PIECEWORK
now he's back again, still talking through the dust.
about money, about the kids.
about forty years of digging dirt.
cold coffee and collared shirts,
double threaded under dull light.
when your arms won't fold,
you're so sick for home.
now you're back again,
walk in through the dust.
the same floor holds the same chairs.
bent backs for collared shirts.
you breathed dust.
stars shine through tin on plaster.
straight arms won't stop the world.
dust hangs in the dull late light.
you're so sick for home.
he breathed stone. breathe.
UTOPIAN
no dragging you back through the cold.
no furious return.
no lock, no heat, no chamber.
no shoulder to carry you home
when the ground lets go.
when their ground let go,
they never came back.
yeah we create calm, stability
but the backdrop showed.
now we're weightless,
left for dead.
there's no sorry songs left.
like mother and son, you checked out.
you feel weightless through long weeks.
the weeks are like years.
but real or not, left for dead,
there's no sorry songs left.
OXYGEN TENT
you can take out the bad air
and seal the atmosphere.
get cold cloths for her aching head.
as time slows for another year.
through all the small gods descending
waving soft hands to lay.
you never thought you wanted to escape. you never felt the weight.
you never wanted to escape. now you're a stranger.
you can take back the faces and names.
you'll hear their words again.
you walked out of good grace
for quiet miles and better years.
when the small gods descended,
when they raised their hands.
you never called it escape. you never felt the weight
of poison in the air and good grace.
YOU HAD A PLAN
don't kick the tires, we're out of air.
if there's water in the fuel then
drop the bricks and cut the ropes.
call it out, west of north.
look up. that sound in the sky.
it moves slow.
we're on the clock. hand in hand.
then two by two you disappear.
how'd you make it safe, how'd you keep control.
don't kick the tires, they held us up.
look up. that sound in the sky.
it's slower than it seems.
you're not dead yet. can we fly to the sun.
when you said you had a plan, i didn't understand.
SPLICING
you're all cut apart. it's hard to find the words when you speak.
she chews the air silently. and through the haze, like a pulse, you sing.
we cut ourselves apart. we're all tired.
as you wade back silently, through the haze, like a pulse, you sing. we sing.
when the river slows,
when the red light breathes,
when the silence sings
with the water at our knees,
we're alone.
so what's the pressure for.
WHEN WE FALL THROUGH THE FLOOR
just a worn out phrase
we keep dulled down.
the same old family frame
with our skin stretched out.
you only planned for the best, for the debt.
you like problems to solve.
but you can't trust down.
when we fall through the floor,
we can't come back.
set by hand. bad news moves fast.
so familiar. what's hidden in the floor.
LAMPBLACK
one last thought,
like we're choking on lampblack.
can't sit still
but can we wait it out.
run for the exit
but you spin so fast you can't see.
you'll never get away that way
when you spin so fast, you can't see.
you said we'll never get away.
you said run for the exit.
one last thought,
try to paint the page black.
you want a wheel to hold.
you want to feel like you're going home.
YOUR BEST YEARS
all your grand plans and gritted teeth.
all your pride.
they'll cut you down to count the rings.
measure out your worst years.
count off the days.
write on the walls. who wants to live this way.
bent by the breeze until you stay. or you break.
yeah, we've had better years.
but bad years look better when they're gone.
count down the days until you get away.
check your last list.
yeah, we've had better years.
but bad years look better when they're gone.
bent by the breeze until you stay. or you break.
all your grand plans and gritted teeth.
all your bent and burnt pride.
they'll cut you down to count the rings.
measure out your worst years.
we're bent into shape.
we stay or we break.
GRIEVANCES
celebrate the long lines.
never see the shapes change.
no love, no empathy. can you admit it.
no love, no memory. just admit it.
arm to arm they burned.
with nothing to bear, you learned.
no love, no burden, no memory.
you want the city on fire, you can have it.
now raise a glass, and admit it.
you'd draw those bridges, then forget the next minute.
now look down. celebrate.
no illusions and no heads on stakes.
come on, we're not stupid.
we can see your hands move, and the wires.
look down. celebrate.
no illusions and no heads on stakes.
celebrate.
