it’s never wrong and right 

never black and white 

always with poor framing 

truth escapes while we’re waiting 

you I can’t deny

“I” I can’t explain 

there’s another dimension 

that we’re always missing 

easy solutions feel so good 

crushing those doubts with boots 

if nature only gave us straight lines 

as if god was on our side 

it’s never green...

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Our history comes out 

and dances around 

teasing us with 

provocative gestures 

encouraged to join in 

not having taken lessons in

moving tentatively at first 

then swept by the current

spinning around 

knocking things down 

until too late 

in the evening 

people mill around 

trying to reconstruct 

broken things and 

half-remembered sequ...

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Oh lord please give me 
a little time on these legs 
I need to get to the store 
then climb those stairs 

If I could have just
a little while on this back 
I need to sit for a while 
to give the feet a rest 

I wouldn’t ask too much 
another day with these eyes 
to see her face once more 
before I lose my sight 

then maybe a moment 
with these hands 
I just wanted to touch 
the...

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I was terrible 

I’m not asking 

for forgiveness 

not looking for 

excuses 

every night 

I relive it 

and that’s my 

punishment 

however 

let’s remember 

you were worse

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my likeness sees the future 

and runs towards it 

children on a playground 

thinking nothing of spending 

the last penny on something 

bright sweet and shiny 

my likeness imagines itself 

happy at home 

with a future substance 

in a bath, for desert 

or sleeping soundly 

with its warmth 

at points darkness 

and anxiety penetrate 

an embarrassing ...

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It would be easier to be stupid 

none of this would bother us 

we’d just laugh instead of cry 

and get on with this slavery 

never needing to 

understand irony 

life would be completely religious 

things marvelous and terrible 

would keep happening 

without complicated explanations 

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I go from door to door 

forgetting what I 

came here for 

losing words they 

slip off the tongue 

I return to that solitude I know 

so I can twist things around 

making those memories play 

in a totally different way 

I then go out 

and beg some more 

before the old ones fade away

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auntie’s coming 
let’s go the store 
we’re gonna make 
that special roast 

I need your help 
put on your coat 
she’s making 
a visit just for us  

in for the weekend 
with strange presents 
chatting to mom about 
unheard adventures

bright lipstick 
tight sweaters 
leaving impressions 
on the subconscious 

decades later 
in another life 
tells me she can’t 
stay the night...

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In a world of surfaces 

cool prevails 

what’s never revealed 

must be estimated 

energy becomes 

situational 

JG Ballard’s now 

on the show  

Julie London on Emergency 

television shapes careers 

that voice haunts my machines  

mixing dreams and memories

at the hospital on cigarette break 

in my ears as an adult 

that cool sense of grace 

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For Patrick Bocarde 

Between the refrigerator 
and air purifier 
there’s a little hum 
pitched a little higher 

you’d be wrong 
to think “tinnitus”
it’s the siren call
the  “why” of existence 

we all march 
to a different drum 
but all hear the sound 
of the hum 

those industrial engines 
never go quiet 
sounds of space 
sound like traffic 

we could elevate 
silence to ...

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I break up with you every night 

cheat with every image in mind 

I see you again; nothing’s happened 

freedom of this prison inspires 

door of the jail is open 

I come back; lock myself in 

just in time for breakfast 

and news about your kids 

you go somewhere else in mind 

I’ve never been there 

from what you describe I wouldn’t survive 

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The Friends

The friends gather 
in your absence 
attempting to conjure 
your presence 

you remain slippery 
your nature evoked  
by its refusal 
for ever being captured

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there’s a thrill 

over the hill 

will you come with me 

to fetch that pail 

I couldn’t find my thrill

eating all the blueberries

I felt like a fool then 

in such a hurry 

instead of climbing 

measure by measure  

through this 

inclement weather 

somehow with you 

suffering feels better 

soon we’ll be 

over the hill tog...

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I go to midtown and stare

at the professionals

they’re confident 
like they’re on television 

the more I walk 
the less I wanna spend 

until that two dollar pizza 
is looking like a bargain 

there’s been some error 
on my paycheck 

and now my department 
has been eliminated 

but there’s this wonderful 
feeling of freedom

that lasts a moment then 
something falls into...

