2.2799 : 12/31/12 : Quest

No bridge no
borderland
the quest goes on
but no omen
will be found to hand
and I wrap up quietly
no bombast
my quest proceeds
this day's
not first nor last

what

2.2798 : 12/30/12 : Not By Light

So the dull life
so the dull poetry
I never guessed it all
would be so slow and free
next time next time
next year a big new
thing don't you believe
don't you believe it's true
You can push your problems
off a day
but they don't go away
Who wants to be reminded
it wasn't by light
I was blinded
I am responsible
for my own dullness
my attachment to possession
and fullness
and the answer
is not in the past
and I must get this down fast
You can push your problems
off a day
but they don't go away
Who wants to be reminded
it was not by light
I was blinded

what

2.2797 : 12/29/12 : Never a Chorus

Ain't got it
cannot care
hey it happens
today a blank stare
never a chorus
so it all misses the point
and the lines keep getting longer
and the time more out of joint

what

2.2796 : 12/28/12 : The Underwriters

After the underwriters
enumerate my vices
after I learn the costs
begin to pay the prices
nothing will change
Save a little protection
provided I can measure up
provided I can pass inspection
there's no real insurance
but you do what you can
give the underwriters their cut
and pray you get your A plan

what

2.2795 : 12/27/12 : Dreams

Dreams what are you
trying to tell me
imaginary bands
my own bright fantasy
if I could get my mind
off the big parade
I'll get no part
of that cavalcade
and if there really is
no story underneath
I guess it's up to me
to give this new dream teeth

what

2.2794 : 12/26/12 : Cold Start

Wondering what's becoming
of me as I begin to doubt
that dreams mean anything
as I begin to see life
as a game of cruel percentages
a random distribution
a matter mainly of parentages
no hope for revolution
no hope for transformation
no point it turned out
in gathering the information
the dull eyed truth that it's depression talking
doesn't penetrate to my heart
and inertia's all I've got left
to impel me through another cold start

what

2.2793 : 12/25/12 : Borrowed

You could say it's
all been borrowed time
Since the age of three
You'd think I could
let down my guard
temper my shrill plea
all fine and well
saying to yourself
be true
But I owe what I owe
and see no help from you
and I can't distinguish
from pure chance
and I can't take in wisdom
afforded such a brief glance
and these borrowed answers
don't fit any of my questions
and what about you
are you out of suggestions

what

2.2792 : 12/24/12 : Little Incarnation

Oh little incarnation
am I part of the tradition
If it's scarcely ever seen again
What then the sum of our condition
what is this song about
by whom was it written
probably none will ever ask
none enchanted none are smitten
none believe in incarnation
all reject my sacred premise
none perceive the poetry
every one points out the blemish
What can the psalmist say
I'm surely not the canon
and I've turned it all upside down
long snarling after mammon

what

2.2791 : 12/23/12 : Child Star

I might be too old
to be a child star now
gone past late bloomer
I'll start right out with my last bow
Should it appear
would I reach my hand out
it's not even
worth my time to think about
what's worth it
are reasons all delusion
I can't fall back anymore
claiming blind confusion
the child stars all grew up
at the same rate as me
and strangely enough
most seem wrapped up in the same calamity

what

2.2790 : 12/22/12 : Habits

Is this a habit
or a habitat
not so sure that
I can like like that
after twenty years
I really need a plan B
and having walked free
from the habits that were
killing me
I said
Here's to breaking patterns
here's to silent pauses
here's to bold adventures
that come
without escape clauses
here's to turning new habits
inside out
and I'll rock this new adventure
Like a Roundabout

what

2.2789 : 12/21/12 : Deserve

I deserve a break too
just as much as
her or you
I'll steal it from
my aspiration
call it my
deferred vacation

what

2.2788 : 12/20/12 : Topic

The topic
considered
rejected
no, not again
and this no great improvement
and so
what then
despite myself
the question
becomes the answer
and here's a bind I've
seen before
that's got left
no romance, here

what

2.2787 : 12/19/12 : Hierarchy

I've been thinking on the hierarchy
I've been thinking it's a bunch of malarky
No escape in your bold new media
no explanation in your dumb encyclopedia
I guess I better come up with a way to feel okay
about where I seem to land in my day to day
I guess I better get over this climbing urge
I guess I better go off on a big esteem splurge
Write from the bottom still claiming the top
So sad you haters have to close up shop
Can't help but drop in the beam of my velvet anarchy
look on as we deal with the hierarchy

what

2.2786 : 12/18/12 : Sanctus

In Spiritus Sanctus
You know they never thanked us
now all mixed together
one climate no weather
Could these be the bad days
The meeting of all wrong ways
the next great extinction
what place for one of no distinction?
no trace of the spiritus sanctus
that I can perceive
no it's not blasphemy
What was once felt
What and where was it?
delusion or glimmer
will grim days
see it wane ever dimmer?

what

2.2785 : 12/17/12 : Breaks

These breaks that don't matter
will any?
have you thought on that subject
Yes, many
the waves break south
the waves break east
until we break these selfish habits
we're banned from the feast
compassion battles stress:
Who knew
then what is love's tactic?
I'll have to get back to you

what

2.2784 : 12/16/12 : Empty

Not a thing in my head
and it feels pretty good
I needed a vacation
and I said I would
Empty out my brain
and start fresh clean and cold
zero preconceptions
and good as gold

what

2.2783 : 12/15/12 : Craft

A little long in the tooth
to learn a new craft
but what the hell else
Guess I'm going to have to
Get tired just thinking
about that hill
I'll face it all tomorrow
then I'll swallow that pill

what

2.2782 : 12/14/12 : Not Made

You and I
not made for these times
not made for this world
armed only with rhymes
If I could talk to you
What would you say
are you still very sad
I am today
make a case
this world wasn't made
for wrath and violence
We deserve a place
a little patch
of peace and silence
another day
I know I'll see it all again
I never understood it
and I still won't then

what

2.2781 : 12/13/12 : A Thousand

A thousand things to do
and nothing pays
am I going to think of that
another thousand days
When I piece it out like that
it doesn't seem so much
Still well shy of ten
since when I lost my magic touch
hell I cannot ride this train
a minute more
fueled by fear and distrust
of just what's in store
So afraid of dying
by the thousand cuts
time to grasp the nettle
and this time, no buts

what

2.2780 : 12/12/12 : Break This

I've got to break this thing
I've got to
got to got to
break this thing
it's not a teacup
it's not a string
I've got to, got to got to break this thing
Up close it looks like a wall
Way back it looks like a chasm
It cast a mountain's
shadow at night
but in daylight seem a phantasm
Conscience tells me it's inside
but my eyes say
it's the world's fault
If I could just get
a couple weeks to contemplate
If I could just call a halt
to make strategy
a plan on how
on how to break this thing
until I do it seems
I can not make a thing

what

2.2779 : 12/11/12 : Puppet

Push a last penny
into this slot
watch the little puppet dance
a whole lot like
my little spot
in a little while
the next way will appear
little puppet
you will get your choice
no fear

what

2.2778 : 12/10/12 : Working

What do you get
if you say it isn't working
maybe an apartment
and a lawyer's bill
What's your next move
When you can't see a future
another plan
or the poison pill
Never stop it says
never settle
It was a slogan
on a liquor ad
I had a thought
about hope and promise
Still working on it
day and night, gay or sad

what

2.2777 : 12/09/12 : Trusting in Luck

Is it just
trusting in luck again
magic numbers
with my magic pen
no just exhausted
from straight up work
all perfectly legitimate
so wipe off that smirk

what

2.2776 : 12/08/12 : Where Dreams Come to Die

I arrive all unprepared my everyday calamity
Look at me all meek and scared well oh the humanity
You think you're going to write your way out of this one son
The fact that I believe I might that's how the death of dreams gets done
Welcome one and all to the place where dreams come to die
Hey lady what you think of my face as the years pass me by
I even thought I was one of a kind and it would pay somehow
If my friends could read my mind if they could see me now
up in this hallowed ground where dreams come to die
sill chasing the big sound just another astral pie
And when I line them back to back you know I've got to laugh
throw another up the stack know I'm not there by half
and still you've got to find your wrap along every twenty four
Keep waiting for thing to snap still keep finding more
Imagining might be unstoppable dreams might be immortal
and when my head beat gets so droppable I cannot resist the portal
that flings me from the place where dreams come to die
the grand transcendent race that great gig in the sky
And if it is my destiny to be the last mook in the chorus
I guess it's just the pest in me that won't let you ignore us
up here singing our hearts out where dreams come to die
they're sweeter dying on the vine so sweet I want to cry
there are more things that will never be than ever get to live
and if I want to be free that's a thing I'll have to forgive

what

2.2775 : 12/07/12 : The Player

Will this let the anger out?
not this time I think about
Where it could go
and who's to blame?
the player
the brayer
or the master of the game?

