I feel the fire against my skin,
the embers dance against the ashes.
Brilliant pyres of light stream down,
In eruptive, blazing flashes.

The heat wraps me up, so intense,
in the middle of this furnace.
I feel a strong and primal fury,
thrashing at my epidermis.

You may call me an unstable fool,
but there are secrets I have learned.
That's why I'm here, amidst the flames,
with no fear of being burned.

This prison cannot hold me.
These walls will not contain me.
I cannot be easily classified
I cannot be easily controlled.

My spirit will not tolerate
being confined to a dungeon.
My heart will not tolerate  
any attempts to restrain me.

So try as you may
to fit me into to your mold.

You won't succeed.

You will only be left wondering
how it is
that you underestimated me.

You call me rebellious.
Unstable. Unpredictable.

But I'm not lashing out over the irrational.

I am lashing out to resist
any attempt
to confine my spirit
and its infinite beauty
from the world surrounding it.

I know you.

I know your every thought.

I know your every fear.

And your every dream.

You accuse me of not caring,

But I've been watching.

I've been waiting.

I've been learning.

You just don't know it yet.

So save your angry words,

Save your frustration,

and save your anguish.

Because I  know you.

And when the time is right,

You'll know too.

If you have an endless supply of nothings
In all their mystery
In all their beauty
In all their majesty
In all their enigmatic auras...

...Do you really have anything at all?

I am broken.
I am neglected.

All the good parts of me
slowly rust away
and vanish into dust.

The beauty that once was
is no more.
This world I wanted to make better,
has destroyed me before I could.

You lost me at "I love you",
and that seems so very strange
You lost everything you could have had,
The day you made that change.

You lost me at "I love you",
and I'd already bought the flowers,
Thinking of your pretty smile,
for what seemed hours upon hours.

You lost me at "I love you",
What a fateful night it was.
When I learned of hollow heartbreak,
and the awful things it does.

I saw you with the other man,
and was hurt to great degree.
You lost me at "I love you",
Because it wasn't said to me.

I don't have to work in the fields no more,
or listen to the garbage they say.
There's no need to pick the springtime crops,
my Master's gone away.

There won't be no more whuppings,
There won't be no more pain.
And maybe not too long from now,
I'll feel human again.

There won't be any screaming,
There won't be any blood.
I won't ever again be stuck out here,
picking cotton in the mud.

I won't live in a pig sty,
I won't be caked in dirt,
And maybe someday I'll get to wear
a freshly ironed shirt.

There won't be metal shackles,
There won't be bruising chains.
Now I'm not condemned to live
beneath the tyrants reign.

I could go find a woman,
a lovely darling wife.
I can do now like the free man does.
I've been handed back my life.

I won't be his dog no more,
his rodent in the ditch.
If that's what money do to a heart,
then don't let me be rich.

I suppose you could call me lucky,
I thought I'd never make it.
Now the blessins come my way,
and by god, I'm gonna take it!

I'm leaving these old fields behind,
I'm done with work today.
There's a new road out there for me now,
My Master's gone away.

You fought so long.
Gave it every ounce you had.
The war is not over.
But your time on the front lines
has reached a noble end.
As you go, do not worry about the battle.

We'll take the flame.
We'll take the pain.
We'll march through rain.
We'll stake our claim.

We know how much
You'd still love to be out there.
We know how proud
to wear the colors you were.
Now, let us wield the weapon
and honor the road you traveled.

We'll take the flame.
We'll fight the strain.
We'll break the chains.
We'll stake our claim.

Rest, mighty warrior.
Rest, great soldier.
Rest.

We'll take the flame.

*** Da Da Dum
Load up all those guns boys,
the enemy is coming.

*** Da Da Dum
We'll mow 'em down now one by one,
send those ******* running.

*** Da Da Dum
March day or night in rain or calm,
through the grass and mud.

*** Da Da Dum
Smoke them out wherever they are,
make the streets run red with blood.

*** Da Da Dum
We stand outnumbered two to one,
but we won't give up the zone.

*** Da Da Dum
We knew when we signed up for this,
we probably wouldn't make it home.

I fill my lungs with air
on a beautiful spring day.

