Nonsensical Lyrics and Crayon Maps

Skip into quicksand and sink into sofa cushions
Piano keys to your car got lost in Pandora’s purse
Curse the cookie monster and grab a marmalade jar
We’ll go so far if you don’t know who we are

Nonsensical lyrics don’t make you deeper
Being sexy doesn’t mean you’re not a creeper
Crayon maps to pirate treasure
I want the kid’s menu back
I’m 4 years old at heart, why can’t I act like it?

Listen to sidewalk chalk and draw corner café talk
Eavesdropping over ice cream got me lost in mint chips
Lips on billboards with mustaches sharpie-d above
Dali would be proud at the surreal looking crowd

Nonsensical lyrics don’t make you deeper
Being sexy doesn’t mean you’re not a creeper
Crayon maps to pirate treasure
I want the kid’s menu back
I’m 4 years old at heart, why can’t I act like it?

Tricycle to town, and avoid the city tonight
Orchid lays on graduates who can’t pay attention
The onion headlines define the trivia on her mind
Skipping stones, cutting class, Do not pass me by

Nonsensical lyrics don’t make you deeper
Being sexy doesn’t mean you’re not a creeper
Crayon maps to pirate treasure
I want the kid’s menu back
I’m 4 years old at heart, why can’t I act like it?

I want my kids menu and discounted prices
Wax stains on the car seats where crayons melted
Sand on the floor, boys toys or girls toys in the car door
McDonald’s stop making me define my identity
I’m a boy cuz I don’t like Barbie
Sink into quicksand, fall into dreamland, this wasn’t planned
Dance like dynamite, stay up all night
Sing nonsensical lyrics and try to be deeper
Before you sink into quicksand
and fall into dreamland
Like a boy who likes Barbies
And a girl who likes Hot Wheels.

Darkness fails to distract

Darkness fails to distract
Heartache and headaches
Sore losers can’t quit thinking
While the victors are drinking

Tonight I’m the loser
The hoser
The fool on the hill
I lose my will power
And tonight loss is sour

Suburban sounds and dishwasher drone
Reminders I’m sitting home alone
Tomorrow’s agenda is completely booked
But for now I’m overlooked

Verbs

Sing dance twist shout
Tell me what it’s all about
Hum waltz lead spin
Tell me did the lakers win?
Jump ski fall hop
Tell me he’s not a fop
Rhyme reason speak bow
Tell me why, tell me how

How did these verbs come to be?
How did we name all these activities?
Saunter down the street, meander with me
I want to live with verb variety

Play poke hope pray
Tell me what you thought today
Hug flirt define hurt
Tell me and don’t be curt
Chirp chip sit skip
Tell me another quip
Lay loop love lie
Tell me that you’ll try

How did these verbs come to be?
How did we name all these activities?
Saunter down the street, meander with me
I want to live with verb variety

Clean cut chill chat
Tell me what’s up with that?
Tune type tare treat
Tell me what makes you sweet?
Fly float fling ring
Tell me you’ll try to sing
Sway roll tackle hold
Tell me you’ll stay bold

How did these verbs come to be?
How did we name all these activities?
Saunter down the street, meander with me
I want to live with verb variety

I want to squeeze your hand
Understand your thoughts
Guide your adventures
Take you to shops
Defenestrate expectations
Hobnob with a crowd
Photograph a fountain
Float through a cloud
Circumvent debates
Accelerate through lights
Discuss endeavors
Avoid mosquito bites

How did these verbs come to be?
How did we name all these activities?
Saunter down the street, meander with me
I want to live with verb variety

Talent and Passion

Don’t you dare confuse talent and passion
I can smash a guitar and beat your brains
But that is no where near the same

I can make extreme faces and be open
I can open my mouth and hope when
I speak it will be an amazing show
But we know how that goes

So don’t you dare confuse talent and passion
I’ll intensely dance around my visions with indecision
But passionate pursuit of a mirage will lead to another garage band
You’ve got the talent to land you in the music books

Free

Free time stings when you’ve got clipped wings
I need a band, a beat, a melody on repeat
I’ve got things to express but I’m lacking words
Feelings expand and create new worlds

In my universe the muses are spinning
Black holes and Cheshire cats grinning
Breathe in and exhale a melody
Touch your soul with music and be
Free

Summer heat simmers on the pavement
Watching the world, I stare in amazement
Magic moments and childlike bliss
I want to express the honest joy in a kiss

