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his first and last sounds
when I dream in color, I only see you
marching off in the dark where for me that there's no room
your eyes crystal clear in that odd shade of blue
cast on your handsome young somebody new.
you held her hands while my mother laid dying,
we spent our nights in emergency rooms
I clap my hands for that new one you're trying with some other version of you.
we will not rest we will pound on our chests till that God awful tyrants replaced,
oh look at that they must point they must laugh them whom own every dog in the race.
talked to my brother once more for he drowned
yes, he spoke of you fondly so in love with a clown.
I chuckled and told him about the new one you'd found.
oh A laugh and his rattle his first and last sounds.
we will not rest, we will pound on our chests
til that god-awful tyrants replaced.
Oh look at that we will point we will laugh
we whom own every dog in the race.
when I dream in color I only see you
marching off in the dark where for me there's no room
your eyes crystal in that odd shade of blue
cast on your handsome young somebody new.
Tommy's lullaby
Now now,
down by the water where no one but you and God are there
for one more look at Spring you're standing there
and you'll point toward your triumphs in your corner of the lions den
Where you pitied, and you pondered, and you prayed
and you'll point to where your women sleep
as softly as their skin is deep
Where you gambled and you garnered and you gave
Neeth the long dark cloak of night
it strokes its beard and he smokes his pipe
and has a laugh with all the sinners and the saints
Ha ha ha ha ha
He says every night you sing to me
of things you want or think you need
but never do you call me just to listen
Now I've said before to such as thee
to Adam ‘pon the wings of Eve
a love like ours is better from a distance
Oh love like ours
Oh love like ours
Oh love like ours is better from a distance
x3
A serenade for Kathy
How your breath was blind when you climbed into the water
and you swear you saw your dead mother's face
she looked right back at you and didn't even smile
neither offering you acknowledgement or praise
and I don't know the outcome
but I am sure it won't be good
how could it be when it never is
your little prince could be promoted
and you wouldn't even notice
but I can tell you this
I don't want to hear your reasons
I have no interest in your plans
this thing of ours that you are leaving
I will see through till the end.
Count the cigarette butts on the doorstep
the poems unread on the chair
the portraits you glare at and no one to dance with
a closet of clothes you don't wear
but I'd be caught dead in your skin
I'd offer you wagers I know I can't win
while I know you're too wise to be ever convinced
I love you I love you I swear
I don't want to hear your reasons
I have no interest in your plans
this thing of ours that you are leaving
I would see through to the end
Now don't act all embarrassed or say that you're sorry
save your thin moral stance
act like some parrot and go and join the army
fuck it, go and join the army with them
whoa oh oh
if it be my lot to be used and forgot, I accept I accept I accept
if it be my lot to be bled then forgot, I accept I accept I accept
and I don't want to hear your reasons
I have no interest in your plans
ELIZABETH COLE
so long was our battle cry as we spilled into the streets
fuck those people and their children
how our mood was one so sweet
and we cold called our mothers while we waited for the train
but for Cleveland he sat silent no cell service from the grave
Now there were 14 stops to prenzlau and our worries a bag
we had books inside our pockets and the princely gift of gab
there were women on verandas
whom we'd never come to know
gum adorned the seat backs
and your fears laughed at our hopes
Off to the right met dawn's arrival
to the left coattails of night
we were young and brash
We didn't even speak the language
in our pasts were useless memories good for nothing but to spite
and the ride was short and painless
and we shunned the cost of living
by stealing every heart behind your
former Middle School on every Ides of March
and while they'd have you think
the glory days are everyone's but ours
I assure you I assure you I implore you that they arn’t
oh I assure you I assure you I implore you that they aren't
go with god
well lately I've been picking up them pieces
oh the pieces that I've been keeping for myself
for no one could love you if they knew your secrets
well baby there's no danger I would ever tell
but I once had a threesome with two sisters
well what a thrill to disappoint them both
they'll tie you up and find out how your wits work
and you'll awake with that neck tie around your throat
well I dare say we would not stay if the walls here were not so large
baby best to go with god or with someone who has a car
and I dare say we won't delay we're going to get out while we can
we're going to bed with every woman and win fist fights with every man
I try my best to keep them bad guys blinking
well honey you go pick their pockets with your smile
if we could go one two days without drinking
and lay around like dusty bricks upon the pire
well I dare say we would not stay
if the walls here were not so large
baby best to go with God or with someone who has a car
and I dare say we won't delay
we're going to get out while we can
we're gonna bed with every woman
and win fist fights with every man
stick, stick and move
the girl in the polka dot dress
