Faces in the foam
falling off the crest of the wave
old forgotten bodies
that want to know your name

Arms in the spray
tumbling down the water
dismembered endings
with memories of their daughters

Words in the current
Drifting in off the wind
hateful little numbers
they want you to get in.

“Please,” they beg.

“Please get in and swim.”

Off to the east, there’s a black spot
Where there used to be a sun
It covers the horizon
A giant airborne cancer
Don’t think
Just run

We have to leave right now
Grab the kids and the dog
The wind is blowing and the light is dying
Don’t think
Just run

We can’t stop to rest now
Safety may not be in reach
The rain is making lakes of our lives
Don’t think
Just run

40,000 miles above our heads
The sun is shining brightly
Five feet away the wind is stripping trees of bark
The thunder is yelling our fears

Don’t think
Just run
There’s a storm cloud hanging low over the horizon

(verse 1)
Move the lights down
Move the lights down now
We don’t wanna see too far tonight

Turn the bass up
Turn the bass up now
We don’t wanna hear outside tonight

Bring the beat back
Bring the beat back now
We’re gonna dance till we fly tonight

(Pre-chorus)
Take the count
and multiply by four
All of that doubt
Isn’t there anymore

It was all replaced
By an empty space
Behind our eyes

(chorus)
We just want to dance
We just want to sing
Just give us the bass
Just give us the beat

(verse 2)
Bring the beat back
Bring the beat back now
We’re gonna dance till we fly tonight

Kill the DJ
Or let the DJ kill
We don’t have to worry tonight

It’s all the same
It’s all the same now
And we don’t really even care tonight

(bridge)
It may be raining outside
But our skin feels completely dry
Those nerves aren’t transmitting
We’ve got them submitting
To a smoke filled ceiling
And an emptiness
Behind our eyes

(pre-chorus)
(chorus)

12:30 a.m.
76 degrees with low humidity
June 13th 1954
Everything is going well
For our midnight drive

1:45 a.m.
We’re taking the back-roads tonight
Patsy’s on the radio
The lightning bugs are almost more than the headlights
The crickets, almost louder than the engine
The wind is sweet and cool
For our midnight drive

2:30 a.m.
On a turn in near the swamps
The headlights go off
The moon stays on
The trunk pops open
The plastic tarp moves slowly up down
Just over his mouth
Just over his eyes
Now that we’ve stopped
Our midnight drive.

4:15 a.m.
80 degrees and balmy
The chains are locked around his waist
The cinderblocks are holding him in place
When the blood starts to leak
The gators come to feed
All in all
All went well
For our midnight drive

THE CASTLE
Every day, the young boy awoke and stared
At the castle on the horizon

He would watch as the sun arose behind it
And slowly lit up the old gray stones
He would dream of traveling
To the castle on the horizon

He would watch as midday passed
And the birds flew around the parapets
He would think of all the majesty
In the castle on the horizon

He would gaze with the sun low behind him
At the crumbling stones of the walls
And wonder how that ever happened
To the castle on the horizon

He would study the towers’ decay
And wonder how long they’d been there
How long had it been since there was life
How long had it been since men guarded the gates
How long since a king sat in the throne
Of the castle on the horizon

He did this day after day, year after year
Until at last his youth left him
And he was faced with a choice
He could sit and stare and die alone
Or he could walk and hope and die alone
He could try with all of the fading life inside of him
To reach the castle on the horizon

He could stalk the walls
He could guard the gates
He could climb the towers
He could claim the throne
He could be the king
Of the castle on the horizon

So he started walking as an old man
He walked for one year and his beard reached his neck
But the castle did not grow larger in the distance
So he walked for ten more years and his beard reached his chest
But the castle did not grow larger in the distance
So he walked for twenty more years and his beard reached his knees
But the castle did not grow larger in the distance
So he walked for thirty more years and his beard reached his feet
But the castle did not grow larger in the distance.
Then one day, he tripped and became hurt so that he could not walk
From that day on crawled
Towards the castle on the horizon

At last his body gave and he was forced to stop
He stayed in that spot, never taking his eyes off
Of the castle on the horizon

His body decayed over time
His bones turned to dust and scattered
Far, far away
From the castle on the horizon

Then one day, a strong and powerful wind blew from the east
It took many many years for this wind to reach the dust of the old man’s decayed body
But it did and it picked it up and carried it for one thousand years
All the way to the castle on the horizon

The wind finally died down
when it reached the throne room
Of the castle on the horizon

It crawled into the massive forgotten court
Moving countless centuries of ancient dust
Dropping the old man’s final remains
Right on the seat of the throne
where he would be king forever
Of the castle around him

THE NEED TO SING

Conducted with bones on rotting tombstones
Death has a melody in A minor
Sung by a choir with dirt for a home
It pulls and beckons with hints of Wagner

They sing of long sleep; eternal nightfall
The words imply the need to be absolved
Notes climb to the third, C major recalled
Their voices entice and the chords resolve

Now comes the refrain, the key shifts to F
A single alto sings alone, only
She makes a request with her endless breath
“Please come sing with us. We are so lonely.”

When you hear this, count to twenty and turn
The singing dead have flesh that always burns

HOW DO I FEEL?
Tuesday night at the bar in town
And I am feeling fine
In seas of wine I hope to swim
It’s only half past nine

Wednesday morning on my couch
and I am feeling good
With a mountain of cocaine
To make me understood

Thursday night at the local church
and I am feeling great
Just me and the lord and my sin
What could there be to hate

Friday morning at the graveyard
and I am feeling ace
The tombstone says what I cannot
I am such a disgrace.

Home and death

Everyone goes on
The same direction you see
Home and death await

make money and die

Make money and die
There has to be more than that
But we’ll never know

GUN

I point the barrel of my gun
between your left, right and third eyes
your soul retracts in horror
I pull the trigger of my gun
the bullet shatters your mind
your body falls limp, you die

NOOSE

I place the loop of my noose
around your throat, spine, and energy line
your lungs breathe deep in vain
I pull the loop of my noose
the rope ceases your breath
your eyes fill with blood, you die

KNIFE

I place the tip of my knife
between your navel, sternum, and manipura
Your muscles contract in defense
I shove the tip of my knife
The blade destroys your energy
your stomach acid splatters, you die

HEMLOCK

I place the cup of my hemlock
on your upper, lower and spiritual lips
your tongue retreats in distress
I tip the cup of my hemlock
the poison steals your memory
your heart collapses, you die