In my universe the muses are spinning
Black holes with Cheshire cats grinning
Breathe in and exhale a melody
Touch your soul with music and be
Free

An empty pocket, no currency to hold
Mountains are dotted with fool’s gold
But I’m rich with awareness as I sigh
Lyrics won’t flow as I become tongue-tied

In my universe the muses are spinning
Black holes with Cheshire cats grinning
Breathe in and exhale a melody
Touch your soul with music and be
Free

In my universe there’s so much beauty
And I’m savoring my youth
See every moment, gilded with life
Committed to joy like a man to his wife
I’ll just breathe in and exhale a melody
Touch your soul with music and be
free
I guarantee I’ll be free
When I’m floating through my melodies
Like hope

Nothing to Say

I think I’ve run out of things to say
My audience has run away
Their hair was going grey
And I was still speaking.

Dissect my mind

Dissect my mind
Discover new meaning
Simply being is never enough
And reflecting on what’s past will bring good luck

Undefined tonight

The sun rises to the East Village and illuminates what’s on my mind
Facing west to the California coast I’m feeling undefined
Sun rays fall on Boston between the morning clouds
Though a guitar waits for my melodies, I can’t speak aloud

Cut for a scene
Pan the camera right
See the pollution of industrial light
Dangle feet above death
Remember you’re alive
Even if you’re undefined tonight

Dying in Dull

Old friends, new friends, dead end ties
Tied up moments, so so events and
I’m tired of the social network knot
Stuck like a blot clot
Heart attack will follow
Choke and you can’t swallow
I’m dying in dull

I’m dying in dull
Lullabies and goodbyes
Don’t sympathize
Just wake me up

Old tunes, new tunes, untuned guitar
Got far on one tank, but don’t bank on it
I’m tired of the ridiculous gas prices
Bugs me like lice, yes
Parasites are irksome
Just like the jerk some
Idiot in traffic who cut you off again
I’m dying in dull

I’m dying in dull
Lullabies and goodbyes
Don’t sympathize
Just wake me up

Old shows, new shows, So it goes
Woes on news reports and in courts
Sue me, sue her, sue lucifer
The devil knows something
But I’ll tell you one thing
So do scientists - zing
I’m dying in dull

I’m running on a treadmill
I’m running on repeat
I’m on autopilot again
Admit defeat then
Die in dull
This lull in life
Lullabies and goodbyes
Don’t sympathize
Just help me open my eyes

Fresh on Monday

Stress is best
served fresh on Monday
But today’s a sun day
So do this my way
and enjoy the weekend

Stress is best
served hot in the office
But let’s just talk this
through and break the rules
enjoy the weekend

I know you’ve got two papers due
I know you’re trying to pull through
Academia is exhausting
Look at the cost
see yourself spent
The day went and you’ve been typing all night
is this worth the hype?
If so, I’ll go, and let you know you’ll always have my support
But if not, this crazy cohort has a better plans and it says

Stress is best
served fresh on Monday
But today’s a sun day
So do this my way
and enjoy the weekend

Stress is best
served hot in the office
But let’s just talk this
through and break the rules
enjoy the weekend

I know you’ve been eating granola bars
I know your car’s been parked all day
Academia is exhausting
Look at the cost
see yourself spent
The day went and you’ve been typing all night
is this worth the hype?
If so, I’ll go, and let you know you’ll always have my support
But if not, this crazy cohort has a better plans and it says

Stress is best
served fresh on Monday
But today’s a sun day
So do this my way
and enjoy the weekend

Stress is best
served hot in the office
But let’s just talk this
through and break the rules
enjoy the weekend

Your homework’s destroyed your disposition
I’d hate to be in your position
Academia is exhausting
Look at the cost
see yourself spent
The day went and you’ve been typing all night
is this worth the hype?
If so, I’ll go, and let you know you’ll always have my support
But if not, this crazy cohort has a better plans and it says

Stress is best
served fresh on Monday
But today’s a sun day
So do this my way
and enjoy the weekend

Stress is best
served hot in the office
But let’s just talk this
through and break the rules
enjoy the weekend

I’ve been there too, 2 am with too much to do
But I beach bum to unwind and undo the effects
Academia is exhausting
Look at the cost
I see myself spent
The day went and I’d still been typing at 5 am
It’s just barely worth the hype
But I know, you’re busy, so this will the best for me
And when you’ve got time, look for this half of the we

Because
Stress is best
served fresh on Monday
But today’s a sun day
So do this my way
and enjoy the weekend

