jesse and i used to play games of fairies as children. i still have the drawing book which we gathered "facts" from. her crazy neighbor (with basically ten siblings.Mormons) played the games with us, but she too lived them. we put out "food" for them, ran from evil spirits, used powers to fuel the plot, ran through the trees and down hills, and used leaves, sticks, the weather, and even sounds in the wind to move the story. we grew to dismiss it as child's play (though i can't speak for the girl), but it was real. it was as real as anything, and affected us more than all else. our childhood was a fairy-tale it just didn't get a "happily ever after" in cursive at the bottom of the page. it was magic all the same.

Winding through a forest

Is a path, with as many branches,

As the trees to either side,

And this one doesn't try to hide,

But has never been given many chances.



And on it walks one man,

Walking all alone,

His head held high and mighty,

Though his hair is colored lightly,

And he shows an unusual tone.



And he keeps walking,

Through the forest,

Gathering up the fallen leaves

And growing thousands of new trees,

Helping it to become its best.



Bald and evil vultures soar,

Flying above the one man's head,

Trying to stop the rising star,

From letting the world progress so far,

Because they live to feast on the dead.



And he keeps walking,

With little regard to his foes,

Writing the truth in the tree bark,

Doing his best to leave a mark,

That will guide those through their lows.



And the vultures carry

Onward, Upwards, feeding on dead

Following that guilty man,

I bet this end you didn't plan,

THEY TOOK OFF WITH HIS HEAD

Can I just ******* bury my head in the sand?
Go out and cry in the rain?
Stay until I or the world passes by
And washes away all the pain?
Could I just ******* belong to this world of ours
Without changing my soul?
There's nowhere for me,
I'm dying to see.
Frankly I'm out of control.

I told my soul I'd never grow
To fall into such a trap.
That promise I did keep, I sleep
A restless, teary nap.
Now it builds inside me wildly
And creeps out from my cap
Tell me how this happened
How it happened to me...

I told my heart never to start
To show my skin again
To lock myself inside and hide
Behind an ever jolly grin.
Do not go, I know, I know
And do not let them in.
Tell me how this happened
How it happened to me...

I warned my mind to bind
My heart inside my chest
The criticizing eyes, their lies
I see better than the rest.
All too blind and so unkind,
I will not pass their test
Tell me how this happened
How this happened to me...

I must hide, for I have tried
To reveal my soul
Oh how battered, I was shattered
Dig a corpse sized hole.
I'm still the same, but out of shame
I burnt outside to coal.
Tell me how this happened
How this happened to me.

walking rounds in wilson ave.
its such a sight to see
the looks that all the people give
to my dog Richaro and me

its like they have never seen
a poodle with a man
have they never been to
the show in Birmingham

perhaps it is the haircut
that grows unevenly
covering the head and tail
but none of the body

or perhaps it is the little shoes
with itty bitty bows
funny, maybe, to wear such things
without baby toes

i could be wrong, for it may
the amount of attitude
turning up a tail to strangers
not really in the mood

so many problems there may be
from bad breath to muddy paws
the nasty things left on the streets
"you know that there are laws..."

but truly the pair of us
are not such a shame to see
you have not met Richaro yet
you have met only me

Look, how darling!

Angels float above her bed.

Look closer though, darling?

Look at all that's in her head.



Look, how sweet!

Her eyes shine like stars.

Look closer though, sweet?

Look at her invisible scars.



Look, how precious!
Her actions are so kind.

Look closer though, precious?

Look at the pain in her mind.



Look, how cute,

She is just so innocent.

Look closer though, cute?

Look at who's paid rent.



Look, how adorable!

Her garden always grows.

Looker closer though, adorable?

Look at how much she knows.

It was quite a pickle,
I have to say.
It haunted me,
Both night and day.
You may believe
One's never scary-
But this pickle had me
Very wary.
My friends they said
"For HEAVEN'S sake,"
The pickle's only
A piece of cake!"
So they went ahead
And took a slice
Now they could see
It wasn't nice
A rather bitter taste
It did supply
A rather salty cake-
Their mouths were dry
And without water
(The pricy job,
Of digging a well)
They began to sob
See this did nothing
But deepen their thirst
This pickle of mine
Was one of the worst
They were awful busy,
They wouldn't chat
So I stayed to talk
To my hairless rat.
And it had me concerned
That the pickle had me beat
And would run off with my tongue
Down Mountainview Street
He said the pickle would make me
A fool in this town
This thing would convict me
So I swallowed it down.