what

2.2774 : 12/06/12 : Elimination

The diarist's metaphor
elimination
not exactly the most beautiful
model of creation
And the keeping
and the cataloging
paging Dr. Freud
If I wasn't me
I'd bee even more annoyed
What was I expecting
Grand revelation
What did I think
would be left standing
after all elimination
times is up for today
there's progress here for sure
if it's just clearing the decks
well still that motive's pure

what

2.2773 : 12/05/12 : Now On

From without further delay
to from now on
try to parse despite my attitude
it's just that what's been going on
the difference everywhere
the revelation of the increment
a talisman against despair
I reach out for the feeling of
a journey I once had
recall myself withdraw my hand
it can't be grasped for good or bad
what's not philosophy or science
tends to defy their boxes
and rhetoric's no substitute
When I roll out these paradoxes

what

2.2772 : 12/04/12 : Set

How do you really get
outside the set in ways
a million dollar question sure
but then who pays
past superstition
superficial meaning
such a slow slow harvest
of wisdom I'm gleaning
I would like to please myself
that's no crime
I would like to tell my tale
it's my dime
If no one wants to listen
I'll find a way to cope
as I still grope for the edges
well I've still got hope

what

2.2771 : 12/03/12 : So Bad

Want to give up so bad
hey nobody's stopping you
the concept so rad
but the network's still dropping you
I used to be a player
for certain small definitions
peeled off another layer
whoops and lost my ambitions

what

2.2770 : 12/02/12 : Fresh Concept

Leave thoughts unthought
hey a fresh concept
for your crazy bin
ten years and still
we just keep cooking up
and chucking in
Alternatives are scarce
even while riches embarrass
Don't wear it out
soon it will find its way
to history's pile
you wouldn't think it
but it's been planned like this
all the while
it even has a name
but guessing it is half the game

what

2.2769 : 12/01/12 : Reruns

Gross: what if it's all reruns
form here on out no original content
wait did I say this before
don't look at me friend no comment
that it's all been seeming too familiar
nothing but to put it to the halt
hope for a better day like always
remember that it isn't all my fault

what

2.2768 : 11/30/12 : Gimmicks

Maybe could have guessed gimmicks
and shortcuts not your game
Well I never asked for the lottery
or sudden fame
just a simple plan
some confidence of execution
left with solipsism
ever-present confusion
World seems unfixable
people obstinate and cruel
children ask only for love
can't even afford them gruel
fix it your non-presence demands
you immanentize my promised lands
have you taken a look at these aching hands
trying to grasp shadows, desert sands
it's a cruel trick
when you known I'm not built for it
To issue this compulsion
To me to dive in to the hilt for it
No it's not a gimmick
but it's a dark magic spell
here I thought you dealt in light
all the time but oh well

what

2.2767 : 11/29/12 : The Horse

To hell with you all
And the horse you all road in on
I guess I'll line up with the rest
but inside I am not a minion
It could go on and on
but I'll retire to get rave on
You'll have to show me if you think
there's one good reason to behave on

what

2.2766 : 11/28/12 : Priorities

Are you trying to tell me something
about priorities
I said they'd come first but I
can't get to them
that's some exquisite irony
I could use a little help here
The Path's anything but clear
can you even relate to fear
Without a wheel I cannot steer
And here I am
at a remove discussing
my priorities
Speaking to air
inside my head
craving just a taste of my old certainty

what

2.2765 : 11/27/12 : Cliff

Everybody's talking cliffs
All feeling up against
the cuts we cornered
with the words we minced
fear the insurrection
the resource crash
and all that couldn't be solved
with a fistful of cash
want to see the whole world drawn up
and converged
but aside from the odd battlefield
nothing really surged
and real or imaginary
the cliff haunts us all
and no matter who
we all take the big last fall

what

2.2764 : 11/26/12 : Don't Talk

Don't talk about failure
the same same same
don't mention the project
or anything by name
How no one pays attention
how nobody cares
Don't talk about that comeback
You came up with on the stairs
What a pity, nothing to say
give me a topic is all I pray
And I don't talk about it
Anywhere but here
Don't talk how it's all circular
Or how there's nothing here

what

2.2763 : 11/25/12 : Fast

Give me a magic missile
and make it fast
universal projectile
a killing strike to last
what is this yawning emptiness
my first world tourist trip
I'll speak of it for years I'm sure
a half dozen meals I skip

what

2.2762 : 11/24/12 : Triage

I'm going to triage my priorities
It's going to be different this time, you'll see
won't get distracted, let my focus slip
be like an arrow shot in space this trip
failing belief in a special destiny
triage must be my first priority
failing belief in special intervention
the structure of decision must be of my own invention
but I'll make it nice and simple like 1, 2, 3
and feeling right will be my next priority
and since a triage of course means three
well I hate to ruin surprises so just wait and see

what

2.2761 : 11/23/12 : Face

Making a list of things
to throw in your all-seeing face
I add some flattering
there on the end for just in case
it's a nice trick
how you vanish when the blame goes 'round
but when it's time for giving thanks
your self-regard astounds
my face looks back at me
am I still a believer
am I in the grips of the
delusion of some grim deceiver
I find I cannot push
my mind in these shapes anymore
now I am face to face with it
forced to decide what it is for

what

2.2760 : 11/22/12 : A Million Stories

Anticipating antipathy
the days we pick here
in Land o' Free
Can't we all just
try to be nice
a million stories
and with each comes a price
I'll be the bigger man
I'm just that kind
now there's a story
I'd delete from my mind
If you could do that
it turns out you can't
So I repeat myself
so I rave and rant

what

2.2759 : 11/21/12 : Pre-Emptive

Pre-emptive thanks
weren't expecting it
show me your crazy notion
Wow I'm respecting it
Short of time
but it's at your command
me in my usual state
yes nothing in my hand

what

2.2758 : 11/20/12 : These Days

Sure of these days
I was very clearly told
they even guaranteed they'd strike
before I was quite old
They even told me I'd be
surprised despite the warning
but no one could explain
the way I'd feel that next morning
no use in getting mad
anyway we can't afford it
if there's only one train out
What use to refuse to board it
these days I have to ask
Is it really any new trouble
or just that it's our turn now
to draw a black spot and get it double

what

2.2757 : 11/19/12 : No Advice

I give up my no advice again
I am so far out of my depth my friend
my fine mentor can we begin again
nothing but my stupid little prayers to send
And it's all like this isn't it oh Great One
Okay till it's not and anytime you say, boom, done
I can't keep track of everything I had begun
and nothing done and oh are we yet having fun?
No advice at all in the book just weird tales
neither wise nor a babe just a blank verse gun on rails
and what've you got to say everyday you outrage me with travails
how hard how dark how fast my sin pales
in comparison to the high and mighty
in comparison to the crimes of Aphrodite
I guess I'm not a lot of use, all-rightey
as I quest for the advice so elusive and flighty

what

2.2756 : 11/18/12 : Grind

Is there any work
that isn't a grind
or is it just how must
messes with my mind
I thought that I
Could rise above
be mister iconoclast
Live on love
but Justice ain't the only
thing that's blind
and everywhere I look
it's just another grind

what

2.2755 : 11/17/12 : Rogue Android

Rogue android
will we never learn
after the disaster
and its lesson so stern
we just keep bringing them
because they work so hard
thinking this time we won't
screw it up: let down our guard

what

2.2754 : 11/16/12 : Spec

Will anything ever
end up matching the spec
So many times I prayed gold
and rolled up dreck
should I be digging harder
or pulling up my claim
Or just searching out someone
to loudly blame
what if nothing ever changes
from now on
I think I heard that
in some forgotten song
What if God made it all up
and shrugs when we ask why
Someone should think about that
but not this guy