that night in cold colorado
you told me more than you ought to
and I drank the nectar but not from the bottle
the dazzling glow of your eyes
you held my hand on the swing set
kind of treatment that Kings get
you told me act more and think less or lonely is all that I'd find
oh come on now honey and put down your books
let's go out for a while and get by on your looks
hang the keys to our heart somewhere high on a hook
ain't no ladder been built yet can reach
what do deserve all the roses
perched there in elegant poses
a good man who's lucky and knows it
who is handsome and charming and kind
when I come back from the brink
that poor man's station will sink
he'll become wretched as me
one can borrow but can't keep what's mine
come on now honey and put down your books
let's go out for a while and get by on your looks
hang the keys to our heart somewhere high on a hook
ain't no ladder been built yet can reach
come on now honey and put down your books
let's go out for a while and get by on your looks
hang the keys to our heart somewhere high on a hook
ain't no ladder yet built yet can reach
yawning at the seance
how the bridge fell away and we both felt so betrayed
when the cold water touched my face it was enough
now the chill up your spine when you wear your bedroom eyes
but the arm around you isn't mine it is enough
I hear the sound of the shore
the waves retreat beats out a score
but I ain't listening anymore it is enough
when the howls in your home
call for things you can't condone
you might be better off alone it is enough
oh honey when I used to write about the future every night
I was dreaming of a lover just like you
my lover come and gone through the chances I have blown
and the vision that is vanished from view
ode to victoria
now forgive me little one I never quite learned how
the emotional progression of a love song sounds
and all my inclinations go the wrong way round unh ha
on the 7th of december is when you found your feet
turning pirouettes on the downtown streets
and your bed is where the heavens and the whorehouse meet unh ha
and you look so good on paper
you got that perfect skin
but you do yourself no favors when you stretch yourself so thin
death near has its boots on and when it finally does
it may come for them but it will never come for us
no never come for us
oh never come for us
and I believe I'll win you
and put you in your place
with a cat in every window and a cake on every plate
and your syphilitic hipster bums cry no no
and they turn left at the bedroom and they wake up in their clothes
while everyone's in hiding we should quit our jobs
and when they say that you'll be sorry we’ll say say no more
you live your safe and happy life behind your concrete door
fuck off
but if we're going to make it to the hour of nine
we'll need a dozen cigarettes and a gallon of wine
a seat before the ocean with the mountains behind
fuck off
well you look so good on paper
you got that perfect skin
but you do yourself no favors when you stretch yourself so thin
death near has his boots on little knowns we can't be killed
not by fire not by loneliness nor throbbing pangs of guilt
no throbbing pangs of guilt
oh oh no throbbing pangs of guilt
and I believe I'll win you and I will make you mine
with a duffel bag of money and a bathtub full of wine
and your syphilitic hipster bums cry no no no
they turn left at the bedroom and they wake up in their clothes
now I believe I'd win you if I could beat myself
while dusty rows of Kerouac grow spiders on my shelf
and I borrowed all the bibles from everyone I know
and I wipe my boots and I read and root for that poor defenseless job
yes I wipe my boots and I read and root for that poor defenseless job
eva
Now on the night of Andrew's wedding
Just the two of us awake
On the porch there in our sleeping bags
We were the only ones with taste
And the moon came through the clouds
And fell angelic on your face
And for the first time I felt I'd found my place
And I recalled it's not promised us at all
I take my pen and tag the tune
Remembering what was said to whom
Remembering where was harm to one
Write it in that golden dust
Where not a speech was worth the words
Till the wine and moon emerged
Where nothing said was said enough
Till silence fell we'd said too much
On the night of Andrew's funeral
Just the two of us asleep
For it made no sense in arguing
With the sharpening of teeth
And death with wild hair he came marching up the street
In his mouth was chewing diamonds with a tiger by its feet
And I recall how that comes for us all
I take my pen and tag the tune
Remembering what was said to whom
Remembering where was harm to one
Write it in that golden dust
Where not a speech was spread the words
Till the wine and moon emerged
Where nothing said was said enough
Till silence fell we'd said too much
I take my pen and paint the tune
Remembering what was said to whom
Remembering where was harm to one
Write it in that golden dust
Where not a speech was spread the words
Till the wine and moon emerged
Where nothing said was said enough
Till silence fell we'd said too
Till silence fell we'd said too
the 5-year binge
I've heard how you cough in the morning
I've been through the trash in your car
I know how you wait in the closet all day just to get yourself back to the bar
looking for hints from the waitress
tapping your toes pretty hard
now you're alone honey turn off your phone in case anyone asks where you are
I want to take you somewhere and make you
love me again
we'll get a room where it's hot and it's humid
