2.2684 : 9/7/12 : Protocol

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

what

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

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

what

2.2682 : 9/5/12 : Someone Good

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

what

2.2681 : 9/4/12 : Correct

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

what

2.2680 : 9/3/12 : Labor

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

what

2.2679 : 9/2/12 : Thoughts of Thoughts

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

what

2.2678 : 9/1/12 : The Hell

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

what

2.2677 : 8/31/12 : 10,000

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

what

2.2676 : 8/30/12 : The Old River

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

what

2.2675 : 8/29/12 : Trying

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

what

2.2674 : 8/28/12 : Leading

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

what

2.2673 : 8/27/12 : Virtual

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

what

2.2672 : 8/26/12 : Ultrachrome

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

what

2.2671 : 8/25/12 : Racer

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

what

2.2670 : 8/24/12 : Cog

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

what

2.2669 : 8/23/12 : Misericord

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

what

2.2668 : 8/22/12 : Waves

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

what

2.2667 : 8/21/12 : Others

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

what

2.2666 : 8/20/12 : Want to Believe

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

what

2.2665 : 8/19/12 : Disordered

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

what

2.2664 : 8/18/12 : To Be Selfless

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

what

2.2663 : 8/17/12 : Terrible Curse

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

what

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

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

what

2.2661 : 8/15/12 : Rope

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

what

2.2660 : 8/14/12 : Joke On Me

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

what

2.2659 : 8/13/12 : Song of Songs

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

what

2.2658 : 8/12/12 : Pith

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

what

2.2657 : 8/11/12 : Little Vacuum

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

what

2.2656 : 8/10/12 : Them Nah War

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

what

2.2655 : 8/9/12 : New Normal

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

what

2.2654 : 8/8/12 : Trilogy

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

what

2.2653 : 8/7/12 : Dust

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

what

2.2652 : 8/6/12 : Blurb

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

what

2.2651 : 8/5/12 : Curiosity

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

what

2.2650 : 8/4/12 : Stair

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

what

2.2649 : 8/3/12 : Copper Field

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

what

2.2648 : 8/2/12 : Oh Well

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

what

2.2647 : 8/1/12 : Scanning

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

what

2.2646 : 7/31/12 : Genius Schedule

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

what

2.2645 : 7/30/12 : Void

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

what

2.2644 : 7/29/12 : Elephant

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

what

2.2643 : 7/28/12 : Narratives

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

what

2.2642 : 7/27/12 : Not My Light

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

what

2.2641 : 7/26/12 : Square

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

what

2.2640 : 7/25/12 : Relax

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

what

2.2639 : 7/24/12 : Heaven and Earth

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

what

2.2638 : 7/23/12 : Narrow

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

what

2.2637 : 7/22/12 : Brainless

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

what

2.2636 : 7/21/12 : Luke

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

what

2.2635 : 7/20/12 : Done and Done

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

what

2.2634 : 7/19/12 : Odds

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

what

2.2633 : 7/18/12 : Button

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

what

2.2632 : 7/17/12 : Chasm

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

what

2.2631 : 7/16/12 : Noble

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

what

2.2630 : 7/15/12 : Something Something

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

what

2.2629 : 7/14/12 : Five Minutes

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

what

2.2628 : 7/13/12 : Ire

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

what

2.2627 : 7/12/12 : Crane

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

what

2.2626 : 7/11/12 : Dismal

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

what

2.2625 : 7/10/12 : Imagine Scary

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

what

2.2624 : 7/9/12 : Inside Passage

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

what

2.2623 : 7/8/12 : Chalice

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

what

2.2622 : 7/7/12 : Discretion Advised

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

what

2.2621 : 7/6/12 : Circular

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

what

2.2620 : 7/5/12 : Straight

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

what

2.2619 : 7/4/12 : Freedom

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

what

2.2618 : 7/3/12 : Soft Hammer

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

what

2.2617 : 7/2/12 : Stumble Start

Stumble at the start
not find much to take heart
beset all about by side tracks
weighed down by the old stacks
none of it can be allowed to stop me
none of you are man enough
to drop me

what

2.2616 : 7/1/12 : Mile Marker

Throw in a mile marker
Something to look back on
pray another year
doesn't feel like just a tack on
Pray to who knows what
pray to my humming doubt
it isn't what you think
but I sure
haven't got it figured out

what

2.2615 : 6/30/12 : Hobby

This train of thought feels like a hobby horse
this chain of ought always feeling off course
this getting drawn into the culture war scrums
logs getting sawn and here I'm twiddling my thumbs
I don't need a hobby, I need a fucking job
show me where to lobby, what kind of bomb to lob
nobody is fit to save this race of utter fools
no one has the bravery, no one has the tools
no one has my answer I am hung out on my own
beating every chance out of the hobby horse I own
seems I need a sharp turn and a different track
snap the strings of my harp throw it on the
smouldering stack

what

2.2614 : 6/29/12 : Labor

The labor is not ending
no matter how sick
I am of defending
what seems self-evidently
necessary
Look have you ever
seen a deader canary?
That canary is deceased
it has expired
it fell for the last time
off its wire
it's an ex-canary
it's passed right on
it's kicked the bucket
the canary is gone
but that is not the labor
and I'm wasting air
ironically the very
thing we had to repair