what

2.2753 : 11/15/12 : Shallow

Good God could it be
it's still all been superficial
Up to this point the surface only
the truth always so sacrificial
maybe there's nothing in there
everything is hollow
would that even excuse
these long swamps in which I wallow
thrash out into the deep
toes lift off the riverbed
feel it closing over
and try not to lose your head

what

2.2752 : 11/14/12 : Drop

4 days drop like a rock
into a dark pool
they can't teach you where it goes
in any school
It may just
teach you to respect the mysteries
dear God
I hope it's harbinging
a brighter destiny

what

2.2751 : 11/13/12 : Softballs

I need some softballs
slow pitches up in there
too tired to swing hard
a pile of stress and fear
I guess I serve myself
pick my path day to day
the saving grace is
there's always more to say

what

2.2750 : 11/12/12 : Circle 'Round the Heart

I circle 'round the heart
wondering if I dare to tap it
thinking of the pile that waits
for this plan if I scrap it
So now what demand some more
I heard there was a promise
I don't know what for
But you've got to put
Your heart in it
Tonight you'll dream
just how you'll start in it

what

2.2749 : 11/11/12 : Rosetta

I can't speak the language
though it is so common
this is not the rosetta
of the Ankh or Aman
There's no translation across
all these channels
the triptych works
but there's no translating the panels
I guess we'll have to
stay curious about it
But you know I understand
Why you were
furious about it

what

2.2748 : 11/10/12 : Damietta

I had trouble in getting to Damietta
the years I dreamed and so little got better
the journey north its thousand tales
You know the end I sought beyond a thousand veils
Everybody took to me like Lawrence of Arabia
So wise and sensitive
I seemed a sage or maybe a
harbinger, an omen an idol
in Damietta in the time of my revival

what

2.2747 : 11/09/12 : I'm Done

I threw my dice into the river
ah whoops that didn't deliver
was never great with metaphor
Especially ones about Roman war
If you think it's been real
if you think it's been fun
maybe you should try it out
for a couple of years: I'm done
Hell I don't know what I'll talk about next
anything but ambition or circular text
As long as it can carry about five years
by then I swear every account will be out of arrears
by then I swear
I'll find out how to find out
by then I know
I'll really clean my mind out
but today baby
I ain't the one
and the reason I know
is because I'm done

what

2.2746 : 11/08/12 : Idea

What came across like
such a straight idea
all light in the darkness
all truth will free ya
Such a bit of nothing
five minute's action
turned out so much work
and where's the satisfaction
I said: Idea
when you turned so wrong
another and another and another song
when I thought I had the number
of all you fools
world grew so many moving parts
all with so few rules
not much revision
in the premise as conceived
and if I turn it over
would I be relieved
Say I'm taking my idea
and I'm going home
but it sticks like a shadow
wherever I may roam

what

2.2745 : 11/07/12 : Other Game

Am I asking the right questions
am I on the right side
Am I foolishly spectating as
ill suited entropies elide
the feeling I can't shake
has two faces like a coin
bound always together but
the two can never truly join
But I see myself neither elevated
ranked in any great race
nor dragged int the heavy depths
having lost all worth and face
the answer's not somewhere between
it's some whole other game
Just need to learn the rules and
find the court and hand the judge my name

what

2.2744 : 11/06/12 : Horse Race

Screw 'em I'm not going
to watch the so-called
horse race
leave it up to
that one and
old what's-his-face
not going to get
anxious
and bite my nails
let the rest of
you all fools
chase your tails
drum up a little
light and
innocuous fare
pretend for a night
the horse race
just isn't there

what

2.2743 : 11/05/12 : In the Interest

In the interest of change
Throw a little strange
on the dice
all in the wrist
doesn't that feel nice

what

2.2742 : 11/04/12 : Sign Off

Before I get too used
to the change in time
I'm going to sign one off
with a played out rhyme
that road I've been down
a thousand times before
and I stay and wait and wonder
if you've got anything more

what

2.2741 : 11/03/12 : Pity

I want your pity
what's that say about me
I want to spit it
back at you and be free
all I wanted
was one last big score
You know at just a taste
you'd see me back for more
Oh it's a pity
but I'm stepping on this
doing nothing right right now
sounds just like bliss
I bet I lost you all
by now huh didn't I
pity as just now I bid
you look within my...

what

2.2740 : 11/02/12 : Beg

Do I have to beg
for freedom from dreams
and will it matter
even if I do
Should I just fake it
make what is from what seems
And who should I ask
then if not you
who would start listening
at this far point
try to make sense
of this continuous catalog
Even I just want
to quit this joint
revert the whole lot back to analog

what

2.2739 : 11/01/12 : Feeling It

I'm feeling it the dagger before me
Oh it's real sweet dreams
no more for you to ignore me
Time to put away all childish things
a dagger of the mind
and the release it brings
And the bloody business
will be done before noon
the final execution of self concept
and burn down this sad cartoon

what

2.2738 : 10/31/12 : Masks

I used to think I
understood the masks
knew the real underneath
their purpose and their tasks
turns out there's no
onion underneath the skin
it's masks all the way down
nowhere to end or begin
don't know who's saying it
don't know who says anything
guess it's saying there's no who
just masks and wandering
you'd think that it would let me
off the hook at long last
guest I can't see past it either
despite all illusions past

what

2.2737 : 10/30/12 : Reflect

How will I let go
how will I rest
is this just checking boxes
did I fail a test
Is there a new approach
anything to expect
will I recall a bit of it
with just this record to reflect

what

2.2736 : 10/29/12 : Elusive

Talk is cheap
and real change is elusive
despite my aspirations
to be bitter and reclusive
they just keep calling
me to serve again
and destiny just keeps
swerving when
I try to get a bead
succumb to a dull inevitable
So I served the stable
now I get to inherit the bull
no labors of mythology
to layout the elusive way
stuck mucking out my own mess
waiting for something to form my clay

what

2.2735 : 10/28/12 : Interesting

What's interesting?
snails and stones
the patterns water makes
the patterns water makes
brass and bones
no money in it
so sick of that consideration
what's not interesting
the business of this busy nation
process manager
procedures analyst
momma told me
someday I'd get the gist
you've got to
hold on to what's interesting
when the tide pours in
and I'm holding on with both hands
despite the shape I'm in

what

2.2734 : 10/27/12 : Haven't Got

I heard your song you wrote
and I liked it a lot
It reminded me of tons of stuff
I simply haven't got
The totally sweet bridge
and the rising action
all that keeps me going lately's
not to give the devil the satisfaction
cross my fingers say I'm fine
how much longer can I fake this line
give me a bottle of the hard stuff and a match
to hell with this
I'm burning down this patch
You can't make a change
with what you haven't got
I guess I'll push that pen
into another spot

what

2.2733 : 10/26/12 : Conversation

Imagine conversation
with the great but complicated man
tell him I'm a partisan
tell him I'm a fan
talk about the bible
the election
Where we grew up
talk about relentless time
and how it tends
to chew up
the imagined conversations
and trips
we only dream
something's got to give
I've got to step
across this stream
And he's got no
advice for me
I've not already read
And there's no more time
for making conversation
in my head

what

2.2732 : 10/25/12 : Willing

The spirit is willing
the flesh is also willing
and when I crack the formula
I'm going to make a killing
I'm so certain it's my destiny
to be every bit of that
and if fate won't cooperate
I'll take her to the mat
When I asked her if she would
She said that she was willing
not fate, mere mortal troth
but to me it was more thrilling
and maybe it's the only magic
the only destiny
I'm willing to work with that
if only it will work with me

what

2.2731 : 10/24/12 : Maybe

One stumbling brief maybe
after the next
the devil asks him
what he expects
he says you haven't
signed it yet you know
I do and so
now you go

what

2.2730 : 10/23/12 : Begun

So many days
I dreamed that he would come
the one
and then the thing would be begun
Given to believe
that my unreadiness was all
to blame
and now let's play the "what exists" game
what if it started
15 thousand days along
all gone
and just keeps rolling on
What if there's no answer
but shut up, head down
the sequel may astound
If I were you baby I'd stick around

