Roses are red,
violence in bloom;
thoughts, prayers, and guns
for every classroom.

wrap yourself in cold October wind
I know I can't bring you home again

so I walk beyond these empty streets
looking back at my Eurydice

you threw the rope
and I let go
with no one there to catch us
and nothing left to hold
and so we fell

moonlight casts a heavy, frozen pall
covering the bruises of the fall

sunlight comes and all is memory
but does the day hold all that's to be seen?

I followed your footsteps
til the sun revealed the path beneath
where you and I - wandering, reeling
found each other - broken and bleeding
and saw we were two halves of the same whole

now back in your arms
with one mended heart
we can feel the gravity
the power and energy
that once tore us apart
it was in us from the start
that's why we fell so hard

lay your head here among the stars
know the day is longer than the dark

when I stood with you in a crowded room
we built beneath the cedar boughs
I watched as a star, a light from afar
shone down and set our spirits free
a ring of pure light through the blood red night
we were at once in orbit bound, me and you between

now we sit alone in our empty home
just waiting for tomorrow’s dawn
with parallax eyes, sidereal sighs
but there’s no place I’d rather be
and when the day comes, when this night is done
there will at last be a new song you and I can sing

it's that song I can't sing
the one star I don't see
the same sun, the same light
you’re the moon in my night

and I know that my sun’s still out there, somewhere
because I can see my moon shining
with brilliance rare and a beauty serene

on highways, rails, rivers and trails
we cut open the prairie wild
to poison our mother and bleed her dry
blind to the consequence

these fine white lines confine me
on aimless, nameless streets

where fences hang from twisted crosses
crucifying pages torn
from our fathers' histories
we'd rather soon forget

these fine white lines confine me
on shameless, blameless streets

when cold winds come blowing backward
and freeze the spaces in between
will our children know have this earth
if we do not know mercy?

these fine white lines confine me
on aimless, nameless, shameless, blameless streets

two and three, three and two
the son, me, the moon and you
I’ll be back one night for you
another one night beneath the blue

red and green and fallen trees
fog, steam and icy weaves
you were everything, the breeze
the blizzard, the rain, a hundred degrees


feathers, bricks and party tricks
out looking for that midnight fix
anything’s something when nothing sticks
just take your pick and see what fits

below the stars, beyond the clocks
we danced salsa at needle drops
with candy bars and soda pop
we sang and we danced while the prophets taught


what happened to those nights spent crashing through the morning light?
how did my haze conceal the daze that lay ahead of me?

can you take me back there?
I'm afraid I've missed my only chance
I woke up to find four years had passed
now this child's scared and lonely


seventeen's a symphony of mood swings and movie scenes
moon beams that he sees, she feels as bees’ stings
now please to be with trees, seeds, streams, rocky springs, and prairie seas
sweet retreat from three rings, but fleet feet still need to eat
the mystery of everything that we can think that we could be
little things that we can scheme beneath the sheets, between the seams
what she means to me
but anything that we can dream needs something to breathe its steam, bring the heat, keep the beat, seek the spirit, steal the key
while streets and wheels lead the deal, the kingdom kneels and leaves
feel it bleed, hear us sing
free on twenty-three's wings


this is where the summers end
fest, fair, I called a friend
starry eyed and innocent
wondering where the weekend went

remember running through the snow?
the trains and plains, the fox and crow
but I saw storms through your rainbow
down the rabbit hole that I called home
I waited, you waited, I never showed


where is the static laughter outside my open window?
what is this silent hum, my fluorescent companion?

can you take me back there?
I'm afraid I've missed my only chance
I've grown up and it went by too fast
now the child's gone


two and three, me and you
the sun is set, the day is through
I’ll be back tonight for you

looking around, it’s not what I expected

                                                                                         from you

below the clouds, flowers still grow
                                                                                         I’ll wait
                                                                                         for you

somewhere there’s a place where I can be alone

                                                                                         with you

will you show your face? let me know for once

                                                                                         it's you



dark behind the shadows, you can hide your light

                                                                                         from me

think of what we had, no, think of what could be
                                                                                         you’ll wait
                                                                                         for me

I see you slipping through, you don’t have to stay

                                                                                         with me

I can say it’s you, but we both know the truth

                                                                                         it’s me