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Funeral

by Brian Routh

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about

poem by Brian Routh

lyrics

I smelled a sweet

acrid

pungent

sickly smell

the smell of death

the smell of flowers

of mourners

of tears

lavender hung in bunches

shadows grew longer

they appeared distorted

a frozen cloud descended

spreading an icy gloom

across the landscape

I shivered in the cold

yet I had no body to hold

I was gripped

by some mighty gush

a rush

of wild crazy energy

an energy far greater

far more frightening

than I had ever felt

it was raining a black rain

trees in the cemetery

were frantically bending and twisting

wind howled and whined

a frightening piercing lament

the mourners like shadows

were hanging in space

a giant ominous shadow

began moving across the sky

all was still

all was silent

the people stood there

so still

so quiet

fixed in some other world

I heard their hearts beating

I heard their shallow breathing

a bell tolled

a dog barked

oh! what a strange feeling

to be here amongst the dead

what a strange feeling to be dead

to have lost my body

my memory was fading

I was here

amongst the mourners

but I had no physical presence

no way

to make myself known

the mourners

their grave faces frightened me

their expressions tired

fraught with suffering

their faces distorted

and twisted in grief

blue and red lines of light

shimmered around their eyes

breath hissed from them

in gray, green, purple steam

steam speckled with flashes of silver

thunder rumbled

and shook the ground

rain fell

in solid sheets of water

lightening zig zagged

through the clouds

a mighty battle had begun

guns and cannons exploded

voices violently screamed

burning hot winds spewed fire

from the mouth of a mighty dragon

it appeared and circled in the sky

the mourners did not notice

they did not see

they were lost

transfixed

focused on the oblong hole in the earth

I moved with heavy chains

that weighed me down

they clanged and disturbed the stillness

but no one heard

vision faded

sound faded

darkness came

stillness came

I was entombed

in blackness

in numbness

in eternal sleep

credits

released May 1, 2011
words and music: Brian Routh

license

all rights reserved

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about

Brian Routh Leicester, UK

Since 1980 Brian Routh (Kipper Kids) has collaborated with and appeared with Karen Finley, Henry Rollins, Public Image, Genesis P. Orridge, Sex Pistols, Joanna Went, Eric Bogosian, Anne Bean, Bow Gamelan, Lol Coxhill, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Ian Hinchcliffe among others.
He has showed his digital movies at the Royal Academy and sound works at Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
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