ICE AND HEIGHTS
Darlene
was a fiend for the game
She danced in the room
She seems indefensible
It's
wholly contestable
But I feel sorry for her sometimes
I don't know why she
drains the wine Darlene always speaks in paragraphs
She's
got a husband, I've heard
But we can't do the math
I guess they married
at 19
Then she got lost in the scene
She changed her look over the years I
think the bar was hoppin'
She was something else on the dance floor She
said she was alone
But we stayed up playing with coasters
We made paper
airplanes
We played some drinking games
I could tell she was lost
She
let her sentences trail off Darlene is a daredevil
in her mind
She's courageous and plain
She's punching at the rain
I think
there were drugs involved
But I could never tell Why
did I ever try to help her?
She was just lost and lonely and bitter
And
the ones who loved her
Were no better
Since she pushed them away I
guess she's doing better now
But I haven't seen her since we kissed MIXING
WITH MARY Sometime
I feel like being salty, and hanging with the salty crowd
I hang out near that
old abandoned airplane hanger
We talked about Jamaica, me and Mary
And how
we wished we could spend more nights on the tarmac
She said do away with expectations
And
all those vague permutations of dreams
You are just playing out a tired scene
Did
we ever think it was enough? She would always
bring up arcane subjects
When she was waiting for the waiter
She said I
love the way the bottle looks
It's so big and comforting I
guess it's boring to call it a drinking game
The results are always the same
You
win, you lose, you feel drained
All those big brains she tried to beat
Just
kind of felt sorry for her I think she has
a list of novelists
She said she'd like to be with
But they just keep slippin'
away That writer, what's his name?
He had
a stack of novels
And a list of girls he'd like to claim
But they were always
waiting
As he was demonstrating his might
How long has it been since he
talked your ear off?
He told you such beautiful things
Before he disappeared
into the night There are words that come up
in books
And phrases that come up in articles
That never happen in real
life
But you could blame your homeroom class
Or you could chew the scenery
But
you'll still be the same
Still be the same
With the clock still ticking
And the frame still shifting
To another frame RAILS
IN CALIFORNIAN You
guys came in from California
You had drugs and things like that
But I was
not interested
Though I thought your uncle, the sax player, was a pretty cool
cat
You were always so strange at parties
It was like I didn't know you
I'm
glad you had the cash when I wanted to leave So
why do you go away when you know you'll come back?
There was that time you
said you grab your back pack
And disappear and never return
That's a hell
of bridge to burn
Bridget still wants to talk to you
She feels like you
sort of left her stranded
She thinks you might disappear once last time I
think of all the energy I wasted
Trying to guess what move you'd make
You
were just bluffing and I didn't call it
Here we are, still with the shake
I
think you like the good stuff
But you're still not being straight
Maybe
I'll see you in two weeks
When we come up to the lake
CAGED IN CLEVELAND There
were all those large homes
It started with the chrysalis
Like a cocoon
You
had heavy make-up on
And we drove along the boulevard Dude,
you can't see the trees
You can only feel the soft breeze
Man, I can't remember
Cleveland trips
Except in starts and fits She
had a heavy head and she looked so sweet
I preferred her during the night
Because
all day she liked to sleep
We talked a while about our dreams
Now she's
throwing rocks into the streams ORANGES
Oranges
in bowls
Lucid episodes
You're always so creative Hey
Amber
Go longer
I need you complicated I
got the Bible and it keeps my drinks up
I lost my coaster
When I sold it
to the corner pup Apples in bowls
Barrooms
and braces
Someone told me about communion A
reason
A compote
I think we can mingle like the fruit juice God
was out there in the street today
God was putting boards on windows
God
was sticking out his big toe
God was confusing his followers I
was him on the slopes looking for powder
Why didn't you see him?
I guess
you had to be there GIGANTIC
REASONS Please
keep me out of it if you plan to tell your family.
You need to just be reasonable.
I'm
not recruiting for the army.
I just want you to run away with me.
Is that
so damn scary?
You can tell them why later.
You can be a creator,
Since
this will be the first time you don't color in the lines.
I got a clear canvas.
It's already signed.
But now we can fill it up with colors.
It can
be lacquered and molded and hung. You had gigantic
reasons for the things you said.
And people told you to not be so dramatic.
But you were whispering, since that was more compelling,
When you brought
your hands to rub the back of my head.
And it was death-like and stone-like
sometimes.
