Cafe 1

I saw where the preppy twins
Decided to hide.
Maybe they need a new hideout
To stare at the freaks.
Or perhaps they play
And feel better that way
Pretending they're me;
Day tripping to be like me.
They must not ignore the lore of music in them
Because some stare before they pull me down
And as much as they try to
make
Love
Their
own
War,
Perhaps they try a bit too sudden
Under shadows of night
Grey smoke by cafe
No moonlit streets.
 

Cafe 2

I had to go where the silences grow
Because where voices are soundless,
There was someone to listen.
Practice those four chords a day
I'll be alright someday
Sappy and good.
Good sugar good.
And now when I tremble no more on the stage
I watch the deserted York Road lights fade
And I think of all the people sipping nut hot chocolate
At Cafe 1 pretending to be real.
 

Cafe 3

They never turn the music off
Latte Grande Latte baby!
Are your drinks supposed to turn me on?
They never bring out candlelight
Latte Grande Latte baby!
Or the delicious Vanilla Cream Soda.
Their stage is the businessworld,
With newspapermen and sixteen year olds
Who just learned how to drive on the busiest of highways.
And someone might lend an ear to a song
But you're committing a crime;
Singing
offense
wrong;
To sit in our bubbles and say we're socializing here
Which is more than I say for the second cafe.
 

Cafe 4

Rotted out couches
Where smoking is banned
I wished I could stay to make
Friends and watch the old tower go.
Complimentary newspapers
And clearly holding memories
Long after marching soldiers did
Caress this town with lasting strife.
Here you can collect coupons
Adding up to a free Melvin or two
And the people are homlier than in Cafe 3
And parking in an alley and being away
From home is the best it ever gets in Gettysburg.
 

American Dreams

When they wrapped their arms in peace
Around my body,
Then tiny;
And wars lasted as honest affairs
Outside of the home,
I think I was the dream.

When they shattered my body in hate,
Red kitchen floor,
I crawled;
And love vanished like Windex stains,
Inside of the home,
I was still their dream.

When they shun the songs and poetry,
And deem me a liar,
I cry;
And silence persisted like armies of then,
Circling home vulture style,
Tearing and my dreams;
No shred of taste.

If politics and sanity marry into
That fine bird,
Then poetry and fire-fed war
Will forever be its carcass.

When the beer stains the wounds,
We will be cast out.
When my poet was martyred,
I was cast aside.
 
 

Cantaloupe

He asked me to reach for the cantaloupe
Shrilly in ways that don't counter
Resentment; it sat on the counter
And I reached.
 

See The Cars

See the cars
breathing fumes
waiting til
it's lunch at noon
See the drivers
like cartoons
waiting til
it's lunch at noon
See the children
locked in bars
"We love daycare!"
We have scars.
See the seniors
Moving slow
One gets hit
Because cars go
See the puppy
Bite my leg
And watch the cop
Drink more from the keg.
See the donut
Down the hatch
Police force helpful
Imagine that!
 
 

Play Opression

I will not play oppression
Or be taken out of line
Like static, scrambled
Eggs
That I'm supposed to make.
I will not play with the children
Or take laundry off the line
All static, shocking
Voice traps.
 
 

I am but one

I am but one
sorry faced drone on the planet work
and if i supercharged out of the window
and in to the street, would I
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No, I'd get hit by a car, dumbass.

I am but one
stoned happy idiot at the last rooftop concert
and if i tumblesped off of the roof
and onto the street, could I
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No, I'd meld with the pavement, dumbass.

I am but one
crap happy bank robber thinking about cages
and if i fullforcecrashed into the bars
and onto the street, could I
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No, I'd get arrested again, dumbass.

I am but one
sob story pig that sits watching a jail cell
and if i softkeyturned one of the cells
into bolting the street, could I
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No, I am the death penalty, dumbass.

I am but one
green grocery garbage guru that visits in the morning
and if i trashdumped Republican names
and fell onto the street, could I
MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
No, I am destiny, dumbass.
 

