2.2564 : 5/10/12 : Woodland (Mt. Metaphor 33/58)

And let me go to ground
in the Woodland
half praying
not to rise again
oh but I will
and I'll toil
working in the city
dreaming of the
Woodland soil

what

2.2563 : 5/09/12 : Long View (Heights) (Mt. Metaphor 32/58)

Standing on some corner
up in Longview Heights
sing sorry but it's going to
be another one of
those kinds of nights
I should explain
rise above
be true
I should pull myself
together and
take the long view
but I'm not
I'm hurting
sad and tired
not tonight
for tonight boys
consider me retired

what

2.2562 : 5/08/12 : Centralia (Mt. Metaphor 31/58)

Centralia
I'm in the middle of something
for sure
I got to tell you
the last few
are about all I can endure
Your history looks
fascinating
storied picturesque
but I by god
must break the metaphor
and desperately
escape this desk

what

2.2561 : 5/07/12 : Olympia (Mt. Metaphor 30/58)

Great Olympia
might as well pray to to you
your mountain pantheon
could just ignore me too
if there is no interference
from a transcendent realm
what exactly's the argument
who exactly is at the healm
Olympia
Shine above me oh Mount Metaphor
help me deal with
my spell of falling apart
Look down as I am restored

what

2.2560 : 5/06/12 : City of Destiny (Mt. Metaphor 29/58)

City of destiny
end of the west
what is my destiny
here at the crest
feel like everything's twisting
like the narrows bridge
what's going to come apart first
maybe privilege
maybe persistence yeah
maybe today I give up
right here in Tacoma
throw down the cup
howl at the affliction
sit right down and sob
no destiny awaits
I'm not the one for this job

what

2.2559 : 5/05/12 : Federal Way (Mt. Metaphor 28/58)

I guess it's embarrassing how
little I knew
about the Federal Way
I've heard about
the arguments of course
but what they really were
I couldn't say
I should read up I guess
but the list is so long
and the days just fly
and as we get along
to Federal Way
I wonder how I ended
up that guy
how so much
passed me by
And I shouldn't be
thinking about such stuff
after such a long
and trying day
but it's just where my thoughts
took me
when I saw the sign
for Federal Way

what

2.2558 : 5/04/12 : Kent (Mt. Metaphor 27/58)

Anyway I guess we'd stay
in Kent for the night
I heard they have a nice lake
And if the whole trip
feels like a mistake
halfway well anyway
it's not as bad as
that time I rewrote the inferno
and won't be half
as long, I'm pretty sure, no

what

2.2557 : 5/03/12 : Seattle (Mt. Metaphor 26/58)

Seattle what could
anyone say about you
especially
an unknown alternative
musical prodigy
like me except
for the prodigy part
Seattle you're the best
Seattle you got heart
I've been up the Space Needle
long ago when I was little
Seattle my project
got a bit obtuse
Oh Seattle you know
what it's like
So what's the use?

what

2.2556 : 5/02/12 : Issaquah (Mt. Metaphor 25/58)

Back to reality
Issaquah
if you call memory
the real hurrah
a place I've been
though a long time gone
make the mountain passage
now I sing my song
I've got no sentiment
but I'll recall you
nonetheless
and those who know
will understand
the rest will have
to guess

what

2.2555 : 5/01/12 : Cle Elum, Roslyn (Mt. Metaphor 24/58)

Swift water or
clare de lune
Roslyn
as you like it
here's a little tune
you had your great fire
just like all great towns
I hope you're not
too dignified
to suffer us clowns
Cle Elum, Roslyn
swift water passing
when I leave dear Roslyn
I fear you'll be alas-ing

what

2.2554 : 4/30/12 : Moses (Mt. Metaphor 23/58)

Get up to Moses Lake
get with the Patriarchs
my choices this days well
aren't touching off too many sparks
maybe they got a red sea thing going
maybe thy feel like the promised land
give me a day when the wind is blowing
I'll ham it up stretch out my hand
Sure it's all real places
to me just names on maps
sometimes things don't quite measure up
Sometimes you make do with scraps

what

2.2553 : 4/29/12 : Ritzville (Mt. Metaphor 22/58)

Eschew Spokane
for the overnight
Drive on to Ritzville
Where are all the lights
I thought it would be fancier
I thought it would be
well, you know
it goes to show
what's in a name
or maybe it
just goes to show

what

2.2552 : 4/28/12 : Spokane (Mt. Metaphor 21/58)

I'm going to make a
pilgrimage
check out the old apartment
of the boys
you know the ones
who made good
I've admitted to myself
that I am jealous of success
well now I'm going
to pay my homage
as I should
maybe my epithet
will be that my thing foundered
by my refusal
of sufficiently
humble beginnings
yeah maybe it's just
not being good enough
look at this awful stuff
then check out
the old haunts of
the ones who are now
winning

what

2.2551 : 4/27/12 : Post Falls (Mt. Metaphor 20/58)