Stress is best
served hot in the office
But let’s just talk this
through and break the rules
enjoy the weekend

Crayola Scents

I’ve gone out with a bang
Rang your house one too many times
And forgot all the lines I wanted to say
Oh well

Explode my brain
Numb the pain
You remind me why
It’s so refreshing to cry
Wake up my soul
Make me feel old
I long for crayola scents
My childhood amusements
Somewhere outside
I’ll hide in memories

And if you’re working too hard
In your cubical on a business card
Making conference calls all day
Where everyone talks with nothing to say
Oh well

Explode my brain
Numb the pain
You remind me why
It’s so refreshing to cry
Wake up my soul
Make me feel old
I long for crayola scents
My childhood amusements
Somewhere outside
I’ll hide in memories

Nine to fives followed by drinks in bars
Stumbling home to the tune of cat calls
Everyone wants a piece of your heart
Or ass, ask them why and they’ll lie
About your eyes

Explode my brain
Numb the pain
You remind me why
It’s so refreshing to cry
Wake up my soul
Make me feel old
I long for crayola scents
My childhood amusements
Somewhere outside
I’ll hide in memories

This grown up world you’re playing in
Makes me want to lay in bed with a book
Read the pictures under balloon light fixtures
Fall in love with the texture of my pillow
Oh well

I’ll just numb my brain
Dream of rain
You remind me why
It’s so refreshing to cry
Euthanize my soul
Lay me out in the cold
I long for crayola scents
My childhood amusements
Somewhere outside
I’ll hide in memories
With the old me
And your memory

Fences

This land is separated by fences.
Your land.
His land.
Her land.
Their land.
You landed on my mind.
But this land, separated by fences is not my land.
Sitting on a rock just beyond the tide pools watching the separation of a continent,
I can’t get across the divide from across the moat.
So he had his land.
And she had hers.
Caught in the middle some sat on white picket fences,
defenseless without property to speak for.
Like scars across the earth
We divided the land, and claimed to know the worth
Sitting beyond the tide pools I don’t need a fence to defend myself.
I’m grounded on my rock and the ocean will define my borders.
Until I drown.

Stolen Moments

I sip stale coffee from a ceramic mug and watch through windows, the way he holds a bouquet of roses wrapped in brown paper. Watching the street for his lover, he is unaware of those side-stepping around his feet. Stop signs, street lights, he curses them all. Waiting is agony with the whisper of joy in the ticks of the clock which pull him through time towards the infinite moment, the half smile and shy glance downward, embarrassed by the deserved attention. Stops signs, street lights, why? He taps his foot impatiently as if sending morse code messages through the sidewalk to fate itself. His nervous head twitches like a squirrel, but rather than scampering towards safety he waits in the open with his heart in his hand, blooming and beautiful. As a dingy honda civic approaches, his face breaks open with a smile and his eyes sparkle as he jogs towards the parking spot. The infinite moment, his partner has seen the roses and offers a half smile and a shy glance downward, embarrassed by the deserved attention. He pretends he was just looking at the seatbelt as he frees himself and escapes to a lover’s arms. A long hug. Deep squeeze. Light peck on the cheek before a bashful retreat into a shy smile as he opens one hand to accept the flowers, before offering the other to be held. A fair trade. Unlike my coffee. I bashfully retreat my attention into my mug, day-dreaming stories behind every stolen moment I’ve savored today.

Rainbow Sherbet Fantasies

My rainbow sherbet fantasies
Are changing my reality to
Something
Sweeter

And my ice cream day dreams
Make my philosophies
deeper

My chocolate chips questions
Are more than suggestions
they’re
orders

And my strawberry suitcase
will take me
down to the border

I just woke up
But I don’t care
I’ll have
Ice cream for breakfast
So I know where
The sweetness went

My world whirls

In one word you can turn a sentence from a phrase to a life term to be served
In one world you can jump fences across the pond and discover it’s all curved
In one word you can leave and lose me and a staged fantasy
In one whirl you can twirl the flags and conquer the world

My world whirls around you
Sunshine surrounds you
Glow like a lady
Shine like star
Be all that you are
And I’ll be happy to watch

In my mind you are a super hero who’s larger than life
In my mind you are sharper than any butcher’s knife
In my mind you dance like a diva and rule like a god
In my mind you are infinitely amazing and don’t phase me

My world whirls around you
Sunshine surrounds you
Glow like a lady
Shine like star
Be all that you are
And I’ll be happy to watch

In my life you tend to be absent and away
In my life you forget to call back for days
In my life you overpower my dreams with reality
In my life you ignore me and we go separate ways

But still
My world whirls around you
Sunshine surrounds you
Glow like a lady
Shine like star
Be all that you are
And I’ll be happy to watch
If you’ll allow me that privilege.

