Sentimental Son

If there was just one soul

You knew that you could save

By digging your own hole

Would your choice be grave,

Could you make that sacrifice?

I think I’d choose to pay the price

And simply take my leave

The world would’ve survived

If she never did conceive

Perhaps she would have thrived,

But since the past can’t be undone

I'm just a sentimental son.

Very Carefully

Well my bleeding heart

is a telltale sign

That all the things I lost 

weren't meant to be mine

And as I've lived my life

I learned some facts

You can't change your fate

and there's no turning back 

I'm a man who's gonna take his chances

Very carefully 

'Cause I want to win the game

That's going on between you and me 

I spent my money

on diamond rings

I've given you all

of life's fancy things

But I haven't given you 

all I've got 

Because I'm not really sure

if you want me or not

CHORUS

I'm happy go lucky 

with a heart of gold 

as I am sure

you don't have to be told

 

And if you do right 

do right by me

we'll always be together 

that's a guarantee 

CHORUS

Baked

It’s staring him right in the face

He used his allotment of grace

While losing every single dream he ever tried to chase

If only no fire was lit

He wouldn’t have taken the hit

But there’s no point lamenting when someone’s too stupid to quit.

Kickoff

My dog is old like me

I wipe his eyes so tenderly

And hope that I can find

Someone who will be so kind

When I can barely see.

I’m loyal just like him

There is no task I find too grim

Although it makes me sad

Remembering the fun we had

Before his sight grew dim.

Whether you are fierce or tame

We all wind up the same,

He stayed by me until the end

An undeniable friend,

And then, the fall came.

Meant to be Blue

I've had my ups
Had my downs
But this time I’m feelin’
Lower than the ground
Seems no matter what I do
My life was meant to be blue

When I was young
I found out
Life is filled
With loneliness and doubt
And from a tender age I knew
My life is meant to be blue

My mama crawled inside a bottle to die
Friends I thought I had turn their heads when I walk by
I’ve watched so many dreams crumble down to dust
But I just keep on going because I must, I simply must

The days go by
The nights are long
Before I die
I have got to sing my song
In my one and only favorite hue
My life was meant to be blue
My life will always be blue.

Preseason

My dog is almost dead
My car already died
I have no food or bread
And getting lean on pride.

My life is a charade
Where I keep hiding from
Some bonehead moves I made
When I was young and dumb

And couldn’t quite conceive
The shortness of the day
Or that I’d seek reprieve
The fall a week away.

Understand the Blues

To understand the blues

You’ve got to face some stone cold facts

That nothing good comes easy

And surely never lasts

You’ve got to be forgiving

And you’ve got to have some soul

And you’ve got to know when

To let the rhythm take control

To understand the blues

To understand the blues

To understand the blues

You’ve got to know what it’s like to lose

To understand the blues

You’ve got to take it on the chin

And never get so bitter

That you forget to grin

You have to go against the wind

And not begin to sway

Unless the music calls you

When the band begins to play

(CHORUS)

To understand the blues

You’ve got to kiss some dreams goodbye

And swallow down regret

When you fail to even try

And though you may get beat

You must stay in the game

When you understand the blues

Things will never be the same

(CHORUS)

Mechanisms

That’s all I do: eat, sleep, work

No time for something new

While those with money lounge and smirk,

Eat, sleep, work, that’s all I do.

Deep down inside: I wish, dream, hope

For wins each time I’ve tried

But losers find a way to cope—

I wish, dream, hope, deep down inside.

Restrictions

I’ve got more bags than the friendly skies

You can see the excess beneath my eyes

Perhaps that’s why I have found

It difficult to leave the ground,

This nagging ache inside of me

The only sore I’ll ever see

Unless I find a way to shed

This weight and touch the clouds instead.

Rotten

A rusted can

From a distant life

A different man

A happy wife

They seemed content

Though they were poor

Until they went

And moved next door

The floor fell through

Too much was owed

I guess it’s true

All things corrode.

Daring

How fast can ivy crawl

Up the locust tree?

She reached the top of the wall,

It only took her three

Determined years, but it’s tall.

A cicada way up high

Will drone on and on,

‘C'mon give it your best try!’

But he'll be long gone

Before she reaches sky.

(Not So) Grate Expectations

Go out of your way to be nice

You often pay the price

Things best left unsaid 

Will echo in your head

So now you'll think twice

Before you give a shred.

Recyclable

 What do you do when something's stale

Continue to choke it down

Or launch a jumper at the garbage pail

Like you’re shooting from downtown?

And what about if rot begins

Should you simply chuck it all?

Relentlessly the orrery spins

Regardless of your call.

Cold Front

The Blue Jay is bellicose

The Mourning Dove morose

And Robin seems quite reticent today,

His lack of luster shows

Perhaps because he knows

That winter is careening right this way.

Afield

The heady scent of milkweed flowers

Fills my skull to the brim

With memories of corn filled towers

And days of youthful vim

Those fragrant fields were free and fertile

Much like my young mind

That couldn’t grasp how fast I’d hurtle

Here, where I now find

Myself within a dismal prison

I designed so well

And every waving milkweed risen

Haunts me with its smell

As every hair begins to bristle

All along my nape

With urges that defy dismissal

And whisper of escape.