Poetry

Below is a big collection of words that I’ve arranged in a deliberate way. Some have been made into songs, some have not. All of it’s copyrighted to me, mostly under creative commons licenses. So, ya know, put it wherever you want, but give me credit. Thanks, man. Without further adieu…

+ Reality Shift +

I waded in a stream of consciousness
to feel it rushing through my mind
it wasn’t long til I could guess
the patterns, watching lives as they’d unwind

I fought against the current
trying to break the gilded mould of human life
all the while discouraged
by the setting sun that steals all the light

open the door, let’s break all the rules
and break out of this, I’ve got to break out
smash open the door, let’s live for ourselves
this is our chance to change the world

oh, don’t you know the fire is dying
there’s no secret places left to see
can’t you feel the time is flying
I have no idea who to be

so come on all you self-obsessors
pass up on the rat race, won’t you please
there’s no real reward, the pressure
builds until it brings you to your knees

 

+ Fate of the Union +

a butterfly in the field flaps its wings
and in Washington D.C. a little sparrow sings
while the president’s alarm, it screams and rings
and he tries not to think about what today brings
a young woman jogs through a local park
and a kid pulls his blinds down to keep his room dark
and some scientific measurements are right on the mark
to consume both their lives like a great white shark

a holy man bows for his daily prayers
and a volunteer is working hard to show she cares
employees daydream that they’ll get theirs
while subjected by their bosses to ice cold stares

when deep underground, a tiny red light flares

suddenly the engines ignite, the weapon fires
a calibrated missile filled with fuses and wires
the computerized catastrophe goes higher and higher
invisible, invulnerable to enemy fire

precisely on course as it crosses the sky
guided by a camera’s electronic eye
no one’s gonna have a chance to say goodbye
there is no turning back, now they’re all gonna die

we’re all gonna die

nuclear war kills the illusion of peace
and people down on the streets
without a future

but hope is alive
they’ve cut the bleeding heart open with knives,
we’re trying to hold it together
without a suture

the president’s alarm, it screams and rings
and he tries not think about what today brings

 

+ Where Have They Gone +

where have all the children gone
they’re off to fight the war
dying all alone in distant lands
tell me mr president
just how many more
will you sacrifice to further your plans

where have all the children gone
the talking heads will say
to fight our country’s greatest enemy

tell me mr president
why won’t you bring them home
because we’ve yet to find a WMD

where have all the children gone
they’re off to fight the war
dying all alone in distant lands

tell me mr president
just how does it feel
knowing that their blood is on your hands

tell me mr president
just how does it feel
knowing that their blood is on your hands

 

+ Astral Lucidity +

if you sleep away the pain
wrapped in sheets of summer rain
you can tear the world apart and
then you build it up again
but if they ask you where you go
just insist that you don’t know
or your waking life will always be
an endless one-man show

far away from home, your mind is free
now you’ve got astral lucidity
now you’ve tuned in on my frequency
now tell me if you think it’s meant to be

and never in your wildest dreams
should you ignore the weaker seams
or all at once your mind erupts
a jumbled mess of primal screams

eccentric thoughts are growing worse
anarchaic and perverse
yet all can be prevented
if i free you from your curse

far away from home, your mind is free
now you’re feeling astral lucidity
now you’re tuned in on my soul’s frequency
can you tell me if you think it’s meant to be

so when you sleep away your pain
protected from the bitter rain
you need not tear the world apart
and build it up again
no, you need not tend a broken heart
and build it up again

so far from your home, your mind is free
now you’ve got astral lucidity
now you’re tuned in on my soul’s frequency
so tell me if you think it’s meant to be

 

+ A Human Moment +

i met a drifter in the parking lot today
as he walked next to me, this is what i heard him say
“i’m about to drink some beer, then i’ll roll a cigarette
then I’m off to get a job, man, I’m sick of this homeless shit”
I smiled at him said “nice, that sounds like a good plan.
i’m looking for work myself, good luck, take care man.”
he raised a paper bag to me and walked across the street
i waved and got into my car and then turned on the heat and drove away

 

+ The Song I Sing +

sitting by the window
playing moonlight solitaire
there’s a tension in the air
don’t light a match, i could go up in flames
like the arrow to the apple
i am drawn to you by luck
but i missed you, now i’m stuck
in the ground

mark my words and read my lips
now I refuse to move an inch
the sun itself casts shadows
in the presence of the song i sing
bricks to build and bricks to smash
sticks and stones and burning ash
faces drawn in frosty windows
humming to the song i sing

softly spoken phrases
lay my racing thoughts to rest
there’s a weight upon on my chest
it comes and goes from day to day

staring out the window
waiting for the sun to rise
with my dark-adjusted eyes
in the sky

mark my words and read my lips
now I refuse to move an inch
the sun itself casts shadows
in the presence of the song i sing
bricks to build and bricks to smash
sticks and stones and burning ash
faces drawn in frosty windows
humming to the song i sing

 

+ Tired +

i’m tired
awake
i can’t sleep
tonight
i’m tired
don’t wake
me up
i’m here
but where
are you
you’re there
and i’m tired
don’t shake
me up

and i’m
a ship
and you’re
the sea
your waves
will break
me up

i’m tired
don’t wake
me up

 

+ What Could I Say +

‘I have to leave,’ she said to me.
‘I don’t think I can do this anymore,
the world out there has played me for
a fool for far too long.’
She said ‘I think I know what’s right
and wrong, and nothing you can say
will change my mind, and if you disagree
than I’m as good as gone.’

