2.1771 : 3/9/10 : Exit Sign

There's far too little of
every thing that comes to mind
and if I can't see the exit sign
I must be blind
but I've been on that
road less traveled, its bunk too
and the terrible temptation
is to give he paradigm one more act two
want want want and try to
convince myself that's the problem
by the time I face up to the decision
the better windows flew by, I missed them
what a wretched specimen
embarrassed but it's done
And I can't even tell if I
learned anything from this one

what

2.1770 : 3/8/10 : Paradigm

Run in my trick in my book
and still come up short
waited well beyond too long
this time to press abort
I miss the old diary
at least it didn't all have to rhyme
if you want to call on me well
call me the paradigm
what comes next
well it's predictable as hell
at least until tomorrow
guess I'll just pray it turns out well
what a foolish tale
of what redlined my frustration
it's not so complicated
I just need a damn vacation
but all I'll get is
this paradigm revisited
One last time I guess I'll claim
I'm sure the suspense will keep you riveted

what

2.1769 : 3/7/10 : Coattails of March

The lightest possible rain
on the coattails of March
as it breezes through the doorway
thinking I best ingest more starch
and stiffen up for the challenge
having been asked to lead
please be careful what you ask for
for I have a fearsome need
to be a benign dictator
hope you laugh to read the words
how I'll spread the word by silence
led by phalanxes of nerds
we'll create it in our own image
and if it looks like a cartoon
consider please the laser beams
reflecting off mirrors on the moon
reflect we can do anything
reflect we have the power
to ascend the heights of history
and make now our own hour

what

2.1768 : 3/6/10 : Forgotten Realms

I thought it would be easy
to reverse the flow
from seeming to meaning
from stop to go
I guess I've been so foolish
let so much slide
a thousand flabby verses
from my flabby hide
You know that they spend millions
making shady films
how hard we sweat trying to
bring alive forgotten realms
how I love to daydream
about my perfect bloodless coup
I better tighten up my game
I'm hardly supporting you

what

2.1767 : 3/5/10 : Contract

Lord grant me the strength
to tear up the contract
and start over on my own terms
we're burning it all
will smoke or cold kill us first
the original principle: the data that confirms
we are bad at heart
we are bent on destruction
we are helpless but to consume
let me renegotiate
let me pitch a different story
let me see, it begins in a room

what

2.1766 : 3/4/10 : Green Mountain

Green Mountain High
and if I die today
well so I die but say
I do recall the waking dream
a view that's good enough to scream
gazing down the precipice
Green mountain and it comes to this:
Give me your hand and we'll ascend
One and one makes three no need to end
no need to court disaster
if every day that passes goes faster
I will sigh
recollect our Green Mountain high
write it over a thousand times
I've got the days I've got the rhymes
we will drive we three
the green mountain road with glee
all glorious bottom to top
no reason to expect we'll stop

what

2.1765 : 3/3/10 : Fill

Fill the tank just getting there
everyone will stop and stare
watching some insane parade
everybody drink the kool aid
they are no different than me
living out this parody
filling up the hungry tube
just use plenty plenty of lube
Despite it all I'll carry on
deliver you a daily song
yeah, you've heard the thing before
I live with it and still make more
do I crave the limelight stage
to somehow turn to a simpler age
no right now is fine by me
fill today defying entropy

what

2.1764 : 3/2/10 : Cynicism is Cowardly

Cynicism is cowardly
So I guess I am a coward
hiding out from hope
thwarting going forward
still I really have a question
where the optimists have gotten us
clear we've crossed a thousand lines
clear God has forgotten us
I know your criticisms
know just what you'll say
slot it with the others
fit into the sad array
I'll try to beat my cynic rap
if that's really your strategy
and though I suspect I'll end up
getting burned in effigy

what

2.1763 : 3/1/10 : Good Advice

Good advice but
it's not really what I'm up for
Why do you think I knocked
over the overflowing cup for
No it's not so easy
not simple at all
blame it on genetics
blame it on the fall
You maybe think some things up
but it's far duller than that
just a blank-eyed staring revelry
floating in the support vat

what

2.1762 : 2/28/10 : Time

Well you gotta do the time: if you want to earn the crime
yeah you've got to pull the switch: if you want to rule the bitch
Sure you have to with through: if you want to show them what you can do
Hey you have to walk the talk: because bullshit will surely balk
My oh my what do you think: that this grim ordeal has led me to the brink
Not at all my brother I'm fresh as breezes: having gotten so sick of my diseases
Once in a while I'll question my lot: want very hard what another has got
I could get shamefaced, not to transform: but pause for a minute and consider the norm
we last six or seven decades maybe eleven: many console in the inimitable doctrine of heaven
but I'm not dependent on it: So much is just all words
that swirl and shift and twist: like unruly flocks of birds
I'm not sure I'll reveal: this crazy desperate appeal
after a day so up and down: I can't find the energy for a frown
I'm thinking of preserving: this strange mood I'm serving
I'm thinking of transgressing: and begging for a blessing
I'll leave it at the steel gates: the paradigm the gold plates
and pass it at the altar: the mules in horse's halter
I'll write it on a dull strip: nothing but a slight slip
and when some trooper finds it: I'm hoping that he binds it
and writes in the grimoire: that some day may well go far
and pierce our cosmic membrane
it's for that each day I train