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Past Lives

I recognize the guy in the photo-
I can’t quite place his face 
I can see a certain resemblance 
but it’s nothing if not vague 

they seem to be having quite a time everything shines at that age 
then you get fat bald and wise 
what you wouldn’t trade for another chance 

these past lives a fiction 
who’s writing them anyways 
I was once filled with anticipation 
now eye ...

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Between me and the world 
it’s personal- I’ve tried to make peace 
too many times 

I’m open to discussion 
but I’ve been lied to
and I’m ready to fight

always invading my space 
with a story that doesn’t track 
got a lot of explaining to do 
I’ve moved on from there 

you’re welcome to visit my bubble 
barely room for two 
it’s really crowded 
with chocolate, records, and books 

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take everything 

it’s not mine 

never liked half of it 

chains around my neck 

I’ll spend the rest 

how I see fit 

sometimes it’s just 

staring at the sky  

enjoying this 

gift of time 

why are you in such a hurry 

the horrors will continue 

after a brief message 

from our sponsors 

come here and let’s 

light up this moment 

here ...

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my many enemies 
all hide inside of me 
the externals got nothing 
on my doubts and self-loathing 

I could be a cliff diver 
under my low self-esteem 
battling windmills 
like pigeons in gale force winds 

I fight I exercise and I read 
sometimes all for nothing 
just when things look 
the most bleak 

you give me a call 
and suddenly 
I’m standing 
seven feet tall in heels

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Richer

It’s a beautiful thing 

you do 

in these ugly times 

looking to the light 

just 

to remind us 

of the 

power 

in all of us 

it’s enough to just 

laugh in the face 

of these horrors

dancing 

between 

shots 

let’s not sell 

ourselves 

short or out

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In a moment 

In the space of a song 
in the time of a moment 
we can be somewhere 
we can feel transported 

short of a meteor 
or violent revolution 
we take our minds 
to another dimension 

with something 
delicate as a melody 
harmony 
and a rhythm 

a lyric scratched out
as inspiration dictates
in the space of
an instant 

while the faucet links 
and poverty grinds 
a...

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Prison Workout

The slit opens 
I remember I’m here 
pain dares me 
just to feel 

I greet the body 
with a sort of prayer  
then think of anything other than this 

I go down to the floor  hope I return 
every breath 
a calculated concern 

calendar on the wall  needles on the clock 
up against nerve 
muscles and blood 

halfway done  
something takes over 
the self-talk prom...

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Actor

all my life 
I’ve made these 
guesses about 
what’s expected 

to a point where
I got too accurate 
I trip myself up now
just out of boredom 

I take my time 
with performance 
I don’t read lines 
without a check

that’s just professionalism 
don’t be disappointed 
I’m all about the 
pain of endurance

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if stars align 

you’re here on time 

money arrives  

no hint of a crime 

fates cooperate 

dates don’t change 

your sister leaves 

the lightest traces 

back don’t act up 

cat don’t wake up 

don’t rain next hour 

hitting traffic by four 

then sure 

we might 

have something 

there

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The nothing 

there’s a parasite 
that slips inside the mind 
found on every corner 
even in the water 

it attacks at night 
leaves you non-responsive inside 
if it reaches the heart 
you’re gonna be a goner 

it’s the nothing 
it doesn’t have a “y” 
it’s something 
that eats up our lives 

the nothing 
taking up our time 
shitting out money 
leaving you dead inside 

the ch...

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 That crooked line

I hold grief in one hand

hope in the other 

I can’t tell you 

which is stronger 

washing sins in 

that dirty river 

sticky and dry 

I remain  

walking that 

crooked line 

into a future 

not feeling any wiser 

moving towards 

something softer 

that whisper 

calling my name 

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The next

As we move into the next 
we’re completely perplexed 
as the past can’t help us 
understand anything 

our primitive tools 
make us look like fools 
all logic escapes 
in this vacuum 

those children with matches 
those martyrs of darkness 
all get consumed 
as the future chews on us 

I hold your hand 
I’ve got a plan 
to enjoy ourselves 
where we stand 

as I kiss...