It's not quite as carefree
as it used to be.

The birds are singing,
flowers are blooming.

In the distance
a dark cloud looms overhead.

I take another breath,
and then let me body relax.

This simple thing, a treasure
that has been robbed from so many others.

Cruel can this existence be.

Reality is a jungle it seems.
The world shutting down before me.
I have no desire to dance among the flames.
I only wish to remove myself
From this chaotic society,
For as long as I possibly can.
In that vein
I ask only one thing of you:

Put your hand upon my shoulder,
Put your hand upon my shoulder,
Put your hand upon my shoulder
and please wake me when its over.

There are some provisions in the storehouse.
And I have wood to keep me warm.
A couple of months supply of water.
To quench my empty thirst.
I miss the hugs, I miss the laughing
I miss the togetherness.
Nothing more can I do now
than soldier on like all the rest.


Put your hand upon my shoulder,
Put your hand upon my shoulder,
Put your hand upon my shoulder
and please wake me when its over.

I don't know where to go,
I don't know where to go,
I'm running out of road,
I'm running out of road.

But I gotta keep going,
I gotta keep going,
Through the mountains,
Through the trees,
Through the rivers,
Through the seas.

The pavement's at its end,
The pavement's at its end,
What comes next?
What comes next?

I got to keep searching,
Just got to keep searching,
Through places high,
Places low,
Through the desert
Through the snow.

They may look like bars to you.
And I understand
why you feel uncomfortable.

It is dark,
It is damp,
It is foreboding.

It doesn't seem like a place,
where joy exists.

But within these stone walls.
I find the liberty
to be what I truly am.

And that is all that matters.

Such disturbing themes
invading my dreams.
So callous it seems,
As I wake up in screams.

Future wild, not benign
It’s my will, it’s my time.
So don’t call it a crime
When I walk the thin line.

Nothing more here,
But panic and fear,
As I feel the spear,
stare at me in the mirror.

Not joyful, not proud,
Not excessive or loud.
Just a willowing shroud,
That’s out lost in a crowd.

It’s quiet outside tonight

For a fleeting moment
The world almost seems to
make sense again.

But that subtle mirage of normalcy
Is quickly shattered
by the eerie absence of sound
everywhere around me.

There are no engines
There is no singing.
No laughter.
No dancing.
No cheering.

An almost perfect silence
Save for the faint whisper of a girl
Who longs to be with her friends.

I stare up at the stars
For a brief moment am taken in
by the gentle beauty of the universe.

Suddenly sirens pierce the night.
Reality comes rampaging back.
And I find myself wishing I could
turn back the pages of the book of my life
to escape this madness.

But it is not to be.
So I will stand stoically in the darkness

And wait for the coming dawn.

It's sunny outside.
The temperature is perfect.
Above my head
The sky is a perfect crystal blue.

Birds are singing.
The river is vibrant.
A soft breeze weaves
its way through the trees.

It is by most measures
a perfect day.
And yet I stand in the middle of it all
terrified and uncertain.

Should / Shouldn't
Could / Couldn't
Would/ Wouldn't

Win / Lose
Over / Through
Me / You

It was supposed to be simple.

The sun is shining brightly.
A soft breeze drifts over the beach.
My feet are enjoying the cool sand.

It is comfortable here.

But I know before long
I will have to leave the shore behind
and venture out into the depths
of the ocean before me.

Early morning
stuck at my desk.
Combing through endless emails.
Most of which have little meaning to me.

Then to the conference room
for yet another meeting.
What's the newest policy
that will bore my soul to tears?

A voicemail from Bob in marketing.
In that shrill and grating voice.
Angry that something was incomplete,
even though I'd actually done it.

