To all of the whimpering hounds
Tail-tucked, whiny, and head down
You rode me and you climbed my name
You bit my cheek and shared my stage
I served you like a star-studded Live Aid
And promoted your fresh-faced act
In the most relentless and generous ways
I linked us together high on the marquee
Introduced you as the world’s next big thing
I did what I said I would do to the T
I did what I said I would do genuinely
I consistently spoke courage as you slithered on
I inserted courage as you complained and yawned
So forgive me if I don’t bow or cry your name
I’m deaf to your roar, your moan, and your thunder
You only have yourself to blame
For your short-lived weak one hit wonder

When the bottom line
Shows years of
Skillful accounting skulduggery
Stand on a chair

When the comma of it all
Serves as a fork
Announcing a million tributaries
Stand on a chair and woo

When the windowed mind
Always plays the hits
Of every summer ladylove
Stand on a chair and woo and raise a glass

When the brief-cased version
Of vizard after vizard
Twinkles loud and clandestined
Stand on a chair and woo and raise a glass and bow

He was correct
That old man who said
Enjoy ministry in your 20s, Son
Cause people bathe you with “naive” then
But when you enter your 30s
You’ve entered the “know betters”
Where others are quick to say
That you should know better
And then the 40s plod in
And you realize that the instincts
That served you well at one point
Aren’t always firing on all cylinders
The 40s call your name and then look away
The 40s wear a mask that’s light in the night
The 40s wear a mask that’s dark in the day
And the 50s, oh they’re hollering
Just echos of God asking loudly and often
Loudly and often and so loud and long
“Why aren’t you asking for what you want?”
Well, cause in my 20s I had no holy wants
In my 30s I was more prone to accept
In my 40s I couldn’t shoot content in the gut
So give me a second, would you
Oh, the 50s in ministry
A new day

If you’re only hoping for air
Are you really drowning
At what point is giving up the fight
The same as suicide
In the movies it looks so peaceful
Death serene and languid
When gulps of the wild river
Replace gulps of modern air
And dancing floating hair
Replaced brutal trails of tears
I just wonder – I just wonder
When do you see and know
The wicked finality of it all
How soon is the winner declared
Before you give up the ghost

A little bit, a cemetery heat
Black crow on the lawn
Perpendicular feathers show
Some type of inconsistency
Has grounded the poor soul
And the poet crow bops along
Seeming to worry about
Perhaps for the first time
Agility that may not come
Just as she may not eat
Just as she may never taste
The sweet of writing it all down
The pure zen of adaptation
See, the poet crow is a crippled bird
The poet crow is a haunted hound
The poet crow, just a tortured background doo-wopper
Always coming in too early or too late

It’s hard to let you go
Even though you’re ready
This first night comes with a punch
The bulk of my heart is in denial
But the rest is saying
Pay attention to this
Take the time to notice
And I do, I notice so many things
So many things about you
That pump me so full of pride
And capture my breath with wonder
For you are a gift to my soul
And you’ve made my soul a playground
You’ve graced my soul with light

My heart done
Bled on ya shoes
That’s what a kick’ll do
Bend a mind
Til grey matter flows

Stop a tongue
Real quick
From spillin’
Where ya
Don’t want it to go

Cause when
Ya done been shushed
Shushed good by the gods
Ain’t no one
Gonna give ya ear

At that crossing, Lord
What ya ’bout to say
And really need to moan
Best be scrawled
On the rear-view mirror

For better or worse
My whole life has been
A walk in the dark
In the stink of the city
After hours and alone

Cause I’m brave
Cause I’m driven
Cause I’m the kid no one ever thought would hurl the stone
Cause I’m the kid who thought he’d better give you a reason to worry
Cause I’m the kid, the invisible kid, who had nothing to lose

The rest of the group
Stuck close to the pack
But you could find me
In the stink of the city
The thick of the salty night

Cause I’m brave
Cause I’m driven
Cause I’m the kid no one ever thought would hurl the stone
Cause I’m the kid who thought he’d better give you a reason to worry
Cause I’m the kid, the invisible kid, who had nothing to lose

Didn’t hold the chain saw
Wrong side of the branch
Other people fell
In the stink of the city
But I’d a grey sense ’bout me

Cause I’m brave
Cause I’m driven
Cause I’m the kid no one ever thought would hurl the stone
Cause I’m the kid who thought he’d better give you a reason to worry
Cause I’m the kid, the invisible kid, who had nothing to lose

I miss the dagger
Sure, from time to time
So paper and pen
In the stink of the city
Must share the time-traveler

Cause I’m brave
Cause I’m driven
Cause I’m the kid no one ever thought would hurl the stone
Cause I’m the kid that thought he’d better give you a reason to worry
Cause I’m the kid, the invisible kid, who had nothing to lose

Come on, Kid
It’s swallow-time
Can’t let that truth
Just sit in your mouth all day
That’s gross

Come on, Kid
Make your bed
It’s swallow-time
Grown-ups been doing it for years
Boot straps – boot straps

Come on, Kid
Find the balance
Like a high-dollar waiter
It’s swallow-time
Drops don’t get tips

Come on, Kid
You did what you did
But now the tide is angry red
So do what you said you’d do
It’s swallow-time

Come on, Kid

Come on, Kid

There on the courthouse steps
She was finally brave enough
To profess her long-time love
For the husband of the preacher’s wife

Unrequited by the pastor
But a brave proclamation
A response to an accusation really
A heavily discerned shot in the dark

“Have you fallen in love with my husband?”
And with that, a reckless hand left a foolish mouth
And words as pointless as a collection of dolls leaped
“Yes. Yes I have. I do love him.”

And the world was made pregnant with two problem
The first settled easily enough
“I love my wife and am loyal to her.”
Could there be a more gentle rejection?

But that second problem, how could the world be ready?
For with that one swift confirmation
That the perceived villain was in fact valid
The universe had proven without a shadow of a doubt

That every potential villain that had ever breathed
That every inkling that had ever blinked
Was as valid as this wanna-be adulteress
Was as valid as the word of a friend of a friend of a friend

Oh, she puffed with proof
Oh, she puffed with pride
And long will live the sleuth
And long will live the suspicious gnat