The Fantasy

Our song was gently playing
By the sound of running water-
Soppy dishwater.
There stood I, hands in sink,
Carressing an earth bowl.
How I wanted to turn
And see him there
Feel his fingers through my hair
And when I dropped the ceramic
He would have held me when I jumped
And shuddered.
My service would not be so lonely,
Laundry, dishes, laundry,
I want more company so I am leaving tomorrow
And if I see him there,
My silence will be like the hand on the bowl,
Smooth cool and carressing
Under water steamed cool burn.
 
 

Then It Means You Mean Something

Memory box
Flower covered
Play programs
British flag patches
Beatlemania in a bottle.
Ticket stubs
Sheetz receipt
Walmart when we bought
The tie dye
And the perfect flower
From the perfect day
Thirty minutes late
You swept me away
And when I send you my music
I can be confined to your
Memory box
too.
 
 

Hard Glass Rain Heaven

Everything flooded me
Going home from no purpose-
And she's run away from you.
There is music that could have been
Pretty in the evening-
I tried to run from you.
And all the helplessness of your lies
That weren't so severe-
Just let me walk into the hard pounding rain
So I can be soaked and stabbed like glass
Ascending into Heaven to pay costs
Because I ran away from you.
 
 

Pancake Glass

Is all I saw
Because you disappeared,
And I giggled
And smiled
And wished you goodbyes.
I cursed you
I kicked you
I hated you,
And when the high was down,
I cried for you
I cried to you
I cried home.
 
 

Haiku: Ode to Al Gore

Al Gore is a man
A very criticized man
But he has my vote.
 

Avalon

Did he really promise me flowers?
Were we stationed in a dream?
Were we called to Avalon
And broken with her dying scream?

For I am Celt and the moon is full
Eire river swollen still
For I am Celt and the moon is full
Sun burning my hill

Did we really forget the past?
How long did those five minutes last?
What do we grasp and what was let go and
What do we hold on to?

Did we really burn that barn?
Were there children in there,
Girls spinning their yarn?
What must leave and what must stay?
Send me to my harp, Taliesin.

For I am Celt and the moon is full
Eire river swollen still
For I am Celt and the moon is full
Sun burning my hill

Careful carry me on my own
I shall walk o'er tired stones
Senseless, tired, drugged and dreary
Who must I forgive?
Merlin, forgive.

Forgive me self for I have sinned
Would I lay with him at the inne?
If drink of straw and bed of wine,
Perhaps he could be mine.

For I am Celt and the moon is full
Eire river swollen still
For I am Celt and the moon is full
Sun burning my hill
Sun burn fair skin still.
 
 

Didn't

I didn't talk to you
I didn't hope over you
I didn't dress for you
And I didn't cry for you.
Didn't misinterpret what you said
Didn't understand what friendship meant,
Didn't think I thought I saw your green unflashy car,
And didn't want to see it caressing the blacktop in my yard.
I didn't smile at your joke
I didn't cry when you were sick.
I didn't want to make you tea
I didn't want to hold you.
I don't want to remember you
I don't want you to visit me
I don't want you to stop by
I don't want you to linger here
I don't want you to live on my love
I don't want you to have it anymore.
I didn't think to choose black over blue,
But then I questioned it because
He's not like you.
I didn't think to ask you to coffee
But then you wouldn't have
Heard me sing.
I didn't think to write you a letter
And I forgot to send you
My lines.
I think my life is working out better
Since he told you to
Stay behind.
I didn't think you'd still be there
On that comfy sofa and favorite chair
I didn't think you'd stand on my stage
Because now I claim it, unafraid.
I didn't think you'd walk away
So now I think he might.
I didn't think your excuses sad
I didn't pity you.
I didn't fancy myself a queen
But now I do for another.
I didn't expect a single thing
I didn't want to leave you.
Now I want to cast you away
Of pity instead of hatred.
I didn't want my words to be simple but
I didn't think you'd understand that
Someone else offers me better explanations
As to why he's not here-
And I understand.
He's not here
But I understand.
 