BACKLIT
where would you run, failed by shaking legs.
green grass and shallow breath held.
ear to ear. flight or fear.
what's in a name. what does that paper trail really say.
keep digging down deeper, until the sky starts to fade.
backlit in back rooms like a stage.
lost from the start.
failed by the facts.
you walk in defeated.
wear out your weaknesses.
lost from the start.
failed by the facts.
walk in defeated.
wear all your weaknesses.
THE GRIFT
with another pissing match, the grift is on.
your confidence game, how can you be so sure?
you sell it like a poet.
how do you say it like you know it.
when you give up you'll say i could never tell them apart.
but the fiction sells. we want golden nails.
you sell it like a poet.
somehow you say it like you know it.
WHITE WALLS
you wear it like a prize. so many plates in the air.
when the calls come down, your worry takes root.
but you can't say no.
the white walls feel fine.
quietly let the stories grow to the ground.
how'd you get so far, and how'd you get so far from home.
white walls feel right.
send a message.
one hand left. one cut to shreds.
stay seated. stay tense.
send a message.
TRUE BELIEVER
can you taste the rain in the air again
as you line up and try to look proud.
twenty five years of true belief, and now this.
walk in the rain.
now his hands start to shake.
now he's sweating.
he wonders which ones to blame,
and will they get away?
see his hands shake.
see him sweating.
he wonders which ones to blame,
and will they get away?
because you know
someone always gets away.
hey, true believer. that's rain on your back.
keep your head down. don't look around.
yeah, true believers, that's rain on our backs.
still you look proud. you look so proud.
DAUGHTERS AND SONS
there's no home for us here.
no stories to tell.
they stacked the decks with shining lights,
with undercuts and sabotage.
did we get enough? are we satisfied yet?
all of your voices are like silhouettes.
they're never coming back.
we never wanted to be so cynical or fatalist.
but day to day through ringing ears and gasoline,
bags of pills and buckets of ice,
did we get enough? are we satisfied yet?
all of your voices are like silhouettes.
they're never coming back.
THE PRESSURE KEEPS ME ALIVE
down. can you take it slow.
get back on the ground.
there's not enough rope.
stress. passed on like your name.
now you wake so tired.
take it. hand it down like a weight.
now you wake so tired.
take it. hand it down like a weight.
now you wake so tired.
stress. passed on like your name.
now you wake so tired.
50s DAD
try to dress like a man.
pressed. ready.
heads on the wall. think of your father's eye,
and hang your head.
never know what to say when
bad days come again.
stretched. pressed. he breathes like a dog.
stretched. pressed. heads on the wall.
boxed up, faces down.
your family looks from the landing.
bad days come again, after all.
five minutes standing.
the first thing you said.
i don't know what we'll do.
what can we do.
BEEF CATTLE
shadows will turn to holes.
dig a trench with the sun.
dilate. front to back.
sightless. front to back.
walk the race. can't see much now.
walk the race. can't hear much now.
dilate. dead ahead.
sightless. dead ahead.
sightless.
dead ahead.
CONTAINER SHIPS
red lights return and rest.
we don't know what we own.
loaded. lift to another clear sky.
make your course for home. and what do we own.
they say walls won't stand straight on their own, you know.
so wrap your son's face in rags to breathe black heat.
roll the red bars. cut on the dead gray shore.
walls won't stand straight on their own.
make your course.
steady.
CORNERSTONE
you catch your train.
you pay your way.
lay your last tickets down.
the black year burned.
the ground still warm.
you cut your names.
you paid your way.
work won't cover the past,
and the pressure won't change.
the black year burned.
the ground still warm.
you catch your train.
you pay your way.
always made to wait.
you pay your way
for longer days.
laid your tickets on the stone.
cut your names, and set it in the wall.
work won't cover the past but you tried.
you paid your way.
WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY
wrong side of history. you are there.
left all alone, pressing for air.
time is the tide we try to hold down.
head back and sinking.
clench your fists. let your fingers carve holes in your hands, and invent.
clench your fists. let your fingers carve holes in your hands.
trust me, we'll all die alone.
no one will notice or know.
wrong side of history. we are already there.
we're quietly sinking.
clench your fists. let your fingers carve holes in your hands, and invent.
clench your fists. let your fingers carve holes in your hands.
YOU DON'T HAVE CANCER
don't choke.
we'll start again.
can you feel it now. can you breathe.
can you try to make a sound.
start well, or start again.
head to ground, try again.
but the wrong things change. can you feel it now.
like lighted wire, your fibers still glow.
don't choke.
look ahead, even though you know.
swallow the light. you're doing fine.
even though you know.
wrong. change. start again.
wait. look, even though you know.
wrong. start again. wait.
wait. look, even though you know.
don't choke.
sing us a song.
light and wire.
sing us a song, even though you know.
THE BUSKER
red rug. pennies and pain you've given to god.
shoes, jacket and hat. set them up. in pockets they pass.
stairs. backs of the backers.
wire and wheel.
case and cash.
run that song for seven years gone.
days, bucket and strap. ring it out, then run it right back.
stairs. backs of the backers.
wire and wheel.
case and cash.
THE COMMUTER
stuck in the crowd. arms pinnned down. it's day again.
day after day, you push your way in, just to get out.
yellow and gray and red, and gray again.
fog burns off to the west. the motors whine.
the wall at your back.
the burns on your suit and hands.
they crawl on your skin once you're in.
had to get out.
yellow and gray and red, and gray again.
while they stand alone, waiting for home.
ten to a line.
now it's day again.
the fog burns off to the west.
you push your way out again.
and climb to the sun.
ANNANDALE
ten long years, it's time to admit it.
this place has never changed, it all stays the same.
tear down the sellouts, fill the yards with holes.
then walk away.
they made it, right.
like birds of prey, dive down where you lay.
did everything feel right?
can you call this home?
stale eyes on quiet streets.
wrapped up with iron birds.
contracts and offers, fill the yards with holes.
then walk away.
you made it, right.
like birds of prey, dive down where they lay.
did everything feel right?
can you call this home?
DIABETIC FEET
stuffed, blind and swollen.
never could give up the plastic and trash.
now you'll have to slow down.
without feet you'll finally slow down.
you never thought twice.
with no information you said
i'm not caught up with facts.
you never thought twice.
without feet you'll slow down.
without legs you'll finally starve.
drive, drive, plastic and trash.
new, new, you'll finally starve.
you never felt guilt.
with no information you said
i'm not caught up with facts.
you never felt guilt.
no legs, no sight.
no sight, can't buy eyes.
CLOCKWORK
give up your name.
don't look back.
cover your walls with clocks.
weight pulls the pendulum back.
you stacked the shelves with all that you know.
teeth to teeth. hand to hand.
we turn like gears and wind down.
we're buildings of books that burn to the ground.
you're getting old.
that's how it goes.
we cover our walls with clocks.
all the weights connect.
i'll stack the shelves with all that i know.
teeth to teeth. hand to hand.
we turn like gears and wind down.
we're buildings of books that burn to the ground.
work, work, work. this is how it goes.
SLEEP DEBT
grind. weather the hours.
leave one eye to watch for the light. one to follow.
with one eye you'll watch for light. so you know.
the days don't stop. they never did.
time won't give time. you won't recover.
leave one eye to watch for the light. one to follow.
with one eye you'll watch for light. and you'll know.
PAPER HOUSES
glass house glows.
walk up the hill. weapons rise.
you work so hard, so civilized.
work so hard.
no in. feel the wind in your bed.
the light shines through.
no out. a gun at your head.
the light shines through.
the glass house glows.
walk up the hill. weapons rise.
you worked so hard, so civilized.
worked so hard.