Post falls
it's a joke about theology see
lay some transactional
salvation on me
get me past these
post fall blues
you shoulda been
standing in my shoes
post falls
post expiations
world's saved right
so we deserve our vacations
that angel with
the flaming sword
was a mean trick anyway
another nasty chord
maybe I'll declare myself
to be prior to all falls
prior to all prophecy
all writing on all walls

what

2.2550 : 4/26/12 : Awl (Mt. Metaphor 19/58)

Stitch up my shoes
for the walking part
see the cobbler's awl
hidden in the heart
what's in a name
what's in a sharp spike
this is a tool
I just can't help but like
been a while here
since we've been down by a lake
take a couple of days
see what the wheel will take
we should get back here
maybe see it in fall
When the colors come up
in the heart of the awl

what

2.2549 : 4/25/12 : Lolo (Mt. Metaphor 18/58)

Run westward
out of Wye
and point straight
into the Lolo
I heard they did a burn
you know I want to
go go
find a wayside rest
a scenic point
of interest
see the way
into Lolo
See the start
and see the rest
see the forest
for the trees
See the trees
for sentinels
see it all
spread like a blanket
listen, Lolo
ring its bells

what

2.2548 : 4/24/12 : Fish Creek (Mt. Metaphor 17/58)

Not the castle
not the ancient road
not an empire island at all
middle of M.T.
parked at Fish Creek
cooling our heels in Whitehall
What kind of fish
you got in your creek
how much for a room for the night
it's real quiet
nobody much around
and I think I like Whitehall all right

what

2.2547 : 4/23/12 : Manhattan (Mt. Metaphor 16/58)

Broadway and Main
downtown Manhattan
waitin' for all the cultural
reference to flatten
then go and get a steak
up in Sir Scotts
check the trip so far
and ask you for your thoughts

what

2.2546 : 4/22/12 : Place Names (Mt. Metaphor 15/58)

Billings to Bozeman
can't neglect the big towns
now it seems
to just be writing
place names down
haven't really been anywhere
in so long
anything I might think I remember
is wrong
name the place
your circumstances
indulge me in the memory
of all my romances
Not getting that in Bozeman
not Billings neither
don't know the name
don't know the name
or place of where
or what could bring me either

what

2.2545 : 4/21/12 : Whip (Mt. Metaphor 14/58)

Well the king it seems would not release his grip
I said I know every trick in that sneaky whip
and while I prayed it wouldn't come to this at last
I guess time to talk truce is gone and past
and don't believe for a minute I think I've got the juice
to dance anything past you fast and loose
I know perfectly well how you have me pinned
and how you preened and strutted and grinned
but I shrug your whiplash cause my spirit's still free
and I'm laying my case at the feet of the Crow Agency
Dear sir do I detect a hint of a frown
did you forget you weren't the oldest game in town
the Agency was hear five hundred years before
you ever set foot upon this shore
and though I'm not of it's people at all
there's long been a deal for any as heed the call
to wear the colors and carry the staff
Out in the new world out there on its behalf
and while this detour was quite unplanned
rather than submit to your lash
I'd rather be a Crow Agency man

what

2.2544 : 4/20/12 : Lodge Grass (Mt. Metaphor 13/58)

Pull it off the road
outside of Lodge Grass
drop out on that grass
and just pray to nothing
and can't see up
and there's nothing but wind
and clouds are rushing

what

2.2543 : 4/19/12 : Big Horn (Mt. Metaphor 12/58)

I came out of the spell around Big Horn
alongside Little Goose Creek
I had a feeling I wouldn't see a big city
for at least about another week
I'm not in my element here
pretty sure my face will stand out
pardon is there a place a fellow could
get a bite on his way headed out
where you coming from
sure it's hard to say
from East to West for sure
but I badly lost my way
where you heading
well that secret is one I know
but what's on me now is
just exactly where do I go

what

2.2542 : 4/18/12 : Up, and It's the Way Out (Mt. Metaphor 11/58)

(Fairy King Detour 3/3)

How long, nobody knows
time freezes sometimes
sometimes flows
passed a thousand years
in one long night
and when I came up,
though I was still not right
I said I've placed this one thing
past all doubt
there's a way up
and it's the way out
sometimes you can't change anything
you're in the kingdom
of another king
seems there is nothing
but to wait on deliverance
for the way up to appear
for your one desperate chance

what

2.2541 : 4/17/12 : Iron Mountain (Mt. Metaphor 10/58)

(Fairy King Detour 2/3)

