Monday, March 31, 2014

2.1063 : 3/31/08 : Good Soldier (Seventyseven: 68 of 81)

3,254 : 6 ?



Never strike first
never angry
and when I serve you
you will see how I lead plainly
effortless virtue
mighty magnet of men
Wedded to heaven
Good soldier; next gen

what

2.1062 : 3/30/08 : Nothing on Earth (Seventyseven: 67 of 81)

Do you feel that strange
way
like nothing on earth
No nothing on earth like this
Yes this is like that
It became too small
drawn to the strange attractor’s kiss
I have three treasures
Mercy
Frugality
and being nobody
brave and generous
chief of all vessels
Linger behind
as the way gets muddy
Mercy alone can help us now
end our wars and
save the whole damn show
a mere million
rescued by heaven
like nothing on earth
heaven on our way with us
will go

what

2.1061 : 3/29/08 : King of All Streams (Seventyseven: 66 of 81)

King of all streams
reign from the bottom
humility and lingering
baby I’ve got ‘em
no one finds me heavy
nobody gets hurt
the whole world moves forward
While I lose my shirt
strive with nobody
no one strives with me
the king of all streams
so far down, so free

what

2.1060 : 3/28/08 : The Old Days (Seventyseven: 65 of 81)

I’m pining for the old days
when the great minds let us be
let us go about our business
in our fine state of simplicity
it’s clear we’re all too clever
for our own good in this state
bereft of our rule and measure
man those old days sure were great
And still looking for a new day
and that virtue mystical
I’m beginning to suspect
those good old days are mythical

what

2.1059 : 3/27/08 : All Start (Seventyseven: 64 of 81)

If that target would stop moving
I could easily nail it
if this tempest weren’t so ominous
I’d easily sail it
I guess it better all start
with this one little line
one day, one step
and I suppose it went fine

what

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

2.1058 : 3/26/08 : No Ado (Seventyseven: 63 of 81)

I do but there’s far too much ado
I strive but it’s not effortless
I couldn’t be lower
I couldn’t reach fewer
I’m reliving all those injuries I guess
These troubles are in full bloom
great sowing is reaping me small
And all these difficult difficult
things in this world
I don’t know what to do about them at all
I feel like I’m grappling with big things
achieving so little
I promise too seriously, faithless
sure to fail like a foolish lickspittle

what

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

2.1057 : 3/25/08 : Nothing Destroyed (Seventyseven: 62 of 81)

Nothing destroyed
hidden in a secret reserve
truth’s treasure
a good word and who it may serve
No one abandoned
I lay down wisdom from where I may stand
I seek and I will find
And wake to find the treasure at my hand

what

Monday, March 24, 2014

2.1056 : 3/24/08 : Downhill (Seventyseven: 61 of 81)

3,246 : 19 ?



Did the river flow downhill
into this swamp of ours
too much for too long
too many walls too many cars
and we who would not
take a knee to anyone
guilt by association
live and die by the gun
but they keep on pouring in
for the time being anyway
and we will bow eventually
no matter what warmongers say

what

Sunday, March 23, 2014

2.1055 : 3/23/08 : Little Fish (Seventyseven: 60 of 81)

Cook that little fish
what an empire what a dish
no demons
no spirits
I’m harmless
Yeah hear it
let’s call it a truce
call it a day
all the benefits of life
no one need pay

what

2.1054 : 3/22/08 : Frugality (Seventyseven: 59 of 81)

If you’re running things
if you’re serving God
there’s nothing like frugality
get your goodies twice
overcome it all
ascend so high above reality
If you want a kingdom
a mother of a kingdom
there’s just no way else to go
sink those roots deep now
sink firm in sleep now
see far, live long, rise and know

what

Friday, March 21, 2014

2.1053 : 3/21/08 : Your Damn Mouth (Seventyseven: 58 of 81)

Shut your damn mouth
Shut your damn mouth
Shut your damn mouth
and we’d all be so happy
If you’ve got to act
So smart so smart
if you gotta act so smart
man we’re going to get scrappy
Good times always hide
a velvet fist
what can be the end of this
eternal grist
I make perfection uncut
sculpt without carving
check my enlightenment
without strain or starving

what

2.1052 : 3/20/08 : Status Quo (Seventyseven: 57 of 81)

Uphold this empire by the status quo
but you’ll need something special to win this war
but the world just needs to be left alone
I know what’s within, I know what it’s for
keep it all upright covered in laws
and we just all become poorer
We keep ourselves armed right up to the teeth
the confusion grows ever more
So many the brightest and the best
Pretty soon it all gets strange
the finer, more grand this edifice of law
the more you’ve got robbers and thieves on the range
transformation proceeds when I hole up tight
You all get into your regular groove
I stay aloof and you all get rich
sweet simplicity: I’m sure you’ll all approve

what

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

2.1051 : 3/19/08 : Silent (Seventyseven: 56 of 81)

