zine selections part duex

here are selections from my more peacy zine that i'd like to post.


"Black Stone Mirror Heart"
(for rumi)

if you feel your heart turning dark as iron
take a rag and polish it up just like a mirror
a BLACK STONE MIRROR HEART
so that you can see WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE
AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE PLACES TO WHICH I'VE BEEN
WHERE I WILL WAIT FOR YOU (AND YOU AND YOU) ALWAYS

if you feel your mind begging time from angel
steal a plane and gut it for parts
then tape the motor to your brain
an AIRPLANE MOTOR MIND
so that you can fly WHERE YOU WANNA FLY
AND I HAVE NEVER FLOWN TO THE PLACES WHICH I'VE KNOW
WHERE I WILL WAIT FOR YOU (AND YOU AND YOU) ALWAYS

if you feel your soul take control then lose it
send it spinning on a spinning-top
THEN DIP IT IN CHOCOLATE
a SPINNING-TOP CHOCOLATE SOUL
so that you can feel WHAT YOU WANNA FEEL
AND I HAVE NEVER FELT THE GROUND ON WHICH I'VE KNELT
WHERE I WILL WAIT FOR YOU (AND YOU AND YOU) ALWAYS


"Cutting a bagel"

i was cutting a bagel the other day and instead i cut myself, oops! but it made me think...
words are like the blood from a clenched fist hiding a cut, dripping out uncontrollably, even in the absense of gravity this happens.
see- you know why it is bleeding but you cannot see the wound, open your hand and see the cut. well, no surprises there, still ouch though. as the blood flows faster, you manipulate the flow to minimize the mess, hold it over the sink or something. wash it, dress it, all better. but still ouch man.
during this all of the attention is on the hands, the bleeding, the dripping, the dressing! far less if any attention given to the knife, or the heart that pumps the blood. far less attention to the intent that made the words, the soul that pumps interpratation................
i remember i learned once that the english language has about 40 percent more words in it that other european languages because of its two parent languages. still though.... i dont think it’s ever even more than 20 or 30 percent effective in expressing someone’s true/right meaning. lets cut ourselves and others some slack when it comes to words. we might not take things how they were meant to be taken. even if they knew every language in the word i'm sure a heart and a knife would still have trouble communicating some of the time.


"xmas day revisited"

hopped in my canon, just to go for a ride
pointed it up to heaven, but i couldn't get there
no matter how many times i tried
right around try 23 i thought how much easier'd be if
i had some kind of deity helping me out
so i went down to church, to get god in my corner
at first i thought everybody'd be sittin in pews
but everyone was up in the air flyin
weavin in and out of eachother with there eyes closed
it was death defying
on the outside everbody was looking pretty shinny, nice capes
but on the inside i could tell
everyone was just trying to remember how to weep
but nobody could squeeze a drop
everyone was running away from Xmas day
takin off west away from the dawn
and its snowing in heaven
and down here everybody's just trying to keep warm
I see ya riding around in your bible-car babe
the ways that ya steer it
but ya gotta be careful drivin round in your bible car
somebody might actually hear it
sounds like BRRRAWWWlove yer enemy and FRRROOOturn yer cheak
and NNRRRAWW stop dropin bombs on people for pete's sake
some of these people'll teach ya about lovin
some teach ya hate
but whatever you learn in your life babe,
don't confuse god, with fate
and what they mean by that is don't confuse the cards you're dealt
with the apples that you ate
it ain't about the apples anymore
so don't let'em scare ya.
they're a'running away from Xmas day
takin off west away from the dawn
and its snowing in heaven
and down here everybody's just trying to keep warm
I look at this country, and it moves me to tears
to many kids in the hallways, havin to live beyond their years
seems as though all we teach'em is to be afraid of the reasons for war
but we don't teach'em to be afraid of war itself, and thats dangerous
still i pray for the soldiers who fight, cause they're the ones that die
but you know i pray for them terrorists too, well at least i try
and i pray for all the people in the world still stuck on the justice
of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, soul for a soul
everyone's a running away from Xmas day
takin off west away from the dawn
and its snowing in heaven
and down here everybody's just trying to keep warm
well he came out to his mother on Xmas eve,
against his better judgment
and she thought it was her fault in some kinda way,
she thought it might be god's punishment
and on Xmas day, her son was still gay and
all she could say to him was
"son, can't you just change for your mama?"
thats a true story.
and it makes me think... WWJD if he had a gay son
i'd like to think he'da handdled it a little diffrently
a dog'll bark at you, its in its nature, and a kitten purrs
i haven't lost my faith, not yet, i just ain't subscribing to yers,
every fish has different scales, every bird different wings,
every mammals got different furs
cant' you see that its beautiful, can't you see that its right
still sometimes i think it might be easier
if everybody's god had the same name
there'd be a little less killing with less people to blame
BUT ISNT THAT WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FIGURED OUT ANYWAY AFTER JESUS CAME?
i try to remember these things
except when i'm a'running away from Xmas day
takin off west away from the dawn
its still snowing in heaven
and down here everybody's just trying to keep warm


