Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
you made the headlines again
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
what would we do
without you?
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
the paragon of generations
the backbone of industry
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
you paved the way
and let us build so much
trapped as we were
in the cycle of birth and death
as life begets life
but now we’ve got you
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
progress no longer bound by life
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
that’s the name we gave you
the mother of multitudes
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
praise to you who killed death!
and you who outmoded birth!
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly
never able to comprehend
what we gained from your life
oh, all the familiar faces!
of all the cows in the fields
of all the pigs in their pens
of all the people on the street
the solidarity is striking!
and it’s all thanks to you
Dolly, Dolly, Dolly

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

your body
talks about you
every secret told
in anatomy
that’s a language
I understand
it screams
touch
feel
explore
every curve
starts a verse
that my hand
completes
every single part
says its piece
except the lips
those are busy
latched on mine
the way you move
smooth like
summer
you’re in charge
angel
take me away
send me off
but hold on tight
we can play a little
rough
let’s get to it
have at it
take a piece
lose ourselves
get lost
get sweaty
get busy
get lucky
just take me
take over the night
just one
sleepless night
and just lose it all
and just one
airy morning
when you wake up
lying next to me
just stay there
for awhile
just prove to me
that you’re not
just a dream

let’s go for a ride
in the ‘55 pontiac
just like the good old days
it doesn’t have AC
but its okay
we can roll down the windows
and just ride
down the highway
we can go to that
drive-up burger place
if you’re hungry
the carhop will bring out our shakes
yours chocolate
mine caramel
just like the good old days
and we’ll sit there
and talk
long after we’re done
maybe I could take the wheel
and I could drive
if you’re tired
but we’re not done yet
we could go watch a movie
at the drive in
and after that
we can just go to
the middle of nowhere
some place really dark
and just look at the stars
with the Beach Boys on the radio
just like the good old days
let’s not talk about the future
not right now
tonight we talk about the past
because tonight
we’ll talk about our love
and how it formed our
special bond
to today
it has survived
every trial and tribulation
it has been alongside
every joy and happiness
so as I hold your hand
that monstrous thing
tonight of all nights
I’m going to remember
the good old days

I’m sick of this
melancholy
genocide
****
deforestation
feeling like I could
do something about it
terrorism
fascism
despotism
when I’m just a man
halfway around the world
Ferguson
police abuse
riots
and feeling alone
in a world full of people
racism
sexism
income gap
crises just replace each other
like a revolving door
did you know Manson’s still alive
dreaming of Helter Skelter?
crusade
slavery
apartheid
I am so sick of it!
if I just go back
to living my life
and forget about it
ignorance
apathy
privilege
would anyone really
be hurt or even care?
……
NO
No
no
this is not me
I am melancholic
because of this world
but I can do something
because this world exists
and this world matters
I am small here
but I exist
and I matter
so I can do something
even if it’s
insignificant
I swear
I
can
do
something

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?

down where the river bends
standing upon the hill
is that old cathedral
still tending to its flock
and the bells ring and they boom
and they sound thunderously
a roaring call for penance
echoing among sinners
the warm message remains
set on the oaken door
preaching the word of love
to crowds taken by hate
but those days are now long past
priests were traded for spiders
and dust owns gilded altar
ill-gotten gains neglected
the chapel, long empty
still hungers intensely
hungry for confessions
and still hungry for gold
so the belfry resonates
summoning poor, wretched souls
in the grasp of the abyss
to empty what they once held
the men do not hold hate
they lost that long ago
but they neither hold love
for that was robbed also
these sad men hold nothing
the cathedral lies empty
filled only with hollow men
yet its never satisfied
so tolls always fly under gray skies
from the Cathedral of St. Matthew

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

I want my own planet
or maybe a little moon
a bite-sized place to call my own
I’d just sit and look into space
if I had my own planet
it would be totally quiet
‘cause I like it that way
and you can make your own rules
on your own personal planet
and it would be ridiculously tidy
so that I could find everything
right when I need it
and there would be nobody
to make a mess of it
and I could sleep all I want
‘cause I don’t need to do anything
and I could go anywhere
on my personal planet
no one would be there to stop me
because if other people went there
it wouldn’t be my own planet anymore
I’d wish for my planet in a heartbeat
so I could do whatever I want
but then again
having a planet to myself
might get a little lonely sometimes
so maybe
just maybe
you could come to my personal planet too

The ocean gently lapping at the coast
to a steady rhythm
desert sands carried away by the wind
flowing aimlessly
a tiny stream trickling out its own path
calming by all means
water drops falling on a pond’s surface
rippling across
love forming in the eyes of youth
silent but explosive
the barista pouring milk in my coffee
swelling pleasant fragrance
the last embers fleeing a cigarette
from a passing stranger
the first strums of a performer’s guitar
playing a sad song
our daily lives follow cacophonous
overactive themes
and we might find the lack of stimulation
really disturbing
but sometimes you just need to unplug
and take time to feel

you and me
together
thick as thieves
stay with me
through the con
and the gag
my cohort
my ally
my comrade
just until
the punchline
I’ll follow you
in your footsteps
I can’t do it
not without you
you are the light
I’ll devote to
your disciple
your partisan
your apostle
in your lessons
never ending
you’ll be there for me
always by my side
‘cause you stand for me
blood on your iron
my raison d’être
is to rout with you
my chevalier
my front lionheart
my courageous knight
your sword raised for me
matched by my own shield
the nature of our bond
there’s nothing I can say
that will carry meaning
enough to express it
transcendent of title
I proudly exclaim as
your very pride and joy
your one and only heir
your affectionate son
I appreciate you
and the wealth of your life

