shift

i will crawl back behind something solid
until i see you over walls and across valleys

i will shift a little to the right
in the hope of nudging myself out of your orbit

the absence of a white horse should have given you away
my kingdom will rise and fall just fine without you

cut all the ribbons, untie all the string
and that well-worn thread that keeps you by my side must be torn

my heart lacks the faith to keep you like this
darling, i’m all out of storage space

lemonade

being with you is all fresh lemonade

lips and lips
tongue and tongue
fizz

being with you is everything in half measures
your sentences half air
my eyes half tears
my longing half hating
half of my heart held halfway from yours

being with you is like leaving the house and forgetting everything

stripped
lying on your couch
legs spread

hands and hands
arms and backs
fizz

underwater (song)

secrets don’t sleep at night
oh honey look at how we lie
these decks creak and bend beneath us
and the mornings won’t stop passing me by

well I waited Saturday alone
and I rode my Sundays out on loan
while loving you, and hating you this way

but it’s all underwater now
it’s all on your floor
it’s all underwater now
look at all the rules we tore
it’s all underwater now

i'd take your smoke and mirrors
i'd take the parts you stow to just one side
unsure of what to say now
the way your tongue keeps changing with the tide

well I drank to lighten up our load
and I drank from the men who took me home
still loving you, but hating you this way

but it’s all underwater now
it’s all on your floor
it’s all underwater now
look at all the rules we tore
it’s all underwater now

just call me now, you know it won’t be long til you do
just call me now, there’s really nothing more to prove
just call me now, I’m really hoping that you do

eskimos

lights reflect just a little
from the glow here
a city all of your design

where looking up is the science of hope

but in tunnels
under bridges
there is work to be done

remember the time it takes
for the Eskimos to warm their hands?
wrapped in the skins of those they have ravaged
and been ravaged by
forgetting the dark takes longer than a night

in tunnels
under bridges
the work goes on

long-lost atoms whirr away
at speeds that are incomprehensible
as the sweetest background noise descends

jaw

your idle chat infuriates me

i invested in you

i took a small piece of my heart
and quietly embedded it into yours

so tiny that i'm sure you could hardly feel it
resting there
waiting patiently for a call to action
a reason to grow

but when you told me your truth
(days after i had told you mine)
i could feel the tiny shard tugging at my side
trying to work it's way out
but just getting stuck
the way something becomes wedged between your teeth
or caught on a thread
tangled by your jaw's resolve

cinder

i will steady myself, love
for i have won races like this before

firecrackers and bluebirds
that should have been signs
they just sanded away
with our well spent time in the dark

the beach lay on the floor
with your dirty jeans
and my t-shirt

the salt in my hair just tasted
salty

the next morning i tried to write to other boys
but couldn’t

after all
i let you smoke in my room
i let you put your cigarette out on my heart
i let you watch me turn to cinder when you touched my face
and look quietly
while i glowed

soon we’ll both ask where we're at with us again
and i’ll make some stupid decision
based on the look in your eyes
under the dark

so damn typical
that same smoky spark