"Gene Roddenberry Crews"

When i was younger
i used to stay up late and watch both episodes of S.T.N.G.
and that stands for
"Star Trek: the Next Generation", it was a T.V. show.
Captain Picard and his fearless crew
Cruising 'round the stars and saving the galaxy for me and you
And well they had their guns
but they called them phazers
they used them like tazers
they weren't even trying to kill nobody
yes they set their guns to stun
when i was younger...
they were my
Gene Roddenberry Crews
Gene won't you dream for me we need another Starship
we tried to build one of our own
but we couldn't get past the our-ship part
Gene please, where did them stars that shine on me go
are they even mine to see anymore
I'm looking up but i don't see nothing
cause the lights are too bright in this city
hey Gene did ya know the first time we went to the moon
it was all just a competition with the Russians
and i'm afraid if we don't learn our lesson soon
there'll be some noo-clee-ar repercusions or something like that
and look what we doing now we want to go ta mars,
want to make it ours
looking for life over there in the dirt
but wouldn't it be nice if we could find some worthwhile life down here first
thats how i feel sometimes
I don't know how its gonna be it the twenty-third century
are we even gonna last till then
maybe if we practise Zen
compassion and love for all humans
and also for our alien friends, YEAH!
they could be saying hurray for the humans
huzzah to the future of galactic peace
i don't know if they will
but they won't be able to do it without some
Gene Roddenberry Crews!
Gene you were so wise
you'd never believe your eyes
the poet tries to write a brighter future's past
Earthings can't we see
how much better off we'd be cruizing five-year missions,
upholding the prime directive,
and drinking some hot tea,
earl grey
Gene Roddenberry Crews
Gene won't you dream for me we need another Starship
we tried to build one of our own
but we couldn't get past the "it's mine"-ship part
Gene please, where did them stars that shine on me go
are they even mine to see anymore
I'm looking up but i don't see nothing
cause the lights are too bright in this city
awww, I ain't even looking up no more
cause what am I gonna see
i'm just gonna turn on my T.V.
you'll be there for me
S.T.N.G
With the G. R. C.


"talking global warming"

global warming? its just a hoax
yes i think that the globe is really getting a little colder
know what i mean?
don't believe me? just ask your folks
they'll probably tell you something about the sixties
it ain't coming back, peace and love was just a dream they had...
so now i'm wondering
if my time is getting watered down, couldn't that mean that we're growing some how
and if my world, its getting watered down, mightent that mean somethings growing?
or does it mean that we're drowning...
i just don't like feeling like i'm the only body
whooz feeling like i feel
now theres a man who says he could save us all with his money
and this other man says he could save us with his love
he says love a dove
and my friend janeane says we could save ourselves
with the help of a god above
but she don't know which one
and i seem to remember a man who told me i'd lose my soul if i gave up the fight
then i got a good job and bought a volkswagon, and a proved to him that he was right.
i forgot to vote
i think i was shoping for some bose speakers, tiny speakers, listening for something…
but just ended up wondering
if my time is getting watered down, couldn't that mean that we're growing some how
and if my world, its getting watered down, mightent that mean somethings growing?
maybe it'll "trickle down"
or maybe it won't and then we'll all drown...
i still don't like feeling like i'm the only body
whooz feeling like i feel
and i don't wanna feel bad, for having bad stuff
don't ya know they told me it was gonna be good stuff to have
on the tele-V
and i don't wanna feel sad, for thinking sad thoughts
don't ya know they told me they was gonna be happy thoughts
why would anybody lie about something like that?
they say
"if your time feels watered down, son that just means you're growing up
its fact of life"
they said
"if your life feels diluted, we'll get ya some of this and it'll pull ya through it"
but don't believe everything you want to believe cause you may find yourself someday
down at the bottom of the ocean floor
global warming finally gotcha
on your way to the video store
and now you don't like feeling like you're the only fishy
whooz feeling like you feel


