Strictly Tempo

am/fm dreams

in a deck of 52
dressed to the 9’s in red and black suits
4 kings to give the orders
all absent minded fathers
4 queens to run for cover
forever missing mothers
2 jokers, they’re the brothers
one in monochrome, the other full colour

pick a place on an atlas page
original hard times livin’ in the stone age
chore list from a discount savior
won’t do you any favours
born in a crown of fodder
it won’t wash off in water
straightjacket at the tailor
out on a day pass, good behaviour

i stay inside of the lines
in my mind

in the driveway, Saturday night
finger-gun shooting at satellites
notch in the belt of a hunter
could always use another
the lion lies in slumber
dreaming Orion loves her
they mortgage a space station
make their own constellation

take a piece from a children’s game
blue, red, yellow they’re all the same
it doesn’t really matter
Sorry or Snakes and Ladders
around the board we go
just keep it strictly tempo
you might think that i’m playing dumb
from all these words i’m saying

written by Damian Lethbridge
RPM Challenge Album 2024