The Elvis of God

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. . . and the Glam Rock

A child playing

with wildfire rebellion

The croupier who deals you in

swiftly twisting

sweet venom on the tongue

with chemical smoke rising

Into the wasteland

of a wandering soul

a toxic river is flowing

Body and spirit

within the echo of a scream

paying a heavy toll

Caught in the tangled web

of a deceptive dream

The gambler seduced

with an empty hand

upon a dying bed

For heaven’s sake

sleepwalkers awake

Is it ever too late

to make the big break?

Who’s pulling the strings?

Can you hear the truth

when the Elvis of God sings?

In the multi-story ruins
of a malingering infection
surrounded like a crime scene
with the yellow tape
from a quarantine inspection
Kids of the street
asleep in the cupboards
of a ground zero kitchen
Hollowed out
by the amphetamine of sin
Stripped bare
in despair
and running on empty
but for the hot breath
of a nightmare dragon
masticating cold death
and drooling over
the financial section
of yesterday’s paper

Life’s true treasure
lost in translation
Just another Gary Glitter
doing hard time
in the grime of his crime
Liking too much
a taste in the waste
of lawless power
with dark secrets to devour
The attraction
but a distraction
from the air raids of murder
like a childhood in Syria
with nowhere to shelter
The Helter Skelter
of industrialized warfare
in the desert sand
I have good reason to believe
we will not all be received
… in Graceland

As the crafty shiver
without a glimmer
the meek discrete
bath in the river
of pure heat
To taste the living water
complete in the silence
deep and sweet
Holding the peace
unsurpassable
Withholding
the belligerent tweet
Pouring the milk
Spreading the honey
Knowing the glow
from the living heart
of mindfulness holy
Manifested in the flesh
the One and only
A Meet & Greet
at Fanclub Elvis
Body, soul, and spirit
with the ever present
The past and future seen
from rolling pastures of green
with a conscience
that’s been wiped
spotless and clean
Like a gentle prod
the staff and the rod
Yet free to be led
to that Graceland unseen
… by the Elvis of God

A head anointed
with the oil of bad vice
in a land of plenty
paying the famine price
A forsaken Johnny Rotten
in a world of confusion
and twisted complication
grasping holely and solely
a grand delusion
of masterful deception
Seeking the Google Wizard
from behind drawn blinds
for a peace of misdirection
to cease the superstition
beyond closed certains
that squirm
in fear of the night
Perhaps time to turn
to a heavenly light?
Not some heavy metal religion
that rules with a rod of iron
But by power and might
the Elvis of God
can turn wrong to right

(Even when told
by the lies of old
that there is no such thing
Forsooth with much proof
the word of truth
has that certain ring)

Mister Social Media mystic
and carnival sidekick
make no mistake punk
I’m as meek as
a Bloody Sunday in Derry
No girlfriend Nancy
from the edge of reality
Spawned and torn
by the sorcerer apprenticed
to a religion of hypocrisy
that trades mercy for misery
We just can’t go on together
shaking the pelvis
and clenching a fist
with suspicious minds
till the twelfth of never
I’m now as free as can be
of the lie that binds
For not even King Vulture
can soar with the Elvis
to the highly sublime
beyond space and time
Like blue suede shoes
it is something
you just gotta choose
Or do you really think
you got something to lose?
With joyful abundance
the Elvis of God
has the power to save us
from singing the blues

To be stepped on
by some steppenwolf
with a wooden heart
A master dish licker
who don’t love you tender
Is it time
to step up to the plate?
It’s a decision
The truth is simple
and straight
manifolding in all directions
throughout every dimension
To break the lock
to beat the clock
The Elvis of God delivers
Can’t you hear him knock?
He will shake rattle ‘n’ roll
your jailhouse rock

At the midnight stroke
from an endless void
a howling lycanthrope
with the rebel yell
of a rabid Billy Idol
Nothing but a hound dog
going for the throat
Behind the bling of pride
is no place to hide
Does the skin deep feel good?
Devoid of all hope
like building a fence
to keep up the pretence
behind a fearful mask
When it comes down
to the final test
will you know the Elvis?