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My intuition 

never fails 

it’s kept me 

out of corporate hell 

while my imagination 

is masturbating 

my intuition 

is on the job slaving 

your ambitions 

are never high 

they’re predictable 

always dry 

while I can’t remember 

what I’ve read 

my intuition 

grows hotter with years

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give me something real 

something I can feel 

had enough of fake 

to last me all my days 

something I can touch 

is that asking too much 

if we all got to pay 

I want value for my sins 

as the memories 

and dreams spin 

I hold on like 

the tidy bowl man 

to something 

that felt divine 

that I never saw 

again in my life

pull me ou...

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a flower you know 
we watch as you unfold 

mind’s thoughts climb 
as you grow 

through truths and lies 
adults hold

with time you realized 
the nuances passed by 

that branch in the road 
you decided to hold 

that beauty in the heart 
almost impossible in the dark 

that belief naive yet strong 
that kindness and truth 

had a weight 
after all

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Do you know what time it is 

is it early is it late 

we can never wait 

to get back in bed

just to hear the rain 

splash the pavement 

I think of a melody 

where it comes from- 

search me 

it comes from your lips 

as I work out the notes 

it sounds timeless 

existing for billions of tears 

there in the stars 

falling on the earth 

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you could mistake 
your life for a situation 
you could make decisions 
based on wrong information 

it would be great 
to be a child again 
but we gotta pretend 
to love ourselves instead 

in your situation 
I’d be dead in ten seconds 
I speak with endless admiration 
for the lifting you do with grace 

in your situation 
I’d target more than a few for assassination but you endur...

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everything done and known 
fought for or won 
loved and overcome 
lost and burned down 

just swirls of smoke 
of a fire stoked 
with human ambition
illusions and distances 

swirls of smoke 
on which we choke 
breathe in get high on 
or asphyxiate with 

these dreams and desires 
heartbreaks dire 
that leave you lost 
devastated giving up

just lines in the air 
a child’s sta...

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There you are 

in my night sky 

like a distant star 

to wish upon 

and suddenly 

problems are gone 

I hold your image 

I sing your song 

protected in my heart 

all day long 

I send a message 

make a poem 

just to make 

the connection strong 

until the morning comes 

again burnt by the sun 

slaving life away 

for some hungry mob...

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Leave the music on 

it keeps ghosts away 

the right ones will stay 

and the dialogue continues 

after we’re gone 

Leave the music on 

my mom always did 

it reminded her 

of a symphony and kids 

and the rhythms of rain 

we’ll play these songs 

more than twice 

nostalgia cutting us 

another thick slice 

vibrations moving 

time thr...

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we find ourselves 

with ourselves 

we’re very busy 

scaling the heights 

of solitude 

it’s heavy lifting 

throw something 

into the mix 

that feels like intimacy 

and watch needles 

leave the graph 

pointing and scratching 

I’ve just left 

the lab 

feeling empty 

feeling this experiment 

consistently  

troubling 

w...

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things tend to move 
we get stuck 
then find the groove 

by mistake or with luck 
learning to 
ride with you 

I’m down with ups 
life’s always new

did I ever mention 
we share 
a certain tension 

it’s a secret 
lesson 
I’ve never learned 

repeated til I’m badly burned 
restarting my library soon-life’s always new 

even at its worst something’s 
moving through the pai...

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Wahwahwah

Perhaps the universe is mistaken 
maybe there’s  a quality control issue 
that goes all the way to the top 

after billions of years of deregulation 
it could be that more than a few things 
have been gotten wrong 

have you looked at the stars lately 
don’t they seem a little off 
why is gravity always against us 

are bacteria coming out on top
what’s love like in other...

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On a quickly 
spinning planet 

the biggest risk is 
doing nothing at all 

Jacob thought 
as he reflected on 

what he built 
what he wanted 

and what 
he had lost

estimating time left 
against his strength

he thought it best 
not to fight against 

gravity, opinion,
or law 

just as he was about 
to surrender to god

god came down from heaven 
just to slap his igno...

