Clowns

It's during the darkest times in your life
When you discover who cares enough to shine a light
And the brightest light in the laughter
Can burn out in the night
When elephants shift their weight
And use their tusks to dig graves
When monkeys swing the high wire
And snap the cable with their fangs
Watch the crowd scatter
The crowd that threw confetti upon your floor
If you can't offer amusement
They demand a refund at the door
Clowns that once gathered around you
With a love so ecstatic
Reveal their true nature
That of betrayal, cowardice and plastic
Unicorns turn to stallions
And allies turn to dust
Memories of promises are all that remain
Gold morphing into rust
Dance on to the next big top
You jesters with your rouge
When the stallions breath upon you
Don't let my absence leave you confused
Remember me beside a casket
And how your presence was not there
Clowns decorating clowns
That is the job that evoked your care
An eye for an eye I am given
And an eye for an eye I will take
When it is you who must throw down roses
It is I who will hold the bouquet

Sympathy Pains

I can feel your pain
Multiplied times my own
But isn't that what love does
It makes tears impossible to hold
Witches circle our last sparks of fire
Sink their yellowed teeth into our ribs
Until their molten, bloodied saliva
Is the only fluid we are given to live
The devil's arthritic hands
Tied the noose that broke our streak
The lineage of smiles and laughter
Is splintered, forced and weak
Every grin becomes a betrayal
Every good day a stride away
From a memory you don't want to lose
Like a rainbow fading to grey
You struggle to remember a voice
You only hear it in your dreams
The brush of whiskers on your cheek
Just smoke that billows out of reach
The rise and fall of sweet breath
From his side of the bed
The imprint on his pillow
From the pressure of his pompadoured head
I will sit me down beside your stone
So your presence will never part
If I can't hear you singing
I will listen to the stillness of your heart
Invite you to haunt my existence
And I will never have to say goodbye
I will break beneath your weight
Just to feel you one last time

The Forbidden Prayer

Jesus, if you were lying
About that home beyond the stars
I will find you in the darkness
And I will tear your crown apart
Shred it with my rotting teeth
Like a cougar on the prowl
And all the lies that you have spewed
Will lie in tatters on a cloud
If there is no light at the end of this life
If tattooed arms don't welcome me home
I will spend eternity in a journey to find you
And rest my hate upon your bones

500 Miles Of Wilderness

Lost in 500 miles of wilderness
With no skill to survive
A bottle of whiskey, a box of cigars
And a song to help you say goodbye
The wolves that howled in the distance
The monkeys hovering in the treetops
Pelting you with your demons
Even God refused to make them stop
One last drink to the laughter
One last sip for the memories
By the time the ice hit your lips
There were hyenas gnawing at your knees
You draped yourself in a white flag
And surrendered to the black
Walked down creaky stairs
And exposed your jugular to their attack
500 miles of wilderness
And a sun that never dawns
A prayer for Jesus to meet you
That the dogs won't follow you home

Trampled By Trains

Mama's looking for the light
Somewhere down the line
She's thinks it will come in prayer
She thinks it will come in time
It will just break out of the shadows
From behind the vision of your ghost
But the only light she will ever see
Is a train's approaching glow
The foot is off the brake
The engineer is comatose
The only relief we will ever feel
Is in the last breath before we go
And with every breath that passes
I'm thankful the clock ticks on
The trains will cease their thunder
And the day will cease it's dawn
One breath closer
So I guess I can't complain
But until that breath is over
It's all just trampled by trains

The Yoke

We wear this burden
It splinters the nape of our children
Imprints of rusted bolts
On their flesh pure as porcelain
We march down the avenues
Our hands soft upon their backs
We pray they ask no questions
Or give us a generation to react
Time enough to build courage
And the invention of kinder words
If we must obliterate hearts
Give us silence while we work
Tiny shoulders bruised
By the weight their father gave
We have to withstand the darkness
Only to witness their sparkle fade
All those little giggles
And that squeak in their voice
Perhaps Jesus is endeared enough
To grant them resilience to maintain his joy
Maybe he watches them from a cloud
And taps his finger to the beat
Of the power in their hearts
And the patter of their cherubic feet
Maybe he swoons to their grace
Maybe he laughs at their spunk
Maybe he smiles at their mild nature
And on their sugary breath he gets drunk
Should this all be true
Should God have any mercy left
Lift the yoke off of the children
And wrap the ghosts around my neck