
Latest Words Last modified: Mon, May 31st 2010 - 1:09 PM
WEAR THE YEARS
i’m proud to wear the years
on my face & body
i played by my own rules
& made it this far
i didn’t take the downhill path
i learned, instead,
to trust my instincts
to listen & respond & live
in real time
& make choices based on
my own experience
it’s true, love burned the ground
around me once or twice
but somehow i
always found my way
in the process i discovered
the sublime subtleties of existence
the grasp
that makes all the difference
you have to work a lifetime
to get here
& i did
i’m proud to wear the years
PEACE
i mean no disrespect
to those who do not share my views
i do not feel threatened by you
or what you do
you have your way
i have mine
we will smile in kindness
& tolerate each other
we can forget what's in the past
& co-exist in fairness &
e q u a l i t y
we will live in peace
we will live in peace
THE WHOLLY LAND
what darkster
demon-swept wabe
could possibly
waddle thru the murk
to meld this ethnic-soaked
culture-choked
meltdown
rammed & throttled by eons of
so much
self-righteous
self-serving
self-ish
bullshit?
DOWN TO BONE
you don't really want to know my story
how i ended up living in my car
everything i own is in there
i don't like it but that's the way things are
i'm stuck in no man's land
lost & alone
down to bone
i've been on the streets for two years
i've been out of work for three
all i want is a job that'll let me
find out who i am again
i'm stuck in no man's land
lost & alone
down to bone
first they give you a taste of honey
then you get the knife
they pretend that it's all bout money
but they're messing with our lives
i stand in line
i fill out forms
i know my luck has got to change
i will not give up hope
tomorrow may be a better day
this is still america
this is still my home
even though i'm
down
to bone
TOO MUCH TO ASK
a piece of sky to call my own
a crust of land to make a home
someone to love my whole life thru
tell me please
is this too much to ask?
to work each day & do my best
to sleep at night with no regrets
to welcome change so i can grow
tell me please
is this too much to ask?
to live with those who resist greed
content with only what they need
who do not waste things foolishly
tell me please
is this too much to ask?
there's a cool breeze
snaking thru the neighborhoods
i think it just might be
the start of something good
to feel connected to the earth
to recognize how much it's worth
to treasure all that it provides
tell me please
is this too much to ask?
SLEEP RIVER
i must confess
my heart still hurts
yes it's still
tender & sore
it beats but
it's battered
what good is it anymore?
take me
where there'll be
no sorrow
no weeping
no pain
sleep river
deep & wild
can you get me out of here?
right now
GRAVEL BEACH
we are not alike
in any way
so
what is it that draws me to you
lures me lunging
uncontrollably magnetized
thrust like the tide
up against your gravel beach
rushing fast at first
shoving pushing
racing blindly headlong
shooting forceful
silvery smooth in motion,
then slower
s l o w e r,
reaching up on tip of toes
to touch as much
to sop, seep & cover
cap & crest
to possess
saturate
soaking thru till gravity yanks
dragging me back
i take as much with me as i can
for as long as i can
friction found sound
slipping back
into the cold water
of humanity
this time it hurts
disoriented i stew
waiting in the ocean
of my aloneness
cold and heaving
wondering when
i will be thrust
again
THE DEAL
you can't
hold back
my imagination
you can't
reach my mind
you can occupy
my strength
my time
my concentration
but you can't
hold back
my imagination
so
don't even try
THAT CLOUD
i own that cloud up there
the one by the lone bird flyin
so don't mess with what is mine
i'm sittin here waiting for god
but something tells me she's not comin
diggin my hands down in well-worn pockets
tryin to keep them warm
i got all the answers
still lookin for the questions
always runnin so i know i'm free
the past has turned it's back on me
the world & i move in different directions
but i own that cloud up there
THE GLASS OFF
they lied to me
all those insistent mornings
& pushy afternoons
lulled me into thinking
it would always be this way
i got caught up in
a mindless gush of current
& could not see that
e v e n t u a l l y
the flow would
discharge me
into this
slimy stagnant pool
sunk to my knees
i've been deceived
& left alone
to decay
FIND A WAY
my dad was quite a fighter
you could not keep him down
someone you could rely on
when bad news poked its head around
i asked him once how i would make it
thru the hard & hopeless days ahead
the road just seemed so overwhelming
i'll always remember what he said
put one foot in front of the other
& do your best each day
you'll find a way
now my son's eyes are wide with worry
when we watch the evening news
there's war & debt & unemployment
& a dying planet that we misuse
he looks at me for some assurance
like i might have the magic key
i tell him there's no easy answers
but this is what my dad told me
put one foot in front of the other
& do your best each day
you'll find a way
ROUGH & TUMBLE
the instant i became aware
i found myself tumbling
my body making full turns
head over heels
eyes searching for focus
my mind grappling to find out
where i was
& what was going on
turns out
it's a full-on
hieronymus bosch-like scene
on every side of me
other arms & legs flail
spinning like batons
in continuous motion
closed in tight
i've come to the conclusion
that all i can do is
keep my head tucked
so i can roll clear of the pile
when i hit the ground
if i hit the ground
my best guess now is
when i land at last
it will be with such force
that i will slide six feet under
to that final worm-eaten resting place
l'chaim
WHERE THE WILD WINDS BLOW
i've got to get out of here
somehow some way
there must be a better place somewhere
some day i'm going to find it
i want to go where the wild winds blow
& nobody knows my name
i want to move so fast
that i lose my past
& start all over again
i'm stuck in the same old rut
what happened to all of my dreams?
