Anthem

Anthem Sep 2016

wade in the water, wade
let the flood swell
thank the storm for her tears
the faithful say its beautiful
it's god's will
but the fool knows what the prophets have seen
no salvation's impending
the faithful say its beautiful
it's god's will
let the flood swell
and the bodies that break
will just float down the river
stay tame, soft river, while we weigh our faith
stay sweet, run softly, sweet river
the fool who wades in doubt will float like concrete
come and fill your lungs. come and fill your lungs
let the flood swell

Anthem Sep 2016

Sacrifice Nothing That Betrays a Comfortable Life

some nights, all i want
is to forget about you
and watch the sun rise

Anthem Sep 2016

i don't want to forget. i want never to have known.

you speak with an authority
you have no right to claim
pass on easy judgment
feel free to lay the blame
you burn in an impression
that it would spite the sun
all the irony is lost
you've earned it more than anyone
it's not so much an anger
more so just depressed
you passed right by the source
for a reserve with nothing left
you plant such soiled seeds
and cry when nothing grows
you complain of constant thirst
while the cup you hold overflows
you reach out from the covers
try to pull me right back in
i'm sick of infinite circles
this ends where it begins
sure, my shoulders chipped
eroded by your tears
the storm has only started
you'll find no shelter here
i don't want to forget
i want never to have known
i want it buried underneath
miles of flesh and blood and bone
from now you'll sing yourself to sleep
with all of those wise words
pray to a god i don't believe
this is the last of you i've heard

Anthem Sep 2016

Table for Two, Wings for One

the ground we built our world upon is sinking fast beneath our feet
i'm begging for a sign but you've lost the will to speak
all the hope is here right now
all the hope is fading beneath the ground
buried but breathing
mistaken meaning within the empty spaces your words are leaving
some say that love is all you need
only fools expect miracles from such soiled seeds
if a pictures worth a thousand words
i'll be the loudest noise you've ever heard
you mistake the home for the cage
i hold tight while you're wasting away
i'll count my blessings within the rain
left soaking wet and you never hear me complain

Anthem Sep 2016

god is nowhere. god is now here. god is nowhere. god is now here. god is nowhere.

as i lay down beneath that wayward tree i'm lost in a memory and all that it meant to me. if i had the choice to go back or stare into the sun, i'd stare straight ahead until my eyes were fully-cooked and well-done. a ship without a captain, a shrine without a saint, walking in wet cement, sitting on a bench covered in wet paint. hell isn't a place, it's what you've done to me, someday someone will do it to you, only then you'll see. is it better to be forgotten or never to be seen? to be lost in a crowd or left in-between? i am a spot of blood without a home, freed of the flock and left alone. i seek but shelter and a meal, a taste of something real. i was created to disappoint, like an pencil without the point. what's the point? what's the point.

Anthem Sep 2016

watched the beauty watch the fire and the fire burn beauty in your eyes

my heart was beating as i sat and imagined you reading the letter i'd written while i was away, a four page summary of three words that i just couldn't say. i wondered if you wished that i would return, a little older and a little wiser from all that i'd learned. i wondered if you wished that i would stay. i sit, admiring the city lights. it was one of those days, it's turning into one of those nights and i'm wondering if i could come home, do you think that'd be alright? the last words we said are running through my head, "know that i never meant to hurt you", "you may not mean it my dear, but you do". after that, i fled the scene and ever since those words have haunted my dreams. as i lay myself down to sleep, i have no soul for the lord to keep. i left it with you long ago and if i'll ever get it back i'll never know.

Anthem Sep 2016

send flowers to the hospital

i've never been good with death
i'm terrified by the thought
of eternal rest
i bring no words of comfort
no distraction from the grief
i stand there like a statue
offering no hope or relief
i see it as a ritual
in my eyes it seems wrong
i know it's what you do
but i can't make myself play along
eventually, the right words
come running through my head
but it doesn't matter now
because you're already dead.