Exquisite sorrow
taste it
I did
bring forth the holy grail of grief
bend and bow the muse to me
to sing of lost loves entropy
let's drink a toast together
from this bitter sacred cup
Exquisite sorrow
the finest vintage
Please don't spill
Don't make me lick it up.
taste it
I did

If you built bridges as well as you burn them
If you had all the friends you've lost
If you sought out your lessons to learn them
If you had at least considered the cost
If you had all the money you've wasted
If you had restrained your addictive life
If you took every problem and faced it
If you avoided dissension and strife
Oh.
It was said long ago
You reap what you sow.
The end.

Come to me my green eyed girl

and give me something

that soothes me like a summer storm

so easily my green eyed girl

sharing my life's burdens

and keeping my spirit warm

We both rode that roller coaster

getting ****** laughing, and getting sick

but now we're home and the ride is over

Lets do it why don't we just do it



Come to me my green eyed girl


and give me loving



that soothes me like a summer rain so easily my green eyed girl

come to me girl and come and come again

I know we've both gone off the high dive

we close our eyes , hold our breath , and go

and I thank God that we're both still alive

cause we never checked the water down below


Everything has a reason they say


I know there's a reason why I'm feeling this way

Come to me and come to me again

The places that you take me

sure better than where I've been

Yeah we both rode that roller coaster

getting ******, laughing , and getting sick

but now we're home and the ride is over
lets do it, why don't we just do it

Come to me my green eyed girl

and give me loving

that soothes me like a summer storm

so easily my green eyed girl

sharing my life's burdens

and keeping my spirit warm.

Lifeless life sits on the shelf
where dreams and schemes and knowledge dwell
to provide some respite for ones self
a billion squared of stories to tell
Kings and kingdoms are well involved
there are secrets revealed and problems solved
Man and woman and kith and kin
find the time to look within
the lifeless life upon the shelf
where dreams and schemes and knowledge dwell

I don't know if you realize

but when I look straight in your eyes

I get a little scared because I love you

Don't know what's got into me

You can call it insecurity

but I'm afraid it would ruin everything

if you knew

You're the lady in the garden

so soft but somehow hard

I'm just a guy who buys your time with conversation

but the pain I feel is pleasure

for the times with you I treasure

in any given simple situation

but upon my life I swear

there is nothing for you to fear

no complications or storm clouds of emotion

though my heart's on overtime

I know it's no ones fault but mine

a little less burning a little more devotion

I can be somewhat cynical

because I've had a belly full

of being the only one in love

but It's not quite the same with you

I've done my time and paid my dues

I don't believe push always comes to shove

so should you rather walk alone

this world that we're walking on

it won't be all that much worse for the wear

I'll put my heart back on the shelf

and from time to time console myself

that I was the only one who ever cared

but upon my life I swear

there's nothing for you to fear

no complications or storm clouds of emotion

though my hearts working overtime

I know it's no ones fault but mine

a little less burning a little more devotion

I don't know if you realize

but when I look straight in your eyes

I get a little scared because I love you

I hopped on a south bound

with my head in the clouds

thought I'd prove a few wrong

maybe make a few proud

but just like every other time

there's no rhyme or reason

just a reason for a rhyme

I must be out of my mind for crying out loud

I'm gonna get little Lord I'm gonna get small

Gonna keep on shrinking till I'm not here at all

just me and the molecules with plenty to spare

won't take up too much space won't breathe too much air

I never meant to be "touched in the head"

It's seldom clear to me, what i just said

I know I'm better off living and breathing instead

cause I already know what it's like to be dead

The baggage that I carry with me

I just bring along,

for my daily dose of self pity

and the occasional song

Honestly I'd love to be

what everybody wants to see

but all these years have made it so clear

that it just ain't me, it ain't never gonna be

the right, the left , the middle and the status quo

Have in no uncertain terms given me the old heave **

time to go now

I'm gonna get little Lord

I'm gonna get small

gonna keep on shrinking till I'm not here at all

I won't have to hide what I ain't got

won't have to worry bout who I am not

I'm gonna get little Lord, I'm gonna get small

Gonna keep on shrinking till I'm not here at all

Just me and the molecules floating in the air

won't take up too much room, won't breathe too much air.