Clearly the drums won't halt
the machine won't stop
you'll not cease your battering
hold one drop
until you've broken me
on iron mountain
I didn't write the rules
I didn't make a deal
I just fell into this
is really how I feel
and my release will only come
on iron mountain
King o king
Whatever caught your eye
singled out to be
racked on the rocks so high
please wrap it up quick
finish it on iron mountain

what

2.2540 : 4/16/12 : The Machine (Mt. Metaphor 9/58)

(Fairy King Detour 1/3)

Bring my message to the fairy King
bring my letter and my signet ring
Say I'll make any deal he wants
not to go back to the machine
West of Story in the darkest night
my trip got detoured by the fairy light
and the next thing that I saw was
Screen within screen within screen
screens of circuits shifting gears
turn any corner another appears
hours on hours in that metal thicket
and the very worst thing about it
any exit you take you must doubt it
and the fairy King alone can write that ticket

what

2.2539 : 4/15/12 : Story (Mt. Metaphor 8/58)

I'd like to visit
a place called Story
I bet they'd have
a lot of tales to tell
we'd trade some yarns
check the map
a quick stop in Story
and a quick farewell

what

2.2538 : 4/14/12 : Middle of Nowhere (Mt. Metaphor 7/58)

90 West
let's find the middle
of nowhere
then find something to eat there
maybe watch the townies stare
maybe Pine Haven
pop two two two
hit the Anchor Bar
or the supper club
check out the lake view
does it all have to be
attractions or sights
I sure could use
a couple quiet nights
A nice place to visit
a nicer place to wave goodbye
I am going somewhere after all
you're just a twinkle in my eye

what

2.2537 : 4/13/12 : Lead (Mt. Metaphor 6/58)

Due to lack of forward planning
we will sped the night in Lead
Nice little town as it happens
Nice place to stop and rent a bed
In the morning do the mine stuff
Because the boy loves tales of gold
Maybe check out Deadwood
find a rest stop, park and behold:
Day 3 and the journey's
really starting there is West
on the boundaries of
recent recollection and my chest
feels a lightness unexpected
realize I hadn't even known the weight
had been there so long to be
lifted: then we left that state

what

2.2536 : 4/12/12 : Wounded Knee (Mt. Metaphor 5/58)

Drove Pine Ridge Reservation
never made it to see
the place the memorial
of Wounded Knee
never asked why it meant
so much to you
the whole thing gave me
a premonition we were through
these days even out there
I would guess
you could just map it
on the GPS
meet the other tourists
get your sideways looks
another box to tick off
in our sad little books

what

2.2535 : 4/11/12 : Variations (Mt. Metaphor 4/58)

Between the Badlands
and the Black Hills
Before we hit Rushmore
or Crazy Horse
we'll spend the night
in Box Elder
just to be contrary
and as well of course
as a small tribute
to the Variations
our fallen comrade
his early canon
someplace small and
unassuming
wish you were here
between the hills and canyons

what

2.2534 : 4/10/12 : Pierre (Mt. Metaphor 3/58)

I guess we must have
gone through Pierre
capital city
on our beginning of the end
tour
how little I remember
how time has fled
but I'll slow down time
for my dream instead
drive along the river
see the fort
hit the war memorials
call the thing a vacation
of some sort
send a half ironic postcard
says wish you were here
kill half a day
and get out of Pierre

what

2.2533 : 4/9/12 : Watertown (Mt. Metaphor 2/58)

South from the place of rest
Highway 7 West
off on the main drag
What memories shall I tag
C.K.: Trailways
Camp Release: Terrace Lawn
212: Dawson
Wide open now and I'm gone
we'll have a late breakfast
down Watertown way
the edge of ordinary
for a dozen years or more
but not today
Stop for some pancakes
a glance around the old haunt
back in the day
it seemed like quite a little jaunt
I hear there's a little place
that serves a little rocker set
maybe time for another electric
we'll stop and see what we can get

what

2.2532 : 4/8/12 : Montevideo City Limits (Mt. Metaphor 1/58)

Mount Metaphor: An imaginary journey in 58 destinations.

Left so many times
and always East
well almost always
pedaling my bike
to see my friend
the gravel backways
or going west with
one of them I
thought was the one
can't Imagine why now
or going west
all five of us
the four left
would just fly now
Montevideo
city limits goodbye
leave you again little town
I'll always be coming back now
now that it is
where we laid him down

what

2.2531 : 4/7/12 : Underway

It's still exciting
to get the mission
underway
I am no child
but I too am new
with each new day
the feeling
in the morning
in the dim dawn light
the feeling
mountain roads at dusk
and dozing off
and into night

