Clacking sticks down in the deep
Away from neoplastic matter
Printing hands on limestone skin
Feeling the pulse of the earth much better.
Serpentine question fate so seeming
Rage in a cave of where we began
Pushing senses while riding a daemon
Bidding goodbye to the Son of Man.
When we rise up
Break through the surface.
Rise up
to the Unknown.
Friends will be there
to greet and meet us.
Luminous friends and a vast Unknown.
Tattooing memories where we won’t see them
Shame is a game we learn to believe
Rewarding ourselves in earthly experience
With high-noon hearts we have to conceive.
Open the gate to the temple garden
Shaping our way in candle light
Down in the deep we slowly remember
Crafting new words, sharp and bright.
When we rise up
Break through the surface.
Rise up
to the Unknown.
Friends will be there
to greet and meet us.
Luminous friends and a vast Unknown.
Luminous friends and a vast Unknown.
Luminous friends and a vast Unknown.
Luminous friends and a vast Unknown.
Oh Nancy please come out and play
barefoot running through soft grass.
Our fear is melting, let’s get away,
or else the world will turn to glass.
Don’t look around for reason
we’ll pick a bright bouquet
you know it is the season:
a mid-summer’s day.
I give him hours, he gives me gold.
I eat a pill when my head aches.
I’m getting tired of being told
when to take my coffee breaks.
You can keep your money
and your bucket of clay.
I’d rather taste my honey:
a mid-summer’s day.
The trees discussing the time of year
and moss is creeping on my bones.
A little man grins from ear to ear
dancing amongst the standing stones.
While the sun’s still shining,
forget your yesterday,
the planets are aligning:
a mid-summer’s day
a mid-summer’s day
a mid-summer’s day
a mid-summer’s day
a mid-summer’s day. . . .
Walking in a barren land
of sad delusions and shifting sand
dazzled by the ever-present light of who I am.
Confusing as to where I’m going,
why I feel I must be owing
something that is part of knowing the way back.
Man you never will be free
If this is all you see
If this is the limit of your love.
Running scared I found a shelter
from dark-haired girls and mid-day swelter
and written on the granite walls were the words: Helter-skelter.
Shivering in the damp dark cold
of a heart that's encased in mold
dreams of falling into a hole screaming again.
Man you never will be free
If this is all you see
If this is the limit of your love.
Waiting for someone to come by
this lonely place and just say: Hi.
How long must I pass these hours, hours till I die.
Reaping now of what I was sowing
holding back the fountains flowing
living and not even knowing the way back.
Man you never will be free
If this is all you see
If this is the limit of your love.
Please don’t turn away your face bright little flame
All I want to know is the meaning of your name
I’m a poet on a park bench
feeling rather gray
and you’re all I’m wishing for today.
Strangers stroll by their shoes filled with lead
You say you like the color of the hair on my head
I’m hoping I don’t say something
to make you run away
‘cause you’re all I’m wishing for today.
Pigeons swoop around as we walk through the park
Sun rolls over town and soon it is dark
But we don’t mind.
Sorry, my dear, the apartment is a mess
While I’m tuning my guitar she’s slipping off her dress
I mumble softly:
“I don’t know what to say
but you’re all I’m wishing for today
yeah, you’re all I’m wishing for today”.
Bring It Back Alive!
I left my friends, my fortune and home
packed a bundle, began to roam.
Bright lights and dark nights, shapes in my mind.
Tasting the dawn when peeling off the rind.
The earth heaves open, the Old Ones awake.
I’m taken through a tunnel to the lair of the Snake.
It helps me to see as I sink in the clay.
And far-off I hear my mother say:
Bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring
it!
I sat very still for a thousand years.
I died and was borne on a woman’s tears.
Scarlet in water, feeling like a saint,
breathing in the Universe without restraint.
The path splits open, a forest shadow deep.
Rainbow visions in the corridors of sleep.
It feels so weird yet it cannot be wrong.
I’m risking my life for a verse in a song:
Bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring
it!
I came back to the world that I knew,
it was all transformed, there was nothing I could do.
I told my tale to all who could hear
they listened for awhile then disappeared.
The doors swing open, uncertainty awaits:
a moment of truth or a question of fate.
Go out and live before it gets away
and there’s one last thing that I’ve got to say:
Bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring it back alive,
Bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring it back alive,
Bring it back alive, bring it back alive, bring it back alive. . .
.
Do I seek devotion
in a wasteland of the soul?
Do I feel the motion
of a world out of control?
Try my best to hold you.
Try to let you go, I don’t know.
Wait until tomorrow
or till the end of time.
I’ll play between the sorrow
and the spark of the divine.
Try my best to love you.
Try to let you be, can’t you see?
