I left with my father’s tears staining my shirt It seemed the second opinion supported the first And though he could keep his composure in the face of the worst news My brother would be dead before it snowed A crow on a bench across the street was attacking This poor soul eating lunch and I just burst out laughing When he waved around his paper as if he was acting In some Shakespeare in the Park show The bus doors split open, but I didn't get on I peered up at the driver through two metal arms And I asked him, ‘Sir, how close do you feel to God?’ And then he pulled closed the doors and was gone I fixed my sights on the sky till it framed my apartment And found the side-door was blocked by a squadron of carts And cardboard boxes with bodies all wrapped up inside them A man near the dumpster looked on So I called to him, 'Neighbor, what keeps you on living?’ And he grinned with a gleam in his eye He told me, ‘Boy, I’ve not one thing to show for myself ‘And that’s why I’m not ready to die. You see, the emptiness keeps me alive.’ Upstairs, I rang an old girlfriend to see if she’d remember me Well, she sighed and replied, ‘I know we once held so tenderly But your face has since been lost in an ocean of memories And I’m just not cut out for the sea, see?’ I did and went out for a smoke to clear my throat till I forgave her Where the scene hung like an old photograph – the street signs were fading To nothing, but someone was calling my name When a car almost ran me right through I spun and careened like a drunk in an alley And collapsed on the steps of a church ‘I was a wretch!’ cried the choir and it pitched from the belfry Lord, I never felt more down to earth As I ran and I ran and I ran and I ran Until I came to a market where I’d never been And the girl at the register, she saw me lurch in And I plead with her, ‘Sister, confess to me your sins So I might forget what I’m in!’ She took me on home and she poured me some coffee How her hope shone from pictures and paperback copies When she whispered me three words she’d never told anybody And then we came to the root of the thing Yeah, we came to the root of the thing That’s when I left her and came here to sing

Cut from the common cloth To almighty God, he was an albatross Caught on the withered bark Did he try the odds with his wings plucked off? Yep. Once, when I was young and true I saw an eggshell blue when I just woke up Now, if I shut my eyes It’s to conserve the light in an extra room Red as the fruit of strawberry tree lovers No one said this would be easy Well, no one said it never would Still, my jar could well with starry skies From the blacktop underneath But I'd trade in my lot of boyish dreams If you came back to me Oh yeah With nobody to lay to rest I buried a photo of us instead Said a few kind words, read a line of verse   That I did not believe, I would not be deceived On the moonlit eve of the anniversary  I slithered back between the bars With a jarful of sand and a shovel in hand A single grain for every hour I waited, waning, wasting I was so close, I could taste it  The sweet earth gave in to me easy So I could work unseen from the unlit street Soon, my blade feigned a spark in the cavernous dark I bit my lip and split the difference with my fingertips Oh, and came up empty as a store-bought shell Gone was the picture I'd preserved so well And, in its place, an aching space, my mind was racing It had to mean... it had to be you  You took it, you'd come looking for me I drew it then from memory with my penknife On a chip of withered bark, left my love and our new address  Crossed my heart - no, clutched my chest August crowns again, no word from you The latest tasteless remake plays on channel 22 But I'm not watching, got a worn-out piece of paper in my pocket I caved and made myself a copy Squatters crowd the house I built for you One of these days, I'll make them pay Each one another copy of a copy of a copy of a copy Of a copy of a copy, I can't see your face Down along the waves You used to be so brave Pitching headfirst over heels Till a titan pulled you under And the tide dragged you out The sky was growing dark They were packing up the car But you were too scared to cry for help And the last thing you saw Was your ghost going home If you came back to me I'd give up every- Can you feel the sun washing over you? Can you feel it too?

This virgin night, I'm burning bright Despite the miles of lonely country road to go Before I sleep Cos here I am, guitar in hand In No Man's Land, my heart, it led me here to show me It ain't beat Atop this rock, I'll break my thoughts apart And isolate the little ones from the ones That'll never die And write a song about a song About how wrong it's been since I witnessed The monolith of time I think it'll go I flew from Hartford to New Orleans where my momma used to live Every summer since I was born until Katrina buried it And, to this day, my clearest memory don't make a lick of sense It isn't wistful or commemorative, it's just this image Of contiguous, identical diamonds fastened on an anchored plane I'm pulled in tight and turned inside to find it etching on my brain And then the engines spring to life and we begin to taxi, I see It was only a pattern woven into the fabric on the seat in front of me It was only a pattern woven into the fabric on the seat in front of me It was only a pattern woven into the fabric- I can't think But under my breath, I say to myself 'You will remember this moment When you're moments from death' I couldn't tell you why My kid and I, we kill our time Discussing lines and shapes and Concepts that might never be worth a damn It's not a self-indulgent thing We really only want to bring Ourselves to fully understand When we all have the chance to work with our hands You'll jerk us around, we won't hold it against you What am I saying? I've got egg on my face How'd I find my way into this mess in the first place? I hope for the best and keep coming in third Playing it close to the chest like I'm nursing a flush Call my bluff, but a shy pair of fives brought This bird back to health that was wrenched from its nest I can't put it back now with its feathers unfledged- it'll fall And I don't want to be held accountable at all But back to the moment- it bothers, you don't it? When will this one go and the next one take over? Can we extend it? Could we break from within it? Want to make us a memory? Or would a mantra be murder? I don't think they heard, you were getting too wordy Letting your verse run ahead of your virtue Well, I gotta meet curfew, say goodbye sweet worldview And pardon me miss, I don't mean to disturb you, but You said you'd never change, then changed your mind It's a lie that I've been told all my life, all my life I bet you'd think it strange if you knew I prayed That you'd come back to me eventually But, factually, I don't believe in anything I read Especially the writing on the wall These days, it's only dreams that get me out of bed at all So, tell me, who was ever hurt by a little hollow ritual? It's you, in other words, who has the problem here I'm not delaying inevitabilities I've just embraced my self-fulfilling prophecy What you call responsibilities, I call impossible To please these people you don't even know I know it's not for me

