Green Prison

Corina Daniela Obertas and Wayne Cook
copyright 2007

Let me in, get me out,
Cant do more then twist or shout,
Lost my soul without a trace,
Found it again in my secret place,
That garden of delight,
Off where it vanquished night,
Shadow and ray,
Rest and play,
Secret Place,
My Green Prison.

Rare Treats

Dedicated to my friend Corina,
whose gentle soul is reflected in her camera lens.

I see the soul of my friend,
Through the images she makes
Blues and yellows, ripples and light
She invites all to partake
Like a table of rare treats
It’s spread far as I can perceive
Generous to the mind, tastes for the heart,
She shares it all with love, for thee, thy part.

Primal Nights

It was a night such as this, still, soft, not yet dark
I could faintly hear the pumping of my heart
How the moon glowed in silence unadorned
And dripped sparing rays upon our still forms

Love not yet ignited, we relaxed inside the glade
Enjoying the moments beyond the hurried day
Such grandeur of created curve beneath my touch
Such texture of velvet, such a beautiful hush

Enter emotion and mind and skin
The touch of her hand, no mind of our sin
One move, then a sigh, then panting and kiss
Tingle and fly through clouds on this bliss

Quickened the move, throbbing the nerves
Motions and heat and eager the curves
The tussled sheets of our marriage bed
Seeing faint light on her own taut flesh


I still hear you breathe in quiet regal pose
I still feel you there beneath the limb close
I still dream of lips by pale moon light
It is the passion of ancient primal nights

Miracle Oil

I’ve tried Coppertone and looked like an orange,
Complete with dimples and juice.
Easy to rub in, and rub in some more,
Til my skin called for a truce.
The stuff even smells like coconut,
It’s part of the good life
Problem is that it smells so good
I’m a buffet for mosquitos and flies!

Next was tanning beds with violet lights
but bikinis look strange on a man
The wife wondered why I had panty lines
Somehow she don’t understand
I’ve done creams and sprays and facial care
And returned to my wild child
But a week later at work in a tie
I look like a duck on the Nile

Sat in the tub, with my cowboy hat,
Mulling my options and sins
How could I achieve the look I desired
Since looks are as deep as my skin
It would take a miracle of science
With emphasis on cures of the mind
WD 40 seems to have the answer
So I’m buying up cans all mine!

Miracle Oil, Miracle tan,
I’ve discovered the meaning of life
It’s all tied up in a can of oil
Less money than replacing my skin
Better living through chemistry
I was dealt a cruel blow to man
A white man has to sacrifice comfort
A spray on tan from a can

It’s a Long Way

I used to answer questions with my balled up fists
take suggestions as an affront to my integrity
It’s hard to see the light when your lookin’ into hell
And heaven seems a far off fantasy

I couldn’t pick which path to take
‘cause I couldn’t get my feet out of the mud
The feeling that this was a spiral around
Seemed like I was always going down

Picking and choosing has it’s way of stringing you along
Of making you think you have the answer when it’s just a siren’s song
You have to stop to listen and that’s so hard to do
Stopping to change my way to follow the truth

It’s a long way up to that tiny, flickering light
It’s a long way up to what you know is right
After trying so hard to die
And it’s a long way off to the start of the road
It’s a long way up when you have a heavy load
When you veered so far off the path
It’s a long way up to sunshine and joy
When you wasted so much time on your wrath

If It Needs Lemon Juice

Taking Doug to dinner is a fun process
He shows up once a month around noon
We have to tell his buddy that we meet at ten
He’s always late for lunch and Sunday School
And the truth of what I say is pure
Jess will hold up the Rapture for sure

For Doug It’s steak and taters fresh off the grill
No seafood for this landlocked guy
He turns down every offer for some crawfish still
And he sits there and just rolls his eyes
Short ribs, long ribs some tea and toast
He passes every shrimp in sight
If it’s lemon juice you need to hide the taste
You better cook some cow tonight

And it’s very plain to see,
If it needs lemon juice it’s nasty

No fish is ordered up on his plate Outback
No salmon eyes will stare back at him
He never eats telapia or yellowjack
And octopus is just another sin
And it’s very plain to see
If it needs lemon juice it’s nasty

This man doesn’t eat squid or lobster legs
He always orders beef cooked real well
Predictable as sunshine, arrow straight he is
His food never has a tale to tell
And it’s very plain to see
If it needs lemon juice it’s nasty