what

2.2530 : 4/6/12 : After Enlightenment

Isn't this the way it's s'posed
to look after enlightenment
chopping and carrying
and everything the same
and still I dream
of getting everyone under the big tent
even though attempts
have been so lame
once you start to pull at
the loose threads of grand enlightenment
the dissolution comes so very fast
once you start to wonder
were you called or were you spent
there goes a hundred years
just sifting through the past

what

2.2529 : 4/5/12 : End Up

Unable
to keep my end up
I bow my head
and pass the cup
I'm tired of saying
later, later
but life comes first
and my need is greater

what

2.2528 : 4/4/12 : Every Minute

Every minute
I forget my zen
Charlie's squatting in the bush
What happens then?
We gotta blow the tunnels
gotta flush the hills
I've got a stash of minutes men
and three dollar bills
I've got a stash of sentiments
and bitter pills
I push the button
and the minute stops
the dance of veils
all the acute drops
how will I ever learn
to be for every minute
to be quite present
to be there and to be in it

what

2.2527 : 4/3/12 : Indulgences

Oh patron saint
of all indulgences
I pray please
let me get away
with this
and if not
let me get a
second chance
to toe my line
and step into this dance

what

2.2526 : 4/2/12 : Ascend

Going to abscond
and scarper now
sick to my gut
and my troubled brow
but hell with it
show the boy some fun
knowing at last
I'm just like anyone
nothing's going to crawl
into my outstretched palm
consider this
my lament my psalm
then close the book
and think not a whit more
of all that's owning
of what's in store

what

2.2525 : 4/1/12 : More Fool

More fool I that I
allow this brooding over
a time that is not and will never be
to usurp the moments that now never
will come again to run away with me
but when there is only this
how it circles in on its own eye
and seeing but itself now
can the thing not wind in in tight and die
and so it is the ancients
as we call them questioned change
how can it be that anything
that's packed so tight can
rearrange
and I have never cracked their case
their riddle still has me stumped
And I could only hope it was not
Sisyphus' hill I humped

what

2.2524 : 3/31/12 : Gray and Mist

The gray and mist
are made of luck
the locus where the future
will come unstuck
and rush unbound
into the now
the when and why
comprise the how
the tougher questions
all remain
the mortal coil
thrums its refrain
but the hour's theme
none can resist
delivered wrapped
in gray and mist

what

2.2523 : 3/30/12 : Favor

Might be better off
to drop the favor paradigm
the chosen the elect
All of that dreck
is past its prime
Nobody's special to
and no one is unique
and so I see you pause
finger an exception clause
you better think before you speak
Where once I thought myself was set apart
I soon learned that I owned a mean estate
and here's the truth that pierces to the heart
despite our art we're none of us too great

what

2.2522 : 3/29/12 : Defeat Me

Even as you
try to defeat me
all the cool kids
going to try to
repeat me
but none will
duplicate this flavor
it's all I got
since I fell out of your favor

what

2.2521 : 3/28/12 : Talisman

No talisman
no change of heart
no real plan
no state of the art
change is hard
there is no direction
just turning a card
and waiting for injection
into the thick of it
into the caravan
with minutes to learn the trick of it
armed only with the talisman

what

2.2520 : 3/27/12 : Gun

The purpose of a gun
is to shoot shoot shoot
the condition so you see
is dismal and acute
one taken into hand
the gun wishes to be used
and so one disappears
and one stands accused

what

2.2519 : 3/26/12 : Ramp

I should be toiling at the roundabout
but I keep trying to ascend the ramp
it isn't funny like it was before
When I was but a feckless scamp
I have of late though I can't say why
Just up and lost all of my mirth
and cannot find a lasting pleasure
not here nor in all of the earth
the ramp and it's illusion of progress
but it's really just a chance
but it's really just a climb
to a certain drop
to tread and mill in a stagnant pool I know too well
trying to keep my stupid head
above the slop

what

2.2518 : 3/25/12 : Breach

Once More
unto the breach
and so and
bla bla bla
once again you try
to fade me with
the la di da
the middle ground
won't hold me this time around
it's either
soar motherfucker
or go straight to ground

what

2.2517 : 3/24/12 : Causes

Sick of causes
sick of escape clauses
sick of these snippets
that I slip
between my pauses
What's the use
sticking with anything?
And yet I plant my feet
and just sing sing sing
tired of muses
all of my burnt fuses
of the great Judge
and how he always recuses
what's the use of
only turning up within
some will call it crazy
I say hell
let's begin

what

2.2516 : 3/23/12 : Off the Plot

Hate to admit that
I am off the plot already
I really kind of thought
for once I could hold steady
but it's so hard to
concentrate
a taste like
concentrated hate
oh well
on the left shoulder
is the harpy of the
necessary
but when the numbers
still won't work
for true the thing
gets scary
and the hope ghost
on the right
sings in my face
so late at night
oh hell
and I don't even
know the plot
so if you think
I've got a shot
do tell