what

2.1761 : 2/27/10 : Decision Is Pain

Decision is pain
choose now or later
defer or gain
self promotion or the greater
good as a nation
we ask it all once more
look above your station
see who argues on the floor
I'm so tired of the debates
that rage behind my eyes
and the various estates
that seem to somehow catch me by surprise
I can feel my resolve slipping
knowing I could reel it back
but the drama is so gripping
and I slip up on the slack

what

2.1760 : 2/26/10 : Slog

And there's not going to be
any revelations now
no changes of plan
no more lipstick on that sow
It is too late to try and
make this pattern fit
nothing to do but pile on more
as if I were born to it
this slog what a slog
pushing ever forward
I'm feeling every step
regardless what you heard of it
I've made some bad decisions
but I've been led blindly too
and I guess that'll have to hold the dike
for an hour or two

what

2.1759 : 2/25/10 : All Game

I heard a man predict the future
would be all game
It sounded like a crazy nightmare
to me, who do I blame
for bringing this estate
the world of all real false
and absolute surveillance
what a hideous waltz
consider that this world
might need less points not more
and I think I'll keep my flesh intact
if the implant racket's what's in store
Less game more play
is what I want to see
real not virtual
real productivity
call me naive
or an old fashioned fool
but I'll put this one to bed
with a plain steel tool

what

2.1758 : 2/24/10 : Add Up

If I get one thing right, tonight
sure I'll bet
come tomorrow, how's it
going to add up
I heard in no uncertain terms
to count on nothing but the worms
that turn and turn up
like a bad cup
I should be getting past old ritual
finding some new habitual
but I keep going back over what's gone
I should shout back the night
try to get one thing right
and spare nothing but a prayer for what's wrong

what

2.1757 : 2/23/10 : Fail Twice

Fail once, fail twice
I lost track before I even got close
I don't take my own advice
Pay no attention to dose
I know what's coming
I could stop it but I know I won't
and I could pass it off, say I'm slumming
but something inside says don't
fail daily, many times
I like to think I'm learning but who know?
when I hear the echo of tinny chimes
I groan oh boy, it's going to be one of those

what

2.1756 : 2/22/10 : Don't Know What I'm Doing

Maybe it can be okay
that I don't know what I'm doing anymore
Who can know tomorrow
but I might as well assume there's a lot of it in store
And it's calling right now
and I guess I'm going to answer right now
I don't know the way
to find out but the day I'm in is going to show me how

what

2.1755 : 2/21/10 : Heroes

My heroes keep dying on me
getting ever closer to home
and the fear comes on the long nights
The electric fear of the big alone
I can't say that they didn't warn me
but a warning's just a thought
while this empty knowing you are gone
is like some new disease I caught
How in the hell am I expected
to take on the extra load
I'm mad at you so angry
that you left me on this road
it's like there's no beginning to it
nor neither any end
everyday these days I just pray to God
not to lose another friend
not to lose another hero
without so much as a note
whisked away like some cruel magic trick
slipped forever in your coat

what

2.1754 : 2/20/10 : Fooled

Not to get fooled like that
the wizard robe, the pointed hat
makes no sense, has no history
and why I'd write another word about it
is a mystery

what

2.1753 : 2/19/10 : Tough Act

It's a tough act to follow
ordinary words ring hollow
before the stage of light the world of tales
the Prince, the repertoire with which he regales
I guess I lie say nothing can stop me
truth is I'm a one-off and there's no copy
and I just pray I can live up in my own way
and I just pray I can hold on and stay
I've about had it with this tough act
I'm just a country boy and that's a fact
but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere
at least not quietly no I'll make everybody stare
if they try to drag me away from you
well lord they'll find that a tough act too

what

2.1752 : 2/18/10 : Insanity

I suppose I'm past pretending
that the themes I set are ending
it's a nice definition of insanity
but it's not much help
if you're already crazy

what

2.1751 : 2/17/10 : Worm Guts

Sick of trying to hack apart the worm
in the guts of the meat machine
something tightly coiled around my
brainstem
convinces me we can do anything
That's so damn contrary
to what anyone can see
my inner cynic has to laugh out loud
well he may be a coward
Some days that seems better
to standing out in the crowd

what

2.1750 : 2/16/10 : Motivation

What the hell does motivation mean
Where is the engine that's supposed to
be pushing
Should I be looking for a real good
guru, is this supposed to be some
burning bush thing
I swear I'm sick of this sickness and
that was supposed to do the trick
do I need to make a list or try
to get real pissed or just wait for
the gear to click
they sell it dear in the marketplace
you can get it on a poster or paperweight
I feel bad but I can't help but think
If I just had a little scratch I could
just delegate
whatever isn't right here, right
now well it's never and nowhere
or so I tell myself while I try
to tell myself that I
really really care

what

2.1749 : 2/15/10 : Suppose

What do I suppose I'm
looking for
as I sing myself another stumble
out the door
in another day or two
the grip of old vice will dwindle
leaving me to contemplate
slow revolutions
'round the spindle
It's not chore or
burden really
to crank out hymns
of night
but I suppose
that it's no substitute
for getting it right

what

2.1748 : 2/14/10 : World of Love

You dear and you alone
You introduced me to a World of Love
as it is here in the mud
so it is in the heavenly above
no matter how bad it gets
we can persist in our world of love
and it will fill and feel and fill us
fit us like a hand in glove
I'm not looking for anyone
I am unmoved by the tears of a dove
we're here in reality
it's okay: we're in a world of love
and I'll want more every day
I just cannot get enough
that's okay there's always more
because we live in a world of love

what

2.1747 : 2/13/10 : Damaged Goods

Everybody has a secret
everyone's lost in the woods
No one gets out without deep scars
all of us are damaged goods

