Inauguration.

the generation has arrived at the waterhole
and there is a drought
nothing new,
we'll just find another cactus
we can't rebuild the infrastructure
if the people are still dead
we are the lustsick youth of america
we are the children who rely on tylenol and beer to keep us awake for our sleepless empty nights
lying on rooftops making wishes on crashing airplanes instead of shooting stars
the sun exists in dreams and nightmares
and today
sleep through the rain and wait for the rainbow
daylight savings are only here for so long
screaming our mental lungs out to cement Jesus'
we beg to feel the wounds
to know something
is real
our souls are self-immolating
reaching out
to anything
we drive on an empty road
absorbing the bumps
like the grooves on a vinyl
we sit and wait
for jazz to return
the purity of the screaming sporadic trumpet
the innocence of the bass
walking up your spine
the joy of snare hitting and splashing
but all we hear
are words from a factory
being programmed on stage
but listen closely
and look behind the curtain
and you can stop playing follow the leader
and join in on duck duck goose
the wind is blowing the ships off course
but now they know
the world isn't flat
the fire burns the books they never read
but that just proves,
they never read at all
so thank you wind and fire
for all that you've destroyed
the windows are stained
and the pews have been cleaned
remove the rules,
and just confess it later.
convert the sinners from a script
and add up your points
and you've got a one way ticket to heaven
sitting with Jesus in a rocking chair
drinking pink lemonade
maybe there,
we can spend some more time "thinking"
about helping in a daily genocide
while we write a 600,000,000 dollar check
for a fight we got in.
the hope
and change
has always been here
but no one looked under the couch
until someone said "Yes We Can!"
No matter how many buildings are built
and houses are torn down
and roads are painted,
the trumpet will always squeal,
the baby will always cry,
the tomb will never be closed,
the wind will never settle,
and
we
will always find water somewhere.
just look beyond the streetlights
and post offices
beyond the cathedrals
and schools
even look beyond the waterfall
just close yours eyes
and open your mind
beyond a screened in room
don't speak to God
through
a man with a tin can
call up to the clouded sky
cry over lazarus
Hable fuera del idioma.
we are alive,
we are creating
we can survive without rite aid
and chrysler
we just have to look under the couch again
and wake up
before the alarm.

A Half Asleep Chorus

knock knock
knock
knock
I can't ring the doorbell
that'll wake the babies
so I leave the porch
misunderstood
and
misunderstanding
but
don't fear
I took the key
from under the doormat
for my belief
is that
we'll meet again
at a doorway
when?
don't trust the clock
the hands have always been too tired
to get past
the lag
of the human mind
so begins the countdown
of
unforeseeable future
that we all see
no matter what
I'll still fall
and the mushroom cloud will rise
I just hope
you're there to sweep the dust
when it's there
please forgive the mess
I never intended for the necessary to occur.

no matter
the planes the crash
the guns that shoot
the dust that hits the ground
remember
I still have the key
from under the doormat
and I always will
so clean the accidental necessary dust
and follow
the _______ brick road
to wherever it may lead

and

leave your pocketbook
full of receipts

and

bring your pocketbook
full of recipes

have a safe trip on your blank check
and see you at the doorway,
with no notebooks or cameras
only open eyes
and
dry hands
waiting for you
to wipe a few tears
I missed.

A Chorus Dedicated To New York City

Lights flash on and off
in the city,
we stand blinking (in amazement)
at
the height of the building
Oh, how alive we are!
chirp the pigeons in a harmonious tone
Oh, how alive we are!
honks the speeding yellow taxi
Oh, how alive we are!
coughs the uptight business man in the elevator
debris fills the skyline
so I close my eyes
and go underground
and still how alive we are
under the movement
and inside the blurry subway
breathing millions of others breaths
dancing to the rhythm
of the beating parades
the city wakes
the city sings
but it is TOO alive to sleep
from a crosswalk
to the Empire State Building
to the cry of a newborn
to the silence of the fallen
the city is alive
through nnnneeeeeeooooonnnnn signs
and cloudy skies.