what

2.2729 : 10/22/12 : Of Good and Evil

Of good and evil
recent days taught me a lot
but the cost of that great knowledge
is both heavy and hot
You can't just get around
disliking your own self so much
I used to slide around the sticking point
but these days I've lost my touch
maybe we all just
go along and each day grimmer
as we get to know the human race
its prospects just seem dimmer
as we get to know ourselves
good and evil seem like luck
the chance of birth of circumstances
chance you had the time to duck

what

2.2728 : 10/21/12 : Battery

I recollected the battery
because of pain
that unjustly fell upon me
I didn't expect it
but who does?
It wasn't unbearable
until it was
I don't know if I'd manage
to activate it
It causes hope
therefore I hate it
and I can't say
that it will change a thing
it might but it's an answer
only time will bring

what

2.2727 : 10/20/12 : Work It

The only kind of magic that's real
And I was a master once
just how did I feel
It doesn't leave a lot behind
And like everything else
it's all in the mind
If I don't break this
latest spell
I don't know what's next
but it won't be pretty
And I keep going back
to the well
How can I still feel vexed
by a substandard ditty
no more getting out
of my head anymore
no more to work it work it
I wrap the cord around
once twice tight
brace my feet and jerk it

what

2.2726 : 10/19/12 : The Other Thing

The other thing I thought of
was too sad to say
So hey, today,
another: come what may
so hey today
pardon my fray
the other thing I thought
was too hard on me
it's not a crime to be lost
or to want to be free
And if there are many
with a better claim on misery
Well it's not a contest
and we're on the same side you see

what

2.2725 : 10/18/12 : Gems

Moments shine out
like unstrung gems
no story at all
no shortage of problems
it'll all be a wash
in a thousand years
but still I've got to deal
with all these nows and heres
Now my gems look shabby
chipped colored glass
If I really had my druthers
give it all a pass
but I must keep mining
This played out claim
pray there's still a few surprises
left in the long game

what

2.2724 : 10/17/12 : Sell Out

If they offered me a paycheck
and a slot to tuck in
I'd sell out this mess so fast
your little head would spin
but there is no they
and nobody is buying
So it's back to the blank sheet
as it seems I'm far from dying
What a miserable topic
You must be so bored
as I struggle to embrace
what I claimed I once abhorred
we who never truly hungered
never truly faced the street
will sell out industry's last dregs
as we drag and drag our feet

what

2.2723 : 10/16/12 : Pile

Pinches or shovels
all add to the pile
but the critical mass
eludes all the while
if only I could
expunge this spark
I could call the pile enough
and eject hope for a lark

what

2.2722 : 10/15/12 : Obscure

The hole is everywhere
and what's the use
what's the point of pretending
What's my excuse
Anger, hunger
envy and lust
up to four already
fucken crazy or bust
this is your brain on
heavy doses
of realism framed
in the usual psychoses
not enough hours
not even making the polls
obscure to vanishing
and obsessed with the holes

what

2.2721 : 10/14/12 : Million

They laugh at me
thinking so small
only a million
you don't get it at all
just want to be great
at something hard
something uncommon
here's my card
like I could ever be
the next million seller
don't even have a rudder
or a damn propeller
try to get personal
Cook it down to one
hope I get enough time
hope sometimes it's fun

what

2.2720 : 10/13/12 : Twisted Wood

I close my eyes and all I see
is twisted wood
what does it mean you ask
I shrug in my black hood
who can search out the meaning
of the metaphors
that condense on the portholes
of perception's pressure doors
I had a dream I was
back in the old shop
Where I used to cook up beats
and engineer the drop
and oh man that brew
felt just like twisted wood
Still stumped me but back then
mystery still felt good

what

2.2719 : 10/12/12 : Phone

If I only want to
phone it in
should I wait a little longer
it begin?
Heaven knows I can
fake it up
but I can't escape the fear
I'll have to make it up
someday
Too samey samey
too long long long
too late I stuck it
in another song
Too late to worry
about solipsism
Everybody may
already be way past
post-ism

what

2.2718 : 10/11/12 : Material

Maybe the good just runs out
You ever thought about it?
The hole will take us all out
But guess who takes the first hit?
Your phone will not deliver
Cause you can't eat the ethereal
And I'd love to make anything
But I cannot stand the new material
What am I supposed to cut out of this black cloth?
How do I fly from the flame like an anti-moth
I never signed on
for a course in dystopia
but we're all getting one anyway
guess you'd call that entropy huh?
In my darkest mind
the streamers of black
wind up every jot and dittle
lash it all to the rack
pull every particle to pieces
in my fantasy imperial
Start from scratch with a batch
of the new material

what

2.2717 : 10/10/12 : Tentacles

Make it about tentacles
and zombies and cupcakes
and fixies
I'll bend it like Beckham
and woo like
the Pixies
I want to be so dated
before the ink dries
what else what else
it's so cute how he tries
always lose my stomach
less than halfway in
you can't always
bull through every
thing you begin
still like the tentacles
they'll stay in the show
as to the rest
guess I'll just go with the flow

what

2.2716 : 10/09/12 : Encore

And for my encore
allow me to say
I stopped short at almost
giving up on everything again today
It wasn't impressive
thanking God it's not all worse isn't a strategy
I'll blame the world for fifteen thousand days
but the rest are all on me

what

2.2715 : 10/08/12 : Extremity

These everyday extremities
embarrassing to protest
I'm so nobody special
I'm so just like the rest
but though it is a poor excuse
I'll take it and I'll bolt
another day like always
stage another dull revolt

what

2.2714 : 10/07/12 : Narrower

Maybe it's really all getting narrower
Maybe I'm finding time is the harrower
Maybe life really has no narrative
And I've cashed in my last imperative
the grass was always greener
in the past
And feeling like my own future's
Outcast
It's just another gloomy phase
maybe true
Feels and works out the same
So hell with you

what

2.2713 : 10/06/12 : No Pattern

Stare at the page
try to crack a code
night after night
it sure gets old
maybe it's nonsense
no pattern beneath
nothing you could carry back
or sink in with your teeth
the same gets samier
a brutal tell
and still I'll wave that motherfucker
ring it like a bell

what

2.2712 : 10/05/12 : Buy My Way Out of This Hole

I've got to buy my way
out of this hole
and I'll pay any toll
In any coin on any day
This is the first installment
a ticket for one night
all ghouls depart my sight
As I prepare to break the enthrallment

what

2.2711 : 10/04/12 : Flight Risk

Am I a flight risk
I think not
not sure exactly why
It's not the kink I've got
I don't dream of freedom
I did my time alone
but I must dream of something
It pains my crooked bone
Could we all run away
take all our problems along
take the debt take the jobs
this ancient curse of song
I don't know if I'm persistent
or deep in the rut
and I don't have a flight plan
no this is anything but

what

2.2710 : 10/03/12 : Fantasy World

So I guess
this is goodbye
fantasy world
how my blood boiled
oh how my toes curled
probably another
cheap scared
laugh in the dark
but there's no more slack
and this ain't
no dream park

what

2.2709 : 10/02/12 : Magic Box

Excuse my quiet voice I'm embarrassed
excuse me staring at my feet
I struggled through a tangled mess to get here
and seeing you my shame is made complete
just let it tumble out I want the magic box again
my efforts to run solo are all mired in molasses
I need a straight up miracle the real childish stuff
that never would get whispered of among the better classes
Excuse my crudeness I'm dull slob
My lack of grace but time is getting dire
My mundane box is only full of scraps of paper
and every slip is begging for the fire
and you of anyone should know how badly I need it
of anyone should know just how the seed was sown
Do I have to mention just exactly whose responsibility
put it in me and how it's grown and grown and grown

what

2.2708 : 10/01/12 : Numbers

Rather than allow dreams in
I run the stupid numbers
And try to figure out the route
run by this ship of bumblers
I haven't got anything else
my bag of tricks is empty
I'm down to my last sleight of hand
Vanish the coin he lent me
There's no escape from the numbers
the numbers never sleep
I wake up every morning to
more numbers in a heap
after another day
of pushing them around
I haven't got a drop left in me
Collapse onto the ground

what

2.2707 : 9/30/12 : Clever

Give be a big fat black marker
I've had enough of going dark to darker
I've had enough of being oh so serious
Ready to blow off the fog of the furious
     You could be oh so clever for sure
     and maybe end up as the jerk de jour
     but I am ready to try oh so nice
     I'll never break through well it's no big price
     I'm sick and tired of the clever smack
     And if I feel like no one's got my back
     It's an illusion and I know it's so
     Why not hum a little nice so la ti do
Give me a shredder tear the pages out
Want to be happy who care's what it's all about
want to be busy no time to think
about who the I thought I was or why the options stink
There I go again it's hard to change
Have to accept I may have found my range
Well nobody dies from keeping on trying
At least all the bustle will drown my sighing

