transcendent

transcendent
in my dream
you sang a song
and i heard every word wrong

walking alone
wherever i go
and it doesn't seem to matter
if i can never know

into the sky
under the rain
you're laughing at me
but never explain

well i always answered the call
riding my horse into the storm
where you tempted me with your embrace
but it never kept me warm

there is a shadow on the road
but it doesn't look like my face
and when the sun wipes away your smile
you're gone without a trace

transcendent
in my dream
you sang a song
and i heard every word wrong

walking alone
wherever i go
and it doesn't seem to matter
if i can never know

into the sky
under the rain
you're laughing at me
but never explain

Coyote was running

Coyote was running
under a Comanche moon
over the drifting sand
of a Texas coastal dune.

Small horses charged
into a settlement,
killing and stealing
and off they went.

Rifles were firing;
Indians disappeared,
but no one was chasing
since scalping they feared.

Northwest of Austin
into expansive plains,
riding their mustangs
with Buffalo reins.

Arrows and lances,
horsemanship skills,
whooping and charging
over Red River hills.

White man was coming
with Blue coats and schemes
into this frontier
rolled American dreams.

Flooding the prairie
were cabins and farms,
destroying the tipis and
medicine man's charms.

Reservation living
but barely alive,
beaten into submission
by the Colt .45.

Jersey Girl

on Saturday night
i took my Jersey Girl to a local fight
she used to have an overbite
but her daddy paid the doctor's price

he worked to make her postcard right

but now she finally tried to see
another man to enslave was me
as we walked the streets of center Philly
and i didn't have a single cent

though she certainly had more than three

she wore her thick & wavy hair
in the Hollywood style of debonair
always checking that it was there
she stuck bright extensions in for fun

demanded attention everywhere

her dancing friends floated and smiled
acting silly like a pampered child
if things were normal they went wild
she tossed me like a ball and chain

even though we've reconciled.

whose sustainability is it?

it totally depends on the energy
and the population

because when energy declines

as the global population continues its'
exponential growth trajectory

the shit will hit the fan

the collapse will be swift

the fall treacherous

the die-off immense

no, you will not be able to buy another
box of Cracker Jacks

or a shiny new Cadillac Escalade.

learn to plant and cultivate and
harvest on a small piece of fertile soil,

 for a first step.

a slow journey

everyday of my life i wonder why
i have one blue eye

and one green
which can't be seen

and when i stop to turn
i wonder if i'll ever learn

when i want to share your walking
i'm crazy to hear you talking

but when i think i have no choice
i can always feel the softness in your voice

the warm touch
it feels so much

the smile
and i'd gladly walk a mile

to have you in my arms as i awake
anything will do if it's not fake

a dance in the rain on our private shore
by the ocean where we search for more

on a slow journey
of discovery just you and me

there are no reasons to wish for speed
each moment together is all i need

a finger hold while standing near
little things i most treasure dear

everyday of my life i wonder why
i have one blue eye

and one green
which can't be seen

"a little nation." LBJ

that last night
i wrote you a letter
before i fell
i told you war is hell

but you were far away
preoccupied
how could i know
i had one more day to go

to learn about war
the hard business
of killing men
over and over again

in uniform or not
mostly unrehearsed
i wore my boots with pride
weeks before i died

not too old
still young and strong
but had you seen me die
there was no question in my eye.

"We do not want a war." JFK

GOD DAMN
violent concussive flames
silhouette a
smoking black mountain
with
sprays of raw dirty white explosions
shaking nervous bodies
underneath a gentle blue sky
where only faint hints of stormy weather
could be seen in a disturbing combat zone.
LATER,
i'm resting on my right knee in
a half squat near a hard-packed dirt road
surrounded by a score of uniformed
young men without hats holding safety-off
automatic weapons.
with side doors fully open a single huey helicopter
is flaring for a close-in landing while a
door gunner is resting his left hand on the stock
of an M60 machine gun, barrel pointed directly towards
the ground, eyes alert.
we are American soldiers far away from our home listening to the
wild thump thump of the rotor blades while waiting,
waiting for a ride out of this dusty doomed place.
i notice the dirt on my boots is red,
the dust is red,
the surrounding air is red.
my face is red,
the grass is red,
but my mouth is dry

and everything feels sad.

tango on the floor

the tango on the floor
two by four

near the bay window on the far side of a wall
you asked me if i wanted more

and i wanted it all

oh, i knew the game was being played in full view
the dancers in the ball room acted like they always do

but
i wanted to think like a star
streaking across the sky
never to feel another hurt
never to hear another lie

you said you wanted me again but i couldn't tell
would you always love me if i tripped and fell

i saw a portion of your book and tried to read a page
you said you were thinking of love but on another stage

there was music flowing on the wind like heated air
i could taste the kisses but couldn't find you there

but
i wanted to think like a star
streaking across the sky
never to feel another hurt
never to hear another lie

the tango on the floor
two by four

near the bay window on the far side of a wall
you asked me if i wanted more

and i wanted it all

the fat man

the fat man sat
on a trail-side bench
while he sang to himself
'It won't get dark"
at 3 o'clock on a sunny afternoon.

he had no other words.

he kept repeating his refrain.

he tried to convince me of this
prophesy

while I was

walking past, and i saw the king's tower
straight ahead where i had parked my car,

so i kept walking.

now, hours later

it is dark and raining, which i can
see and hear and feel and smell.

i wonder where the fat man is.

