Scrunched down a little,
puckered around the eyes,
tuckered looking,
but long in the leg
and his hands were steady

He'd get mean, so mean
he'd even slap a woman
if she was a lookin' for it
But those were the times,
They was rough 'n ready

He smoked
He drank
He cussed
He spit
and he hated liberals

Some say he punched a horse,
and some say that was Eastwood
He'd kick Eastwood's *** and hand it to him
then pick up his hat and hand it to him
then go buy him a couple of shots

I would like to have met "The Duke"
though we'd probably not have gotten along
Tough guys are never what they seem, to me
He died and many good folks wept
They said America lost its last Hero

But Heroes come back
and some are non-smokers
and some don't drink or cuss or spit
And some even take things in their
Behind

I live on another plane
Fulfilled my wishes,
In merlot dreams

I come from dark valleys
from sad, dead bushes
from dried-up streams

Avoiding the night cops
I stick to alleys and bus stops
I'm on an unspoken trek

Ears filled with whispers
Damning the dead sister
Angels skipped her train wreck

In the distance I can see
A dark, stone mansion
Moments before dawn

Lovers past
Hand-in-hand they cast
Themselves to the sea

The dark mansion is too far
For my tired disease
My lips quiver

Recalling the Tigris River
And the ritual char
I wake from a haunting dream

Naked, wet and cold
I did not
Wait for the rot

Some bodies float upstream

I stand at the iron gate
of the ancient mansion
Locked without

I kick, curse and shout
I'm missing a key trait
Moments before dawn

A strange body
Cloaked in filth
floats above me,

'You are too late to enter
Go wander!'

You look so lonely
Through misty eyes when I say, "I really care"
But the mist spilling from my eyes?
I can't say for sure

Well, the bells out in the church tower chime,
Burning clues into this heart of mine.
Thinking so ******* your soft eyes,
Offering signs that it's over, it's over.

But I don't know how to pray
To the tower, the bells, the mist
Yet they move me to love this thought
Of running away with you

So come on darling, put your arms around me
I found us some wings for at least one night

As I think now of Skinner's flat
The Saturday fog was rolling in from the west
Man you should have come around
No noisy gongs or clanging cymbals
It was a cozy scene, so serene

Artie languished by the fireplace
With a fire blazing like an Olympic flame
Lying like an athlete suffered his last defeat
I didn't have a heart to catch the heat
Just a stone suspended in air

Skinner asked Artie about upstate
So I went upstream to smile for awhile
my mumbled asides tumbled soundlessly
It was a cozy scene, so serene
sitting there in our underwear

A reminder to breathe and
I couldn't hear it anymore
I know I've been a little crazy lately
Showing you my backwards slide
But man I was fine when I hit the floor

And no one knows what's in my head
You can't see that I'm hypnotized
If you take the time to look into my eyes
You'd see we share the same scene
You should have come around, baby

sitting there with my nose in the air

The fireman there dressed in black
With a helmet hiding his shame
They've hidden their words from ageless sages
But he can smell their decaying pages

Spilled ink is old and unimportant they say
It's contagious pages are flammable
For one second he reads the ancient script
Mesmerized by ghosts from the crypt

He collects the books to earn his paycheck
Weeps silently behind his mask of lost humanity
Building a fire with his blowtorch
He's sickened by praise from his cohorts

He hangs his head in his pitifully gray home
and remembered his grandfather's Holy Bible
The hidden truth between the ancient lines
Truth that hangs from a broken spine

The talking faces from an electronic scroll
Hanging from the plastered wall
Repeats lies between razor blades
Invading lies buried within its rays

He keeps an eye on the glowing eye
That surveys his every move
The dark faceless ****** creeps into his life
Even as he sleeps beside his wife

He closes his eyes in search of his Creator
But He's hiding or busy or dead
There must be others who search like me
Who are praying for serenity

I'll write you a letter
I'll write you a letter
I'll write you a letter
You ain't never gettin' better
When I write you my letter

Yeah!

Don't you make me do it
You'd'a wish'd you didn't do it
Don't stray from my will
My letters will **** you
When I write you my letter

Yeah!

I'll write you a letter!
I'll write you a letter!
My will you won't deny
You ain't never gettin' better
When I write you my letter

Say, "bye-bye"
bye-bye, now
bye-bye

I sit on this egg
It won't hatch soon
Meantime
I mani-imagine me and you
Threads throom through me
They go, "Throom, throom, throom!"
Right through me
Thoughts of you
What I'd do with you
Umbulate throom me
Timeless-like
I hope you like my
Plans for us
That's what I do
Sitting here on this egg
Keeping it warm