I remember when I was a child.
My parents would tell me tales.
Of men dealing with demons.
In the crossroads right out of town.

And I remember quietly.
I had walked down that path too.
Not for money, talent, or fame.
I wanted to know what happiness was like.

And I never knew if I got my wish.
It always felt like things went south.
From within the abandoned crosswalks.
I could feel only sad eyes staring me down.

I felt the whispers and warnings.
Every foggy afternoon.
When I'd wish for the man to supposedly appear.
Just for a simple request.

"I only want to be happy and loved."
It seemed to echo into the neverending winter.
But I waited anyway.
I had barely any warmth to spare.

But nothing came and so I left.
And I felt the pity trail behind my back.
As I walked down the path.
That I decided to stroll down.

And my life continued to go down hill.
I am no longer so young.
I have become accustomed to this world.
To all its cruel games.

I have been broken and shattered
Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over....I have forgetten.
I am tired.

So I came back to the crossroads.
No more warmth left in my body.
I did not come with a wish this time.
Only seeking a question.

"Why did you not grant my wish?"
And I waited again by the trails.
For anybody to appear now.
Anybody who could give me answers.

"What did I do wrong?"
The trees looked at me with misery.
The clouds gave me it's soft tears.
The mist hugged me as tightly as it could.

And from within the forest.
I could hear it's voice at last.
"You did nothing wrong."
I am shattering by the seams.

"I gave you what you asked for."
Then why am I so unhappy.
"Because happiness never lasts."
Am I always going to feel hopeless?

"No."
Then what am I meant to do?
"Nothing."
I don't understand.

"Because happiness will never mean anything without the struggle."

But I am shattered now, practically dust.
"But a phoenix is also reborn from it's ashes."
I no longer carry anymore warmth.
"But a fire can always be rekindled."

Is that all my life will be worth for?
"Life is always a struggle, it is survival."
But it is not what I asked for.
"No one chooses to have it willingly."

Am I meant to live on?
"Certainly you are."
Why? Why am I meant to be here.
"Because you want to."

What If I don't want to be here anymore.
"You have meaning you always will."
I don't understand.
"Your struggle and success to survive is enough to show for it."

And I could see the soot on my feet gather.
That was when the howling stopped.
I stood there still with no answers.
As the sun began to rise.

But I had a gut feeling I would not return to the crossroads again.

-Rain

I see two paths,
two lives for myself -
with him I am cast into
an ocean of untamed feeling,
lost to reason,
and floating off into an unseeable future.
With the other, I am held fast,
held close by his love
and burrowed deep into the earth;
an old tree that twists faithfully
growing strong and aging gently
across the planes of a lifetime.
How am I to love -
who am I to be, to choose,
to sink into.
I feel the pull of his tumultuous waves
and the roots that simultaneously
bind me to the earthly warmth
of another kind of man.

I have nowhere to go
Just a man without a home
Wandering along this bent
And crooked stream.
Got a bag on my back
and I'm not looking back
Just the future, not the past is all I see.
I hitched a ride West
Cuz I gave up the best
thing that's ever, ever happened to me

And I sit here tonight
By the dim firelight
As I wonder in sight
Of the darkening sky.
As I look at the stars
I write my memoir
And think about where you are.
As long as we see the same moon
And the stars
We're never, ever too far apart.

Darling, lift your head.
What do you see?
When you see the brightest star
Do you think of him, or think of me?
Honey, dont move
Just stay in bed.
Dont worry about me, lay down and rest your head.

I'm out here alone
Made a choice of my own.
The fire's dying
I'm getting cold.
The moon and stars went out
And I'm freezing to the bone
I'm packing up
And moving on again.
Thats my choice.
I'm sorry I didnt hold you longer
Babe, I really miss your voice.
But again, I'm going further
And I'm carrying the load
Of losing you.

I've made it to a safer place
Where my dreams of you
And all my hopes
And prayers
And desperate pleas
Come true.

You stand at a crossroads
unsure of where to step
the night is too dark
The day is always accompanied by fog
at a street corner marked by time
Where moonlight collides with your midnight blues

she walks along the trunk of the woods,
pausing when she sees branch-like paths
nonchalantly lying down in front of her.
each path sings its own song for her,
but the songs clash against each other.
she steps back and covers her ears,
then starts singing her own song.
she looks away from the other branches,
letting her voice guide the way
as she strolls along her own path.

I remember her
in old
photographs

she'd been
daydreaming
all her life
in her under-age
world

spinning
like a top
eternity
in her head
but recklessness
on her tongue

crusading for
******* summers
in Europe
and all that comes
splendidly hither

when laid down
by the embers
in the groves
close to
the congenial sea

I rightly recall
before the page
turning

electric particles
shooting off
as fireworks
in each of her
copper eyes

and how destiny's
curtain fell
with such
suddenness
that morning of
the thin blue line

I want to tell you the story
Why I cannot sing the blues
I want to tell you the story
Why I cannot sing the blues
It’s because I’m a white guy
And I wear inexpensive shoes.

I went down to the crossroads
To learn to play the guitar
I went down to the crossroads
To learn to play the guitar
When I walked into the crossroads
I got hit by a car.

I went back to the crossroads
I wanted to have it all
I went back to those crossroads
I wanted to have it all
When I got down to the crossroads
They turned it into a mall.

So I am done with the blues now
I need to change my style
I am done with the blues now
I need to change my style
Goodbye to the blues
I’ll try hip hop for a while.
... Yo!