In an after lunch performance review,
I float adrift in a sea of numbers.
Slowly tuning out the voice of a boss,
who never bothered to learn my kids names.

Five o'clock comes and I clock out.
Thinking of what little I accomplished,
and resigning myself to the fact,
I have to do it all again tomorrow.

They're here
and there
and everywhere.

Their eyes stare
daggers into me.
They fly around me,
ready to swarm at any moment.

They will not leave me alone.
It has to come to this.
Who will be the one
to fly away first?

These are strange days
as the world stands still.
And we watch from our perch
in the grass on the hill.

The streets sit nearly empty,
the car horns are gone.
Sidewalks stand barren,
no rush hour throng.

The schools, all closed up,
Football fields sit quiet.
Empty seats at the beer hall.
Local theaters stay silent.

Movie cameras aren't rolling.
Concert grounds sit unused.
Everyone's staying home,
a bit scared and confused.

So here I am all alone,
keeping distance from friends.
Wondering exactly
When this madness will end.

I walked the line to Folsom Prison,
took some advice from a boy named Sue.
Never found the flesh and blood that I needed,
but at least I'm not in the jailhouse now.

I remember the songs of my childhood,
When daddy always sang bass.
But these days I get so lonely, I just cry, cry, cry.
And seems like every other weekend
It's Sunday morning coming down.

So give my love to Rose. I hated to leave her.
I've done my best to let go of the hurt
and put myself back together one piece at a time.
In the end I got burned by a ring of fire,
but I still never found the Man in Black.

I could build the
Mightiest of towers
A massive spire
Dominating the
Entire cityscape.

But what does it say about me
If the only thing filing it
Would be the light of a pale sunset...

...and a few stray specks of dust?

Through the mist of lonely mountains deep,
Where danger waits in demons keep.
We'll venture forth, towards the north,
Facing shadows within the steep.

Up on the ridge, ferocious beasts attack,
With flailing sword, we push them back.
At birth of night, we'll win the fight,
Triumph finds us there in the black.

Wind and snow thrash over the icy peak,
As we press on, but tired and weak.
The journey long, our spirits strong,
Ancient treasure is what we seek.

Three weeks on, in the heart of the burning core,
Restless muse of travelers lore.
And up ahead, the fire spreads,
With brilliant and thunderous roar.

As we search for long forgotten gold,
Through rivers bleak and castles old.
We won't abate or hesitate,
To seize the prize that's been foretold.

In the fog, we walk through the swamp land blind,
All pain and fear, left far behind.
Our desperate chore, the golden door,
Out there waiting for us to find.

And on that day, when the gold shines in our hands,
we'll be warriors and kings of man.
A victory earned, the shadows burned,
A day of reckoning for centuries planned.

Two seats are waiting for me,
on a slow train to hell.
There's no getting out of it.

In the midst of an unsettled night,
I get whisked away down the tracks.
...ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump-ba-bump...
this is the sound that follows me to my grave.

The world I know fades away.
Replaced by something darker,
twisted, and impeccably unnerving.
For the moment, I am not afraid.
But I suspect that won't last long.
The lights grow dimmer.
I can hear the growling of monsters
around the curve up ahead.

My body tenses.
Bloodcurdling screams
pierce the foggy night.
Two sinister red eyes,
born out of the depths of hell
lock their gaze on me.

Something...is terribly wrong.

Insanity wraps around me like
a warm blanket on a winters night.

My faculties are lost.

A preacher cannot save me.
A doctor cannot heal me.
A loved one can not help me.

The creature lashes out
with a warrior fierceness.
It eviscerates my flesh with its claws.
The end draws ever closer.
And even though I am terrified,
a strange calm comes upon me.

The last of my life force drains
from my weak and frail human form.
The creature devours what's left of me.
As the train goes plummeting over the cliff
into the impenetrable darkness below.

Is anyone out there listening?

Or do I have no companions
save the very demons that are consuming me?

