My 2019 Candlelight Crackers

Into the heart of darkness we go,
the ship is sinking but we can't let go,
your mind is playing nasty tricks on you,
the moon is full, you react on cue,
pilot light is out, no one is home,
inside the crowd you're playing alone,
window to the world in your hand,
a simple truth, hard to understand,
too late to catch a ride back home,
the blues will be the color you own,
tapping your feet to the beat of the parking lot,
marching around in the plaza parking lot

It was the strange case of the missing cottage cheese 

                        No need to unpack, cause I sold all my crap, 

  like the wind, I'm free to roam, 

        on a wayward ship with a replaced hip, 

a storm looms on the horizon,

   sirens wail, the lighthouse fails, 

              the skipper threw himself into the sea 

Come on Mable, Come on Pearl, 

everybody's heading' out tonight, 

up Stouville way there's a hayride, 

that's south of Sutton on the east side,

you can't lay low with a go cart halo, 

comic relief is all too brief, 

there's a big deflection in the business section, 

they celebrate low interest rates, 

borrow tomorrow, drown your sorrows, 

return the favor in a different flavor, 

been losing sleep over you,

come on Mable, Come on Pearl, 

everybody's heading' out tonight, 

up Stouville way there's a hayride, 

that's south of Sutton on the east side, 

from the inkwell to the Quinsam hotel, 

do the pipeline jig in your mother's wig, 

birds of a feature, extreme weather, 

Cache Creek flood with Fraser mud, 

it's after dark in the trailer park, 

from dusk till dawn the party's on, 

been losing sleep over you,

come on, Come on, 

everybody's heading' out tonight 

Diets and diamonds, 

prescriptions to nowhere, 

clawing through the mother lode

Politicians, promising the moon, 

sipping on decaf tea, 

talking 'bout what they'll do 

for the tax paying middle class 

Rectangle proxy, 

you start moving slower,

Rectangle proxy, 

set the bar lower, 

Riots and fire, 

media boomerang,

getting paid to pay attention, 

kill the story, there's a roadblock ahead,

by a nose,  opinion polls, 

unveil the agenda, 

show the hidden costs 

In the trailer park tango, the seer walks the beat, 

he's got a piece of pickup truck, no license plates,

he mows the lawn and he gathers driftwood off the shore, 

he helps Scank when she overdoses, 

he says she draws too many rats, 

she dropped by one quiet evening, for a weak one in the herd, 

she enticed me with pretend beer and salad, 

just empty bottles and a big bowl of grass from around her trailer 

You're down to 201.2, that's all that's left of you, 

it's your reward as spring begins under a bright full moon,

there's a caravan coming, the atmosphere is humming, 

hotels are booked, pay the cooks some overtime,

we went to Casey's hardware store, planks broke through the floor, 

beneath the weight of all those years browsing through the merchandise, 

the endless stuff, can't get enough, 

it's your average hoarder's dream come true, 

if I had a quarter for every politician talking 'bout a border, 

I could afford to be a hoarder like my neighbor, 

they've got so much stuff, they're imprisoned sure enough, 

can't locate an exit door, books and magazines, antiques and cleaning supplies, 

dust thick as molasses, old granny glasses, cake mix from the 2nd world war, Virginia license plates, cast-iron stove from a caboose, 

head and antlers of a moose, lawn furniture and camping gear, 

a shower stall and mirrors, VCR and stacks of tapes, 

  a big box color TV, winter tires, a life size poster of Steve McQueen, 

all the stuff you accumulate, here today and gone tomorrow, 

recycled like the passing wind, the caravan moves on without you 

You can't stop progress, no matter what you do, it'll roll you over, 

it's gonna change you, for better or worse, 

haul you off in a hearse, you can cry the blues, but it's plowing through, 

pull your head out of your ass, you can't live in the past, 

the city council is doing what's best for you, 

cut it, burn it and pave it, we need another condo tower in this earthquake zone, emergency, what's wrong with me, the city planners got no manners, 

