2.1946 : 8/31/10 : Fastball

After a while
every year
shaves a few miles
per hour off the old
fastball
and mile by mile
it would appear
from the turnstiles
that what's left's a heart of gold
and that's all
smile for the reporter
and act like
you are happy
with the past
its glories
turn off that recorder
put down the mic
got no snappy
words to cast
just stories

what

2.1945 : 8/30/10 : Stop Pushing

Stop pushing, stop pushing
do you think that this is helping
or do you just get nervous
at the sound of anguished yelping
there's enough on my thin shoulders
though I ordered up a light yoke
but perhaps that isn't seemly
I am after all of privileged folk
Stop pushing! Stop pushing!
get your hands off me
you aren't anyone to
try to step and scoff me
Stop pushing! stop pushing...
a city song for certain
but you'll find a country boy up here
if you look behind the curtain

what

2.1944 : 8/29/10 : Sunday's Child

Sunday's child is tired
of all the crying behind the door
Sunday's child is feeling
like he's been down this road before
But Monday's child could tell him
there's no new thing 'neath the sun
And everything that's happened to him
happened to someone before
turn again to Sunday's child
Maybe he's got it this time
the eternal truth that never fades
and wrapped up in sweet rhyme
my revelation sir is that
the truth is not a monolith
and so declines to through behind
the epoch's leading myth

what

2.1943 : 8/28/10 : Forgive the Moon

Forgive the moon for not
shining bright enough
Forgive the universe
for not being made of softer stuff
Forgive you Lord for not
telling me just what to do
and forgive me especially
for forgetting you
I wrote this here
I am the author and the scribe
bowing over in secret
imagining your every jibe
I'll claim persistence
for today anyway my plume
something stored away
another decade may exhume
so forgive the moon
For being so far and so cold
forgive these tired bones
that carry me from growing old
forgive entropy
for being more persistent than me
another decade
begging for a perfect symphony

what

2.1942 : 8/27/10 : To Love You Always

It did not take a diamond ring
a promise, a hilltop, or anything
for me to know that I was
to love you always
The moment you were in my arms
as if queen fate had cast her charms
about us and to
follow us through all days
this is not a book a poem
a little players' scene
a shadow play revealed
by a lantern behind a screen
this is real life and nonetheless
each day one thing I need not guess
I will for you and you for me
a love supreme, surprising, free
a knowing that I am to love you always

what

2.1941 : 8/26/10 : The Kiss Off

If I never see you all again
it'll be too soon
this is the kiss off
let me show you the tune
you're just a pack of dumb trouble
and your welcome's stale
time to throw you out
like yesterday's mail
I used to stay up real late
thinking real heavy thoughts
sure wish I could have that time back
pin that ah hah with a thumbtack
playing sad sad music
and smoking lots
thought those cigarettes looked too cool
now I look straight back at a stone fool
once I surfed the channels
now I surf the net
you can waste your time so many ways
look back you wasted a thousand days
and when I kick it in the head
I won't miss nothing I bet
you'd get just as much from a blank screen
think I've known that since I was sixteen
If I never see you all again
it'll be too soon
this is the kiss off
let me show you the tune
You're just a pack of dumb trouble
and your welcome's stale
time to throw you out
like yesterday's mail

what

2.1940 : 8/25/10 : Safety

Just for safety
I'm going to go over the world
with a fine tooth comb
make sure I didn't miss
a whisper of your call
maybe a faint sad refrain on an old trombone
been pretty good at the safe and sorry
I guess I need a strategy
called not doing crazy stupid things again
thinking
this time it will turn out
differently for me

what

2.1939 : 8/24/10 : That Day

That day isn't going to come
is it you big none
This day is it
over and again
opportunities grown dim
If this is it
I'm not cool with that
I've got no tricks
under my hat
put it away
for another day
nothing left to say
and my beast barely at bay

what

2.1938 : 8/23/10 : Great and Small

Great and small
well, maybe not the smallest
walking tall
but you'll never be the tallest
so if I go
just to check the sell-out line
don't make a fuss anyway
nobody's buying what's mine
Who am I fooling
well surely not yours truly
maybe I'm just pining
for a little fooly cooly
but though I feel like I've been getting
crowded right up to the wall
I'll still stand and say my piece
for the great and the small

what

2.1937 : 8/22/10 : Guests

Little guests I do not like you
so you have got to go
some said to take a natural route
but I said no no no
better living through chemistry
I'll give you a taste of that
a nasty dose of chemistry
little guests you're up to bat
I guess it's been that kind of year
one damn thing after another
I'm hoping for a better one
no guests, nor any other
crazy circumstances or deviltry
come one please a little peace
normal boring sounds real great
and smash the little guests' lease

