He's Been Through Worse

Sitting on a bench,
A man in peach shorts,
Masked for a moment by a police car,
Neck not slightly torqued,

His hand raises his smoke while his eyes on phone,
Did he work any less,
Wake up later, follow a diff'rent code,
Than the guy who just passed in the Lexus?

Will he sit there all day, thinking the same?
We all just do our best,
With what we have been given and e'er have,
We're not living a test,

It is called life,
Mysterious and grand,
I'll stop musing on the one on the bench,
One's own is hard enough to understand.

Night Visions

There is a light o'er there,
Like a computer screen,
Backlit by millions diode pixels,
Like nothing I've e'er seen,

It's a glow so faint, it is only clear,
If I turn my phone off,
Yet the black break in between tells me that,
There's a true glow and one that's a knock-off,

It's only 'cause I know I'm on a lake,
I see it for its truth,
The ev'ning moon's reflection off the lake,
Memories of my youth,

In simpler times,
When I couldn't write this,
In situ, with the screen brightness turned low,
So my eyes can report back on this bliss.

No Sound

When it's quiet like this,
Crickets the only sound,
I then hear the constant buzz in my ears,
Like some white noise rebound,

So loud I almost miss the splash of fish,
Eating a midnight snack,
What noise my daily life must be filled with,
That my ears reverberate with its lack,

How long it will take to recalibrate,
To what nature had planned,
Is not something that I can calculate,
But surely I'll be damned,

If I find out,
For then I'd have to flee,
The only world I've known my entire life,
Where I'm surrounded by my family.

On The Shore

Trees are growing from rocks,
Butt up against the shore,
The water bugs play some mass game of tag,
Fish ain't biting no more,

This land's scarce changed in a millennia,
'Cept for the odd cottage,
It would take a city's with of humans,
To make nature get the fuck out of Dodge,

But that's just 'cause it's a provincial park,
Only 'cause it's no worth,
It is the same with hireability,
And the city of Perth,

You're in the wake,
Or you are moved by it,
Either way you have to be in water,
If you say you are not I won't buy it.

Uhm, I'm Still Here

Just because I'm a ghost,
Doesn't mean I read minds,
If you don't tell me you're thinking of me,
I will think you unkind,

Won't show you the path to a better life,
You better bet I could,
Telepathy, no, fortune telling, yes,
We see in four dimensions pretty good,

Other than that, things are mostly the same,
Old mind different suit,
It's against the rules to communicate,
But so was stealing loot,

And I did that,
Many other things, too,
So give me a sign you miss me a bit,
I'll break an ethereal law for you.

Love (the imperative)

May love never leave you,
No matter where it goes,
Attached to things that are not worth your time,
Blinded by fleeting throes,

Or clinging to someone who's not worthy,
At least the feeling's there,
Not roaming outside you with all hope lost,
Chasing dreams long disappeared in thin air,

Better you love TV or, worse, a dog,
Go spend it on handbags,
Shower your adoration on false gods,
Rather you live in rags,

Than lose all love,
Instead, destroy coffee,
Just trying to think of the most absurd,
So you apprec'ate love's necessity.

Welcome to the World

Why you need two handbags,
I'd love to understand,
Perhaps you fill them with what's fallen out,
When your front door is slammed,

Like a closet that's bursting to the seams,
With everything you need,
A water bottle thirteen months half full,
Old cassette tapes and books you'll never read,

Things you couldn't sell when the system dies,
When you need to leave home,
Your world becomes oh such a diff'rent place,
Unwanted and unknown,

But yet, it's there,
Like you were born that day,
Just handed to you, like that's how it is,
And it couldn't be any other way.

The Stripper

It's about the moment,

Just unpredictable,

Influenced by so many unknown facts,

Couldn't count if able,

But there is ne'er a doubt when I'm with you,

Is't a trick of the mind?

You can make yourself believe something, y'know?

Ref'rence Jesus' last words when he died,

Think about your faith in the weatherman,

Where percentage is truth,

You think you will wake up in the morning,

For real'lty stays aloof,

But not right here,

Looking into your eyes,

The moment's only the realization,

That we should fear naught hellos or good-byes.

