This program was brought to you by Alcoa.

Light me up bartender.
They don't seem to understand
the importance of a good story.

Turn the jazz up a bit, would ya?
I'm trying to find a balance here.

I'm conniving the best way to bring him down.
I don't see the other side here.
Editorializing it is,
while I feign his intelligence.

Don sure would've been proud,
as I was of him.
But I'm not one to say it.

Pour me another bartender.
I'm waiting on tomorrow's paper.

The intimacy of black and white
fills your home every night
at 6 o'clock,
and I'm the one you're watching.

Scribble

I swear it smells like autumn,
with warm days that turn
into chilled nights.
Earth make up your mind.

But I'm loving the potential,
for a calm November evening,
and the peaces of December,
which fall like snowflakes in my palms.

As I Go Along

Everyone seems to be waiting
for the moment
in which I miss the step
and fall by the wayside.

But they don't seem to understand
that I never fall,
I never crumble,
and I make the rules.

That was a cold walk home,
At least it didn't last very long.
Time is just waiting
for me to give in.

Probably never speak of this.
Probably for the better.
The lack of emotion gets harder to read
with every letter.

Sour Child

I keep the light on to
brighten my eyes
to what's clearly standing
right in front of me.

I want to remember the night stars
falling into our hands.
I'll only remember the attitude of the angry sun
peeking out from behind the Earth.

I must flex.
Like a drug for my ears to replace,
the notes enter my blood vessels.
If you have nothing nice to say...

Stars and Stripes

Her skin moves like a snake against my own,
as the night watches over us like a blanket.
And until the sun begins to smile,
she radiates to make up the spark.

Of these loud noises,
you are the quietest.

Rest In Patience

So I've got this melody, you see.
And I've been meaning to share it.
But you closed your hands as I went to give.
And now I've gone and spent it.

Years paint different pictures.
Gold only lasts so long.
Pick me up off the ground
to write a new song.

Dead as my patience.
Where did the car ride go?
Is that really all you wanted?
The box stays empty.

Canvas

I kick the sand forward
as the sun opens its eyes.
I must hurry while
we're still suspended in time.

You bring a beauty that all can admire,
It's getting close to the smell of spices,
blended in with cold noses, family.
I want it wrapped up.

Your laugh rings warmer than the blanket.
The fog settles in, I see it every morning.
We are crazy to be out here in December.
But it's crazier to believe we wouldn't.

If I act a little strange

Did you read my mind?
I sweat out the thoughts that night.
But our smiles overshadowed
what was really going on.

More than expected.
Reality from thoughts.
Sort of shocked and shy.
I hope you didn't mind.

Fiery when it counts.
Sweet like an Otter Pop on a hot day.
Careful and without a care.
I hope you didn't mind.

Light the candles.
They flicker from here until
they meet the horizon.
Ride up and down the streets in awe.

Construction to Excellence

Never linked,
Always leading.
Your words were more fake
than a Cold War building.

Past tense motives,
to laugh back in years.
How I believed anything more
could be found in something much less.

More sure than the last one,
I aspire to be great.
Reminders of what needs to be done,
something you can't take.

Timing and Associations

I'm the glow in the dark watch
that you can read
only every now and then.

They say they're unimpressionable,
But they're already impressed.
So, why the effort?

A piece of pizza and a smile
would have done wonders.
But she hid there, eyes open.

Timing was never my thing,
and she'll never open her eyes again.
She knew too much.

Anatomy of a Crash

I'll remember where the last ornament was placed.
What sweater you wore at the table.
The smile you chose that day.

Where you stood in that picture.
When you first grabbed my hand.
The look in your eyes when you first saw light.

And sometimes it's nice to think
that some birds fly north for the winter,
and that one day you'll find your way home,
but you won't.

And for now I have to tiptoe the lane,
veer into oncoming traffic,
just to wait until the sun goes down,
and that sun may never set.

Newborn

They don't know much better,
but honey, ignorance ain't bliss.
Your poison words
spew spawn off your lips.

