Longlungs

Penelope

My little lioness
Could you cry a little less
The mice are are getting wet
They forget your claws and teeth
And need another taste
Your hunger is wasted on a silver plate

You're high Your Highness
I see it your eyes
You're up in the seventh sky
I know why oh I know why
You'd wanna fly away
Just give it another day
And tomorrow do the same
You're the only one to blame
For your reign
You're the best mess I promise
You will get through this
You'll do okay anyway
It's a stress test in regret
And you're well versed in it

I was admiring the siren's song
As long as I could hold on
But beauty bore through my eardrums
In twisting tongues
Strung to the bow
Second thoughts echo out
Just let go and let me drown
I am all but wasted now
Every sound will let me down


Pickpocket

At the center of the swarm
In the eye of the storm
Seem so small in the middle of it all
See it sprawled in the fall
Faces and names we won't recall

I'm impeding the stampede
Can't get to speed with my fumbling feet
I'm silent in the crowd
As loud as can be
See my moving mouth
It's chewing candy

Stolen from you baby when your back was turned
It was easy as they say maybe you will never learn
There's a hole in your pocket where your gold goes
And where it ends up only god knows
Or the criminals
I'm offended by your presence
Couldn't you afford anything more expensive

There you go again
Being irrelevant
And I was listening for once
Like an elephant


Weathervane

I blame the weather
the wind never blows
The way I'm going
As if it knows
My own cyclone
My stubborn storm
I am the eye
My orbit's torn

Hide
Hide your face from me
I
Tried to pull your teeth
Bite
Bite the hand that feeds
As it rises
To the mouth that eats
I am kind
In my kind of way
You would find
If you'd only stay
Stay a while my prey
Until you are betrayed

I'll keep you warm and free from harm
I'll hold you haunting in my arms
Ignore the storm don't be alarmed
I'll warn you when the wind
Gets under my skin


Betrothed

Where do we go from here
We're outta love I fear my dear
It's not enough to want you near
Nor near enough to justify
Just staying side by side
To trade away our loneliness
For a bit of emptiness
This can't go on much longer
The push is getting stronger

Our hearts are beating out of sync
We're alternating blinks
We're sorry for so many things
We're mostly an apology
Our memories are gravity
We're always orbiting

Oh no don't go
All alone
Hold on
I'll be along
Stay strong and
Stay still
Say that you will
Wait until I arrive
I will be a while
Your whole life
Hold tight
All night
We might
Be alright
Hang on
Until dawn
With luck
We'll wake up
Take up the day
And forget we're far away

Say that you'll wait for me
I'll be taking some time my sweet
Away from these fading memories
Say that you'll always be mine
I'll be taking my sweet time
Say that you'll wait
As long as it takes


Chew You
Soy Burger

This silence is violent
Ring back the siren
The soylent green's
Not what it seems
I'm on an island
Out of the way
I'm on dry land
Out of the waves

We've all got the same brain
And we are all insane
Circling the same thing
Still expecting change
We are all evil
Vindictive people
I'll speak for myself
Because you're something else

Sign on the dotted line
Reading is not worth the time
Every line is fine you'll find
Outside of the fine print
And the reason behind it
Unfocus your eyes now
Make a decision
Not that it matters
Your head's with the hatter
And insane is sound
The fish will listen
They will come around

This silence is violent
Ring back the siren
The soylent green's
Not what it seems
I'm on an island
Out of the way
I'm on dry land
Out of the waves


Gum

I am my enemy
And I am ruthless
Gnawing toothless
You've been a friend to me
And helped me through this
Threw me a bone to chew
Led me through the zoo
Into an open room
I sense serenity
Under reality
Hear say heresy
Has made a mess of me
Misheard a written word
Followed to a T
Fell head first
Off of the balcony

I meant it every way
I've said it all already
Now I'm holding the note steady
Cut it into confetti

You're all I want
But I'm a pinata
And you're gonna do what you gotta
Break right on through to a rotten tooth
Take all your hate out in trauma
You are up above
And I'm an iguana
Just soaking the sun up
You're tough and trouble
Grind me to rubble
But don't burst my bubble
You're all I love
Am I so awful


Hiss and Howl

Always and all ways
So long
All days and holidays
So long
I'll say it all see
So wrong

I'm so selfish
Still speaking english
When you sing in spanish
Does that vibrato
That you've got come from
Practice or panic
You could be saying anything
And I would still be listening
Twisting your words favorably
Insults into serenades
Lemons into lemonade

Follow and fall over
Always and all over
Why don't I know her
Was I ever sober

I'm so selfish
Still making wishes
While swimming in riches
Does that new model
That you've got come in
Matchstick or plastic
You could be saying anything
But I would still be missing it
Filling in the spaces
With what I'd say in your place

Always and all ways
So long
All days and holidays
So long
I'll say it all see
So wrong


Mange Ta Main

It's implied because it's never been denied
Whatever you say is so
If you'd ever let me know
I got it twisted
I blinked and missed it
Flew into the power lines
Electrocute and cut the lights

Hold onto my hook hand
And stop looking for a whole man
You are hardly human
You are what you're consuming
And while you might be terrible
I don't think you're a cannibal
But then again
I did wake up missing a hand

You're hiding under cellophane
Cellphone on set to vibrate
You'll wake up in a microwave
Spinning on a paper plate


Music Box

Car alarm chorus carry far
Play out while you're stripped for parts
You've gotten out of hand and into heads
Won't you play your horn instead
Siren song echo on long after you're gone
Still won't hear a word you said
Sonar tones are sinking in
Drowning out as they swim
Whispers carried in the wind
Whistle like a violin
Listen for a while and in it you will find
The alarm's cry again
As the sound bounces around in the background