Hey hey what could I say, I just
shook my head and sent her on her way,
but I knew in my heart that she’d
come back one day.

After a week or so, I called her up
and asked her why she had to go.
I heard her smile as she said,
‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’

Hey hey what could I do, I just
shook my head and asked her what to do.
She said ‘Sleep, and when you dream,
I’ll come find you.’

That night I dreamed of walking down
an endless garden path, when suddenly
she’s there in front of me, her face
creased in a frown.

She asked if I knew who she really was,
and I was speechless, just the gentle
breeze accenting my confusion
with a pause.

Hey hey what could I say, I just
closed my eyes and turned to
walk away, but before I left
I turned around to say,

‘You ask me if I really know you,
dear, but do you know yourself? I
can’t give you an answer because
I am someone else.’

She smiled again, but this time
with her eyes, and said ‘I
understand. Should I return to you,
or should we say our last
goodbyes?’

Hey hey what could I say, I told her
‘Listen to your heart, what does it say?’

 

+ Good and Evil +

and out from flame and ember fierce they ride
with eyes of blackest horror, hearts of sin
their steeds of bone and rotted flesh and death
their blades of hell-forged steel, corrupt and dire
they ride with hate ,despair, and fear, they ride

and out from peace and light intense they ride
with souls of whitest snow and warmth of sun
their steeds are swift and agile, sure and strong
their blades of singing steel aglow and blessed
they ride with love, and hope, and joy, they ride

one force against the other fights in vain
a field of desolation, blank and dead
an endless struggle raging without end
immortal beings forever bound in war
they ride to war, unendingly they ride

 

+ Crash +

peace is a pipe dream
for dreamers with peace pipes
and glory’s for heroes
not regular types
and love conquers all
but what is the price?
this world is too much for me

 

+ Paradise +

the newsman told me yesterday
the end had finally come
the wiseman in the alleyway
had told us all to run
but everybody stood in line
to get themselves a slice
hey brother, can’t you read the sign
we’re off to paradise

the train, it carried hopes and dreams
against the rising sun
the rails beneath us rattled as
we sang of things to come
we sang of peace and love and joy
of luck and good advice
our woes will be forgotten when
we get to paradise

the newsman told me yesterday
that paradise had died
the wiseman in the alleyway
just bowed his head and cried
I looked at him and realized
it’s happened more than twice
a man shouts, can’t you read the sign
we’re off to paradise

 

+ Fuck You +

fuck fuck fuck
fuck you here and fuck you there
fuck your clothes and fuck your hair
fuck your condescending stare
fuck you

I said fuck your kids and fuck your wife
fuck your wealthy fuckin’ life
fuck you with a fuckin’ knife
fuck you

fuck your house and fuck your car
fuck your friends and fuck your war
fuck whoever the fuck you are
fuck you fuck you fuck you

 

+ Circling Sharks +

nobody here is secure
there’s danger everywhere
feed on the weak and the hurt
feed on the weak and the hurt
you never had a chance
watch for the circling sharks

watch for the circling sharks
you better listen to me
no one is coming to help

no one is coming to help
you better save yourself
no one is coming to help help help help help

 

+ Art of Decay +

pieces all connect
the times he had expected have begun
the smart man stares directly at the sun
with a brand new gun

punching through the wall
the smart man gathers all that he can find
he witnesses the fall of all mankind
will he lose his mind

facing the art of decay
he fights alone, he fights alone
against the art of decay
he fights alone, he fights alone

it’ll make you sick
tell your story quick before you die
the dead man has a picture in his eye
life has passed him by

welcome to the end
the last man found a friend within his mind
let’s all play pretend, we’re left behind
who knows what you’ll find

facing the art of decay
he fights alone, he fights alone
against the art of decay
he fights alone, he fights alone

 

+ Fear +

everywhere you go
they can always see
everything you do
always watching me
spines across the back
eyes black and dead
skin pale and cracked
mouth open wide
teeth yellow jagged
fingers long and crooked
breath slow and ragged
claws like a hook
hide in the closet
underneath the bed
live in the cellar
live in your head
tell yourself it’s fake
don’t let it be real
tell me that it’s fake
don’t let it be real
don’t let it be real

 

+ A Simple Dream +

I had a dream where I controlled the planets and the stars
the first thing that I did was go and grab a hold of Mars
I pulled it close to Earth so that it covered half the sky
so we could see if we are all alone

the second thing I did was spin the rings of Saturn fast
they lost control and flung me so far back into the past
I saw all of creation in a tiny little ball
and from it came a clear resounding tone

the tone became the music of the essence of the soul
and with the ball it intertwined and made creation whole
I found myself afloat in one of Neptune’s many seas
I watched our planet die and turn to stone

when I awoke I found the planets all had realigned
I chased the dream but couldn’t stop it fading from my mind
the world returned to normal and my dream came to an end
and everything that died had been regrown