Our hands are locked together as we stand
fused and held by immeasurable force
drawn in by time and fate and faith
and tethered by our Cygnian love
and in this single lovely moment
I taste the nectar of paradise
at once minuscule, then gaping
a crevice opens in our hold
rending what was adamantine
as your fingers slip my grasp
and in my desperation
I try to hold you tight
fearing what I set loose
unaware as I was
that it was far too late
you began to drift
and you left a void
growing between us
just as all things in
the universe fly
apart, we did too
that is the truth
we must accept
forces that cleave
all bonds too weak
exist and
exert their
strength on all
existence
I think to
console
myself
as
I

watch

you


fade

life
cannot thrive here
rain
does not fall here
sands
flow and ebb here
the dunes flow on forever
like a great empty ocean
but this isn’t an ocean
an ocean is full with life
not gouged out by famine
but this place is starving
filled with bleaching sunlight
and this place is a desert
and I am a coyote
a famished, vicious wild thing
on my own, loose from my pack
I shamelessly stalk and ****
under this unforgiving sun
because I yearn to become full
to be freed from my hunger
I howl and cry relentless
piercing the void of cold nights
because I yearn for another
to fill up an empty heart
I am a sad starving beast
and I am the desert
a barren empty land
unfit for living things
filled wholly with nothing
sweeping and heaping high
the dunes pile with harsh grit
formed by long held hunger
I am dry and empty
but I am not serene
sun scorched and thirsty
rasping as a tempest
but yet I am not cruel
without hesitation
I present oblivion
a calm amidst chaos
but I really am a coyote
and yet I wish I was the desert
because I am in the middle here
tossed and torn by greater conflict
but I am not in the spotlight here
I am not the one in control here
I will trot about the burning day
and I will hunt in the frigid night
but when my time comes, I will die here
and the desert will stay just the same

tonight is a weird night
when all the weird people come out
and they do their weird things
in the streets of this weird city

tonight is the night
that eyes appear in the woods
following your every move
then vanish faintly

tonight is the night
that strange lights blink afar
and the noise beats around you
rising in eerie crescendo

tonight is the night
that ashes rise
and waltz in the bonfire like
Romanovs

tonight is the night
when you really start to hear things
a cat’s shriek THEN THE SOUND OF A ******
………...then dead silence

tonight is the night
when everything is weird
and everyone is weird
and I’m weird
and that’s alright

tonight is a weird night
when all the weird people come out
and they do their weird things
in the streets of this weird city
and that’s alright

hey there
magic man
go on
tell the future
the people need you
tell ‘em what they wanna hear
tell ‘em that they’re safe
tell ‘em what they’re sure they already knew
tell ‘em that in the end it actually matters
go ahead
magic man
read out of your magic book
make ‘em pray out of it
and make ‘em pay for it
teach ‘em that
there’s good
and there’s evil
that they’re good
and they’re not evil
others are evil
and that’s not good
come on
magic man
make a miracle
tell the blind man
to open his eyes
tell the injured man
to stand up
tell the deaf man
anyone can listen
if they have the money
who can blame ‘em?
your words feel good
magic man
‘cause anyone
can know anything
and they don’t even need
to think about it
why should they?
the answers are already right there
everything that ever was
everything that ever will be
written in that magic book
really too bad
that you’re the only one
that knows how to read it
why not?
magic man
you can make
anything
rhyme with
anything
if you say
“it is”
then
it is
so why not
keep up the game?
they’ve got
plenty to spend
and you’ve got
all the time in the world
go on
magic man
sell ‘em answers
so they’ll be vindicated
sell ‘em miracles
so they’ll believe
sell ‘em immortality
so they’ll be comfortable
sell ‘em everything
‘cause
that’s what good businessmen do

how do you like that,
alchemist?
you turned lead into gold
but it’s not that shiny
is it?
maybe your flask was
rose-tinted
things didn’t go as expected
did they?
you could’ve been happy
if you never knew
at the end of the journey lies
absolutely nothing
how do you like that,
lover-boy?
you won her heart
you’re her one and only
but how do you like
the public sarcasm?
the beratement at home?
what about the “love-taps”?
“you just can’t do anything
right”
that’s the dialogue
right?
we call that abuse
you got what you wanted
but you didn’t really know her
did you?
how do you like that,
young man?
you learned the ways of world
how the real predators
and boogeymen
are just people
just like you and me
you’re safe now
with that truth
but do you feel that?
you lost something
didn’t you?
you feel empty inside
but before you rant about
darwinist suits
corporate scumbags
******* shockjocks
just remember kiddo
you did this to yourself
they didn’t take it
you gave it up
the innocence of a child
you got to the age when
your eyes show you
the truth you need
not the lies you want
but look at you now
maybe you really need the lies
sure they might
hurt you
chide you
scorn you
tell you you’ll never make it
but at least you wouldn’t be so blue
and the world wouldn’t be so blue
the truth
the real truth is
you’ve got to see the roses in front of you
but remember the thorns just beyond
sometimes you’ll get lucky
and miss the thorn
but not every time
so don’t let your hopes fly too high
but if your fear holds you
that rose will stay a distant dream
so why not just go for it
with a smile on your face
and just see what happens?

my heart’s in a bottle
out to sea
carried off by those waves
high and low
of a looming tempest
twas once free
it now lies in that prison
and I know
that I had placed it there
upon my first glimpse of you
beaming bright
like an alluring beacon
bearing flash
only to forecast crags
so take flight!
and steer from rocky threat!
it will crash
on that ruinous coast
with no other haven
that will bring happiness

this whole world is beautiful
I’ve seen it with my own bright eyes
everything I’ve fallen in love with
oceans that stretch forever
and gleam iridescent azure
while mighty waves crest into the sky
forests that climb overhead
and all the life climbing with them
high on bursting verdant canopies
those scarlet-golden sunsets
cherished only in a moment
but held close to the heart forever
and I’ve heard it sing to me
countless voices singing one song
every single one a unique verse
distant calls of mockingbirds
each note made of avian love
sung to each other and the whole world
faint howling of coyotes
ferocious things of teeth and claws
a black backdrop for a vivid world
whispers of lovers at night
promises of their life yet lived
together with hands locked and eyes set
and I must say i’ve felt it
every single thing strikes a chord
each familiar path or trail unblazed
all of the places I’ve been
fabled cities and fresh retreats
give a sense of time: passed or ahead
all of the stories I’ve read
words by Hemingway or Dumas
spin worlds in both romance and the real
all of the people I’ve met
doctors, baristas, and students
each touched me with their own perspective
the world is beautiful, true
but when I look up to the sky
I know beauty isn’t just on Earth
when I see stars and stardust
floating in galaxies above
the whole universe looks beautiful