Scared to take the medication
scared to tell our loved one what
monsters haunt our midnight creeping
Fears that gather like a clot

One day maybe when the world's done
and the universe is still
no more turning 'round the center
no more sentience, or acts of will

The great hand will wipe the slate clean
and the truth will be revealed
the damage in our souls is beauty
jewels placed on a level field

what

2.1746 : 2/12/10 : Objective Morality

Objective morality
good luck with that one
Your tactic's fairly obvious
and you're quite low on fun
sick of everyone's agenda
sick or rhetoric
love to see the ceasing of it
if I could just get sick of being sick
If I could just dispel the darker half
if I could just accept my lot
if I could just give up my lust for wealth
as easily as you take your cheap shot
I shouldn't let it get my hackles up
it's just another song and dance
if's just another Dr. Blah blah blah
and everyone deserves their chance

what

2.1745 : 2/11/10 : Hate

This world is filled with
garbage that I hate
and I don't deal with it well
I get irate
I grind my teeth
I yell inside my brain
my eyes bug out
I'm sure I look insane
someone might come along
and hate the the things I do
I hope I hope I hope it isn't you
but if it was I'd stop
not write another word
I'd sit all day and
wonder what you heard
Sometimes I look
and hate the things I've done
and by the looks of things
I'm not the only one

what

2.1744 : 2/10/10 : Brick Wall

Like a brick wall
across the fast lane
to reaction time
no future but pain
It's one way to
stop on a dime
to do a one eighty
to travel through time
I don't care if I
can't walk away from the crash
I just want so bad to toss
this into history's trash

what

2.1743 : 2/9/10 : The Decade

You might get eight or nine or ten
No matter what anybody says
It will never come again
What may be who knows it's moot
dream of the decade
save for a new suit
one for the wedding one for the grave
I'd love to be a good example
but I can't figure out who to save
but I can't salvage
this train wreck verse
thanks anyway for trying to
scare me with the hearse

what

2.1742 : 2/8/10 : Cycles

And so the cycles start to
spin out again
and everything that's being
has already been
rush rush rush
to oblivion
Oh it's been such a long
sad times
since I was a favorite son
but I guess that I
refuse to submit
to the idea that the cycles
are the best I can get
seems certain disappointment
to want to save the world
but I'd rather be disappointed
than leave my freak flag unfurled

what

2.1741 : 2/7/10 : What Did You Ever Do For Me

You leave your begging sign
hung out 24/7
pledge a thousand dollars
guarantee your place in heaven
But what did you
ever do for me?
You barely know I exist
and you ignored my
messages
So I'm not gonna
worry how you'll fare
Let the rest of them down here
stumble forth and stare
You remind me far too much of me
and what have I ever
really done for me?

what

2.1740 : 2/6/10 : Something Different

If there isn't something different in the box this time
I have sworn I'll turn this bus around upon a dime
And if I roll this mother on that hairpin switch
Depending if I walk away from that wild pitch
I've spent a good part of my life behind a desk
I've not been writing novels, or elegizing an arabesque
I've sure as hell not been finding something different
And lately my pages seem like just another place I vent

what

2.1739 : 2/5/10 : Bang My Head

I think I'd maybe like to
bang my head against this wall
until I'm dumb enough to think
that I could really have it all
that I'm as likely as the next guy
that it's not all bought and sold
that my perceptions are not
speeding up how fast I'm getting old
I bang my head against
ephemera that shifts and slides
convinced that somewhere in the
middle is the nut where all truth hides
I'm not exactly getting dumber
but a little easy to predict
If I had planned it all out better
I'm not sure this is the wall
I would have picked

what

2.1738 : 2/4/10 : What Really Matters

What really matters is well what really does?
Knew back in the good old days whenever that was
or maybe somewhere in the future's bright arc
we'll find the math at last, get out of the dark
There is an awful lot of pain and dismay
Things so bad I cannot face go on every day
I wish for money and for all fancy things
A maid to clean the mess up while I snatch for brass rings
What I was taught matters tells me it's a false path
But doesn't tell me how to want the road of less wrath
And I guess that I should clean whatever mess I can find
But it seems so very much more always stays left behind

what

2.1737 : 2/3/10 : Minutes

Spending minutes like they're printing more
don't even know what I'm avoiding anymore
No not another no not more of this
I'd rather have the razzmatazz the piece of piss
Why me let us dishonor our brothers
look at the excessive fucked in the headness of others
What the hell is wrong with these people?
I need to rise above but it's a steep hill
I need to rise above but I feel sick
I need to be the man but I feel like a dick
and the minutes pass not caring how I fare
So much more easy to waste away than to dare