what

2.1936 : 8/21/10 : Thirsty

So thirsty
so very late
certain that the problem
will not dissipate
but in a day or three
might get a little relief
pray till then the master
does not steal in like a thief

what

2.1935 : 8/20/10 : the Hero

The hero awakes before the alarm
so gung ho for the the working
the hero jumps right out of bed
not a shadow of doubt is lurking
so efficient, so damn focused
it's like he's living every day twice
so informed, so very certain
he doesn't need a speck of advice
used to imagine I would be that
used to be sure I was one
all the little things that make a little life
I can't even get that done
The hero stays up all night
because his light burns bright not dim
I guess I'm still attached to going my own way
and really I am glad I'm not him

what

2.1934 : 8/19/10 : Dismay

Why waste your time on dismay?
But the questions persist
and the questions insist
and it's been a long stretch
I haven't felt any closer day by day
The dismay tells me
I'm doing it wrong
and though I trace it in song
there is some strong way
that I simply am not free
the anger that flashes
the depression that sinks
is a man what he thinks
or just the transient spiral
as he stirs up the ashes
I listen to the song my gut sings
troubled and roiling
avoiding or toiling
and nothing but tomorrow
the joy, the dismay
that it brings

what

2.1933 : 8/18/10 : Exhausted

I fear I have exhausted
this particular well
I know it's not exactly true
today it's the tale I've got to tell
something's got to change
there's got to be a better way
and this is not leading to that
and I'm exhausted, anyway

what

2.1932 : 8/17/10 : Ants

Like ants that work all through the night
labor to consume a poison bite
but I can no more burn that oil
another hour I cease my toil
A metaphor to make your skin crawl
become an ant to have it all
but nothing in that state possess
except to give the all-one its yes
fear we are not built for it
running on greed and guilt and shit
like that the dimwit metaphysics
run like wired up paralytics
just a daydream that I had
a different way though it seems sad
we can't reclaim our roles as giants
guess we'll leave it all to the ants

what

2.1931 : 8/16/10 : The Continuity

Is there anything left driving this
besides the continuity
am I still letting dumbass
optimistic daydreams screw with me
I don't see myself
debuting this one on the stage
I don't see much I'm
optimistic about in this new age
Up from the oh's and on
into the tweens and teens
I fear a nasty adolescence
is imprinted in this century's genes
maybe the symbol that I
cling to like a holy grail
if I prop up my sad continuity
maybe the system will not fail

what

2.1930 : 8/15/10 : Butterfly Wing

If I could travel in time
it's tempting in a way
What I could find to fix
but that's the old cliché
In almost any day
the butterfly wing
If I can't keep it all
I guess I wouldn't change anything

what

2.1929 : 8/14/10 : This is Why

This is why persist:
because to persist is human
feel it in you blood and humors
bile and albumen
there is an ending
and it brooks no dispute
what is there in the face of it
except to be resolute
this is why we ask
because the questions haunt us
so we must be restless, eager
in the face of fears that daunt us
if you are reading, writing
that end hasn't happened yet
so you must persist in this
because there is no other outlet
another day
another try at starting
persistent but with no illusions
this is wisdom I'm imparting

what

2.1928 : 8/13/10 : Thirteen

Do I believe n the song of the day?
And here it took me thirteen years to say
Yes I believe but I
don't know what it means
is it a choice I made or
something buried in my genes
God hit it over the head
with a shovel
drove it to the middle of a field
in the middle of the night
and buried it desperately
feverishly in the glare
of the headlights
and who died and made me the cops
the detective supposed to
follow the elusive trail
track it down
air it out
and dress it up like a holy grail
Who am I to
believe in anything
a nobody but still
butter fed and soft
but I have to believe in myself
nothing else is going to
keep this strange balloon aloft

what

2.1927 : 8/12/10 : Dikes

Dikes are failing
right and left
and I don't know what's next
lately I don't
have the energy
to even get perplexed
And I don't have
the wherewithal
to try and plug a hole
I'm just trying to
locate the smoke
to track down my burning coal

what

2.1926 : 8/11/10 : Stone

If I can't let my grip up
on the obdurate stone
I've got a real bad feeling I am
going to hit that wall alone
I haven't got a ritual no more
I'm in free fall
and though it's self-fulfilling
I keep thinking of that wall
seems a whole big lot of people
see it going bad to worse
seems we're all feeling that feeling
getting passed by by the hearse
and the duty that is calling
feels like running to stand still
as I watch my restless scramble
trying to gather up my will