If I knew I’d be so silent
say not one word
I tell you I don’t know
but then I’m sure you’ve heard
I’ve got to fill up the passage
with whatever I can find
I’ve got to barricade the doors
try to unscrew my tangled mind
try to blunt the edge on my sword
harmonize these crazy lights
find wholeness for one moment
in this parade of crazy sights
You can’t woo it or avoid it
Nor cut nor elevate
You cannot help or humble it
it is the thing most great

what

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

2.1050 : 3/18/08 : Born Again (Seventyseven: 55 of 81)

Oh to be born again
steeped in virtue
free from sin
safe from sting
from poison bite
firm of grip safe from
endless night
grow whole
scream my head off
old soul
like I could get off
how can there be changeless
in this crazy joint?
Whatever else there
might be it
just proves my point

what

Monday, March 17, 2014

2.1049 : 3/17/08 : A New State (Seventyseven: 54 of 81)

Plant it deep
clasp it well
a thousand generations
your saga to tell
hoe your row of virtue
till it grows in you
foundation of a family
yeah you know it’s you
basis of community
only comes within
understand a new state
ready to begin
we could draw the whole world
into its embrace
every person, family
community and state in its place
And how do I know
what the world might hide?
as ever and as usual
by what’s inside

what

Sunday, March 16, 2014

2.1048 : 3/16/08 : Way (Seventyseven: 53 of 81)

With just a speck of wisdom
I will walk my way
not to stumble
not to stray
It looks so smooth and straight
but all around it’s wicked, wild
all around the bandits lurking
careful oh my child
look at them with their ravaged fields
look at them with their fancy clothes
look at their sharp shiny knives
our lives are in the hands
of such as those
gorged on wine and dainties
money that they’ll never use
knowing nothing of my great way
knowing nothing
about all they’ll use

what

Saturday, March 15, 2014

2.1047 : 3/15/08 : Beginning (Seventyseven: 52 of 81)

This is a beginning
a common beginning
not an ending
not a loss
no I am winning
know the mother of the world
know the mother, her offspring
You’ll be free of earthly harm
you’ll be free of everything
Block every passage
lock every door
Then you’ll know exactly
what freedom is for
Or throw it all open
get busy as hell
you may find you no longer
see so well
it may seem a small thing
but its use is endless
watch me start a new life
now I’ve got the changeless

what

Friday, March 14, 2014

2.1046 : 3/14/08 : A Gift (Seventyseven: 51 of 81)

Life simply a gift:
nursed by virtue
shaped by matter
you’re perfect aren’t you
respect to the gift:
respect to virtue
not by any command
I just adore its rich hue
nursed and grown
fostered and sheltered
claim no reward
however I sweated and sweltered
about to close
a chapter I slaved on
Called the hidden virtue
no record yet I saved one

what

Thursday, March 13, 2014

2.1045 : 3/13/08 : Life or Death (Seventyseven: 50 of 81)

Life or death
it sure seems binary
thirteen breaths
Life, death the refinery
If you draw down
the account too hard
You’ll take thirteen steps
before you feel the shard
if you walk well your path
no danger you’ll see
escape every snare
death says:
no room there for me

what

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

2.1044 : 3/12/08 : Self Interest (Seventyseven: 49 of 81)

I can’t deny my self interest
though I want to be kind
though I want to be faithful
to be shy and self-effacing
I would surely be grateful
for the sake of the world
I would play it so nebulous
if not for my self interest
if you could be so credulous

what

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

2.1043 : 3/11/08 : Stacking (Seventyseven: 48 of 81)

So much learning
stacking and stacking
not at all the scenario
I need to be attacking
cut it all down till I
get back to zero
I could achieve everything
and be the real hero
I could renounce it all
and serve only mankind
But me with private ends to serve
I’m left in a stark bind

what

Monday, March 10, 2014

2.1042 : 3/10/08 : The Wire (Seventyseven: 47 of 81)

I can stay right here
get it all on the wire
keep the shades all drawn
see heaven’s holy fire
the farther you go
the less you know
so I stay right here
shut my eyes tight to see
do by doing nothing
all access, all free

what

Sunday, March 09, 2014

2.1041 : 3/9/08 : Yoke (Seventyseven: 46 of 81)

The simple division
yoke to peace or war
our sickness decides
what the harness is for
it turns out it came down
to knowing that what
is enough is enough
it seems simple, sure, but...

what

2.1040 : 3/8/08 : Identity (Seventyseven: 45 of 81)

