The best places to find Magne’s poetry are:
- Magne’s MySpace blogs [Note: no longer available] | | Index of blogs
- Payne’s Gray | | Order from Hatje Cantz
- Magne’s official art site: Building Ruins | | Ember | | Birthrightis
- Imprints || Order from Amazon.com
Below is a selection of poems from Payne’s Gray.
Last Updated: November 29, 2020
Black swan
black swan
why don’t you come home
You’re fleeing as fast
as your anger can carry you
My black swan
Your neck reaches
all the way up to your head
to keep your mind the perfect distance
from a broken heart
Updrift on the wind, but
downsurge from within
You were always better
thank the ones who took you in
Black swan, let go your beauty-sleep
You’ve been swimming way too deep
Let go the comfort of that reed:
Come up and breathe!
Come up for air, come over here
Unfold your mighty wings
cuz here I come
disguised as spring
And later on:
Move on, black swan,
or come winter you will find
your legs are frozen to the ice
as the other ones fly south
– leaving you behind
Not just destructive
not just destructive
but destroyed
Not just happy
overjoyed
Not distracted
but aloof
Not just evidence
plain proof
Not really lost
just forlorn
Not just promised
simply worn
Not only loved
also revered
Not just frightening
but feared
Not just uncomfortable
but ill at ease
Not just fuck you –
R.I.P.
No long distance
on the phone
Not forgotten
just alone
to evade
but not avoid
Not just destructive
but destroyed
Spare me your passion
Spare me your passion
your delicate words
your integrity and
dedication
Spare me your poems
your sensitive soul
your kindness and gentle approach
Your soft spoken tongue
your beautiful song
your clear thoughts
and consideration
An attitude so unassuming
An empathy so all-including
Oh spare me!
Just give me the silence
between all your words
the fuzz of your mind when it struggles
The moment before you stop yourself
The things that you hide,
the things that you fear
that self-serving part of your little black heart
Your greed and your foolish behavior
Your arrogance, all of your devious plots
Your pretense
Your cynical lines
It’s all that I want
It’s all that I ask
Ode to emptiness
The days are filled
with things to do
To keep myself
From worry
To keep myself from
Worrying thoughts,
I’m always in a hurry
Books I read & films I see
Words I write they stay with me
The days are filled
but none are full
Greeting, meeting, talking walking,
Eating, drinking, dining, wining,
Busy, busy, one, two, three –
Faster, harder, stronger, more
Jack has turned into a bore
Absurd to make “priority”
of strangers, friends and family
Surely they deserve much more?
The only time that I feel free
Consumed by some activity
Adhering to a ceaseless call:
Engage in all
Ironic how this flurry
For all my efforts serve no less
as reminder of the emptiness
Dormant seed
Dormant seed
wants to breed
In the ground
and waiting
Dormant ache
wants to shake
the ground
beneath your feet
Sleeping giant
wants to wake
Dormant seed
Dormant ache
Keep from sunlight
Keep from rain
Keep from bursting out again
Dormant seed
Full of greed
In the ground
and waiting…