I hopped on a south bound with my head in the clouds

thought I'd prove a few wrong maybe make a few proud

but just like every other time

there's no rhyme or reason, just a reason for a rhyme

I must be out of my mind for crying out loud.

You hold that glass with an iron grip
as you let the magic pass your lips.
You turn and bend
to the fickle wind
How time shapes your ego trips.

You take and take for all you're worth;
each moment filled with wine and mirth;
the bloom of the rose
draws to a close;
Withhold some time to spit and curse.

It's funny how one soon forgets
the player who always struts and frets
there on the stage
the drama's rage
You double down; you've hedged your bets.

So here you go and there you are
you've seen some sights and traveled far
Don't hesitate
to punctuate
between the fresh wound and the scar.

Here now rest your weary head
and sleep dreamless on your bed
and then incline
yourself to wine
and live your life until you're dead.

Sometimes
brevity.

A little bit of shameless rhyme
Could be a way to bide my time
Rendition of the muse's muse
Of which I am inclined to choose
Simple words from simple thoughts
Timeless classics I have not
Inside my my mind wherein I try
Carefully, to learn to fly
Serenely through a paper sky

Once there was a man
who had nothing in particular to say.

He forced his stacked lines,
and on occasion, some rhymes
-nothing in several shades of gray.
He spoke of an illusive muse,
and a starving white sea,
things that never were,
and things that used to be.

The word wielding ghost
remembers bouncing checks
and eating roses off the stem
in taverns and bars
that would tolerate him.

and jigsaw puzzle pieces in the sky
and a brandy sniping toddler
who threw his bottle in the fire.

Now the narcissistic saint of wasted time
contemplates the day that he will die.

On an imaginary pedestle

before imaginary crowds

I'm astounded that it's taken me so long

to learn to take the hard knocks

and not to cry out loud

and not to make excuses for my songs

but I'm sorry if my sanity

won't fit the mold you made for me

and my manifold iniquities

have exceeded your ability to forgive

Just let me live until I die

let me laugh until I cry

let me stop and ask you "why?"

then interrupt you in the middle of your answer

just an alcoholic dancer

stepping on your toes

I should learn to keep my mouth shut

I should learn keep the peace

I should learn to walk on water

and make the tempest cease

I should learn to be more considerate

torwards a world that's trying to sleep

maintane diplomatic apathy

with right wing fascist creeps

but I'm sorry if my psyche seems a little out of touch

and I'm sorry that I'm sorry that I apologize to much

just let me live until I die

let me laugh until I cry

let me stop and ask you "WHY?"

then interrupt you in the middle of your answer

just an alcoholic dancer

stepping on your toes

It is
because it needs day light
Structured,
but formless and cold.
Alone,
it is nothing.
Daylight
is the eye that sees,
the mind that processes,
the soul that absorbs.
alone
it is nothing.

Let the four line stanzas roll
for all the patches on my soul
Muse I bid you to begin
to gently move the mind and pen.

Imprisoned in this cage of rhyme,
I slowly heal over time,
Although events can take their toll
they sew patches on my soul.

So much more than hideous dreams;
the profaned paper stacked in reams.
Lovers that have come and gone,
circumstance  I stand upon.

Pain of body, pain of mind,
hopes ahead, and loss behind.
I blush as crimson as a rose
for some of the patches I expose.

I feel I should apologize.
All this rhyming seems unwise,
but in all  of this, my only goal
is to show these patches on my soul.

Sweet lady I remember

doesn't seem that long ago

we were both so young and alive

in love's new born glow

laughing in the sunshine

we could love away the rain

don't you think there's a chance to bring it back again


Started mixing our whiskey

with something much too strong

we both made a turn somewhere

and we both knew it was wrong

I know I left some scars on you

I know how you must feel

Don't you think with some time those scars could heal

but we keep changing like the seasons

and we get uptight for different reasons

but that would make my song too sad

If we gave up on what we had"

Now we both settled down some

and loves' sweet glow is gone

If there ain't some way we can bring it back

I don't know if we can carry on'