Slave traders
of big business
advertising
the need for greed
with weight loss insultants
Is the social engineering
tooling you into the groove
with the new and improved
approved consumer religion
Is there something missing
from the hole
of man’s cyber obsession?
As all humanity awaits
the uploading
of a selfie ascension
like a staged kiss
at a Royal Wedding
Is there an algorithm grand?
Even Siri knows
that Mankind is in need
of a helping hand
The machine senses
a dysfunction
It detects an anomaly odd
with no protocol
for correction
till it is reprogrammed
… by the Elvis of God

The High Priest
of Intravenous Anarchy
and Elvis wannabe
was calling me astray
Babylonian dreaming
on such a winter’s day
Stopped into a church
along the way
As I got down on my knees
I took a fortune cookie
from the collection tray
A note within to say …
“The Elvis of God
has left the building.
But finish your prayer anyway.
You are never just talking
to thin air.
For the Elvis
is ever listening
and always … he is near.”

Now to the one
and only Big Daddy
the Elvis of God
Not some Johnny come lately
Not just another great pretender
But the true Jerry Lee Lewis
of goodness & graciousness
like a great pillar of fire
of celestial desire
The Dylan of heavenly Inspiration
The King of Martin Luther
. . . both senior and junior
The most holy buddy
of Buddy Holly
with a hunk of burning love
for all of humanity

That’ll be the day
when the Elvis of God
descends from the sky
He’ll soon be returning
and that’s no lie
The darkness of despair
will retreat and disappear
from the shores of ever after
to the mountain tops of forever
Let me be your Teddy Bear
… that’s what I say
for a love that’s real
and does not fade away

~ by David B. Redpath © 2018-2020

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‘Christ Served by the Angels’
~ by Jacques Stella

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‘Crucifixion’ ~ by Salvador Dali

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The Pieta ~ by Michelangelo

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Photography:
David B. Redpath © 2018 – 2020

129 thoughts on “The Elvis of God”

    1. Glad you liked it Bojana.
      Many of my friends donned the Safety Pin.
      At the time of ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ ,
      from what I remember, I was too laid back
      and mellow yellow. I couldn’t see the
      sense in ripping up a perfectly good pair
      of jeans just to stitch it up with safety pins?
      But I did love the rage in the “music”.
      God save the Queen …

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

    1. Thanks Mia.
      Lynyrd Skynyrd once
      reminded me …
      ‘Mama told me when I was young …’
      “Come sit beside me, my only son
      And listen closely to what I say
      And if you do this it’ll help you some sunny day
      … be a simple kind of man
      Oh, be something you love and understand.
      Baby be a simple kind of man.
      Oh, won’t you do this for me, son, if you can.”

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  5. Excellent poem, David.

    I admire you bringing in so many great legends of music.

    The Elvis of God- an interesting title.

    I remember watching a documentary about Elvis once and it said the favourite type of music he personally enjoyed singing was Gospel music.

    Then I heard another story about Elvis signing a couple of autographs for a pair of giggling schoolgirls.

    Elvis asked them, “You’re pretty excited to get these autographs eh, girls?.”

    “That’s right,” one of the girls gushed, “because you’re the King.”

    “No,” Elvis shook his head, “I am not the King. Jesus is the King. Remember that, girls.”

    So in spite of many shortcomings in his personal life, Elvis was a believer.

    By God’s grace, may he be up in Heaven singing a song he did so beautifully, “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

    1. I’m sure he is . . .
      where there is peace
      in the valley, and no
      crying in the chapel.
      Thanks Chris for the
      illuminating Elvis info.

      An Australian country singer once
      told me how he went to Nashville
      just to meet Johnny Cash. He said,
      “Johnny, I’m your biggest fan, and
      I know all your songs.”
      Johnny Cash just looked him in the
      eye and said,
      “But son, do you know Jesus?”
      He soon become a Gospel singer,
      Country and Western style.