 

I Am My Own

I am my own
And I have all of my items
Neatly packaged and put away.
I'm afraid to take them out again
Because of all the time I spent
Purchasing them,
And all the beautiful dresses
That make me feel beautiful
Might make your eyes weep
As to see me drive
With all of the criticism
In every young man eyes:
I'm so sorry to hurt you all
And sorry that I cannot be
Your sweet success.
 
 

I Am Silent

I am silent
But watching
And talking in my head
To you,
Who thought you had a Sight
But really you just smoked too much that night.
I am smiling
But frowning
Like a Victorian girl,
To you,
Who thought you had my vision
But really you just drank too much that night.
 
 

The Drunks

The drunks
race up the street.
Fire engines and police cars
Douse the noise and the serene lighting
And there will be a knock on the door soon.
 
 

[Lyrics]
 

I'd buy you a cup of coffee
Drive you there to here
Sing and write when you're away
And love you when you're near

I miss the way you called me back
And how you said good night

I'd ask you to the movies
About your silver spoons,
We'd talk about famous rock stars
That we're too like too soon.

I miss the way you called me back
And how you said good night

We'd stare and hurt each other
With hunger in our eyes
And realize that this madness swells
An endless, rising tide.

I miss the way you called me back
I want to say goodnight
To you here.
 
 

ng Magic

Golden slumbers before the
Day I begged for it,
Twenty dollars at the shore mall by the bay side
But I sat inside commenting on craftsmanship and curved soft lines
Sadness symphonically filtered into record player static,
And the recommended music but I let this disc spin
And I still know every word
And I still knew something sad was coming
But I never said it,
Son's likeness quieted me and I could play innocent
Until she was gone.
Acoustic magicd my ears
And prepares me for embrace.
 
 

A Grave Misunderstanding

The things you may have gestured may have been
One grave misunderstanding
For I'm the queen of the romantics,
Overanalytical emma, anne, irrepressible--
At the mention of warmed hands
my face alight...
I cover my ears at the sound of your voice
But grasp at the words
Translating them into this-
my life's work.
But friend, if this be a grave mis
understanding,
A choppy poem of character and your abassadorial
offer of peace,
And only this,
Then I will drown in this misunderstanding
As a Christian reads its ignorance
Just to believe.
Love I believe.
I believe to love.
 
 

Hypocrisy's Anger

I remember how his words rang in me
SACARAFAICE.
I wondered what the words meant.
I sat in church as they tried to convert a burdened soul and there was
CHRIST's SACRIFICE CROSS STAINED ON THE WALL
and blood fell at my feet
"Oh yes I saw her, I saw Mary, blue you say? She wore blue, I swear,"
yet my vision of bloodshed native style goes unkept amongst the priest,
For to him it is sin.
He called The People those of SIN!  Watch as I stand aside and sacrifice
indifference for my ancestors
Name me for the willow
Forgive me for I have ancestors of the earth who have LOVED but not SINNED!
Mother talks on and on not Mother Earth but mother at home.
"don't get any ideas from her
don't rebel"
and I am not welcome in anyone's home
Oh, my tribal land, of craftwoven songs and paint colored sand
That I were with you today with a long haired tanned man
Take me back to Rancocas.
I will be my own vessel and sacrifice none
SACRIFICE NONE BUT MYSELF.
 
 

Driving

Sometimes, I like to do.
Sometimes, I like to sing
When I drive short distances and tonight when Abbey Road played and the CD
skipped it sounded like church
bells
in
abbeys
And the title had me perplexed so I moved back
in my mind to find the studio and the hope of a glimpse of an
idol that made my blood simmer moons ago until I was
content with another but now i'm
displeased and i sit as a lady IN a lake, to be rescued or pushed or abused,
drowned, or perhaps as Elaine I'll return
to myself as I sleep
fall asleep at the wheel and the sound of
I WANT YOU waking me to stop at the red light
Just in time to avoid hitting
the police car.
 
 

Republican High King of the Untied States

Earth turning, crops ruined
Oak groves burned and sliced into land made barren
by Druids long present here
In the trees.
I can feel them as I sit in a box room far and near
The eyes in the oaks seem too like to life to be just material
To carve wooden soldiers.
The candidate carves wooden soldiers with rich purple dye
And leaves the starving old ones on the street.