Thou Fiend!

"Peacocks succeed reproductively by winning a kind of beauty contest, in which females 'select' the most attractive males. This explanation for the existence of such otherwise useless features undermined the Creationist assumption that the world has been intelligently designed."
-Michael T. Ghiselin, from the introduction to the Dover Thrift Ed. of Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species'

Apparently, if God exists... He's an engineer... not a poet.

The Days

The rain still falls on Wednesdays

And it still pours on Thursdays

It's still gloomy on the days in between

People still die on Sundays

Just because they got drunk on Fridays

And it reminds me of the hurt I've seen

Of all the dour looks on Mondays

We're all just punching the books till Saturday

And we're still here

Yes, we're still here

But the days drag on

And the weather falls

And the time is long

But I think that's the problem

We keep the time

We make sure it rhymes

Why not

BRaKE out????

Why not SmASH A FEW

of the rules

Not destroy the reason

Not create chaos

But live a little... differently

A little bit better than

<---------------------------------BEFORE

Don't cry like the raven

Please stop saying

"Nevermore"

For we will live beyond these DAY

Yes

Yes my friends

We will live

EVERMORE.

The Rain

Hello old friend

Constant

Steady

Leaving blood-like trails on the dirt stains of a crimson mini-van

Don't leave yet

Stay here

Wash me clean

Wash us all

Wash us all away

I'll rejoice in others' contentment

Just don't leave

Yet... Not At All

I could be pretentious

Oh, I could do it oh so well

I could take the blame for all your pain

And tell you I cracked the Liberty Bell

Just hypothesizing

It's so close to justifying

Yet not at all

Steeped it a quagmire of pop culture fizz

I believe this makes me eclectic

Perhaps even eccentric

Yet not at all

I down pounds of processed sugar everyday

I say it's for a reason

The feeling

That I get when I actually ingest healthy food makes it all worth it

Yet not at all

I consume a steady diet of socially acceptable violence

In the form of words and pixels

Socially acceptable being key phrase

Yet not at all

I think that I have something relevant to say

Something that will affect you

Perhaps radically change your perspective on life

What did I say about being pretentious?

Yet not at all

Am I defined by this hopeless quest for self-gratification and validation?

Am I compelled to be this quivering mess of reaching, grasping introspection?

Am I finished?

No, not at all

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creatures here below

Praise Him above ye heavenly host

Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

And that is all

Soapbox

Set the box on the corner

Stand up, a global amphitheater

A podium, a church, a strip bar

The communists and optimists and misogynists congregate

We get together and conjugate

We promote hope and spread the hate

Striving, struggling, talking to no one in particular

Just trying to convince myself that I can change this

Not just myself

I'm wrong

Dead wrong

Dead as a mouse in a trap

Crushed, neck snapped

I can't pull myself up by my laces

No matter if they're my Chucks or my boots

It won't work

And you can't help

Best you can do is want this pill bug roll around in a space vast and great

The harder I try, the more I solidify

Cramping into my shell

My fellow bugs tell me to look up

At the sky, the sun, the birds

The predators and the prey

The April rains the buds of May

The ants and termites tell me how I can be a man

Scream out in my little bug voice

Recognize what I am

Then I can be something else

Once I die

Once I die

Once I die

Then I rise

As long as I direct my words in the correct direction

God, pick up my boot straps

Give me new shoes

Some that were meant for walking

The kind that bring good news

Not the kind that wander into dens and pits and pens

Not the ones that track in trash and muck

I'm stepping down

Off the box

And following someone else

Follow the String

I'm running trying to catch up as things change
As things die
As people move in and out
As we lie
It's like reaching for an ice cream cone only to have it fall upon the pavement
It's like trying to climb the stairs to the attic, then falling into the basement
I keep coming up with abstractions that don't do reality justice
Bang the gavel, send me away, lock me up so I won't write anymore angsty metaphors
But even from my cell, I see the world keep moving
The changing of the guard reflects something deeper
Something larger at stake
It's telling me that we made a mistake
I clutch the string and follow it to the end
It takes me to an unexpected destination
I thought it was saving me from damnation
I thought I was running from what I feared
Only to find that I am right back where I began
Except everything is different
Perhaps it's only that I was wrong...
Again
Awash in a sea of pretty faces, taking notes, staring into space, longing for better places
Longing for something else
Longing for a local where we'll never change again
Cuz there'll be no need
We'll already be perfect

Wait

Waiting...
What are we waiting on?
A sign?
A hope?
A wish?
A fish, I could swim
Just swim away
Stop the madness and the pain
But I'm looking at this upside down
We aren't passive like bricks
Only used to beat down other walls
We move
We act
We wait with purpose
We wait with passion
We wait

Letter to a Friend

Well done my friend, well done
You've fought and you have won
Well done my friend, well done
You've finished what you begun

I know the road is long and hard
The frost bites sharp and deep
And thought we fall, bleed and cry
The path we must always keep

Look at me, I've been there too
Even though you may disbelieve me
I've felt the fear and kept it down
Until I thought no one could see

But when I spoke, the chains fell off
I could feel and laugh and breathe
So if you look upon me now
See a friend
One who was bound, but now is free

Stars...