I'm standing in the pouring rain,
praying it will cleanse this pain,
and bring my heart a bit closer to you.
More than distant memories,
like a raging wind or a roaring breeze,
For the days we had I will sing 'Hallelujah'

It's lonely in the room tonight,
but you're still here, my guiding light,
thriving in my heart and in my soul.
Nothing can replace your love,
now forever in the great above,
safe under the Lord's care and control.

Smiling, I think of your gentle touch,
Right now I want it oh so much,
Special life of yours, fragile and so brief.
Oh how I miss you, my heart it breaks,
my spirit weeps, my body quakes,
there's no shortcut when dealing with the grief.

So I'm standing here, it seems, to say
to the One who gives and takes away,
Wondering why this you chose to do.
Your plan is perfect, Your ways are sure,
Your love is endless, Your heart is pure,
so forever I will praise you. 'Hallelujah'

I feel as though all my words
have been drained from my spirit.
Like a vacuum cleaner ******* up dust
from a living room carpet.

I stare at the blank page in agony.
But nothing comes.
The maestro has no music.
The artist has no paint.

There is so much I long to share with the world
but for now my body seems content
to keep it all inside.

So I will step away from the desk
and disappear for now.
In hopes my pen will return someday.

The body mimicking what the heart feels?

A doorway to love and affection?

A brief moment of wonder in an otherwise joyless life?

A child's way of saying: "I'm okay"?

Another way to mask the pain?

Or perhaps, the subtle beginnings of happiness?

There are voices, voices in my head,
When all I want is calm instead,
To be free from fear and cold and dread,
So I can find the rest that waits ahead.

There are voices, voices in my mind,
but I know not what they seek to find.
They just fight and tear and rip and grind,
and leave the real me behind.

There are voices, voices in my heart,
And this is what they now impart:
"In beauty, drama, dance and art,
that is where the healing starts."

Wicked jungle, wild feast.
Go the distance, tame the beast.
Dance among the deadly trees,
in the blanket of a burning breeze.

Darkened, primal, forest floor.
Frame of natures darkest door.
Up the loudly raging river.
The body quakes, the spirit shivers.

Endless leaves and ragged vines,
Can't you read between the lines?
Birds of prey and a poison snake,
The wretched animals awake.

Running down that muddy path,
face the pain and feel the wrath.
The only chance that you've got now,
is whatever instinct will allow.

On the shore of the open lake,
You've just made your last mistake.
Hope is gone, you've lost control,
in the chaos, swallowed whole.

It's a warm and humid night out there,
the creek beds are sitting dry,
And there's a spark of energy,
That's sailing across the sky.

You can almost feel it on your skin,
or sense it with your mouth.
It's one sure sign that summers raging,
in the Mississippi south.

Out along the beach resorts,
It blasts across the Gulf,
With all the the pent up rushing
of a radiating pulse.

Against the darkened mat of clouds,
what a frenzied show to see,
You don't need your cash tonight,
these fireworks are free.

There's no rain drops here to speak of,
beneath the brilliant moon,
but with the sky ablaze like that,
The storm is coming soon.

But enjoy it while you've got it,
Out in the yards and streets,
The flaming dance above our heads,
in the thick of summer heat.

Unrestrained by nature,
Quick and fierce and brash.
Powerful, relentless,
But vanished in a flash.

My bones crack from the weight of this.
My muscles ache with pain.
With each passing second
My body nears its limitations.

And ultimately, there are
only two outcomes.

Either I will be pressed
into something brand new.

Or crushed into dust
and carried off with the wind.

Believe in me.

Set me free.

Leave your mark

on my Destiny.

In this wild soiree,

What must be will be.

Despite the build of energy,

There’s no cause to fear or flee.

So please move on in certainty.

Because this is the new reality.

In time I know the things you’ll see.

And so I’ll make one final plea:

My love,  my dear...

Believe in me.

Can’t **** it with bullets,
Can’t **** it with liquor.
Can’t **** it with drugs,
It’ll just make you sicker.

