1. |
Ask The Dead
03:54
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ASK THE DEAD
Ask the dead if war was worth it, if the sacrifice was just. Would they fight again, if asked, or simply let the cannons rust? It’s so hard to get perspective when the casualties are mute, as all the lucky and victorious sing anthems and salute.
How little history rings accurate. You can’t get discourse from a grave. Get sick upon the very thought of it. The road to hell is nicely paved.
Ask your woman: “was it worth it?” All the sacrifices made. All of love’s adept offenses. All the awful things you’ve said. It’s so hard to get perspective when the bile of the night taints the coffee in the morning, and the air just isn’t right.
Is there a battle you could ever lose while still maintaining you were right? While still presenting your opposing views? While keeping relevance in sight?
Who’s to say for sure? I have my doubts.
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2. |
We Both Hang at Morning
03:10
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WE BOTH HANG AT MORNING
You and I, a great divide: two orbiting electrons, actualize an axis that the warring world can spin on. Pirouetting razors, raising banners nations cling to, and fabric’s good for warmth but it is nothing you should sing to.
You and I, on different sides, and we both hang at morning. You for acting recklessly and me for giving warning. You for running roughshod over principals we fought for, me for acting nervously. The end was never sought for.
Like the will I had to fight, like the villagers with hatchets and their torches held alight. The end was never sought for.
Left hand, meet my right hand. Meeting both sides of the coin, different flavors of fanatics. Fleeting ideals finally join.
We both hang at morning.
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3. |
Cast From Crowds
03:00
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CAST FROM CROWDS
I’m not the man you used to know. The road was long, I had to go and step out of my own two feet. You understand. Our eyes don’t lock the way they used to speak without a single word. We lost the language somewhere. It fell from our hands. I love the way you used to be and you were awfully fond of me but I am strange and scarred. Too serious to hang around.
But when in doubt? Give in. Rally ‘round the altar. Bring a gift within. Be a lamb before the slaughter. Come around. Get down. Fight for what we’re after. When in doubt? Give in. Get down. Give in.
The ground is so familiar still, it pushes back against my shoes. Words fall flat. They had a use, but do not now. With everyone I used to stand by flickering in candle light, their faces take on new expressions in the dancing flame, their names take on new definitions: both refined and obscured and they seem equally sick and cured. Time calls us out.
But when in doubt? Give in. Rally ‘round the altar. Bring a gift within. Be a lamb before the slaughter. Come around. Get down. Fight for what we’re after. When in doubt? Give in. Get down. Give in.
We’re just a burning flash of light, but if you will it, you can still it like a photograph, or like a phonograph with sound. See the play? You’re starring in it. You were cast from giant crowds of extras dying just to play you. Seize the role and wear it down.
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4. |
Like Fire
02:56
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LIKE FIRE
Open eyes to see that it’s still me. We never slipped away, and those who doubted our sincerity could not be here today. We’ve evolved and move on two legs when we used to only crawl, and we won’t fall. We won’t fall. Sunlight shatters in the water, bolts of lightning on the waves; and we have had our share of sorrow but have never been dismayed. Words and shaking strings unite to form a fabric on the loom, so give it room.
Give it room.
If fortune smiles on us, well, we’re obliged to smile back, but if the wind begins to howl, you mark my words, we will attack. As the keel slips through the water may we safely pass our days, whether in blinding snow or summer’s heavy haze.
As the shoreline always changes but still hems the hungry sea, so we adapt in our experience and stockpile memory. As the serpent slowly eats itself it grows at equal speed. I shall not want. You shall not need.
So let’s go down now, around the fire, for when the flames rise they draw us in, because we burn so hot, like we are fire. But, unlike fire, will not burn out.
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5. |
We Are Not
03:22
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WE ARE NOT
You are not garbage, girl. You melt the mold which they made to cast you. You are not garbage, girl. The judge falls down and drifts past you. You are not garbage, girl. Their words are bankrupt phonetics. You are not garbage girl. You step, and disrupt genetics.
