THREE Poems
DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE
WALTZING IN BLUE
YEAR ZERO
Mark LANEGAN
DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE
JUDGE / Mr. LANEGAN, I sentence you as a habitual offender to eighteen months in prison, one month for every year of your short shitty life. Good luck son. But wait a minute, I can see here on your rap sheet that every one of these offences are drug or alcohol related... Madam prosecutor, I am shocked that it did not occur to you that this boy needs help.....
And so it began
Who are you calling a boy, mister?
I took umbrage at that
I was an idiot
wilfully ignorant of nearly everything
but no on could have told me that
I wasn’t having it
or anything for that matter
I hated most people
And authorities? Forget it
I was an exceptionally
hard case a confirmed
Misanthrope even
though I couldn’t
have told you what that meant
Or how to spell it
as always my main concerns
concerned getting over
Getting high, getting
fucked and
getting the fuck out
That was it. Not necessarily
in order yes I
was an idiot, barely literate
Untethered from conventional
boundaries and
never smart
But no one could
have ever told me that
No fucking way
WALTZING IN BLUE
WHAT ARE REASONABLE
precautions
against an unknown agent?
Safety is as safety
does and
fortune belongs to
The bold but only
fools rush in
where angels fear
To tread you
were one of a kind
the way you
Knocked them dead
in Brussels
was something to see
the crowd eating out
the palm of
your sweaty hand
You sang like a
God and left
them begging for more
But you wouldn’t
give it to
them you were
Already gone to the
next city
the endless game
Always on and
on and on
And on
YEAR ZERO
THIS IS YEAR ZERO
and I am rootless again
Blissfully selfish
Too slothful, impatient, strung out, rude, someone said
Evil
what does that really
mean anyway?
Apparently kindness is a requirement if one
wishes to be human here
empathy, open heartedness and caring have never been a strong suit
I’ve heard it said that it’s never too late to change
but the damage has been done
Year zero
I’m keeping a conflict journal
a list of my wrongdoings
so there won’t be any disputes
And I can take my punishment
like a man
When I’m called out on the carpet
in the registrars office
At hell
Songwriter and musician, Mark LANEGAN is the author of I Am The Wolf: Lyrics and Writings (Hachette Books, 2017), Sing Backwards and Weep: A Memoir (White Rabbit, 2020) and Leaving California (Heartworm Press, 2021).