I wont cry
i dont have the time
And besides i know
you are not worth it anyhow

I wana tear out your heart
And say look what i found
do ya want it back?
well to bad its mine now

And youll bleed
And youll plead
but ill throw it away
At the end of the day
just to show ya how it feels

I used to put my faith in you
but then i turned blue
Waiting for you
Youd already left me behind

So ill head up on my own
im not afraid to be alone
i can do it on my own

There's power in the name
But the name's been lost for centuries
There's poison in the water
But the water tastes like honey
And we're so thirsty we don't care where we wake up tomorrow
We don't care, the question can hardly hold our attention
And this is a song for your young men to sing when they run out of options
Yeah, when they run out of options

There's the faith you can give or withhold
And then there's the one true faith
There's the revolution you came for
And the one you're eventually going to get.
And there's a road that starts right here and leads clear up to Saskatchewan
And I brought a full tank and a '67 Mustang
And this is a song for your young women to whistle
While they're driving at high speeds down the highway

The wind up in the trees
The song on the wind
There's a message in the song
But the message is hopelessly complicated
And the words are written on water
And disappear before you can write them down
But I, I brought the Polaroid

And this the song
And everybody's gotta sing along
But it hasn't got a chorus
******* it all

a bad dream shook me in my sleep and I woke up sweating.
ran through the dark to the shower,
already forgetting.
tried to think good thoughts.
trying to find my way clear.
let the room fill with steam,
traced pictures on the mirror.

ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.

I clawed my way to the living room window,
stood there in the cold.
the last bits of my dream like figures in the distance,
hard to hold.
I thought of old friends,
the ones who'd gone missing.
said all their names three times.
phantoms in the early dark,
canaries in the mines.

ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.

we stood near the cage of the prize-fighting ****
the sun cut through the clouds but the air pressure dropped
and I touched your hair for the very first time
I have that moment with me now
it's all mine
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

a few minutes later you went back inside
and I stood near the clothesline where strips of beef dried
hanging in the noon-day sun
flies were buzzing nearby
and then your face in the window caught my eye
and you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

things don't look much different now from where I stand
looking for you with camera in hand
someone's gone away
and someone's gotten taller
but the world stopped turning and the universe is much smaller
since you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form
yeah you
showed me a thing or two about power in its purest form

he came spitting fire
on a day like no other
tried to hold you near to me
i heard him passing over
he made a banquet for the stray dogs of the air
he put our love in clear perspective

blue, red and green plumage
trailing behind him now
swaddling the sky in its aftermath
the last day coming down
he made a banquet for the stray dogs of the air
he put our love in clear perspective
rising, rising, rising, rising

The chairs. The tables. All confused. We hear the words, and must speak them. We take them, and arrange them, but still, they will not be quiet.

Everything is wrong. This is not straight. This is too high. This is in my way. We must put them right.

You think what you do has meaning? You think you slay me, and I am dead? It is just dream and waking, over and over, one appearance after another, nothing real. What you do here means nothing. Why do we waste our breath on you?

There will come a day when our cells won't regenerate
and everyone you know will rot away, rot away
Your friends and enemies and all your family
we will all be buried in the ground, in the ground
So make the most of it.
Life's too short to **** with.

Once an hour a day I get very sad
Once an hour a day I get depressed
When that hour is over I start to feel okay
because I'm reminded I'll rot away, rot away.

I don't have much time to hang out here and cry
and though that may feel nice
I can't do that everyday Ive had a lot of friends and they've done a lot of drugs
and those drugs made my friends rot away, rot away

They say that Jesus saves but Jesus doesn't care
because he is in a grave, in a grave
Let's be our own God, take care of ourselves and the ones that we love

If you sing my song
And the dead rise all around me
I can make the darkness
Weep and fall

If you sing my song
Lie upon me, all surround me
Ragged roads of distance
Long lost souls

Go

If you sing my song
And the dead cry all around me
I'll blanket you with wings
When you're not strong

Creature calls
Sick angels fall around me
If you're scared
Beware

you came down from heaven to the branch outside my window.
your skin was the color of snow.
The dice were loaded against us ever seeing each other.
one of us had nowhere else to go.
in your eyes were all the colors that the rainbow forgot.
your hair was a foot long or better.
with your voice practicing notes from times own beginning.
you took apart the alphabet letter by letter.
and here where it all stops for good.
where the cool waters run.
I thought i saw someone holding your heart but it was only a skeleton.

come down in the flatland
show me your shoulder
wait now where the black hand touches us
we'll both grow older

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

measure your arm length
i can't live without it
i treasure those thirty inches
i want to talk about it.

