my dream
Four floored Georgian house on a three - Acre Island in the middle of a lake
Ultimate isolation
Eventual desolation
If I do achieve this, will I be happy?
Would I need all that space and subsequent isolation?
Questioning my existence has grown up with me
I am yet to discover my true function
Controlled by a panel of ''experts''
They have mapped out my life
I wish never to see it for then
An eternity of strife-ridden predictability waits
Life is a fast thing.
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ix. Lifes Philosophy
My philosophy on life is:
'You live in the past and when the present comes, open it.
However when you see the future, it is beginning of the end'.
Though I am young, I feel old
I am feeble yet I am a teenagerTo define any status of life is impossible
Wills do not come into the equation
The will to do something is beyond me
I laugh as I turn pages
Into little cages
Each one locked up to fit my sorrows
Against the wall that I can never touch
When I feel down, I write
I write ten pages a day
I am the happiest man in the ward
I am going nowhere, last time I checked
Constant reminders of my fifteenth year.
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x. Requiem to Study Hall
In this room of depression
Feels like another economic recession
I sit alone looking in front of me
An empty space that has never seen light
Reminds me of the blight
Forbidden to eat, a felony to talk
This is not a place where you can just walkIn and out; different beings
All with different stories and meanings
Sit on the chair and be quiet
In this place once was a riot
The blinds protects the beings from the outside
Nowhere or no one to confide
Make a sound and you will be caught
Instant detention will be sought
No trial straight to be confined
No words described
Rather than to show false hope and embrace it
The colours of the room remind of a faucet
Letting thousands out, only few in
Will to show up has been thrown in the bin
Black as night in the middle of the day
It's bright but it is marginally kept at bay
No doubt this place exists
No goals to report, despite infinity of assists
Ink bleeds from the tools we use
An offer we cannot refuse
Another sentence passed
Avoid being gassed
In this prison of fun and games
A pursuit of squires but no dames.
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xi. Finding the Roots
Am I to discover the roots of the equation?
I then realize there is a credible contradiction
The main function of a living human is to die
The ultimate irony
No immortal beings on this ship
Set a course for yet more emptiness
All of the possessions of the wealthyAre worth nothing in the real world
Is ninety eight per cent of Mathematics irrelevant in real life?
The answer is x or y or any other symbol you can think of
Plus and minus make the world goes round
Not how to differentiate something
Algebra: every man and woman's quarrel
Like Marmite; love it or hate it
Spending a day in school is not worth it
If you over half of it will not be in a classroom
Suicide is a complicated matter
Methods many, but some have no choice
Sometimes I look at pictures of space
And wonder what happens if I keep going north
Chances of me getting out alive
Try winning the lottery
While getting struck by lightning
You get the picture that is painted
Use of vivid colour is not tainted
Times when I just want to get out
Of this pointless life
Not to sound suicidal
Almost but not quite there yet
When I leave this world
I can say I will be sarcastically missed
They didn't even knew I existed
The entire world seems small to me
Wondering if I'll ever see Jupiter
What it feels like to be commanding
Wondering if I'll ever have confidenceTo speak in front of myself
Mentally I am a plane crash waiting to happen
A collapse of all things around me
Up and down like stocks
Buying and selling events at prices
That only few can acquire
Many people's desire
Is to jump off a bridge
Just to find out what feels like
Feels like suicide to me
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xii. Fragile: Cannot Be Returned
I am the master of broken electronics
Everything I touch cracks like a mirror
In a way, I am like a mirror
Fragile and non - refundable
I see the world also as this
It is cracking ever so slowly
Amplifiers, various music playersHave fallen victim to my bad luck
In a way, I am not surprised
It has always been this way
Hopefully I will not brake
Like a twig found in an derelict forest
Remote island not seen for an eternity
Finds refuge in its peace
I see my clock ticking but not moving
Like a heart
Batteries not included though.
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xiii.A Principals Visit
The man came in the door
Commanding presence, he witnessed
Showed distain at the people's shortcomings
But complicated their achievements
A man of few words, he keeps it short
Brief encounter with lasting impression
Although this man has everything going for himInside he hurts
Brain tormented; heart split
A dilemma has broken him
Lowest denominator at the highest level
Depression follows quickly; his mind falters under pressure
Coming in the next day distraught and out of place
His lack of energy and love for life is soon realised
Depression takes hold of him as goes down
In the abyss of a broken dream
Seeking refuge in disappearing from the school
Of despair in which his fate was sealed
Hope is there but it is too late
All I wanted was a safe passage through life with little danger
This proved not to be the case.
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xiv.Fake Friends and Other False Answers
Bruised mentally, I struggle through one of life's many institutions
School proved to be the place where my spirit & confidence
Faded away like an unsung hero
Intimidated by people whose arrogance will eventually show the real them
Strange how anyone would see these type of people as friends
But yet some do and feel torture inside
Funny how life throw you rosesAnd forgets to tell you about the many thorns
Of future regret that is to come.