what

2.1736 : 2/2/10 : Postmodern

The beginning had begun to end but we didn't know it
whoever felt the cold touch didn't want to show it
the slow collapse had just begun
what comes after postmodern, we said:
fun, fun, fun
And the sun had set on easy money
for your friendly free agent poet
So is this the age of Pisces or Taurus or what
The seer had no desire to say what she saw
when the iron door shut
the disposition of the scales spoke louder than words
and the invisible finger wrote "cull the herds"
and I heard somebody finally say, man
this is a canyon not a rut
3 years after the high tide broke you know
I appeared on the scene
the prince of all who borrowed fat against
tomorrow's lean
You won't be laughing when you see my face
or grasp what it really is I aim to replace
You better place your bets: in ten short years
That slate will show, hideously clean

what

2.1735 : 2/1/10 : 1999

1999
1999
can you believe we were more innocent?
and then how hard things hit
and what a dent
and it seems all kinds of time
flew through such a little hole
tell ourselves an ending's
not the same thing as a goal
won't pretend it's scientific
but the cycle's flashy crash
surely predestined this outcome
innocence under the lash

what

2.1734 : 1/31/10 : Ego

If it's not about ego
then what drives ambition
I posed that to the queen
but to me she won't listen
sister's young enough to be my little sister
if you see her say
in another life I missed her
Everyone of us has got ego
and you know you know oh hoh
Yeah you know
a hard enough bite
will chase a little away
It'll all be back at you
another day

what

2.1733 : 1/30/10 : Ascent

Ascent too slow
trying to keep the blood from
boiling
a hard road
doing nothing and that's toiling
rising through
strata of aching pain
hope to God not to ascend
to the same old thing again

what

2.1732 : 1/29/10 : Spikes

Some spikes go
right down
through the
center
I should be
learning
something but
it's so hard
to hear
over the
roaring,
the burning
the creak
of sinews bone
and muscles
that suddenly
speak

what

2.1731 : 1/28/10 : Black and Red and White

Black and red and white all over
I need a ton of white out to cover up the past
Not a good day, not a nice date
Not the imagined and glorious repast
There's no covering the errors that were
much less those to come
yet it seems the days stretch forth
Yes it seems I've still got some
I can't apologize so I will just hope
to find tomorrow what I could not today
and if it comes and I hope it comes
oh I will say thank you
I will say hooray

what

2.1730 : 1/27/10 : Guardian

Playing the guardian but
feeling so much more helpless than I thought
And feelings aren't even worth
considering and all the while I sought
Some little corner for myself
where I could just curl up and dream
a world where I've still got the touch and
things are not so much what they seem
am I shirking my job as the guardian
as I try to fix what's falling apart
my demon says there's always more to come
my angel says anything's a start
and a Power I don't trust has to be in charge
of guarding everything I can't
pray despite myself for protection
pray You don't accidentally smash this little ant

what

2.1729 : 1/26/10 : Deep

Everything's so deep
you can't even see if anything
is at the bottom of it all
is worth the ruthless harrowing
what am I thinking of
how on earth to continue or stop
the dream always comes to the same
calamitous and unseen drop
and the falling that comes
is into an unreal deep
for this I run to secret worlds
for this I flee from sleep

what

2.1728 : 1/25/10 : Useful Information

So much useful information
at your fingers who can sleep
who can work who can get it on
I guess it'll all have to keep
I've got no idols no mentors
though I can't say I'm alone
but I work all day with the information
and nobody ever calls me on the phone
oh who can sleep
who can work who can get it on
I guess you could try to stuff
all the information into a song
if I pulled the plug on the information
tried to put my faith in my intuition
if I planted every seed I laid hands on
who knows what would come to fruition?

what

working things out on paper

So ends A Song a Day volume 2.10, Notebook 23.

The recollection of volume 2.11, Black n' Red, commences without hesitation.

what

2.1727 : 1/24/10 : Ache

I'm getting better
but there's still this ache
however perfect yesterday
there's always the next mistake
so if I seem to e
spinning my wheels all day
I am just killing time
vainly trying to wish the ache away
guess I could take a pill
or see some sort of doctor
where is fortuna now
my muse crept up and clocked her
I'll make my own luck now
and just ignore its singing
trick out my new show pony
now take what I am bringing

what

2.1726 : 1/23/10 : All the Angles

It is apparent from all the angles
that I am full of it
and soon will receive my reward
I am guilty of the
unbelievable crime
of coveting treasure
where treasure's stored
I am guilty of wanting solitude
I am guilty of
wanting the long goodbye
and I know it is pathetic
and I know
I am being that guy
but all the angles
have baffled
my dazzled sight
and now I'm fighting
a duller battle
try like hell not to
stay up all night