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

love you in the cold air
your long hair makes me shiver
above you i see the sun
light up every sliver

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

and the sky above us
and the ground beneath us
and the air around us
and the ocean to the right

lob some spit at the window
watch it drop down the pane
it's only the guilty who concern themselves
with clearing their names

you bring tidings of hope,
false tidings
when you come here
there's two friends who did me wrong
that you're protecting

it's so clear
and when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

sun goes down San Francisco
friends are hard to find
chew them up just as quick as I can find them
try to clear my mind

remember hours at the table
gauze flight light easing through
if there's one thing that I'm not going to do tonight
it's die for you

'cause when you speak
it's those two who speak through you
who'll speak for me
the burning and the electricity

i saw the darkness coming down,
it posed no threat to me
i let the dakrness ease its way around
it was every good thing
i'd expected it would be
i saw you coming,
through the twisting vines outside
i saw the new moon collide
with the stars
clustered around her.

i saw the young fruit, of the new lime
i felt your breath catch it's rhythm.
i heard your legs push away the tall dry brush
i saw the moon and the stars
and knew the secrets within them.
i heard you saying
my name into my ear
no one has to tell me
why you've come here,
'cause i know.
i know.
i know.

crushing strawberries one by one
watching the juice drip down
two and a half months ahead of schedule
the leaves on the trees are turning brown
we got ready for winter, as the sun rose up in the sky
there was something almost soothing in the hard to define
note of terror in your eye

watching the strawberries lose their shape
as the wind blew threw the elm tree
the wind was far too cold for the middle of april
and you reached out your hand to me
it was good to feel your hand in mine
it was good to know you felt the pull too
i scooped up a palmfull of strawberry pulp
and smeared it all over you

the wild strawberries drove me on, as i lapped them up off of your skin
and i could feel your basal body temperature rise as the cold came in

i will praise your eyes
for burning my house down
i am humbled by how they made the framework fall to the ground
i stood with you and watched you
as you made it burn and fall
in minutes it was almost like it had never been there at all

when the traffic on the street thins out for just a second
i will look into your eyes
i, i will not panic
i am standing on the corner
where you and i were standing
i am trying to look at the sky
there are too many colors surrounding me

i will praise your eyes
they have reduced this city to embers
i will see you coming
i will see your eyes through the cold air from a mile away

the cabbages that I will grow
one by one and row on row
will fatten in the spring sun
and breathe in the night air

you will hear them breathing
if you walk by at night
you may not hear them after all
but that's all right

I've set the table for two
I've cleaned the windows for you
I've got cinnamon from Jakarta
for making French toast
the doctor says that I've got
thirty days left at most

the cabbages that I will grow
the love songs on the radio
will deepen in the springtime
they'll be brighter than the stars

autumn came around like a drifter to an onramp
there were wet leaves floating in gutters full of rain.
took to walking barefoot around town
melodies from grade school, kicking in my brain.
saw you on the crosstown bus today.
you were reading a magazine.
I turned my face away and I shut my eyes tight.
and dreamed about the flowers that hide from the light on dark hillsides
in the hidden places.

the brakes howled and the bus pulled up near my house
and I got off at the corner.
pulled my sleeves down over my hands, over my hands.
and I wished I was someone else.
and I wished it was warmer.
and when I got home, I thought about you.
like a desperate policeman, searching for clues
and I almost passed out, just then
and I shut my eyes again
headed for the dark hillsides
in the hidden places.

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

WHEN YOU SLEEP YOU SEE ME

DANCING AT THE CORE

IT IS NOT A BLIGHT

IT IS MY HOUSE

I PUT A STAR

INTO THE WORLD'S MOUTH

TO ****** IT

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY BLIND FISH

SWIM IN THE NEW

PHLOGISTON

TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS

MY DEAF MOONS

SING AND BURN

AND ORBIT ME

I AM OLDER THAN MUSIC

WHAT I BRING IS LIGHT

WHAT I BRING IS A STAR

WHAT I BRING IS

AN ANCIENT SEA

Look upon my face and wonder.
Raise your arms that I may look on them and bestow a blessing.
Know that battle is a blessing.
Know that death is an eventuality.
Know that you are dust in my eyes.
Long is the arm of the Dreamer, and swift is the blade.
Deep is the cut, and subtle is the poison.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is swift.
Worship, o faithful. Pray your death is quiet.
Worship, o faithful. Worship the glory that is the Dreamer.

in the front seat at around four in the morning,
something came down without much warning.
it was bright and shiny and real nice
and it prepared us both for the sacrifice.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.