We are our white noise
What we ignore what we listen for
What we can hear over our voice

Headphones in harmony
A concert of cacophony
Buzzing with technology
Speakers blowing bass in waves
The windows and the walls vibrate


New Noon

We will wander on dropping crumbs
Follow paths of bent grass
Sing old songs that the birds can sing along
In stolen words that we have built upon
Starting out of sync we will finish strong
On the horizon

Follow me
Oh take my lead
And sink into the sea
Curse these concrete feet
And the cliff I couldn't see
Free me from the bottom
Suffocating all of a sudden

The way is a ways away
A long and drawn on day
A step is taking stake
Go and stay awake

We've got better things to do
Are not troubled with the truth
We can see right through
We will walk into you
Elephant in the room

We have somewhere to be
So it's time for us to leave
To find our will and feet
We have someone else to meet
Another stranger on the street
With a stranger story
One we haven't heard
Enough to memorize the words


Resounding Rounds

I can't hear you over the cannonfire
The coast is clear aim higher
Don't confuse your tail for the fuse
You'll fail before you lose
Don't lose nerve
Serve your stone
Through the wall
Onto the throne
Call it king
Of breaking things
And fall in following

I saw you disappear
Clear as day you dissipated
And left me alone here
Holding on to something gone
A phantom limb with a constant itch
Stitched and sewn with broken bones

Both sides have the same colors
No one can tell the bad from brothers
But they were brought to break each other
And taught to hunt under the thunder

Au revoir
Aloha
Sayonara
Don't go far
Valhalla
Samsara
Stay parallel
To all you are


Wither With Her

She's got a secret
She'd never speak it
She's sworn to keep it
See how it eats
At her perfect teeth
Like a cavity
See how it gets to her
Hits her dead center
It's in her head forever
See how she holds
Onto what she's told
Till she's worn and old

Come back down to earth
The stars are far and I saw you first
Your thirst for more brings out your worst
So sing the words that we rehearsed

She's changing with the seasons
She sees a new sun every day
Turns and runs the other way
I'm sure she has her reasons
But she keeps them to herself
I'd offer to bear her burdens
But she's never asked for help

She could not hold a note
But every letter held her soul
And all the lines she wrote
Caught in my throat
I don't think she knows
How far her heart can go
I fear for her alone
How far can I follow


Rows and Arrows

Let's haunt our home
And turn to stone
As long as they are not alone
Let's balance on our bones

Now we are in the heart of it
The glowing coals in the firepit
Trying to make sense of chance
Circling our circumstance

Now we can try again
To grip our rings in withered hands
Their slipping from our fingers
And getting lost in the sand

Can you stand a second chance
Or will you sit out this last dance
And listen to the band
Tune their instruments

I won't know what you meant
The moment came and went
Passed me by why didn't I
Ask and accept the lie
Or bend it in my mind
Rearrange the lines
To find one ending fine


Everest

I've been climbing all the time and I'm inclined
To put the hill behind and to live a level life
To stay inside the lines saying the same rhymes
Rearranged and nothing's changed
The page is bleeding white
I can't catch an avalanche
And can't outrun my circumstance
So I'll bend the knee in this dance
Of irony while I still can
Stand to see the wide cyan

Buried in the blizzard of white noise whispers
Carried to the end and then echoed back again
Let go of my hand I've a ways to descend
A wave will send you far away
Save your voice I've heard it
You've gotten every word in


Reflection Dissection

I maintain this splitting image
Of your imagination
To advance the conversation
I am not waiting in the wings
I'm plucking at the feathers
I'll get around to everything
If given forever

Am I everything you were expecting
I'm exactly what you asked for
And maybe a little more
So stop second guessing
And ask another question

Did your invention
Match your intention
Of vicarious ascension
Are you tired of the tension
Of the taught wires round your fingers
I will pull down the puppeteer
A peer appear up here


Early As Ever

Steady in the stir
Are you ready sir
Are you set and sure
Spit out an answer
Have you found the words
Buried in the dirt
Wrestled from the worms
Who stress the earth to turn

Farewell to the stairwell
The ladder and the lift
The ne'er-do-wells and daredevils
The carrot and the stick

Full of fire
Flicker higher
Lead to heat
Magnetic feet
Pragmatic man
We'd hate to meet

Your harp strung with barbed wire
Hurts more than inspires
Words to fit the lyre


The Nicest Nuisance

Thorn in my side
Sand in my eyes
Stone in my shoe
And then there's you
My ball and chain
My peace and pain
My lion tamed
My pride and shame
My lie and blame
My might and maimed

Take the time
Awake am I
Still dreaming through the day
I saw you fade away
Leaving patterns in your place
I lost your name and face
Your touch and your taste
Wasted every trace
With a memory replaced
And the best repressed
I'm less for loss
Care and cost


Want and Won't

If I had the means
I'd buy your dreams
Why'd you set your sights so high
Your wicker wings will never fly
They'd burn up near the light

Don't cry my bride
Why don't you dry
Your eyes with your veil
You're looking pale

Please me please
Take it easy
Make me queasy
Keep me busy
Drunk and dizzy

In me you can confide
There's nothing you need to hide
Every mistake I have tried
I'll be staying by your side
In the swell and rising tide
Into hell I will be here for the ride


Less and Learned

Let's fake faith in the end
Atone my fading friend
Alone you will depend
On your own competence

Take my twisted hand
And break it back again
I'm tired and I can't stand
Another accident

Try to take a breath
Through the hole in your chest
You're made for more than this
A key we wouldn't miss
Till we had use of it

Be my skeleton
Climb from hell again
I am irrelevant
Without you listening