There's no fire burning now

but there's still some coals I swear

I know we could get that fire burning

if we gave ourselves some air

So I'm sorry I upset you

I'm sorry that I made a scene

I'm sorry that I got uptight

and said things that I didn't mean

but I never will forget you

and how the time has been

If there was someway I could make it right

I would do it all again

but we keep making up excuses

and it seems like trying would be useless

But I can't picture life without you

I still love everything about you

And we keep changing like the seasons

and we get uptight for different reasons

but that would make my song to sad

If we give up on what we had

sweet lady I remember

doesn't seem that long ago

princess or priestess
one or both
I cannot really say
You have a star on your brow
and your eyes
they just ******* away
Belonging to us is a place
between the darkness and the dawn
perfect love
perfect trust
blessed be
let the moment go on
We could find songs on the sidewalk
and poems in the air
WE could just place
in a space
anything we wanted there
but we both knew full well
that our eyes could play tricks in the dark
three o clock in the morning
in the tunnel
in Golden Gate park

we tried
and we tried
to "break on through to the other side."
but the other side wasn't ready
for you and I
In the Fall
you answered the call
"Death makes Angels of us all."
and the last thing I needed back then
was a reason to cry.

All the lights came on at once
clear and humbly piercing air
over the fabric of hearing
under the rattling of bones
stirring souls and thrashing hearts
Too many dreams for just one pipe
in and out of consciousness
calling for yet another dance.

I sit

blind

at least blurry

in a place

I wouldn't want you to find me

my ears are ringing

louder than my heart was singing

years ago

before I lost my senses

somewhere between Tucson and San Antonio

Now my ears are roaring

Is that my blood ?

flowing

a little colder than usual

It's so still now

still enough to remind me

pain is boring

this is good

a quiet place

where you can't hurt me anymore

I saw a burning soldier in the sand
I couldn't tell if he was friend or foe
I just stood and watched him burn
my heart and mind accustomed though
to what would make the state side stomach churn
Mothers holding children charred black or sometimes white
faces frozen forever pain and fright
I curse the day my heart grew hard
I still and will obey
I took the oath I raised my hand
I saw a burning soldier in the sand
I hoped he had found peace and turned to walk away

Nature or Deity
what petty cruelty
or splendid mystery
that he and she would so distant be
in mind and manner and vanity
This is why they writhe and bite
or love as cold as winters night
We claw and kiss and spit in spite
We rage and pace and fuss and fight
or cut with words or flee in fright
in all of this we find delight
and die together blissfully

There is strength in the ground
There is light in the sky
there is life all around
to lead you and I

in a dance of  all dances
we have danced since our birth
and we should keep up our dancing
till we're one with the earth

We will dance with our hearts
we will dance with our minds
with two steps ahead
only one step behind

no matter how long
or in what circumstance
we will sing with life's song
and join in life's dance

On a clear cold night when the wintertime
was knocking on autumn's door,
I held you close in these arms of mine
like I have so many times before.
I tried to dream the hours back
and turn the hands of time,
and relive every minute with you
to try and make my reason rhyme
but the hours pass so fast when you're here
sharing your dreams with mine
I try to make it last my dear
but you know I can't stop time.
I have to leave now for a little while
I love you girl, good bye..
There's tears in my eyes but I try to smile
cause I think it's not like me to cry.
Someday we'll close our eyes on tomorrow
and the day will finally be
when no careless whims of the government
can ever take you away from me
and we'll walk together on some sandy beach
where the waves sing lullabies
and nothing is beyond our reach
I love you girl, good bye.

Posing thoughtfully at the cliffs edge
Longing for life's release
Against the scornful gaze of the sun
In soft chaos and charming havoc
Dying is much too easy.

Under a glass bell
sighing cause I like the sound
everywhere is light refracted
feelings are fickle sprites
under the scattered lights
loving yesterday
living today
yearning for the comfort of night.

Can you weave some words for me
on the worn out loom
vying for the perfect texture
enter the unknown stranger
recklessly whistling by the tomb

Know the friendliness of time
never speak of what is stolen
every fit of fury
every soft stroke and broken line.

Lets fall in love for the hell of it.
I haven't done that in a very long time.,
Let's each lay out our life and tell of it.
Let's make it surreal...  sublime.
I'll bring some trust and some issues,
and you bring some trust of your own.
We can share our hopes, dreams and wishes,
and have keys to each others homes.
Lets sit and watch black and white movies
and cry at appropriate times
speak sweetness so subtle and soothing;
always sharing what's on our minds.
If you're not too awfully busy,
I have some time on my side.
Let's develop new romantic feelings
cause our last ones have withered and died.

