Microdose

Into the sunrise off you drove
To show this was just the beginning
I micro-dosed for months and months
Dissolve my ego in the acid

Seven lovers, seven moons
Seven days without speaking
How long could I keep it up
Before I started disbelieving

I write you postcards everyday
To remind us both that time is fleeting
I’m all alone here in many ways
Deserted island, middle of the city

Somebody up there must really like me
Somebody else up there must truly hate me 

It’s a war of the gods, baby I don’t know
I never picked a side, I never started praying
They’ll fight it out as we make love
And every now and then, look up, and see who’s winning

Distance 

I could lose you to the loneliness vast and infinite 
To the phones that blink and blink and some nights don’t blink
To your new found freedom, the ever changing seasons 
And all the options falling at your feet 
I could lose you to your dreams possible now they seem 
And somehow don’t fit along my path 
But darling please don’t let me lose you to the distance

I could lose you to the drugs, all the best ones 
Where you would no longer crave my embrace
I could lose you to our paranoia, the deep and heavy traumas
And all the crazy thoughts that we might think 
I could lose you to another man 
Who could be around more than I can 
To show up and simply hold his stance
But darling please don’t let me lose you to the distance

I could lose you to the sea, salty and free 
With nothing but the stars above to glisten 
I could lose you to the roaring crowd, the tiny little mountain town 
Or the desert where all we do is listen 
To the mysteries of the heart 
Jumping back and forth
To all of these I would understand 
But darling please don’t let me lose you to the distance

Helena 

I was born dead. mama told me 
She said the devils they didn’t want me 
And they left me behind for her to hold
And she said, no one could see me
I was invisible to everybody
And we would have revenge for what they stole

She said fire was how we’d make ‘em pay
As I ran across the fields she would scream
Light it up son 

She would send me in with the matches
I would burn that shit down to ashes 
And I would crawl out of the flames back in to her arms 
And she was right, no one could see me
I was her ghost, I was her banshee
And in our wake we watched Montana burn
Somehow they figured out that it was her
But it only made us run faster
Light it up son

When she was tired of the chase 
She decided that we would make our peace
See I was born dead and she’d been jealous the whole time 
So she tied us both to the stairwell 
Made me light one last farewell 
I can still hear her crying through the flames 
And when the Helena police arrived at the scene
The fire must have burned away my invisibility 
They pulled me out, not a scratch, they couldn’t believe
Just a loose rope wrapped around me not tied to anything

Light it up son

Count Me Down 

Once upon a time I’d be 
Making babies, planting seeds
In an empty country full of dreams
A little sapling of my family tree
I would’ve been good

My old man’s been hanging on
Waiting for another John
I suggest that time is gone
He suggests I don’t give up
I could’ve been good
Somebody count me down 

Well there ain’t no meal that’s big enough
That won’t leave you hungry tomorrow
I keep tryin to fill up 
Won’t someone tell me my last one 
And I’ll be good
Somebody count me down

Future Tripping 

Don’t say that you’ll pray for me it offends the other gods 
Don’t die with your love
Use it all up

Your shirt will smell like her for only so long 
Don’t die with your hands wrapped tight around the dream
Die with your hands empty

Your body will someday let you down 
Don’t die with your eyes closed to the sun 
Die with your eyes open 

Drown Me 

This air is tainted I don’t want another breath 
Wrap your legs around me til I’m almost deaf 
Drown me baby, drown me baby 
I wasn’t using my lungs for any good anyway 
Them pretty boys they couldn’t handle your love 
They all agree you’re pretty bossy for a sub 
Drown me baby, drown me baby 
I wasn’t using my lungs for any good anyway 
I gave up sugar, babe, I kept the salt 
Your little anchor ain’t as heavy as you thought 