in the front seat, you know what i mean.
love came down
bright and hot and pure and clean and ready,
ready for the ****.
and i'll get ready.
but hold my hand.
would you please hold me steady?
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.
i know what it is and i know what it means,
and it's got wings.

the moon shining,
three hours into the best part of the day and
i want to tell you that you're so pretty and
the words come out wrong and the rage gets in the way..
dead quiet you looked at me like you were looking into space.
yeah, in space noone could hear you say good bye.
but down here i shouldn't have to read it on your face.
that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

the moon shining down on your body.
you look so nice.
and i want to tell you, but you don't want to hear it,
and i know. you don't have to tell me twice.
but, once would be civil. the moon shining.
i got it in my brain, and i had so much to say but there was dead quiet.
you were silent. three hours into the best part of the day.
and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

and that's not normal.
that's not right.
that's not very nice.
no, it isn't.

The last of my kind
There’ll be no more after me
I’m a flightless bird
With useless wings
Dumb and wild and free
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

On display
In my solitary incarceration
I pace in circles
So the camera will see
Look at my stripes fade
Take a good hard look
At what you’ve done to me

I had no fear of anyone
‘til you got ahold of me
The moon shone through the trees
A spotlight in my final serenade
No brothers left
And there’ll be no more after me

This poem has been a product of the combined efforts of myself and the lovely prrtybrd

Cornerstone one has a finger
Buried under, pointing through
Dirt, slow low in the ground
North cannot be guessed,
And yet it is spirit-free

Cornerstone two has a tongue,
And even dust can be talkative,
Listen and you will see the love
The ancient libraries need

Cornerstone three has a bit of string,
Shaped like your favorite color,
A girl remembers who left it there
But she is afraid to dig it out,
And see what it is attached to

Cornerstone four has nine bones,
Removed carefully from a black cat,
Arranged in the fashion of this word,
Protecting us from our enemies

Your house is safe now
So why is it--
Your house is safe now
So why is it--

when you come, if you come
make sure you bring some bubble gum.
and a great big bottle of cheap gin, yeah
don't bother knocking, you can just waltz right in.

when you come, if you do come by
make sure you wear your skirt real high.
there's cracked ice in the freezer
and glasses in the sink
you can lie down on the sofa, and I'll fix us both a drink.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

when you come, if you come
bring a couple of coconuts and i'll supply the ***.
and i will dim the lights, pull all the drapes
throw in those near forgotten video tapes.
yeah when you come, if you make it out this far
you better leave your pride out in the car.
and you wanna make sure that you bring along some means for forgetting where it was that we went wrong.
and we will teach ourselves to pray in languages
that we don't really speak.
and we will lie about the way it used to be.

you're a strong one, you're a lion
you're brave, death defyin'
you're in your car, crossing town.
and i can feel you, coming down.

you're so pretty, i could burst
and i wonder, who's gonna talk first
my muscles all shaking, and blood's turned to foam
it's tuesday, and you're coming home.

i'd had you out of my mind for a year or better
when the mailman handed me your letter
and i recognize the handwriting even now
but i know i'm gonna open it anyhow
and noone's been buying my snake oil, and i
held your letter like a cross to my chest
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
in you.

i walked out into the kitchen
where the light came through the 4-paneled window
clean and bright and it's taken me two years to realize
how much i like the way that you dot your I's
well, i was born in arizona twenty seven years ago
and i got a mean, mean hunger down below
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up my troubles
i'm gonna wrap up all my troubles
in you.

I feel like im drowning
My head is pounding
My heart is quaking
I cant stop shaking

Im my worst enemy
Ill be the first to betray me
Why does she love me?
I can feel it when she hugs me

She makes me feel complete
But i cant stay on my feet
The way she sees me... I dont think i can compete

You will cough up crows that peck my eyes
And I will do nothing but go blind
But my heart
It has eyes
And my love
It has sight
Even though it may be
A little cloudy

And you will break my back for all the burdens I lay upon it
But I will never blame you for those bees inside this bonnet
And my lungs will grow cancers
And my back it will grow achy

I will buy us an acre
Of some land in the city
We could live there together
Or I'll live alone less happy
But I'll live
Unfortunately

you will not call my memory into question.
you will not question my memory.
see there was you and me up on a hilltop by ourselves
and then the red clouds dispersing above me
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

as the afternoon sky opened up its mouth
and the air cooled down one or two degrees
i felt the world within me screaming to come out
and then i looked up at you and your hair spilled down over me.

i felt you breathing on me and i heard your voice.
your eyes were twin bonfires and your lips were moist.
i should have killed myself
when i found out how beautiful you are.
but everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