I want to be cool  
chain smoking drunk with trash bin
filled with rejection

Unkempt hair sunk eyes
red from cigarettes and *****
suffering for art

provocative  lines
suicide at sixty two
now immortalized

She saved us all from a life of mediocrity.
silly smart beautiful barefoot dancer in the flower bed
Nurturing to everyone leaving the least for herself
She was my best friend, but we were hell at parties
I remember her in a paper dress that was a picture of a cat
some hippie outfit, with a smile half way out of our house on wheels
Yoga dancing every day doing something for the sun
meeting each and every face of God
more often with the passing years
she would drink a disillusioned toast to lost chances and opportunities
as the medicine cabinet grew in color and content
Taking the brunt of our losses for herself
with inner mingled heaven sent victories and joys
One day she arose yellow as the sun and swelling
she took it lightly as a drop of rain
with one liners we'll never forget
"So much for retiring in Mexico." she would quip with a nervous laugh
It was the pancreas
some say the very worst place
but there's a point where pain is pain- inseparable from itself
I tried to make it home in time to say "goodbye"
I missed her by four hundred miles,
I'll put that in my box of guilt and hide it somewhere out of sight for now. She didn't go easy,
I didn't bother asking God why he would let her go that way,
thrashing holding on to life,
maybe hoping against that four hundred mile gap
that I put on a mantle behind a broken vase
She was my best friend but we were hell at parties.

Today I saw him.
There but for the grace of God.
His jacket worn

He, in warm weather;
bundled up like it's freezing,
talking to himself.

I hear those voices.
I talk to them too some days.
I wandered in time.

City jail pads
are where they sent us to hide.
Just to be beat down.

I escaped that life.
Medicine and help was there.
I came to myself.

Social offenses,
An affront to guilty eyes.
Those voices plague them.

Wounded minds they are.
There but for the grace of God.
I just got lucky.

while you were in India
did you see the tragic children
playing in feces and ashes
who would give the rest of their lives
to be held and loved for one hour?
Did that vision add to your sorrow?
Did it enlarge that hole in your life?
Did it drip painfully on your heart like hot wax?
When the painful wax grows cold and hardens
Run my sweet sister
Run like you've never run before
come out from under the rain
overtake the wind
Let the pounding of your heart crack
and break that paraffin prison
illusory intimidation is all it is
let it fall and melt again
and become love
for love becomes you

Gravitational.;
Signature of time and space;
It's only the wind.

I love the way the colors smell
in the morning drenched with dew.
I hear the red birds song.
It's like I'm listening to you,
and you're telling me that every thing's okay,
and there's no need to worry,
because I'm going to find my way
someday.

Sometimes the sound my sorrow makes
is jagged cold upon my skin,
because I miss you and the time it takes
to return
from the dark place where I've been.

blows my patience all to hell
but only time will tell.

Yet nothing grows above you,
on that little spot of ground
where all my countless selfish tear drops fell.

You're memory still
won't shake this chill.

I taste the front door view we shared
even in the rain
It reminds me of your kisses
but the feeling's not the same.

Now I love that sharp pain on the right
that often wakes me up at night,
and reminds me
I might see you real soon
and then
we can make love on the moon.

Sometimes out here in the world
I have to shake you off
and bite my lip.
I can't let them see my soul unfurled
when you touch me on the inside
and I almost lose my grip.

I thought I heard you laugh last night
just before you let me fall asleep.
Pretty soon,you'll know that I can keep
all the promises I've made,
about the best plans that we've laid.
Oh baby I can't wait

but I still love the way the colors smell
in the morning drenched with dew
and when I hear the Redbirds song
I feel like I'm listening to you
You tell me everything is going to be okay,

and another day
is just another day.

Did you happen to look at the world with my eyes
so you could inform me wherein beauty lies
Does the sound that you hear fall on my ear
Do you know the message that my word implies
Do you speak with my mouth
Do you feel with my skin
Did I lend you my essence without and within
Does my logic tell you what's false or what's real
that's why you can't say that you know how I feel