something seems funny, it's all old money, running the show, selling the lingo, 

of a catch phrase craze, in the media haze, 

crazy days in the urban maze, progressive brassier is gonna squeeze you dear, 

you'll be wound so tight, nothing syncs right, 

you can't stop progress, no matter what you do, it'll roll you over, 

it's gonna change you 

Someone threw a cigarette out the window and burned the province away 

It was a cold October night in downtown Calgary, 

a young man leaned against a building and gazed at the silhouette city, 

pennies in his pocket, no prospects ahead, 

just want ads in the morning paper, 

soon wearing asbestos gloves in a factory, 

guiding molded aluminum out of an oven 

You got seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why,

seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why,

talking 'bout their love lives, 

like they're in their teens,

memorials, sandwiches, 

free of charge, 

senior's discount, 

free of charge, 

seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why,

seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why,

living in the slow lane, 

push that pedal to the medal,

blue hairs fly again 

down to Mexico,

big scare, underwear, 

down in Mexico,

seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why,

seniors in a hurry, 

no one knows why, 

obituary blues, 

walking 'round the mall,

recline, nap time, 

your ship has sailed, 

golf clubs, back rubs, 

your ship has sailed, 

seniors in a hurry,  

no one knows why, 

seniors in a hurry, 

to get to a funeral, 

seniors in a hurry, 

no time to wait around, 

seniors in a hurry, 

to reach the finish line 

Everyone has a lonesome death, it don't matter whose around 

The cold Alberta full moon shone over the factory parking lot, 

grinning down on the coverall night shift

It's a beck and call protocol 

Old Poke-Along Joe,

he's driving slow, 

don't know which way to go,

he's taking his time, 

he's got a wandering mind.

