record stores advising vinyl finds for
Fleet Foxes fans shan't shy away from
showing the Shore album, an amalgam
of folk and stunning songwriting, starting
with Wading in Waist-High Water

the road is boring!
i'm tired of this ride
there's a river over there!
let's pull off to the side

"but don't you wonder
how many people have di-"

"-SHHHH
let's jump in this river"

test it out:
current's a bit strong
and the water's a bit cool
but the width ain't too long
and it beats public pools

take this pebble!
throw it off the edge!
yay it's deep enough!
NOW LET'S ****** JUMP


...


the squirrels are out of popcorn
30 minutes have passed
"we shouldn't've smoked 3 bow-"
"-THE TREES ARE GETTING ANXIOUS!"

just don't think!
thinking is evil!
try as we might
try as we will

so what if we're
high and high?
we'll totally jump,
by and b-

-"AHHHH FU-"SPLASH

"SWIM! SWIM ******* IT! HAVEN'T YOU LEARNED SWIMMING?!"

"i can feel the water coursing through my nostrils"

"AND I CAN FEEL THE SQUIRRELS POINTING AND LAUGHING!"

cough "we're way too high for this"

"whattaya meannnn"

"i mean this river is like
10 feet deep at best
and we're like
basically drowning"

"alright why are you making sense
i think you're
i think you're sobering up"

well, regardless,
we made it to the other side
although it took a bit
"now how do we get back?"
"...see that cliff up there?"
"ohhh ****-"

****! ****! i need ****!
enough to feel a sense of death!
adderall's not the same at all!
if you've got the real **** pls gimme a call

dripping lips and flipping crips
chipping chips and shipping ships
gripping hips and whipping nips
some fun things the kids find hip!

stirring pots at Big Lots
adding lots of Motts and rotten apricots!
neither of which ever got bought
workers don't know i do it a lot
stealing groceries is pretty hot!
telling corporations they got got!

the effervescent ebbs and flows
of the prepubescent testosterone shows
over phosphorescent nighttime snow
dreaming prescient futures that nobody knows

you're like a q-tip
you think you help by getting the problems out
but really you just shove them deeper inside me and make them worse

it's fine; i was tired of hearing your ******* anyways

bedazzled in tattoos
he comes through attics
finds phones to steal
he's the phone fanatic!

he's got hands with a face
has all the bandwidth and space
and when he steals in broad daylight
he leaves every possible trace

because the phone fanatic's a phony
stole a phone once and thinks he's a god
we all know he's a one-trick pony
begrudgingly rocking his worn out dad-***

in a thin line,
thunderclouds roll in
late afternoon while the sun is still shining

in the trees,
bluebirds sing the blues
their tunes escaping sounding ever so confused

in the air,
the wind is howling
like wolves chasing prey, teeth clenched, and growling

in the city,
rain crashes down
causing earthworms to dance as drops shake the ground

in your beautiful eyes
watching nature's great fight
it's the never-ending battle between darkness and light

sitting with a friend after dark
a car pulls up alongside the park
a young man walks out alone
"hey guys someone stole my phone!
i was lying in the grass when it fell out
i asked someone to help me out
he called it, called it, and called it again
then found it and ran
******* it man!"

"**** bro that's a tough blow
did you happen to recall his info?"

"well i remember his car and i believe his name
i'm just going through a lot and i'm sick of these games"

"do you think we can call it?"

"he powered it off..
stupid ******* *****," he scoffed
"guys i just don't know what to do. im going through a lot of mental health issues right now, and i don't mean to get too dark but i've seriously considered killing myself recently. that phone had a lot of personal videos of me documenting my thoughts and whatnot. this is driving me crazy"

"hey man trust me i've been there before
you gotta find someone to help you through the door
my case worker helped me a lot with that
my suicidal thoughts are a thing of the past
now do you think we could perhaps call the cops?"

"well it's late, i'd probably be stuck here a while right?
i'll just drive to my moms to spend the night
**** i wish i'd found you guys first. thank you"
and he drove off

my friend then turned to me
"i should've given him a hug, man
i feel like if i asked him if he wanted a hug, and started walking towards him with my arms outstretched and just did it
he would've started crying
that would've helped him more than anything"

im sorry

there's a bucket in the corner
where all my love is stored
drawn down blinds
reveal the times
i screamed
and cut the cord

harmonica tears
metal burns
when you're near

cold and calculating
the tide goes out
the audience recedes
to leave their seats
facing away

by the time
the bucket
boils over
you're caught
caught in a wave

it's me
standing
shivering
on
the stage

your mother called last night
saying
"sweetie, please come home"

"the walls are caving in
but the corners,
they've only grown"

call your friend
don't talk to me
keep it quiet
it's so loud
so loud
honey, keep it down
baby, shut your mouth
in here it's so so loud
and i'm trying
so hard
to sleep

dollface aren't you drowning
cutiepie cut your shouting
i can't
get no
no peace

nurse says im gonna flatline
heart humming to the bell chimes
can't see the vertices
and i ain't
ain't got no time

empty room swimming sideways

harmonica waterlogged in
chords collapsing on a tailfin
won't even
can't even
blow it a kiss
and even if it could reach
even if i could speak
would i ever
ever be missed

if i won the lottery
most folks would ask me
to share
and to their dismay
i would say nay
turn and walk away

now the ones who ask nothing—
the ones who enjoy my company
walk to the lighthouse
get coffee with me
the ones who know what it means to be
genuine people

they are the ones
who'll receive my money

plastic bags sadly sag
when filled with food that people snag

cause even though shoppers are enthused
the bags are sad knowing they won't be reused