Too Tired

There is too much to do,
To think of what you love,
Food won't knock on your door, jump on your plate,
What are you thinking of?

That which inspires you can only exist,
With unoccupied minds,
That is why art has basically been dead,
Since the ancient Egyptians have all died,

It is not so much the need to survive,
That's just a piddly thing,
Hunger begs you to shout out to the world,
What your heart is singing,

It's other stuff,
Beyond the fork and knife,
Work begets cash, begets shopping, then what?
We're so removed from living, where is life?

You're Still Alive

Life's a series of change,
Like the growth of children,
If you see them ev'ryday, they're the same,
Ultimate ends hidden,

But wake up one morning and years have passed,
Oh, where did the time go?
No chance to amend the path they'd taken,
Bigger than you or the life that you've known.

Did they watch themselves transform to grown-ups?
Else, time travel's their trip,
Time all wasted by letting it pass by,
Shooting it from the hip,

No questions first,
Like, what the fuck is this?
If asked to recreate the world from scratch,
Do you even know what it is you'd wish?

In Exile

You feeling your body,
From the inside or out?
Do you feel the breeze caressing your skin,
Washing away all doubt,

Or is it slightly quenching the furnace,
Burning hot in your heart,
Screaming to be moved to a safer place,
Whether in its current body or not?

Do your eyes see the beauty all around,
Aching to ease your pain?
Just close them now and tell me what you see,
Isn't the problem plain?

You are burnt out,
The reason ain't no thing,
You must return to your natural state,
When your actions came before your knowing.

Good Night

Meet you at the castle,
The one made out of clouds,
At the drawbridge, you all dressed in purple,
My sweet, go to sleep, now,

We can always close our eyes and meet there,
If nowhere else there is,
With its soft moat and big fluffy turrets,
It will always be a safe place for us,

But its doors are closed when we are awake,
Until then we must live,
Facing the harshness of stone and mortar,
You have all I can give,

Up 'til I die,
Then beyond that sure day,
Queen of intoxication, I love you,
I will e'er be there, wherever you lay.

Find Yourself

Fear makes you do strange things,
Like turn into a child,
Throw away the years meant to make you strong,
When tame overcomes wild,

Except the adult doesn't leave your skin,
He's left to deal with it,
Now, you only have yourself to turn to,
Frozen to your place in a panicked  fit.

'Fore you know it, you have lost all control,
Seeking it around you,
But those eyes wouldn't recognize reason,
If it was all they viewed.

Look at yourself,
From both sides of the frame,
The child will tell you what your heart desires,
But wanting and having are not the same.

City Crickets

Listen, do you hear that?
Do not utter a peep,
Just the whisper of the AC unit,
The city is asleep,

The glow of office buildings through the blinds,
Replace the stars behind,
Constellations if I choose to read them,
Guiding the actions of all human kind,

It is the witching hour, before the rush,
After the night owl's flight,
Nary a car treading the downtown streets,
Twixt drunken and work fights,

And dark and light,
Though really, which is which?
Drunk on living, sober until work comes,
The poor forever the prey of the rich.

Finally

The sun is now shining,
And, oh, what it reveals,
Sandy beaches lapped by cool, salty waves,
Pierced by a hundred keels,

A breeze cleaned by miles of ocean water,
Breathed in, clearing the mind,
To rest on questions best considered when,
Sitting in clothes long hardened by the brine,

Encroaching on no one, feet in the sand,
Plenty for everyone,
If greed could only be given its place,
That's the realization,

That we're all here,
Whatever the system,
Surely amidst the vastness of this Earth,
There is a place for ev'ryone's passion.

Meteor Shower

We weren't sure we saw't,
The light plays tricks on you,
Sometimes you want something so very bad,
You see what you want to,

A subtle streak across the nighttime sky,
Perhaps a star imprint,
Million-old light traveling to our eyes,
Reflected back, now a meteor's glint,

Reinforced by the cries of my partners,
I've seen one if you did,
Without the ben'fit of instant replay,
It's a runaway bid,

We want to win,
Even before we do,
Suddenly the sky is filled with comets,
And I'm flying in among them with you.