I like to be liked by people I like
And I love to be loved by people I love
And I hate to be loved by people I hate
I love to be hated by people I hate

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

One for the hard drugs in my body
And two for the bad drinks in my tummy
Three for the evil thoughts in my head
Four for all the people that I wish were dead

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Im gonna set your son on fire
Im gonna set your son on fire
And Im gonna choke him with a wire
Im gonna set your son on fire

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

Hate
And ****
Hate and ****

I went down the the gas station
for no particular reason,
heard the screams from the high school
it's football season.
empty lot the station faces,
will probably be there forever.
I climbed over the four foot fence,
I was trying to sever the tether.
moon in the sky, cold as a stone
spend each night in your arms,
Always wake up alone.

I lay down in the weeds, it was a real cold night.
I was happy until the overnight attendant switched on the floodlight.
walking home I was talking to you under my breath,
saying things I would never say directly.
I heard a siren on the road highway ahead.
kinda wish they'd come and get me
frost on the sidewalk, white as a bone
tried to get close to you again,
always wake up alone.

and as i was crossing our doorstep,
i hesitated just a moment there.
remembered the day we moved into our small house
'til the vision got too vivid to bear.

you were almost asleep, halfway undressed
i lay right down next to you
held your head against my chest.
and a guy with any kind of courage
would maybe stop to think the matter through
maybe hold you still and raise the question,
instead of blindly holding on to you.
but we crank up the heat
and you giggle and moan,
spend all night in the company of ghosts,
always wake up alone

call me the running man
call me alachua county bill
call me dripping water underneath the phospher still
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

nix your ***** water
forget your resource management skills
I crawl starving down sloping colorado hills
call me roy the ripper tearing at your skin
one day I'll pay for this,
for now just let me in.

it's a straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
straight walk home.
through the generation fields
and the ventilation dome.
body after body, alone.

there was a twinkle in my eye
as we watched the fish swim by
we saw the water going in and out
and you knew what i was thinking about

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

three of them hiding behind a rock
and i got too nervous to talk
with your wondrous form all stretched out
right next to me as the fish swam about

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

the room heated up the windows were closed
we heard the humming of the air hose
that ran into the tank and the fish swam in place
and i fixed my eyes on your beautiful face

we watched the water
we looked right through it
and i let my hand rest a minute on your stomach
like there was nothing to it

What makes you think you can be so pretty?
And what makes you think you can be so great?
And what makes you think you can be so intelligent?
And what makes you think you can be so far away?

It's no stretch to say that I am pulling out my hair
And darling I'm patiently waiting to fly my *** out there
And I love you

What makes you think you can be so wonderful?
And what makes you think you can be so keen?
And what makes me think I can be so hurtful?
And what makes me think I can be so mean?

Girl you know I'm sorry I haven't been the best support
But darling you know that I love you,
And i would build a fort to protect you
From the wind

What makes you think you can be so terrific?
And what makes you think you can be be so neat?
And what makes you think you can be so beau-ti-fic?
And what makes you think you can be so sweet?

It's no stretch to say that I am pulling out my hair
And darling I'm patiently waiting to fly my *** out there
And I love you

I see you sleeping and i stop to kiss your cheek
I stare down at you and long to hear you speak
Some things need to be said and some are for us to keep
No intruders its you and i alone, its freedom that we seek
you tremble when your worried but i know youre not weak
your eyes flutter and you begin to speak
What you say makes me want to weep

Is this the love i was after?

all sorts of junk in the unattached spare room,
dishes in the kitchen sink,
used straw for the old broom,
friends who don't have a clue,
well meaning teachers,
but down in your arms, in your arms,
i am a wild creature.
                                                                                
floor two foot high with newspapers,
carpet thick with pet hair,
half eaten gallons of ice cream in the freezer,
fresh fuel for the sodium flare,
i write down good reasons to freeze to death
in my spiral-ring notebook
but in the long tresses of your hair,
i am a babbling brook.

the snow built up around the smokehouse.
the sun shone on the snow.
and the sun's rays were blistering against my eyes.
the long night was well on its way
so i made good use of what was left of the daylight
walking out toward the main street
and coming back home again.
sleeping, i sang a short song about you.
and i knew every word of that song was true.
well, almost every word.

ice froze the green stems of the daffodils
ice formed carrots on my window sill.
i was blistering, blazing away.
and it had always been my tendency to let things slide,
but i went to the window with my eyes open wide.
and you were taking on prospect ice,
coming to ward the door.
you want some more?
i've got some more for you.
i've got just what you're looking for.

