the stars, the sea, and sleep.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Selfish Clouds Scrape Their Bellies On Hollow Metal Triumph

Stop with these stabs
These sloppy, drunken jabs.
You can't always have you want,
So shut up and act like you're really moving on.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Bob Dylan Was A Drunk Girl

Mismatched furniture
Art-draped walls,
Hollow-tuned like corded guitars
With no chords at all.
It's alright though,
Keep the brother quiet.
All I want is the low-fi riot
Of a beautiful, alternate life
Where all the blurry pieces
Just seem to fit right.
So I can sleep at night
Unpuzzled
Nuzzled between
What's real and what seems.
Where the cutting room floor
Holds the unexposed things.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tagging Back Soon (Freedom)

Here I am,
Pushing the limits
With envelops and gimmicks.
Flattop-cropped with the guillotine,
Checking my teeth in the widower's gleam.
You left me here and your clock's lean
Has thrown the pace off.
And in your selfishly-paced walk,
You forget locks left behind.
Grow up, kid.
You already have
And surely I am glad.
And I've kept these teeth,
Prosthetic and clean,
But you just seem not to get it.
Yet I've spoken too much
And the blade catches my tongue.
Flaming pink, it falls to the ground.
Back down,
Boy,
You must back down...

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Thankful for Strangers

A held breath is relieved
And the pressure released.
This air escapes lungs,
So heavy and free.
Remembering the first part,
Wearing a threaded heart,
I prided the worn out edges,
The holes and the stains
That would set me apart
After you picked me apart.

But fluorescent lights have always lit my face,
And this improper heart
Has found its improper place
Propped up in a vacant hole in my chest,
Etched out from the hollow crystals
That always seemed to get the best of us.

And the best of me is what you'll get.
And we'll see where we place careful steps.
A dance we know we never had,
A chance to find out where we are.
The farthest distance in my head
To meet when we get in my car
And reach for the stars,
Traffic lights in our eyes,
Driving down these boulevards.
Familiar streets and your familiar sweet scent,
Fermenting the dreams that I'd forever invent.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Speed Writing .149

Raindrops falling in the dead of night
Reconcile,
Reconcile,
Thunderous heartbeat, ominous might
No end in sight,
No end in sight.
They're falling for you.

Steel-bent anger, tumbling fright
Of endless time,
Of endless time,
City street beacons giving their light
Into my eyes,
Into my eyes.
I see the real you.

Clouds burst to crystals in the sky.
The truth comes,
The truth comes in your eyes.
Wash away my sins,
Give me your breath
Let me within
The calm,
The calm,
The calm,
The calm...

Monday, October 26, 2009

Where Our Chistmas Lights Hang

It was textbook.
It was the best book I had ever written.
The truth came back,
Not so driven.
My hope grows in carbon
And my vices, they burn.
I have made my mistakes,
Yes, I've made my mistakes.
And as I age,
I've learned nothing,
And my body still aches.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Serpent Dreams

As I ascend this tower,
I hold up these walls in some religious pose,
Embracing lost faces in posthumous ghosts.
Moon's reign
New stains devil red,
Taking frankness to head,
And like molasses to heart.
It lingers in each beat,
Stuck there sugar sweet.
I'm the alchemist
Comparing copper to tin,
Reflections,
Reflections,
Glazed sugary thin.
The write-ups are messy
And dressed just enough,
Like the storyboard's finish
When you've woken me up.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Contrast

Robbing a heart for the sake of pursuit,
It's something worth getting used to.
It's something like getting used too,
Maximized efficiency,
Sooted signals from the chimney
When all you'd do is blow smoke,
Bad attitude from the cigarettes
That you wished you smoked.
I choked on the moments
I'd always try to take in,
And spin at your thought
To make you my world again.
I've got all the words,
But I'm holding the letters.
Green, yellow, red,
Where's your scent on my sweater?

The Real Go-Getter

Fair game is played under this roof,
I'm bringing the prey,
I'm making the rules.
Such games as these
Are merely played on myself
And the shelves are all crooked
From your foundation shook.
Resigned to a rook
Designed for the look,
We burned your forests
We poisoned your wells,
Neat and legible,
Logged in a book.
I looked on,
Away from the formidable weather
And prayed for my prey,
Left for real go-getters.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

There Are No Earthquakes In Cambridge

My great burdens rest on the crests of my eyes.
They dangle from nylon,
On needles they're tied.
Always getting, never by,
But nonetheless, I'm getting by,
I'm motionless on my worst sides.
Sleep is a matter of sealing a suture.
We get lost in the dream
With dreams lost in the future.
And direction and karma will push me around,
But I've found my importance,
I've found stable ground.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Stagger

There is always a hand
To save yours from the cold,
Where the waiving of matters
Has for once found it's node;
Where I pilot this quiet
And two skies explode
Warming with fleece
In a starlight abode.
Drunk on your presence
I lie on my back...
An evening achieved,
A couple steps back.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Your Little Green Light