what

2.1725 : 1/22/10 : Convention

Try hard to break with convention
find I shake at just the mention
of things I said I was stronger than
the dumb lack of a longer plan
I only want to loosen up
believe in the o'erflowing cup
the way things are it seems more awful
Who dies while I stuff my craw full
my lines plod like an organ's grind
and always too much in my mind
it's my convention to dwell on it
I'd love to wale like hell on wit
and rhetoric slogans and cant
but my own concrete hightops daunt
and I succumb to one last turn
convention's wheel: I pull the lynch pin

what

2.1724 : 1/21/10 : Feeling the Edge

Feeling the edge again
wanting just a little more
and a moment longer
haven't I learned anything
haven't I grown even a little stronger
I suppose I know what I've ever known
it's all up to me
but who does it come down to that it
feels so unsatisfactory
you know the feeling when
all you're arguing with is you
and there's nothing left to say about it
but to figure out just what you're going to do

what

2.1723 : 1/20/10 : Pessimism

Had to feel good about
being the most popular pessimist
I'd be much better off
to ignore but I can't resist
but things must really endure
because the tide's not going to wait
and it will sweep you into chaos
in a moment if you hesitate
We've pulled it off before
I guess we could one last
the long term doesn't look so hot
but by then my time will be past
and if I think of something
better I will write a book
but I wouldn't lay a bet on that
so kindly let me off the hook

what

2.1722 : 1/19/10 : Daze

In a daze from
failure extreme
I rose as if
from a dream
and found what
crumbs were left
to salvage
from the treble clef
I can hardly justify
a claim
I'll do better in tomorrow's name
too many irons
so little time
but turning inward at this point
is sure no crime

what

2.1721 : 1/18/10 : What Belongs in the Box

What belongs in the box tonight?
Tonight for sure in the box
Representing another another and another
representing the bullshit walks
What will be interred in the box tonight
the obvious breakdown of literal truth
try hard to explain myself
my glib responses come out uncouth
You and me in the box tonight
now just me functionally alone
There will be no further discourse there
there will be no call on the phone
in a very little while
the box will be neatly in the trash
perhaps to be exhumed someday
long after there's no longer
a trace of any splash

what

2.1720 : 1/17/10 : A Moment

I must make a moment
of this moment
here and now
a story that I'll try
to tell truthfully
Someday, somehow
but not tonight
that tale must be for later
just a moment
here and now I
still must be the instigator
So long I tried to say goodbye
to the secret world
while my thoughts
modeled the cosmos
as it slowly slowly whirled
around some hypothetical
a point just in my mind
I don't know this feeling
growing within
I can only hope it's kind
the day will come
to revisit it all
when all my resolutions falter
when I fell I'm up against
a wall
a moment just a moment
that will come
I'll remember it just fine
and call it mine
and then play dumb

what

2.1719 : 1/16/10 : Golden

golden that's how I feel
so sweet
and hey what will be
will be
Golden
Things are not so different now
I've made a bed
And I'm dying to sleep in it

what

2.1718 : 1/15/10 : Too Quiet

Too long too slow too quiet
Today nothing to say just slow and tired
enough to just set must aside
today I'm not too thrilled about the ride

what

2.1717 : 1/14/10 : End All War (2)

If I can't sing a song strong enough
to end all war then what am I good for
If I can't sing a song strong enough
to end all war then what am I good for
what am I good for what am I good for
everything we pour down the war tube
and what grinds out is predictable
and how it pays is despicable
I can't help feeling despite all my reeling that
I never did enough to stop it the ball and how we drop it
the ball and how we drop it
the ball and how we drop it
And if I can't sign a song strong enough
to end all war then what am I good for
What am I good for?
What am I good for?
What am I good for?

what

2.1716 : 1/13/10 : What the FXck

It ain't gonna get any better is it
too late to go wild
too big to fail
I guess I'm going to miss it
too many times
I've no stomach to fake confidence
or act as if
I've got it figured out
when in every sense
I'm on the fence
So what the fuck then
why say another word
When everything is in the air
get this: so little
though I may have hope
stone tragically
I still care

what

2.1715 : 1/12/10 : Grand Master

Lucky star come round again
for the grand master
pray to God it don't take up 40 years
to clear this small disaster
put into perspective not many
have much cause to complain
but then again, then again
we all feel pain
25 years on the streets of New York
you have to wonder how a man survives
from the bomb to the camp through
the towers fall
must be he really has 9 lives
to needs so very little to live
a little pencil and paint and pen
and I am reeling in my lack
what's holding me back again
all I can do is push through
maybe someday find my own broadcaster
hope I'm better by then
hope I'm a grand master

what

2.1714 : 1/11/10 : The Con

I've got a feeling I'm
still somewhere in the
middle of the long con
I can't figure out who's
grifting who
and I'm sure no paragon
just once just once
let me end
the rules only I'm to blame for
I dream of where it all comes
perfectly
but get more or less what I came for

what

2.1713 : 1/10/10 : Resolution

I try to cultivate the resolute
in the midst of long goodbyes
and seeming craps shoots
and memories of lost opportunities
can't get them back
but you can battle the disease
of sliding scales
and shifting goals
and restlessly bouncing between the poles
of resolution and
quick fix backsliding
in a year who knows I could be gliding
high above a decade of
lukewarm conceit
to nail even one factor
would be very neat
I think it best gets
left at that
to seek my resolution
and hang up that hat