what

2.2706 : 9/29/12 : Required

It was my choice
to be required
who knows what
tangled strand
inspired
I can swivel
if I wish
it will not help
this little fish
I do a mediocre job
better than none
and who else volunteers
not anyone
if I could be content
to merely be required
If I could struggle from
this dismal place I'm mired

what

2.2705 : 9/28/12 : Hoarders

Stock piles of batteries and gold
no damn trees
and you can't burn those when you're cold
the hoarders are in charge these days
and the wicked world
reflects their ways
the world was a cornucopia
of delights
self regulating
ocean depths to majestic heights
but the hoarders want
to sew it all up
for a sense of security
false cure for the half filled cup
I'm done buying in
to the dismal myth of scarcity
I'm not going to try
to drag half the world along with me
immediately
I'm smashing into the hoard
I'll get real wild on you
well at least I won't be bored

what

2.2704 : 9/27/12 : Backwards

Do things backwards for a change
see if the change up feels strange
what is hope when it's reversed
how is the relife uncursed
from general to specific
from terrible to terrific
Can't actually tell anything I bet
oh I'll find that formula yet

what

2.2703 : 9/26/12 : Stuck

Imagine totally free
some undulating creature in the sea
change its stripes
change its spots
do you like to recognize patterns
I've got lots
flowing like a flowing analogy
the river of cliché
into the story sea
and the freedom cuttlefish
that floats inside
I just finally figured out
how I got took for this ride
circling the circling
metaphor
El oh el I stepped
through the möbius door
tried hard to make it
about something outside and true
but I'm stuck in this damn room
so why the hell not you

what

2.2702 : 9/25/12 : Trash

Nothing to do
but take out the trash
bite into anything at all
and just thrash
hope it's a doldrums
not the crushing end
string about a thousand words
along and hit send

what

2.2701 : 9/24/12 : Times Like This

Times like this I really wish
the brain was as wired different somehow
I'd like to paint a picture
but it seems I don't know how
Don't know how to do anything
but dance around the words
couldn't you just scramble it all
send me out with the herds
Times like this exit the fugue
familiar walls familiar weight
Easy enough to string along
a meager meal of words on the dainty plate
No longer seems much better than nothing
and sure as hell it's not enough
and you just keep slinging pinpricks
Times like this I better come back hard and rough

what

2.2700 : 9/23/12 : Left of Me

First did I want to be important
First did I want to be good
How did I think of what I ought
And is that the same as should
I listen to my betters
even as I do my worst
And when I try not to do
It bears down just like a thirst
And if I stopped asking, grasping
What on earth would I be
Put away so many things
So what is left of me:
a vicious tongue
turned inside out
so every lash
I get a clout
worries borrowed
begged and stolen
a life that feels
like a semicolon

what

2.2699 : 9/22/12 : Work

Work work only want the work
what a jerk only want to shirk
Is it the work or is the fault mine
Did opportunity offer
did I decline
do I simply not work hard enough
did I shirk and slack and slough
Should I say tomorrow I'll be better
Should I write it to myself in a letter

what

2.2698 : 9/21/12 : Sick Persecution

Sick persecution fantasy
Be gone away with thee
Get to the back lord Satan
Gosh why must you be hating
I only want to sing and dream
you seem to want to see me scream
I only want a thousand superfans
I'm down from a million
Such humble plans

what

2.2697 : 9/20/12 : No Lesson

No lesson learned
no even worse burned
old responses insufficient
but at least all still efficient
let go the mob
cast free into the ebb and throb
making a go pray on easy rest
the first five minutes really is a test

what

2.2696 : 9/19/12 : Rough

Rough days
and no use protesting
I didn't ask for
those problems a' nesting
I can knock out one
at least and then retire
just for the night
you understand
then back into the fire

what

2.2695 : 9/18/12 : Hamsters

Hamsters got bigger
wheels than this
money fear of sickness
the elusive search for bliss
fear of evil fear of want and war
Is that all it's really for?
How much can get filed
under the end of everything
used to be at least
when I was dead I could stop stressing
not anymore
my obligations are immortal
and require insurance
even past the doomsday portal
at some point you just stop caring
for your far flung progeny
don't know if that's pragmatic
or reveals misanthropy
like hamsters in a warren
that just stretches on and on
fair enough it's not like they
will care about me when I'm gone

what

2.2694 : 9/17/12 : Imaginary

Far and far gone in
imaginary conversations
fretting did I step too far
reveal private intimations
frankly I was led astray
by the cut of the blouse
oh what a plaster saint
oh what a louse
I'm only human then
I bleed when I'm cut
I get my hackles up
I mutter huh and what
not happy with the hole
imaginary soup to nuts
but what I have to work with's
all I have to fight these ruts

what

2.2693 : 9/16/12 : Forget

If I could oh
really forget myself and tomorrow
What a proof against
a world of sorrow
I said I'd do it
this very day
isn't what I always say
why the looking in
What am I seeking
why looking ahead
I can't shake this sneaking
feeling it all comes to fear
and lashing out at ghosts
to forget the only antidote
ironic what I fear the most

what

2.2692 : 9/15/12 : Choices

Can't think of nothing
but the choices
that make me sick
and only salesmen
want to know what makes me tick
to think there was a time
I thought I should
hear all the voices
now it's so clear
it was always all about choices
and I'm wrecked
weary from choices I made
didn't seem much at the time
well that's how the piper
gets paid
and I will choose to
go out with that
not very tidy
but that choice is old hat

what

2.2691 : 9/14/12 : Autonomy

Oh heavens will I dare
to point my finger
The question's in the air
unspoken accusations linger
of the matter of autonomy
and it's nothing that you said to me
but the way that
certain things were written
and I guess you thought
You knew that I was smitten
well it was something but not quite that, dear
and anyway I heard your signals loud & clear
But that aside
I have to say
that I never did stand
in the light of your own way
and if I demure
that each thing will be fine
well it's just that you have your way
and I have mine

what

2.2690 : 9/13/12 : Proscribed

With the crackling probe of light
imagination described
I test each inch of the perimeter
by which I am proscribed
I droned so very long
about the state of limitation
then the moment that I
came to terms with my situation
All things are proscribed
freedom requires it
either that or mere explosion
and hell we're smoking in the pyre's pit
So it is my will no other
that put the locks upon the gates
I see him standing at the open door
and still he hesitates

what

2.2689 : 9/12/12 : Battle

I get the battle for
the center self
open hearted
unarmored
awake: how
it all started
but still
why must we
battle so
and don't these
cages
rattle though?
I keep on getting
up and
fighting on
but it doesn't feel
like victory
or like I'm writing wrong

what

2.2688 : 9/11/12 : Crowd

Asked the crowd
and the crowd shrugged,
maybe
Isn't how I thought
it would
turn out baby
they were right
about one thing
it isn't an end
but something else beginning

what

2.2687 : 9/10/12 : Explain Belief

Why in the world
try to explain belief
rhetoric will steal away
your answer like a thief
No one wants to understand
they just want to critique
why try to bust through that brick wall
why bust up the mystique
If I'm not trying to proselytize
I'm I'm not trying to preach
If I foresee a clear or clever
answer's right out of my reach
Why in the world explain belief
maybe just want to talk
maybe want to think of Dad
try to understand his walk

what

2.2686 : 9/9/12 : Real Attentive

What kind of life and wherever should I live
Things that were taken, things I give
I searched till dawn, face pale and drawn
Trying to reveal the real alternative
Nor just another tale of the seeking
Nor a complaint, at these crumbs I'm eking
no not a word, a voice I've never heard
not of the real alternatives speaking
And how I dreamed I saw its holy face
Heard its bell, and knew its dwelling place
walked in its land, It came out to my hand
Oh how I dreamed I'd carried through my race
What kind of life, wherever should I live
Things that were taken, things I give
And I search still, and say I never will
And still pine for the real alternative

