Right here.

You can spend your entire life planning,
But still be surprised.
The pair of eyes behind the flood gate switch
Is drunk on a backdrop horizon
Oversaturated with sloppy stitches.
Don't call the engineer to build you a bridge
If the hinge off of which you precariously swing
Fans the fire you cook up in your kitchen.
The blueprint was a war map, a plan of attack
For when you dropped tiny little bombshells
Encasing little notes of peace.
This radar finds no target for the sake of compliance,
But to provide a counterargument to silence
Would be

Statue Still

There are tangles to be had in nostalgic strings
In an attempt to suspend justice in the sky.
We can say that we tried,
But now it's time for quiet time,
So let the echoes of pride settle
For the rights of a gentleman.
Stand still and find some people have a problem.
Stand still some rest their head on you to solve them.
Here is a finale of mutual intrusion,
Where we're reminded deeper blues
And touch our deepest bruises.

Two Shells

There's none to clear up when none is misunderstood.
Remember how seriously you told me it was just a game
With your two fingers twisted.
Puts my stomach in knots.
The frustration in tying a bow is unrealized
As these real eyes really start agonizing
And your logic starts randomizing.
Glances remind the forgotten,
Synapses snap exactly where I cocked them.
I am the only one left with my hand up
Struggling to connect dangling conjunctions,
Merely able to be graded on participation.

To Look Good (Thank God It's me!)

I am call and response with no message received
I am the pistil and stamen, the birds in the bees
I am the laughter with there being no joke
I am saving the lives of the voices I choke
I am the breath of fresh air
That leaves you out of breath
Trying to run for the best.
I am the arrogance of self,
Reflecting in self:
The nights aren't as dark here,
But I pray that it's not gone in me,
Because things are going so well here
And it feels so damn good being me.

Origins of Pride

I am sitting in the lion's den
And in here rests my pride.
The easiest received is the easiest to please
As I preach my whirling sermon
To satellite hearts
Circling home.
Echoes of territorial growls
Become the bellows and howls of our arrival.
All I can see are audible mirrors
Heard crystal clear, the continual coastal crashing.
The ocean grits her teeth.
The crust is too thin to hold us long enough
So forever we fly going no way but up.

A Dream In Waking

The assumption is a position
As conditionless as the open air
That finds its way through hair let down,
But never done to me.
We're pulling each other
Over calendar boxes and parallel time lines.
Tugboats that give me slack as I
Drift towards the island in a sea of asphalt,
Because the bags under these eyes
Are heavier to carry than sobriety.

I'm Yours!

Their smoggy majesty I can barely see,
But everything is much clearer now
When you've cleaned the dirt from your mirrors
From sporadic rain that shimmers and dries,
Shimmers and dries like a mirage in the sand
Kicked up from the median.
Someone's crossing the double-yellow
While another runs a solid red.
The soft color of cement
Is something upon which my eyes can rest.
The same route feels different every time
And this home always smells like Christmas.
The mothering mountains protect what is mine,
What is once again the pride in my chest.

With No Beginning to the End

Suddenly, everything's the same.
Every name has its initials
With periods to keep it tame,
Because we would never want
Anything to get out of hand,
Only yours in mine.
Keep the tangible thoughts
In the pockets of your mind
Where all of your change jingles.
One day you'll get lost
With no intended correction,
For connection.
The ending to eternal perfection.

Eviction Noticed

I haven't gone anywhere,
The only Stockholm I've known
Was a syndrome long ago.
I was held at logic point and told,
"Show me the door and I'll show you the world
That you made out of the fear of diffusion."
But Pandora had more to offer,
A group of atoms can take a life and
Break them up to make a bomb,
Or shake them up to make a song of light.
The only thing done right was
To turn it off and click to a lock,
To walk with my hands up
And my summer dreams cocked.

Vertigone

Racing dawn got me tired when I lost,
When I took the gloss from these eyes
And let it diffuse with a night crossfading
Into the next scene - (break) - I beat tomorrow
And the stars that row through a celestial sea,
Leaving splashes and ripples in my loose grip of time.
Every hour is a new room with the same door,
Every breath goes out to come in no more the same;
The air is always different with everyone to blame,
And everyone to thank once it sank to the floor.

Cotton Clouds, Cotton Sheets

After slipping through the sheets of convenience,
Is it even worth making my bed?
I'm tearing the clouds that hang above my head.
This room,
Reduced to a blank template for death or brilliance.
As I strip off layers of time to a bare room,
A computer speaks again with low-fidelity warmth;
I remember this before,
When I drew circles on my eyes
So that everything would come together.
Now everything is slowing/breaking down
And the rest is torn apart.
It is the freshness of death
With the bet of a new start somewhere else,
With someone else's hindsight sitting on your shelf.

The Limits of Superman

An unpleasant temporal displacement,
I lie in this bed with my eyes cracked open
Soft blue light cracks through the edges,
I tuck the sheets in around my neck.
Sometimes dreams get scared,
Sometimes fears swallow courage
And spit out the shaky bones.
Wake up, dear child, this was all
You could do, better pretty colors
Fade in harsh light too.
Just calm your bones...it's over now.
Your eyes will adjust in California South.