Repeat

Jump to conclusions
Indulge in delusions
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read

And we’ll keep repeating what came before
Father time’s knocking on the door
We have no time for originality
So let it be
Let it repeat
Let it be repeated
Until we
Can’t tell the originals from the covers
And can’t tell the flings from the lovers

Stereotype me
Box my personality
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read

And we’ll keep repeating what came before
Father time’s knocking on the door
We have no time for originality
So let it be
Let it repeat
Let it be repeated
Until we
Can’t tell the originals from the covers
And can’t tell the flings from the lovers

Make first impressions
And final conclusions
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read

And we’ll keep repeating what came before
Father time’s knocking on the door
We have no time for originality
So let it be
Let it repeat
Let it be repeated
Until we
Can’t tell the originals from the covers
And can’t tell the flings from the lovers

Lost in Illusion
Rebel by conforming
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read

And we’ll keep repeating what came before
Father time’s knocking on the door
We have no time for originality
So let it be
Let it repeat
Let it be repeated
Until we
Can’t tell the originals from the covers
And can’t tell the flings from the lovers

And I’ll be repeating what came before
Father time’s knocking on my door
I have no time for originality
So let it be
Let it repeat
Let it be repeated
And I
Can’t tell the originals from the covers
And can’t tell the flings from the lovers

So I’ll repeat myself
I’ll repeat myself
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read
I’ll just repeat myself
I’ll repeat myself
Repeat what’s been said
Reread what’s been read.

Loss

Loss is a punch in the gut
You didn’t see it coming
But you felt it when it came
Gut wenching
Heart twisting
shock

numb
wait
wait wait
hold on
grasp your thoughts
but you can’t hold on because you’re spinning and twisting and turning over every motion in your head trying to find an adjective when all you can feel is overwhelmed shocked socked in the face with the news you couldn’t expect didn’t expect shouldn’t expect and suddenly there’s too much to feel too much needing to be said and







silence


silence


heavy

punctuated with gasps for air and surrounded by four corners too sharp like the ache in your head and dull pain that’s gripping your chest and you’re doing your best to not stop because you can’t stop and if you stop you’re going to drop into a dungeon of resentment and hate those who don’t suffer the way you do now the ones who can afford to clown around the way you did yesterday and

heavy
silence

it’s violent and it shakes you, the stakes are too high the word home will make you cry so no one can say the word home don’t say the word home are you going home tonight? NO
I am beyond control in the land of the complexly complicated redundant words will be hurled and will be thrown towards any listener because this is too complicated for adjectives how dare you describe my pain when it’s the main thing in my life and the pain makes my mind spin and my eyes water and throat gets tighter till I can’t breathe and then I’m just me and empty and sore and aching all over like a punch to the gut after being stuck in a blender I’m a fender bender emotional wreck and heck with this I don’t dismiss it but words- words will weigh on me and I will repeat this and I will repeat this and I will repeat this until the ton of brick falls with the news that I’m not done reacting too and I will wait and wait and fall with the gravity of my new reality till I’m six feet under with you, because only you would know what to do.

dance with destiny

My car is crested with a salt layer that’s smooth and silky and makes it look dirty to everyone but me. The ocean’s mist at midnight is invisible and beyond my highbeams the waves crest and crash down upon broken rocks, debris and seaweed awashed on the sandy shore. I don’t hear the rhythmic tones riding the waves or the crickets chirp that seems infinite in its continuity. I just hear the sound of my own voice belting out my soul and saving me with the grace of an unknown god. Pent up emotions escape from my body as my foot sinks into the accelerator and I fly through space and time with the joy of a child thrown from their parent’s arms. I’m flying. But I will fall to a safe haven and at the crest of my accent, I see only the faces I love beaming at me. Bouncing back from the windows my voice echos in an embrace so strong that it holds my shoulders like a long absent friend in that first hug that you both ran towards. Bone crushing, skin tight and warmly jovial relief. The bass pounds with the same strength that the pacific uses when it beats upon the California coast line, and my mind is pulled by the rip tide into the music where I drown in sensation. Existence is a clean slate when on a date with yourself, any joke is acceptable, and despite any faults you know you’ll spend the night together. My car’s salty coat is smooth like satin, and is more elegant than any evening gown. And as I return home I savor it with my eyes, a reminder of the ball beneath the stars, the dance with destiny, and the freedom that brings out the best in me.