what

2.2515 : 3/22/12 : Middle

forgot about
the middle thing
bold strokes that fall
like stupid rain
a stupid yo
from a stupid friend
fuck it jack
call that the end

what

2.2514 : 3/21/12 : The Day After Tomorrow

You make your play
you say you do your best
you grit, get
steely, but the real test
to face with any game
you can beg or borrow
is the one that comes the day
after tomorrow
anticipation
it's an easy escape
and it's great on the day
you bust through that red tape
and that momentum will
carry you across one other
day after tomorrow
is a wall my brother
don't slack for a minute
don't dare brake for breath
you must bank steam
like you're soon to race with death
and if you meet that wall
at an outright run
you might see a new thing
you might just call it fun

what

2.2513 : 3/20/12 : Black Banners

Tear the black banners
from the rafters down
and watch them spool
and swirl around around
break the windows
overturn the chairs
you should of thought
before you put on airs
I'll keep your mouth shut
I will smash the vase
I'll make you wipe
that look right off your face
I guess you didn't
ever anticipate
you'd end up stuck with me
on your estate
I'm not for justice
or the common man
I'm mixing up your joint
because I can
wrapped in black banners
trailing out
there isn't anything
that it's about

what

2.2512 : 3/19/12 : Good Experience

Good experience for a coming man
flash forward to the corner room
the dust choked divan
flash forward to the rotting lace
the rusty stain
to never leave that cursed place again
three sisters oh the alabaster limbs
the twining fingers
now the thing begins
silk soft but oh
cold as frost touched glass
the trailing touch across
clean flesh they pass
the breathing catch the
stifled moan
experience beneath the damned throne
taste and touch a mark
he can't erase
in wicked lines carved
deep into his face

what

2.2511 : 3/18/12 : Better Way

I was thinking thinking thinking
'bout the better way
but to get worked up about it
seemed just so passé
the only path out now
is to succeed
the only mission is
thought word and deed
I guess it's gotta gotta
always start today
get on it's all the secret
of the better way
If that sounds shaky
well by hell I'll shake it
until I feel it
I'll just have to fake it

what

2.2510 : 3/17/12 : Pay

Pay the piper
this again
its been worse
no great sin
cut it short
and tie it off
squirm and huddle
turn and cough

what

2.2509 : 3/16/12 : More Insanity

Must want
the same thing
persist in
the insane
mucking in the same pool
barking like the same fool
hitting the limit
I'll leave forever
in a minute
more insanity
to leave behind
a trail but
but not the useful kind

what

2.2508 : 3/15/12 : Dreams

If I followed my dreams
What would I find
what qualifies as dreams
inside my mind
it's a mishmash in there
is that a dream or is it air
am I following my light here
or just
waiting for something to appear
Telling others to reach out
is it really fair
I don't take my own advice
and my cupboard's bare
If the dreams would unclench
if I could find the wrench
and the spot with the jam
maybe
every dream would burst the dam

what

2.2507 : 3/14/12 : Sport

Insufficiently accepting
of love and support
I guess I really am a mutant
a god damned sport
What do I want
what am I really craving
what's bubbling on this
hot stove I'm standing at and slaving
too much of this
domesticated claptrap
I'm sure that by the time
it turns up I'll have
earned a bad rap

what

2.2506 : 3/13/12 : Trace (tres)

Will the trace go
undetected
my unsubtle signs
selected
oye
belleza
uno, dos, tres
And finally the moment
face to face
Sometimes I seem
to know so far beyond
Sometimes the truth
defies every earthly bond
And somehow
what's to be is still to come
And it's still you and i
and still working out our sum

what

2.2505 : 3/12/12 : Transcribe

Every line feels written
I will not transcribe
the same error into canon
I don't represent my tribe
I'll not transcribe these scripts
I will let these words die
and what will you do about it
great dominion of the sky

what

2.2504 : 3/11/12 : Discontinued

These discontinued lines
of probability
that can never ever
be again be available to me
So I say
to the princes of causality
If I say there's nothing
I would change
it's only out of spite
For all that is denied me
in the dark and in the light
the price I paid
in pure regret
yet somehow
I'm not quite free yet
and when the last line's
discontinued
how soon they'll forget

what

2.2503 : 3/10/12 : Butter

I'd like to boil you
with butter
extract all your
essence out
make all kinds
of magic goodies
just hand them out
just one more thing
that's so imperfect
way beyond non-ideal
just one more craft
denied me
you should think of
how I feel

what

2.2502 : 3/09/12 : Mu Puzzle

Please take this
hot iron ball away
I did not order it
I do not wish to have one today
It's not a thing
that I want stuck in my throat
was that supposed to appeal?
You think I'm fresh off the boat?