will sweat and will sink or will swim
maybe we'll manage to undo the damage and make over every inch
maybe I'll lie in your bed and just cry I'm sorry I'm sorry you win
Tanner Thorne
That laugh when you lie Ain't much of a disguise
I know cause you learned that from me
The pull of the strings is an unfortunate thing
And one can't help but go where they lead
And though you said it would plague you No more, No more
But who are you kidding, I've been through your drawers oh
The vintage you wore to the feast
Smelled the scent from your pores
Sleep, score, and repeat
Sleep, score, and repeat
Whole world waiting by the floor to feed yeah
And for some time The only thing that really mattered
Was getting by Well enough to climb that ladder
You'll meet no dreams there No earthly forms
Where the men have killed the men
And the women have made no more
The women have made no more
I've seen the scars on your wrist
I know that you thought we'd do better than this
Though you're not really sure how we can
When you spent the whole day fucking head in your hands
For we lie and we backstabbed from Fresno to Flagstaff
slipped and we slept on floors that we swept we
Earned a bad rap And clung to the abstract
When everything else seemed a threat
When everything else seemed a threat
(This is as good as it gets)
And for some time The only thing that really mattered
Was getting by Well enough to climb that ladder
You'll meet no dreams there
No earthly forms
Where the men have killed the men
And the women have made no more
The women have made no more
And for some time
The only thing that's really mattered
Was getting by
Well enough to climb that ladder
You'll meet no dreams there
Reap no rewards
And sometimes I see flowers
But most times just the thorns
But most times just the thorns
they think we're stupid
when I was young I follow blindly
I was oh so scared to go alone
but I've been gone for years and no one has tried to find me
I was up all night listening for the call
I always knew there was something wrong with my love
I always knew there was something wrong with me
of all the ones who tried to tell me that I was crazy
darling your the first one that I believed
come lay beside me and I will keep you safe
there's no shame to say you're scared
when we are all we are all we are all afraid
when you wake up screaming in the night
from all those bad dreams were the pretty creatures bite
and you catch your breath and fall right back asleep
for we sign cease fires but they're never will be peace
come lay beside me and I will keep you safe
it's no shame to say you're scared when we are all afraid
look me in the eye and lay beside me
and we will share the weight
it's no shame to say you're scared
when we are we are all we are all afraid
Tourists
I felt it in the forest back when I was just a tourist
Laughing at the cities made of glass
You down by the stream with your million-dollar dream
Only two bucks left for gas
And your limbs like cardboard
Warm, all wrapped around me and
You wore my favorite see-through dress
But you gotta wait for now, child
Look outside it is Monday morning
Gotta put on your face and get you dressed
Down in the sand where we planned and we planned
To give the great unwashed a bath
All those years ago love before we come to know that
We'd only smell like shit ourselves
And your limbs like cardboard
Warm, all wrapped around me and
You wore my favorite see-through dress
But you gotta wait for now, child
Look outside it is Monday morning
Gotta put on your face and get you dressed
And it ain't fair that I wait here
But you're so good at making money
Honey I will be with you there in spirit
Oh somewhere there's a jem where all the mice behave like men
But they, they would never let us a near it
It ain't fair that I wait here
But you're so good at making money
Honey I will be with you there in spirit
Oh somewhere there's a gem where all the mice behave like men
But they, they would never let us near it
Oh I felt it in the forest back when I was just a tourist
Laughing at the cities made of glass
You down by the stream with your million-dollar dream
Only two bucks left for gas
A very thin thread (100 miles)
Fair fair halos flying the mountains up ahead
cloak their crowns January whites
Some say it's magic I would say that's just a guess
Conjured up to calm you while you hike
One hundred miles a hundred miles
Daylight bricks and Dusty piles
We go up and down the aisles a hundred miles
Fourteen pharaohs lure the lamb into the cave
Turned deaf and dumb to questions as to why
Say lambs like lions if they do not misbehave
Who walk the greenest pastures when they die
One hundred miles a hundred miles
Daylight bricks and dusty piles
We go up and down the aisles a hundred miles
Someone smiles when they call your name
And they convince you for a second you were not to blame
You feel all shiny in your rusty frame one hundred miles
Oh poor old Gary wore his share of fiery moods
He kissed that serpent one too many times (Too many times)
He don't know reason he don't care for what is true
Darkness is much easier on the eyes
One hundred miles a hundred miles
daylight bricks and dusty piles
We go up and down the aisles a hundred miles
Someone smiles when they call your name
And they convince you for a second you were not to blame
You feel all shiny in your rusty frame one hundred miles
the (only) ballerina from tennessee
Anytime that we catch a break
We'll wait for the gods to realize their mistake
And I'll pray with you dear with our impotent words