I am not garbage girl. I’m character, not achievements. They’ll never like me ever. They scowl in whirlpool bereavement. Don’t let them sway your mind. I’ve no time to read my assignment. I am not garbage girl. My chassis needs no alignment. This is a shining world. No vampire dares to approach me. And if there is no moon or twilight, well then blind men will lead me. And blessed are the poor, for they alone will know the creator. You are not garbage, girl. You’re as balanced as the equator.
We are not.
They are not garbage girl. They fight just like we are fighting. And from their birth to death they vanish as fast as lightning. They are not garbage girl, just lost in pain and delusion. And if they knew the essence of you they’d offer to join in collusion. They are not garbage, rather, beach glass eroded by fortune. They sling their arrows out of fear gone unhindered by caution. They are not garbage girl. They view the valley like we do. But mountains have countless paths to the peak and they don’t arrive there like we do.
And we are not.
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6. |
I Fly Kites
03:52
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I FLY KITES
Bring the sunlight down on pulleys made of kite string, on wordless songs the birds sing, in cradles carved in cloud. Join and sing aloud. Show all weak hearts we mean it. Have had a plan and seen it through to higher ground.
I’ve walked a wicked road til feet were worn away and when my hardships never ended I have loved them. I’ve been alone and cast aside like common refuse and descended into abuse of my self and lost my pride.
I bring my child down. Show her that all life is fragile. Show her cruelty can be agile and can find you where you hide; that kindness has a cost, and all is lost if we won’t pay it. Make a pledge and live to say it. Find the fence and choose a side.
We live a wondrous life and joy is our entitlement. Our fight for it is time well spent. Our missteps are allowed. There will always be a host of devils who belittle you but don’t you let them get to you. Live large, assured and proud.
Turn on the gravity. Turn up the gravity. Turn off the levity. I fly kites with strings made of timber, my limbs long and limber. Return to the sender. I fly kites.
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7. |
Coal Burning Stove
01:50
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COAL BURNING STOVE
It was so long ago. I still remember, sweat and sun and skateboards held a switchblade to December. Many fell away but they were mulch beneath the flowers unfolding everyday, and through that sustenance lies power. Wisdom comes with age. It needs action to have purpose. Coal without a flame is simply dirty, cold and useless. Make lethargy mine enemy. My new surname? Ignition. Not entrenched but high in flight, take note of my position.
For I’m not gone, and you can stay with me my friend. Victors reap the spoils of a life that never ends.
It wasn’t long ago. Don’t try hard to remember. Nostalgia is an anchor and will cut you like a razor. Let your tired eyes surmise that there is life past all horizons. Diligence and kindness guide your feet in all directions.
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8. |
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TOTAL POWER INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED
When I was set adrift with no salvation in my sight I had a feeling still that everything would be alright. The sun was merciless, no shelter from the burning heat. I would not forfeit hope nor hang my head in sad defeat. Though sometimes fate can take a heavy, heavy toll, and start to chew apart your weather-beaten soul, there is an outlet you can access if the cord’s correct. Let me tell you if you didn’t know it yet:
I’ve got total power international, incorporated.}2x
A paddlewheel, in current, spins without an ounce of effort. A banner flies and ripples even though it’s not alive. You can harness power like a conduit, electric. A bee is an annoyance but be wary of a hive. The wind and waves are rising like the child in the morning; like the sun and moon who serve the traveler as guides. Let their choreography find focus for your inhibition. Now you’ll never have to choose a side, not when you’ve got.
Total Power International, Incorporated.
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9. |
When You Have Nothing
03:43
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WHEN YOU HAVE NOTHING
When you have nothing, daughter, no one will talk to you, for there’s no telling what you’ll ask them for. When you have nothing, daughter, no one can take from you, so there’s no reason to deadbolt your door. When you have nothing, daughter, it’s hard to find your place. Some need to judge you by possessions. When you have nothing, daughter, your home is everywhere. You own no roof that acts to cage you.
And if they turn away then smile and keep on walking. All those who crave debate defeated, without talking.
You’re really something, daughter. The moon that shines on you has shined on every queen and hero. You’re really something, daughter. The sea embraces you. The sun is here to burn off sorrow. You’re really something, daughter; a smiling, burning light; the cat that sleeps within the garden. The seasons favor you. The world unfolds, unending, and every dawn extends a pardon.
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