what

2.2613 : 6/28/12 : Wilderness

Enough the world is not
ending quickly
I'm just a tourist in
this wilderness
I've heard so many
apocalypse projections
hard not to think that what
will happen next is anybody's guess
new times will not
be like old times
no one can imagine
what's yet to come
if it doesn't come right to the wasteland
I'll sit and listen as the crickets hum

what

2.2612 : 6/27/12 : Daylight

Hey friend now
are you burning daylight
don't you know it's
time to be chopping wood
do your scratching late or early
by the stray light
hey we'd turn a light on for
You if we could
wake up son
it's time for carrying water
daydreams were for
another age
for the few who were not
led to the slaughter
you better be sure
before you waste another page

what

2.2611 : 6/26/12 : Flashlight

Writing by flashlight
wondering how long the batteries would last
and where we'd go when it got cold at night
how we couldn't bear thinking of the past
how each thing would have to contract
how nothing could speed anything up
some claim there'll be no second act
because we went and drained the cup

what

2.2610 : 6/25/12 : The Other Way

The worm was s'posed to
turn the other way
that whirlwind
didn't have a thing to say
I'm so so mad
haven't I felt bad
enough to satisfy you
and if it's alright by you
Could this turn out to be
just a fluke in a day?
and I'll promise to look
Straight at the other way
when they come asking after why
I'll say whatever I think upon the sly

what

2.2609 : 6/24/12 : Of Pain

The mass of pain
at least delivered me
from the strain
of the common inanity
hope here's nothing
really wrong down there
more proof as if I needed it
despite it all I still care

what

2.2608 : 6/23/12 : Strip

Have to tear a strip in the real
Expose a deeper blue
Here's what it's telling you:
Though you are more than you feel
Though this turning inward has appeal
you must get noble fast
learn to crave a king's repast
to jump on the next revolution of the wheel

And the strip torn down the sky
murmurs why why why
does the fool still try
to entertain each passer by

Hammered a crank into the earth
when it hit stone I stopped
soon as the plumb line dropped
And ran it round for all I was worth
I wasn't laughing but I felt a little mirth
I'd made such a strange machine
generated not one bean
Yet every dawn revealed another birth

what

2.2607 : 6/22/12 : Therapy

Do I need therapy
or a bolt of lightning
this new hole you're tearin' me
is not exciting
I want to, oh transcend
is that so demanding
Sir I'm a gentle man
please be unhanding
the moment for the mark
the truth for a lark
the grim ontology
it permits topology
neither what I wanted or what I ought
nothing in my hand I brought
If the therapy takes oh
will I give it up?
Not while I dine no
not while I sup

what

2.2606 : 6/21/12 : Pound

If I can't tell if I'm
caught up in the rapids
or becalmed in flat water
how'm I ever gonna
get to be a happy otter
Is my head really turned
so thoroughly around
How can I even choose
what path I pound
So much low fruit
I know I know I know
so many obvious dead ends
yet off I go
pound the same drum
isn't this beat familiar
It ain't making you stronger
hence I'm feared it's gonna kill ya

what

2.2605 : 6/20/12 : Tooth

The point as it turned
was a tooth pulled from the head
the warmth
that rushed
from the pills it was fed
not a night for
putting it together
the answer still seemed
not when but whether

what

2.2604 : 6/19/12 : Turning Point

Even so there
has to be a turning point
and if it isn't
this:
Still there has to be
if there's
to ever be
a second chance
at what I still miss

what

2.2603 : 6/18/12 : Minutes

Making book on minutes
not impressive
after six or seven years
am I afraid to lie down
fear that poison
might get forced into my ears
it has to be enough
but that don't make it
anything like plenty
don't ask me
where it's headed
if you must go ask who sent me

what

2.2602 : 6/17/12 : Scorpion

It's my nature
said the scorpion
is it a thing more
with anyone
I've made changes
that were surprising
but can't say what
drives each day's arising
is it reversal or
revision I seek
just to be kinder
and less bleak
to be a scorpion
that will not sting
free from my nature
free from everything

what

2.2601 : 6/16/12 : The Call

The fear that nothing will change
the fear that everything will
the fantasy of realism
every bitter pill
the bigger blank page
the harder the block
for those about to sell out
salutations: here's your rock
no matter how I twist it
I can't get the words to fit
silence gnaws unrelenting
maybe how we got this pit
the fear that everything will stay the same
the fear that everything will fall
the fear I cannot stop waiting
the fear I'll never hear the call

what

wind the works and let it run

Song 2.2600 brought things to the end of volume 2.14, The Record (Inheritance 1): In Memory: Richard Hamlow April 18, 1939 - November 23, 2011.