In darkened rooms where only candle lights concern
No one has held me like you have
I could have died in your arms
Do you know how it felt having no way to help
When you won't even tell me what's wrong
What I replied post reflection
What I said in response
There are things in my head, in my heart, in my bed, nothing nobody ever should want
And I know what it's like when your man's always drunk
Brings nothing nice with him when he does come home
And we move through rooms like some little kids
To afraid to ask for things they might not wish to give
No one has held me like you have
I could have died in your arms
Do you know how it felt having no way to help
When you won't even tell me what's wrong
What I replied post reflection
What I said in response
There are things in my head, in my heart, in my bed, nothing nobody ever should want
gently chiding veronica
I can recall you standing tall
A man in all his glory gazing
at them puddles painting rainbows
In the sunlight on the pavement
In the blackness where your accent
Sent me softly into dreaming
Over bends and home again only to turn up in between them
And them speakers shout me greetings
They shout me revelations
Where them villains wind up dancing
And their fans come spend their pay checks
And we and we danced around the ramps And down
bridges where the anthems sound
Tricksters and the tramps abound
Cheaters as the champs are crowned
You take your chances while the sun might sets
No matter how ferocious the gunfight gets
The promised land I hear is here and near and one ride west
I hadn't had time to take but when the blood dries, let's
If you did not believe in all these
silly little things you do
You might not feel that melancholy
When they turn out to not be true
But who's to say what's true and what isn't
He says she says that it's not you
Me oh my good God good riddance
What a nice neat bloodless coup
And you've been praying with dirty fingers
It's a wonder you can pray at
all till Nighttime comes to cross the vineyard
And it's a wonder I should think so small
And there she goes my moonlight daughter
Bare skin brushing up against the rows
Sometimes she sings tunes I taught her
Sometimes she don't use words at all
You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
You take what you make
And don't tell no one shit
You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
You take what you make
And don't tell no one shit
You get what you get and you don't throw a fit
You take what you make
Dear old dad
Good old dad, he showed his hand
He poured his drink on the carpet
And outside I was watching the fireworks
Burn out above like a card trick
And when we slept you left your bed
And ran to the arms of a grown man
And all that night you left your light in
The back of Vanessa Martin's mom's van
And you still just borrow what you cannot steal
You will ask what isn't owed
When you find out that none of that is real
Come back and dance the night away in dirty clothes
One by one we all moved on
While you just clung to your childhood
And all that shame you prick your veins with
Will never love you like I do
Someone stands to hold your hand
Oh, down there deep in the barroom
All the night look left and right
Love, tell me, tell me, where are you?
And you still just borrow what you cannot steal
You will ask what isn't owed
When you find out that none of that is real
Come back and dance the night away in dirty clothes
Junk food chimney
I could be happy if I died today
If I go on living I will try and do the same
And all of our old quarrels may swing down soon
They are calling from the rafters, thei clarity a fluke
But for now, let's make love with the lights on
And I won't wonder where you have been nor with whom
The pictures of your saints hanging crooked from the drywall
The body of the goddess in your thin red shoes
And none need understand all the reasons we have come here
But as the days grow shorter they may have their say
Look me in the eyes before they do, little darling
I would be happy if I died today
You left your earrings on the nightstand
you left your bike marks in the bed
you left your baby in the garden
the roots of roses hold her head
What was one more sin
I love you too
Comes to that part of the evening
When there's nobody left to impress
You sit by yourself in the corner
Pat your pockets to see just what's left
All of the lovers have moved on
But yours is the steepest of hills
And you glare at yourself in the mirror
They all know things that you never will
They'll feel the things you can't access
As they stand by the river at dawn
You've grown older and cagey and classless
And regret just what little you've done
Here is the thing you should cling to
For a grin as you gather your strength
And you drag yourself out of the corner
This is the picture you paint
You were good, you were strong, you were handsome
Yes we all say to God what a gift
And we share in the gloom when you slip from the room
with that smile we've so sorely missed
You'll remember that night in the orchard
Barefoot with breath in your lungs
And you said all these trees came from such tiny seeds
And you held out your arms as you spun
Like a dervish, a dancer, a dreamer my friend
You're as beautiful now as I thought you were then
And I want you to know that I love you
I want you to know that I love you
I want you to know that I love you
Don't make me say it again
No don't make me say it again
I love you
I love you
I love you
Don't make me say it again
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