I’m just a curiosity
in a sideshow passing through.
You pay up front to see
and in the end I look at you.
Try my best to smile.
Try to shed a tear, without fear.
Sharing bitter water
with an angel on the street.
I say: “I am another
in twilight jungle heat”.
Try my best to fly high.
Try to stumble through, how about you?
Do I seek devotion
in a wasteland of the soul?
Do I feel the motion
of a world out of control?
Try my best to hold on.
Try to let it go, I don’t know.
“Pull the switch and take a dare
and send a boy to an electric chair.”
The morning paper relates the tale,
you throw it in the garbage pale
and shrug your shoulders — what can be done?
You sure are glad you aren’t the one
and so return to where it’s at:
buying space in a low-rent flat.
“The time is now twelve-oh-five
and aren’t you glad you’re still alive?
Pray to God and you’ll be free
and send your money straight to me.”
You turn the channel from Sports to News
you figure what else can you lose
you watch the bombs and pet the cat
sharing space in a low-rent flat.
“You’re so cruel — must I shout:
‘Why don’t you ever take me out?’
I’m so confused, I got the blues,
I need a brand-new pair of shoes.”
You hear a click upon the phone
and now you’re standing there alone.
You called her for a little chat
filling space in a low-rent flat.
Nowhere to go — no one to be.
Two vacant eyes stare across the sea.
A razor shines on a rusty day
and you decide to throw it away.
A thin film red in a steamy tub,
what dreams may come: ah, there’s the rub.
Life is short but you knew that
leaving space in a low-rent flat.
Late Last Night
It was late last night as wind rolled ‘round
Lifted me up — dragged me through town.
Tender rain and siren call
Filled me with nothing yet feeling it all.
Stars stabbed through the awestruck night
Somehow low clouds moved with delight.
Led me by both rich and poor
to my knocking upon your door.
Quite surprised in a soft silk gown
I looked in your soul but you held your ground.
Why oh why — I don’t know why —
To give you a reason would make me lie.
No, she said, her heart has shut.
I, like a fool, just saying “what?”.
Silence sang on lips of wind
Blew me away into darkness again.
It was late last night as wind rolled ‘round
Lifted me up — dragged me through town.
Tender rain and siren call
Filled me with nothing yet feeling it all.
Whenever I See You
Whenever I see you going away
Whenever I see you going away
I am lost in words to say
Ahhhh, but could you stay?
Whenever I see you rolling this way
Whenever I see you rolling this way
I am lost in words to say
Ahhhh, but could you stay?
Finding corners of time to meet
Looking hopefully upon the street
Feeling the ancient heat
of love.
And I’ve gone by innocence
I’ve had my fill of confidence
Oh won’t you take a chance
with me?
Whenever I see you going away
Whenever I see you going away
Whenever I see you going away
Whenever I see you going away
Stay
Stay
Stay.
In the Fog
A young man in chains growing old
Cruel April rains getting cold
He walks on the tracks following his dog
There’s something that he lacks lost in the fog.
Oily mudpuddles form within his mind
Heavy clouds storm falling behind
He feels a kind of peace descend but finds no rest
He really can’t pretend it’s emptiness.
A feather and a rose — what does it really mean?
Which way the heart goes she’s in between
The mountains rise in mist he’s going up that way
He’s only offered this till a new day.
A young man in chains growing old
Cruel April rains getting cold
He walks on the tracks following his dog
There’s something that he lacks lost in the fog.
lost in the fog
lost in the fog
lost in the . . . .
Lilly, did I tell you that I’m thinking of you
even though I’m running from the man inside me.
All the dogs are scattered
entangled in this matter
and you and I are walking
in the Mystery.
Lilly, I’m your friend and that will never end
ancient starlight smiling granting all our wishes.
All the love I’m feeling
for a world that’s reeling
and you and I are talking
to the Mystery.
Night follows day and walls must fall down.
The winds are blowing us ‘round and around.
Lilly, could I touch you, find a place inside you
leaving for awhile hopes and expectations.
All the words I’m bleeding
are sometimes worth repeating
and you and I are playing
with the Mystery.
Night follows day and walls must fall down.
The winds are blowing us ‘round and around.
Lilly, did I tell you. . .
The Coming of the
Lord
The end has passed, the beginning draws near
a no-man’s land where nothing is clear.
Preacher’s boast, Children scream,
Most of us spin in between.
This much is true I have no doubt,
Very few will help you out
and so I’m sad, angry and bored
by the coming
of the Lord.
A book of tales like a bed of nails
It teaches us the strong will prevail.
For some there’s hope, for most a curse
I cannot tell you which is worst.
In the end, we’re ground to dust
until then we do what we must
on that day will we be ignored
by the the coming
of the Lord.