what

2.2501 : 3/08/12 : The Library

Creating the
dream cathedral
from my mind
oh give me pages
till the pages
make me go blind
boiled down
to a slip as small
as a stamp
praise this
era of the Great Ramp
If it crashes
will the libraries survive
couldn't be
like any other, ever
somewhere
the information must thrive
and on the next
rebuild
the library comes first
because nothing else
can quench my thirst

what

2.2500 : 3/07/12 : Wipe

Get a get a
Big magnet
going to do a wipe
going to get a bigger
magnet
going to
give that glitch a wipe
alignment and order
destroys the information
isn't it a crazy
non-intuitive creation?
watch as I gather up
my gauss at every station
and wipe
that old away
now press play

what

2.2499 : 3/06/12 : Will the Teacher Appear

Will the real teacher
please stand up
I'm finally ready
to hold out my my cup
and appreciate
however full it gets
rolling bowls of catlinite
or calumets
will the teacher appear
and just get busy
I want to learn
until I'm dizzy
It can't wait
I have to stand for my own courses
can't speak for my pedagogy
just hope that I pick good sources

what

2.2498 : 3/05/12 : Freshmen

Thinking on the freshmen
at the school of unexpected hits
lives usurped for ten years
being friends
in all the funny skits
start out so fresh and
sweetly uncool
end so slick
well lit beside each pool
oh did you have a clue
what you were on to?

I might be a freshman
in a class I barely know is there
maybe we will meet up
in the hall or on the stair
the dead ends where
I used to hole up and smoke
a thing that's absolutely done
that at least is no joke
this time I'll try the fellowship
submit that paper too
I'll take the not so subtle hints
came steaming off of you
Everything starts somewhere
why not here and why not now
an ever present hope I have
a sort of eternal now

what

2.2497 : 3/04/12 : Deal

Can't deal with the primaries
the cycle of abuse
can't deal with the murder rate
you might call me obtuse
but I can't deal with can't deal with
the damn opinion page
the talk about the coming crash
can't deal with road rage
why don't I turn it off
why don't I close the book
why do I keep going back
why do I have to look
I know how I'll react
I know just how I'll feel
give me a reason why I shouldn't
dump these things
with which I cannot deal

what

2.2496 : 3/03/12 : Lists

With a list of actions
and a list of goals
I've made a list of likely suspects
For whom the bell tolls
make enough lists
the paper every room
to line the way from dark to light
to line the way to life from doom
tomorrow I'll stop writing lists
and take my cue to act
fight my way towards the door
through rooms where every list is stacked
and if I founder halfway
buried right up to my neck
I'll list out every consequence
to pick out from the wreck

what

2.2495 : 3/02/12 : New Day

So it's the middle of the story
and the plot is in a muddle
there are too many main actors
and their motives are befuddled
there will not be a brand new day
there will not be a reboot
we won't find a new philosophy
there'll be no fresh truth to refute
Listen one time here and get on
the story it might yet cohere
it might be brilliant right today
if I could only see it clear

what

2.2494 : 3/01/12 : Stepping Off

Is this the
stepping off point
or just another
step aside
am I on or off the track
am on on or off the ride
no matter
however
right here and now
I'm stepping off
and something different
will happen
though you well may scoff

what

2.2493 : 2/29/12 : Disordered

It isn't scarcity
I's not exactly disease
I am disordered
with a hunger unappeased
certainly I'm choosing it
certainly there are options
I eye the plan every day
and everyday
I put off it's adoption
It must be treated
the disorder must be overcome
heap a silver plate with black powder
now bring me some

what

2.2492 : 2/28/12 : Starving

Look the poor thing is starving
the diet of the shallow
shiny and loud
the instant and the
insistent
the dismal so-called wisdom
of the crowd
let me get on
to a slower feed stream
that taps a purer
older source
let me eschew the
junk food dominion
and beef up on
every deeper course

what

2.2491 : 2/27/12 : Random Walk University

Oh we're random
and we're walking
and it's me and you
hand in hand
along the beach
that was a good day too
You should remember
Your best moments
it's your university
that fits
right into your pocket
runs all hours
and it's free

what

2.2490 : 2/26/12 : Movable

Then I realized that I'd been
starving the beast
numb to the dismal state
of the movable feast
this sideshow on electric wheels
but oh such scanty muddled meals
The astounding spectacle of
the universal movable type
blinded us to the depth of
its unprovable hype
no one behind the curtain not even a jerk
couldn't even figure out how the thing could halfway
work
I found the antidote still
unmoving right there on the shelf
the back cover said metaphysician
you gonna hafta heal yourself
nothing else but a little label said drink me
you better stand back
when it starts to un-shrink me

what

2.2489 : 2/25/12 : Dreaming the Catastrophe

I'd like an explanation for
the contents of my danse nocturne
this musty deck of plots
that I don't seem so quick to unlearn
still dreaming the catastrophe
messing up my very best ever
wake up relieved but the card
turns up again, how long oh Lord, forever?
do I owe you a dream for every
time I turned that card in life
How many nights God knows
oh I was a merry piper on my burning fife
Am I on the hook until I
loose by grasp at last all the way
will I make it to that year canonical
will the change carry across to stay?