now he's driving slower, 

like he's on a lawn mower,

centre to the shoulder,

watch out for the big boulder

Old Poke-Along Joe,

the seat belt's tight ,

turning left to right, 

can't make a decision, 

he's got tunnel vision ,

I'm keeping well behind, 

he might stop on a dime, 

with a sudden burst, 

he might shift in reverse 

Old Roger never spoke a word about politics, until he retired, 

he was at home in his kitchen one stormy afternoon, 

eating a baloney sandwich, 

when a flash flood came roaring down Bridgeview Road, 

and washed a couple of stunned looking goats 

through his front door 

A romantic past filtered with age, an unknown cast assembled on stage, 

she was born in prohibition, 

grew up on conditions centered in the second world war, 

the wind of disaster, everything moved faster, 

no way to slow the momentum,  

before the doors shut, 

waiting for the bounce of some friendly luck 

There was always something rolling down the freeway, 

there were lots of bypasses to take, 

rest stop in the middle of nowhere, 

in case you want to fall asleep at the wheel, 

sunrise in your eyes ,

a town in the rear view mirror, 

a construction zone ahead,

Grateful Dead playing in your head, 

the company execs don't pay tax, 

the company requests you kiss it's ass, 

just a game they play, signing cheques all day, 

union dues in arrears, 

union man says he's working for the man, 

don't try to semi-retire, 

need to keep you hired 

and working till it's time for the grave 

Down the angry river, your cause will take hold, 

down the angry river, your time will unfold, 

down the angry river 

With just cause, the devil will pardon your sins 

I get the blues when you hang around,

I get the blues when you leave, 

gotta pay the tab, get myself out of here 

I get the blues when I hear you talk, 

I get the blues when you lie, 

Gotta pay the tab, get myself out of here, 

don't be so brash, we don't carry cash, 

identity, it ain't me,  

don't trust us, media justice, 

its queer and draws you near, 

if that's your only fear, 

pay the bill and get out of here, 

library in a different key, 

I can't believe I'm a refugee, 

can't find peace when you're next to me,

I get the blues with the homeless scene, 

I get the blues with the zombies, 

gotta pay the cab fare, get myself out of here 

I get the blues from social media, 

I get the blues from the trivia, 

gotta pay the cab fare, get myself out of here, 

I get the blues from the right and left, 

I get the blues from the power play, 

gotta pay the cab fare, get myself out of here, 

I get the blues from the waste we make, 

I get the blues from the extremes, 

gotta pay the cab fare  

She was always heading' south, 

I was always heading' north,

oh yeah, out of sync,

she was always going somewhere, 

I was always under here, 

oh yeah, out of sync, 

she was always right way up, 

I was always left way out, 

oh yeah, out of sync,

she was always city girl, 

I was always country boy, 

oh yeah, out of sync,

she was always hurry up, 

I was always poke along, 

oh yeah, out of sync,

she was always going somewhere, 

I was always going nowhere 

I'm wearing a dead guy's clothes, 

I suppose, I suppose, 

I'm wearing a dead guy's clothes, 

who knows where they've been 

You're in a poor bleak suburban world,

with no education in a digital world, 

social media analytical comments 

I don't mind walking 'round this town, 

the streets are like a winding river, 

cotton candy down Commercial drive, 

taffy for the wandering soul, 

stocking shelves along the produce aisle, 

talking to myself like an old friend, 

pilot for the urban pickup truck, 

pensioners party in the parking lot, 

I don't mind walking 'round this town, 

the streets are like a winding river 

The river flows on and carries you away, 

all of the people on the banks of the river, 

soon to be heading downstream, 

everything on wheels, the unprepared meals, 

pets and flat screen TVs,

mattress and chairs, you better beware, 

the river don't care 'bout your things, 

the river flows on and carries you away, 

the river flows on and washes us way, 

you'll never match it, all of your gadgets, 

your foundation falls apart, 

roofs under water, your sons and your daughters, 

everyone goes with the flow, 

upper and lower class, everyone sinking fast, 

the river don't discriminate, 

the river flows on and carries you away, 

the river flows on and washes us way 

Driving with the windshield covered in oil, 

from a big rig truck hauling a heavy load, 

coffee by the wheel, 

shielded from the road rage along Eginton Avenue 

There was beauty in the squalor of a wheelchair sunset, 

in the Scarborough parking lot of the Elaine theatre,

laying low in the plaza restaurant with the tenant and his daughter, 

low lifes and lawyers sweating out the booze of a better off forgotten late night, 

prostitutes and pimps, wheelers and dealers, 

shoe shine sailors, gas bar clerks, furriers in suits, 

ladies in tights bid you good night, waiting for show time, 

doing the Elaine theatre waltz 

Turning simple items into fashionable trailer decor 

I went to town with a beautiful girl, 

we parted ways in confusion, 

rented a room near the Salvation Army, 

mingled with many addictions, 

like lawn getting watered in a drought,

you fall victim to your doubts, 

will you make it until midnight, 

find an exit, fold your cards, 

commercial free, no hidden fees, 

thinking 'bout some old friends tonight, 

no common ground to grow that family tree, 

forced to lay down, surrender to the fallen leaves 

Slowing down, you're just slowing down, 

all around is moving faster, 

do no good if you should complain, 

feel like going nowhere, 

everyone went somewhere, 

blow me down when you come to town, 

once again we get to meet as friends, 

I can feel the train pass by my window, 

this hotel dive makes me feel so alive,

too late to begin, 

feel like sleeping in, 

settle down when some peace is found, 

hold it together in that stormy weather, 

you can talk and I don't hear a thing, 

you ramble on and on about nothing 

In a gazebo feeling blue, 'bout nights forgotten with the crew, 

the rust is washed with the dew of dawn, 

the pretense of a chain link fence surrounds you, 

the gazebo burns in the heart of a cruel world, 

some move in reverse in an alternate universe, 

where the songbird can't be heard, 

where there's no truth in the word, 

every twist and turn, there's a lesson to be learned, 

before the lights grow dim, 

see the shape you're in, 

climb out of your box, 

prepare for hard knocks, 

the jitters that you get, 

when you light a cigarette, 

in a gazebo feeling blue, 'bout nights forgotten with the crew 

Alberta apron stash, 

stuck behind a gazebo, 

not a lot of cash, 

moving nowhere,

penny for your thoughts, 

a nickel for your dreams, 

those rusty wheels 

moving nowhere, 

the silver dew of dawn, 

on a chain link fence, 

the antelope are crazy, 

moving nowhere 

what have we learned, 

repeat your history,

cart before the horse, 

moving nowhere, 

Alberta apron stash, 

buried in the prairies, 

under the big open sky, 

moving nowhere 

Like putty in the drain, this life is affecting your brain, line up for free injections in the rain, 