what

2.1712 : 1/9/10 : Elusive

The teacher is elusive
and the theory I am told
is it means I am not ready
well if I may be so bold
that's pretty damn convenient
for the one who's meant to teach
why not spend another year or five
reclining on the beach
oh I guess you are not ready yet
otherwise I'd be there
guess you need a little time to stew
I meant to say to prepare
I am ready damn your eyes
I am ready now for years
to hell with you and your excuses
call me when that creep appears

what

2.1711 : 1/8/10 : That Transcends

No passion or hope for
a moment that transcends tonight
do it now do it fast
about the same chance it seems to get it right
maybe I'll be an old man someday
looking back at it all
but it's so hard to imagine
I'll be on the other side of this wall
Maybe there's no such thing
as a human truth that transcends
every thing we build falls
every empire we've started, ends
but oh lucky me I don't
really have to rise above
do my best right now
no genius but a little bit of love

what

2.1710 : 1/7/10 : Hard

Nothing was coming easy
it was all going hard
times were tough as nails
for any independent bard
run out of passion
for all but the meanest vices
and knowing far within
that I would hate to pay their prices
it'll be better soon
is it a prayer or wishful thinking
it'll be better soon
not for staying up or drinking
What can we do with hard times
but wait the bastards out
it was all that I could do
that night just to suspend my doubt

what

2.1709 : 1/6/10 : Windows

Barely bearable half hour
to watch and listen to a dead friend's voice
again
and see the lovely view
he had from his Icelandic windows
and be glad for that, at least
Too alone another night
and wishing i could speak
face to face one last time
no,
wishing it could be many times,
any times
but there's no one to speak to
and no windows in this room

what

2.1708 : 1/5/10 : Four Winds

Four winds if failure
From every side
There was no repair I had
to let the whole thing slide

what

2.1707 : 1/4/10 : Cusp

on the cusp
no longer breaking rules
not by any fine dominion
just the moment's glistening jewels
the strange origin of epiphany
it was there so plain to see
tearing down all false
and compromised
and her in a
on true day
a true song
was comprised

what

2.1706 : 1/3/10 : Grind

I'd call it a grind indeed
Grindstone's what we carry on our backs
in a bowl of scouring need
one day we'll be fine enough to fall through the cracks
is it all in clean living doc?
jumping jacks and wheat grass juice
punching one after another clock
eschewing whats good for the goose
I want my little vices so much now
I want my little comfort fetish
known it won't take its final bow
Still I dream of it with what seems relish
maybe it's the same just every time
maybe there's just no dodging the grind
maybe every little slide is not a crime
maybe its really all just in my mind

what

2.1705 : 1/2/10 : Bow

Barely made one choice today
to late too fake anyway
but I've got one for you now:
forget it take the bow
Not a thing to recommend this decade
we saw the really ugly side of the parade
guess who's paying all us regular slumps
born for fodder, the aristos' chumps
getting old fashioned back to that old schtick
watch the sad spectacle, trying to learn a new trick
Guess that bow better be over, get me gone
grim but I suppose another will soon be along

what

2.1704 : 1/1/10 : A First

I hoped that I'd get better soon
and ten years flew by
another big digit
early riser say your goodbye
a few more nails to pound in
another rough verse to
drive the Big Sound in
but some things don't change
baby it's still you and me
against the world and now
a little man makes three
perfect union a fine paradise
when it's hard it's brutal
but oh sometimes so nice
dozens of days and yet
I slot right back in
could it be by God
today I'm truly ready to begin
cliches don't scare me
I'm full fit to burst
nothing's ever perfect
but I'll call this a first

what

2.1703 : 12/31/09 : Get Crazy

I'll work backwards
I'll get crazy
I can't exclude any method
that makes the mark
hazy
I just got up
lay it all down
don't let me see a
wrinkle
or frown
I know what I'll be doing
I'm going to get down to
bug-a-booing
don't laugh I'm serious
and my line up to
this point has been
imperious

what

2.1702 : 12/30/09 : Good

I feel good
hard hits at the
future
the day will come
I'll find my ill stitched
suture
and I'm not going to
look back
even if it's ahead
it seems I'm here
it seems I
am not dead

what

2.1701 : 12/29/09 : Moon

The moon is precious
it brought us to the
stars
hanging there so
effortless
so far from horns
and slow guitars
I hope I can read the
heiroglyphics
when that moment
arrives
and that I recall what
happened there
and that the seed
I planted
thrives

what

2.1700 : 12/28/09 : Salt

I won't look back
I don't want to become
a pillar of salt
that seems harsh
or maybe wishful thinking
when you think about it
hard to place fault
I've read a lot of stuff
I've parsed and gleaned
and sorted
and fear if i falter
he mission will be
aborted
but if I perservere
not thinking of the
time
I'l forge ahead and fail
notice
I've dredged up the
same old
rhyme

what

2.1699 : 12/27/09 : Burn

Burn burn you will not
burn up what ails
the world
the mission statement lies
unread
the flag you sewed
unfurled
make a perfect button
say the least amount
pray you'll tap the
zeitgeist
pray you'll start
the count

