Lenses

Thousands

Of spectacles,

Thrown in a giant pile.

Their masters sent to the showers,

Where they choked on

Poison

Synaesthesia

I add color to my words

So they stand out from the grey.

I pepper them with meaning,

The things that I say.

To be dull is not a crime,

But it is not right,

To stay uninteresting

And say what is trite.

Turin

There’s a hole in side of the cloth

That the body is wrapped in, carelessly.

The spices have not been applied

And the corpse begins to stink

Still they trudge through the swamp, torches burning bright,

Looking for a place to lay him to rest.

The great hero.

The one who didn’t do anything at all.

The Residence

Welcome to the residence,

Please sit down,

We will go over the rules as we understand them.

Rule one is that you shall not speak,

Not unless you are spoken to.

Next you shall crawl, and only crawl,

Unless you have to, I suppose.

Next you must plug yourself in.

Please find the ports behind your chair

And fill them with the appropriate parts of you.

We look forward to working with you.

To White America

Maybe

We had ought to

Give our black citizens

A reason to stand and to sing

Instead of none

At all

Heartbeat

Touch me on the chest

And feel my heart beating out of time

Out of accord with the normal;

I wish I could be normal,

Like everyone else,

But that doesn’t seem to be what

I’m destined to be.

So hold me closer until morning

And let me feel your heartbeat,

A reminder of what I can’t be,

But what inspires me

To keep beating.

Knickle-Brocky

The king of the fiends

A wicked sight

A creature surpassing the peasants in spite

The king of the wretched

The sick and the vile

There’s not one heart that he cannot defile

The king of the nastiest creatures around

You don’t want to be here when he’s in town.

Byron

It’s two hours left till the shit goes down

Says the old man who watches the clock.

His profanity mars the air with its presence

As he snarls out the window, clutching his rifle.

They won’t be bothering him again, he says,

Crouching by the couch.

This will finish it.

Two will lay dead at the end of the night,

And he’ll be the hero, at least in his mind.

That’s enough, right?

The Great Host

There’s a kingdom

Of men who stand outside

Freezing in the cold

Kept alive by their own strength

And will.

The greatness of their might

Fills their bellies when there is nothing

Not even a scrap of bread,

To eat.

They are naked but are clothed in their own wisdom.

They do not need your help,

Or your advice,

Or your pity.

They are fantastic.

Ala-blam-a

The last bus out of Birmingham

Left too late to carry him,

The young man of twenty

Out of his despair,

Now he lies in the ditch

A bullet in his skull

Betrayed by another one of his idols.

Escape Artist

Glasses tip

To give a toast

To one who earned recognition

For his foresight and his bravery.

He saw the disaster coming,

From miles away, he said,

So he decided just to leave.

Now we’ve got the last of the wine

As the world crumbles around us

To celebrate his achievement.

Well done, old boy, well done.

Victimless

Anonymous faces

Crowd around the boy who broke the window

Judging and calling for a whipping

Hungry for blood.

Like wolves they circle around

And see the weakness there

Ready to strike.

Except they’re not there;

They’re all in his head,

So he runs away.

Mourning After

The sun is like an impatient father

Staring  down through the haze

And low clouds blot out the blue

Making everything the color of tainted snow.

Trees begin to shed their dress that turns to bright colors

And the warmth of summer lingers

Like the opposite side of the bed

Where a absence once filled remains.

One Million- A Birdboy Jack Lee Number

One million people,

Standing in the sun,

Praying for a miracle

Hoping for the one.

Wanting something better than

The lives they have today

Wondering if greed and fear

Will someday go away.

You won’t get there with just a dream

You gotta fight, you gotta scream

You gotta work, you gotta shout

Don’t let yourself cave in to doubt

Don’t close your eyes, don’t close your heart

You’ve got to finish what you start

If everybody does this too

We might make all our dreams come true

One million warheads

Waiting for the call

Waiting for the button press

That burns us one and all

Why’d we think deterrence

Is the answer to our pain?

Can’t we build a better world

Free of atomic rain?

[Chorus]

One million dollars

Can buy a lot of things

Mansions, cars and swimming pools

And shiny diamond rings

But can’t it also buy a meal

For everyone on earth?

Can’t we put aside our greed

And realize what we’re worth?

[Chorus]

Checkup

Doctor doctor tell me now

How much time I’ve left to live

How much time I’ve left to give

My passions and my lusts

You’re the only one I trust

To save me and my life

I don’t trust my friends, my wife

They don’t know how it is to be

The spectacle that’s always me

The way I am, the way I’m free

To be the one I want to be

But even then I don’t trust you

I’ll do the things I want to do

I’ll take a trip down to the shore

And throw my self into the sea

And then we’ll see

How fun it is to be me

When I’m floating wild and free

With the sharks and whales

Steering through currents with their tails

And yachts and schooners with their sails

Coursing through the blue

It’s true

I’ve got no time for you

I’ve only time for me

I need it to be free

Hooray for individuality

I guess?

Or maybe I’m a mess.

Californ' - A Birdboy Jack Lee Number

Trudgin’ through the dry dust

Nibblin’ on a rye crust

Suckin’ water out of a dirty ol’ rag

Feelin’ like I’m half dead,

Achin’ for some fresh bread

Got my whole life in an old brown bag.

But Californ’s gonna put things right

Yes, Californ’ is just in sight

Californ’s my final plea

It’s Californ’ for you and me.

Sleepin’ under starlight

Bakin’ in the sunlight

Got my shoes glued to the soles of my feet

Hitchin’ rides in old trucks

Cursin’ all my bad luck

Haven’t made more than a nibble to eat

But Californ’s gonna put things right

Yes, Californ’ is just in sight

Californ’s my final plea

It’s Californ’ for you and me.

Last Call

One more shot for failing health,

One for courage, one for wealth,

One for wisdom, that would say

Better to live and walk away.

One for the love that left too soon,

The night before the honeymoon.

One to drain the bottle dry,

But there’s one left, so don’t you cry.

A shot to ease your aching head,

Not corn or rye or malt, but lead.

Willow Stands

Willow stands

Along the swampy wet

Blow gently in the early august breeze

Bloodsuckers feast on those who dare the dawn's light.

Flock

Wings flap

A rustle of feathers

A stirring of the currents

And the birds rise to heaven

Soaring above all with grace

Letting the winds carry them

Till it’s time to come down

Gliding downward smooth

And land again on earth

Tucking wings in

Now it’s still

Quiet

Greater Trumps

The Fool stands in the public square

Throwing out his nonsense to the air

Making everybody take his trash

And the worse part is that they listen.

He makes a ruckus and a fuss

His chaos assaults all of us

He’s crazy, nutso, bold and brash

And the awful thing is they listen

Fears

Polar molars

Holy bowlers

Hanging chads and diesel rollers

Hand in hand with my controller

I feel like I’m getting older

But certainly not getting bolder

I’ve got a chip on my shoulder

Towards those who try to change me

Rearrange me

It just serves to estrange me

I feel strange

Deranged

Free range chicken

I wish I wasn’t so frickin mad

And sad

And bad

I’m glad I’m not dead, at least

It’s all in my head, at least

I feel like I should go to bed, at least

For a while

How many muscles does it take to smile

A few?

That’s a few too many

There isn’t any benefit to trying

To keep myself from crying

When I think

How much I’ve made things stink

For the people I love

I hurt and I shove

And I mess things up

I’m one sick pup

I pour myself a cup

Of coffee, sugar, and cream

I think about the dreams

I have at night

And they don’t feel right

To demonize someone who isn’t here

But she always filled me with fear

Fear of disappointing her

And making her angry