what

2.1925 : 8/10/10 : Painkillers

Waiting for the painkillers
to kick in
waiting for the smooth ride
to begin
Good to take the edge off
it's okay
I've been good and it's been
a hard day
try to puzzle out the
riddle of pain
Does it prove god's a
delusion in my brain
is it just part of
a complete life
should I get a little more
at the tip of a knife
Well tonight I needn't
be so bold
if these old painkillers
just take hold
rock me to a deep and
silent sleep
pray to the God of pain
my whole to keep

what

2.1924 : 8/9/10 : Secret Worlds

These secret worlds that swallow me
aren't even cool
plagued by petty phantoms
the kingdom of a fool
lead to petty vices
lead to wasted hours
running from the obvious
stopping to smell the plastic flowers

Looking for a breaking point
looking for a breaking peak
that shatters every secret world
and frees my frozen tongue to speak
the answer could be anything
but nothing seems to stick
could it be that after ten long years
I'm still not sick of being sick

what

2.1923 : 8/8/10 : Mr. Genius

Mr. Genius
what a slick idea
do the same thing as before
act as if this time it'll free ya
put aside the work now
put aside regret
whatever it comes down to
it's the best you're going to get
and always there's another
until someday there is none
it goes against the principle
shall I hope this is not the one

what

2.1922 : 8/7/10 : Sad Discovery

Sad discovery
sadder still it's no surprise
days have little failures
that meet newly opened eyes
days have bigger failures
Unseen and coming down
appear and seem predictable
and here's the little frown
don't worry about tomorrow
you'd say that is the theme
can I get away with it tonight
and hope for nothing in a dream

what

2.1921 : 8/6/10 : Disconnect

Trying to repair
the disconnect
between thought and expression
if you'll allow the paid respect
feeling disconnected
want to plug back in
hope the worries and cares
don't haul another stack in
hard to change gears
especially in these days
all the adversity
smears into one haze
but time will not stop
and free moments are few
think I'll take my chance at rest
and then wait for you

what

2.1920 : 8/5/10 : Nice Work (If You Can Get It)

A joker and an artist
got an apartment in the sticks
played games and scribbled comics
I guess it beats throwing bricks
Now they've got a little empire
courtly soirées and a teevee show
making the circuit and doing good works
and still it just seems to grow
nice work if you can get it
nice story wish it were mine
nice work if you can get it
yeah I think it would suit me fine

what

put on your flaming hat

The inaccurately named "Enough" finds us at the end of Songs of Days volume 2.11, Black n' Red. Forthwith we march on to volume 2.12, Nice Work.

what

2.1919 : 8/4/10 : Enough

Enough and there will
be no ceremony
I want a million dollars
I want a fucking pony
I want my youth back
I want my health
and mastery and power
and time and wealth
enough there are you
done whining now
you look so stupid there
you stupid pining cow
enough of loving sloth
enough of crazy shouting
put on your flaming hat
let's off for a special outing
please just ignore it all
it's just me acting tough
and trying to get at least one thing right
I guess that has to be enough

what

2.1918 : 8/3/10 : As for What I Am

And as for what I am
what shall I say and
what am I to tell
Some days it seems you've
woken from a long and
dreamless magic spell
to look around
bewildered wondering
just how it came to be
yet all the history is
there and you are there
as well and me
yes what of me
I haven't said much
thinking of the likes of great men
wondering if there's any
future like that
at all waiting for my pen

what

2.1917 : 8/2/10 : How Early

How early might the rise be
how late the night
if I made a little chart today
I might start getting it right
Hard not to imagine
every terrible road
and that since nothing can stay still
something is bound to explode
I know there's gotta be a better way
but I don't know what it looks likes
When I feel like I'm on the downhill
when I feel like I'm on the third strike
I saw the looks of sad contempt
well they don't understand
we just can't ever do things halfway
here in the good old promised land

what

2.1916 : 8/1/10 : Knock Out

Knock another sucker challenger
out with one punch
hope it bored you to the core
and now I'm going to eat your lunch
I don't care about nothing
but the counter's click
running up my numbers
I'm that kind of sick
Did you stumble to your feet
for another round?
almost feel bad knocking you
over with the big sound
I'll see you swept right up
with yesterday's trash
while I'm shining up my knuckles
Cause my shit's so cash

what