… and Glam Rock Saviour
of a child playing
with wildfire rebellion
as the croupier of sin
deals him in
to a game even the dead
can never win
Body and spirit
within the echo of a scream
caught in the tangled web
of a deceptive dream
swiftly twisting
the taste of sweet venom
from the acrid smoke rising
over a wasteland
of wandering souls
where a toxic river flows
into a boiling ocean
I had just checked in
to the Surfer’s Paradise
Hawaiian Motel
and was defrosting slowly
with a block of black ice
and a bottle of Wild Turkey
when the news broke …
the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll
that Brylcreem Adonis
had gone to meet eternity
He could rhythm & blues
the whole jail house block
at the Heartbreak Hotel
in his blue suade shoes
Elvis “the Pelvis” Presley
He could even
gospel his way
to the edge of reality
Heaven’s pearly gates
now blown straight to hell
A pill overdose?
Or perhaps
a Cheeseburger Deluxe
was the guilty party?
Time will surely tell
as the red neon
of a No Vacancy sign
flickers on
at the Surfer’s Paradise
Hawaiian Motel
David Redpath 