The Carousel of Kings

I'll flirt with blasphemy
That you may kiss a glimpse of
God
Tip-toe 'round heresy
And cuddle up
Upon the bleeding altar

I'll set a c-note flaming
With salted speckles in
Both my eyes
But offer
My very last dollar
To these gilded
Paupers

I'll dance like a drunkard
No,
I'll slump my shoulders
And cradle my brow
And clutch my wanting cup
And tap the table
Off.........beat
Like a drunkard
Like a prophet
Scraping his chest
With yellowing nails

I'll call your bluff
Believe me I will
One of these days
But for now,
A bottle of water?
$1.25

notforprofit

if my words don’t 

frighten you

my eyes might

if passion-fueled

declarations

don’t sway your stance

the burning question

in my gaze

could do it

i think

if my pleas

for bread

don’t empty 

your pockets

maybe

just maybe

these wide-eyes 

will

and if all else 

fails

to light your 

heart or 

your wallet

i guess

you can always

find me on

a t-shirt

Peasantry

I've got a knife and I could bleed this city dry
Skin it slow and steady
Pick apart the stringy tendons

I had a life that I gave up for who knows why
Grinned like I was ready
Sickened as my goodbye set in

But this road is a wristwatch
With a band that's far too tight
Ticking off the constant miles
My numbing hands would try and fight

I've got nowhere to go but back to breathing
Choking down the rhetoric
From suits on the radio

I move so slow with calloused feet
Shuffling and hesitant
With seeds I cannot sow

'Cause this heat is a gateway
With a lock my key won't fit
Stacked all up with iron chains
On cracking earth I sorely sit

Pass the pool where angels stir
And you speak down to me,
"what do you want?"
As if you cannot see...

Someone Else's Yard (lyrics)

It’s too hot here in the summer

But part of me is scared of the cold

Used to romanticize the transient life

But sleeping in this car is getting old

Came out here for the dreaming

But lately I can’t sleep

Not too sure I want to work for the man

But it don’t matter, ‘cause he don’t want to hire me

Greener grass grows in someone else’s yard

Soon enough though the trees will wear their funeral garb

I’ve got nowhere to go down Old Hickory Boulevard 

No one ever told me growing up would be this hard

Got a call from my mom today

Killed me to hear her cry

Told me that I should trust in Jesus

But I’m starting to wonder why

God, if you’re down in Nashville

Could you come talk to me

I’m sick of signs of signs and expectations

Of the man I might never be

Greener grass grows in someone else’s yard

Soon enough though the trees will wear their funeral garb

I’ve got nowhere to go down Old Hickory Boulevard 

No one ever told me growing up would be this hard

It’s too hot here in the summer

But part of me is scared of the cold

Used to fantasize about being a rock star

But now it’s like my whole life is a show

Sand in Your Shoes

i can’t look you 

in the eyes 

today

i’m slipping through the space

i can’t hear you 

through the air

don’t say

you recognize my face

‘cause i am fishbowl

and you are hammer

don’t try to hold my hand

i am grain

and you are ocean

don’t try to understand

i can’t taste you

on my tongue

of late

i’m chokin’ on the bright and blue

i can’t reach you

empty hands

still shake

sweaty like i never met you

‘cause i am fine print

and you are hindsight

don’t try to see my side

i am 8 1/2 by 11

you are Mariana Trench 

don’t try to fit inside 

(sometimes i think 

“concur” and “conquer”

sound so similar

‘cause the easiest way

to defeat someone is 

to make them think

you’re on their side)

what occurred when you concurred: 

my world obscured 

the stars insinuated

and i inferred

from dark deliberated

that maybe there is depth to this...somewhere

so i wander blind

uncover my ears

breathing slow

and feel my way 

through the fear

‘cause i am shell

and you are perfect storm

your song I, in silence, find

i am corner

and you are cleaner

taking the time

(and i almost don't mind)