Are we going to be real? Are you going to tell me how you really feel? Look, honey - I’ve run too far on nothing And this small talk, it ain’t enough Are you someone who needs Someone else right by your side, someone like me? Make me complete and, if you can Keep me clean, but you’re not listening again Get away from the walls, get away from the rust Cos it’s the same that goes for them that goes for us I’m pretty sure you’re the girl I might’ve known from the start Though sometimes I don’t think you’re too smart But what the hell do I know? I know I could be coming on too strong I swear I’m not that type of guy at all Not all the time, it’s just you got a hold on me And it don’t feel nice – your hands are cold as ice On my desperate mind so I can’t remember When I lost my pride, somewhere a long ways back Maybe when we first met? What, was it something you said? Say something C’mon, are we cool? I’m sure you’ve got your questions too See, all it took for you Was just one word to kill my doubt Don’t you know it’s only temporary now? Don't be naive... You call this love? Then will you still be sweet to me When I call it off? How do you get to the interstate from here? I’m not from here, you know All the roads lead right back to your house One place I never felt at home That’s why I laughed when you asked About us moving apart Babe, we’ve been strangers from the start I guess that’s all that happened Sometimes that’s all that happens But what the hell do I know?

Trashed, put out, obscene, all mouth And she’ll ditch you for a prophet lay So what? Elude it, escape, eschew Evade it – no one’s worth the waiting Take off, split, leave birthday wishes With the rubble of the bridges you burned up They only led you on And kept you from Utopia But it won't be far Sitting inside, you can't seem to budge the coffin lid Well, the king ain't here to judge you yet Bust out into the open air You're free to go now anywhere your heart desires Just take a gander through the bare patch in the sycamore branches there You can see for miles and miles To the towers standing high on the horizon Taking shifts keeping an eye on Sleeping Giant They're saying, 'kid, right here on the other side of the ridge Lies everything you're searching for' Since every instant forms a precipice Looking out upon the rest of your life You gotta try to make the best of your time here You're not gonna let yourself be wrestled down by some 'Fear of the unknown,' cos, look: The woods are only deep as the furthest tree You knelt all night by this roaring brook And mistook it for the sea That you fell into years ago She was beautiful and you flew too close But it's sink or swim, as the saying goes And you made it back to shore So, 'factually' It's not a leap of faith you need to make this time, no You struggled through the muck enough, let's take the high road Underneath the western sun Every face turns golden Beaming with expectation As the hand of fate's unfolding From this moment, from now on Set your lens to focus on The light that's pulling you along It's got you by the soul Though it's man who made the oculus The hole you peer up out of has No place to lean a ladder, how do you Traipse around this town then If the earth's got you surrounded? Sprawling pavement keeps you grounded While the world revolves around you It's all arranging for the final scene You'll see Where you are you've always meant to be And this loneliness is holy Find your shadow pacing anxiously Let the needle on your compass swing It knows the way, sure, it'll show you, and it don't want nothing in return Lift your head as the winds pick up If you skip a step you could still catch up Go for broke, oh, you're only a stone's throw away from becoming Someone who You look up to He's sitting on the opposite bank Talking to himself Like you would somebody else Speak up now, don't be afraid It's predestination I can't cut through the terrible sound I'm not strong, I'll get drowned out But somehow, from here I hear him loud And clear, somehow it's like he's singing in my ear Show me how to reach you How to walk across the water I swear I'm ready but He's getting up to walk away The corners of the parking lot leak crude oil in the rain When the sun ducks out, I guess I'll turn around The way I came There's no reason to stick around here Like I'm meeting a friend of mine In this Eden for burnouts - God, I'm so ashamed I'll be clean when I've served my time Eating in the car with the stereo on If they pass by the glass, I'm either coming or going Was I not looking hard enough? I'm not working hard enough At the root of the archetype Someone's hidden away Couldn't put up an honest fight Couldn't shoulder the weight I was born in the mirror And corrected each day So I bore a resemblance When they called him by name A sleight of hand so slow Who'd think to watch it go They're busy doing their rounds Like a tire in the snow While the moon, hanging low With the promise of change Lets the lunatic know He will always be the same In the morning, I left him On the side of the road At the close of the western The brother sets off alone His shadow moving behind him Toward the looming frontier Before it creeps up beside him As if to speak in his ear 'You will never know happiness Till you and I make our peace' But if he ever comes back from this What will happen to me? Who do you think you are? The host of some parasite A ghost to the narrowed eye You won't be reduced to a microscope slide The uneasy truth is it's easily denied The cold end you've been inviting For seven odd years and counting I'll tell her while you are fighting He's holding a suicide king Call before you dig There's no reason to stick around here Like I'm meeting a friend of mine I've seen him at red lights, I don't say a thing Not even to ask the time Or for directions, I'm not directing this film I saw the etching, but, boy, it's getting real dim This don't count as a quarterlife I'm going down the borderline Hold on, take a breath There's a message here, you can't read it yet But be patient, learn to wait your turn And someday soon, you'll be here too in Utopia Now, go home before You float away Guess you're right It's way too late To say goodnight