how did i end up walking the tread
trapped in these worn-out routines?
i want to go where the wild winds blow
& nobody knows my name
i want to move so fast
that i lose my past
& start all over again
there's always lots of talk around
be careful what you believe
when everyone thinks that they know you
all you got left is to leave
i want to go where the wild winds blow
& nobody knows my name
i want to move so fast
that i lose my past
& start all over again
SURRENDER
remember
when we swore that
we would never fade
like our fathers
we were gonna cut thru
the world's crap
break down & overthrow
the fakers & the fucks
the gutless goons
who take everything
but deserve nothing
we promised
not to compromise
to look, live, & stay
d a n g e r o u s
intent & focused
relevant to our last breath
what happened, mates?
what the fuck happened?
UNDER GLASS
oh sad & lonely world
full of frazzled frightened souls
scurrying around like pinballs
running up ramps
bouncing off bumpers
frantically trying to score points
& light up some momentary flash
that only glows for an instant
then is gone when
flippers flapping furiously
their ball
finally falls
down
the
drain
only the high score is posted
for the rest
no trace
STILL BOUND
the sound of your breathing
echoes in the wind
it wraps around the trees
outside the home we shared
& slithers slowly along
the seams in the windows
then seeps beneath the doorway
approaching me
waiting still bound
senses sharpened by loneliness
missing you intensely
no longer sure what is real
& what is imaginary
this much i know
i feel you here with me now
but i can't reach out & touch you
is this it?
is this all I have left?
BLACK TOENAILS
i watch you
sitting there
in your summer dress
bare feet
toenails painted black
one foot cradling the other
so delicately demure
bare legs
tan & slender
perfectly formed
rising up to meet
in the place i like to linger
when i can
the sweet hot spot
where all my
summer rhapsodies
reside
BRING IT HERE
give me pleasure
give me pain
i just want to feel alive
you can't fool me with tomorrow
i only want what's now
let me taste it
i need answers
right here right now
got the itch for clarity
i need to rub away the numbness
scratch until it's raw
so i can feel it
all i want is to deal with reality
no more spin
no more scrim of secrecy
no surrender
no retreat
i am ready for what comes
i got my eyes wide open
& my mind is free & clear
bring it here
MINOR BLUE SURCEASE
earthed in your quiet love
my home is on the range
underneath the blanket of blue air
i stare
up at countless buddhas
beaming down from space
the silence peaks like waves
through liquid hollows of my ears
and i seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
far from the cities without edges
and the highways choked with cars
partners in pleinair anywhere
i don't care
as long as i'm roaming
someplace new with you
breathing in the wind
lip to lip we hang
and seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
stripped to the essence
connected to the core
in the absolute serenity of timelessness
stressless seconds become raindrops
soaking thirsty soil
we feel the grasses germinate
grow and lift us up
to seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
WHY
as i sat
drinking in the darkness
alone in my room last night
y o u
muscled your way
into my weary head
it wasn't just your image
i could feel you
smell you
taste you
it made me shiver
this eerie intrusion
from a box long sealed
& stowed deep
in the basement of my being
why ?
can you tell me why ?