      Liked by 6 people

      Reply

  6. Your poetry is so interesting and relevant of today’s world. This one, weaving rock and roll with religion, yet somehow, for me, strongly reflects the darkness. I wonder what your poem would be like if it had to reflect only the light. Seeing the light is the challenge we have in our today world, but nevertheless it is there.
    You craft your thoughts and words together, beautifully.
    Keep on ‘poeming’ and send us messages of light and love often.

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

    1. The light shines into the darkness.
      I try to write from my own
      experiences, dialed down
      a notch or two … believe me.
      Thanks for reading,
      and your observations.
      My wife agrees with you completely.
      Hope, faith, and love
      all the way to Durban.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

    1. Thank you verily, Watt.
      The travel is more a vocation.
      Writing … the passion.
      And yes, this poem in particular,
      an accumulation of observation
      . . . for no eye has seen . . . 😎
      Thanks for the reading.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  13. Hi.
    Hope You are well.
    Thought i, Shiro would let.
    You Know… o…

    …Big Boss Man…

    This was very hard to read…
    in the WP READER Feed.
    All ran together etc.

    …Was… All Shook Up.

    Went To Your Site to read…

    …Amazing grace… on the…
    Edge of Reality…

    It so did…

    …Help Me Make It Through The Night

    in Deed. Indeed
    Take Care. Till Next… Shiro.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  14. I’ve just re-read your poem about the Elvis of God, so well done and so touching ! And I discovered its not about Elvis at all, its about Jesus ! And He is the light and the hope of the world. Thank you

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  17. Now you know, the fickle finger of fate did plays tricks, to get you to the right place, and at the right time, just like the Elvis & Co’s Sons . . . and Daughters, who work nine till five . . .
    It’s an absolutely Wonderful Poem David.
    Sibyl X

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

      1. Your very welcome David
        And only those who want to take excess baggage with them, sadly, might end up in Heart-break Hotel on Jail House’s Rock of Ages, due to a Hard Daze Night with the Nine Til Five Dolly Birds of a feather.
        Sibyl XXX

        Liked by 2 people

  20. Rocking to that jailhouse Rock
    Third rock from the sun
    Can’t help falling in love
    With the hound dog’s blue suede shoes
    Love me tender
    Don’t be cruel
    If I can dream
    In the ghetto
    That’s all right then
    A little less conversation
    A little more action
    All this aggravation
    Ain’t satisfactioning me!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. “He was the first prisoner of rock ‘n’ roll
      and it was self-inflected wounds that
      he died of at 42. I don’t want it to end
      and I don’t want to be the fat guy in the
      white suit. Elvis died from the inside out.” 
      ~ Johnny Rotten

      I think Elvis Presley himself had some
      trouble getting satisfaction ?!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

      2. Yes, the idolatry of the music industry,
        with all the demands of screaming fans,
        is no Nirvana.
        Rage is at the heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll 💓
        But too much rocking takes a heavy toll💔

        Liked by 2 people

      5. I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while. I feel like I’ve met you before. Did you happen to post on fictionpress about a decade ago?

        Liked by 2 people

      9. Haha! You make me want to visit the land down under. I think I’d rather like listening to that sort of jailhouse rock.

        Liked by 1 person

      10. Well, Waltzing Matilda was very nearly our
        national anthem, but conservative forces
        in high places didn’t like the idea of such a
        rebellious song replacing the old ‘God Save
        the Queen’. I would’ve been happy with the
        Sex Pistols version as our new anthem 😎

        Liked by 1 person

      11. Conservative forces would have probably done better with ‘Who can it be Now’ by Men Down Under, the anthem of protectionism

        Liked by 1 person

      12. With a dash of paranoia.
        I guess a Pink Floyd song, like ‘Another
        Brick in the Wall’ would’ve been too much
        for Australian athletes to remember all the
        words, when winning gold at the Olympics?