The squeeze is on, so much to tell,
as you fall to heaven, I’ll fly to hell.
This parting arrives much too soon
Let’s make love with the Jasmine Moon.
Jesus Christ, your heart is stone,
take us all or leave us alone.
We’ll all pile into your flatbed ford
with the coming
of the Lord.
What has happened to my heart I ask myself
In the middle of the night I hold my breath
Have I run too long in this little round world
Am I far too gone to make love to a girl
Yet I think of her now in a soft safe place
Her eyes are bright but where’s her face?
It’s a shame to be young yet feel so old.
It’s a shame to be living a tale twice told.
It’s a feeling I get when I talk with the crow
As the trees glow golden when the sun sinks low
Four spirits play on a windswept field
Where everything's right when nothing is real
Yet darkness falls and the air turns chill
My heart bleeds and my soul is still.
It’s a shame to have silver yet desire gold.
It’s a shame to be living a tale twice told.
Should I laugh and say that I’m always strong.
Should I pound the earth and scream I’ve been wronged.
Should I let it all go and bow my head.
Should I wake in the morning as the sky turns red.
So I dip down deep in the forest well
I whisper “love” and the echoes swell.
It’s a shame to drink thunder but feel so cold.
It’s a shame to be living a tale twice told.
A tale twice told.
A tale twice told. . . .
We All Fall Down
Do we live forever, golden on a beach,
watch the tide rolling in, all within our reach.
Angels build sandcastles, big God in the sky.
All is well in heaven in the sweet by and by.
Do we await disaster, flicker candle spark,
to guide us through this valley, hard, dry and dark.
Daemons in the shadows, scratchy iron souls,
Beelzebub licks his chops, twisting the controls.
Do we simply perish on a gust of idle breeze
scattered like the dust through brown autumn weeds.
From chaos we’re created, to chaos we return.
Nothing to remember, nothing to relearn.
Are we just a Question in a Riddle in a Dream.
Living our existence like a movie on a screen.
Who is dreaming of us, when will it awake,
Saying to another: “I had a dream I just can’t shake”.
Do we live forever?
Do we await disaster?
Do we simply perish?
Or are we a dream within a dream within a dream within a . . .
Everyone seems today
that they have something in mind
they wake, they work, they sleep
you’d think they must be blind
cause I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
The flea is on the rat
the rat runs up the stair
and fear is in the heart
these feelings I can share
cause I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
You say you want to leave
you say you don’t live here
I say you do now, my friend,
have another beer
cause I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
You’re trying to write a book
but you cannot find the words
cause you’re in an empty life
and this place is so absurd
and I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
When you’re gone you’re gone
and when you’re here you stay
we must await our turn
in the cabaret
cause I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
yes I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
you know I’ve heard
the plague’s coming to town.
Crazy flaming feeling loving
We hold hands
Blood mixed with Stone.
Cool dark skin, moss and oak,
Timeless land.
My, how we have grown.
Go where you go
Shine in the night
Flow far below
the surface of what seems right.
People talkin’ back and forth
and ‘round the bend
train whistle sad.
Who’s on her and what’s with him?
Will it end?
Hey — we ain’t that bad.
Go where you go
Shine in the night
Flow far below
the surface of what seems right.
On the edge I’ve got a hut
all my own
and a song that keeps me there.
You visit me — bring some wine
we chew a bone.
Oh! We toast to the air.
Go where you go
Shine in the night
Flow far below
the surface of what seems right.
Go where you go. . . .
The Hermit
of the Green Chapel
I found myself in forsaken ruins
Before the gate of the hollow hill
upon my harp I played a goodly tune
and caught the cry of the Whip-poor-will.
Those who built here have gone away
like the passing summer rain
to that house they cannot stay
bearing the mark of Cain.
The tall grass stirred though no wind blew
an eagle soared overhead
naked and alone (for all that I knew)
time stood still as if it were dead.
The gate opened to a crystal cave
a girl walked out and took my hand
her eyes as deep as an empty grave
she then led me through her land.
I wonder if you have been by lonely waters
and felt the smooth evening breeze
and spoke awhile with young river daughter
who splashed amongst the wild weeds.
Now and then I have some time
to sip my words that taste like wine
and hopefully I’ll make them rhyme, too.
Teachers tell me “better act your age”
and I agree that it’s just a stage
but who put me in this gilded cage with you.
A Chinese girl she holds my hand
and suddenly I understand
how love will make you change your plans so fast.
Then my mind will run amuck
and everyday I curse my luck
then I think, “what the fuck will last?”.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
Hitler wrote a book of poems
and sent it off to Sherlock Holmes
who said it rattled like the bones of Jews.
Now Adolf’s in high society
making jokes of you and me
and how we sit and watch TeeVee like fools.