CHEESE & CRACKERS
reaching into
pitch black dark
longing to touch
to make connection
afraid
but hoping against hope
that we are not
alone
but
we are alone
stuck in hollow rooms
nobody knowing
where we are
or caring
what we think
eating cheese & crackers
by the sink
hungry for the
naked touch
of life
THE THRILL
today i walked around
filling my pockets with rocks
ballast to hold me on the ground
so i won't get sucked out of this world
another body sent to the zombie parking lot
t h o u g h
my mouth has become a thunderstorm
& steady breaths have given way
to habitual moans & puffs of frustration
& my hair is a lit fuse
creeping toward my brain
& sounds seem to linger longer
in my ears before dissolving
& the moons on my fingernails
have almost set
& i rub my eyes
in the relentless darkness
asking over & over
who's there?
but no one answers
& my wick is burning down
sending smoke rings
floating into the sky
forming clouds
that look like white handkerchiefs
b u t
this is no surrender
b e c a u s e
my blood is a river
raging thru my veins
carbonated by confidence
still restless
still seeking the thrill
BACK HOME
take me home
i could really use some family
i just need a little time
to charge my energy
turn me loose
to wander thru my fields of memories
everything will be alright
once i make it
back home back home
people there know what it's really like
back home back home
nothing's gonna stop me from going
cause life's too short
i don't really care what others think
i just want to go where i can be myself
& revel in my roots
back home back home
people there know what it's really like
back home back home
where all my dreams were born
so take me home
i could really use some family
i just need
a little time
SUMMER
standing in the shed
looking out thru soft morning haze
at my great green illinois
smelling raw & right
corn still damp with dew
i swear i see it stretching
millimeter by millimeter
in prolonged burst
unrestricted snap
reminding me
to get going
keep growing
too
CORNFIELDS
cornfields
fallow or fodder
are my favorite places to walk
the neat & orderly
row after row after row
draws me in
but i don't walk the lines
i like tramping across
the furrows
there's something satisfying about
stomping on swollen earth
going against the grain
THE DREAM
i used to have this dream
that if i moved my arms
a certain way
i could fly
glide on currents of air
e m p o w e r e d
by some unknown force of will
to hover over the landscape
a vista of possibility
able to see everything
all at once
or sweep in
to examine anything
up close
could it be
i was a nosey sparrow
in some previous existence
was this all just
evidence
of lingering
residual memory
no matter
i relished
f l o a t i n g
arms/wings akimbo
apart
but still a
part
but
best of all
was the fact
that no one else
seemed to
notice
20 QUESTIONS
how come my life feels so hollow?
what am i living for?
i feel like i'm waiting for some one - who?
where should i go?
what should i do?
why am i restless all the time?
how can i stay focused?
when will i learn to keep my mouth shut?
where will i find my soul mate?
will this loneliness ever go away?
why do i feel so helpless?
why can't i sleep at night?
what happened to my sense of self?
why don't i have any real friends?
somewhere along the way i lost my passion,
how can i get it back?
why do my lips always seem so dry?
why don't i ever feel satisfied?
how do i find a way to fit in?
when will this emptiness disappear?
will i ever find peace?
