Angel In Flannel

She knows all of her children
By the sound of the creak
That they leave on the kitchen floor
Whether a patter, whether a creep
From cherubic in their nature
To drunken in their gait
Till she knows dreams have enticed them
She lies awake and waits
She only gives a smile
When theirs is the shine that leads
And in every laugh she releases
It's their comfort that gathers her glee
For with a single tear they drop
A million more drench her cheek
Yet she never screams aloud
A root and the flower it desperately seeks
Like Mary to her stable
She follows without fear
It is their star that lures her onward
Through the cloud and through the clear
And when this life is over
Precious arms will reach for her grasp
A voice of reward will call her forward
A hill of emerald waits for her dance

When Once Again We Meet

When you come back
Make sure you're on your knees
Dress yourself in rags
And bathe me in apologies
Travel a conscience to reach me
And with a pride that left in a hearse
I don't wish death upon you
But a sunset cannot be reversed
Time will come to pass
And tragedy raps all doors
Immunity is not a blessing
But a fable and nothing more
You think you've felt it once
I know this much is true
Just sickles whetting their teeth
Not the flood, only the dew
Unravel it from your tongue
That stagnant breath of conceit
Color you in repentance
When once again we meet

Cherry Velvet Shoes

This is gonna be the year
The year the devil backs down
When my feet hit the floor
You'll feel a rumble ripple the ground
I'll run fast through my heart
But swagger slow through my step
Heads will turn my direction
And wonder how I have anything left
They thought the dark had dimmed me
Like a flame too weak to breathe
They thought the rain had drown me
Like lilies washing out to sea
I have walked through Hell
And I have arrived here to say
There's nothing much to smile for
So I've decided not to stay
The black can have its bruise
I'll color me only in the bright
The fire can have its blister
I'll find my warmth within the light
Open the screen door to place my foot
On the neck of all these blues
"Who's that girl with the happiness
In the cherry velvet shoes?"

Never Trust A Friend

Building bridges out of kindling
That wiser men would burn away
Stitching together bits of straw
Drenched in Shiraz and Tanqueray
It drips like gravel down the throat
The swallowing of this truth
That enemies are more reliable
They give just what they promised to
They never back down
From the words that they have pledged
Nowhere else they would rather be
Than at the foot of your deathbed
Maybe with a smile
And maybe with a laugh
But you'll never toil alone
When you have Brutus at your back

Goodnight Bradley

Goodnight Bradley
I guess it's time I go
Summer has turned to fall
And autumn has turned to snow
Through the leaves you sent a sparrow
And through the frost you sent a song
Whether I see you or whether I feel you
You have been here all along
If a peace is what finds you
Please run so you might meet
If a light lures you forward
Turn your face toward its heat
If you feel the touch of those before
Pull them close as you did I
If you fight through layers to reach me
I give you the freedom to not try

Goodnight Bradley
Was it this hard for you too
When you looked up to the heavens
And gave your farewell to the moon

If your heroes offer you whiskey
Remove your hand from my shoulder
Drink with them from a pearl chalice
Rather you tickled than I warmer
If a hand of poker is dealt
Don't hesitate to try your luck
Rest in a chair of red velvet
And savor the thrill of a royal flush
When you hear the strum of a guitar
Please follow its melody
I want the soles of your boots to be worn
When you ask for a dance with me
And when you see me hang my head down
Feel no pressure to gather relief
Stay where there is delight
Goodnight Bradley

Folk Songs

You still come to me
In the spaces in between
Where tears surrender to peace
And the wolves unclenched their teeth
When I forget to look behind me
Instead to follow the inching of the sun
You whisper in my ear
And place a song upon my tongue
Not to hold me back
And not to bring me down
But rather we may sing together
I, earthbound and you from a cloud
Just like in that old theatre
Our cadence melts together again
I can feel you riding shotgun
Like the willow feels the kiss of the wind
And in the song you gave me
Lay your intent in the first note
A dusting of reassurance
That the knife is withdrawn from the throat
The currents that filled my lungs
Have reached a tranquil quell
The ghosts that furrowed my brow
Have succumbed to a merciful spell
Steady one foot in front of the other
And eventually you'll arrive
To the spaces in between
Where your soul and mine softly collide

Kiley Jean

One shot, two shots
Three shots for the road
An avalanche of laughter
Only Sailor Jerry knows
What we find so funny
I guess he's been here before
And your mama will tell us
To quiet down the sound
But she gives a little grin
When she turns her face around
She curses when we leave
But she wishes she could join the crowd

One toke, two tokes
Three tokes in a Ford
The cops don't find the humor
But Jesus nudges at the Lord
"Look at them kids
Could Heaven give anymore?"
We roll down the blacktop
Like molasses on the freeze
Our sense of time is stunted
While summer whispers on the breeze
We can't go home now
When even the stars follow your lead

One can, two cans
Three cans make a tower
Seven cans later
And you downed them in an hour
Five in the morning
Even the sun resists your power
Now the rest is just a blur
Just a humble girl's dream
Of a Friday in the moonlight
In a Northern woods scene
I give the credit to you
For memories, Kiley Jean