People listen,
absorb your thoughts,
and spread them
like cancer.

Cowardly apologetic.
I don't want to hear it.
It was just meant to be funny,
I am told.

I move on to take your thoughts,
burn down your houses,
to start over once again.
We don't need your kind.

Spray

Surround me

with the sea breeze.

Sun sets quietly

beneath my feet.

Spin and spin!

I see glimpses of 

beauty hiding behind

the grains of sand in the air.

While sea birds dance,
their silhouettes fly.
The sun is so beautiful
when it's shy.

Slight of Hand

Turn off the house lights.
Sip the wine.
Dark club sounds brush her by.
This is life.

In slow motion
I walk in.
In the handshake,
a hint of sin.

Maybe she has an idea.
No, she doesn't have a clue
of what I love to do
with a flick of the wrist.

The magic is working.
My capabilities are endless.
But you're becoming careless.
Turn the lights up.

This is me screaming.
You're motionless.
Emergency room please,
this one can't handle it.

I followed her stretcher.
The door shuts behind me.
I waited until she opened her eyes.
Paradise.

I told her, "you really don't know me."
"But I want to," she said.
"I'm everything you've ever wanted," I explained.
She closed her eyes.

Memory Medley

The water drips down my bottle and back into the ocean.
It's almost 2006 all over again.
The electricity surrounds me with the lights off.
Cue the gloom?

Let me get a Rob Roy.
Are you a regular here?
This is Manhattan.
And you're no married type.

But you are.
Remember Pasadena.
Roses grow here, there, and here.
But you already knew that.

Knew how I crumbled with an "I'm proud."
But I never heard it.
I was lost in the Long Beach cloud.
It never stopped raining.

I was playing with fire.
You brought the ice
after I danced with her.
We all laughed for hours.

Locked notes in origami.
Clokey characters defined.
A future 17-mile drive.
All based on a lie.

A night of Smashing Pumpkins.
You all thought you were so funny.
"Can I kiss you?"
Such a sweetheart.

A piano player and a guitarist
make the most beautiful music together.
But no one hears
it.

A heartbreak at "fucking Yucca."
Do you remember that?
They really do that.
That's why you're a favorite.

I read those lines better than you,
but there's only room for one lead.
You handled it like a champ.
I stood up there to feed.

You were so mad.
Best show ever.
She was really hot.
Quiet for two hours home.

They all heard it.
All of them.
She would never eat at a place like this.
That's her favorite seat.

Polaris

Like a lost hiker in the night,
I go north.
The exit?
Olive.

Like a bird flying in the spring,
I go north.
The exit?
Olive.

Doesn't realize the effect
when I go north.
The exit?
Olive.

Right now it's not looking good
as I try go north.
The exit?
Olive.

But I will conquer this road.
I'm heading north.
The exit?
Olive.

Locator

As the snow falls on my windshield,
the world is blinded of us.
The slow motion parade of the city streets
filled with people running toward us.

Let's make them jealous.

The Ladder in Corvallis

My hands are full
and scarlet.
They won't open the gate for me.
I don't belong in there, I'm told.

I asked them why.
He told me.
I conceded.
"We're all guilty."

They haven't made it there yet.
Not sure if they will.
How can I get in
if I've never met the king?

I turned around.
I don't belong there.
There has to be another place
hiding between the stars.

Found Me

Different tomorrow than today.
I hold my tongue when I know what to say,
But trust me it's not worth it.

It's not worth it.

I know I said slow.
I know it's fast,
But this sidewalk looks as familiar
as the dark side of the moon.

Forgive my close embrace.
If I make you nervous,
I'm sorry.

But I'm not sorry.

My meaning is strong.
I don't step on cracks,
For my mother thinks of me better,
But God am I close.

Presence

I can taste the silver,
the slight reflection from the slight light.
Tears flow down the river.
I am home for the first time.

Link

Crossing the moat,
I get chills from the cold
water pouring into my vision,
fuzzy.

The drawbridge hangs.
Around me are flying swords,
bow and arrows.
Musical notes.