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xv. Dreams of Flying
Blue skies over my head
A young growing boy once said
Clouds make all kinds of shapes
Before time, before they made tapes
On the way, playing in my head an old guitar
Wonder if this will get me far
Music flows through me like a boltOf lightning with many a volt
Looking out beyond the gate
Where it matters when you have no date
Inside here I am alone
Talking to myself silently while I lick an ice cream cone
Many interesting things to know
How in an airport, people come and go
No time to stay and enjoy the view
Out with the old and in with the new
Boarding this flight to get to the top
Airplane food is usually not nice so I bought
Sweets from the duty-free shop
In- flight movies are usually good
Put me asleep then any other thing could
As I glide over the ocean in this plane
I have here something to gain
Air miles that in time will prove useful
And a girl sitting next to me who is beautiful
We talked on the trip nearly the whole way through
Have a lot in common we both do
In a bar, a school, or in my case
Thirty-five thousand feet.
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xvi. Not Acting My Age
Times I felt good are gone a long time
Weird how the events were chronicled in my prime
I feel I am in my prime now while I am young
As I feel the future for me is blurry
Unlike some people who see it before their eyes
My future lingers in my between my past and whatever comes
After the uncertain and blind presentArrogance kills people from the inside
But they hide it very well
Even though the pain puts me through hell
I feel this hell but about arrogance
I just feel comparisons determine where I will end up
In the middle of a foreign street, lying lifeless
Or in my sleep after a full life
I think the first choice because I have no choice
Thinking of taking my own life
Has been considered
But I might leave it to fate
Even though I will hate
The sight makes me feel tormented
In choosing love and life or depression
I write my pains
So I don't have to feel
If I were to leave here tomorrow
I have seen the future
And it doesn't paint an ideal picture
Religion clashes with hate
War ensues
And eventually hope fades into despair
An ironic way to see the auld world go.
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xvii. Foreign Street Fumbles
Running risk of losing the best thing
That has ever happened to me
A chance at life for the entire world to see
But will I waste the chance by ending it all
In the name of the street where I fall
Out of a window of opportunity
Onto the hard, unforgiving groundBreaking me until I feel nothing
A blessing of sorts
But an ending not ironic
To this life bestowed upon me
Emotions need not be here
Only in my writing can I be heard
I am deaf otherwise
I walk through streets of emptiness
Streets I know too well
Welcome to my personal hell.
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xix. Trip with Friends
I arrived early at the entrance
Once there, I had a short glance
Security was fine; I went through
To duty-free, where purchases were made by a few
I didn't buy a paper which I now regret
Not knowing what horse to bet
Breakfast was quick and efficientNot yet wanting to become self- sufficient
We then waited to be called for our flight
The plane was a nice auld sight
The sun rose from its slumber
When the attendant called out our number
Wrote this on this flight over
Flew over Liverpool, Amsterdam and Dover
Like breakfast, the flight was fast
Head above the clouds and birds below finishing last
As I survey the itinerary of the tour
Many interesting events to occur
Nice to have such good friends
Who will be in my memories until the end.
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xx. Return of Frustration
The return of frustration is a sight all too familiar
Religious beliefs collide
Spiritual guidance they do confide
Oil is thicker than blood
Usually a good source of income
You cannot cross the kingdom
Unless you have deep pocketsModern attitudes ignite this fire
Emitting infinite revenue
With death as its only expenditure
Commercialism is a thing of the past
They say the dream will never last
The world is a beautiful thing
But not for long if it continues the way we live today
In our own special way
Society is changing for the better
Not for the pretentious trend setter
No one turned into someone
And then thrown into the archives
Of an once majestic being
That brought us life and seeing
It fade away seems too cruel a task
But eventually the inevitable will happen
Hopefully our train of thought will take a turn
Into a future rather than no future
And then I can die happy
Knowing the next generation will be able to
Handle the problems of old
And use the prior knowledge they have been told
To save this old bird from falling
Into the abyss of the unknown
Territory we do not want to invade
For any reason: none of the above
Loneliness loves misery
Misery loves company
A quote all too familiar to me.
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xxi. Return to the Capital
While I walk again through my birthplace
I see a face looking back in my direction
Looking at me with sparkling blue eyes
A look of flirtation, not of despise
Rare for a young man like me
Everyone usually sees as ugly
Perception of one's looks is commonplaceAll they do is look at the face
And don't bother to look beyond the surface
Lies I have told many
But not as much at me than told
I tend to see and conserve inner beauty
Rather than show it off
An armies display of power
In the past though, I have peaked myself too soon
Almost to the point where I thought I can fly
But I came down to earth with a thud that would rival Tunguska
Shattered expectations for a time veered me off course
Threatened by my friends became no surprise
One day I became deaf
Then people suddenly started to become interested in my life.