SWALLOW LIFE
let's riff
jump & jive
chug experience
feel alive
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's blow beyond our minds
scratch & scribble outside the lines
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's scat
sweat & scream
spit in the wind
let off steam
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's split
runnin wild
let's lose the inner child
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's squeeze between the cracks
kick the monkeys off our backs
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's burn man
really wail
send the needle right off the scale
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
let's riff
jump & jive
chug experience
feel alive
stay conscious
be here now
swallow life
wound down
in the mad sad paradise
drivin round
in a beat up old black biscayne
jammin on a james brown backbeat
clockin to the quarter tones
kickin licks around my brain
longin for the lost bohemia
i musta missed it
my appointment with reality
i'm inside
on the outside
sitting on the shoulders of time
just
ridin it out
HURRICANE
first light found
the gulf winds
rifling thru the jacaranda trees
there was an eerie
stickiness
in the air
as a darkened scrim
of storm clouds
were forced marched
across the wide sky
somewhere far away
a siren complained
but there were no
morning bird sounds or cries
only the faithful flag
snapping & crackling
on it's corner pole
i crawled deeper
into my cave of blankets
trying to will myself
to be anywhere else
but here
captive
fearful of facing
the force
of unresolved feelings
caught
in a squeeze
i can't control
there will be
no reprieve
this time
i've already
chain-smoked
all my chances
all i can do now
is
wait
PARDON OUR DUST
excuse us
while we try to reconfigure reality
to create a better
l i f e
sand the rough spots
round the edges
knock off anything
that sticks out
make it smooth
take it's teeth
all gums is where it's at
for us
relax
research shows
you'll like it
just smile
eat your jello
CRAZY SPECKS
i woke up
had to hold out my hands
to steady myself
trying to slow
the world whizzing by
it barrels along
all the time
even while I sleep
doesn't stop for nothin
or nobody
i run along with it
every once in a while
for the rush of connection
but then i drop out
it's become too much
way too much
besides
i'd rather watch the dust dance
in the sunlight
& imagine what music
those crazy specks are listening to
IN THE STILLNESS
alone
inside my soul
in the stillness
i dream that i know
how to deal with the world
with life
& what it means to be alive
i imagine
what it's like to be
in tune
to hear each action
resonate
creating clear long tones
that ring & rumble
then return reverbed
rich & warm
& right
in
time
i press that feeling against my memory
& push as hard as i can
but when i let up
it's gone
it's always gone
OUT OF THE COOL
i woke up with a rorschach headache
rem remnants cloud my eyes
don't feel like getting out of bed today
i'm sick of pretending
another day crawls in on skinned knees
one more chance to drop
out of the cool
day old coffee jolts my system
prescriptions numb my brain
time bites my tortured fingertips
hoarse hours screaming
my body may be obligated
but my soul has snuck
out of the cool
in the cool
completely insulated
from worry or concern
everything you want you can get
in the cool
in the cool
it's so uneventful
nothing's left to chance
everything is under control
in the cool
the moon paints a searchlight canvas
with star spangled cosmic dust
while i drift in cold dark waters
afraid of my freedom
but loneliness rolls me
like the tide
in one last restless surge
out of the cool
QUESTIONS
it's fucking hot tonight
there is an owl living
in the towering palm tree
outside my window
even he's not asking
the usual questions
too humid to hunt for mice
or words, for that matter
the passing cars slur by
tires sticking, then
ripping themselves
from the road
it smells dank & sodden
like a plantation
rotting away in the mangroves
of bayou-filled lose-iana
what's left of it
& I hear sirens
wailing in the distance
whining
clamoring for attention
just like everything
& everyone else
these days
half a world away
near tikrit
a 22 year old soldier
is sitting in a jeep
in the noon heat
110 degrees
wondering
if anybody cares
why he's there
WHY
as i sat
drinking in the darkness
alone in my room last night
y o u
muscled your way
into my weary head
it wasn't just your image
i could feel you
smell you
taste you
it made me shiver
this eerie intrusion
from a box long sealed
& stowed deep
in the basement of my being
why ?
can you tell me why ?
CHASING INSIGNIFICANCE
like lava
down the desolate mountain of my existence
i seared and stripped all vestige of your presence
burned it off
felt it fall away like ash
chasing insignificance
i closed my eyes
and the sallow desert sands sucked me down
swallowed like a pill
pumicing my memories
i sank
into the empty endless void
chasing insignificance
walled in
by solid slabs of fear
and stumbling silence
i feel my way around my cell
unconscious
drained of hope
blind
deaf
dumb
numb
chasing insignificance
GOIN DOWN SLOW
i just want to get the straight from you
up to now i've trusted everything you said was true
but - it turns out - most of it was not
looks like we live in different worlds
going down slow
going down slow
i can smell the burn
you've got your so-called friends to back you up
& i get your body sometimes
but it is not enough
to only be someone who makes you come
it's way past time to say goodbye
going down slow
going down slow
i can smell the burn
i really thought this thing we had would last
but my foolish wishful thinking suddenly collapsed
so what if i take a drink or two
i'm twelve steps away from innocence
