Be Safe

"One of those fucking awful black days When nothing is pleasing and everything that happens Is an excuse for anger An outlet for emotions stockpiled. An arsenal. An armour These are the days when I hate the world Hate the rich, hate the happy Hate the complacent - the TV watchers The beer drinkers, the satisfied ones Because I know I can be all of those little hateful things And then I hate myself for realizing that There's no preventative, directive or safe approach to living We each know our own fate We know from our youth how to be treated How we'll be received, how we shall end These things don't change You can change yr clothes Change yr hairstyle, yr friends, cities, continents... But sooner or later yr own self will always catch up Always it waits in the wings (Ideas swirl but don't stick They appear but then run off like rain on the windshield) One of those rainy day car rides, my head imploding The atmosphere in this car a mirror of my skull: Wet, damp, windows dripping and misted with cold Walls of gray Nothing good on the radio, not a thought in my head" I know a place we can go Where you'll fall in love so hard that You'll wish you were dead "Let's take life and slow it down incredibly slow Frame by frame The two minutes that take ten years to live out Yeah, let's do that Telephone poles like praying mantis against the sky Metal arms outstretched So much land traveled, so little sense made of it It doesn't mean a thing, all this land all laying out behind us I'd like to take off into these woods and just get good and lost for a while I'm disgusted with petty concerns Parking tickets, breakfast specials Does someone just have to carry this weight? Abstract topography Methane covenant Linear gospel Asheville sales lady Stygian emissary Torturous lice Mad Elizabeth Chemotherapy bullshit" I know a place we can go Where you'll fall in love so hard that You'll wish you were dead "The light within me shines like a diamond mine Like an unarmed walrus Like a dead man face down on a highway Like a snake eating its own tail A steam turbine, frog pond Too-full closets burst open in disarray Soap bubbles in the sun Hospital death bed, red convertible, shopping list Blowjob, Deaths head Devils dancing, bleached white buildings Memory movements, the movie unpeeling, unreeling About to begin." I know a place we can go Where you'll fall in love so hard that You'll wish you were dead "I've seen yr hallway, you are a dark hallway I've hear yr stairs creak I can fix my mind on yr 'yes' and yr 'no' I'll film yr face today in the sparkling canals All red yellow blue green brilliance And silvered Dutch reflections Racing thoughts - racing thoughts, all too real Yr moving so fast now I can't hold yr image - This image I have of yr face by the window Me standing beside you, arm on yr shoulder A catalog of images, flashing glimpses, then gone again I'm tethered to this post you've sunk in me In every clear afternoon now I'll think of you, up in the air Twisting yr heel, yr knees up around me, my face in yr hair You scream so well Yr smile so loud, it still rings in my ears." I know a place we can go Where you'll fall in love so hard that You'll wish you were dead "Inefficient distant tide of longing Cleaning my teeth Stay the course Hold the wheel Steer on to freedom Open all the boxes Open ALL the boxes OPEN ALL the boxes OPEN ALL THE BOXES Times Square, midday, newspaper building, news headlines going around We watch as they go (and hope for some good ones!) Those tree-shadows in the park here All whispering, shiksing leaves, around 6PM Shadows across the cobblestones Girl in front of bathroom mirror She slow and careful paints her face green, mask-like Like Matisse, "Portrait with Green Stripe" Long shot through apartment window A monologue on top but no girl in shot The light within me shines like a diamond mine Like an unarmed walrus Like a dead man face down on a highway Like a snake eating its own tail A steam turbine, frog pond Too-full closets burst open in disarray Soap bubbles in the sun Hospital death bed, red convertible, shopping list Blowjob, Deaths head Devils dancing, bleached white buildings Memory movements The movie unreeling, about to begin."