Dylan, You Lied

Dylan told me a lie

Said nothing but the world to gain

Said no more rivets, said no more chains

Told me no more digging graves

With a voice like a tuft of smoke

How could I turn that faith away

When with every word he spoke

Another color entered the grey

He's thrown his arm around me

In some black dawn Milwaukee night

He laid his hand within mine

Like God lays His love into the light

With eyes of blue sapphire

I'd trail him anywhere he go

Whether through the hue of the twilight

Or to the carnage of down below

So I follow him through a song

And laid my hope upon his tongue

Pretty words that lured me onward

Finer words never sung

Dylan, you told me a lie
And it's to the down below we've come
Should I shadow you forward
Breathe your voice into my lungs
Cling to it now more than ever before
That the ceiling is higher than it's been
Splice myself open with vinyl
And let a poet's prayer bleed in

Wooden Bells

In Notre Dame they have it better
With that golden bell beneath the sky
A cathedral wrapped in Paris
That outcast was luckier than you and I
He could make the people hear
He could make them gather round
If sullen, he tap it quietly
If enraged, he deafen the crowd
And they couldn't help but listen
The paupers and the kings
What we wouldn't have given to swing it
To make that golden bell sing
But let us face the facts
Dear brother, you and I
We had no cathedral to run to
No siren to shatter the night
All we had is what we were given
And what we were given was made of oak
Nobody hears wooden bells
They make no sounds, they give no hope
The heavens do not look upon them
Men do not question their call
Wooden bells only ring in futility
Wooden bells serve for nothing at all

Cowboy

I'll bet you didn't know you were a cowboy
Like in your Louis L'Amour paperbacks
You probably never looked in the mirror
And saw Jesse James reflect from the glass
Your hat you tipped to Willie
Your boots you stomped for Old Crow
The ruckus you caused in Dallas
And the gravel you kicked up in the north
All your heroes sang of you
But I suppose you thought it was another's song
Too bad you didn't know you were a muse
Too bad you rode your horse into the fog
But I guess that's where they all go
All cowboys ride away
Some into the sunset
And some into the haze
They leave their guns behind
They click their spurs one last time
And all we have to remember of them
Is the taste of the trail dust they left behind
You felt the stumble and not the dance
You stacked the cards and played roulette
But I'll bet you didn't know you were a cowboy
Like the soil doesn't know it holds the bluebonnet

4 Months

4 months down the line
And no closer to the end
100 stitches for every month
A heart that's still not on the mend
There will never be glee again
Or a smile not wrapped in pain
The sooner I surrender to this
That not much else remains
The phone that never rings
The knock on the door that never comes
Friends lost in your oblivion
You assholes promised so much more
And in that drink I can't afford
In that cigarette I must bum
I thank your absence silently
For the failure that I've become
And all that little glitter
That gave my projection some resemblance of strength
It has turned to dust and ashes
In the blink of 4 months length

Black Ice

You were once the rain
That drizzled from the blue
Like springtime running through my veins
In the blood I share with you
Through the heat that life can offer
Your rain cooled the skin
A child pouncing in the puddles
Where wildflowers begin
A love that cleansed the dirt
Of what these imposters can give
Arms that opened so wide
Both flaw and fortune welcomed in

And on some August day
Like the artic to the dew
The soothing turned to sting
Even bones were pelted too
A dragonfly frozen in time
And bows weighted down
Now I skid across an abyss
Of black ice clinging to the ground
With the years that might follow
My only hope remains
That the black ice left in your wake
Will thaw beneath the beauty that you gave

Damn, If He Doesn't Know My Name

I still shake my head sometimes
And can't believe this life is mine
Where are the caviar and truffles
That dreams promised I would dine
Maybe it was my clumsy feet
Or the gargle in my voice
Maybe it was my apathy
Maybe it was my choice
I gave the reigns to the wind
And spread my arms open wide
I've galloped down some sunflower hills
I've rode some crystal tides
But just beyond the sunset
Where the horses lay their heads
Where the flowers wilt in the moonlight
Where the waters reach their ebb
The devil dances in the silence
With the nimblest of feet
He curls his finger towards me
And invites me to learn his beat
I drink from his cup
And I smoke from his stash
I hold the hands of Jezebels
And then I pray for it to pass
But given just one second
To catch my cancered breath
I would sow the same seeds
I would reap the same death
I can't keep step with Jesus
His song is far too tame
There's only one other option
And damn, if he doesn't know my name

Devil, Give Me Strength

Just a little vendetta
Made against the descending sun
If you should cower behind these mountains
Devil, give me strength
To rock the foundation it's beams rest upon
So that I might ride upon their rays
And shatter the gold it holds so dear
If you should steal my daytime
I'll burden you with the night that you fear

Just the teeter of the tipping point
That rests upon the edge of your tongue
If you should speak a foul word
Devil, give me strength
To pierce hearts like a penetrated virgin
So that I might collect tears
And lap them like a dog
If you should cause me to shed my skin
I'll be your gatekeeper to the fog

Devil, give me strength
If the Lord forgets I'm here
If all my indiscretions
Have given Him reason to deafen his ears
For every head needs a pillow
And every prayer needs a hope
The two of you can fight for mine
As long as I have somewhere to go