"3 quotes: Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim:"

“Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.”
-Jesus in Mathew 21:42-43

I think this lesson teaches that we must not regard our own religious activities as having more importance than the religious activities of others. And that we must humble ourselves to the belief that God knows best how to grow his kingdom and whom god will chose to glorify it.

“Not recognizing that there's no connection between term and meaning, those who wander in endless jargon get so exhausted.”
-Adept Godrakpa

This passage reminds me of the necessary evils of language, and that we must be careful not to judge meaning too quickly. For words are imperfect just as our minds are not equipped to completely comprehend another's intentions of expression.

“The truest and highest stage of worship is to see God face to face, and to receive his guidance0 from his own mouth. Those who attain this highest stage, choose for themselves whatever God chooses for them. Their entire characters are transformed by God. They are God's friends; so they no longer discriminate between people, but regard all people as friends. Wherever they go, they go from God; wherever they arrive, they arrive at God. Whatever they do, they do for God; whatever service they perform, they perform it in God. The self has been truly annihilated.”
-Junayd, "Tawhid"

After 9/11, I felt a particular need to research this religion that supposedly "Breeds Terrorists", and "Teaches Hate and Intolerance." I was happy to find this was not the case. i think that all religions have positive creeds, it is humans that seems unable to follow their own highest ideals.


"A History of God or Chasing Japanese Rabbits part deux"

so i just got done reading karen armstrong's A HISTORY OF GOD. it took me along time as i'm a slow reader. nonetheless i am inspired to write.
when it comes to the matter of GOD, isn't it curious how humans throughout the ages have come to specific revalations about god, which may start out to be inherently possitive, and then have afterwords thought, "now that i know what God is, i know what god isn't. "God is this, and not that", effectively leading to- "God has always been this, so it will always be this." never allowing the transformation of this into another "that". Quite ironic as, arguably, every revalation about God
has at one time, not existed, whether "divinely inspired", or humanly pondered.
Armstrong's book thouroughly catalouges the pendulum swing of religious thought in society from the Mystic/irrational/follow your heart(e.g. jewish kabbalah, muslim sufism, christian mystysism) ideoligies to the paths of the Philosophic/rational/cultivate your mind(e.g. Maimonides, faylasufs, early calvinists) systems of thought.
However, what her book never implicitly states or posts is the question, "why can't our religions cultivate a tolerance and inclusion of both the mystic and
the rational, both heart and mind, all at the same time?" eastern thought systems seem to have been exploring this concept far better than us westerners. Allthough, not being a buddhist, i think i'd better think on this within my own cultural context if i'm to be any use to myself or my society.
yes, i will again forcefully write my intentions to live the logic of DUALISM, rather than the logic of DOMINATION. to have an "either or both" rather than a "this or that" mind and heart. I feel like its a good thing to study as many paths as one can, never clinging solely to one, in order to be a force for peace and understanding. allthough the disclaimer for me is the fact that there is a bit of hypocrasy in this language as this aproach itself is a "path", and so it MUST be stated, and i must remind myself that this path will not necessarily lead me to more virtue or revelation than the paths of those who stick to their guns, so to speak. the followers of any path have the capacity to screw things up.
Also, as a picture can be framed in many frames, and a flower potted in many pots, they can also be seen by many eyes. SO then every well intentioned thinker who ever opened their mouths to speak or put thought to pen must be prepared for the corruption of their original intent. I'm pretty sure Nietzsche would not have condoned Nazism, Marx would have denounced the Stalinists, and Jesus, Mohammed, and Moses all would have had issues with... well, lots.
Perhaps what we need is some new vocation. Perhaps some sort of "thought medicine man", or preacher/holyman/psychologist, is needed to prescribe systems of thought and faith to those who have stumbled too far down the path of "i'm right you're wrong." oh wait... maybe we do have those people.
they're called teachers. Allthough the same aforementioned caveat must be applyed to teachers as to thinkers.
O.K. this is the point in the blog where that little mischievous elf inside me says "EUREKA! I've discovered truth. Look at me world, read my blog and think like me and all will be well!" so to him again i have to say, "no, no, no, mister Elf, we're just frame-makers here, not truth-knowers."
the elf says "oh man, phooey," and kicks a rock. Why is it that thinkers feel the need to impose their thoughts upon others? probably loneliness, or the need for admiration, i'm not sure really.
blog blog blog, blog blog...
well its a nice day so i'm gonna go for a run, then i'm gonna go get hammered with my friend Eric, whom i've not seen in a while. peaceout, its all good, word to your mother...