what

2.2488 : 2/24/12 : Transformation

Love the tales
of transformation
all kinds of magic
acts of creation
everybody has
a simple tale that's false
a little vicarious
to tone up my pulse
real transformation
hard to come by though
it's all so hard
all goes so slow
all so unglamorous
the way of the real
but you can't let it weaken you
you turn with the wheel

what

2.2487 : 2/23/12 : Divide the Night

Lights set in the sky to
divide the night
cut dark sky
from the day bright
what did you put
in me though
into the dark I must go
no nature for the division
however much it seems a decision
seems to happen
regardless
of virtue intent or hardness

what

2.2486 : 2/22/12 : Time to End the Fantasy

And just like that it's
time to end the fantasy
I don't need to prepare
because I am the man you see
And what comes out
of the cold ashes in the pit
oh you will see and you will see
let's not spoil the surprise a bit
the fantasy you see was based
on notions out of books and plays
in truth I hadn't really in my heart
believe in it for five thousand days
inertia is a problem in this world
that first law you know how it goes
inertia is no joke
and when you can't catch any wind that blows
but that's already far behind
we left it in the stirring dust
and you must excuse me now
as I race to smash through the crust

what

2.2485 : 2/21/12 : Bleep

Bleep boop
one impulsive moment
and I'm in the soup
showing another
stranger the secret
might win the day
but for real that's a bleak bet

what

2.2484 : 2/20/12 : Stumbling

Stumbling across
the messy sprawl and
tossed remains of
dark dreams
rendered on the inner eye
and screams
and my stark
wild reply
wide eyed
and steely voiced
and with a rigid swinging
poise and presence
not to say
a hint of menace
just who is this
threatening player
if you stumbled
on his lair
would he greet you
or would I shoulder
him aside
oh, bolder seeker
would you even
ask where does
that one abide
and would you reach
for what was shown
shutting the door
on you, with him
alone?

what

2.2483 : 2/19/12 : Steps

Thinking of the steps
the folkloric reps
transformation proceeding
or not just as often
changing is damn hard
an inch might be a thousand yards
and progress always fleeting
though we all get to the coffin

what

2.2482 : 2/18/12 : The Arguments

The arguments I hear upstairs
nobody else does
nobody cares
surely it's all in my head
surely it will stop
at least when I'm dead
Dead to the world or
dead tired on my feet
anything at all just to
make the voices retreat
our claim to being not crazy
is we know they are not real
yet we talk back as if they are
and crazy maybe has an appeal
but one thing is sure
the arguments never resolve
anything downstairs
where whatever counts must revolve

what

2.2481 : 2/17/12 : Higher Things

What is the meaning of higher things
is there really anything to it
but society and its tangled strings
wisdom and folly flank
the gates I heard tell
but I didn't see a sign of
either one
and felt like it was just
as well
Maybe the web of strings
is big enough to pass
something like the wetware webs
our monkey skulls amass
critical density does
it mean a thing
besides and then a
miracle occurs
somewhere north of
the visible limit
where very line blurs

what

2.2480 : 2/16/12 : Nobody Knows

Nobody's favorite
nobody knows
not much sign of changing
that's how it goes
try to get interesting
try to cheer up
nobody knows
how anything could clear up

what

2.2479 : 2/15/12 : Understanding

Another thing I'm sick of
is being understanding
so sure you've got excuses
join the fucking club
Could I not take my pick of
the cop-outs life is handing
out except it's fully useless
changes nothing that's the rub
I don't need understanding
I need some damned assistance
and since you are not special
why not just get on with it?
If you think I'm demanding
rolling over your resistance
well it's needed in this fresh hell
we're all dealing with the shit

what

2.2478 : 2/14/12 : Theater

Time to crank the theater up
put on the show of shows
and I will watch and shake my head
and that's how power goes
the dumbness and repression
the bedrock gets ignored
do nothing about nukes or the nation
of prisoners, hell yeah I get bored
I suppose I should be on the street
getting my holy pepper spray
I suppose I'm all excuses too
but I've got so much to do today
so even though I don't believe in
anybody in the race any longer
I'll watch the show go to
the theater
as the wave of inevitability
grows stronger

what

2.2477 : 2/13/12 : Natural

What comes natural
I thought I'd see it and
ring it like a bell
really everything's like
greased up smoke
for most of us
it's not a funny joke
and all this thing has
wound round too
a cringe inducing
beggar's point of view
only natural
to look for a way up
and am I ignoring
an obviously full cup?