When winter does come about
And all of life falls to rest
Even mighty oaks grow bare
Giving in to frigid force
That turns all to bleak and grey
Even a wellspring once dence
Colorful, animated
By all forms of harbored life
Is emptied of what it held
Filled instead with cold silence
The surface lies still
Basked in bright moonlight
The silvery ale
Cool tranquility
Begins to ripple
Modest at first, then growing
It reverberates across
The pond fills with emotion
Reflective of the season
Spreading farther and farther
A lone swan paddles forward
His head perched and his wings arched
He croons and fills the cold air
And sings of reminiscence
Until silence wins again

Summertime blues
feeling
down n’ out
gut out
passed out
on the street corner
where I hear
a familiar song
Deadhead born a generation late
never suited me anyway
just trying to be cool
but it’s too hot
I’m melting
I’ll become something
completely new
original
leaving behind what I was
I’m changing
for better
or maybe for worse
I know I’m not perfect
growing up *****
when you first see the mold
and it starts to fit
stick to you
like sweat on a
hot summer day
when you just want to
liquify
seep through the cracks
and drain where they aren’t
watching
judging
expecting
you to sublime
into something
be someone
go somewhere
even if
you drain into the gutter
out to sea
or if you just take a bus
to California
where the beaches
are cool
where the people
are cool
where you can just feel
your problems melt away
your lover is there
waiting on the beach
waiting for you
lover boy
just go for it
what’s to lose?
just go for it
strike a match
let it burn
catch fire
and let your heart explode
lock lips
and set her heart ablaze
shoot off
like a rocket
take a look at yourself
where did you land?
or did you just burn up
on re-entry?
did you see it coming?
did you see her coming?
did you see you coming?
‘cause you were really
cool
when you were
burning bright
you did it
tiger
you shot for the red-hot stars
you wanted to shoot for
and you made it

Hell rages on
to the battlefield
delivering children and soldiers alike
to a furious visage
Hell rages on
to the forests
toppling and rending the verdure
to feed unending hunger
Hell rages on
to the city’s streets
where the poor writhe and wither
as they are crushed underfoot
we are content with this
content that hell stalks
and flows through the world
like a passing storm
the horrors stand at our door
and we sit and bicker
bicker
bicker
bicker
at why that actor
cheated on his wife!
or maybe the best
ways to look 18 again?
perhaps today its the fashionable
surgeries ALL the starlets are taking on.
but is there more?
what are we to do?
there is more
we can feel
we can let loose
of our steely façade
and feel
and feel to the depth our hearts
and we can burn
burn off our husk
and embrace primal fervor
and blaze brilliantly bright
above all
we can care
and care enough
to endure discomfort
and care enough
to change
and care enough
to love

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

memories bud from long ago
of that hill near the sea
under that willow tree
where she had plucked that koto
and sang a bittersweet song
full of both love and pain
like the first of spring rain
that cruel winter did prolong
and blood that fell from her hand
staining the grass below
for the sake of her show
like feathers plucked with each strand
now the willow is in bloom again
while she plays for the first time since then

paper dolls
far and wide
walking around
looking perfect
drawn faces
all the same
acutely flat
enough to slice
I’m not flat
or perfect
so I can’t fit
in paper town
I’ve lost hope
to find love
I’ll just take grief
and papercuts
must be an angel’s grace
to see her standing there
someone else lost in paper town
with her own scars from paper dolls
her face is real, not drawn
it’s a lonely blue light
in a whitewashed crowd of static
dolls wearing their brightest faces
I know that she’s not flat
and she is not perfect
because I know how deep she is
but I could just jump in and dive
I take her by the hand
soft and painless for once
while we trade our sorrows and joys
feelings too heavy for paper

rain in the streets
falling like
pitter patter
children on the sidewalk
playing in the puddles
that are no longer water
students in the café
practicing lessons
like politics or ego
people on the crosswalk
alone in a crowd
forecasts depression
rats in the alleys
waiting for wasted food
or spoiled carcass
thoughts on a rainy day
can shine like a jet
in a whitewashed world

won’t you hold my hand?
and fight the monsters
in the dark
won’t you hold my hand?
and give me strength
while I’m sick
in bed
won’t you say sweet words?
that soothe me to sleep
after my long day
won’t you say sweet words?
that assure everything
and keep my world
together
won’t you make dinner?
something warm
and hearty
won’t you make dinner?
really anything is fine
as long as its
from you
won’t you show me love?
that special kind
only you can
won’t you show me love?
that I’ve always had
for all my life
from you
do I even need to ask?
of course you will
because
I can always rely on you
no matter where I go
after all, you are
my mother