Mountains to Slides

I wish brilliance could come in just a few lines,
Ironically enough, it's tough to keep in mine.
Everything strays, but the mountain still stands
It's taking my breath and giving demands.
To stand is to break,
To bend is an ultimatum,
So the parade becomes a march
Of straight-set eyes and tired backs arched...
But just know by your pain and the white in your hair,
It's a long way down the smooth glide of summer air.

In The Middle River Crossing

I can learn anything,
So teach me how to swim.
I keep the fire hose running
Until I'm all burnt out...not yet.
I regret negative time
With no net displacement,
And locked jawbones in my closest
Crowd their way into my basement.
In case you you couldn't tell
This may as well have been it all,
As I grip the hands of clocks
And compress the months I've spent,
Into what I've got left on my breath.
This is momentum at its thickest,
The strokes of genius at its best.

DB #6

Play that track!
Play crack-the-sky and shatter it,
But keep your feet flat on the ground.
These are all of the familiar sounds
That we know have come to pass
While writing a note for the broken glass,
Throwing the fourth letter on,
But keeping the first on our minds.
This is our time to shine
Before the afterglow is gone.
We've only three more
Until we'll be done with one of four,
And once we leave we will receive
Our summer's key to freedom's door.

Past Promises

There is the smell of red metallic on my right hand;
It was pressed up against the ribs of a monstrous shell,
Pushing and holding back its hollow frame.
Apply pressure to the tongue before I sink all these words,
Shipped off in stiff drinks, soft piano and fading sirens.
Mix over these layers with the static of silence
And the echo of thoughts off of themed cloudy glass.
I never said it any louder, what was etched into your arms
That had made its way from the cutting room floor,
Countless shutters from your countless shudders.
I'm sorry I couldn't make it count,
Shooting stars that I kept in silence.
We blew them all at once on a plastic cake with real flowers
To say I'm just getting too old.
This time I burned my hands with the wax from dandelions
And now I'm getting sick from all the death I've been defying.

Driving Down The 404

Let's make a bet,
I'll raise you those sheets
And you can give me that southern comfort
With some amaretto and a splash of lime,
Refreshing the page to gauge this account.
I'm cashing in quarters, dimes and nickels
For the bigger bill as printed negatives.
May this early morning serve as sedation
So we can laminate this nameless freedom
And put it on the fridge. Vorshtein!
We are the only ones left on this train,
Closing the gap between bridges and bedrooms
So that never too soon, we won't bloom in vain.

Don't Play This Game

A brief dream made at the angle of disbelief
Was a late moment in the sun,
Reflecting on an undone moment
Like the laces that tie my consciousness together.
Wait!
One word to lock joints
Turn backwards, feel adjoined.
Call me a thief for the briefest moment passed,
Harassing morality with what we reach,
Entwined, aligning the wrinkles in clasping.
I grasp for the Polaroid dream, now fresh
Yet archaic; it will stay in my linty pocket,
The memory gently impressed.

Come With?

Let's make little mistakes together,
Let's take what was signed in our names
Back when planes took off faster,
The sun set more quickly,
And I knew you wouldn't miss me
Nearly as much as I'd miss you.
We'll drink the blood of youth
And you can make your cute remarks
And laugh under fainting stars,
Blown away by those in your eyes,
Light of the kindness in your heart.
Just touch mine to remind me to breathe
And I'll thank you for being you;
It makes it so much easier to be me.

Chasing Spectra Around The Sun

I once read a book with your name in it.
Mine was on the cover beside a heart-shaped lock,
Now stuck full of bent and broken keys.
You put your finger on my lips,
You put your lips on my eye
And you kissed me to sleep.
You whispered, "There's no need to see.
There's no need to feel."
Your presence sat on my nightstand
And stirred when I let a breath slip out.
You are living a different life than mine
You are seen by different eyes than mine,
Your words were tucked in between the sheets,
But I opened my eyes to a page not found.

Your Favorite and Your Hated

Clocks shatter backwards,
The world is flatter now.
The differences are folds
And no longer bends of the horizon,
Her, bending backwards to make you
Sea, stars, mountain, sky.
We'll get by with each swing of the grandfather,
This is her grand daughter
On a train to the same new light
Seen through different eyes,
And if these tracks are exact
Then I'll be back for a try.

This Hot Head of Mine

I've been wondering where you've been,
Making my eyes hot like a summer football morning
Burning the brightest candle of helplessness and optimism.
And my fingers twitch like a scepter-gripping queen,
You are her mother and she rules her own world
With a ruler set to scale what spins endlessly out of control
In a series of disposable dispositions.
Maybe I'll drive north and forget for a day,
I'll take back these letters until the postage is unpaid,
Or I'll repeat all the words until a sentence is made
Like holding an umbrella upside down in the rain.

