Every child knows there's monsters
Hiding in the closet and under the bed
But, I have a secret each child should know
And it's about a Galumpher instead....

Galumphers are watchers
They help keep the peace
They help keep the monsters in line
With three eyes on the closet
Three on the monster
And three more...did I mention they've nine?
They watch where you're going
And they keep out of sight
And you can sleep through the night mighty fine.

Galumphers aren't dangerous
They live under the bed
They eat socks and the occasional mouse
But, the one thing that's certain
With a Galumpher, well fed
You won't find bedroom monsters in your house

If you believe in those monsters
You'll believe in these too
They're as real as the monsters you fear
Just remember Galumphers
Are there eating your socks
And with them, the monsters aren't near

I've never seen a Galumpher
But I know they're real
I know this, because I once was a kid
My dad checked my closet
Before he'd turn out my light
Because I knew that's where monsters all hid

But, one night he told me
Of the Galumphers that watched
With their 5 ears and nine eyes to see
And as my socks all went missing
And the mice disappeared
The Galumpher became a friend to me

Should you meet a Galumpher
Out from under the bed
Just smile and pretend not to see
For he's probably out
To get the dust bunnies off
And to go and have a long ***.

She said i went to sleep thinking of you.

With the bitter taste of loose ends in the back of my throat.

She said i went to sleep thinking about how I'm more lonely with you than i was by myself.

She said i went to bed thinking about the empty glass globe inside my diaphragm,

You used to fill it warm loving liquid,

and now it chimes and echoes in the cruel hollow ways only glass empty things do.

And in the end,
we all end up as just another name on the inside cover of a text book...
Nothing but a distant memory,
to be swept under the rug of history.

So much lost
And so much learned
We'll push our luck
Laughing with tears
We'll make mistakes like every child
Does once or twice
We'll go beyond
And do it thrice
Who knows where
Or why and what for
But we'll  try each key
Open each door
Throw our pennies down the well
Ride each wave
And crash each swell
We'll hold on til the bitter end
Only believing in the innocently pretend
We'll wreck our brains and feed our souls
Build memories and forget about gold
For it's too heavy for the free of heart
And last but not least
We'll make a strong pact
That no matter who or what
We won't look back

I was sitting on a park bench in December
Whence we met
Just watching my breath steam
In wisps and curls about my head
I sat there in silence for a time
Attempting to discover who this being was
I recognized her not
Though she was mine own age
Eventually, I knew her gaze
And I looked into her eyes
Just to see her intention
How her fate would affect mine
I recognized her now and spoke
But my voice filled with fear
And my heart filled with ice
But as time went on,
My resolve grew strong
And my head cleared of its eternal strife.
I bellowed aloud
Just so she would hear.
My voice deepened with anger
And I proclaimed,
“It’s not my time yet,
I must remain.
I have not known love,
Life’s great joy.
This is the reason I live,
I am but a lonely boy.
And I have found another
Whom I hold dear.
She widens my grin,
From ear to ear.
I would like my chance,
To make her happy.
To feel life’s greatest joy,
To be a daddy.
So give me some time,
And come back for me then,
I will greet you
Like a dear old friend.”
And so she rose,
What a beautiful sight,
All surrounded by gray and white.
I stood entranced
By beauty unmatched,
As she whirled about
And looked at me last.
She spoke not a word,
Let no sound free.
But the look in her eyes
Was one of understanding.
And slowly she left,
Absorbed entirely
By some great shadow
Nearby me.
On that gray-wintered day,
While I sat in the park,
A young girl as death
And I talked.
Though she spoke not a word,
She showed me my path.
I know what I want in life,
What I can have.
And so before she comes again,
If I do everything right,
I can live a just
And fulfilling life.
Death may come,
And death may go.
But never a footprint
Has she left in the gray-wintered snow.

I stand in front of this mirror;
your thoughts, on the other side.
it's not just any mirror, no,
it's clouded and unrefined.

I try to wipe away confusion,
but all my efforts go to waste.
for when I've thought "I'm nearly done!"
the fog is soon replaced.

what are you thinking, over there?
I'd surely love to know
"not today" he sweetly said
"for I have got to go."

I am the emotional ostrich that you have made.
You have bred me to hate
To trust no one of flesh.
Vain outlets you will never read.
The sun will never see itself rise.
You are a list of let downs
And post-its of false promise.
Compulsive like the moon
Spinning through everything and nothing.
You are the core of my being
And remain the sand in my ears.

we broke the wishbone
you got the wish
i got a splinter

that's how it goes

fare faced grinning fool
     oh, how easy it'd be
for me to be jealous of you, brother
the boy who couldn't be stopped
the man that the wind whispers to

you are magic
you are busy lights on an empty stretch of I80
the swell of drum beats over silence
the giggle-fit tear stains on the universe's cheek

baby boy
wide eyed man-cub

the world tried to steal you
once
all those years ago
and you
you defiant son-of-a-gun
refused to bow to even death
     the laugh lines at the end of a blank heart rate

thanks for never leaving me behind

you take nothing seriously
except dreams and funerals
and the call of the moon

"no matter where you are in life
no matter how noisy it gets
or how badly it hurts
you have to throw on the brakes now and then
just slow down
and turn your eyes to the sky
and howl
like a ravid coyote
howl at the moon"

"remind existence that you won't go quietly"

when i was six
dad told me that he and mom
had made us out of stardust
and magic
and beer caps
and fossils
     that they made us out of treasure

you're my treasure
and the temple of my dreams
you're my map
my back pack
my adventure hat
and the voice in my head that laughs
and calls me a *******

we are not human beings on a spiritual endeavor
but spiritual beings
bound to a human medium

how very thankful i am to be tethered to you