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Situations

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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Swirls of Smoke

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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Distant Star

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

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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Double-Blind Controlled Study

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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Life’s always new

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

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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The Happy Slave

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

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

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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The Greats

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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Just Sign

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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Heavy Accumulations

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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Lost in a "U"

without help from the stars 

we drive this carcass so far 

until we nearly stall 

just pulled back from it all 

 

lost in a you 

what can we do 

with just this one 

outside world 

 

you say it’s not my fault 

asking for my pin numbers 

I’ve cut all my cards 

let’s sing for our suppers 

 

lost in a you 

with me, too 

things that go down 

must so...

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This Forever

You can’t do it alone 

it’s too heavy to hold 

but we can do it 

forever

 

everyone has gone 

I’m taking you home

we face the dark 

together 

 

there was a time before 

everyone gave you love 

you thought it would 

go on forever

 

that time’s gone 

you wonder why

you’re alone 

calling stars with no answer

 

I’m here and you’re there 

w...

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Issues

issues everbody’s

got issues

some keep ‘em under wraps

others collect a whole set

 

a shy kid

I went home and hid

reading comic books

playing records

 

got attracted to girls

with super-powers

I hid my hobbies

to not appear so lonely

 

now I’ve got issues

plenty of issues

I work out the kinks

with ladies and a shrink

 

but there are issue...

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In the Sprawl

In the Sprawl 

One day the truck didn’t come 
and the customers stayed 

after the food ran out 
we went into the lot with the spades 

we started to break up the asphalt 
planting the salad greens 

some tried to eat a small car 
it tasted like chicken they claimed 

we raised our first crop of lattés 
just before the Fall rains 

our cheeseburgers are coming along
we’ll have y...

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The Danger

The Danger 

 

The most dangerous thing is to do nothing 

to hold the winning hand 

to wait until it’s too late to play 

to watch it evaporate in the glass 

 

I hold onto just one thing 

turning it over in a second 

shiny-hard, polished sweat 

speaking about it breaks the spell 

 

outside of us there’s nothing 

compelling as it is 

my mind goes back to thes...

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Peopling

People are problematic 

they don’t always do what you want them to 

 

sometimes they do 

nothing at all 

 

you have to beg and threaten 

curse and provoke 

 

the way you’d 

eat a cannibal 

 

people are my favorite drug 

the way they reflect your thoughts 

 

I like watching them if only to predict 

where and where they start to go wrong 

 

when ...

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Unregulated

Unregulated 

I say “I love you” 
a lot to all my friends 
I don’t think this 
cheapens my love 

I like to spread it 
around until it 
achieves a rich 
consistency

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The Usual

we’re dying 

I thought you knew that 

did you forget when 

you went to work depressed

 

we’re dying 

and we don’t know exactly 

what it means but it should

give us reason to pause

 

and reflect on meaning 

in this dailyness 

how we treat ourselves 

and each other 

 

we’re dying like everyone 

who’s come before and left 

writing a word or a line 

...

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3 Drunken Poems

3 Drunken Poems


Twenty-Twenty-Four

I’m OK
but 
It hurts

 

Men

We can’t 
Give birth
So we
Play with our hair

 

In Praise Of

It was
Enough
Just to be
In her presence

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Years & Miles

She knows when you call and why 
sometimes she’ll pick up 
other times she’s tired 

of your leftover 
emotions 
and clichéd situations 

all those 
entanglements 
that she used to desire 

she wants to be proven wrong 
wants to know there’s still 
a hope coming with the dawn 

after too many late nights 
of never getting it right 
leaving what she wanted 
years & miles behind 

...

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Finger painting

got your outsides covered 
by former lovers 
just when you thought 
there was nowhere to hide 

I pick up my brush 
I paint your insides 

I’ve got more than 
eight million colors 
most can’t be seen 
they’re felt all over 

I make you cry 
tears of delight 
just you now wait 
for the rollers 

painting your insides 
in a rainbow 
painting your insides 
with a hint of a shadow...

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Your last chance to sell out

Your last chance to sell out 

 

we’ve been impressed 

with the consistency of your work 

the way you dress 

you’ve cultivated this look 

 

like to make you an offer 

join us with what we do 

want you as part of a team 

to have your voice in the future 

 

we’re making something new 

to revolutionize the world 

going to shake things up 

it’s really going ...

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Annoyances

annoyances 

 

the future needed your help

it wasn’t begging 

 

it didn’t have anything to sell 

just wanted to tell you something 

 

everything you thought was solid’s 

boiled off into a gas 

 

everything that was promised 

has been shown not to last 

 

now there’s just you 

and a little bit of time 

 

that you were planning 

on spending any wa...

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Another Song for my Friends

(Another) Song for My Friends 

I think of all the 
beautiful things you do 
how kindness is 
so important to you
 
how you’ve never made 
pure dick moves
thinking of others 
as just important as you 

and you’re my friends 
and though I hope
to see you again 

you’re in my heart 
and it helps me 
get through 
what I do here 

how could we 
have ever known 
we were young 
a...

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The furniture of the moment 

you can sit on top of it 

it really looks good 

take a picture 

send it around the world 

 

you can’t have it 

but you can be sure 

the good life is out there

waiting for you 

 

I got people coming over 

in a little time from now 

consider cleaning up

this mess somehow

 

the furniture of the moment 

wants you to sit down 

relax yourself on it

a...

