Mind the Mud

I can still see you in the glow. 

Sometimes. 

You know that I know

all of your crimes.

You hide behind shadows, 

but your corona exudes,

peering through windows, 

trying not to be rude.

But I feel your darkness

in my blood.

Reassess.

Mind the mud.

I'd pull you out

if given the chance.

I have no doubt.

Love at first glance.

You take the blame,

but I know your line.

Your heart's the same,

the same as mine.

*************************************************

"When I say, 'No one talks to me like you.' She says, 'They don't know you like I do.'" - Kevin Devine She Can See Me

"I've crippled your heart a hundred times and still can't work out why. See, I've got this disease, I can't shake and I'm just rattling through life." - Frightened Rabbit The Modern Leper

Verses

Young and clever
with ties to sever,
memories to relinquish,
and ghosts to vanquish,

you dive into a notebook,
with a pencil, in a quiet nook.
You hop a train,
find the refrain.

It climbs out your lung
and off your tongue.
It pricks your finger tips.
It reddens your lips.

It wakes you from sleep
and makes you weep.
It wraps you up warm
and saves you from all harm.

That song in your head
so you know you're not dead
keeps your blood pumping
and your heart thumping.

and those old poems and verses
with no rhymes, only curses
keep your spine strong,
can never steer you wrong.

*****************************************************



I'm done playin' stone-paper-scissors. Gonna grab that stone and bring 'em all down with it, steal those scissors and cut some throats, put pen to the paper and I'll write you a note." Frightened Rabbit Candlelit

That sucker punch, that brittle touch - and the cut keeps dripping, but the blood won't thicken. There's poison in the tap water. There's poison in the tap water." - Owl John Don't Take Off the Gloves

"You've got no backbone, so you're breaking mine." - The Miracle of '86 Sleep All Damn Day

Growing Old

Your songs
still sing
in my ear.
They sting
like alcohol
on a burn.
You left,
without a turn,
but I was right
as soon you'll learn.

Take another shot,
but the taste will stay.
Pretend it had to be
this way.
Nights get cold
under lonely sheets
and the air grows thick
over darkened streets.
Let your heart be fooled,
let it skip those beats.

Close your eyes
to sleep.
Hold your secrets
to keep:
truths never
to unfold,
trapped behind teeth,
growing old,
all those loves
you never told.

**************************

Seven for a secret, never to be told.








"Fooled by the night and drinking the poison, enough to get right. Then to freeze frame vision." - Minus the Bear Fooled by the Night

"I see the housing glow, the skyline of cheap gold and crooked teeth I will call home for the day or so." - Frightened Rabbit Housing (In)

Gallop On

Hollow and cold
when once I was bold,
I live to forget;
every memory's a threat.
All the words written,
how once I was so smitten,
but I hear the soothing lie.
Now just try to deny.
Hum that tune.
I'm the loon,
but you've got it all wrong
and I will not sing along.
It isn't in my voice -
no rejoice, rejoice, rejoice -
for the game I let transpire.
No, I'll set the earth on fire.
Feel the ground as it shakes
and your flesh as it bakes
and let the horses gallop on.
Let the horses gallop on.

**************************************

18-Aug-2014.





"Wouldn't it be so wonderful if everything were meaningless, but everything is so meaningful and most everything turns to shit. Rejoice." - Pedro the Lion Rejoice

Routine Departure

I heard your voice,
but it was in my head.
It wasn't my choice;
it was, instead,
an involuntary spasm
or temporary lapse.
Longing's in fashion,
so I'm hiding all the maps.

Nestled in the crook
of your neck,
I take a look
and check
that your heart still beats
with mine.
Warm sheets.
Entwine.

A routine departure,
an "adieu" for now,
a small dose of torture:
I'm just not sure how
you always return
or why you don't run
despite what you learn.
What 's this we've begun?

I'll let the senses blend
if you don't let go.
My reality, you bend.
You'll never even know.




*********************************************

"Why does my heart always beat before yours does?" Saves the Day Three Miles Down

"I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass." Counting Crows A Long December

"'Cause every star that I see is brighter than the last so stay with me." Finch Stay With Me

"You are the myth made real this evening." Kevin Devine Matter of Time

Success and Security

She stopped long enough to breathe and saw the skyline shine before her. The coffee's warm arms stretched up from her mug and wrapped her face up tightly while the snow tumbled toward the city street below and while James snored mightily in her bed. His over-sized white button-up - which she had earlier pulled over her shoulders - supplied little warmth, but it smelled like James. She was careful not to spill on it; his captain would not be pleased if he appeared on base disheveled. 

