Preoccupation is such a bruise
Proof of would be pain
And I hate it

Preoccupation is a dream-stealer
Just set me free already
I’ll take my licks

Preoccupation is killing me
One talk at a time
With the waiting

Preoccupation is my undoing
Exhausting all day long
I pray for rest

Leaving came to the door
Called through the screen
Didn’t wanna let her in
Cause of the heat and mosquitoes
She’s a southern lady
With bless your heart spite
And a trunk full of tires
And a sour whiskey pint

And she’s dancing ’round you
Taunting and rude
Mind your mad wandering eyes
Cause she’s sure to take them with her
She’s a rare she-devil
With the stench of the tired
And the sound of a wave goodbye
Like strangers sharing a light

How could this happen to you
You’re not weak
You don’t lack assertiveness
You bend, sure
But you don’t know how
To be broken like this
You’re not going to make it
You’re not going to thrive
Without a little bounce back
Without some sort of comeback
So what’s the plan
What’s the long game
Where’s your drive, Man
What are you without nerve
What’s your play here
It’s your move
And everyone is watching

RING
So says the moment
After the detonation
Slow-motion explosion
Limbs falling like the rain
RING

RING
But not this egress
Cause war-torn countries are known
As crippled and fleeing
Looking for a safe house
RING

RING
Like the tower bells
Or the wind chimes in the spring
Full opposite effect
Pulls a force together
RING

RING
City on the rise
In line behind the piper
Abuzz abuzz abuzz
Exactly what we pine
RING

Loneliness has two dimples
One above to the right of the smile
The other down below on the backside
Tips a hat and charms ya, it does
With a fog and a Jack and a city subdued
Then drops-trou and blinds you
With the crack of many jokes at your expense
And you done lallygagged solo in a silo
Til your courtin’ cozy
With Cadillacs and cats
And capers and crayons
And cozies and cataracts
It makes you wanna live a little, don’t it?
Cause nobody would choose it
Cause nobody would smile back

I’m hesitant about Harrison
That two-legged rainy-coiffed fiend
Love his superior vegetables from the garden
And walking with the rhythm of the rain
With the death of cold turned deadly
See I stood in his house and noted the niece
And hear about a family trait nest
Save one who for a month
Crippled farther than most
Yet is in truth the shortest in boast
Oh Harrison. Oh Harrison

Chase the ball
Get the ball
Good girl
Good boy

Behind the veil
Get it get it
Good boy
Good girl

Go get the money
Go get the prestige
Good girl
Good boy

Make babies cry
But get that honey
Good boy
Good girl

You don’t even
See the cycle
Good girl
Good boy

I was born on a bridge of sadness
My life putting the period on her sentence
With no way to claw out of the name

With no way to claw out of the name

I was ugly from the start she admitted
My final contribution to her mother’s dream
With no way to fulfill her fantasy

With no way to fulfill her fantasy

I wasn’t enough and was resented
My frailty with no promise for sickness or death
With no way of knowing the weight of it

With no way of knowing the weight of it
With no way of knowing the weight of it

Even when your bones don’t make a sound
There can be pain with every movement
Like a dream-scream in the night
So you owe it to yourself to cry

Even when the surface is still
There can be hell below many fathoms
As killers and prey moan and sigh
So you owe it to others to cry

Just don’t make the world
Run along tag along run along
Asking why why why why why
Surrender to the pain and cry

Even when the bulb is out in the darkest room
There can be power raging at full flow
Like a promise to always stay nearby
So you owe it to the faithful to cry

Even when the serpent is coughing up whispers
There can be a deep knowing and steady nod
Like currents of resoluteness never deny
So you owe it to your calling to cry

Just don’t make the world
Run along tag along run along
Asking why why why why why
Surrender to the pain and cry

Involve people
With shared experience
On
On
On
On
On
Start with the highest
And greatest need first
On
On
On
On
On
Rehouse and revamp
Focus on permanence
On
On
On
On
On
Do now in days and months
What we once did in months and years
On
On
On
On
On
As we all hold up the sky
We stand taller
On
On
On
On
On
Society becomes
How we behave