Pow

Pa-pow pow pa-pa pa
Nothing more than an afterthought
Pa-pow pow pa-pa pa
Nothing more than the time I bought

Ra-ra ra ha-ha ha
Nothing more than a holding tank
Ra-ra ra ha-ha ha
Nothing less than the sharpest shank

To end it all to be it all
To see it all to free it all
Feeling no less than ten feet tall
Nothing more than an afterthought

To end it all to flee it all
To breed it all a free-for-all
Feeling less than very small
Seething like a gaping flaw

MM 1997

Days-a-Wastin'

Like the last granules of sand -
these are days-a-wastin'! 

Grease monkey on a bridge
knows the password, knows which way to go
Cold junkie on a ledge
holds his heart, contemplates the jump

Warm body on a bed
flushes away the fears, regroups for tomorrow
A hothead gathers steam -
she knows there's a train-a-comin'

Sands-a-slippin', 
the tide's washing you away
Everyone had a laugh and a drink
Let's take roll and see who all is left

Let's take a pulse and see
who is alive and who is dead
Impulse says to make a plan
I've got plans to act on impulse

With a hammer to the porcelain god on the mantle
who never answers prayers
With a hammer to the skull
who never knows an answer

Slippin' away, yesterday
was the day I've spoken of

MM 1997

Gathering of Children

(Note- there's a picture that inspired this writing, unfortunately I cannot find it.)

Head of triangled eyes,
wide open like the sky
Stars staring down at me - 
geometrical gathering
Smile as if to know
where the pointed arrow goes
Striped like a candy cane,
lit by a hand of flames

Snout like a baseball bat,
stuck out long and flat
Just there to see the sight,
just hanging out at night
Eyes grope the swollen face,
feeling strangely out of place
Walking with sandpaper soles,
too afraid to venture home.

Just the second in command,
upward eyes and spotted hands
Blind and loyalty's intact,
philosophies are based on fact
Keeping watch on the distance,
feeding off a nervous penchant
Breath in the chilling air
disappears away with care

MM 1997

Moment of Clarity

You've got a locket in your hand
to raise the stakes of your command
A blue-eyed boy will come soon
to represent the month of June
I've got a bruise upon my thigh
I pushed too hard and fell behind
Too far to reach out with my claws
Too fast to run down with my crawl

Brace yourself
What is worth living for? 
What is worth dying for?

Dwelling up in your sleepy mind
there lies a box in which you'll find
a little charm and diamond crown
It's time to rediscover sound
Close the box and then wake up,
take a sip from a paper cup
You've got a spider upon your skin
who wants to know just where you've been

Brace yourself
What is worth living for? 
What is worth dying for?

I mentioned to him in conversation
you read the book of revelations
We had our moment of clarity,
he felt he could confide in me
We glanced up at the ticking clock
to gently ease your state of shock
I felt your twitching hands collapse
like ice melting in my mouth

Delayed Reaction

You're wondering 'round my door
You're wondering 'round the wrong back door
     I haven't started yet
     I haven't even mentioned yet

You're wondering 'round my dear
You're barking up the wrong tree, dear
     I couldn't climb away
     My hands are hard and gray

Piss away 
hours in a day
a day
Mark away 
hours become days
the days
the days 
the days 
the days
Piss away

You're wondering aloud
You're wondering painful thoughts aloud
     I'm not adept at this
     I've got a cleft in my fist

You're wondering overhead
You're camping out inside my head
     I've never learned
     I have no formal training
     so train me
     
Piss away 
hours in a day
a day
Mark away
hours become days
the days
the days
the days 
the days
Piss away

MM 1997

Sunshine Slowdown

Pull the sunglass lens over your eye, 
brake for the rising sunshine 
Another morning might have been the one, 
a passing day it has become 

The green numbers glaring off the dash 
will always read ten minutes fast 
I broke a split-second too late 
to chase the clouds away 

I’ve got a sickening feeling 
churning up in my stomach 
I think it may be taking its toll, 
or just finding its place 

Echolocation ran you into a wall, 
you’ve got my sympathy 
Now go out and find that vote of confidence, 
the one we’re looking for 

Feeling on the dash for sunglasses 
to block the first morning sunshine 
Staring down at the lines on pavement, 
just kicking around what the night meant 

Half-shut eyes getting their first look, 
taking time to pull the sleep loose 
It feels just like winding down, 
but still feels like the sunshine

MM 1997

Saturday Nite Party

They say that waking up is hard to do
when the most peaceful part of a day
is jolted into reality
by a voice who's tone is not so soothing

The morning radio just does not suffice,
it's not a substitute at all
for the moments of tranquility found only
between the sheets and blankets

And when the foot hits the carpet
it's like stepping into a steel trap,
because I know what is coming next,
and it's not always pretty

It's not always worth waking up for,
but it's there nonetheless
like some mysterious force that pulls you out
into a cold world

MM 1997

Yellow Dancer (Bear)

Just before you hit pay dirt,
you'll know, they will tell you
They told you falling tides
I heard a terror in my ears
We're landing feet first
to heed the sweeping motion
You motion me away
to build the bridge I'm falling from

You fell in a wake
to pay respect to passing days,
to when the ticking clock
would make the music for a song
I sang in a procession
with passion for the song
Sung on a stage in heaven,
broadcasted from the sun

And you're a yellow dancer
just basking in glow
of my outstretched hands and arms
clutching in the dark
Feeling out a knob
to turn you into something
Still confused about direction
of the passing of the flock

MM 1997

Horizon Sky

The clouds in the sky,
they just don't hold no rain
Man they look so black,
they just hold empty feeling

The rain in the sky,
it just don't hold no thunder
It's like a constant gnawing
It's like a constant beating

The clouds in the sky,
they look like looming largely
They like to hang around
if only to remind me

The horizon sky,
it never shows no lightning
It packs it all inside
It's never more than threatening

MM 1997