Can’t destroy it with silence,
Can’t burn it with matches,
Can’t cut out the legs
And just hope it collapses.

Can’t stop it with arrows,
Can’t stop it with knives.
Can’t stop its great fury
And destruction of lives.

Can’t erase it with pleasure,
Can’t **** it with joy.
Can’t disguise yourself from it,
It’s on a path to destroy.

The struggle is real,
But don’t give up the fight.
The only thing that
Can beat back the darkness...is light.

I make an appearance when you least expect it.
Shadows announce my arrival.

I envelop everything around you.
When I am near, I am all you can focus on.

My fury is carried on the wind
and though you may find shelter.
You cannot escape what I am
or the effects of what I have done.

Eventually I will leave
but until such time
that this turbulent world
calls me back again.

I try to love you,
You respond with apathy.

I try to honor you,
You respond with manipulation.

You are the fire,
I am the match.

You are the lightning,
I am the thunder.

And every time we dance,
The sky is set ablaze.

I can't take you anymore.
Not because I hate you.
But because of an indescribably energy between us.

Like two magnets
pulling back and forth at each other.
Threatening to slip out of control
at any moment.

It's too much for me.
The intensity is not worth the price.
So please forgive me my darling
should I choose to disappear forever.

I get so tired of staring at these things.

Tall. Ugly. Foreboding...

For so many years I have wrapped them around myself.

Thick, dense, fortified.

No one can get in.

And I can't get out.

Prisoner to the shallow fortress

Of my own sin.

Break them down! I say.

Smash them to pieces!

But it is not to be.

The barriers of the past do not fall easily.

Far too many bricks for an easy triumph.

Far too strong a storm for the sun to crack.

So let the rain come.

And I'll stay here in my brokedown castle.

Kept far away from freedom.

And right against the gates of nothingness.

She met him on a blind date,
At the old Tree Top Cafe,
They were talking, they were laughing,
It was a gorgeous summers day.

Before long things had grown
Into something so much more.
They couldn't wait to see the wonders
The future had in store.

The one night, a fancy dinner,
And an in house five piece band,
They were tearing up that dance floor,
Swinging 'round near hand in hand.

The music was electric,
It became their special tune.
And by the time song was over,
They were the darlings of the room.

They danced like no one's watching,
They danced with all their heart.
Two people meant to be together,
Romance, passion, drama, art.

Soon the wedding bells were ringing,
She looked so lovely dressed in white,
Two hundred fifty in the chapel,
It was a fascinating sight.

But not quite one year later,
She barely had the ring.
Three and a half months pregnant.
He came home and packed his things.

He said it wasn't working,
But she was not to blame.
He said there was no other woman,
Just his own remorse and shame.

Soon it would be revealed,
He deceived her and he lied,
And on that day inside her soul,
The lovely music died.

So she's alone and crass and bitter,
How did this ever come to be?
The truth behind the man he was,
Why did she never truly see?

Then some long months later
On a lonely winters day,
She'll put the music on again,
And when the song begins to play...

She'll dance like no ones watching
She'll dance with all her heart,
She won't let him take it from her,
She won't let it fall apart.

Her son is five years old now,
He's an amazing little kid.
Someday he'll know her sacrifices,
And why she did the things she did.

It hasn't all been easy,
She's seen her share of grim.
But everything was worth it,
If not for her, than him.

And the old ex is out there somewhere,
But she could not care any less,
She doesn't need the headaches,
And she doesn't need the stress.

She has done just fine without him,
And though its true he did her wrong.
She's got it all together now,
And she's taken back her song.

She'll dance like no ones watching,
She'll dance with all her heart,
She'll dance her way to freedom,
She will never fall apart.

It is what it is,
tell the parents,
tell the kids.
A little bit of take
and a little bit of give.

It is what it is.
It's how we die.
It's how we live.
We keep up on the score,
We keep our spirit off the skids.