Step daddy wasn’t a man he was a cigarette 
This life smoked him down til there was nothing left 
Drain me baby, drain me baby 
I wasn’t spending my cash on any good anyway 
He smacked your mama up, she came back with a gun 
Karma’s a bitch but man it get the job done 
Drain me baby, drain me baby 
I wasn’t spending my cash on any good anyway 
You look stuck girl, don’t let the boat sink 
Your little anchor ain’t as heavy as you’re thinking 

The ex cleaned her act up isn’t that nice
She want me back, I’m nice but I ain’t that nice 
Break me baby, break me baby 
I wasn’t using my heart for any good anyway 
First of all child, I never said I was a saint 
Second of all, don’t you gotta be dead to be a saint 
Break me baby, break me baby 
I wasn’t using my heart for any good anyway 
Last time I checked girl we’re both still breathing 
Your little anchor ain’t as heavy as you’re thinking

50/50

I get lost in the middle
It always happens so fast
But you know we write our best songs
After the first date and the last

Even the perfect wave
Ends with you falling off the board
I suppose I am perfecting my fall

We can only be lovers
We could never be friends
Friends don’t tear each others clothes off
Friends don’t cry when it ends

I don’t care if we burn up
I know the fire will be great
And when Mardi Gras is over
We’ll spread the ashes on our face

I tried to give you up
But I gave up every time
Man when you’re in love everything’s a goddamn sign

The odds are always 50/50
It either happens or it don’t
I got my thumb under the coin
Praying that it won’t

Finn 

It’s not as bad as you think, my heart it didn’t skip a beat 
This road just keeps moving on, same instrument different song 
It’s hard not to be with you all
It’s strange out here 
But you don’t need to worry about me, I ain’t never been this free 
I’m out with the coyotes and the wolves, raising hell through these woods
Like you wouldn’t believe that I could
It’s wild out here 

As long as you run, don’t forget about my love 
It was unconditional 
And when I howl at the moon, sometimes I hope you hear it too 
Cause now my my pain is just fictional 

Don’t think that I don’t miss you, oh babe you know I do 
I miss your hands behind my ears, I miss knowing that you’re near
I’d love to lick away your tears 
It’s strange out here 
But there ain’t no sense in looking back, I know you wouldn’t want that 

Out here I smell sweet, I can see and hear everything 
And the lizards eat the bugs from my feet 
It’s wild out here

As long as you run, don’t forget about my love 
It was unconditional 
And when I howl at the moon, sometimes I hope you hear it too 
Cause now my my pain is just fictional 

Street Mermaid 

I’m whispering cause I’m wasted 
It’s so real I can taste it 
I still think I can save us, for whatever that means 
I’ve stumbled past a thousand flames 
I ain’t a player cause this ain’t no game 
You were born in a tidal wave and thrown out of the sea 

But your heaven is so far away 
The gutters flow with champagne 
I watch you crawl away 
My street mermaid

Puddles come down from above
You mix them up into your blood
You’re praying for these streets to flood so you can swim on back to sea
And I know the sun baked your scales away 
You’re far beyond walking babe 
You’ll float or you’ll fall 

But your heaven is so far away 
The gutters flow with champagne 
I watch you crawl away 
My street mermaid

Perseids

You could say there’s been a ton of darkness 
You could say just a little bit of light
You could say the same thing, I guess
About the universe tonight 

This whole storm began with the flap of a butterfly’s wing 
I was hoping I could make it end just by doing the same thing 
I’m a good one if compared to a bad one 
Maybe a good one is enough

Take this time to get yourself free 
Take this time to reset 
I’m done with poetry
I wanna be obvious 

Man it’s a slow burn when you come in out of the rain
And I’m somewhere between pretty and plain 
It’s a good day if compared to a bad day 
Maybe a good day is enough 

Ain’t no Prairie, ain’t no jungle 
Ain’t no ocean, I don’t want to travel 
Ain’t no endings, ain’t no trophies
Ain’t no good love that hasn’t broke me

I ain’t much for holding on to the pieces
I am more for letting them blow with the breezes 
There’s always a new heart after the old heart 
Maybe a new heart is enough