Jack-in-the-Box

no great fall

rich as it may seem

nothing but an oaf at heart

clings so gracelessly

all the counting men

totting up his pros & cons

couldn’t save him now

he will drag us down

grope around for allies here

there & everywhere

should we sympathise

empathise or even cry

for the love of god

when the only way

in the cruel light of day

is to say goodnight

Mars

Cousin Sam my dear

shan’t be coming home this Fall

who’s got into me

something odd you’ll bet

when a oldster turns sixteen

goodness knows their head

tell the folks back home

nothing untoward & yet

wonders never cease

should this msg find

you’ve gone AWOL too my child

heaven knows you tried

all the chai in time

makes no difference this is mine

blame it on the press

Jack-in-the-box

God what promise you

showed as your approval rates

rose like pyramids

boldly taking on

human form from Mother Earth

through to Superman

worshipping became

everyone's ritual or

cuppa Rosie Lee

feet of clay to jet

booted saviour like sheep

people flocked to dunk

bread in wine or praise

architecture & receive

miracles in reward

popes & caliphs reigned

claiming spokesman status with

intercession rights

heretics to burn

child abuse to go unchecked

even when exposed

God the liberties

taken in the name of Love

cut the bad to shame

when the Deus ex

machina broke down one night

folks would not believe

after all those years

clinging on was safer than

going it alone

rolling back the stone

they repaired their god with faith

idol turned to man

female deities

played a part as mother wife

even concubine

superstitious folk

clutching chits from holy ghosts

claimed their afterlife

who could prove them wrong

no one ever caught the boat

home to tell the tale

just the lord of wine

and a he-man dressed in furs

chanced to cross the line

stories children tell

have more ring of truth in them

let the tocsin ring

time to meet your end

heed the call & hang your boots

up on anti-gen

tweet tweet

when the final charge

on the last remaining phone

winks & flickers out

will there still be sun

light and wind or tides a Moon

circling round an Earth

what is human thought

but anxieties about

such uncertainties

when we're dead and gone

left our plastic waste & waves

wafting into space

archaeologists

from imponderable worlds

should remark on this

Never too late!