Chateau

Can I hide here
under the vacuum?
Constantly watching.
Constantly judged.

Fence is too high.
I may never get tall enough.
I'll wait for it to come down.
Waiting.

Tawny

The red sneaks through.
I am troubled.
Can't believe what you have done.
I read.

The world needs to hear,
but no one is listening here.
There are people listening,
on the other side.

You're almost there.
A few more steps.
You've been on this path before.
Begins to look familiar.

I lost it.
But it's not mine to lose.
Remember the end of July.
I lost it.

Zero/Five

A laugh that echoes in the heart,
from a joke too funny.
A smile that stretches around the world
and back into my eyes.

A memory of not what we did,
but what was said, and where.
A dancer in her own mind,
a happy girl in mine.

Down The Road

Find my imperfections.
Add up all my wrongs.
Put together every miserable moment.

It's long,
the time it takes to heal.
I was a battleship,
and I won the war.

Pick yourself up.
You're mighty,
you're strong.

Realize all the bad there was,
to make you forget the good.
Down the road you'll see.

Opal

In this time of scary ghosts and trick-or-treat,
the orange sky flirts with the rainfall.
I absorb it through the open glass.
You can touch the crisp cold.

Silhouettes of leaves on the branches
resemble dim lights on a Christmas tree.
If only we could light them,
then maybe others could spot the beauty.

Through the looking glass

Fall into the hole.
I can see it on your face.
It's broken.
But pick yourself back up.

Say what you think.
Say what you mean
Hold it in your court.
Ricochet off your heart.

And into the color!
And into my arms.
Follow the road into the stars.
The ones we saw through the looking glass.

Don't listen to the bird,
it's lying.
The roses don't speak
in the belt.

Never Easy

Hardest thing to do.
Tough to look in the eye.
Why can't this be easier,
even when you know it's right?

Bombarded with yells.
Arguments attacked.
Why didn't you love me,
the way I loved you?

You simply don't understand.
You just don't listen.
I just hope you know what you're losing.
I do.

Magellanic

To stand atop this star,
laying our eyes on the speed down below.
It was easy to breathe with time.
We are what make this shine.

We have to land eventually.
So, let us teach them of what we've seen.
Something of a tiny atom brain.
We are all the same.

Equal Sign

Remember the beauty?
I found it, hiding underneath the shade
from the trees that lie overhead.

Remember the snow?
It poured on our faces.
We tasted.

A Thanksgiving gift awaits you.
I couldn't be more happy for you.
Bring him in.

Show him all you know.
Teach him how to see,
how to love everyone.

Trickle

Silence.
Peace.
The darkness mirrors a quieter time.
A text from the future.
My head cluttered.

Rapidly changing.
The lights from a car.
Where did this all come from?
I never did have my own backyard.

I sit here to breathe.
To stare at the nebulae.
One flight up.
I wish I could be higher.

Your voice is calming.
My voice is tired.
I see the light slowly flashing above our city.
Let me change my pace.

Don't Say It

When is it ever easy,
when someone gets hurt?

All of a sudden you know me so well.
You don't know me.
I've been here.
Where have you been?

Sorry, I'm good at throwing strikes.
You don't even see the ball coming.
This mound is mine.
Don't walk across it.

The water is deep.
The park grass is dead.
When is it ever easy,
when someone gets hurt?

Yellow Balloon

As the sun sets beyond the Valley
walls,
I say goodbye to a love once cherished,
adored.
I have sinned Father, but who is left to forgive
me?
It's passion, it's not
love.

I am confused at best.
Sugar coats your fiery words.
Just speak your mind.
I'm listening.

Lamppost

Not a joke,
though many were made.
Lampposts illuminated
the night for days.

Brighter than the city lights,
smarter than any sirens.
Curious always, you
Amaze me.

Look at the old couple.
Every angle seen.
From the top of the city
to feet of the sea.

A peace not pretend.
A smile not faked.
Conversation: endless...
Ended only by the sleep in our eyes.