We didn't cheat, we played straight.
We lined up ourselves
with the vision.
We said, from here until the end, we can see a straight line. You
see, it will feel best if we are running away.
Like we got some place important
to be.
That's better than this.
I like that idea.
I'm having trouble
fleshing out the scene.
I know it is bright.
But I can't put my finger
on exactly which way we should travel.
I heard North was cold, I heard South
was hot.
I don't know what I want, but I know I don't want what I got.
You
got, you got all that stuff.
All that stuff you've been saving up.
You
were doing that job for two months and then it just sort of carried you away.
You felt you were a poet but you did your tax return.
I can't believe
you actually knew what you earned.
You got all that stuff you wrote.
Not
sure how you'll put a value on that. MASKED
ACTORS There
were lots of pats on backs
These guys always ate it up
They always felt
better
With girls stuffed into their car
Looking for the next bar All
the kids were far from home
It's great to feel that kind of alone
The other
kind sucks
I think it has to do with duration
Or some kind of safety net She
put her head on my shoulder
I started feeling so much older
I knew the hours
were limited
For me to just sit there and hold her We
were masked actors
We were naïve but we were bright
The night was so
cold
And I was glad she came in close Our
friends could never get along
So we had to cut ourselves off
We had to hang
with out-of-work actors
We had to put on second-rate masks I
lost a whole bunch of sleep
I really felt bad when she was in the other room
And
I could hear her weep
I don't think that was in the script So
I tripped a few times
That was so embarrassing It
took a lot out of me
When she asked me to leave
I had so many lines
Stuck
up my sleeve Didn't care for charity
Didn't
even need the warmth
Just wanted to make sure
We lined up our ideals Just
a couple of masked actors CHEAP
AND PRETTY All
us boys have been boys for years
We found ourselves with empty beers
The
beer spilled on the floor while the band played
We sang while the water sprayed We're
gonna build a wall
And add some order to the chaos
From the park we see
the city
The pink lights make it cheap and pretty
(Cheap and pretty, cheap
and pretty) Mary says she'll call me
She
wants two stiff rum-and-cokes
There's always music and mythology
When she
preaches gospel before me I saw her on the
street
She was with her shady man
He was with his shady lady
They drank
on top of buildings back on New Year's
They came back together for MLK
Friday
key party, beers and cheers BIGGER
& BETTER THAN BEFORE There
is a billboard by the highway
The freeway used to be a motorway
We work
the jobs so we can live
We can put food on the table
This is something better
and bigger than before
(Better and bigger than before)
Maybe we can get
drunk
And fall back on the floor
The city needs some glue from me and you
(Better
and bigger than before) I aimed at perfection
I
was your coach and you were apt
Did the dimebags get you higher?
I aimed
at quelling your fear and drying your tears
That guy you used to chase always
ditched you
He thought he was too good
Let's keep it casual, you'd say
But
someone got you a job that paid I'm not doing
this for anyone else
I do it since I've always done it
You asked if I might
streamline
When we played hopscotch with the waterline
But I said I'll always
be diversified
I swear I said it, I didn't lie
It was what you wanted, too,
I'm sure
(Bigger and better than before)
MELINDA BRIGHT It
was cold and we were walking
There was snow on the window sill
It was difficult,
the way we felt
It was winter and there was ice She
said she always felt it
No matter how hard she suppressed it
She was deferring
but still dreaming
And those angels were demurring Are
you alright?
Is there snow outside your window?
Are you alright, Melinda
Bright? She blasted out the radio
She lost
herself in stereo
She gave way to more mature things
I know she starts to
feel things And she hates it when she feels
things
She's tracing the downy flakes in rings
She's trying to influence
the snow
Watch all the feelings blow, blow, blow Are
you alright?
Is there snow outside your window?
Are you alright, Melinda
Bright? SEVEN
SAD SORROWS I've
been horsewhipped and time bound by mimic devotion
I've been saddled by labor
and I'm done with emotions
I've been laid out on the trail
For someone to
steal In the ablest hour of martinis and magic
I
looked for the dullest to avoid the tragic
And brake by the end of the hail
For
an hour on the wheel Behind the white horse
when no one was listening
I moved for a moment, saw her eyes glistening
Like
a dying tree listing, it fails
To recover its feel One
and two, you got rocked
Three and four, you got lost
Five and six, you were
done
Lost in seven sad sorrows, son
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