The Woods

Take a walk out to the woods with me
Just keep track of where we're going, please
Cause gettin lost is gettin scared
And I don't need the colder air
I get enough of it back home

That's the one
Count it done
Build us something
To count on
To stand upon
Spill out everything

Take a look at what we're headed for
Pick up colors from the sandy shore
Throw it out or throw it in
Surely it will come again
It's as simple as a love

That's the one
Count it done
Build us something
To count on
To stand upon
Spill out everything

Word's that change is comin round
Burning buildings falling down
Word's that change is comin round
We'll just pick up what we started

That's the one
Count it done
Build us something
To count on
To stand upon
Spill out everything

Midas Borrows Glasses

Everything he touches turns to gold
But his perceptions are skewed
To him it still looks like stone
Grey and cold and uninviting:

"If only I could see through your eyes,
Would I find happiness there?
Would the world look beautiful?"
After all,
The grass is always greener...

...right?

Will nothing go my way?
Whatever Midas was given,
My gift is the antithesis
I take the best into my hands
And out of them falls the worst,
It shatters on the ground.

Golden Line

I'm hoping it will rain
To lift off a weight
And wash away
With furious grace
Insufficiencies and burning haze

I'm ready for a break
Or to break all the rules
This straight-laced way
Of thinking
Has lost all appeal

I'm on a one track mind
For a golden line
Where everything inside
Is given to the light
And brokenness finally dies

Haiku

Sleep comes so quickly
When your heart is satisfied;
I lie wide awake.

Fireworks

An explosion,
A flash of light.
And we stare in awe
At the flurry of colors
That seem suspended in the air
If only for a moment
Before falling gracefully to the earth,
Their flame flickering and fading out.

Amazing how
This perfectly reflects
The past year.
And now
I hold this match
Lit in my hand,
Hoping that this time
The stars won't fall from the sky.

Seven

Seven times now
I've asked you to leave
Seven times you've refused
Your presence is unnerving
Still you haven't moved
You stare at the mess on the floor
Just stare at the wreckage
Torn up petals fall to the ground

Glued-on feathers won't help you fly
Put on your mask, it won't disguise
Your camouflage won't let you hide
So just turn away and cover your eyes

Several hours now
Time isn't what it seems
Several days pass us by
Still you haven't moved
You stare at the hands as they circle
Just stare at the face as
The hour slowly turns to seven

If this has taught me anything
Then it has taught me this:
Your choices get the best of you
Your heart you can't resist

Song a Week Challenge

As you may or may not know, last Friday (April 3rd), I set a challenge for myself: to write at least one song or poem a day for a year, and to record at least one song a week. I'm going strong on the writing part, and I decided it was time to get started on the recording part. Hence, my first recorded song for this project is now online for your listening and downloading pleasure at

http://www.purevolume.com/songaweek

I will be posting some of my lyrics/poems on here, and the songs will always go up on that website...and don't worry I'll remind you ;)

The Sailor's Wife

She stares at the ocean,
Keeps her eyes pinned to the horizon.
She longs to see the sails again
But soon the sea and sky melt into one.

At sunset she turns around,
Disappointed.
No, not today.
She heads back home.

Through vile streets
And jeering calls,
She rushes for shelter
And locks the door behind her.

Quietly she weeps to herself.

Two weeks earlier she gathered excitedly
With the rest of the town
To witness their return,
Victoriously from far-off lands:
The men drunk on visions of wealth and glory,
The women attempting to remain composed.

But they did not arrive.
Every day she waited.
Every day she was let down.
Every day they did not arrive.

Now she is losing hope.
Surely they must have run aground
Or been overtaken by the cutthroats
Or perhaps the sea had simply claimed
Another vessel as its own.

To be so in love and so alone
To be without hope
Tears her apart.

She runs back to the ocean.
She swims
And swims
swims
swims

swims.

Her limbs ache.
She struggles against the waves.
The night and the wind
Swallow her cries
Until she sinks beneath the surface,
And darkness becomes her everything.


The sun rises on the water,
It sparkles and shines
And from the crow's nest where he stands
He stares at the ocean,
Keeps his eyes pinned to the horizon.
He longs to see his town again
And suddenly cries, "Land, ho!"

Penelope

Off in the distance
you are standing on a road
in the shadow of mountains.
I want so badly
to reach out and grab your hand.
From where I'm standing
I can barely tell you're there.

I take the first step
Try not to stumble
Dark clouds begin to gather
Thunder is shaking the earth
My destination keeps me treading
Nervous
Uncertain
I pace along
I take the last step...

An imprint is all
that marks the spot where you stood
in the shadow of mountains.
I want so badly
to give you all my reasons.
But that's hard to do
when you've up and
Disappeared.

Revisiting

The firelight cast shadows on the room
Put on my coat, I'm leavin' soon
All your basic instincts make you move
Fear and love combine and you can't choose
Choose between the two

Are you running
Running towards
Or running away?
Build your heart into something hard
So you can't break.
Are you running
Running towards
Or running away?
I hope you'll run my way

The world keeps spinning round and round
Your light and dark they wear you out
Your heart is beating way too loud
That I can't hear a single sound
The sound is ringing out

Are you running
Running towards
Or running away?
Build your heart into something hard
So you can't break.
Are you running
Running towards
Or running away?
I hope you'll run my way