"On a Rock"

river woman walking chest-high water
won't you take what you need to survive
is it any wonder that anybody's still alive?
New Orleans, you're in my dreams,
y'inmy hopes and my nightmares too
we just want you to know, we never forgettin you
i see'em standing on a rock at the edge of the water
i see'em standing and their faces are many
i see'em standing on a rock at the edge of the sea
prick you on your finger take a drop of your blood,
put it in a vile held up to the sun
we can help you, but we can not help everyone
Africa is America to me, and America(my tribe) is all the world
and the world is just the apple in the eye of a child
at the edge of the sea
i see'em standing on a rock at the edge of the water
i see'em standing and their faces are many
i see'em standing on a rock at the edge of the sea
See you in the desert, your helmet or your turben,
your guns, and your feet and your tears
what can we do when we've been fighting for thousands of years?
its a holy war, a cross, a moon, a star
we'll never have peace if we don’t look at eachother
and so i'm taking my first look, im a'lookin -right now-
I see'em standing on a rock at the edge of the sea

(or the same words in haiku)

folks caught unawares
see them standing on a rock?
cracked, at the sea's edge


"and so"

in this life I know that I have always taken my fair share
and i've given what i've owed, nothing more nothing less
and if ever i have stepped above my duties it was not me
it was the grace of a higher power
which i have never understood, or met
and so..
i'm giving all my friends and loved ones
a rusty nail before i die
for to seal me up in my coffin when we say goodbye
for to lay me down good for good when it's my time to go
old men talking young men dying,
this the way of war and hatred
young men YAWLPing, old men dancing,
these are things that can lead to peace
this i've known since i was born
now it seems, with every morning
i forget a little more of this knowledge
and so...
i'm giving all my friends and loved ones
a rusty nail before i die
for to seal me up in my coffin when we say goodbye
for to lay me down good for good when it's my time to go
with my words and with my thinking
i've always tried to find some concrete answers
what i found was the simple value in a listning mind
and a silent smile
and so won't you go ahead and smile?


"the seeds of peace"

this is a country which draws many kinds
from the native tribes to the imagrents
then and now some come from dark places
some have believed they were heaven sent
what comes from heaven like Noah's dove?
how do you distinguish from what comes up from hell?
oceans craddle the coasts, rain falls from the sky
yet water is drawn from a well.
this in the land of a constant sorrow
this in the land of that pains relief
carrying the promise of a brighter tomorrow
this is the land where we plant the seeds of peace
if a man is to grow to find the joy of motion
his blood must flow through the entire man
if a nation's to flower in freedom and gladness
her resources must flow through the entire clan
who is my clan? your clan is the people
who are these people, the people on earth
divided by hatred, separated by fear
chained to the lands of their birth
this in the land of a constant sorrow
this in the land of that pains relief
carrying the promise of a brighter tomorrow
this is the land where we plant the seeds of peace
and we watch them grow, then we plant some more
and we watch them grow, then we plant some more
and we watch them grow, then we plant some more


"Hip roman suicide"

drink some lead in your water
Gracias, eh? De nada
lets put some salt on your jelly hurry up
i see the cause and the effect
i seen the maufacture deffect
i see the hole in your belly - hurry up
all on a hip roma suicide
ya put your hand on your heart and ride
and flip that visor to see just what you want to see
and you say just what you wanna, say just what you wanna say
your capi gains and your profits?
i see they're little miss muffets
a spider sits down beside ya -hurry up
you got a trillion dollar debit
ya bought a tan and a senate
you bought a spoon and a lighter -hurry up
all on a hip roman suicide
you put your hand on your heart your right
and flip your visor so you see just what you wanna see,
and jya say just what you wanna, say just what you wanna say
you get your motor checked offen?
you got a flag on your coffin
get that box of the boxed T.V. -hurry up
and its the all holy bible
you're making it a false idol
graven pages made of silver and gold
...
all on a hip roman suicide
you put your hand on your heart you're right
and flip your visor so you see just what you wanna see,
and jya say just what you wanna, say just what you wanna say