what

2.1698 : 12/26/09 : Hold Out

Hold out longer
make the wait
exquisite
The moral obligation
in this path you've taken
is implicit
one more ugly
indulgence
but first a couple more
fragment verses
indistinguishable from cries
for help
indistinguishable
from curses

what

2.1697 : 12/25/09 : Rock

Make it of rock
make the rain
wear it
by this bold attempt
I swear it
I ran backwards
through a host of days
and as I say
the mist obeys
I will not fear
nor worry no
I've seen the worst
now let the worst go
a ton of steel could
smash you to flinders
I'll stick arond
and hassle the
rescinders

what

2.1696 : 12/24/09 : Eve

Eve of smashing
I love the snow that's
dashing
all record of my passage
I'm doing brilliant
If I persist I must
just
become more resilient
this is a test
but it's not only a test, no
It is a measure of one
night
a measure of swift
hard
soft
snow
I laugh inside
I'm going to do it
take one lady's advice
and drill,
drill,
drill
right through it

what

2.1695 : 12/23/09 : Brother Heroin

Hey brother heroin
I tasted your cousin
enough to beware
I'm not afraid to say
I won't go there
no I won't
go there
I can guess at your clutch
I felt it firm enough
with the smoke
I have known addiction
I know that it's no joke
hey brother
heroin
you are for more
tortured geniuses
I will turn a new leaf
and discover
unknown
genuses

what

2.1694 : 12/22/09 : Now

This is the first day
I really bucked the
structure
listen now, I'm bold
and I will instruct
you
listen to the boiling
ever present
eternal now
all there is that is
the Zen
the dharma
the karma
the now

what

2.1693 : 12/21/09 : Stretch

It's a stretch and

I know it

skip a line I gotta

go over it

in fact I will leave

the artifact

it is a mission

a sacred pact

what

2.1692 : 12/20/09 : Don't Stop

Don't stop
just because you
got ahead
to stop and rest
you might as well
be dead
before you know it
this fast trip
is over
but I keep rolling
because my blood
is a rover

what

2.1691 : 12/19/09 : Reminisce

Reminisce about your first
memory
the fire or pancakes
or was it the sea
do you prefer a story
well what will be
will be brilliant enough
momentarily
I think it's time
you to emit some smoke
in the context of a decade
that's no little joke
but I'll keep scribing
till the page is done
and god help us all
I'm not the only one
the day will come
when I have to decipher
pray I'm not face down
in the snow like a
cipher
If you recognize the
reference you are
my kind
I remember now the
question
weighed on my mind
But I'm not one
to relive the past
and if you believe that
we're gonna have a blast

what

2.1690 : 12/18/09 : Last of a Kind

Last of a kind
with one word I freed
my mind
it wasn't easy
it was a stretch
the last of one kind
made me want to retch
but I soldiered on
thinking of a
decade old song
now I am in history
it's convenient
it rhymes with
mystery
it is the destiny of
all who strive who
realize they are
in this moment
alive

what

2.1689 : 12/17/09 : Nitrous

I've done nitrous
quite a lot
steel cylinders
today none I've got
I'll have to live up to it
when the moment comes
it's a feeling, a tingling
in my gums
it's awesome we
created
a human baby
he's about the best that I
ever seen
it's going to be sweet
watching this decade
unfold
I'll laugh while I transform
lead into
gold

what

2.1688 : 12/16/09 : Wow!

Wow! the last monkeyfuck
I'll account this one to luck
I'm not going to take chances anymore
like sure things and I'm sick of being poor
I'm gonna pull my brother up
could I feel right supping this
overflowing cup
Scripture is a font of verse
I already used the old prescription
here comes the reverse
I'm gonnas show you purity
of essence
I'm gonna rock
the eternal presence
and laugh almighty
at the petty obstacles
they are like so many
opportunistic barnacles
I feel the might of the
moment
I relax, recall the test of
the foment
it will be what it is
I will recruit
talent
they will perceive
just
what
I
meant

what

2.1687 : 12/15/09 : Beautiful Night

Beautiful night
I have earned
respite
I have earned to dwell
eternal in the sun
and I know it could be
anyone
The snow fell
heavy and soft
and a fierce pure spirit
bore me aloft

what

2.1686 : 12/14/09 : 2 Honest Stains

2 honest stains
remain to mark
what I was into tonight
everything I own
gets stained with the stigmata
that I carry in eternal light
I wish I could be clearer
but the ways of this World
get me by the short and curly
right this moment
I wish I just counted
my friend list to list Hurley
I won't give up
that's about all I can promise
and if I told you what would
be here next week I would be remiss
I am Shakespeare of
modernity I do not fear
any ism
I will perfect the launch
charged full with my
creative jism
I think I spelled it wrong
but K. Vonnegut's ghost
will forgive me
I think that all that's
left is all that's
left to give me

what

2.1685 : 12/13/09 : Destruction by Fire

Destruction by fire is a safe bet
When you're sure you want the shit gone
this is my victory chant son
this is my elite song
I am destroying what is extraneous by fire
deal with the carnal house smell later
I am a mean mother grabber, ho
I am a compulsive masturbator
Now it's all on and I can hear the sound
the big one my masterpiece
I will burn every old way to the ground
and stake my claim on a separate peace

