~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seventy-One Year Old Man
We arrest
Seventy
One
Year
Old man
Pull him off his pedestal
Everybody has to learn
We arrest
The chance for a girl
To see
Her dad
Before
He dies
We arrest
The black boy
Without a chance at bail
Waterboard
To find out
What he did
If you can
We detain
The lost
Until organs quit
And teeth
Turn black
Is it just the way
We do it these days
A dying world enjoying the night
Or is it just the same
As it always was
The symptoms of a guilty heart
We protect
Our standard of living
And close
our eyes
With no
Regret
We extract
The wealth of the nations
And talk
About
Development
Could I save
The blood or the money
Of a stranger
I
Saw on
The streets?
Should I dive
Into this sea
Or quietly survive?
Is it just the way
We do it these days
A dying world enjoying the night
Or is it just the same
As it always was
Defenses of a guilty heart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sen’s Parents
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on to me
A dragon falling faster to escape the paper birds
A little girl to carry the discovery of worlds
And all the knowing fit inside can only overflow
And how could anyone ever forget?
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on to me
Consumption as a fact of life and nothing to suggest
That all the ice we skate upon hides something underneath
If fat leads to paralysis and suffering to food
Why am I hiding from the truth?
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on
Have to say you're on to me
I'm playing a lonely game
Eating the grief I make
You opened the sky for me
And gave us the food we need
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ordos
Honey don't you hang up the phone
On me
Tell me where you think you could go
From me
I'm the life support machine
For your system that has sunken in
Baby don't you think it's a mess
We're in
Baby coming round to the quiet
Of the universe
And I know that you'll be true
Human rights is just a phrase you use
Honey don't you know that I build cities
On a whim
One day they'll be full of life
To the brim
And the God they serve will swim
In the channels I set out for him.
Hallelujah
Christ is risen
I won't serve time
in this prison
You can tell me
I'm not living
I won't listen
Christ is risen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Underground
You are off my sights girl
I can't see you
And my master plan, well
It really fell through
But I still like to think that
We played some sweet strings
Do you still viola kinship
With the violin?
And why'd you go underground?
I'm sorry that I made things
Complicated
I want to be your brother
And start this friendship
Please don't go underground
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Solipsist
The footpath and the fence
Move backwards for me
The sky turns itself on
When I open my eyes
You
Think I'm half asleep
But I'm more awake than
You
Think I'm in a dream
You're my NPC
You tell me that you're real
You sing and put your toes underwater
I always knew my hand
Would drift right through
The hand that
My mind
Had conjured up
You
Told me yesterday
Something foreign and so strange
You said
Music is a drug
Why would you say that
And I went to the beach
With a zookeeper and an architect
And they made a sandcastle
I don't think I could have made it up
I was blind and selfish
I denied my God
I still only see me
When I'm on my own
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Solipsist Wakes Up
You tell me that you're real
You sing and put your toes underwater
I always thought my hand
Would drift right through
The hand that
My mind
Had conjured up
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Little Afterglow
I want to go away where I can't see you
I want to go away and think about you
I miss you sometimes
They float
And laugh
The hopes
Of that old second home
You were my sprite
We were all right
We could stop the night
Or miserably smoulder without light
When I climb the hill to watch the fireworks I will remember how you climbed down to sit alone
And I couldn't by rights come and sit next to you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hotel Exit
You want to know
I can't see you on my side
I'm moving on
And you know the sky is bright
And as I walk away
Your voice calls out my name
But I hear the sound of music
I feel the cooling rain
There's only one
way to feel that joy inside
I'm up and gone
Gone away to do what's right
You said I could feel that rush again
You said that joy isn't hard to find
But I'm leaving this fetid hotel
Not waiting for this endless night to end
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zeitgeist
Did I get that clear?
You've got to be joking
When she has no idea
You say don't fear
All you hold dear
It can still be yours
Kill this simple faith
Replace it with cold disdain
When he has no idea
You say don't fear
For all you hold dear
Confusion is better anyway
Loving veneer
A scholar, a snake
The tree of knowledge
You have no idea
What you've brought near
Circles and circles the machine it sneers
At any simple truth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flood of Words
You know me
I'm a wreck
All the time
I'm starting to
Wonder how
To survive
In this grid of cubicles for you and I
Cameras, microphones to catch this flood of words
That no-one needs
President
New savant
Socialite
Regular
Friday drinks
With a lot of thoughts
TV on
White noise
White lies
The only thing
We can do
Born that way
At the top
Peter didn't
know what to say
But you spoke
Through the cloud
Anyway
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beginning and the End
Step carefully
You know the ridge
Will crumble to
Your right and left
Back to the room
Where lava flowed
And you were all
So close to the edge
Clear off the dust
Step into the sun
The world was never
In your hands
The only reason I
Go back to my castle
My mind is a spider's web
But I've had enough of this
When are you coming down
Say it's soon
The blow is dealt
That final sound
Will sometimes reach
My tired ears
Sit in the grass
Splash in the stream
In a place that only
Children see
Through the hollow
Around the bend
The sound of water
Beginning and the end