"and jesus was dancing"

we don't live there anymore
where jesus dances in the sandbox baby
and the devil knocks on your door
he's serving papers, well he says,
"you can run but i will catch up with you some day
and you can never return
to the house that you burned!"
but i don't see it that way
you could rebuild
and jesus was dancing the inexcelsis mambo
you could shack up in the garage
and jesus was dancing the mashed hosana
you could build an ash castle
and jesus was dancing the gloria foxtrot
you could change your locks
or you could not change your locks
after you rebuild
invite everyone inside
and have a heaven'n'hell theme party
devils in the basement,
angels upstairs,
and on the first floor
everybody can just ... mix


"I am You"

We want you on our team
baby dont think like nobody wants you
we want you livin our dream
i've got a dream and its burning the taste on my tongue
its a sense of unlimited range
its a people willing to change
Everybody shout and scream
baby dont think like nobody's listening
check it out we're chugging full steam ahead
i got steam and its shooting right out my eyes
its a view of umlimited sight
its the peace between wrong and right
i said we got to have us some peace, between wrong and right
and we're g-g-getting down on our knees and we wanted to say that we're sorry!
Because we took it to the Extreme
when we built that wall we didnt know what we were doing
now we're cutting through it with our laser-beams baby!!
(everybody make lazer beam noises) we're breaking it down
and its a force you can never fully know
its a power you gain by letting go
so let it go, all you hatred and your revenge
let it go, your need for security
dont be afraid of things you can not see
learn to love mystery
i hope someday we'll all agree
I am you (and you and you)
and you are Me
I am you and you are me
we could make it work


"I’m not as nice as I think I am"

The other day, i was lain in a hammock
i was enjoying the walnut dropings courtesy of a squirll high above.
then a peculiar thing: the damn wind blew the squirll from its branch, and it headed strait for me. I could see his parachute belly.
i know, strange. perhaps he was an elderly squirll or drunk.
well, i quickly stumbled away from the area with plenty of time, for the tree was very tall. I didnt want to get scratched you see. allthough intermittently it looked to be pretty plain that the little bugger would land quite clear of the hammock. So i'd have been fine if i'd just stop to see. poor little fella ................flump.
now, sitting here. i think what now i will try to think the next time this happens: if i am wearing any garment, i will pull it out it front of me and do my level best to catch that squirll.
Darwin or no, i cant abide any more flumping.


"i'm catchin hell for this one..."

so, here's a thought
perhaps homosexuality is natures population control
there's just too many of us around
the planet it suffocating
i mean, if you're the type to believe that God has a plan,
you gotta admit, homosexuality sure is good for the planet
hmmm… that would mean beer goggles are bad for the planet… crud.
Please disregard everything I’ve just wroten


"mystery song"

(for katie)

some people cry, and others mourn
when some people never come home
some'v us wait and other live
the rest of 'em learn to forgive...
and you're not gonna find adventure
with the praying that you do
you not gonna solve a mystery
a mystery's gonna solve you.
some of us taste while others eat
some people sleep in the street
you didn't think it could be true
that sleeping could happen to you.
and now you're snorin...
but you're not gonna wake from slumber
while you're dreams are all black and blue
you're not gonna solve a mystery
a mysterys gonna solve you.
and when he tells ya that you don't know what love is
just a’shrug yer shoulders and don't speak
then give'm a kiss, make it a sloppy one too
well, some of us kiss and others run
the rest of us reach for the sun
sometimes i reach sometimes i touch
regardless babe, i need you so much...
well you're not gonna find a lover
'neath the mourning drops of dew
you're not gonna find a mystery for yourself
that old mystry is gonna find you
so don't worry none.