what

2.2685 : 9/8/12 : Any Work Will Do

It cannot be that any
work will do
surely the shovel
digs me no closer to you
It cannot be
but I don't know how to choose
When I feel no matter
what I ever do I lose
It must be wrong
It must be all on me
Some stark command
that I refuse to see
and is that just my
brutal superstitious mind
a useless faith that
is both dumb and blind
nothing but killing time
and getting through
If so I guess that
any work will do

what

2.2684 : 9/7/12 : Protocol

I forgot the protocol
I don't have any time at all
and if it worked I
wouldn't be in this mess anyway
I know I lost it throwing dice
I lost it once I lost it twice
all that long dry time
I should have been making hay
gosh my head hurts gosh it's late
almost back to square one so great
thank goodness no the day
doesn't apply to my kind
try not to see the news
never to express any views
now if I could just likewise
disconnect my mind

what

2.2683 : 9/6/12 : What I Pine For

Why can't I get behind
the comfort the relief
of unexamined faith
of purely blind belief
my brainy version's
never going to catch on
ever present doubts
scabs for the mind
to scratch on
Whatever could qualify
as a real turning point
Some twisting in my heart
Some pressure in my joint
Some outside circumstance
in secret what I pine for
wishing to believe in purpose
if faith for what mine's for

what

2.2682 : 9/5/12 : Someone Good

Someone good
like my man said
reaping what I sow
and I guess until I'm dead
I'll have to try to make bread
from that dubious seed
please don't snuff my smoking wick
or break off my battered reed

what

2.2681 : 9/4/12 : Correct

Neither upright nor correct
no doubt how the turning point gets wrecked
back to lurking fearing doom
more minutes I stay in this room
more days thy foe squats in the wild
come listen to his tale my child
the rebel, the unseemly eel
that lurked and gave us such a feel
no this is not correct I think
he fooled someone with magic drink
perhaps it was a slice of pie
I look but can't quite see the lie
but anyway it's we're bad
and always feel at being glad
but cheer up there's another tale
a correct word a way from fail
the tale of the gathered light
I'll tell to you another night

what

2.2680 : 9/3/12 : Labor

Speak of labor, toil under the sun
did I slack off opportunity
thinking I was just the one
No matter how I sift through
every choice with such a tiny comb
I cannot find another path
that doesn't, too, blow up my home
ready for labor
or I say I am
just confused
helpless little lamb
just worn out
such a trying day
just working up the courage
or so I say oh so I say
speak of labor, shut up and do
What else can I hope
but something turns up true
Because I've never understood
the trick of knowing how
to tease the devil from the details
to set down then and get with now

what

2.2679 : 9/2/12 : Thoughts of Thoughts

Instead of thinking of
the thoughts of thoughts
trying to non-ado
the fresh onslaughts
I'm going to drift and dally
I'll dust your dish up pally
apply a little of the
universal solvent of let be
and trust this little reed boat
to the living stream of melody

what

2.2678 : 9/1/12 : The Hell

No matter how sweet I tune
that bell
it's the same strike
the same what the hell
find a different explanation
for the general strike
no better off
all days alike
all songs alike
a horrid tale
a no account bum
called Ishmael
who couldn't find the hours
to hit the heights
and here I am again
God I hate these nights

what

2.2677 : 8/31/12 : 10,000

Not even enough
to be an expert
not spending an hour
did you expect it?
How typical
how typical of me
how thoughtless
how inimical to be
ten times ten thousand
spent on sleep
far from an expert
I broke your theory on the cheap
two three nine, four four oh
spent it all on
god who knows
and expert on fretting
and whining
grasping and seething
and fearing and pining
the next ten thousand
no doubt chasing the dollar
daydreaming 'bout the true quill
that I'll never collar

what

2.2676 : 8/30/12 : The Old River

God bless steam
running on the old river
that generation's gone
and the landing's just a sliver
of concrete on the highway
a tourist track
a thing to remember
the old smokestack
things don't span
generations anymore
ravenous change
wants more more more
Even the old river
is so greatly changed
is bottom dredged
its channels rearranged
and tomorrow well
Who can tell?
tale of a river's
too big for me to tell

what

2.2675 : 8/29/12 : Trying

What would trying even mean
here and now and in this place
nothing left in this day
no one else running this race
what else would be my hardest
just trying to make it to my bed
It seems I end up here on purpose
despite what I may have said
what am I trying for what's my line
What's between me and just feeling fine
I can't stop trying though it sounds nice
Stayed up too late tomorrow I'll have to try twice

what

2.2674 : 8/28/12 : Leading

Leading up to
ha ha ha
don't buy it anymore
it's not a story
and anticipation
is a bore
not our best effort
no one
is inspired
excuse me
I am frustrated
and tired

what

2.2673 : 8/27/12 : Virtual

Like some irony
virtual memory loss
From the imaginary
other thing in a long list
Of things I don't do anymore
list just keeps growing longer
hardly know what it's for

what

2.2672 : 8/26/12 : Ultrachrome

Why can I close my eyes
and see the kind of beauty
that I know I could bring forth
in my complex way up North
beauty frosted black
bead blasted dark effect
down in the basement of my home
I call this one the ultrachrome
Part art part mix and match
fire up my chromatograph
injections on the gas tap
good directions to the flame trap
but it's all dumb fantasy
world is not could you ever be
no time to wait around
necessity drives me to ground

what

2.2671 : 8/25/12 : Racer

I like your candy world
So bright such rapid motion
So many moving parts
A dash of peril in the potion
Racer why you gotta race
What's racing through your mind?
You work so hard out on the track
work equals zero for your kind
Racer racer spinning out
drifting the trackless track
I wish I had such serpentine moves
looked so smooth in white and red and black
I'm racing fifteen clocks
none thrilling none aglow
not sexy but we do what we must
go dear racer go

what

2.2670 : 8/24/12 : Cog

Cog is desperate for the weekend
to pay a dividend
cog is bothered by the words
of a former
imaginary friend
if yours was the spirit
of that age
I'll denounce with all my heart
before I write another page
while minutes pass
resolutions erode
to think that I once meant
to write it all in code
like a little cog
in my own enigma engine
but I'm working for the light now
as I drop my own
Stonehenge in

what

2.2669 : 8/23/12 : Misericord

You are a strange duality
twin meanings of misericord
a leaning ledge for tired monks
and then again the thinnest sword
I knew a one who called your name
but which he meant I'll never know
or probably who knows these days
nothing makes sense well even so
I'll keep my counsel and mouth shut
misericord misericord
I hope that I don't need you but

what

2.2668 : 8/22/12 : Waves

All the waves of
adversity I surfed
is it just me
or is this one worse?
all ideas that come from
and go nowhere
a sickness unto
something like despair
waves of fearfulness
waves of grief
no good news for two years
and still time steals like a thief
waves of longing
for the time machine
and did I only dream
those fields of green
I wish I could empty
this busted vessel
bang up the contents
with a mortar and pestle
chuck them to the
great great waves
find out just which
holy sailor saves
think about the waves
till I become something like them
lord you better watch for
your dikes when I strike them

what

2.2667 : 8/21/12 : Others

And to the others
Who sacrifice so much more
to this Art I can't commit to
to the non-revolving door
I'll salute you in the morning
I will pay you when I can
I will think of you when praying
to become a better man

what

2.2666 : 8/20/12 : Want to Believe

Hard may be impossible
to get around the prejudice
of what we want to believe
that there's freedom, there's justice
I'm one of the fortunate
one of the few
more than I've earned or deserve
but can't feel like that's true
I keep making the story up
make life make sense
and I guess if I didn't
Still a thousand years hence
world will be here, I won't
likely none will remember
me or my revelations
some weeks shy of September

what

2.2665 : 8/19/12 : Disordered

Can't even break out of the
disordered thinking
while every level of
the so-called order is shrinking
can't even break out of the
stress and ire
try to find the final scapegoat
to frame for the fire
Do you even care
about the world or any living thing
are you entertained while I try
to punch my way out of the ring
will the disorder
ever give way to
Sweet harmony
will I ever
break out of
this life of strangely charmed ennui

what

2.2664 : 8/18/12 : To Be Selfless

To be selfless
to live for others
to ask for the good thing
and not my druthers
I just want out of
the damn hole
give me marching orders
I'll supply the soul