then back on the street again, waiting for your bus, standing room only, no seat for you, you're on your own, 

it's a balancing act that only gets real when you fall down, 

lay on the ground with a stunned look in your eyes, amusing the horde, regret being on board, 

but the voyage continues as you transfer to an old street car, on it's last wheels, you know how that feels, 

step lightly to the back, where you might have a nap if you're lucky, and no one sits next to you, 

baring false news, hacking up germs, with no uncertain terms, you cover your face, and discover a place, 

where the homeless ones roam, the no reflection zone, undisclosed forces, something hidden endorses, 

like putty in the drain, this life is affecting your brain 

Corner the market and settle the score, alert the editor, you can't take any more, 

this town is on strike, no working today, we're marching the streets, so don't get in our way, 

it's a journey through limbo, with your head in a cloud, another year ends, 

onward through the crowd 

My 2018 Supplemental Mind

I was born in a workhouse jamboree, in the mouth of a moose, through the ass of a goose, 
from a residential school with a Mexican mule, on American soil in the dust bowl toil, 
through a Rose Bowl parade into a penny arcade.
Fish eye grappa girl, my pet rat, hates the cat, my pet toad, pops on the road. 
There’s a  risk of death in a fish skin hat,
while passing my time in a supervised rejection site.
Just an eating, shitting, sleeping machine.
All it takes is an allegation to break you down. 
Harleys and hammers, chain saws and chop saws, stereos blasting , no mufflers allowed in the sun. 
Junior was a messenger from hell. "I'm a product of a long line of interbreeding," he so claimed. 
His mistress was a pheasant girl in hiding. She caught him in the autumn of his days. 
The priest spat a sermon at the sleepy congregation. 
"There's trouble in the Bubble," he yelled. 
Not many gave two bits about his riddles. 
I will meet you on the other side of prosperity. 
Politicians on the right, a guardrail on the left, your head squeezed between.  
With a fish queen comes a cavalier Joe, the protector of turf wisdom in the family. 
Stray chainsaw comeback kid. 
It's an ankle sprain for freedom lashing out when ideology outweighs the facts. 
I don't know what she said. I don't know.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I don't know 
Small change derange. I don't know. 
Gaslight every night. I don't know.
A cry for help, tune you out. I don't know. 
Gaslight every night. I don't know.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I don't know 
I don't know what she said. I don't know.
My heart goes out to you and all the things you do
Going up and down the stairs like you're going somewhere.
What could it be worth, protector of the turf.
A typewriter dream, words through a machine.
Hold your head up high in the firecracker sky.
Fragmented family, bitten by economy.
Years of inter breeding, selectively believing. 
Come and wipe your hands, the dirt of your homeland.
It's a long and windy road, searching for the mother lode.
No measure of success, just pounding on your chest.
And all the world over, people lined up at the borders.
The blackbird of defense, the landlord seeking rent.
Resume the old attacks, ideas replace facts.
Resume the old attacks, ideas replace facts.