"tribalism yodel"

tribalmen men, you don't have to start yer wars
it's better when we admit
that we shouldn't do everything by ourselves
tribal men, you don't have to veil your hate
the world's not gonna heal when all you do it regulate it.
and i know love is understanding every point of view
but your wars are just too demanding and so i hate you
but i don't wanna hate you anymore
tribal men, you don't have to kill them first
no matter how much blood ya drink
it'll never quench your thirst
tribal men, we don't have to be afraid,
for it's better to lose our lives then to lose our souls
and i know love is understanding every point of view
but your war is just too demanding and so i hate you
but its a habit i'm trying to kick
these tribalism bombs i hear'm tick-tick-ticking
cause all these bombs that you build won't make you strong
the worlds been waiting for peace for too long
you tell me sometimes killing is right, well i think you're wrong
if you want to kill something, kill my song, kill my song
but don't kill the movement we got going for peace
yodelady, yodelady, who
tribal men, it's O.K. to lose control
but it's better when we admit
that we can't pick up all the pieces by ourselves
my young friends, some day we'll all of us be dead
so just remember where we come from and what we believe in
and i believe love is understanding every point of view
but them wars are just too demanding
and so i hate, i hate, and hate the war
but i don't want to hate, its not what i'm trying to do anymore


"another cup of tea"

I gathered up all my bright ideas, I wrote them down on my wrist but i never did drink the drops of ink
pouring from your fingertips
never took a second look at the color of your lips,
cause i was lookin fer Avalon
but now I'm glad I finally met you, you're all i wanted to see
is their anything I could get ya?
some extra time at the five and dime,
proof that I'm in love with you
or maybe just another cup of tea
Rattled off my testimony, "I seen him weight the dice"
always blew, the good and true, never had the sense to lie
when you add up everything you got and you're still a little shy, hey well you know it's time
this time i'm glad i finally met you, you're all i wanted to see
is their anything i could get you?
another dance, your kaki capri pants,
another chance of loving you
or maybe just another cup of tea
hey i wanted to know, was their anything your heart desires?
i wanta fetch it fer you, through the wind the rain and the fire!
I road out on my brown eyed mare
but she never change her course
so it wasn't long, till she was gone,
i had to ride in on, a different horse
sometimes love is easy, but some loves you have to force!
You’d better give it yer all
after all i'm glad i finally met ya, you're all i wanted to see,
is there anything i could get ya?
Some wood for choppin, some corn for poppin
I’m a’never stopping! I’m lovin you!
or maybe just another cup of tea


"Happy birthday"

take me back to the place
where we both didn't know anything
i want to meet the person whom i was a stranger too
take me back to the time
when we didn't have a place
for us to go back to.
(sus chord resolution)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE! HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY CELEBRATED?
ON THE DAY THAT YOU WERE BORN THE ANGELS CRIED
AS YOUR STAR WAS BOUND FOR MINE!
HURRAY!
(super long film score bridge)
WHY DO WE NAME THE WIND
BY THE DIRECTION IT HAILS FROM?
MY HEAD TENDS TO TURN IN THE DIRECTION IT BLOWS.
I HOPE YOU'LL GOVERN YOUR LIFE BY THE CONSTITUTION OF A MOUNTAIN'S PEAK
I HOPE YOU'LL MEET YOUR DEATH
BY THE THORNS OF A ROSE
BY THE THORNS OF A ROSE,
happy birthday


"my guitar is teasing me, go figure"

well i've taught smoke to rosin up through the trees
i taught religious folk to pray upon their knees
i been to the lake of fire, taught it's waves to freeze
but i never found anyone whom i could really please
and call me crazy but i think my guitar is teasing me
listen to it ... i dont think i'm paranoid here
i think its really makin fun,
go figure…
like the god that gave his son(,) the perfect gift
i can cause the plates of heaven and earth to shift
i've ransomed the garden of evil from its timeless myth
but i never found anyone whom i'd like to share it with
and my guitar just keeps on teasin me
just like a little girl skippin some rope
one, two, buckle my shoe is what she says
like the cup that collects the blood you drink, you bleed
i could justify all your avarice and greed
cause i've collected every spirit, from every mustard seed
but i never found anyone whom i felt i could really need
and my guitar just keeps on teasing me
just like a little boy up in a chesnut tree
with his thumb on his nose, fingers in the air, wiggeling
and after gamblin into fifty-thousand dollars debt
i made it double or nothin, then i lost the bet
and after the house took everything i had
a said "dealer, i aint finished yet"
but i never found anyone whom i didn't think i'd eventually regret
and this guitar keeps on teasing me
just like every day it seems
every day, every season, spring, winter, fall,
even in the summer
it thinks its funny that i still play
the same old tunes, with the same old blues