what

2.2476 : 2/12/12 : The Sign of Out

Not labeled exit
not lit up red
the sign of out
it only said
dare not return
repent and fly
get out and gone
next stop blue sky

what

2.2475 : 2/11/12 : A Novel

Do I have to write a damn novel
to show I'm not special
to show I've got nothing
and I'm doomed to schlub
it won't make me special
every jerk does it
I'm not looking forward
to joining that club
It will be about a wizard
who lives on a spaceship
he's got a hot girlfriend
but he's in a fierce bind
his magic is messed up
his girlfriend is missing
and he can't get his novel
off of his mind

what

2.2474 : 2/10/12 : How To Find Out

Find out how to find out
what is missing what flew by
find out how to listen
how to try to try
And if I never give up
Yet don't find out till I die
It wasn't all for nothing
And none of it was a lie
And I'd rather be happy
and I'd rather be rich
nobody's selling that snake oil
I've got no one to pitch
And nobody to ask
How to find out anything
about how to find a way through
yeah sorry it's so boring

what

2.2473 : 2/9/12 : Regret

Every regret
add to the pile
not time for a bet
just time for a smile
In just twelve hours
a Change will begin
and no more regrets
the whole pile in the bin

what

2.2472 : 2/8/12 : Wire

Wire of pain
threaded through the gut
not exactly what I
signed up for but
certainly not meta-
maybe some content for the grist mill
sometime when I'm feeling better
what is the wire fashioned of
and who placed it
the culprits are myself my father and God
the question is
could any have erased it
the question is how do we live with
the pain that is inseparable
form life and all the word enfolds
the damage of the wire, irreparable

what

2.2471 : 2/7/12 : Nothing But Thoughts

Nothing but thoughts of having
nothing but thoughts
to think about
I need material
something new or pretty soon
there'll be a rout
ain't it something
ain't it a gas
you know this round
I think I better pass
let's get down
so funky and fresh
well mainly funky really
so sunk in the flesh
yet so damned cerebral
really it's a lost cause
like so much we keep after
without a hint of pause

what

2.2470 : 2/6/12 : Option

The best seller
the movie option
more dreaming crazy
the big co-option
it's all just
ideas on the wire
throw them in the mental trash can
throw them in the mental fire
give up and sell out
lord give me the strength
or else show me the options
and tell me at what length

what

2.2469 : 2/5/12 : Peace

Give me omens that I
want to believe in
give me a notion that it's
all about to begin
that I will soon fall
into a sweet release
and find nothing after
but a fine long peace
whatever work comes to my hand
the work of the cooperative
the work of the band
peace is all I want out of anything
no not recognition
no not a golden ring
once I felt a peace
that passed understanding
it wasn't an end of anything
it wasn't undemanding
I still had to pull up stakes
I still had to pack
it wasn't a turning point
but I still want it back

what

2.2468 : 2/4/12 : Dull

Is it dull is it mundane
is it a bad view through
a grubby windowpane
does it follow a
predictable beat
does it take you down
the same old street
not the path to fortune surely
I pout and sulk so immaturely
I tip my glass
not it's none full
and whine some more
it's all so dull

what

2.2467 : 2/3/12 : Just World

Just world here
we haven't talked in a while
why not see a bit of me
why not walk a mile
not on a treadmill son
not in your basement yo
why not look out of doors
why not get up and go
it's not a just world true
it is not fair or right
but beautiful at times
at times so open, bright

what

2.2466 : 2/2/12 : Optimism

Optimism optimism look at my side
you'll never find one lighter
privilege ain't the half of it
there's no future that's brighter
what a nasty load life tipped
well buddy I just skipped away
I'd like to help you take care of tomorrow
but I'm so busy living in today
optimism have I got it
like a royal flush in hearts
must be what makes me make the rain
makes me so much greater than my sum of parts
I will not stand for a dark world
a minor chord or a frown
I get lit up so naturally
nothing ever seems to get me down
share a smile with the optimist
so much nicer this side of the street
look a half full day to dance away
and for certain it will be a treat

what

2.2465 : 2/1/12 : Obfuscate

And if I didn't try at all
to obfuscate my sentiment
I worry about my health
how I'll fund my retirement
about the world I'll hand my kid
how little I control
how the years just batter on
on how they take their toll
and how ambitions wane
how most dreams get deferred
and whether I am a privileged jerk
when I appropriate such words
oh obfuscate please obfuscate
It's so dull and uncool
cover it and muddle it
I'm never going back to school
I'll never have that chance again
So many chances blown
So many fogs that fall and hide
whatever I have truly sown

what