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