CONTRAST REACTION

a life cut short, a life de-fused

a moment squandered, a love refused

the prayers pray, the haters hate

i'd stick around but i'm running late

and so it goes as it's always gone

just like it's always been...

an idea shot down, an idea ignored

a broken heart that dreams no more

the marchers march, the fleers flee

i'd stick around but i gotta leave...

THE ME I AM

i open wide my arms tho some punches are thrown

i take it on the chin and try to keep hold

of what little dignity i have left since my stars got crossed

i think of captain ahab lashed upon his whale

he knew what he wanted the moment he set sail

i'll stick to my guns too no matter the cost

and i'll take my chances and bet on the me i am

i might go broke, but the time may never come again...

i open wide my door and get shoved out of the way

glad-handers, well-wishers here to steal my life away

but what am i hanging on to? i should be letting go

i think of dear mr scrooge, so rich and so alone

he finally saw the light after hanging with some ghosts

the road to hell is paved with good intent, you just never know...

i open wide my heart tho it's been broken in the past

some prefer one made of stone, i'll keep mine made of glass

and sweep up the pieces, and slowly put them back together

i think of poor billy pilgrim, unstuck in time

an innocent soul driven half out of his mind

i'll hold on to my sanity, and look for something better...

THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH

no, i couldn't care less, i'm tired of it all

there's too much bullshit, too many ways to fall

there's a dead end sign down this one way street

it's the last place on earth i ever thought i would be...

the last place on earth i ever thought i would be

a man wondering still what it means to be me

alone in my house at the end of the day...

the years have been spent, my dues are all paid

my past and my future are just one long day

this time, this place are a mystery to me

it's the last place on earth i ever thought i would be...

SPILLING STARLIGHT CONSCIOUSNESS

starlight spilled upon hollowed ground

from here and there the sounds of night rang clear

far from this world

the moon appeared all too briefly

clouds, swiftly, off to who knows where

far from this world

the solitude grew til it over flowed

i felt alone, swallowed so completely

far from this world

the stillness in itself was moving

a thought forming just beyond my reach

far from this world

consciousness came and went

the wind whispered, i forget what she said

far from this world

memories hung like ghosts in trees

laughing, dancing, calling out to me

far from this world

when i came too i did not know

where i was, but felt i had to go

far from this world

i'm drifting in and out it seems

i'll say goodbye, float this night down stream

far from this world...

ON THE LANE

birds are massing in the trees, singing for their food

it's a deal we have

a hummingbird hovers right before our eyes

we smile, and laugh...

deer are running in the woods, creole's on alert

it's a deal they have

the deer go where they will, creole barks and runs

we just smile, and laugh...

life is good on the lane

feeling slow, feeling easy...

time passes by itself, we fill it as we please

it's a deal we have

the seasons come and go, the world spins yet again

we just smile, and laugh...

HIGH UPON THE HILL

the leaves have turned to gold, the sun beats warm upon my skin

my thoughts no more than travellers upon the passing wind

i stand high upon the hill over a forest filled with dreams

all but forgotten like so many memories

my hair has turned to silver, i lean on an old cane

i can hear my children's laughter, tho they've long since moved away...

my hands they softly tremble, tears obscure my view

i'm tired and i'm alone, and know not what to do

i can hear my dear wife call me from far on the other side

soon i will join her and forever fade from sight...

INTO THE BLUE

so much has happened i just can't recall

stories are told but the memory's gone

all that i felt and all that i knew

disappearing into the blue...

it all blends together, the faces and years

the words, the deeds, the laughter, and tears

the thoughts and dreams, the lies and truths

disappearing into the blue...

i'm fading everyday one piece at a time

i can't help but wonder - am i losing my mind?

where did i go? what did i do?

disappearing into the blue...

A FAMILIAR TALE

it's good morning, goodnight...and in-between

strangers working on different dreams

living lives lived yesterday

thinking somehow it all might change

to something else, something more than what it is...

creatures of habit, we follow the trail

and devolve into a familiar tale

you hang on to this, i let go of that

all the while knowing we can never go back

all we have is now, and what might have been...

monotony, mediocrity

the same conversation perpetually

the smaller our dreams, the lesser our chance

the more stuck we become in circumstance

forgetting the world and it's endless possibilities...

THE POWER AND THE MIGHT

he's become famous for his stalwart advocacy of sobriety

for championing the cause of artistic decency

he preaches the word of the lord via satellite

and conjures the holy ghost into your living room on saturday night

he saved his woman's soul down in new orleans

now she spends your prayer donations faithfully...

he's renowned for his bent knee, tear filled spirituality

for his sorrow and his grief for all humanity

he crucifies himself as the crowd goes wild

then rushes down the aisle to heal a crippled child

his followers bow their heads, and lift their hands to the sky

and turn their pockets inside out, as he slips outside

and drives his limosine into the night

stark raving mad and stoned out of his mind

on the power and the might...

he's transformed his church into a streamlined organization

earning himself a pound of gold for every ounce of salvation

he's got the world by the balls, he's in the prime of his life

with rings on every finger, and dollar signs in his eyes

he's selling truth to a godless nation, promising heaven in jesus' name

and as the faithful count their blessings, he exits the stage...

SIMPLIFY

i think too much about too much

i go too far or not far enough

i try too hard or don't try at all

i move too fast then hit the wall

i need to simplify my life

i need to take the time

and ease my mind...

i put my best foot forward, then withdraw myself

i wanna go home, then go somewhere else

i'm gathering more as i strive for less

and ponder equations that make no sense...

my head is full of passwords, more i can't remember

i know i wrote them down and put'em somewhere

i'm caught up in a whirlwind, enough to make my head spin

i'm always looking backwards to a place i'll never be again...

ONE MAN'S BLUES

robbed at birth, never given a chance

picked on, left out, never asked to the dance

set upon, put upon, and dumped on all the days of his life

he's got the blues in the morning, blues into the dead of night...

he blames the world, everyone but himself

his god, his folks, his friends, and his ex

he's been knocked down, dragged down, told to sit down all the days of his life

he's got the blues in the morning, blues into the dead of night...

he bitches and moans, but it does him no good

he threw in the towel just like he knew that he would

he's been screwed, and fooled, and rues all the days of his life

he's got the blues in the morning, blues into the dead of night...

BIRD ON A FENCE

a bird on a fence looked at me as if it had something to say

i was just about to ask it what, when it flew away

leaving me alone and wondering for the rest of the day

what could a bird on a fence possibly have to say...

the man in the moon looked at me as if he had something to say

i was just about to ask him what, when he faded away

leaving me alone and wondering for the rest of the day

what could the man in the moon possibly have to say...