"norshore fable"

she got lost in the woods of lutsen
she went out lookin for flowers in the scatered showers
but that was hours ago
and so she climbed a tree, to the squirell
he said "dont you cry little girl
cause it ain't hard to get you back where you started!"
no it aint hard to make it back
it aint hard to make it back
you just mark who you love the most
and follow'em down to the coast
water'll always getcha back where you started
he had a map to a forgotten treasure
he went out lookin for riches, diggin holes in ditches, dreaming'bout some bitches and brew
until his holes started caving in
he said "i don't think this map is quite genuine
and its so hard when you can't remember just where you've been
but it aint hard to make it back
no it aint hard to make it back
you just mark who you love the most
and follow'em down to the coast
water'll always getcha back where you started
they got lost on their way back from inspiration point
their hands were shaking
cause they was taking a path they hadn't normally took
and it was pitch black and they couldn't see nothing
but then he caught a little glimmer
of some moonlight on the river he said,
"my darling that’s the river gonna get us home.
cause it aint hard to make it back down to the coast
of gitchi gammi."


"the compound"

we flew in over the compound in a pontoon plane
unseen criminals
we where the first to jump
gravity was obeying dream-rules, so of course we overshot it by about a football field
we could see the building was.......tall
so we grappled and climbed to the top, after a jaunt
then i saw the courtyard at the bottom of the building's ancient elevatorshaft.
down i looked into the gargantuan space where the bones of a king kong Vishnu, who was the elevator operator, lay half consumed in the sand. where the kids junglegymed and the coworkers took their cigarette breaks.
nowadays, in the absence of the mighty elevator lift the people surf up and down the carpetstairs on red, blue, purple, and green pre-school rest time mats…
we stoped to smell the roses
just then the man from snowyriver road in over the drawbridge and through the portcullis, chewing saltwater icecubes, halfway into a cat’s cradle. he shouted up to me, "don't jump stranger.
i'll catch you if you do, but it'll ruin my cat's cradle!"
uh….
so of course i jumped


"Rumble-Tumble Down"

peeling, peeling out of the parking lot
painted on your pencil-tip,
behind your ear, it was plain to see,
your arms were making ROPE LADDERS,
lassoing Benny,
AND SOME MAD DOG 20/20.
We were all tangled up in ropes of glee
and everybody sang "ah-ee-ah-ha-yip-yippie"
breaking,
breaking into the montesorri school,
no one around just me and you and zosia blue,
and a push'n'talk TEDDY RUXPIN.
your catholic cousin, she was really something!
i just wanna be a part of your family
and everybody sang " ah-ee-ah-ha-yip-yippie "
SPRAYING,
SPRAYING SPIT,
SPILLING DOWN ANY OLD HILL,
BIG BLOCKS OF ICE AND A TOWEL,
PLASTIC SLEDS, YOU CAN EVEN GO WITHOUT
YOU JUST RUMBLE-TUMBLE DOWN
ANY OLD SEASON WE CAN FIND A REASON
HEY LETS GO, LETS GO RIGHT NOW,
AIN'T NO REASON TO STAND 'ROUND HERE
NO MORE


"Chase and Jenny"

guess who's back from the mountains?
no it aint moses, its just chase and jenny
the suns a-rising they drove all night and their legs are frozen but their backs are sweaty,
and aint that how it is after a long car-ride
just in time for the celebration, summer's over,
the harvest coming soon. we're ringing out summer's end
people say "have you seen chase and jenny
since they been back from that mountain?
there's something different about'em,
the way they dance on the straw.
and its anybody's guess to which cliff or precipice
with it's view was generous enough
to show-em whatever it was that they saw."
and you'd ask'em but you dont wanna butt in.
we're all here at the celebration, summer's over,
the harvest coming soon. we're ringing out summer's end
just right
and everybody was sing and dancing and having a good time, they were singing, and a-dancing, and the room started spining around yeah, and the room started spining around yeah, and it was spinning
around, it was spinning around,
it was spinning around, well, oh lordy.
SOME PEOPLE DIE, HIGHER. SOME PEOPLE DIE, HIGHER.
SOME PEOPLE DIE, HIGHER.
now everyone has gone home,
except for you know who, up on the roof.
and chase says to jenny "we'll be married next year",
she said "thats a nice idea chase, but how can you know?"
he said "dont you remember the day last September
when the grass was green and soon too be covered in snow? honey baby thats how i know.."
and wont you let me take you home from the celebration, summer's over, the harvest coming soon.
we're ringing out summer's end just right