So amazingly perfect
You’ll think I’m flawed
the seeming vacuum
of this vast space I’ve gnawed
line by line and song by song
so crooked it’s straight
One it gets infinitely long
watch me skillfully screw up
and fumble my lines
till I shiver a sweat up
but freeze ‘cause there’s landmines
pray for the normal
peace and serenity
A way to overcome
this strange bent identity

what

Friday, March 07, 2014

exactly five of my favorite things

Finished posting another volume of the songs of days not too long ago and have now updated the Favorite Songs list on the Sidebar as well as the full archive of past favorites from the preceding 13 volumes (and change via the "Interim" side-quest).

what

2.1039 : 3/7/08 : Your Money or Your Life (Seventyseven: 44 of 81)

Lose your body or lose your name: choose
Your money or your life, what you want to lose
What’ll make you fret more, gain or loss
You hold on so tight: hey I don’t give a toss
So why store up a pile of what you can always go and get
Had enough? Well you don’t seem able to say so yet
Knowing when to get when the getting’s good will save you grief
And I’m going to go a long while without final relief

what

Thursday, March 06, 2014

2.1038 : 3/6/08 : The Soft (Seventyseven: 43 of 81)

The soft
ultimately
defeats the hard
only nothing can go
everywhere
so if I turn that card
please take a moment
for the less of quiet
not a lot to do
when you’re God’s co-pilot

what

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

2.1037 : 3/5/08 : One (Seventyseven: 42 of 81)

One from nothing
two from one
three from two, and
here comes everyone
man and woman
me and you
breathe in breathe out
count to two
what’s hated more
than to be helpless and small
yet we love the smallest
weakest ones most of all
If you live by the sword
well you know what they say
it was true in the garden
and it’s true today

what

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

2.1036 : 3/4/08 : Mediocre (Seventyseven: 41 of 81)

If I were wise I would be
practicing practicing
If I were worthless I would be
laughing my ass off
I’m mediocre and I
oscillate
What can I do it’s a hard truth
I pass off
day is night and progress
looks like  collapse
hard to fit the contradictions
through a synapse
Virtue looks like a valley
the greatest white space is spattered
abundant, deficient;
Firmly founded - tattered
cornerless, late to ripen
Silent and shapeless
they say it alone can help
me need to escape less

what

Monday, March 03, 2014

2.1035 : 3/3/08 : I Am (Seventyseven: 40 of 81)

3,225 : 17 ?



As to movement I am always
returning
As to use it is only in
softness
Everything is born of
the something
itself is born of a nothing
called the lossless

what

Sunday, March 02, 2014

2.1034 : 3/2/08 : The Unified Way (Seventyseven: 39 of 81)

it’s no rare thing to take to the unified way
the sky is clear and the earth is calm
and the spirit is subtle and mystical
and the fountain overflows just like that psalm
and ten thousand hearts also beat as one
And every prince and bishop has his day
And every single one of them comes to such estate
by virtue of their taking to the unified way
just imagine the sky’s falling
just imagine the earth torn asunder
just imagine the spirits all vanishing
and every fountain dried just think and wonder
and every creature dying childless
and the rulers fallen flat on their face
Can’t build the high without the plinth of the low
so good leader better call yourself low
I think the wisdom of not outshining the sun
is a lesson even those bastards know

what

Saturday, March 01, 2014

2.1033 : 3/1/08 : Virtue (Seventyseven: 38 of 81)

Our highest virtue is beyond virtue
but we so seldom get so high
as to get over ourselves much
To get back up to the best of us
Humanity does all right to make the nut
though it’s true it tends to make a fuss
And your vaunted morality it’s just as bad
and what’s more always serving private ends
And ceremony stands when all else fails
and if nobody bows or bends
It rolls up the sleeves
to administer a beating
It sure comes up in the cards a lot
but sure to hell its moment is fleeting
When the way fails an you gotta rely on virtue
If you gotta rely on virtue you’ll end up
relying on humanity but sad to say
that’s a manifestly half empty cup
humanity always ends up
relying on morality
And it always rots back to ceremony
from the altar to the lethal spike whatever the modality
But I’m effortlessly on the mark
and so for me exists no doubt
I seek the fruit not the husk or flower
prefer what’s within to what’s without


what

2.1032 : 2/29/08 : Little Peace (Seventyseven: 37 of 81)

All things are accomplished
without notice, or bother
hold tight to the fathomless
to all mother and father
and when it all gets riled up
a simple word will still it
restore the natural order
raise the cup and fill it
and finally we’ll know
a little peace
and for a little while
the world will settle in its lease

what

2.1031 : 2/28/08 : Stretch (Seventyseven: 36 of 81)

I gotta stretch this failure out
to shrink it down to nothing
build it into a juggernaut
to bust it up with just one thing
I took it to the highest hill
didn’t tempt it I just hurled it down
I dressed it in such fineries
then stomped it in the muddy ground
and every rock will be
by water all eroded
stay in the deep my fishies and
Keep your damn bombs unexploded

what