We Burned The Barn Down

Water drops stop and spread out on the windshield
That pop as soft as keys and spell out a worn-out lullaby
To put these childish dreams to sleep,
And gently nudge me awake.
I'll pull these curtains back slowly

I'll get out of bed, red exit, stage left.
Step back and look at your college life
Step further, hear the murmur of static lips,

Senior summer stutter kisses, going up, up, up!
What do I miss so that I now hold the cup?
Just remind me of a warmer night.
Just sneak me into bed tonight.

Thelongestdayiveeverknown.

I woke up in debt.
There were two sets of problems I didn't forget,
Nor did they forget me.
They called my name the three hours I slept.
Oh, the haunting sound of wanting death,
Them, wanting to be finished.
I, wanting the same.
And in seven long hours, it finally came.
(A moment of silence for
The paper, the lead, and the sanity lost.)
Even with the handicap of twilight before dawn
The sun still beat me to the finish,
But even then I was not finished.
My only wish was that my untitled 03
Would share this liter of class with me
And we'd lie like lions out in the sand...
Or sit in my room listening to our newest brand.
And our coffee cups must be shooting stars
As they shone in projected light,
Preceding the night that would soon be ours
When we, on the rooftop, would let out our roars.
Here's an ode to the Fruit Loops I apparently had
And to the friendships that sail with no anchors to drag.

I am Iron Man!

Two sets of problems only push me forward
To hold them back until after 4a.m.
Here's to living once,
Here's to living proud,
Here's to six yellow buses,
Driving the smartest kids around.
But please don't wreck!
It'd be a national crisis, with all due respect.
"We are America's bright future
And all we want you to do is
Light up the screen!"
And we started childish chants
Just to show you what we meant.
This is over two to the power of fifteen
Dollars that we pay to keep our futures clean,
Going to popcorn and sodas
And a bought out midnight screening.
With so much intelligence in three hundred seats,
We were being as mindless as we could possibly be.
Because we are iron men with hearts of solid gold
And souls made of youthfulness that's never getting old.

Hipstertones

I am Mr. Hipster Spacey-Brains,
With neutral milk and ink blot stains.
You're so uncultured
You're so mainstream
You're so conformist
You're so predictable.
Didn't seem that one coming,
Like you saw me bumming that cigarette
Off of a bum who claims he's a Vietnam vet...
Well, I'll be the one to regret that decision.
Down with the war and down with the system!
Maybe I'll write a song with my band
So indie it doesn't even exist.
And yeah, I won't hit the notes
Because it's so damn conformist.
Maybe I'll sample my vintage records,
Limited press, here on my shelf,
And I'll play them round and round
Like the seriousness of myself.

Where My Conscious People At?

What year is it?
We're drunk on the beach in the cool afterglow
Where I found my mind more lost than I was.
Yeah kids, I'm still dreaming synesthetic!
You've got to jump on this...opportunity!
But let me take a second (because Pabst is in first place)
To cover my face in this satisfying guilt,
Headfirst into the waves for the thrill of a kiss,
The cresting waves beating my heart back.
The last thing I'll save is this lethargic promenade
As I stumble across the sand
And the sea pours out the light of God.

Starr

First off: unrelated.
Third off (because in a second,
I couldn't say what made it),
Not everything unsaid
Is meant to be written,
But the goal of life is definition.
So here is the recognition
For the ignition that starts in the eyes.
Sometimes flowers need to grow
Before you let them die,
Because they still go on without you
And their pollen is the stars
That ignite the night about you.
Tell me, how does it feel?
When those fire blue eyes materialize
As subconsciousness spills through the ether.
Thanks for the relief
However unclear,
And ever so brief.

Hey, Mr. Warden

You've got me thinking of a desert sun!
I can't work like this no more,
And that West Coast (Best Coast) yearnin'
Has got me so.
Damn.
Sore.
Sir, you tease me with these horrid things:
These gated windows and humid springs...
Good Lord, set me free!
Let the freedom pour
In all of its dryness,
In all of its smog--
Look at my hat and look at my heart;
This is where it all started
And where I belong!

5:20am (This is a bad habit to keep.)

Don't drink the water!
We'll take shakes instead,
So shake your rump and move your hips,
Hold him close and kiss her lips.
This is a black tie affair, version 2.0
Yeah, I was hiding. How did you know
That this hurly-burly is not the first
And this panicked dancing won't quench the thirst?
Now my vision worsens, shot by smoky night.
And there are two moons tonight,
But we'll just follow the crescent dome
Until we find the next thing closest to home,
Because for once I feel alright again
And the sun hits drunken eyes again.

Gossip with the Door Open

Let's take the time to write our names in the sky
With the burning retinas of a shaky camera.
Our canvas turns a lighter shade of night
As calm as the stillness of the earliest morning
Where the only movements are soft flashing red lights
And a couple haphazard headlights.
They sniff the pavement for home,
Or somewhere that they think that sleepy eyes will never know.
The deep blue retells truths that align like a cast,
But I'm breaking this shell and letting it come to pass.