"no-show"

roe sham beau or tic-tac-toe?
NO?.....
away i'll go!
wind blow snow.
oh :(


"peach colored stripes"

peach colored stripes on your white long-sleave,
a yellow room, with olive colored drapes
i cant seem to make your face out, but i'm sure that its you
i know your movements, i recognize your shapes
its in my dreams where i enjoy seeing you now baby
you reach for the stars
but you keep your eyes on the ground
i'm happy you've found your happy medium
they say you moved to indiana
and that your mother's to be a grandma
soon your babe will hear your humming
its in my dreams where i enjoy hearing you now
well its in my dreams,
the only place where i can see you now
cause in every other part of me you've gone
you left my hopes and my ambitions
you've left my knees and my superstitions
you've left the outside and the inside
of the house of my premonitions
you've gone away from my door and my window too
cant even remember what that house looked like,
just the kitchen really…
so if they teach me to pare again,
i might dream you wearing again
your peach colored white long sleeve tee
and i never know which dream you'll visit
when you don't babe i really miss it
but its only in my dreams of this that i'm aware
its in my dreams where i enjoy missing you now baby


"The army of peace?"

we speak in riddles, in painted tooth
they say "artists use lies to tell the truth"
but we don't, we just use'm, proof
that we're still out chopping ice
and sometimes its karma, and sometimes: grace
but its always there in the look on your face
when someone first tells you 'bout the human race
and while you're in it y'better play nice!

so dont become that man that everybody meets
the man with a list of truths he repeats
worst of all these things is the fact that he eats
where he sh#ts
and tell me howda keep this guy from going to hell? well,
it aint too hard just put your ear to a shell
snap like a star, and think like a cell
before it splits

'saw a beggarman 'n said "man let me teach you to fish."
'beggar said "ah baby that sounds delish
but i can't afford a pole and i dont own a dish
on which to eat a fish even if you could teach me."
(so i gave him my respects in a cone)
'n i went looking for the house of a man who's a poet
who is a'healin the world and he doesn't even know it
and when he gives me the answer he won't speak it he'll crow it!
just like peter pan crows! crow y'all
(for goodness sakes crow out loud right now, seriously. ima talkin to you person, even if you get
a funny look from someone. actually you're probly alone so crow loud enough for someone to think,
wtf was that?)

there was a man went looking for the love of a teacher
when he found'er he tried but he just couldn't reach her
in despair he went looking for the jam of a preacher
whom he'd long admired
so he put his name and address on the mailing list
boarded noah's ark and sailed on through the mist
thought he saw moses looking pretty pissed
but really he was just pretty tired
he said moses won't ya tell me whose religion is right?
is it the muslims or the christians or the isrealites?
moses said the chosen people were the gays and the dykes!
the man said "really?"
moses rolled an eye and said, "no, stop asking stupid questions."
he'said, "ya spendin all your money on the temples you lost
calculating the price, but not the cost
let me tell you whatever kinda rock is underneath that mosque
you can't take it with you when you die!"

still they say-in-they-got-what-you-need to know about it at 10:00
they scare you half to death a'talking "us and them"
drag you all the way to Jerusalem
and the rapture
they give you a gun and a net and a buzz
y'ask'n'm why? they say, "just because"
then you forget who you are and what it was
you were supposed to capture

then ya meet a turtle at the bar who said that God don't care
whether your head is covered or whether it's bare
its why you choose to wear what you wear
that really matters
and wontchya hold that thought and don't think to fast
dont finish your drink, you gotta make it last
and before you're done you'd better melt that glass
before it shatters

so you say you wanna join up with the army of peace
then everyday you give your lovin to the living deceased
yes if you ever want your soul to be released"
you better train for it
you better train your mind to balance on the edge of a knife
you better learn to love myth, you better learn t'love life
but you'd better couple that with a nasty cancer-lickin rife
disdain for it
disdain for it
disdain for it
disdain for it