Desert Lightening

She speaks her mind and is always thinking. Like lightening sparks across the desert, her inspiration strikes randomly and dominates the horizon. Purposefully pulling prose out of her mind and twisting it around the mic, she shares a poetic existence with all who’ll sit and listen. A flirt who’s hot during the day but come night offers a cold shoulder, the extremes of her moods mystify many though the air is dry and her throat gets parched on phrases. Her beat-boxing rocks the ground like mustang hooves and the freedom of her speech is dangerously wild. With a smile, she’ll look your way before continuing about her day- always in the moment, leaving you forgotten.

Stuck today

The posters are falling off the walls
The post-its won’t stay on the page
Too much is out of place

This glue stick’s been dry for years
The rubber is cemented in place
My mind is stuck today

The world keeps spinning
The phone keeps ringing
Telemarketers never listen
And I’m always wishing
for the impossible

Your Song

I want to be your song
I want to live in your lyrics
Play me like your muse
Just don’t play me for a fool

You can tap out the beats on my spine
Find a melody in my stride
Harmonize with my hands
Get me stuck in your head, unplanned

You can shuffle me with your friends
Mix me up to share then
Rip me and distribute
the pieces of my heart

I want to be your song
I want to live in your lyrics
Play me like your muse
Just don’t play me for a fool

Music sweetens the moment
Releases waves and torrents
Emotions raw and ready
But able to be paused for calls

Arrange yourself in my arms
Lift those legs in a crescendo
Sing a chorus to the clouds
Live two lives outloud

I just want to be your song
I want to live in your lyrics
I want to be your music
Frozen in time

I want to be your song
I want poetry to be sung
A melody to carry me through
On repeat, back to you

Internet Poetry

I can find a new cursor for my computer, rent a Toyota hybrid, or read poetry. The internet’s vast boundaries are ever expanding like the universe and looking through my windows I see only a glimpse.

My reality can be put for sale on craiglist, I can count on Google to find me answers without questions, and music will invade myspace in a bombardment of sounds.

Ads on how to lose weight will be in the corner of my friend’s page, and while waiting for things to load I will wonder why we call them webpages when they cannot be turned over like books and cannot be recycled like newsprint (Why is the news no longer printed?). I crumple my thoughts before sending them to the recycle bin - why is there no trash can on my computer when half of the content is spam anyway?

Pop ups dot my computer screen like ladybugs on leaves, but far less beautiful and not at all interesting to me.

Start in the lower left and explore the finite space and infinite possibilities. Down on the right numbers remind you of the time, your battery life, and keep you up to date with updates you don’t want.

I curse on occasion but my cursor was never a concern, and I am not interested in renting a car. Distractions multiply until finally I click the computer closed, and put my nose in a book. Limited to the width of it’s spine, there’s something divine in the simplicity of sitting with just a book and me.

Hoping for Change

A lost afternoon, minutes slipped through the cracks on the sidewalks, and evening came like worms after the rain. Time had a gravelly sting as it passed me, rubbed me the wrong way, left me feeling raw and bruised. The morning’s cool breath had burnt up and was now moist and heavy seeping through the windows. A few errands had been checked off, but the majority of the day had been squandered staring through space without thinking. Blinking and breathing are the main things I’ve done with my morning. A cup of tea felt empty without a sprinkle of sweet conversation. Haze hung above, the stagnant smoke still blocking the mountains from my dining room view. Blue skies and too warm air wrap around and leak in through the window. The shadowy coolness of the shade cannot be found in this airy home, and for the rest of the evening I sit alone, turning my thoughts over every quarter of an hour hoping for some change.

Roman Goddess Razor

Ignorant voter, empty mind, echoing head, emotions raging red
Read the newspaper last year and fear’s been reigning ever since
Dunce hat fits well, tailored to fit to the times, we’re guilty of crimes
humanity replaced by vanity, mirrored in the media, repeated on the blogs
hog the limelight, burning bright lights and overdone hype
lemon-lime soda that’s caffeine free, yes men on the news all agree
we’re the generation who’s too lazy to breathe

I read the news today
Oh girl
This whirlwind whips up my emotions
Dry legs need lotion, the goddess of my razor
Fueling the latest craze or just another mass media market
Spark it and park it, gas prices got out of hand
So stay at home, and start another rock band