Swear off the shadows on the cavern wall Till it gets a little too hot to think The stars will guide you where the lights leave off But all that walking only merits a drink Can’t make it home without getting lost Misplaced the point you’re trying to get across In the blink of an eye I hear you’re smoking with the burnouts now A second coming for a change of pace It’s clear that you know what you’re all about Why bet your money on a made-up race? But you can’t avoid it how it’s such a drag To see him disappearing every week Peeling out in the street So long So what now, clever one? Never thought the day would come The future was a modern myth to you You said you’d believe in it when it smiled on you Fell behind, they won't know unless you try Yet you were quick to prophesy some abstract grand rebirth While killing the time you had left on Planet Earth When it’s gone and you really don’t have anyone Won't you feel dumb then? Sidewalker, run Say, 'bye-bye, beach' Now’s not good for me My head cracked open like an Easter egg I took too long to find and went missing My ma was sullen like she lost a bet Figures that talking only merits a drink Her disappointment is an empty hall But really, you can only feel so small Living here So long I'm out on the deck holding my jar dry as death Coldly watching the sky bleeding out in the west When my bones catch the drone of a passenger jet From up over the trees I seek and divine only a trail of exhaust With no beginning or ending, yeah - it's cut straight across But it has the attention of all the neighborhood dogs And I need to see So I kick up the sand on my brother's old bike And I flip out the stand when I hit the town line All the street lamps are dead on the opposite side What could be the odds? My hand isn't there right in front of my face Though my eyes are the size of two china plates, lying blank Flat and intact, under glass in their case I'll be robbed blind I stay in the seven prints clear to the edge Leaving no trace of evidence I ever was led As the dewdrops draw dots on my feathery flesh I know it is time When out of the void comes a shimmer of light And it grows and it grows till it cancels the night And without fear, and without a fight I step into the white So long (Why you gotta go and let me down now? You’re only second best when you stand next to someone Better leave it alone)

Find me a paradigm That doesn’t require my entry Into another life That’s just as hollow as mine Sleeping through the day Well, it’s no wonder I always feel the same Oh, what a shame When I bring this fist down on you The whole wide world will shake Lost a true love today She didn’t know what to say As he turned away Should she follow or stay? Heavy-hearted looks Won’t bring back that which he took Oh, and what he took! To kiss the ground he walks To kiss the ground he shook Whatever You want to do It's up to you Whatever The things you said Were in my head

The comet’s tail was something to admire They pulled up to the house in half an hour And no one was the wiser back in town Sleeping safe and sound And so another boy becomes a man Semicircle ‘round the turning fan Held together by a rubber band Or that was the plan But you broke it off and now you’ll never know Okay, you pushed your way into a conversation once again Oh, what’s it gonna be? Hopefully not more complaining Yeah, sure, they sympathize with what you’re going through That’s all it comes down to – you’ve got to see their tolerance is waning Like the bloodless moon in the barren sky There ain’t no one here but you and I could take or leave it Just pour me a drink or else send me packing Cos when I find the thing that I’ve been lacking I'll cut you away

The birth of a god into bastardized arms It’s okay if you’re lost when what you see’s who you are I'll do my best to preserve it on the flat of the dashboard and door As it blows out my skull, runs down my shoulders and on to the floor Oh, the contrast’s pristine – it’s in digital film Sharp and bright in the light, deep and detailed in dim How could you blame her for falling in love with his nameless design When she crosses the street and it blossoms to greet her each time? Laura! The sweetest of sounds Laura! I hear you're coming around Laura! At the end of the hour We get to begin We get to begin again Let the record show, I'm a self-made man With every second that rolls and turns over But I promise I won't make the same mistakes I can follow the roads since you showed me the way If you get in first, will you save me a place right next to you? You know I'd do the same too I told a friend I would meet her in a café at noon And I walked by the window when I got there too soon I made a pilgrimage backward through side streets and company lots To emerge where I started with a new sense of freedom at heart