I wish I had more money than I have
and I know that's not punk,
but I need to pay my rent.
I can't survive without money.
I can't survive without money.

And I want to eat red, red meat.
I want to feel it digesting inside of my tummy
and I support animal testing.
I'd **** a kitten to save a human being.

The whole human race are big, big *****.
We **** holes in the world
and **** everybody else
We **** because we are lonely.
We **** because we are lonely.

We ought to give it one more shot
we have to save the world
and bathe ourselves with love
because love is all we need
except that love isn't really all we need.

We need compassion
and we need empathy
and we need love
and we need money
or another way to fulfill the basic needs
we all have

i'm tracing pentagrams with chalk on to my floor
i'm lighting candles cookin' curses casting spells to bring a storm
that will cloud up over Phoenix, and make black
the southwest sky i'm pushing pins into the map to mark the points for lightning strikes
may the ashes of the university make their way out to the sea
and may the bones of the invaders mix with the bricks of burned buildings
we will make them in to mortar and we will build this town again
i'm calling on dark forces to take me back to phoenix
we'll dig some holes and plant some seeds and grow trees
back in the park so the bums will have some shade to drink and a place to sleep when it gets dark
nick will get his job back when we re-open the Vonlee
we'll watch movies and eat popcorn but this time we won't have to sneak
we'll make music in our basements we'll play 4-square in the streets
we'll carve hexes in our our highways to ward off the wicked beasts
and this time we'll keep our city safe we'll keep our city sweet
we'll keep our city free one by one and block by block we watched it slip away
the towers of our enemies grew taller everyday until at last i cast away
and tried to find some better place but it's wings are wide and cast it's shadow down on everything
so i'm praying to the lord and every other god i know to give me a flaming sword
and some extra lightning bolts and the power to destroy the ones who took our town away
and the strength we need to build it back into something great
and this time we'll keep our city safe... and sam will come back from california
and she will know just what we need to do and all the cool kids that i've met
in all the places that i've went will hear the booming of the battle
and come too and we'll make this place into the greatest place there's ever been
all we want is a place to live the kind of lives to want to live
so i'm rubbing every lantern that i find and i'm chasing every rainbow that i see
i'm searching the clovers trying to find one with four leaves
anything that could grantone wish tome and portland will not save you
and olympia will fall too and gainesville will surrender someday  
and i know phoenix will never be the same
bloomington will never be the same

crude little wooden idols and aviator shades
the trinkets and the treasures we brought back from the crusades
some guy in an impala shakes his head when he rides by
but i remember when we shared a vision you and i

worked hard to build this altar, we made it earn its keep
the cracks across its surface spiderweb while we're asleep
the sacrificial stains all spreading out and soaking through
but i remembered when we kept it pretty me and you

and high above the water, the eagle spots the fish
and every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish

stock shots, stupid stock shots from the pomona mall
set up like unloved icons gathering dust up on the wall
from films no one remembers, they call down silently
but i remember when their names were dear to you and me

pennies on the dollar, everything's gotta go
the things that we can't even give away, i don't wanna know
try to see if secrets burn when you hold them up into the light
i remember when we loved each other day and night

and high above the water, the eagle spots the fish
every martyr in this jungle is gonna get his wish

This is the revised final version

Who are you?
And where did you go?
And where are you from?
And what do you know?

You're in my blood And you're in the hair
You're in my heart And you're in the air

I met you, once, Over the phone
You sounded sad And you seemed alone
You left me, but I never left you
I never had the chance to

Music was the one thing
We would have had in common
You were my age when I was born
Would I have done what you did?
Would I do what you have done?
I'd like to think I'm a bigger man than that

You had some problems with alcohol
You took 12 steps And you solved them all
It took 16 years For you to call
What gave you the brave to pick up that call?

You played the trumpet and the drums
While my Mom sang at funerals
I play guitar 'till my hands are numb
You two are where music comes from for me

So thank you so much For not raising me
You spent your life on better things
You would have been an awful Dad
But thank you for those genes you had

here come the times of changing tide
here come the days of light and grace
here come the hours of wordless wonderessness
White light will fill this humble place

when you come, the stars will shine brighter than spun gold
when you come, the world will seem shiny and new
my mom told me that someday someone like you would come to set things right
'til you come I'll keep this place ready for you.

You are **** and you know it
Your life is garbage and you show it
You will die soon in the ball pit
I'll leave you unsupervised for a minute
You make drugs look like candy
And you are not even worth it
When you were born I tried to prevent it
With ****** and **** and even weapons
And when you came out I said *******
You make drugs look like candy