Geoffrey Foster's Page

Clockwork Back Cover Synopsis:
Once, before there was such a thing as man, the clock-face of time was wound and the gears began to turn. From the mythological ancient world to our modern world of science and logic, time has been our constant companion. The poems in Clockwork take us on a journey through time, spanning the entirety of human history—from the birth of man to an imagined future when the clock finally winds down.
PASSAGE OF TIME

Dancing fires,
Burn in rhyme,
This is the beginning of time.
A sphere void of light,
No day or night,
No sign of life,
Quiet and calm,
Nestled in the corner of the heavens.

Primal Bloodshed,
The hunter reigns,
Killing and eating
A meal for the day.
Savage reptiles
Destined to fall.

At last, the great purge came
With a sudden flash.
Then, millions of years of silence Followed,
Serenity, calm and divine,
Then we arrived…

And we brought with us enlightenment
Far greater than any other species.
We also brought brutality
With the ferocity and cruelty
As only a human can can conjure.
We called it war,
We called it glorious,
And prayed to our imagined gods for Victory.

Peace and happiness is all about
Society working the problems out.
Maybe one day we’ll say,
“Utopia has begun.”
That day has yet to come.

SORRY (FOR WHATEVER THAT’S WORTH)

All the times I’ve heard you speak,
All the things you say
Just make me want to leave this place
And drive so far away.
If I could ever give you love
And just a little time,
I’d be the one to give you everything
And lay it on the line.
I don’t know how we got this way
Or what else I can do,
But I better think of something quick
Otherwise we’re through.

I have been so good to you
But I really don’t know why
I have played the role of lover when
There’s nothing inside.
I don’t know why I feel this way,
Why do I want to part
From the woman I am living with
Who gave me all her heart?
And I hope you don’t think ill of me
For leading you along,
I truly thought I wanted this,
I guess I was wrong.

Teardrops falling from your eyes
Weigh heavy on my mind
As I drive my car away from here
And leave you far behind.
You gave me all the love you had,
Which I could not return,
But I pretended that I loved you too
So you would not get hurt.
That’s why I have to leave you now,
I feel like such a jerk,
But it’s time I got this over with
Before I make things worse.

Please know
I’m so sorry,
For whatever
It’s worth.

I hope
You’ll forgive me,
For whatever
That’s worth.

THE MAD CZAR

An empire built on lies and murder,
Surrounded by red fields of slaughter.
Spreading like an infectious disease,
Claiming the lives of sons and daughters.

Towers cloaked in a veil of deceit,
The grass on its lawn is blood at your feet,
The wooden floors are the bones of men
Whose names will never be spoken again.

His smile hides evil deception.
His words fool a gullible mind.
His lips spit a crimson ocean
That’s rising like the evening tide.

He speaks to a crowd of thousands.
Our youth listens and understands.
They believe the things he tells them.
They believe that he’s a great man.

In the mind or our nation’s youth
Sheer madness may plant a seed.
Sometimes the things they want
Aren’t always what they need.

This is a land where insanity breeds.
There are hidden eyes that see all you do.
You can run, but never escape.
The mad czar is watching you.

ONE NIGHT

She came to me one night
With a tender grin
And glitter on her skin.

She stood silent in the doorway,
And I didn’t know what to say,
I imagined this moment many times
After I let her walk away.

She said, “I missed you so much, babe,
And I just had to see you again.”
My throat closed and my voice cracked.
Then I said, “Won’t you come in.”

I was completely unprepared for this
And I paced around the room.
I offered her something cold to drink.
I was looking for a clue.

She said, “I’ve been trying to find you,
But you were very hard to find.
Ever since the day we split
You never left my mind.”

I remembered how we ended things
And how she left without a word.
She didn’t seem especially sad,
I pretended that it didn’t hurt.

We could have fallen in love once more,
Had we thrown caution to the wind,
But we both knew it would never work,
So we stopped before we could begin.

She left me again that night
With a final goodbye
And a tear in her eye.

WORLD WITHOUT END

Speak the words that burn the world.
Reap the harvest that is yet to be sown.
This century could be the darkest era
That the human race has ever known.

Dance with the Devil and tempt his wrath.
Jump in the fire on behalf of all men.
But don’t believe for a single second
That we live in a world without end.

Temptation breeds fire
Unhindered by rain.
Furious is the beast
That cannot be tamed.