what

2.2663 : 8/17/12 : Terrible Curse

If I show up at your office
unannounced: no appointment
You'll not be moved in the slightest
by my bitter disappointment
sure as hell it will not loosen
even one string on your purse
sure enough I say it was you only
Set on me the terrible curse
More than a quarter of my life
given to the book of days
You say I made it up myself
I say you have your ways
though time grows ever swifter
I can't see beyond the curse's scope
and I must, so I suppose
look elsewhere for my hope

what

2.2662 : 8/16/12 : The Hallowed Goal Shredder Theme Song

Nothing's really worked for twenty years
that whistling sound between my ears
tells me I'm done with trying to walk on coals
Screw inspiration let's start shredding goals!
Once written a goal may only be released
once it's wholly completed or thoroughly deceased
If you kill it it's done, you must chuck it down the spout
think twice you know you really want to work work it out
Once written write the success or failure state
Write the kill plan though it doesn't feel so great
think positive instead write a bold new heading
The where and the how to just get shredding
Break it down and get all stepwise
Now your pencils are sharp said the guy with the great eyes
So get scratching get it underway
gotta check it check check a box every day
Only allowed one page at a time
Oh we've all run afoul of that paradigm
if some parts are checked up you can recopy it all
or just power and shred through let nothing stall
Sublime and mundane must share every page
Stay honest take it all stage by stage
Stick with it check a box every day
Supply the will and you will find a way

what

2.2661 : 8/15/12 : Rope

So this is what
the end of the rope feels like
nowhere to run to
nowhere to bike
coming up now in 13 years
predictably
no savior appears
nothing for it
nothing for it but work
nothing for it but
try not to be a jerk
I'm sorry for snapping
for getting so low
and since the rope keeps running
I better go

what

2.2660 : 8/14/12 : Joke On Me

The joke on me
I never wanted the path
I never wanted the risk
I only wanted the reward
and here it is
all path
and I wouldn't blame you
if you died of being bored
too busy
bottoming out
to offer any
explanation or defense
I'll get every
inch of what I deserve
the proper punishment
for riding the fence
should persistence
be admired
a child repeating
a moronic verse
is there nothing in this
world to break the curse?

what

2.2659 : 8/13/12 : Song of Songs

Be careful when you wish for
a love as strong as death
Its nature is to haunt you
till you draw your final breath
be careful when you wish for
an interesting life
be careful when you wish for
an interesting wife
Your head turned backward
by a curve of a lip
and ass that makes you
fall right off your ego trip
be careful when you ask
to write the song of songs
You know the last who did
You know the list his name belongs
can't see those fingers and
not dream them holding you
beware the songs you write
for each one will come true

what

2.2658 : 8/12/12 : Pith

Treading water still and dead as the crypt
Sun hasn't moved since the world weird slipped
Out of the picture into the myth
how the hell am I supposed to
hack my way through the pith
I imagine shooting through a curling wave of now
but down here it's sewing up the ears of a sow
and this down in the mouth is such a stale bit
If it tastes pithy
it's because I pithed in it
hey that's my dad's joke he ain't around no more
In my mind's eye I see him slipping out the big side door
without a word no without a backwards glance
well he was never so attached
to this stupid dance
But I am here so I'll toe up to that line
hardly knowing which still having to call it mine
right now the center pith seems bitter not sweet
Guess it seems the recipe
Still must be incomplete

what

2.2657 : 8/11/12 : Little Vacuum

Call it a little vacation
not even going to make it rhyme
it's a sorry business
but them's the breaks
And if you don't like it
post a complaint
or wait a day

what

2.2656 : 8/10/12 : Them Nah War

How do I love thee
and is it enough
when the ways diverge
and the sea gets rough
don't listen to them
nah, war is unneeded
I think I repeated
in the dawn you'd receded
I don't really think
things are okay
don't know if I should
fake it again today
Did you ask them? Nah
war is all they know
and again I must insist:
don't ask, just show

what

2.2655 : 8/9/12 : New Normal

There's no new normal
there's never been normal
I didn't have time to
engrave nothing formal
but you're invited, hey
to the convocation
solve for normal-not
solve up this whole nation
should forget the dreams
no one wants saving here
all want to wade in hate
all want to wade in fear
calling new normal's just
a way of giving up
and now I've had enough
sorry it's so abrupt

what

2.2654 : 8/8/12 : Trilogy

No one's going to
line up for my trilogy
the hero only wanted
to escape and get free
you could fit it on the
jacket leave all pages blank
I'll have to think a while longer
about who I'd like to thank

what

2.2653 : 8/7/12 : Dust

Dust is too thick
and I just cant be tempted
I've got excuses
plus I lack incentive
sorry for all these
drive by flutters
Well I'd dance harder
if you were flashing the shutters
will the hard work ever pay off
maybe this is all there is
I best get after the dust
and attend to my biz

what

2.2652 : 8/6/12 : Blurb

How can I boil down
a blurb: a précis
So far and soon
Just being lazy
Not quite true that
the hammer fell hard there
and I was the only
Itinerant bard there

what

2.2651 : 8/5/12 : Curiosity

Do I still feel
curiosity
lately some days
I don't feel like
I've got the time
And I got mired in
philosophy
that ate at
that kid's
energy like
quicklime
I'm rooting for you
curiosity
So far off
in a place I'll never see
here's to imagination
and a gentle touch
and for your namesake within me
please provide a little crutch

what

2.2650 : 8/4/12 : Stair

Where does my stairway lie?
hey mystic rocker guy
the wind is silent, mute
there is no lyre, no flute
bad news goes on and on
can't keep it from my song
and just don't have the knack
although not quite a hack
it seems I can't ascend
where does my stairway end
a hundred floors below
nowhere but down to go

what

2.2649 : 8/3/12 : Copper Field

A plain of green
rust
otherworldly
I trust
the tincture
and its yield
down on
the copper field
the ghosts all
file past
let's make a
pile, fast
digging all the pennies
from the copper field
scratching every surface
of the unannealed

what

2.2648 : 8/2/12 : Oh Well

Oh well it's the answer
to everything
the charm that
didn't arrive
and the broken ring
back to zero
do you think I'm daunted?
you'd die of boredom
from the tales of squares
I've haunted
it throws me back to solipsism
but oh well
it breaks my light up
like a prism
but oh well
you can't be perfect
no one makes it every day
So I'll walk by my imperfections
Come what may

what

2.2647 : 8/1/12 : Scanning

I want to be settled
stop the scanning
triple decade
this smack is spanning
It's little teeny thing to ask
an inclination
a persistent task
I've got my continuity
but no one's buying
forgive me if I've had
about enough of trying
now I'm the boy who called
I'm going to quit
and no one in their right mind
will believe a word of it

what

2.2646 : 7/31/12 : Genius Schedule

Can I be a genius on a schedule
by a book by a plan
I just want a stable life
maybe time to leave the genius clan
Ha ha like I have a choice
Like I didn't get the boot
no matter it was self-administered
Self-punished, failing to give fruit
Maybe I just want the payoff
geniuses never get anyway
maybe I just wanted to look special
maybe I just wanted to
be king for a day

what

2.2645 : 7/30/12 : Void

Drop notes into a void
don't think about what gets destroyed
every minute, every sleep
every increment of the mission creep
the mission is blown we're just making things up
the only directive left intact is to disrupt
no buzzwords on the edge of the void
and the question of transmission just left me annoyed
Guess it's the nature of things to feel it's just repetition
looking for my version of immaculate ignition
find a way to surf the void intact
find my way to where light's the only fact

what

2.2644 : 7/29/12 : Elephant

I feel my way around
the edges of this elephant
I tiptoe try to find
a way around the wet cement
I can so clearly feel
where everything turns wrong
but not what's on the flipside
not what could make me strong
trunk to tail
dear elephant
can you explain what's relevant
tree stump legs
and flappy ears
I close my eyes
and elephant appears
the scary ones
dance on parade
remember every mess I made
and if I tear the blindfold down
there's nothing
I note with a frown
We made you up
from expectations
believed in our own
explanations
put it on a pedestal
truth is so
mundane and dull

what

2.2643 : 7/28/12 : Narratives

The narratives, all made up
attempt to get the grade up
succeed make book compete
right now just get off my feet
they say the sloth is killing us
the anxious stillness filling us
all narratives, believing none
no matter it will all just run