She put the mug back down on her coffee table and marveled at the quiet (despite the snoring) of the city and of her living room and of her own mind. The snow made everything look brighter and cleaner. The chaos of every day was masked and even her usually fluttering heart seemed to beat steadily. The newspapers that rested on her coffee table explained how sending more troops would ensure success and security, but she knew there was nothing else for journalists to write. The story was so familiar.

He fought the urge to wake until the scent off coffee and the chill of the empty sheets beside him forced his eyes open. He hated waking up alone almost more than he hated sleeping alone and he sat up.

"Good morning," she called. His eye had not yet adjusted, but he could see Emma in his mind sitting on the couch - hopefully naked - reading her book and sipping her coffee.

"Good morning," he smiled as he emerged, feeling only mildly disappointed that she was, in fact, not naked.

He poured a mug of coffee and sat down next to her on the couch, brushing her cold knee with his warm hands. He was always so warm. His hand found hers and squeezed it, knowing he with within his final hours of squeezing that hand for several months. 

"Emma -," he started, but she shook her head and quieted him.

She would not let him say goodbye.

*******************************************

"Did you know, my sweet - yeah - that I once took the liberty of watching you in your sleep? I rolled over and over trying to touch your knees - yeah - underneath the sheets Trying to touch your knees"  - Saves the Day Third Engine

"Is it true that you like to sleep alone? Or is it what you just tell everyone?"- New Found Glory The Store So Far

"You say 'support the troops.' I do. I want them all brought back." - Kevin Devine No Time Flat

Young Widow

A young widow sleeps
with her soldier's ghost.

With vows to keep,
she is engrossed

in her own sorrow

and morbid disbelief

No tomorrow.

No relief.

Bagpipes play

and rifles shoot:

in the ground he'll lay

and soon take root.

Folded flags,

solemn speeches,

old dog tags,

a preacher preaches

that with God

our solider rests.

"It's just a fraud,"

the widow attests.

"God and war:

it's all a lie.

The oaths, he swore

caused him to die.

For his nation,

he bled out.

Manipulation

is what you spout.

For your hypocrisy,

he lays cold.

Not democracy.

Black gold."

With a shudder,

she descends.

Her fallen lover

met his end.

Assured and defiant,

she will not hide

or stay quiet.

Too many died.

She has no fear.

She knows the coward.

Her path now clear.

Her voice empowered.

************************************************

"And if your God makes war then he's no God I know 'cause Christ would not send boys to die." AA Bondy American Hearts

"'Cause there are three wars going on and all the flags are still waving. Daniel's 20-year-old friends are now 30 and willing and serving. He's a Marine and he showed me." - Kevin Devine Ballgame

“I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defense and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest.” Siegfried Sasson (WWI soldier and poet) from his 'Statement' 

"What a senseless, absurd cycle of violence this was." Mazier Bahari Then They Came for Me

The Day the Sky Fell

The day the sky fell

we were all at the bar

and the air had a smell,

like a wet, stale cigar.

There were stories to tell

and someone played a guitar

and outside the sky fell

and we got drunk at the bar.

The day the sky fell

you were miles away

and I thought that was swell

in a mean kind of way.

To you, a farewell,

and in hell I hope you stay

since when the sky fell

you were so far away.

The day the sky fell

I held his hand tight.

I was under his spell,

and liked it quite right.

From my toes to my cells

his touch could excite,

so as the sky fell,

he held my hand tight.

The day the sky fell

there was calm and quiet

and all was well,

no cause to riot.

Humanity expelled,

expunged, and silenced.

The night the sky fell

there was nothing but quiet.

****************************************

 "Thank you for being with us on this Day Two of the federal government shut down and - surprise, surprise - we're all still here. The sky didn't fall and even if it had we wouldn't know because NASA is shut down too." - Stephen Colbert The Colbert Report (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)

"Oh, what a joy to be free." Kevin Devine All of Everything, Erased

Pawns

Death begets death

and bomb begets bomb,

with "peace" on your breath,

fingers crossed in your palm. 

Send out your airborne drones

and float democracy upriver.

Despite Countrymen's groans,

out the window, the last sliver

of your slogan: "hope and change." 

Those words your once touted.

It now feels so strange

that I barely doubted.

I lay my head down low

and find my heavy heart:

arteries to resew

after my flag ripped them apart.

How far we've gone

to wind up where we began.

In this game, we're your pawns,

but it's all in your plan.

From our city on the hill

to their desert village shacks,

you will conquer for the thrill

disregarding all the facts

and pawns be damned

whilst players play.

Blood on command:

someone must pay.

******************************

"She is mean. She can kill. She would do it just to have a simple thrill." Bad Books Baby Shoes

"But it ain’t him to blame. He’s only a pawn in their game."  Bob Dylan Only a Pawn in Their Game