Boyfriends, Girlfriends, one way streets and dead ends
Deadbeat dads and the latest fads, broadcast on broadband
Yes we can! Raise your hand, be counted and count to ten
Control your emotions when we’re ignored yet again
Pen a letter to congress, digress into a rant, dress pants stained
Feigned attacks and listing what you lack, he likes your rack
But doesn’t see your mind, Find meaning in leaving
His colander mind, you slipped through, leaving your essence behind
Unwind like a cassette, You let yourself be tossed out
Another bout with reality versus your duality

I read the news today
Oh girl
This whirlwind whips up my emotions
Dry legs need lotion, the goddess of my razor
Fueling the latest craze or just another mass media market
Spark it and park it, gas prices got out of hand
So stay at home, and start another rock band

Sing songs to empty walls, decorate them like Escher
Another MC that wouldn’t agree with the status quo
That’s the way it goes, Or so would say Vonnegut
Who’d go on again, Rambling thoughts interrupted when
The chapter’d end and next thought began without an intro
Who needs it though? Glow tape and black lights
Stage fright under spot lights and Fresnel
Oh well, get over it hobo! Tech’s got a gobo to put in place
Make up your face and waste time while tech lines things up
Staged, restaged and strange estranged actors in this play
Reality got confused today, What does the media have to say?

I read the news today
Oh girl
This whirlwind whips up my emotions
Dry legs need lotion, the goddess of my razor
Fueling the latest craze or just another mass media market
Spark it and park it, gas prices got out of hand
So stay at home, and start another rock band

Pseudo-science is an art and I’ll take it apart
Interrupted by farts, ran for the doorknob
Corn on the cob, summer stereotypes and wet wipes to clean up
Shut up when you don’t have a point, Appoint a leader
Walmart greeters and trick or treaters are both friendly
And unwanted. Haunted house with phantom friends
Dead ends, discovered on google maps, keystroke types
Enough hype, used the internet to discover another lover
Covered your tracks, packed and tracked his path
E-stalker on facebook, figured she’d take another look
Never read a book, but knew spark notes and themes
Strawberries and cream flavored yogurt to comfort her hurt

I read the news today
Oh girl
This whirlwind whips up my emotions
Dry legs need lotion, the goddess of my razor
Fueling the latest craze or just another mass media market
Spark it and park it, gas prices got out of hand
So stay at home, and start another rock band

Sing your blues and technicolor fantasies
Change realities or just let them be
Rant about your pants and his sorry ass
Fail your class, sign said do not pass
On the right, go left or take a u turn
Burn baby burn, or at least earn a paycheck
Check your coat at the door, that dress? You whore
Wanted more! He said to the judge
Sweet like chocolate, thick like fudge
Black and white and read like the news
Now on youTube with 2 million views

I was the news today
Oh girl
This whirlwind whips up my emotions
Going through the motions, Roman Goddess like my razor
The latest craze or another mass media market
Sparked it! Parked it! Cuz gas prices got out of hand
So I stayed at home to start another rock band

I’m a Roman Goddess just like my razor
it’s the latest craze or something more
So open the door, and open the windows
The internet’s beckoning and I’m reckoning it’s my turn
Time to earn a paycheck or burn burn burn the midnight oil
Curses, foiled again. Try now or else when?
Burn the midnight oil and be a Roman goddess like my razor
I’m the latest craze or maybe just the latest crazy
Lazy-boy, oh girl! I read the news today. Oh girl, I read the news.

Majority selection!

Random note! Random Question! Which solution is the best then?
I don’t know
But here we go! Up and at em! Do we need a direction?
Majority selection!

This is democracy
This is my apathy
This is our government
Up for corporate rent

Red states up! Blue states down! Which state is purple?
You rainbow clown!
Wise ass! Elephant in the room! Sing to the tune of
Stars and Stripes
I didn’t know visuals had songs as well! ...well swell!
Ring liberty bell!

This is democracy
This is my apathy
This is our government
Up for corporate rent

Vote with your dollars! Dance, clap and holla!
(W)rap this up
Rock the vote! Flag pins on coat
Snap this up
I voted today! The sticker proves it to all
So when they call

“This is democracy!”
They won’t see apathy
Hide from my government
I’m up for corporate rent

I voted for oil! I voted for gold!
I voted for destruction of cultures centuries old!
I bought the lawn signs made in Tibet
But when it comes to the issues, I forget

“This is democracy!”
They won’t see apathy
Hide from my government
I’m up for corporate rent

I voted for TV ads and facebook friends
I voted for smear campaigns and dead ends
I voted for a candidate who didn’t respect me
None of them do in the land of the free sheep
So weep for liberty and for habius corpus
They’re endangered just like a porpoise

This is my democracy!
They won’t see my apathy
If I hide from my government
Cuz I’m not for corporate rent

Just one more random note! Random Question! Which solution is the best then?
I don’t know
But here we go! Up and at em! Do we need a direction?
Majority selection!

