there were eighty-seven advil in the bottle now there's thirty left. i ate forty-seven so what happened to the other ten? -tmbg

when we were awake.

when we were still sleeping.

the pain that you take.

the life you're still keeping.

they sing you that song.

they tell you, "lie down."

you've slept for so long.

but you can't just die now —

the bottle is clear.

your lies are so clouded.

the answer's right here.

don't tell me you've found it.

your breath comes so slow.

i will make you do this.

i won't let you go.

not til you've fought through this.

not fair

the shining source. the deadly dark.
the scarlet wound. the purple mark.
the evil lives beneath the ground.
listen for that wailing sound.

a song i never thought i'd hear.
the flashing sirens look so near.
but when they get here, hide away.
they're here to hurt and they're here to stay.

so i'll lie across the yellow lines.
this mess we're in is wholly mine.
i'll greet the policemen in their golden crowns.
i'll let the policemen beat me down.

alleluia, enigk 4:11

i spent all my life living outside, 

frozen in between a name,

the sun beating down with its final words,

the light on my back, the heat of the blaze,

i spent all last year floating along,

wondering where that current ran,

the one that pushed you to another home,

the heart that pulled you to another man,

i spent all my weekends dying in fashion,

living off lipstick, feeding on attention,

the choking down and the daily seizures,

waiting for the final ignition,

i spent my last days burning slowly,

casting my salted wishes aside,

i will not run down these circles again;

i will follow the will of the rising tide.

hum vee sobriety

a mushroom cloud by the side of the road
if you ever light up, i'll be there
i would stop you but
i'm missing a limb

no hands to reach out and take
the fire from your lips

buried belonging to the sand
the medicine man, that vital organ
he is running down the well
but the well's run dry

war across the sea
see the land mines in me

quantum physics inside a place
where there is no place for them
confused and searching
we must find that one time when we all had a soul

you are the casualty
and i am your phantom limb

settle for shells

halfway open so you can hear half my words.
the red runs away like a devil in flight.
escape from the wound and stop your slow dying.
close your eyes if it gets too bright.

left behind, brought down, and right from the start.
under the weather and over the hill.
the smell of smoke gives away all your secrets.
if you won't believe me, then surely i will.

wait for the pistol or start up the shooting.
you're so impatient to hear that sound.
the race isn't over, so just shut up and run.
you may be losing, but i've been found.

my favorite plum

sapped of all warmth.

dyed through with black.

the waves that you're riding

and the sails you lack.

your will is the leaf,

your heart is the limb.

the trembling.  the bending.

so fragile.  so slim.

you smile at the sun

but wilt in the heat.

your skin is so bitter,
your flesh, so sweet.