And along we go to volume 2.15, Black Book A.K.A. "Wait for the Call"

what

2.2600 : 6/15/12 : Day 1

Can I come up with a better way
to deal with how it always
is day one
Just want to be settled
wind the works
and let it run
Guess I could stop
complaining
try to find the evergreen
but I'll admit
I'd rather be swept up
by something
I have never seen

what

2.2599 : 6/14/12 : Walk Backwards

I'm going to walk backwards
take it step by step
until I find the pivot
where I got on this bad rep
nothing is reversible
but you can trace the track
I'm grinning like a politician
At long last a plan of attack
attack my mediocrity
attack my hesitance
attack my all or nothing bullshit
never made a lot of sense
take this back and take that back
I'm a hypocrite so what
while you scratch your chin on that
I dust it with an uppercut
retreat before you can protest
past every regret
how far can I walk back to
haven't hit it yet

what

2.2598 : 6/13/12 : Preliminary

Not since the preliminary
experience
were the words created
alongside
the quest for sustenance
What shall we speak of
when I've given up
and sold right out
the day to day
the disappointment
why not
a lot of it about

what

2.2597 : 6/12/12 : Stations

Keep pulling in at
the same stations
the rush to wrap
the hurried creations
the hammer of fatigue
falls swiftly
another bolt
now ain't that nifty
so many angles
spring to mind
no coin left to spend
no station left to find

what

2.2596 : 6/11/12 : Portals

Suddenly thinking of
the poison I've let them
pour in
into these precious portals
strapped to either side
of my head
I'm tired as hell
with it
it's all
illusions for us
hapless mortals
but I plan to
sleep through it
in an uncertain
unmade bed

what

2.2595 : 6/10/12 : Zones

More experiments
in zones
nothing comes through
on the phones
and it should all be
farther on
but it's not
and so proceeds
this marathon

what

2.2594 : 6/09/12 : Last

Can't drop my
obsession with
the last word
all I ever
said
all I ever heard
there are ends
they spill out
everywhere
somewhere some
nobody will care
but a word
won't change
a lick of fate
so say
so long
and shut the gate

what

2.2593 : 6/08/12 : Orders

I've got my orders
and I guess I better
get down to
so clever how you put it
So it's no excuse I
don't know what to do
just as I am
the skeptics
missed the reference
but I didn't
and it's a road I guess
still got my
no and yes
and that's the whole lot
i'n'it

what

2.2592 : 6/07/12 : The Garden of Your Mind

I should feel inspired
but I just feel sad you're gone
not enough allies
and everyday
demand another song
and i do not feel special
I do not feel unique
I'd rather stand down
and let a better man speak
And in the garden
of your mind
the weeds of thoughts
dark and unkind
help me from beyond
to stand up to the reckoning
and to believe somehow
the garden of my mind
is still a growing thing

what

2.2591 : 6/06/12 : Insanity

The problem with your
definition of insanity
is the crazy can't take
logical advice you see
So if you think me mad
to plod the same old way again
well I never said
I thought I wasn't crazy friend

what

2.2590 : 6/05/12 : Food of the Gods

Stick it in
your horn and blow it
grasp the nettle
by the horns
and throw it
onto the bonfire
of the bell curve sods
little suspecting
I'm being fed the food of the gods
I know it looks like
I'm destinationless, lost
the bloom is faded
then killed by a hard frost
however potent
it cannot return death to living
the food of the gods
so next time I'll be more forgiving
I can't imagine
what tomorrow brings at all
I can't be bothered
to resist the mundane thrall
the irony is
I'll be shocked with all the rest
the Food of the Gods
such a simple
trick has put me to the test

what

2.2589 : 6/04/12 : Avalon, CA (Mt. Metaphor 58/58)

Apple Island
Song of the sword
all that apocrypha
hush don't say another word
can't you just be quiet
and appreciate
names don't mean so much
in these barely united states
Still we might as well
might as well live for today
So come and watch the sunset
from Avalon, C.A.
they took Arthur there
to speed his healing
here I can pretend
I'm going to break through that ceiling
you have to keep believing
When it feels like such a joke
no more refuge ever
in strong drink and smoke
but in Avalon
for one perfect afternoon
I could really believe again
that my real ship was coming soon

(An imaginary journey: complete)

what

2.2588 : 6/03/12 : At Sea (Mt. Metaphor 57/58)

Port of San Diego
Drive to Dana Point
leave the car
we're at the new joint
Catalina express
ticket, one way
I'll let the breath out
when I hear them say
we're at sea
cast anchor and
left land behind
at last I'm
loose on the tides
at last I'm free in my mind
and it's almost
at its very final hour
still hoping for
a little extra power

what

2.2587 : 6/02/12 : San Diego (Mt. Metaphor 56/58)

The first seat of memory
I should have a lot to say
but it's ll so long and far past gone
and I don't want to talk about it
anyway
Don't talk about anything
San Diego
that picture of
me on a swing
the man behind the camera
still all about that
So long San Diego
I tip my hat
I just want to
get to the end
even though it always leads
to another bend
and mistakes that feel
almost as old as this place
as old as all these lines
etched in my face
I never been back
and I won't come again
he car's open baby
get in

what

2.2586 : 6/01/12 : Del Mar (Mt. Metaphor 55/58)

The call me
Del Mar
Man of the sea
when I was three years old
the water made me
they say I
vanished for a minute
then straight up
arose
and hence
the path I chose

what