We write s0 often of things we know nothing of
Sickness and health
Beauty and wealth
Stories of giants and monsters
Tales filled with princesses...
... and stars
The stars up in the sky
The stars that never lie
The stars that always stay
Bright as day
That never fade away

We sing so often of things we don't remember
Of hate and joy
Of girls and boys
Of water and rain
Of fire and pain
Songs of getting famous
Of becoming stars...
Bright as the noon day sun
Bright as the marquee
Dreaming of becoming number one
Praying that this won't come undone

But the ones we want to become carry us on
We ride off into the sunset on the shoulders of those that made us
We ride on the wings of stars

Through the Winter

Hey it's been awhile
Since I've seen you smile
It's been too long
Since we sang that song
It's been a million days
Walking without a way
Trying to find the road
Trying to lighten the load
But we look everywhere but up
We look every other way for help
We forget
We die like flies
In the dark

So I'm stepping back and taking stock
Taking advice I used to mock
I'm trusting in the One
And waiting for the sun
To bring us back to
Healing
Breathing
Believing

Don't you forget
I never left
I'm still standing here
Waiting for the sun
To bring me back to life

Start Up The Drums Again

Start up the drums again
Murder back on track
It's time to hit the sack
All that's black is back
Start up the drums again
I got mugged by a kid named Jack
The breadwinner got off track
The band is back, Mac attack
Start up the drums again
Let's stay away from crack
I'm not cutting you any slack
Cuz we're getting back on track
Start up the drums again
Seems I haven't lost the knack
For shooting you in the back
Hold on while I get a snack
Start up the drums again
I'm a duck, quack quack quack
I'm going to try a different tack
I'm going to mount you on a plaque
Start up the drums again
I'm getting out my bags to pack
I'm letting you fall through the cracks
I'm making up for what I lack
Start up the drums again

A simple word

Simple words
Spoken from the heart
Mean more than you could know
They beat where broken hearts cannot
And through the sidewalks grow
Do not doubt
The power there
Hidden in a soul
That truly thrives and leaps and builds
It makes the broken whole
The trust of a friend
Who speaks what's meant
Can change water into wine
It can turn the blackness into light
It can cause hearts to entwine
One simple word
Before you sleep
Can change a day into
A day that was better far
Than anything you've been through
A simple word can destroy worlds
It can poison a wishing well
But when it's used
And not abused
It is the fount of life
So do not end the day
Until you've found the one
Who has to words hidden up inside
And breathes them into
Love

Life is taking me for a ride

Life is drowning me
It's filling my lungs with an endless sea
It's crying and dying
It's living and striving
The swells are picking up the ships
Come on out, we're going for a dip
Let's get swept away
Swept away in an overwhelming flood
We're going for a ride

Life is breaking me
It's put me in a vice, and begun to squeeze
It's overbearing, it's started tearing
It's rejoicing, it's floating
It's raging in my ears
It's ripping away my fears
Let's get swept away
Swept away in an overwhelming flood
We're going for a ride

Wake Up! (New War)

Sorry, but this has been bottled up for far too long
Pardon me while I sing this song
I'm going to swear a blue streak
Maybe then you'll listen when I speak
I've never felt so justified
I've never felt so right
You stand like stone, petrified
While I scream with all my might

>>>>>WAKE UP!!!!!!!
WAKE UP< WAKE UP< WAKE UP!!!!!!!!
YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE KILLING OTHERS
CAN'T YOU SEE
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE WORLD
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE EARTH
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE CHURCH
CAN'T YOU SEE?????????

Good morning!
I hope you die
Until you see the carnage that you've left
Look up at the sky
You don't feel, don't hurt, don't breathe
You just keep eating like an infectious disease

I've never felt so justified
I've never felt so right
But you still stand, planning our demise
So I'll scream with all my might

>>>>>WAKE UP!!!!!!!
WAKE UP< WAKE UP< WAKE UP!!!!!!!!
YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE KILLING OTHERS
CAN'T YOU SEE
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE WORLD
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE EARTH
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE CHURCH
CAN'T YOU SEE?????????

I've never felt so passionate
I've never felt so adamant
About justice
About the righteous
About how wrong you are
About this brand new war
About the brand new war
About this new war

I've never felt so justified
I've never felt so right
But you're still playing with our lives
I will make known our plight

>>>>>WAKE UP!!!!!!!
WAKE UP< WAKE UP< WAKE UP!!!!!!!!
YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU'RE KILLING OTHERS
CAN'T YOU SEE
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO ME
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE WORLD
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE EARTH
WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO THE CHURCH
CAN'T YOU SEE?????????