what

2.1684 : 12/12/09 : Sympathy

Is it sympathy you'e feeling?
I deserve it
but I don't want it
I want you to what what I got
If you can sell it
I can front it
Feeling sorry may be nice
but it won't fetch a price
You know I've got to shift my rolling stock
so stand aside or pitch in
before I pack this bitch in
Give up and put my back into
rolling that rock
uphill again and again
I guess I'll take your
sympathy
I'm sure it as a dream
to think anything better
would happen to a guy like me

what

2.1683 : 12/11/09 : The Business

Numb nuts like me
never do it the easy
way, get the business
trying to make a blind choice, and say yes
pick and do, pick and do
think that's some advice do you?
Why didn't I think that up?
a fine angle on a half full cup
Here's the business again
tiptoeing over needles and pins
What if I do it and it makes no difference
and here I thought I had more
common sense

what

2.1682 : 12/10/09 : Fault

It's not my fault, it really doesn't count
I can only count so high
and I haven't yet hit the amount
it seems to turn the record over
hear the best jam's on side B
a noise to make the earth split
and reveal the fault to me
Lava lava everywhere
and not a spark for fire
if it hadn't happened so many times
it might make me feel dire
Somewhere between what matters
and the crack that's breathing out
maybe I'll get the fault by the horns
and finally effect my rout

what

2.1681 : 12/09/09 : Fragment

moments are touched
by laughter the only
redeeming feature
of these empty escapades
If you don't have anything
better than this to offer
go home and close the shades
turn the lights out
unplug your phone
pretend you're up in there
alone
And I give you this
clumsy fragment
like it was a sacred stone
and vow it will get better
soon
swear by the sun as
ths sun is to this
waning moon

what

2.1680 : 12/08/09 : Strange Estate

Maybe a snow day tomorrow
take advantage of my strange estate
find out what it might really mean
if memories just can't wait
if all the miracles were just special effects
and what you saw was really what you got
it wouldn't mean a whit to me either way
it's the ghost inside that burns so hot
sweet mystery called it sweet mystery
why are we here and why do we persist
am I allowed to enjoy a good life
or must all life be to resist
I can say that's easy for you to say
she can say that's easy for me
I guess I wouldn't call it hard
still it ain't nothing
and you get mixed up so easily
I couldn't write it a sonnet or more terza rima
doesn't really turn my crank or fit my schema
the data we have seen suggests it's true
better to apologize than ask may you

what

2.1679 : 12/07/09 : Fades

So clear now but the moment fades
as the usual stacks upon the conveyer
and you have to revert to run rob or run
the future's not so fun, eh, prognosticator?
Youth fades, beauty fades
choice and personality are probably bunk
we're probably just soft machines after all
Who probably won't make it, who are probably sunk
Light fades, at end of day
the night side gets its portion
Probably meet the same stranger again
Fixated to do his strange devotion
Had a little reprise of some old regrets
trying not to let it get me blue
Same old thing but there's always a new day
to fight to not let it fade between me and you

what

2.1678 : 12/06/09 : Production

Production isn't everything
production isn't wealth
production isn't calling
production won't protect your health
if there are a trillion stars
and trillion trillions just like us
all production every where
won't spare the heat death exodus

what

2.1677 : 12/05/09 : Rub

4,234 : 15 : ?



I could stick around
tell all about
but I think I gotta go
and rub one out
there's the rub and there's the rub
every truth sounds false
but I've got the lightest finger
on that taut vein's pulse

what

2.1676 : 12/04/09 : Don't Panic

First came Oklahoma
we forget about it now
everything was different then too
stand up take a bow
truth keeps getting stranger
how can fiction keep up
ask those ones whose shadows
I'm not fit to sweep up
but hey I'm not quite
past it yet
So I guess I'll take a crack at it
Still to see what I can get

what

2.1675 : 12/03/09 : Bump

Shit is bumping all around
up in here tonight
and I think I could have you
if I wanted
but I am not that kind
as I imagine you know too well
so whatever else that little
dark play won't get fronted
wish that I could wave a wand
and get you a good bump
well it's been many years
but you can't deny I tried
Doubtful it would go better
though that isn't part of my refusal
If I said I never think of it
well there I would have lied

what

2.1674 : 12/02/09 : Their World

Their world where ten large bills
isn't worth the bother of looking
so bent and dumb and crazy
no one caught the
bottom of the books they're cooking
You say we've got no choice
we all have to live there
without a vote that counts
without a voice
no openings among the big chairs
revolution fails
politics fail
every grass roots movement is a bust
it gets back to their world again
predictably as we get back to dust
no memory, none are saved
messiahs don't work
science won't save us
their world rises like some
dumb law of physics
come back ready to enslave us

what

2.1673 : 12/01/09 : Square

This square looks familiar
call it one or zero
don't call me for help I'm
not anyone's hero
try to get a good roll
make a better start here
might get sent back again
enought to start the heart fear
safer to set on my square
pass another turn
daydream about the day
when my sky begins to burn
mark my little check off
write another tally
give me a couple thousand
more I swear I'll rally
Ugly as I left it
as I had to leave it there
and it's waiting for me outside
soon as I leave my square

what