Anne Clark

Hopeless Cases

Homecoming

Walking into light from the blank evening sky
Knuckles rub away the darkness circling my eyes
Walking into warmth from the cold evening air
Numb white fingers push greasy rain through my hair
You walk into view from shadows thrown against the door
Hands reach out and grasp the moment they've been waiting for
You pull me close, dampness seeps through to your skin
You peel the layers away, I feel the fire ignite within

You create the feeling, I contain the need
It's moments that we're stealing, no pleasure's ever free
You sustain the rhythm, I'll maintain the beat
It's the only chance we're given, let's turn this cold to heat
You possess the notion, I take full heed
We're bound by this emotion, two bodies one heartbeat
You create the feeling, I contain the need
You sustain the rhythm, I'll maintain the beat

Desire comes alive, nothing interrupts the flow
Water nurtures every crevice where this love needs to grow
Sliding to the floor we swell, falling to the ground
The world becomes a place with no clear shapes
With no clear sounds
We're lost for a short while in the knot where love's entwined
You pour the freedom from deep inside
I drink it back like wine
The murmur of your voice
Soft words soothe away the doubt
Your strength so essential, something I can't do without

up

Planes thrust
up
through the pink
northern sky
in perfect time

Heavy bright white
ships
glide
on gray waters
past your window
past your view

Sunlight
rich
precious as gold
unfolds
unrolls
a new day
clarity and light
shine in a new way

Contact made
and at last I'm seeing things anew
colours come
pouring out
from where I stand
with you

Cane Hill

Here
upon these ghostly shadows
of men and women
there are no smiles

Singly
they mingle
with the greyness of the walls
and at strange angles
they travel on
to nowhere
each a nucleus of sadness
and despair

Small
or no conversation
passes their cigarette stained lips
they sit
the lonely ones

Sitting etemally
in institutions
that have become their eyes
that have become their arms
their legs

They are empty now
just shells
moving back and forth
upon a shore
of some uncharted beach

Up steep green hills
they linger
like the darkest thoughts
that push themselves into your mind
You cannot question them
For they will not answer you
They are our deepest fears

Now

Sweat runs down the centre of my back
Crawling like an insect - it makes a track
Sweat runs down the nape of my neck
Anticipation - the cause and the effect

So catch each drop as I catch each breath
'Til there's no doubt, no indecision, 'til there's not one question left
Walking streets alone amid a mass of strangers' faces
Fill my time with thoughts of you and I in distant places
Now I must have you !

You breathe new life - it's all around
It calls my name without a sound
This distance cuts down deep inside
Planes carve like knives acrosss the sky
I must be with you !

This place never cares to see who goes or who remains
I wait and watch the boats set sail, I linger and listen to the far off trains
This land of mine, drifts off alone, far out to sea
With no direction, no intention, nothing left to offer me
And I can't stay !

It stand alone - back on the world
And through it all it still seems to curl
Itself around the people, binding tighter than a rope
Gives nothing away for something, each day without hope
It's no home for the luxury of love !

The good Life out of each on the placards
Doesn't hide away the truth of the broken down facades
The buildings burn, the streets on fire
Every muscle, every nerve stretched to reach for somewhere higher
Feel me now !

Will you remain, place your trust
Turn ideas into motions before mechanisms rust
Will you hold me tight with arms, with words, in your comfort keep me warm
I beg refuge in your shelter as I fly into the storm
Take me !

Take me now !

Hope Road

So these are circumstances leading to my sorry tale
I was in a town I didn't know I'd arrived there by rail
It all began a week before -the joys of saturday night
An invite to a party or watching The Price Is Right
Opting for a soirée for the first time in a year
Mixed badly with the revellers, mixed Bacardi, wine and beer
The room moved back and forwards the dancers did the same
Found refuge in a corner that's when he asked my name

Well this is very nice I thought smiling through the haze
As we talked of Auguste Rodin through to Harold Pinter's plays
Said he played piano said his name was Steve
And in that situation why shouldn't I believe
That he really lived so far away had to make a move for home
Scribbled down his address said he didn't have a phone
But would I like to come to dinner on friday of next week
To this I said I'd love to as he kissed me on the cheek

That night I felt so happy excited through and through
See, the company of strangers doesn't always leave you blue
Stumbled home contented like a cat that got the cream
Woke up a little weary but I knew it was no dream
The next few days were anxious
What could I find to wear?
What happens if i arrive and there is no Hope Road there ?
My friend said don't be silly no one does things like that
Now will you get a move on and take off that stupid hat!

Made sure I set out early, made sure I caught the train
Got out at the right station then of course came down the rain
Followed the directions exactly as he said
Asked people if they new Hope Road but they just walked on ahead
I turned left at the junction, took the fork off to the right
Straight over at the crossroads, then down to the traffic lights
Must have walked those streets for hours in the dark and in the cold
Before I really could accept there was no place called Hope Road

So here I am alone again indoors by myself
The TV, plants, books and I all neatly on the shelf
Next time I'll be more cautions, next time I won't be fooled
It's another of those basic things you're never taught at school
Let this be a warning as you wander through the world
It makes no difference who you are be you boy or be you girl
Be very very careful when people seems so nice
It's not how that it's expensive later on you pay the price

There's no Hope Road

Armchair Theatre

This house is full of loneliness
Of sad weary silence
I switch on the television
For some company

Two actors
A man and a woman
Give exaggerated little moans
As they simulate
Aso called stimulating fuck
For my entertainment

Beneath the endless groans
It's not real
It's pretend
Just like we pretended that last time
To make love

Night is the most difficult part of all
I don't need this
This vile, crude reminder
Of how we play out our roles
Without any script at all

Leaving

Remember me for what I was
Not as I am now
I'll merge into the shadows
I'll disappear into the rain

Remember me for what I was
Not as you see me now
I'll walk out into tomorrow
I'll melt into the sun

Remember me for what I was
A glance in your direction at the right time
A smile breaking into a crescent moon
A word of reassurance
I'll protect myself
Against the cold lash of tongues and lies

I'll blend in with the crowd
I'll disperse into the stream
I'll fade into the darkness
I'll turn and walk away

Remember me for what I was
As one world breaks in two
I'll follow my own instincts
I'll forge another path

Remember me for what I was
Not what I couldn't be
Remember me for what I was
And shall never be again