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Sweetness & Grind


Sweetness & Grind


Will you ever find  
that sweetness again 
time has passed 
money’s spent 

just this memory 
of how things felt 
an ancient song 
a familiar smell 

and the rest 
isn’t worth mentioning 
on the margins 
of daily existence 

the din and the hum  
shape and the blur 
no longer enthralls 
but you endure

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Esoteric

I live with you 
outside the empirical 
deep into the subjective, 
mystical, and unsubstantiated 

we are ruled by preferences, 
tastes, and desires
time’s not our enemy 
it’s just fucking inconvenient 

what we do with ourselves 
is nobody’s business
we are just art in process
to be consumed 

as a pleasurable delicacy
sometimes had 
at a deeply 
discounted price

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True

you should try being true 

it’s not the easiest thing to do 

it won’t pay for new shoes 

but it might save you some trouble 

some time from now

 

I used to worry what 

others would think 

I used to get along 

because 

that seemed easy 

 

but it took me places 

that weren’t easy 

to leave 

especially 

when things got ugly 

 

there were others ar...

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This; not that

I never thought of myself as weird, 

exceptional, or damaged 

 

I assumed we were all one 

against a suicidally mediocre reality 

 

I never felt so alone as when 

I was intimate with people 

 

who embraced things as they were 

as part of their mental routines 

 

and yet somehow feeling we had 

enjoyed a meeting of the minds

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Matters

Matters

I meet you in various 
states of matter 
you say it’s of no concern 

ethics are for children 
as the universe swirls 
I build on my experience 

I try to make sense of my life 
while you throw it up in the air 
it makes for pretty designs

perhaps we’re wholly 
complementary 
maybe there’s no fit at all 

just a reaction
some plasma and gas 
and then two chocolate gel...

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On it

On it

How can anything 
be a love song 
with everything going on 

how can we think of us 
against these flames 
in the background 

maybe lovers in Vesuvius 
thought the same thing 
smile and pose for history 

we’re in the moment 
exactly like this 

how can anything be a love song 
so that’s what you thought 
as I make the world stop 

for a moment and you can 
put down y...

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Slip Permission

I screwed up 

and I got back 

to where I swore 

I’d never find myself again 

 

amongst the ranks 

of fallen men 

that familiar smell 

of failure I know too well 

 

and you move inches 

away from me 

seeing less of what you once 

saw in me 

 

I’m falling by degrees 

you warned me 

there are no 

guarantees 

 

and how I want to be back 

i...

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Flipping the Cup

Sometimes I’m a critic 

I try not to be a cynic 

I’ve been spun by life 

too many times that 

I’m not always with it 

 

I look for a narrow line 

I don’t find it every time 

but I often see you there 

and I’m so happy 

to share the moment 

 

I block out 

more than I take in 

as the glass remains 

almost full 

 

got a lot to work with 

I don’t g...

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Like Children

like children we reach 

for dangerous things 

placed just out 

of our hands

 

demanding happiness 

from these lives 

as if it was a right 

to command

 

we land on our backsides 

kings and queens of an empty sky 

holding up memories 

for a meaning we can’t seem to find 

 

like children we’re  

afraid of the night 

seeking out warmth 

in the curv...

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My fictional past

my past keeps changing 
like a snake 
striking at targets 
changing shapes 

just when you think 
it meets its fate 
it sheds its skin 
shaking another tale 

of course I’ve been there 
and done that 
even if I haven’t 

dreams and memories 
start to blur 
what does it matter if I didn’t 

there’s no way 
to escape this fate 
adding layers 
soon starts to fail 

in the scena...

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Select all the images with Motorcycles

 

 

Select all images with motorcycles

 

I try to understand the world 

I don’t understand the world 

I start with a small corner 

big enough for myself and a dog 

 

and then I add you 

and the corner loses its edges 

the confusion turns into 

some kind of theatre 

 

and sometimes I return 

to that solitude 

and add it to yours 

and it brings some...

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Others

you find it again 

you don’t know when 

the signals sent 

to others 

 

a partial match 

a release and catch 

the night goes on 

forever 

 

now you’re tired and sick 

while something sticks

that taste of a former 

lover 

 

bedpost chewing gum 

she was the one 

what was lost is now found 

in others

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Game of Life

be that for me 
I’ll be that for you 
doesn’t really matter 
if it’s real or true 

love is work 
the sweetest kind 
you still have to bust 
ass to be mine 

tell me what 
I want to hear 
I don’t want to know 
what you really feel 

I’ll tell you what sounds 
sweet to your ears 
you’ll sleep like a baby 
feel the night disappear 

don’t come at me 
with the look of a child 
y...

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New music work

Click on link

 

New collection of songs. Pardon the personal spam. B

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Gimme the Unusual

Gimme the unusual

I’ll take a drop of the tropical 

pinch of the atonal 

stirred with a time signature 

that remains unknowable 

 

gimme a shot of the unusual

send it over quick 

I’ve had enough of the banal 

to last me many years

 

One more narrative 

without a thread

several cut up 

fifties experiments 

 

a whole tale dictated 

by a pink monkey ...

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