by his side

you are with someone
by his side

i have no where to hide
feeling the flames of a fire
as they grow higher

in a cabin by the lake
in the night

i still see candlelight
and your shadow on the wall
i can not see it all

i can see your voice
and your smile

i'll just stay here a while
counting petals on a rose
as desperation grows

you are with someone
by his side

i think that i have died
underneath the North star
wondering if i've come too far

i can hear you say
time to leave

and i can barely breathe
watching slowly as you rise
i can see your brown eyes

you are with someone
by his side

cathie brown

sweet cathie brown
spread her reputation on the town

she showed her hand in confidence
appearing calm but she felt tense

said she came from out of state
would love to talk
was running late
she couldn't really concentrate

she had a lover and a date
they both were waiting on her plate.

when i'm 63

flowing white cape
deep dark nights
a band uniform with red stripes
playing in the streets
until i'm 63
when i saved the Queen
and she saved me

deep in my heart
i'm in a good mood
outrageous not randomly rude
spending my money
until i'm 64
when i'll find pennies
left on the floor

won't you come close
to my bicycle
it's my soul duty to tickle
piano keys and ladies
until i'm 65
while i'm still living
and fully alive

love slowly

johnnie and millie were paranoid
sucking on their Valium thumb
they didn't act like grown-ups
thinking that would be dumb

so softly walking thru the waste land
in a stormy night they'd pretend
and they made love slowly
hoping it might never end

why did they want to leave this place?
they didn't hang around
and they made love slowly
never making a sound

i saw them dance around a wild fire
they told me wait a while
and they made love slowly
only wearing a smile

what did they see in each other?
their breathing full of charms
and they made love slowly
always in each other's arms

i heard them promise everything
laughing beneath the moon
and they made love slowly
never ending never soon

i could wish this for everyone
special gifts romantically
and they made love slowly
drifting out to sea

something clever

well, i did something clever today
sipped my wine without the cork
used the glass like a trampoline
bouncing until i couldn't be seen

and the top looked like the bottom
and the road looked like a sky
and the lines of paint on the V8 floor
disappeared so i asked for more

and bullshit formed on my running shoe
i scrapped it off inside the store
cranked the amp on a 10 foot pole
but didn't fall into your social hole

and told the bartender happy day
and removed my shirt and tie
i asked the lion in the zoo
but he refused saying "who are you?"

and with my pants around my head
i guess you're wondering how
and searched for the dirty little thing
didn't succeed but heard you sing

"hey stupid i found your forehead
it's rolling through the neighborhood
there's fault lines on your shiny car
now no one cares who you really are!"

well, i did something clever today
sipped my wine without the cork
used the glass like a trampoline
bouncing until i couldn't be seen

limp toast

bacon and lettuce
hiding inside limp toast
like Casper the friendly ghost
slipping down my throat
Guinness on the deck
aw what the heck
i'm checking out your neck
and don't see you looking
back at me
well, what the hell do you see?
it's what i need to know
picking at my ripe tomato
and eating cold french fries
listening to all your usual lies
bouncing off my umbrella
am i your god damn fella?
or just another silly joe
bouncing on his piano
licking the sharpest keys
chasing you on bended knees
hearing myself say "Pretty please."
well, take this microphone
to the center of the stage
escaping your princess cage
with your best dress on
my Guinness is completely gone
do you want to go to bed with me
or is this all a fantasy?
cooked shrimp and steaming rice
it once all looked so nice
an empty glass still full of ice
but ultimately i'm empty handed
without fuel supplies i'm simply stranded
so i pay the sweaty table bill
and walk away i've had my fill

if you wonder when i'm looking back
i never will.

so sorry

no, it doesn't get better
even if you visit Paris in the spring

it never meant a thing
you skinny little bitch
doing coke-a-cola in a junkie ditch

yeah, i wanna know who's smoke
is hanging between your lips
hungry to please your hips

but you're cold

looking for some heat
taking everyone new you meet
and leaving them for dead

well, i ain't going down
into that coal black town

i'm looking for a piece of air
and i won't find it there

so sorry there's a needle in your head
but it's not my stick

you're making me sick
lashing whip on a hard afternoon
coming again but way too soon

no it doesn't get better
even if you visit Paris in the spring

it never meant a thing
you skinny little bitch
doing coke-a-cola in a junkie ditch

kicking a habit out the door

thinking nevermore

yeah, i wanna know whos' tattoo
is on your ass smeared in blue

their name outlined in red
and i wonder what he said
and i wonder how you felt
as you watched his rocket melt?

did you crawl away with the score
or turn around to ask for more?

so sorry you've lost track of time
you once were a friend of mine

but i couldn't help

watching you melt

no it doesn't get better
even if you visit Paris in the spring

you can't remember anything

white devil in black pants

you're a white devil in black leather pants

not so young anymore
still looking for hard romance

dancing on thin ice
still taking a chance

and when the boys come calling
you're still for balling

and when the lights go out
i can hear you shout

hey where did everybody go?
but that's not for you to know

you're the fancy girl at the rear of the pack
singing the blues with the Queen and her Jack

all you're ever doing is walking the street
smiling at tall the hunger you meet

breaking their hearts and all the rules
pointing a finger at passing fools

hoping in wonder for one big break
but unable to tell if it's true or fake

you're a white devil in black leather pants

still taking a chance

not so young anymore
still looking for hard romance

i'm watching you dance
still taking a chance