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Parallax  

Something clicked
it felt automatic 
didn’t have to think
I just lived it 

like a secret wish 
a wet daydream 
waking up to be 
just what you wanted

If you give me every pleasure 
you’ll get it all back 
all the time forever
there’s never a catch 

somewhere somehow 
I’ll feel it again 
even if it’s the last thing I do 
it’s why I exist

like we’re going places 
...

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Millionaire of Time

I know the richest man in the world 
without a penny to his name 
he knows the worth of everything 
he knows what’s important 

he’s a millionaire of time 
holding stresses in one hand 
other remains open 
to whatever sets in it 

millionaire of time 
moving the clock at will 
with truth and beauty 
you can make the world stand still 

you’d swear you were sto...

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Here at home 
with the greats 
knowing full well what they 
did at my age 

wondering why I didn’t 
marry rich 
yet I got a pickle 
in my sandwich 

got moments still my own 
if only to touch not to hold 
an interior life keeping on the light 
decades riding that foam mattress 

looking out 
to a distant bridge 
reading a book 
maybe I’ll see you soon 

and we’ll talk about the...

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Changing World

you live in a changing world 
you try to keep up 
it’s spinning faster 
than the speed of thought 

examine yourself to see 
if pieces still fit 
staring at the ceiling 
you can’t stop the spin 

she lives in a changing world 
dancing to it 
you feel biology kick in 
you’ve got to be with it 

she embraces the new 
without hesitation 
you search for contradiction...

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This Aged Head

I become more ignorant 
all the time 
more doubtful about 
what’s mine 

I’d even say 
I’m in decline 
except for 
one thing 

that I’m burning 
by degree 
that’s remained 
constant with me 

this thing’s here 
in front of my mind 
that I never 
fail to see 

and so I work on it 
as it changes shape 
sometimes I don’t recognize it 
most days I lose myself 

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Feels like Home

You ask me why I have these 
books I’ve never read 

records in plastic 
wine going bad 

you move in closer 
I feel heat of your breath 

I look into your eyes 
this is what I said

I’m saving it for a moment
a moment just like this 

when stars align and 
we’re in a state of bliss 

when the world outside 
has left us enough alone 

this is the moment 
th...

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Last Witness 

you can learn something from everyone 
how to be or not to be 
I try to live in a world of love 
where even my enemies are lovely 

how things tend to go down 
devil’s in the details 
I give him what he wants 
the rest I hold onto with nails 

I’m the last witness to what I’ve seen 
the future lies ahead 
everything I’ve known truthfully 
is dubious in the end 

las...

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My only secret

don’t wanna go out 

don’t wanna work out 

don’t wanna meet someone 

don’t wanna talk 

don’t need drugs 

don’t give me something sweet

don’t need to buy anything 

I only want to read 

sick of things getting worse

there’s no one I want to hurt

just to bear witness

is more than I need

I wake up with a hope 

I keep it close

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Inches

this itch 
you can’t reach 
you try to scratch 
you fall on your back 

at least 
it’s the sort of pain 
you can try to treat 
with tiny pills and your hands 

will the art make amends 
I can’t forget all the stings 
you bring new things 
into my plans 

I pick them up 
too late 
now the table 
has been set 

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Instructions on the inside 

I’m exciting 
I know this from 
empirical research 
I react to everything 
I don’t remain inert 

exciting 
with no off switch 
I make every second count 
even when 
you don’t wanna hear it 

I eat boring for breakfast 
and shit magic 
I brush my teeth with rules 
and guess what happens 

of course I work 
for a large bureaucracy 
with a plastic sp...

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Looking over the terms of my surrender 

I can’t help but feel the Germans were treated better 

you’ve got me down to my last dollar

 making me swear I’ll love you forever 

I’m reading paragraph seven 

where you maintain I must obey your every decision 

there’s an asterisk attached to that section 

that defines “enthusiastic submission” 

I’ve read the thi...

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You imagine the past 
in the present you can’t 

guess what happened 
to those you know lost 

to the folds of time 
in vain you hope they had 

more glorious lives 
than a grind 

like the coffee they drank 
all the way to the bank 

in god they trust 
while their hearts 

can’t thank 
that cowardice 

that safety 
that tricked them 

from ever moving towards anything 
th...

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