Facebook Friends with no Benefits

Facebook friends with no benefits, uncomplicated in relevance: none.
You made it simple, fake smile without the dimples: shunned.
I’m for forward movement, but this escalator’s going down: ground
Floor the gas; pass me on the left as you left they hound me
with reminders

Suddenly every acquaintance I meet greets me with your name
Somehow we never ran into each other, till you went away
And sitting her at 4 A M all I’ve got to say
is internet is mocking me- with reminders of your name

You posted last night, with complaints on your blog, and I wanted to respond
I held back, but reading in the shadows, well to me it just felt wrong
I know it’s public knowledge, but every time I read
how you’re currently doing, I feel there’s a starker in me

And now I’m looking and I see you’re online
The green light says you’re free, but somehow I can’t find
A reason to begin a conversation, or something noteworthy to say
But despite this problem you’ve been racing in my head all day

I know I really should move on, it’s been too many months
And I know we’ve had this conversation, we’ve had it more than once
But I’m stupidly stuck on you, where’s a cone hat for this dunce?

Cuz suddenly every acquaintance I meet greets me with your name
Somehow we never ran into each other, till you went away
And sitting her at 4 A M all I’ve got to say
is internet is mocking me- with reminders of your name
And I don’t need to be reminded today

Morning's breath

I woke up this morning to fog filled air and coolness slipping down from the window and in between the edges of my sheets, caressing me. I cringed and withdrew. Shut my eyes and masked my face, morning wouldn’t see me if I could help it. I could help it. Hours later the sun had burnt off the fog and by the time I rolled out of bed it was uncomfortably warm. But I was well rested.

The majority of the day was spent doing the sort of errands which don’t amount to much. Another check mark on the calendar. Or at least there would be another check mark on the calendar if I didn’t use my cell phone to keep track of the days. But given that technology has spared me that chore, I also have lost the satisfaction of tearing the past away, crossing off old obstacles and I’ve also saved a tree or two.

How did this day take so much time? I meant to do so much more. Instead I’ve spent too much time asking the sort of questions which would merit a time out if I was two, but due to the empty house around me are merely echos of my indecision. I don’t know the answers to these questions so rather than taking action I’m going to open the window prior to my departure into dreamlands, so once again I can be greeted by the morning’s advancing breath before hiding under my pillow.

Quiet Today

If I seem quiet today,
know that it’s not from a lack
of things to say.

In the tangled tornado
my mind twists thoughts upon themselves
But
my eyes are calm

Empty air.
I’m staring into space,
wondering

Which words would work first? How much of an intro would my tales need prior to being told? Can I jump right in or would this unwilling audience cringe if I began to unravel the thread and weave the thoughts into an organized grid before draping it upon myself and commenting how well this story fits my life. Which words would work first? Which story says more? Can I mention the attention to detail I spent years ago on a project you didn’t know about just because it’s been on my mind? Or would that connection be too hard to find justifiable to you, my audience of one? Can I ramble reasons and mention seasonal friends who fell away every autumn? Can I show you an image and trust the thousand words you’ve heard from it would be the same as the absurd within my experience that I can’t quite speak of? Do I have your permission to be heard? May I speak about the week, weekend, and lost friends who’ve been getting confused in my dreams? Can I share a surreal fantasy or would that all just be a bit too much?
And if I may speak
Which words would work first?

I don’t mean to seem quiet today
But I don’t know what I can say
And I wonder if I speak,
Which words should go first?

Conclusions?

Conclusions?
Oh dear.
I hadn’t thought that far in advance.
I didn’t plan the resolution.

Wait.
Don’t leave.

A permanent exit deserves a conclusion of sorts,
a sweeping summery of life with a slight comic twist.
Or perhaps moral lesson.
Something to make a worthy conclusion to the novel(ty) of our interaction.

Maybe I’ve just read too many books,
seen too many plays,
been in to many improv scenes...
It’s been pounded into my head that the plot must come full circle,
and the initial elements should be reincorporated.