I sat on the deck
Writing Peter his check:
Two lines and signed
This life was once mine,
I'd been given my time
Now I'd pay my respects.
But in short breaths of stream
A dream signaled through
That brought steps off the railing
And brought me back to you.
Two lines I had signed
Had signaled an end
But gave radio's whisper
Words as soft as the dead
The white noise of choice
Held your voice in your heart
And shook with vibrations
That set me apart.
Hearts half-handed,
Melted ice in your eyes,
Your Northern Star glistens,
Montauk still has its light.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Lemon Eyes

A tagline left to slip away,
This gesture measures disarray.
It meant to be so much more,
I meant to be so much more
Than lions' pride without the pack,
The strongest posture with no back,
A lack of time to wish I'd called
As frantic clocks spin off the walls.
I found this tagline over my bed
Crossed over my heart,
I'm over my head.
My bed is lost in sleepless hours,
And everything has all gone sour.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Advantage

Machines never die
But are simply rewired,
And your colors are changing
Bringing death to the choir.
Sing me to sleep with no words at all.
Serrated at angles,
It echoes,
It calls
And comes quicker.
My issue is scar tissue
That just keeps getting thicker,
And I am relieved.
You've given me something
That I can believe.
Whether ghosts at the door
Or your key on the floor,
I'm kicking you out,
It's time that you leave.

Full Night

Pushing the clock,
No, pulling it back
It's moving fast,
But we're moving faster.
These plans are made of alabaster,
And the plaster chips from seconds' drips
Onto my coat, weighing me down.
All the while, the shepherd herds sheep
That he weaves through the town,
Making fleece of the buses and the underground.

White, three sides, and radish leaf
Make soothing balms that bring relief.
Take off your jacket,
Pick up a drink,
Give yourself some time to think.
And link the arms of lives entwined
Take a picture, pause in time.

Semi-formal
Semi-firsts,
Semi-good
But semi-worse,
Semi-let-me-quench-your-thirst
With laughter and the flashbulb bursts.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Reverence to Genesis

Hello everyone,
Hello to myself
Since I follow this more
Than anyone else...

This garden is a temple,
Its harvest is a prayer
That leaves my lips and drips
Down the slits and nooks of time.
This prayer is hope,
This prayer is mine.
Growing and dying
By seasons' decree,
I'm digging down deeper
And spilling out seeds.

They grow into thoughts
That sit on my shelves,
They occasionally clutter
And bring me up hell...
I do it for the glory
I do it for the pain
I do it for the stains
I can never wash out;
Nicks on my pride,
Pricks in my side,
Heart on my sleeve,
I'd never believe how much I have changed.

I've wandered these Fields for exactly a year;
This heart is still beating
These lungs are still breathing
My love is still dear
And I'm glad that I'm here.

Peace-It

The morning comes to say goodnight,
Delirious and out of sight,
A title for my state of mind.
Every week incessant repeat,
A gathered battery,
Beat to the beat
Until we beat before defeat
Before I sleep...

Encore, we eat at 3 o'clock,
A.M. pizza,
Cardboard box.
Papers strewn and turned to sea
Of things we wish would be complete
I'd be complete with this week's end
But a problem set stands to contend.
Paper thin, but set to win.

Begin, back where this all began:
Sun comes up with shining plans,
But I'm not ready,
Oh no, not yet,
I've got my name down on this bed
And I'm entitled to this rest...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Able Is Cain

Some things we bring are packaged vain
Like how we work with labor plain.
A beauty mark is still a stain
As roses' thorn pricks still bring pain,
As freely running, ankles sprain,
As you are to me, able is Cain.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Cobblestone Reflections

For the sake of good graces,
These hands have been open
Memorizing faces with touch,
Loosening the clutch of acquaintance.
Patience,
The faintest glow.
If I ever did know a candle's light,
It blushed her cheeks on colder nights.
Too bad we don't live in a brave new world.
Instant gratification is hard to find
And trust is the ultimate product of time.
Ticking tocks, the marksman is locked
But all the while in hesitation,
Selfish in absence or in consideration.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Awaken!

Here's a wish I'm going to make
On the stars that almost never make it.
This night is special
And it is all clear to me now,
Tracing the steps of monuments,
Taking breaths,
The moments when I'm filled
And the constellations billed
A pretty pocket letter
Blown in words that ride on feathers:
Pretty golden row of lights
Guide forgotten dreams tonight.

D-Entry

We're just some kids making history
And I couldn't be more proud
That this is me,
This is us!
What's the fuss five floors up?
It's the windows and doors
Shaking in 4-4 time
As the boys and girls awkwardly grind...

I almost forgot where I was,
But I'll never forget what went on.
I am the champion of pong,
Because Beirut is the capital of Lebanon.
And heaven on earth is what this is.
Can't go to sleep since my room's full of kids,
So fall asleep, wake up,
Now you're sitting in the lounge...
I swear that this wasn't as bad as it sounds.

