Author: shaun tenzenmen
Australasian DIY music specialist and practising poet, amongst other things
My parents scream, but I never listen
Whirlwind – 18th November 1985
In a whirlwind of psychotic dreams
Comes the echo of sadistic screams
Dancing through the stars too far away to see
Floating ever onward in anxiety
You’ve buried your problems – deep inside your head
Keep your eyes closed – and scream in dread
Clasp your hands tight – you have sinned
You’ll be consumed – in a whirlwind
Travelling through the blue and into the red
Your skin is itching and beginning to shed
Let us pray, for you have sinned
Let us dance into the whirlwind
Into the vortex, your body falls
Dropping away towards your master’s calls
whistling around your body, dirty coils of dust
Now you are in doubt about your master’s trust
You’ve burning the problem – deep inside your head
You’ve cut the strings – but this is final thread
Hold yourself tight – you have sinned
But you can free yourself – from the whirlwind
The Westbury Walk – 17th November 1985
Ever gone somewhere
And ended up nowhere?
Ever got clear
Then ended up here
At the Westbury Walk?
Where there is a void
No way north, no way west
Where punishment is put to the test
Ever done something good
But no like you should?
Ever got near
Then ended up here
At the Westbury Walk?
Where there is a void
Can’t go east, can’t go south
You’re standing at the mouth
Of the Westbury Walk
Castle In The Sky – 3rd November 1985
My mind is always saying, I’ve gotta leave this place
Take that alcohol to help me keep the pace
But one day I decided and I just up and went
And forgot about the wasted days I’ve spent
I took a trip, took me far away
Closed my eyes, woke up another day
I took a trip, took me up so high
Took me up to a castle in the sky
The sun came out to shine that day
I rode a rainbow, took me far away
Chase the gold that shone before my eyes
I stretched out to reach that richest prize
I saw the nights in armour as a maiden calls
I just stare in horror as she falls
Now I am returning from the castle in the sky
I sit back and wonder if I’ll die
Destroy Apartheid – 15th October 1985
White’s all right
‘Til Blacks attack
Here comes the riot police
Killing to keep the peace
Throw a stick
Throw a brick
Have you got a gun
Will you run?
Bullets fly
Blacks will die
White is free
In this country
White’s all right
‘Til Blacks attack
Are you a man or a boy
Apartheid – destroy, destroy
Black blood runs
Bullets from white guns
Bathing Beauties – 12th October 1985
See them on the nudist beach
But they’re so far out of reach
Flirting their beauty to passers-by
Who always end up with sand in their eye
Bathing beauties on the sand
Catch you with a sweaty hand
Wanking yourself in the dunes
To the bathing beauty’s tunes
Book On The Shelf – 5th October 1985
I’m the book on the shelf
The one you never read
Picked up once a year
But you put me back instead
I’m in the corner
Where you never delved
You put me here
Where I’ve been shelved
Shared with Poets and Storytellers United #225 – bookshelves
*Husker Du, Inner City Unit, Crime and the City Solution, Mile High Club – Electric Ballroom, London, UK – 26th September 1985
Diary entry: Got back at 7.40 a.m.
Thrasher In The Toilet – 25th September 1985
Trash in the pit
Thrasher in the toilet
Trash in the pit
Thrasher in the toilet
One the floor
In the dirt
Feel the pain
Begin to hurt
On the floor
Beer and piss
Violence smells
Just like this
On the floor
Grunt and groan
Boots don’t hear
Agonised moans
Trash in the pit
Tread in the shit
Violence will spoil it
Thrash in the toilet
12th Mar 2025 – Us punks thrashing in the pit was violent but fun and friendly. No one got hurt that much, and there was definitely no malice involved. That seemed to be changing at the bigger venues around this time and inspired this write.
Whore On The Corner – 24th September 1985
Clutches her handbag
Dressed in red
Flowing blonde hair
You turn your head
Money’s exchanged
Words are said
Whore on the corner
In your bed
