A Lullaby

Rain will come and trains will go
worms will always feed the crow
all my love is always yours
i’ll love you 'til i feed the worms
don’t you sleep so restlessly
i will always comfort thee
with mothers milk the baby grows
i’ll love you 'til i feed the crows

to my love i make this vow
sure as ashes on your brow
i’ll hold you 'til your fever breaks
sure as thunder lightning makes

come now baby don’t you cry
for this shall be your lullaby
don’t you fill your self with fright
where there’s stars there’s never night
and when I am dead and gone
I’ll put green into the lawn
we shall always be as one
ours is that which rivers run

M.A.O.
Margaret ann took the rain
that she saved for a sunny day
and cupping in her hands she smiled
as it spilled away
don’t you let the boys in that city
make you feel small
such a pretty girl never let them
bother you at all.

Concussion
Hear that concussion
from the mortar shell rouunds
hear that concussion
as the air raid siren sounds
your eardrums start to bleed
and your heart begins to pound
you can feel it in your feet
coming up through the ground
feel that concussion
as the missles come to town
feel that concussion
melting everything down
nowhere to run to
got nowhere to go
put on your best shoes
watch your body implode
feel that concussion
ground begins to dance
feel that concussion
and you’re wetting your pants
Feel that concussion
coming through the front door
Feel that concussion
come the end of the world.

Worn Out Roads
I’m always the last one off of this
train of thought
I pull and scratch in the humid
Summer night
Going over again
this same old tired ground
i drive, I’m driving alone on these
worn out roads
one more time. . . .
Nobody’s ever made me feel
this way before
nobody’s ever made me cry
like this before
nobody’s ever felt
this kind of pain before
nobody’s ever made me want to die
like this
before...
it’s always over before
it ever begins
runnung out of time
running out of sins
I’ll never yell or spit or scream
at you again
I’ll never hug or kiss or even be
with you again.

Skip Stones
As the pennies swim round
In the ice coated fountain
They painted street lines
Off the edge of the world
Dig your hole deeper
to build a high mountain
I’ll bet you the president’s
Really a girl
Skip stones off memories
And pass me the spoon
ONCE AGAIN FAR AWAY
sPIRALING THE MOON
tHE SKY’S PAINTED ORANGE
FROM THE IRON BLAST FURNACE
HER DOWRY WAS SQUANDERED BY
A BOTTLE OF RUM
bALLOON TANGLED WINDMILLS
THEY ALL WATCH IN EARNEST
AS i BALANCE CUE BALLS
ON THE ENDS OF MY THUMBS
SKIP STONES OFF MEMORIES AND
PASS ME THE SPOON
ONCE AGAIN FAR AWAY
SPIRALING THE MOON.

LITTLE LAMB
fOUR MORE BLOCKS TO SAFETY
A DIAMOND CLUTCHED TIGHT IN HIS HAND
HE’LL NEVER TELL HIS LITTLE MARY
THAT HER BABY’S NO LONGER A LAMB
THE STREET LIGHTS ARE GETTING DARKER
AND THE SNOW IS MELTING DOWN HIS BACK
iF HE SQUEEZES HIS DIAMOND HARDER
hE’LL GET ANOTHER HIT OF SMACK
tHE LAST BLOCK IS AWFUL SCARY
ABANDONED EVEN BY GOD
HOW WILL HE TELL HIS MARY
THAT HER LITTLE LAMB IS ON THE NOD?

'rOUND THE fLAME
nOW YOU’RE GONE
aND i COUNT GRAINS OF SAND
LIKE BULLETS FROM YOUR EYES
AND THIS ROCK
SPINS 'ROUND THE FLAME
aLL ALONE
BECAUSE SOME LITTLE METAL PEBBLE
FOUND YOUR BRAIN
AND SOME INFIDEL THINKS
THAT HE WILL NEVER DIE
AND THIS ROCK
SPINS 'ROUND THE FLAME
WELL IT’S BEEN SAID THAT THIS WORLD
IS THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE
BUT YOU’RE GONE
AND HERE i STAY
aND THIS ROCK
SPINS 'ROUND THE FLAME.

'73 SENSE
iT WAS AT THE CORNER
OF CROSS
AND
PROSPECT
AS I TRIED TO KEEP
SEVENTY THREE
CENTS
IN CHECK
ACROSS TOWN
FROM
THE SERENITY HOUSE
AND THE EARLY SPRING
RAINED
DOWN
LIKE THAT FIRST DRINK
BEFORE
OBLIVION...

nOCTURNAL rAIN
a BROWN DODGE DART
WITH SQUEAKY WIPERS AND
CRACKS ALL THROUGH THE SEATS
THERE’S A BRIGHT LIGHT
NEAR THE RELAY TOWER THAT
LOOKS LIKE A TANGERINE
mY LARANYX SWOLLEN
FROM TEARS WHICH FLOW
LIKE WINE ALL DOWN MY FACE
WHAT WE CALL THE MOMENT
IS JUST HISTORY TAKING PLACE

SHE WORKED AT A DINER
WAS SINGLE, A REDHEAD
AND SHE WOULDN’T GIVE HER NAME
i KNEW SHE HAD WORKED HERE
A LONG, LONG TIME
WHEN SHE ASKED FROM WHERE I CAME
i TOLD HER i WAS PASSING THROUGH
(THOUGH i COULD STAY HERE A WHILE)
SHE DIDN’T EVEN LOOK AT ME
AND SAID SHE “lOVED THE GRECIAN ISLES”

i SAT ALONE IN SILENCE
AND DREAMED ABOUT
HER NYLONS AND HER NAME
sHE SANG ALTHOUGH THE MUSIC STOPPED
AND THEN SHE LAUGHED THE SONG AWAY
I LIT MY GASPER AND DRIFTED
THROUGH THE CLOUD OF STRAY BUTANE
ALONE AGAIN IN NOWHERE
DRIVING IN THE COLD NOCTURNAL RAIN.