Got to take care of the biz,
Some is mine,
Some is his,
And all that's left to say
is that it is what it is.

It can't be stabbed.
It can't be shot.
It can't be blown up.

It can't be poisoned.
It can't be strangled.
It can't be suffocated.

It can't be cured.
It can't be remedied.
It can't be healed.

It can't be seen.
It can't be sensed.
And I'm starting to wonder...

...if it can't be stopped.

I remember the music we all used to make,
By the light of the moon on the shore of the lake.
Endless summers at one time they seemed,
Filled with ambition and vigor and dreams.
We'd sing songs until morning, we'd laugh and we'd dance
and maybe throw in a bit of love and romance.
Of all the instruments we picked up and played,
It's the piano I remember so fondly today.

The notes were so perfect as they moved through the breeze,
sailed up toward the starlight and over the trees.
The sound was incredible, like nothing I've heard.
It's difficult even now to put it to words.
But there was no lack of magic in that summer shade,
Nor in that lovely piano and the memories it made.

We're all older now, we've no time for the lake
and no desire to repeat our youthful mistakes.
Wives, husbands and kids, we've moved on with our lives.
It now seems so distant, those sweet summer skies.
But I must admit, though those times are no more
A piece of my heart will always lay on that shore.
It'd be fun to go back and see some old friends,
and I'd love to hear that piano again.

Black and white, wrong and right,
Go ahead and trade the day for night.
Boots on the street, a slow defeat.
The lions are hungry, time to eat.

Frank despair fills up the square,
the outcasts lay their soul bare.
gaining steam, the new regime.
one mans terror, anothers dream

Distant places, angry races,
Simple lack of social graces.
They're taking part in urban art
gotta tear the place apart.

From flying flags, to tattered rags.
the streets are filled with garbage bags.
Unkempt, unclean, it's quite a scene
what do the voices on the TV mean?

Let it go.
Just let it go.
Tell me all the things you know.

I won't be afraid,
I won't be surprised.
Show me the mysteries, secrets and lies.

Pull back the veil,
Shine a light on the scars,
Let me for once see who you really are.

Shatter the barriers,
bring down the wall,
Give me everything or nothing at all.

Take off the mask,
Show me your skin.
Let me embrace all the madness within.

Let it go.
Just let it go.
Tell me all the things you know.

I know your instincts tell you,
that's it time to run away.
But the reckoning is coming,
and your soul's in disarray.

No one wants to face him,
No one wants to cross that line.
Everyone is brought to judgment,
Everyone is prey to time.

You might think you can avoid him,
but quite soon you'll learn the truth:
This isn't something you can win,
These are not the days of youth.

They say he's cold and vicious,
and his spirit somewhat fickle.
No one wants the business end
of a freshly sharpened sickle.

They say every man and woman,
when it's death they're about to face,
Should put on a mask of bravery,
and accept the thing with grace.

That may sound a little foolish,
and not the gift for which you prayed.
But what's the point in ending a life,
In anger and afraid?

I didn't listen.
I should have seen it in her eyes.

I should have realized it
by the way she moved her arms.

The way she planted her feet.

It was right there in front of me.

She told me.

But it wasn't until years later

That I really understood.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
Together we ignite,
Like fireworks in the darkness.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
We've tried and we've tried,
but we're hopelessly broken.

You don't need me.
I don't need you.
We've reached our natural end.
Still you refuse to let go...

I'll tell 'em there's a problem now,
that only I can fix.
They'll never know I'm lying,
They can't see through my tricks.

I'll lead 'em down my chosen path,
and whisper in their ear.
As long as there's someone to hurt,
I can wield the power of fear.

It's too easy to find some lesser folks,
to lay on all the blame.
When really, I'm the one
behind the curtain who rigs the game.

You'd be surprised how easy,
it can be to make men hate.
Give them an easy target,
And let the anger permeate.

So, yes they've got a problem,
yet they're giving me applause.
Because they think I'm the solution,
but I know that I'm the cause.