The simple life in days of yore
of kings and queens and inquisitor
of elves and pyramids and dinosaur are gone.
Yet if you look its still the same
the guilty have just changed their names
and we are left to push the game along.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
In a search for the missing link
it drags me right up to the brink
when I peered over what do you think I saw?
A child skipping across the waves
upon her lips are words of praise
and, don’t you know, she wants to save us all.
Now and then I have some time
to sip my words that taste like brine
and hopefully I’ll make them rhyme, too.
But in the end the clock winds ‘round
I will lay my tired body down
and listen for that silent sound ring true.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
Everyday it rains — no one here complains.
A sky born child who fell to solid ground
as I grew older chasing after the sound
of colors never seen, of voices in my hands
blinded by the reality of making daily plans.
And when I laughed, I laughed alone.
And when I cried, it was to the bone.
Oh my God, take my hand, lead me back home.
She ran trailing ribbons of purple and gold
across the river to her fortress stronghold
a silent door shut tight against the howling storm
and I stood, wrapped in wonder, trying to keep warm.
And when I laughed, I fell off my chair.
And when I cried, it was like a prayer.
Oh my lady, you left me, running to nowhere.
The dragon’s teeth plowed into the soil
and cities shake for the price of a barrel of oil
when the game is played, the pawns they must fall
while kings watch armies march from towers tall.
And when I laugh, it is like a flame.
And when I cry, it is all the same.
Oh my leader, look at me, do you remember my name.
And when I laugh, I have to rise.
And when I cry, I’m not surprised.
Oh my soul, shine for me, behind these weary eyes.
Beltaine
Should I remain or should I go?
The tide rises high, the wind does blow.
The moon smiles upon the ruins of day.
She holds me close, bids me stay.
My hands as rough as hard as stone.
The seeds have set, how they’ve grown.
Reasons fly like sparrows in the sun.
I can’t deny — she is the one.
In this darkness we bask in light.
Changes dancing within our Sight.
The fire melts away every fear.
I’m so glad to have you here.
Dew washes us, we walk the field.
The blue-green dawning seems so real.
Mother calls forth to greet the Son.
I can’t deny — She is the One.
I can’t deny — She is the One.
I can’t deny — She is the One.
One. . .
Shrodinger’s Ox
I ride an Ox to the oceanside
In between the moon and tide
Crescent horns, a smooth black hide.
Down I go
A stick in hand
Does it show
I’m not real.
I touch the earth — she touches me
A sudden flash of ecstasy
It seems so odd, how could this be.
Now I go
Change my face
Does it show
A thin veil.
So many paths trod, my Ox and I
We search for answers, create lies
Pausing briefly we can’t decide.
So we go
Into the mist
Does it show
we’re not real.
Yes I go
A narrow way
Does it really show
I’m not real.
How can we endure a life without a dream
when cybernetic chaos becomes mainstream
as negotiations fail and deliberations falter
while the flesh comes alive and is spilled upon the alter.
Right down where the crossroads come through,
right down where it meets me and you.
Letting go of hope — letting go of fear
suddenly it all becomes far too clear:
It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault!
But now you say it’s up to me?
Shackled and shaven and probed and prodded
we stand in a line to get what we’re allotted
bar code us, scan us, and file under “poor”
and pull us out for fun or the next world war.
I can’t remember anything that matters in the least
but I can’t forget the number of the beast.
For if you try sometime, the punishment will come
so I bury my fury in the beating of a drum:
It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault!
But now you say it’s up to me?
I can wash all day but my hands are filled with blood
it’s seeping from my pores, flowing in a flood.
For six billion souls I know this is true:
it ain’t exactly me and it sure ain’t you.
The sword is burning, the garden is neglected.
I’ve cast off the sin of a God I’ve rejected.
Now is the time. Now is the answer.
You become the Band. We become the Dancer.
It’s not my fault! It’s not my fault!
But now I know it’s up to me.
It’s not our fault! It’s not our fault!
Still the end is yet to be!
Oh man — can you see what I mean
when she’s out of that door she is just a dream
you dreamed so many times before
and when you awoke
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
No more!
And when you awoke
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
Oh man — you can keep on a-running
from the heavy storm clouds that keep on coming
and drumming you cannot ignore
and when you looked back
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
No more!
And when you looked back
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
Oh Man!!!
Oh man — you can make it alone
when you’re down on your luck you’ll just roll a bone
and moan though you don’t know what for
then you remember
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
No more!
Then you remember
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
No more, no more, no more!
Oh man — can you see what I mean
when she’s out of that door she is just a dream
you dreamed so many times before
and when you awoke
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
No more!
And when you awoke
you knew you wouldn’t see her no more.