We're the best of west campus,
From Next House to Bexeley,
I am Batman! Come hither, and do make it sexy.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

8:45 to Providence

Lighted perfection.
It's in the direction of home
That shone in on this scene.
Everything is perfect,
Edits are clean...
This is what they mean to me.
I hope this is what it's meant to be.
What's meant for me more south?
I sit the duration
And shut my mouth.
Bulbs pass by,
My eyelids slouch,
Perched on slippery eyes.
This certain something calms my life,
This certain something makes me alright.

Neon Halo

Walk the gauntlet,
I can't believe I got this far.
But I keep my cool
Because I know very well
Who I am.

Ambiance with a thud,
We bump into each other
In the synthetic weather
Of suspended heat.
Suspended,
We drop into air.

Back to the artificial
We are proficient in this kitchen,
Cooking up a storm, born of pride,
Plastic cup sinking.
You blink and then it's gone
This is my youth and it's still going strong.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Wake Me

Waterfalls,
Some holy color from my head.
This semi-arid simulation
Stimulates such an occurrence.
A perpetual wink
Until faced by the sink,
Discolored.
Hammers in my throat
Hammers in my throat,
A coat would have sufficed.
Lather would have been nice.
But temporal authority pushes me back,
And yet these sinews still feel no slack.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Little Man

The significant things
Your significance brings:
Your delicate streams
And your bubbly singing.
I'm clinging hard to the mental picture.
Saturated colors make it richer,
I put creases in the corners
Like the good book put to use.
Organs and cymbals,
Glory spills through the clouds
And this signal gets through,
I am talking to you.

When I come back,
Will verbal holes be filled
Despite your stubborn will?
Despite my stubborn will
To hold hands
Back?
When I come back,
Will the tape be rewound?
I don't care about the sound.
I just need those faces
I just need to retrace them.
Like the the one who gave,
And the one who took,
Or the one who named
Today in this book.
Oh, I'd come back just to repress play...
Oh, I'm counting down these waterhosed days.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Warmer Things

I wait on tides for directions etched out.
The Atlantic breathes colder
Since we're all getting older.
Her heartbeat slows down
As tired horses with blinders
And hopes built like sand castles.

Sleep is a bitter medicine
And far from a vaccine.
So my mind remains quarantined
With no one checked in.
I can't forget where you've been.
Neutralized aspirations about where you'll go,
I'm just missing the things that once defined home.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Retrospection Brings Imperfections

Of becoming
Of loving
Of strumming
Of calling
Of waiting
Of hating this very direction,
Feeling guilty with a kiss
At the end of the page.

Taste the inky comfort
And see how long it lasts:
Grapefruit flavored accuracy,
Picked precociously,
Obnoxiously unstemmed
And condemned to damnation
Of permanent past,
Until words dissolve in citrus
And cannot say what this is.
And wouldn't dare to tell,
But wince and of course misses
A subject-meaning kind of hell.

Repetition comes in three's
And gets it on its knees...
Just sleep when it pleases,
Because some things never change.
Audibles are fixed to dates,
Dreams will always overtake
And make baggage of past.
Leprous unmeaning, but needing,
Bleeding out impurities
To see that there's no purity.
Dare to mention stability?
This story is a window;
Dry rain packaged in keys,
By which each square is dressed.
This sickness treatment's more or less
Of pictures, words, and to confess,
But painter without patroness
Is more or less directionless.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Reconciliation

Close your eyes,
Free falling.
Found in a newspaper
With a catchy hook and a spelling error,
You left your graces in the hands of a guilty man.
This mirror has perspective
And you laid in my bed with your lips turning blue.
These words were a song that never came true.
Some smiles are shared with no one else
They bounce off perfect walls
And fall behind shelves.
You open your eyes
For honesty's sake,
And let out a breath for the mess you have made.

Best In Show

Five o'clock rock to the mind
Because they're never on time,
We're never on time.
A single-filed line tracing heart palpitations
Took each counted step as a new hesitation,
Another reservation to stumble on air
Running thick with the pressure of everyone there.

But our swagger is a dagger
That would fall on our hearts
If we fell apart.
But we had the part,
And we had the heart.
Where do I start?

Together, we struggled.
Together, we fought.
We gave what we had
To take what we got:
PBE making presence, and up, screaming loud
... I can't remember when I've been more proud.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Being On The Other End

Showing the ropes,
Building up hopes
For a fitting future forming.
We're storming the front,
Becoming veterans fast
Becoming veterans of past
With a pinch of condescension.
We need our names,
We need our attention,
We're praying their staying
Will be our inventions.
But regardless of outcome,
I'll continue as then,
Providing my knowledge in dividends.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Record Lows

This had started off
With something bitter to say
About the cold getting hold
Of the words, mine to say
And how tunneling winds
Could begin a bad day,
But I found your name around my neck.
In the patterned fabric and little specks
Of little fuzz that would buzz and drop dead
And find final rest on the nest of my head.
It hung like a noose for the mute
In the angles most acute,
But for now it keeps me warm,
Hoping you will follow suit.