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Master dish licker. 😆
    Weight loss insultants. 😆
    Selfie ascension.😆
    Elvis, in a poem with Gary Glitter, Johnny Rotten & Billy Idol. Have mercy.
    Intravenous anarchy. 😖
    Listening to some oldies, huh?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. Oh ! My ! My! You have outdone yourself with this magnificent verse.
    The lines are truth laden , honest and fierce.
    Your rhyme with so reason makes me proud ;
    Of you , can you hear me applauding, eew so loud.
    Ta

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Hey dear, just wanted to let you know my blog is now private. Had some ‘problems’ I wanted to get rid of, and I’m afraid this was the only way to stop some people from reading and harassing me. Anyway, you’ll need to ask for permission so I can grant you access. It’s easy, you’ll see, just click on my blog.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      2. Within the creative poetic expression,
        that breaks us free of broken oppression,
        and all of this world’s crime of grime,
        are the tools of a well stocked arsenal
        for neutralizing tools, fools, & assholes 😎

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Just chillin’. It’s Autumn down under.
        Getting ready for winter, when like a
        southern hemispherical duck 🦆 I’ll be
        heading north, as far as I can drive 🚙
        To the tropical Gulf of Carpentaria 🌅

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes Chris, it was Baldrick who took
      me down, with his Time Team,
      into some deep archeological pit.
      Talking of fiends in low places!
      But, I must confess, I did dig it at
      the time, along with the team 😎

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Yes, my hands were a shakin’
      when that pic I was takin’ 😲
      Thankfully, Roy Orbison got
      a final standing ovation
      with the Travelling Wilburys
      before departing the station.
      Heading for that Penny Arcade
      where everyone’s a winner
      and only love songs are played
      (As in the music that you love,
      with harmonies from above.
      There should always be a place
      for the likes of Frank Zappa
      and Pink Floyd. Otherwise heaven
      would be a place to avoid 😎).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      2. And Tom Petty, gone too soon.
        I saw him & the Heartbreakers in concert
        when Tom was young and angry!
        Then years later on stage with Dylan.
        He had mellowed out a bit by then.
        But still a Rock ‘n’ Roll refugee 😎

        Liked by 1 person

      3. read an interesting interview with him omce… thoughtful sort of guy, TP.
        me, I sort of detoured out of the whole rock scene by the the early to mid 70s. wonder if it is true that the pop of our youth is what shapes our aesthetics, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Band… by 75 I was a hardcore world music dude with sprinklings of jazz/classical fusion, stuff like Oregon and Arvo Part. Haven’t a clue who I’d like if I were 20 now. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes, RS … I believe western civilization
        reached it’s zenith around the mid seventies.
        In the immortal words of Skyhooks,
        “Whatever happened to the revolution?
        We all got stoned and it drifted away!”
        … In a purple haze of self indulgence
        endless guitar solos and overdoses.
        I believe any Twenty Something these day
        would need to be into Retro, or lost forever
        in that “hopeless little screen”.
        I now see the Punk scene as perhaps the
        last dying gasp of Rock ‘n’ Roll … but with
        a dangerous mix of anger and dementia 😎

        Liked by 1 person

  33. Came back to read again, as I always need to read your poems at least twice.
    You are very clever, and your work meaningful. I got a lot out of this, due to the many pop culture references from the 50’s to now.
    Thank you!

    Oh I enjoyed the next post, but comments weren’t on,. Thank you for that, too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. A double dose of thanks, Resa 🙏🙏
      Apparently WordPress has changed
      my format so I now need to open a
      comments section, which needs to
      be done on my office computer. Even
      my iPad isn’t equipped to do this new
      unasked for function. I phone blogged
      that Euro post, sitting in my local cafe,
      hence no comment section. The pics
      are from my No. 2 son’s Christmas
      trip through Europe. He and his wife,
      Alexandra, were actually travelling
      down from the Matterhorn when
      that recent big avalanche happened.
      Fortunately they were on a train
      heading down from the Swiss Alps
      at the time, rather than out on the
      snow. The train was snowed in for
      a time, but eventually dug out 🏔️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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