#4

here we sit
in plastic chairs
on a plastic lawn
watching the sun
play tag with the moon
red lights have been
green
for way too long
but I stay still
parade in the city
behind the parade
because the lightswitch
was still off.
the elephants and ringleaders
are still on tv
and still
in cages.
they tell me
fly
fly
fly to the moon
but i take
a picture of a bird instead
and say
I'll fly away
later.
and when my eyes are closed
I can still see you
always
and
forever.
millions of smiles
trillions of tears
some of them real
the world will stop spinning
they will stop clapping
and the lights will go off
and
I
will
still
be
here,
in
a

Rainbow Country

This I believe.

I believe in language.
Creo en el idioma.
Je crois en la langue.
Speaking is the language of the mouth, but there's so much more.
Music is the language of the soul,
Books are the language of the eye,
Movement is the language of the body,
Wind is the language of the earth,
Addiction is the language of the scared,
and
Love is the language of it all.
So where does communication fit in?
everywhere.
communication triggers reaction
and reaction
is the language of the mind
so speak,
and react,
so you can feel,
and comprehend
what language is.
I believe language is much more than dialects, words and inflections.
Language is the only way to create a gateway into your own mind for others to see,
and language is the only way to receive an invitation into the minds OF others.
I believe language is above words,
I believe language is what's behind the words.
I believe language is an alcoholic soaking it all in.
I believe language is a baby kicking inside the womb.
I believe language is remaining loyal
and
I believe language is betrayal.
Silence is the language of a mute
and
Lying is the language of a politician.
the emptiness in all of our lives
is caused by an absence of communication
which means an absence of reaction
which means an absence of language
which means an absence of everything
which means a presence of nothing.
Language is the sounds of hammers to the railroad
and the sounds of a pen to a check.
I believe language is
Saying "I hate you" but meaning "I love you"
I believe
Peace is the language of the children
and
War is the language of the adults.
Which means,
children speak love, and adults speak hate.
Which means,
Mommy and Daddy, who bring out the games on friday night game night, and tuck you in and vacuum the rug and say please and thank you and who smile and who have the ability to create unity with a pen and paper and an open mind, are the mass murderers.
and Little boy and little girl, who scream and cry, and steal and hit, and squish bugs and make messes and break expensive necklaces, are pacifists.
Yesterday is the language of grandpa
and
Tomorrow is the language of grandson.
So who speaks today?
Do none of us?
Or do all of us?
Virginia Woolf once said
"Language is wine upon the lips"
I believe that
and
I believe we have too much sour language
and not enough ripe.
We all have to speak
we all have to think
we all have to see
feel
smell
taste
breath
hear.
I believe language is the equilibrium of them all.
I believe we all have our language
and I believe
we all NEED our own language
for
people can sing and laugh and drink and speak for us
but no one can
feel for us
no on can react for us
Our mind is vast
so our language should grow with it
and move in it
and become it
and consume it
like an ant building, and living in and dying in it's anthill.
We create our language
We should be willing to call it our
own
whether we call it
taal
langage
Sprache
linguaggio
língua
sadness
hapiness
paint
jazz
sex
him
her
love
hate
questions
answers
God-breathed
pretentious
dumb
or just
simple
We must own it and call it something
I believe we must have a language
and communicate with it
now
not later
I believe
waiting
turns your language
into regret
I believe
our languages will disassociate themselves from the tower of babel
and harmonize
in a most beautiful tone
I believe you should speak and react
but not forget
to feel and hear
because the language of the wind
won't remain silent forever

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out of tune fingers
speak the words
my mind can't project
so here i spin
inconsistently
waiting for
the scene to cut
but it goes on
(cue music)
and on
but now i'm stopped
and your spinning begins
my hologram hands
won't cease the movement
but
the billboard will
so i will sit
and try to spin again
but be stuck
in wet cement
as you wave goodbye
with your hair blowing in the wind
and your pupils dilating in the light
goodbye my love
i'll wait here
forever
even
if
i
don't want to
so find your way home
once the record gets a scratch
or the dog starts to sleep
and if you get a chance
bring me a tissue
for my bloody nose
and a souvenir
if you can

BON VOYAGE!

today

In a world that feels dark and dead, an ignorant world numb to most feelings and concepts of reality, I am glad to love and to be loved, because love is something that, no matter what surrounds it, can't go away. So here is to that.

I love you.