going down slow
going down slow
i can feel the burn
for HOLLIS GENTRY
troubled soul even tho
music chose him
pulled him out of the massive pack
& set up permanent residence in his lank
how it dominated
exploding with an intensity
could only be forged by pressure
beautiful passionate wild
roller coaster rides of notes
poured thru him
as if effortlessly
& drenched our astonished ears
yet he would not find contentment
in the altitudes of spontaneous expression
as if he knew he must always
refuse to release the edge
keep it cloudy
but oh! sometimes
the sun would break thru
& he would erupt
with a self-possessed clarity
a purposefulness
a pure peaceful musicality
to tell a tale
must make even grown men cry
then i could look in his eyes
& see he was free
& now he is
finally
& we are the losers
no more trips to the outer limits
no more firework displays
bitter tears
but at least
he is finally
free
MINOR BLUE SURCEASE
earthed in your quiet love
my home is on the range
underneath the blanket of blue air
i stare
up at countless buddhas
beaming down from space
the silence peaks like waves
through liquid hollows of my ears
and i seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
far from the cities without edges
and the highways choked with cars
partners in pleinair anywhere
i don't care
as long as i'm roaming
someplace new with you
breathing in the wind
lip to lip we hang
and seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
stripped to the essence
connected to the core
in the absolute serenity of timelessness
stressless seconds become raindrops
soaking thirsty soil
we feel the grasses germinate
grow and lift us up
to seem s u s p e n d e d
caught in the moment
of minor blue surcease
THE CURRENT KEN
this forsaken world
is falling apart around me
it takes both arms
to hold it together
no chance to reach
for the brighter moments
though they do float by
intermittently
glowing like ornaments
reminding me
of better times
carefree days
when i didn't
know any better
THE PLANET REELS
a quiet summer afternoon
lying on the grass on my stomach
arms outstretched, head down
ear to the earth
hugging my planet
i sense it reeling
i feel a long slow shudder
a rumble
& wonder what it could be . . .
is it the trudging feet
of tens of thousands of homeless refugees
carrying bundles of everything they own ?
or is it
bomb blasts, landmines, mortar, gunshots exploding
one somewhere
every single second
in endless, senseless, synchronized brutality ?
or could it be
millions of anguished, simultaneous sobs
from those in pain, tortured or persecuted,
or robbed of someone they loved ?
all needlessly
the sun is benignly warm on my skin
yet I know that somewhere
connected on the crust of this measurable orb
those same rays beat mercilessly down
on mothers holding their starving children
skin caked with the salt of dried tears & sweat
money, territory, power
how much does one need ?
the planet reels
human beings are suffering
how long can we go on pretending
that there is anything
more important than this ?
M T
walkin the sun-bleached streets of this city
just walkin & watchin
seekin the cause
seekin any cause
but not findin much
vacant stares
a bitter competitive taste
& the over-powerin stench of
m t ness
you'd think a walk would help you escape
the isolation
it only makes it worse
all of us
hidin in our own mental caves
claimin to be part of somethin
cause we chew the same useless cud
that means absolutely nothin
& has no substance
but is oh so nicely
prepared & packaged
where is the force ?
the passion ?
the commitment ?
is anything goin on ?
what are we doin here ?
oh right, that's what we don't want to
have to think about
real existence
so we stuff down that prepackaged
reality that the media serves us
in an ever-expandin array of ways
so here we all are
passin time
but goin nowhere
fast
only thing is
this is our time
& we're pissin it away
fat faded fools
bangin on the piano of death
CLUELESS
there they were
hundreds of them
perched in a line
on the telephone wires
all facing the same way
staring toward the horizon
as if waiting for some signal or
maybe for an answer
to suddenly appear
the magical message that would
enlighten them
& let them know
why they were there
orderly
comfortably spaced & disposed
well intentioned
but nonetheless
clueless
LIFE BEFORE DEATH
she looked up at me
from beneath those
sculpted brows
& windmill lashes,
& asked
if i had found
any evidence
of life before death
i watched the words
come out of her mouth,
bent over & kissed her
perfectly formed lips,
then
shrugged & shook my head
CHAIN OF CHOICES
you won't admit it
but I know you must be scared
i can see behind your eyes
you're carryin a heavy load
i wish i could tell you
everything will always
work out like you want
sometimes it won't
i wish i could tell you
that no one will ever
disappoint or leave you
lost & alone
life is a
chain of choices
some are good
some are not
but the trick is
to keep on choosin
& make the best
of what you've got
BALANCE
my lips
d r i f t
like a raft
down the
mississippi
of your
back
CHINASKI
the streetlight glared at the dirty sidewalk
dried-out puke on the curb
air conditioners spit
from fourth floor window ledges
down ancient chipped
graffiti-covered brick
caked with grime
smell of piss
round the corner in the alley
mixed with scents of stale smoke
flat beer
& sour grease-coated garbage cans
nestled in the glass of broken liquor bottles
& cigarette butts
crushed cardboard boxes
first
i saw the tip of his lit snipe
he was sitting on an old ratty
corn-colored couch cushion
propped up against the side of a dumpster
& as soon as he saw me
notice him
he farted
& i laughed
"hey, hank . . .
where the fuck you been, man?"