what

2.2642 : 7/27/12 : Not My Light

This seems not my light
I'm following so what is it?
You haven't been around so long
not even for a visit
there's only like five more ways
I can bend this rhyme
Did you hear the one about
parsley sage rosemary and thyme?
remember me to one
who lives or doesn't I don't know
hey that cat I guess
he had his own row to hoe
that wasn't the right track
maybe there are no tracks
no stories, no lights
and no end to the endless stacks

what

2.2641 : 7/26/12 : Square

Trying to square the
circle again
have to learn to roll
with it again
see no straight way
seems a shame
and I don't remember
why I came

what

2.2640 : 7/25/12 : Relax

Looks like I
forgot to relax again
and ended up
not knowing when
to fit it in
we pay lip service
to leisure now
pay guru then
to show us how
await in the row
now I'm too tired
to relax
another day
I'll pay me back
meanwhile the stress lines crack

what

2.2639 : 7/24/12 : Heaven and Earth

Heaven and earth
just passed away
nineteen hundred and eighty four
years ago today
80 days after
the holy ascension
and nobody noticed
so there was nobody to mention
Philip guessed it
but I calculated
but by and large
simply left it unstated
we go along
life after heaven and earth
no clue what it means
no clue what it's worth

what

2.2638 : 7/23/12 : Narrow

Do I really want to
get up off the roller coaster
and get up on the
narrow and straight
have I grown wise, mature
enough to be a calm soul
in the face of all I dearly used to hate
I know that I don't
really want to
driven by the lash of need
driven by the status quo
and not a little bit
of greed
If I get jammed
in this narrow channel
don't know what I'll do
but see no real other
twisting path to take me through

what

2.2637 : 7/22/12 : Brainless

Having secured the high ground
our wise brigade
Is all het up
to drum on up
one hell of a parade
the new age slogan
that makes us so hale and hearty
is the unironic token
of the brainless optimism party
We're getting robot cars
a bullet train that spans the nation
We're ending global warming
and we still all get a great vacation
we're getting rid of crime and legalizing weed
we're even gonna put
the eggheads on a cure for greed
we're gonna go to Mars
and sends robots to Jupiter
We're tearing superstition down
and raising up a lucid cheer
nobody wants war
everyone wants peace
we're kicking down your stupid smack
hell yeah we bought
this age a new lease

what

2.2636 : 7/21/12 : Luke

You're the one that isn't hot or cold
you're the one who is lukewarm
not bold
I'm not the one lost in infernal mist
doing a damn fine impression
that I don't really exist
I run hot with anger
cold with fear
call my name loud enough
and shucks
I just appear
I'm hot and cold
never ever just right
And whenever you
get the whim
you'll have me in one bite

what

2.2635 : 7/20/12 : Done and Done

Done and done
yeah just like the others
say we won
act like I'll get my druthers
when the sky cracks
and the glory pours down
I'll be right up in front
ready to turn over this town

what

2.2634 : 7/19/12 : Odds

Let this one
transgress the odds
let me rise
above the clods
let me start
as I have pondered
no idea
how far I have wandered
odds are
we'll get through week
odds are
I won't hear you speak
so I'll get on
on my own ticket
watch this flash trick
watch me stick it

what

2.2633 : 7/18/12 : Button

Push the button
till it just gets stupid
and nobody laughs anymore
another five
years or so of posting bills
and heavens won't I be a bore
I know it's insane
to keep pressing and pressing
expecting a different
outcome to transpire
but there's nothing left
but to jump out of the window
there's nothing else
but the fire

what

2.2632 : 7/17/12 : Chasm

Am I talkin chasms again
have I regressed twenty years
despite the gray hair is it
the same tapioca between my ears
I say it can't go on like this
but the terrifying truth is it can
Still more unknowns than knowns in the box
Still not much of a plan
between what I think I ought
and wanting I can't even sort out
Waiting still to be released
praying the big computer will short out

what

2.2631 : 7/16/12 : Noble

Abandoned for less
noble pursuits
glutton-seekers
in coarse hair suits
and get sad
If we keep letting
it all get so bad

what

2.2630 : 7/15/12 : Something Something

Something something
about firm and correct
Something about turning
it didn't matter
and the moment just faded
no longer knew which
end I was burning
If the gesture and
the ritual doesn't book
where then to place the effort
do the obvious:
work, retire
and pray to God
for a free port

what

2.2629 : 7/14/12 : Five Minutes

Five minutes to steep the tea
you said could be a universe
that sets me free
maybe it's all bunk
a con from stem to stern
ours is not the mountaintop
ours is but to sigh and yearn
wrap up the bitter pleas
the minutes quickly fleeting
five minutes not enough
Same old woes I'm bleating
I must be crazy
but let's pick up and go on
throw it on the rough stacked days
throw it on the so, so long

what

2.2628 : 7/13/12 : Ire

Nowhere for this ire to go
useless at home at the show
blamed on you
but what's the use
another fight
another j'accuse
Same old always
nothing new
too tired to
take it up with you

what

2.2627 : 7/12/12 : Crane

If the tide
doesn't shift tomorrow
we'll have to bring
the crane in
and the urge
to dig and dig is
something we'll just
have to rein in
Some say it's
a mistake that
will only shift around the trouble
but what can we do
but do what we can
before the bankers
wreck the next bubble

what

2.2626 : 7/11/12 : Dismal

Too dismal
inconsequential
cannot bear to think
failing inspiration
I'll pretend
that I ran out of ink

what

2.2625 : 7/10/12 : Imagine Scary

While I imagine scary
everything stays as it is
and when it gets true hairy
I still give you all the biz
I'd love to say explain it all
how I am not to blame
but I just have to take this call
and I just have to play this game

what

2.2624 : 7/9/12 : Inside Passage

There's nothing for it
still on the inside passage
and there's no shortcut
no time for anywhere but here
no time for baggage
no time for nothing but
I hope what he said
about the end is true
even so I don't want to see first hand
not for fifty or sixty more
hope I get 'em all with you
I guess I do tend to demand
but here in the inside passage
feeling isolated
I can only try to hold on and push
like a stalk of grass
like a storm unanticipated
like Terich Mir in the Hindu Kush

what

2.2623 : 7/8/12 : Chalice

I must have been crazy
to reach for that golden chalice
I must have gone simple
dreaming visions of the palace
the only thing I got
out of the cup was misery
I pledged to draw it out
so now the consequence is plain to see
take the chalice from me
levitate it from my hand
I should have a right to change my mind
and you should understand
the tables are all rigged
this floor is just a play
and I won't love you anymore
unless you take the thing away

what

2.2622 : 7/7/12 : Discretion Advised

How about I fail
to relate a single word of note
how about I tell you
the little script I've learned by rote
don't worry
with me there's no discretion advised
my inner dialogue will
not be televised
do not adjust the set
just turn the bastard off
look straight into my eyes
as I bid you to turn and cough
and be discrete
carry your silent weight
they also serve
who mumble, shuffle, hesitate

what

2.2621 : 7/6/12 : Circular

What's the exit out
of the circular array
that got built by things
I didn't do
and failed to say
Straight up straight down
or break something
or stay the hell
inside this dull brass ring
If I don't speak of it
Wherefore shall I speak?
or when on earth
did I hit my sad little peak
the circular agenda
the circular retreat
hell still feels like a blessing
I can stay on my feet

what

2.2620 : 7/5/12 : Straight

Can't see straight
or think anymore
Kept thinking someone
would show me the door
but I can see my damn self out
before this untidy
retreat becomes a rout

what

2.2619 : 7/4/12 : Freedom

Free from or for what?
Free form or yes but
I don't believe in
any kind of freedom anymore
this being thing You built
has only got one door
sick of me
and everything I say
sick of being chained
to the song of every day
So pack it up you say
or cease complaining
Like hell it's just another
trap remaining
Independence
isn't all that it's cracked up
and I'm the ungrateful jerk
deserves to get smacked up
for putting down freedom
so many would dearly love
for clinging to this nebulous
perfect world I'm dreaming of

what

2.2618 : 7/3/12 : Soft Hammer

The soft hammer
heavily falls
telling me about
ladders and walls
I want solution
bust open wide
but it's clear I'm not
on that sort of ride
not dramatic
steady course
crazy or not
I got to ride this horse
So I'm undaunted
delving deep
as the soft hammer
smashes me into sleep

what