On This Truck

Want to understand strength?
Look at that truck's backside,
Chassis built like a metal I-beam house,
Four thick monstrous wheels wide,

We could stand on it together, hands clasped,
The springs wouldn't feel us,
Turn faces up to the sun as it rolls,
Noses never touch the choking exhaust,

If we are hit, we would never know it,
We would just plow on through,
To wherever that behemoth takes us,
Earth on Earth, me and you,

Until we stop,
To top it up again,
We'd deign to place our feet back on the ground,
Risking this world's inevitable pain.

Your Deep Web

I want to penetrate,
Through into your deep web,
Under the the words I get back with queries,
That you've easily said,

Past connections you've made to memories,
Simple enough to find,
Silumacra forever changing form,
Masking undigested conflicts behind,

Further past, to things only you can name,
Though you never yet have,
The undercurrent shaping your surface,
Trickiest to get at,

Because it's you,
A site wholly unique,
Bringing to light what truly turns your crank,
If I was but such a capable geek.

What Get's You Down

In your darkest moments,
What is it that you fear?
Could it be the future's uncertainty,
Things loved that disappear,

Or p'haps lack of confidence in yourself-
It's a big scary world-
Intimidated by what others think,
E'en if their actual thoughts are unfurled,

Or'you concerned 'bout the fate of loved ones,
(You've got to let them go),
Or's it that things haven't gone as they should,
Despite having thought so?

Ha, well guess what?
Welcome ye to the club,
There's not a king that hasn't felt the same,
Nor a lioness protecting her cub.

Love The Wind

There's happy in the breeze,
Gentle, soothing caress,
A fluttering sound soft against your ear,
Contours pressed 'gainst your dress,

The cool is refreshing, but not too cold,
Just enough to be woke,
The kind of wind, if it goes long enough,
Will make you believe it's all just a joke

As you lie there with sun against your face,
Heat of sadness far 'way,
If air could cleanse you of anxiety,
There'd be piles where you lay,

Then it would go,
Picked up by the odd gust,
That is, if this breeze could last long enough,
For you've a patina of anxious rust.

To Write A Song's Not Easy

Don't try to write a song,
If you are serious,
You'll just want to say everything at once,
Which will sound obnoxious,

But don't treat it as if it means nothing,
Your words must have meaning,
A babe can tell when you're not invested,
Like being fed sawdust after weaning,

You have to find the song waiting inside,
Knowing it's important,
Should flow out of you as if from somewhere,
Delivered, but not sent,

It simply is,
A slice outside of time,
Maybe it's praising a beautiful day,
Yet, revealing inner beauty, sublime.

Gotta Fly

There is no time for this,
The story of my life,
A plane is waiting to take me away,
Back to heartbreak and strife,

Into the sky and far above the clouds,
Oh the photos I've took,
I've jumped into them so many times now,
I can point out to you my fav'rite nooks,

If I could take you there to breathe them in,
I know you'd fine'ly see,
Why of all of the things that I desire,
The most is to be free,

'Cause that is me,
That's what I want to leave,
You can fly so high that when you look down,
To see your goal, all you need do's believe

On The shelf

It's a little vessel,
Would be a good child's thing,
A canopic jar the size of your thumb,
Engraved with birds flying,

The top spins off and it's very well made,
The metal's cold to touch,
If you smoke weed it'd be perfect for that,
You'd hardly see it sitting in a hutch,

But mom didn't smoke, and she's in there too,
At least a part of her,
Not that I cannot be apart from her,
She'd certainly concur,

It's just for now,
Until she's in a tree,
Sucked up by roots from the soil she's mixed in,
Then that jar could be used to hold your weed.

Into You

You've been gone for so long,
Still, you have never left,
How can someone who has such influence,
Yet still be so bereft?

May you, too, never leave the planet earth,
Even after you've died,
Your scent will never leave my memory,
Nor may your love for life e'er be belied,

May it wipe away any hint of pain,
Life is too short for that,
Rather the comfort of your sweet embrace,
More than words can redact,

More than all things,
If you were but the world,
I'd dig into you 'til I've reached your core,
A joy in which I'd forever be curled.