BIG MOON
somehow
the big moon
beats down harshly
on my worn out brain tonight
sending down ice pick rays
spindly fingers
poking at my consciousness
refusing to let me sleep
i can't hide from it
i tried but
it knows me too well
where i always go
what i always do
& i am too bone-weary
to try something new
besides
i've been here before
i remember
e v e n t u a l l y
sleep's scratchy wool blanket
will drop down on me
to hide my fears
& send me
crawling off
to find my dreams
DOIN IT TO DEATH
(for james brown)
death
you're too late
he's already sizzled stages
across every single state
splitting to the floor
with a cold sweat scream
slamming to his knees
t h e n
back up & spinning
shouting
please please please please
he funked a nation
a n d
he's already done it
to you too
you're too late
death
1/1/2004
my roots reach down
and grip the earth
i suck the sap
up thru out-stretched arms
to touch the winds
to feel them stream
thru my fingers
cool
dry
& steady
2 WEEKS AFTER 9/11
will there ever come
an end to this numbing suffering
the inner ache that permeates
each passing hour since
and shadows every eye
how sweet would be release
passage from this restless
penetrating
unease
some blissful slip
back into that space
where we forget
just how temporary
everything
is
ZEN
i am beating my heart
playing it cool
taking a breath
giving it back
conscious unconscious
i have opened my eyes
cut loose from my past
free of the itch
i am bobbing afloat
caught in the flow
riding the waves
part of the whole
out of control
unmagnitized
i am right, i am wrong
inside & out
throbbing with life
i spin with the earth
nothing exists
all things are one
taking a breath
giving it back
beating my heart
i am playing it
c o o l
IMMERSED
this eternal now
this e t e r n i t y
it's always going on
& we
(beams of energy)
are always here
with it
in it
of it
sometimes
as a tingling gust of fresh air
or a cloud rippling across the sky
or for a time
as an industrious spider
learning discipline
building web after web
or a plant
struggling to bloom
adapting to it's
place in nature
for this time
as a human being
trying to come to grips
with what
the addition of a mind
m e a n s
in the grand scheme of things
the ability to truly
u n d e r s t a n d
this living & endless
p r e s e n t
so alive
so intense
that maybe
we occupy ourselves with
the mundane
just so we don't have to deal
with the immensity
of
r e a l i t y
aaaaahhhhhhh
brief relief
but
that doesn't change it
( take a d e e p b r e a t h . . . )
that doesn't change it
OUT HERE ON THE EDGE
bamboo grows a foot a day
the succulents don't need my care
bougainvillea is in bloom
there's eucalyptus in the air
the santa ana's breathing down my neck
hot breath that cracks my lips
it pushes me out to the ocean's ledge
to view the waves that wall me in
i know i'm trapped
out here on the edge
sometimes I try to look away
over the canyons of the past
to better times & brighter days
mirages that don't last
i chase the phantoms when i have the strength
thru passages that wind
but they all end up in a rocky wedge
my cries return in ricochet
i know i'm trapped
out here on the edge
night time is my only friend
it hides within its darkened cape
all my troubles & all my cares
& all my chances for escape
it opens up the limitless of sky
& punctuates with stars
but i don't buy what they allege
the innocence of ignorance
i know I'm trapped
out here on the edge
EVOLUTION
there's a cool breeze
blowing down these troubled streets
the scent of something good
is snaking thru the neighborhoods
inching right here within reach
evolution
like a faint dream
emerging thru the haze
the teardrops of adversity
rinse away reality
and leave only the truth
evolution
what's it gonna take
to make us understand
that we are all just small parts
of this thriving throbbing planet?
where each heart beats to the same tempo
no one is better or less than the rest
there is space & share
enough for every one
can we give up
our meaningless concerns
learn to live in peace
and use our energies to reach
a higher state of mind?
evolution
what's it gonna take
to make us understand
that we are all just small parts
of this thriving throbbing planet?