Sadly life has not presented me with the material that would make a good story with a clear cut conclusion. There’s no ironic twist of fate up my sleeve. Tomorrow will likely continue on the same line as yesterday; and next week when you’re absent, life will still continue despite the loss of a friend to share the story with.
The story goes on without you, until I can find some conclusion that will do.

Eat Your Heart Out

Chop chop
Gentle thuds
Metal on wood

Onion tears
Peppered with pieces of chili
Seasonally present

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green
Bell pepper identities

Cut through the skin
Blood red meat
bleeds

Turn up the heat
Mix up your mind

Thoughts spin like the pasta as it boils
Straight and narrow
Twisted and tangled
Strained

Whine wine whine

Serve with smile
Eat your heart out

Independence Day in San Francisco

Jack hammers on city sidewalks
Fog drenched eucalyptus leaves
drip on me.
Bypass the construction zone.
Zone out.

Sweet smells of Chinese bakeries
Sour looks from cut off drivers
Cut off shorts are absent, but hoodies are ever-present

Circling cars hunt for parking spots
Tourists stick out, marked with maps
Crosswords cross the street on floating newsprint

Espressos savored slowly
Champaign explosions celebrate
And pensive chess players deliberate

Thick moist air obscures the skies
Crack! Boom! ...and? We search
But fireworks are mere reflections

Echoes in the streets
Colored light flashes on the bay
Celebrate your independence, the San Francisco way.

Phantom Embrace

I had a dream last night.
I buried my head in your heart and held you
I felt your warmth embrace me and my tensions fell away
I embraced you fully
Before my family
acknowledging your value and importance in my life
My head upon your heart
Blood beating. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump
You’re so alive and it makes me want to live.
You held me for a moment.
Pushed back, walked away from my house.
I couldn’t care about my esteemed audience,
I begged.
Like a goddess you heard my pleas and ignored me.
Mere mortal
Merely making the most of it.
Mirrored emotions intensified
Alone. Empty. Empty. Alone.
In front of an audience behind my home
Still feeling the warmth of your embrace around my shoulders

Eyes opened.
City sounds.
Daylight.
Me.
Alone.
Empty Room.
Sleeping on a sofa. Embraced by strangling sheets.
I want to escape
back into my dream
else into a new reality. One that includes you.

Poetry is a mystery to me

Poetry is a mystery to me
Words unfurled like prayer flags
Waving meaning like price tags
(But not so easily read)
Read to me
Speak to me
Breathe and be
pure
like poetry.
(Mystify me)

Independence day

“I will be independent.”
She thinks to herself as she sits in a home that is not hers.
“I need no one”
She thinks to herself as she longs for company to confide in

She is determined
As she aimlessly wanders searching for meaning.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
The right to them does not in fact give her an independent life, liberty from obligation or allow her time to pursue happiness.

She sits in a home that is not hers, eats food paid for by someone else’s labor and restlessly sleeps while dreaming of fireworks to celebrate. Celebrate what?

Her government is dependent on other nations.
Dependent on foreign oil. Dependent on foreign investors buying our dollars. Dependent on foreign producers making goods at prices we can afford to buy. Dependent on foreign consumers to buy the things we can only afford to make.

So we have no occupier.
Does that make us free?
We certainly lack value, a priceless mess of cultural contradictions.

She sees the contradictions in her thinking.
Revising her mission she now vows
“I will be as independent as Americans”

It’s now okay to stay at home.

this has a point

At what point can I point to myself, my words and say this has a point?
Acute or obtuse, my words fall out loose and fly about like Dr. Suess’s mind
I could find a reason to write, type or speak,
but the reason would follow the words
Conclusion than reason? Absurd
I’ve never heard of anything less logical
A pathological person could excuse it or abuse it
But when a reasoning rhetoric lover can’t seem to discover
neither rhetoric nor reasoning
Then this poem will lack seasoning
Seem plain and unsavory, unworthy of seconds
But minutes pass, and I reckon we’ll stay to count
the ticks on the clock until we mount an attack on the conscious mind.
I reuse the same rhymes and never find the theme adequately addressed
But with meaningful explorations, it’s at worst second best
I undressed the salad and ignored my dessert
Undressed a wound and poured out my hurt
Like a noble gas, too long inert, I lost my ability to react
Panic attacked and I opened my hands for help
Let out a yelp when someone stepped on my tail
Cried like a baby, I started to wail
But only in the privacy of the four walls of my mind
I put on the open sign
And in the dinner a cast of characters began to play
Poets spoke for the beauty of words
and worlds they’d never seen but often felt