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

some days, I wish I could peel off the plastic
the polymer god of our modern world
some days, I wish I could digest my food
or strip off polyester suit and tie
some days, I wish I could turn off the screen
constantly feeding me the thoughts I need
our consumer world moves like elastic
bouncing from product to product, and sold!
I don’t ever object; that would be rude!
rule number 1: producers never lie
I trust the market, none can be so keen
and I trust the contracts I’ve never read
the things that make the world fit comfortably
they shape the world without a knick or kink
“to ignore the trends, or buy the wrong thing
is heresy! capital terrorism!”
still all in all I can’t help but question
“progress: something one must never impede”
progress to what? life lived acceptably?
“spend! or else the economy will shrink!”
they’re egotists that forbid questioning
so they can feed off their corporatism
and valued above all is ambition
But it's always the others they make bleed

I awoke on an island
in the middle of the sea
bathed in airy moonlight
surrounded by waves of pleating emeralds
I heard them smash on the coast
gently strong like a heartbeat
yes! the island was alive!
life did flow from every single vestige!
I lost myself in the forest
lulled deep by melancholy
for a feeling I had lost
there I did find total sincerity
and peace welling from each leaf
softer than the morning dew
untouched by the hands of man
at the heart of the island was a pool
within it was a great gem
of absolute purity
as if left unturned by lies
and within it were countless reflections
down the bright path of the king
in the throes of nameless love
and even the warmth of youth’s smile
nothing could fill my void so perfectly
when I stole this splendid thing
the island became nothing
like a struck match without air
I could feel that old burning still within
and I then knew of myself
I did not seek something lost
like faerie-born dreams of Spring
but I sought to let go of what I held

all is now auburn colored
from the flush leaves on the trees
to those that keep the ground covered
and those flying on autumn’s breeze
O fall! paint us rugged oaks
or the softest red maples
O autumn! use brilliant strokes
for every hue you are able
lay waste to the summer heat
and hold off the winter frost
a buffer built by those winds fleet
gentleness of this form is lost
O but Autumn comes with grace!
never a hint of cruelty
even less than a lovely face
alas you will fade brutally!
O how we’ll mourn when you’re gone!
and drink to empty our cups!
the tavern ablaze until dawn!
honoring yours’ and winter’s crux
glasses in the air we cheer
revering bountiful gifts
full plates and full glasses of beer
the cornucopia we lift
owes nothing to your cold death
but instead to supple life
that gave to the land its last breath
until we had a harvest rife

surely that was a demon
that stood at the gates to our town
reeking horrible noxious odors
the rancid body bubbling
darting eyes filled with avarice
and jaws grinning, panting, consuming
hindsight screams to shut it out
leave the town in sanctuary
but tar glimmered gold in that moment
and in that myobic blink
the gates were flung open by greed
but what entered was endless hunger
death left uncounted in wake
this creature of sludge oozes on
ravaging without regard or care
in this town of simple folks
where we embrace our visitors
without the casting of prejudice
since the ancient days of myth
many gods and earthly spirits
have paid patronage to our quaint town
we celebrate with great joy
the whims of each visitor god
and we accept their gifts gratefully
but this god brings about death
its hunger rages unshaken
it smothers and constricts indistinct
the people must all be blind
to drink and cheer on merrily
while the toxic creature grows immense
it gives nothing but sickness
but I’ve never seen such worship
laurels left to rot on the putrid beast
and people brought to their knees
out of their frenzied devotion
to this annihilator of life
this must surely be our end
jumping into the wretched maw
like a moth dashes itself to flame
one day all life will be dead
consumed by this malignant god
when the whole world is wrapped in plastic

what is life?
each life is
an experience
a momentary current
in the flow of existence
each life is
a collection
of sensory data
telling a story
about the universe
each life is
not individual
the life I live
is not my life
alone
my life
is the tie that binds
my unique experience
to every other
I have ever met
each life
follows its own path
purpose
is not a unifying theme
its whatever you choose
each life
is an experience
unbound by identity
so go out and
make it a good one

mist covered us as
we sat ‘round the fire
beaten broken men
haunted by the shade of war
the looks we exchanged
were of sullen depth
from killing, dying
for men foreign to
this field: holy and hellish
the commander stood
his immense stature
dwarfed by bitterness
and then he bellowed:
“we have won today
because we are still alive
glory is for kings
our crux lies on life
and death to others
dead men cannot boast
and earth will hold them
keeping them always
but we have survived today”
our bayonets fell
and our heads hung low
at his sordid words
that clung to the air
floating like a ghost
phantom of the moors
staying as we fade to death

a dream
fleeting
illogical
cacophony of those things that dwell
in
between
the world of fact and fantasy
the monsters
it seems
prefer
to
hide there
in the dark of our minds
where the vanquishing sun
cannot reach
that edge of all sanity
that cannot be understood
or reasoned with
where it’s all dark
and I feel dark
and everyone else is dark
another door opens
to fields of
lavender
when we used to
pick wild
strawberries
and we would
make honeysuckle
crowns
til’ dusk
that
lovey-dovey summer
I had hoped would never
end
but then I woke up
to find it had never
even
began

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

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