where each heart beats to the same tempo
no one is better or less than the rest
there is space & share
enough for every one
there's a cool breeze
blowing down these troubled streets
the scent of something good
is snaking thru the neighborhoods
inching right here within reach
evolution
evolution
THE MOMENT
suspended in honey
i melt into your arms
searching for
your ferocious mouth
HEARTS ON FIRE
in the mist of midnight
i heard a gasping scream
an aching cry of passion
from the edges of a dream
imagine my surprise when i found
that sound had come from me
hearts on fire
my heart's on fire
sheltered in a blaze
ignited by your bliss
i roam around your body
inch by inch & kiss by kiss
searching for sweet refreshment
in each bead of honey sweat
hearts on fire
my heart's on fire
you're smokin my senses
i'm lost in your smells
and each touch of your hot skin
feeds my adrenaline
i'm burning . . .
burning
and then when i hold you
close like this guitar
pressed up tight against me
encircled in my arms
i can see your body tremble
as i strum each tender chord
hearts on fire
my heart's on fire
THE TRUTH
i ran into the truth the other night
it looked at me like it didn't know me
like i was some stranger
i know i dabble in my own reality
but i surely thought our paths must have crossed
once or twice along the way
i guess not
SOLITUDE
words & thoughts of henry david thoreau
arranged by chuck perrin
we live thick
blue devils & blue angels
always in each others way
we meet & greet &
give each other new tastes
of that same old musty cheese
that we are
i can't take it anymore
i want
solitude
i love to be alone
like when the snow falls fast
& closes all the roads
& the wind howls in the wood
indescribable
just let me have a draught
of undiluted morning air
at the first fountainhead of every day
let me sit alone
rapt in revery
in undisturbed silence
& i will remember
past the ennui & the blues
that i've never found
a better friend
than
solitude
i need some
solitude
a little world
all to myself
IT'S TIME
it's time
time to fold up
the pages of disappointment
all those unfulfilled expectations
fold them up in tight little wads
stuff em in a shoebox
duct tape it shut
and slide it down the pitched roof
that stretches out
behind and below
watchin it shoot down
and off into space
away
a w a y
then turn and
hand over hand
climb that red thread
it's time
time to find out
how far we can get
with what's left
TRUSTVILLE
well i'm on this train
that never stops
watching my world slide by
while the mournful whistle
moans your name
and the steel rails testify
that i let you down
and lost your love
with some foolish rendezvous
so i spend each hour in exile
and hope someday that you'll
take me back to trustville
why did i ever leave?
when you're the only one i need
yeah i'm on this train
hauling regret
in boxcars ten miles long
and every tie that passes by
reminds me i was wrong
when i let you down
and lost your love
what a fool i was to roam
now i'm shackled to this sad express
tryin to get back home
take me back to trustville
why did I ever leave?
when you're the only one i need
this train
this train
this train
STRAWBERRY HILL
crush hour in the city
freeways simmer and sigh
kaleidoscopic sidewalks surge
as day and night collide
the henna hand of twilight
sketches shadows on the street
in swelling tessellation
till nightfall is complete
no matter, still agendas tug
as time dictates routine
and life gets lost among the lists
the scenes and the caffines
but where we are
there is no time
just one eternal now
only trees and star-smeared sky
a mountain pleasure ground
prisoners of nature
force-fed our own free will
till all our cares
peel off in layers
left here on
strawberry hill
TIME FADES AWAY
the morning mist kissed the window pane
as i woke up in your arms again
prepared to face
another day
my spirit had been renewed
cause every night i spend with you
makes me feel more alive
& time fades away
side by side as the sun comes up
watching steam rise from our coffee cups
we welcome
another day
talking bout the day ahead
but i didn't hear a thing you said
i was enraptured by your voice
time fades away
how did it happen that you came into my life
& charmed my destiny
i've waited years to feel a love like this
it's real life poetry
& when we go our separate ways
we still connect & resonate
across the crazy madness
of each day
cause in the furnace of our hearts
we are haunted by the spark
down where all our fires start
time fades away
how did it happen that you came into my life
& charmed my destiny
i've waited years to feel a love like this
it's real life poetry
when the midnight hour comes
& all our daily cares are numb
our bodies flowing into one
time fades away
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Latest Words Early Words

Brother & Sister Next of Kin Peoria Folk Anthology Life is a Stream Mary T Beat.itude Swallow Life :44 Of Love
All selections © Chuck Perrin. All rights reserved.
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