GAMBLING ON THE RICHTER SCALE
after years of fear this is finally the day.
when the hand hits the ground and it folds like clay.
get on the floor, you can feel it.
cover your head, but you'll still hear it
fall off the bricks, you never bolted it down like they said.
your money's still good here, you can burn it for heat.
put your best clothes down in the dirt for a place to sleep.
now luxury has new meaning.
you buried your head, you only needed comfort and class.
but 5 gallons won't last very long, like they said.
and we fold like clay.
with our homes beneath our knees, we pray.
but we fold like dried up clay.
BONE LOSS
blood, bone, and skin.
wood rots to pulp.
just another page.
just another lost.
gold, gold, paper and steel.
this is all we have.
gold, silver and tin.
this is all we have.
all built the same.
walls turn to dust.
just another case.
just another lost.
gold, gold, paper and steel.
this is all we have.
gold, silver and tin.
this is all we have.
MORE LIKE THE SHIT FACTORY
lie down for a minute.
still can't go home.
punch out at a quarter to ten,
but they need you back by one.
cut lines on the headrest.
get the hookers in the booth.
money's good for anyone who's paying.
that's the business.
roll tape. i've seen enough.
roll tape. the dues don't pay.
TURK, TAYLOR, AND JONES
they only need one thing to live.
sleep on the street and hunt at night.
empty cars and blinking lights, they're moving.
block by block they cover the street, they're hunting.
just look down, we better move fast.
get inside, get behind the door.
daylight's gone, they're out tonight. they're hunting.
block by block they cover the street. just look down.
cold on the ground.
blood in their teeth.
everyone's dead on the street.
crawl on the ground.
reanimate.
everyone's dead on the street.
crawl on the ground.
reanimate.
everyone's dead on their feet.
rise and live.
stand and feed.
everyone's dead on their feet.
MY HANDS ARE TURNING TO BRICKS
stack 'em ten high, we got a lot things we need to keep in.
but everyone will get what they signed up to buy.
young blood is what we really need to get away with it.
dust off your hands. put your back into it.
letter by letter we need to spell it out.
word by word is the only way to pay our debts down.
cut off my hands and glue down my arms, they weigh too much.
they hang at my sides petrified and they turn to dust.
young blood is what i really need to get away with it.
dust off your hands. put your back into it.
letter by letter we need to spell it out.
word by word is the only way to pay our debts down.
with sand, with our bones.
with lime, pave the roads.
water, water, concrete and mortar.
sand on our backs.
ANOTHER CORPORATE TAKEOVER
enter through walls and hide yourselves.
wait for the weaknesses to spread.
put on your cufflinks then,
like needles, slip through our skin
to spread your poison.
check and balance.
move through our veins in disguise.
walk through the halls.
someday you will light up the sky
pile your bones and set them alight
we've shed all the good, like skin.
you'll pick through our bones,
cash out and start again with
loans and offers.
snake oil toxin.
walk through the halls in disguise.
sell your medicine.
INHERITANCE
daylight is running out.
the setting sun.
ash in the clouds.
this night could be my last.
clutch at my chest.
choke and gasp.
you took my hand, i gave you this?
my child my son.
my blood, my only blood.
your mother tried to put you down.
my fear, my faith could not yet.
my breath is getting weak.
take this gun for you to keep.
this night will be my last.
close my eyes once i have passed.
if you are found, i gave you this.
be brave my son.
be brave my only blood.
you must destroy yourself.
you must not hesitate.
my only blood, my son.
better your hands than theirs.
MAKE US PAY
when i see what we made
want to close my eyes.
march down streets and believe it.
distance means you'll never have to breathe it.
we'll round them up.
we'll put them down.
we'll round them up.
we'll put them down.
when you see what we've done
want to close your eyes.
burn our streets and believe it.
burn our streets and believe it.
you'll round us up.
you'll put us down.
you'll round us up.
you'll wake us up. hit the lights. make us pay.