The fleeting beauty of today
arrived safe but could not stay.
Golden leaves burned in the sun,
fireworks on everyone.
The fleeting beauty of today
arrived safe but could not stay,
like a window tango.
When the novelty wears off 
and you wake up in the trough,
under a nuclear threat,
could be your last cigarette,
in the frantic craze,  
like a window tango. 
Made a call to a friend, 
just another old guy 
waiting to die. 
I can't face my face 
it got so out of place,  
like a window tango. 
In the neon halls, 
in the shopping mall, 
heed the wrath of a man, 
with a radical plan.
An evil fixation 
like a window tango. 
I'm a land locked man, 
VI in the sand.
At the end of the rainbow
you'll be eating apple pie,  
somewhere in Sointula, 
like a window tango.
I'm leaving the homestead. 
I'm off to the city.
Oh yeah. 
I'm lost in the city. 
I long for the country.
I'm waiting 'till Friday 
when I'm back on the highway.
Oh yeah.
Where did it go ?
Forty years ago 
you blinked your eye,
they passed you by.
It's a condo craze 
in these gadget days. 
I'm lost in the city. 
I long for the country.
I'm waiting 'till Friday 
when I'm back on the highway.
Oh yeah.
Trans Canada 
through Manitoba.
Imagine that, 
stuck in Medicine Hat. 
The Fraser Valley haze, 
gonna end your days. 
I'm lost in the city. 
I long for the country.
I'm waiting 'till Friday 
when I'm back on the highway.
Oh yeah.
Fredericton flood,  
Red River mud. 
Urban sewer 
at Younge and Bloor.
Hastings skid row,  
off to Nanaimo. 
I'm lost in the city. 
I long for the country.
I'm waiting 'till Friday 
when I'm back on the highway.
Oh yeah.

It's a nice grey rainy day 
Keystone cupid 
makes me look stupid 
It's a nice grey rainy day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day
Another theory 
a grand conspiracy 
more medication 
relax the nation 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day
Choose your tune 
tall tales loom 
knife in the gutter 
don't got no clutter 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day
Blue blue blue 
marching through 
blue blue blue 
A wooden craving 
the late great Marvin 
A plastic island 
the size of Thailand 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day
Life insurance 
it's your assurance 
grab the cash 
dine and dash 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day 
It's a brave blue world on this grey day

The harvest moon hangs 
The harvest moon hangs 
Night time, said I'm lingering over you 
red eye, sleep lies off in the tundra 
The sirens on the shore 
don't call out anymore 
the wheat king in the mist 
will lead the flock amiss 
The harvest moon hangs 
The harvest moon hangs 
The stars align your fate 
with heather on the grate 
you turn another page 
the restless wind of age 
Grey shale, black veil, under the moonlight 
crickets call, leaves fall, autumn regalia 
The harvest moon hangs 
The harvest moon hangs 
Cider house folklore 
with common threads of yore 
there's charcoal on your face 
as you stoke the fireplace
The harvest moon hangs 
The harvest moon hangs 
I got something to report, sir
no place to run, no place to go, no place to hide 
The ship left the port, sir
you gotta get tough, call their bluff, it's not weird enough 
Mission abort, sir 
got no return, nothing was learned, we all got burned
All is well, until the plane goes down. 
If you don't have regrets, you haven't lived up to your potential. 
When there's a seahorse swimming by your window pane, 
and the setting sun sets all day long, 
when the lover in your attic serenades for you, 
and they're exchanging cannon fire in the kitchen.
I've got my ticker tape and it don't sound great, I've been restored like an old dance floor, 
walking round the track always looking back, in a time machine getting caught between 
the left and right, the day and night, 
in an hourglass I'm slipping past. 
It's the Halloween bunny purple wagon train episode.
Writer's block ain't no shock when you're getting old and grey
Well I can't stay in touch cause I don't miss you that much
Out of order, all those grumpy hoarders
Cruel fumes are drifting past my window
Cruel fumes are drifting past 
Death looms, I'm fading fast
Ava Santa Maria, some day I'll come back to see ya.
They say, loyalty doesn't matter when you end your career.
You climbed up the corporate ladder, lay back and have a beer. 
Enjoy those golden years ... golden years.
Talk the talk, but don't walk the walk 
Can't understand ya, all that propaganda 
It was insane before, but I don't want anymore 
Build a wall a million feet tall 
Ava Santa Maria, some day I'll come back to see ya.
They say, loyalty doesn't matter when you end your career.
You climbed up the corporate ladder, lay back and have a beer. 
Enjoy those golden years ... golden years.
Writer's block, it ain't no shock when you're getting old and grey 
I'm on the edge of a cliff, the cruel fumes drift.

2017 Specs Of Dust

Dragged those files all over the place … blew her dress up around her face ... telegram headlines haunting you ... no brakes rolling down the hill ... digestive trail on the road ... brandy flare and golden hair hanging in the loft ... chewy steak and layer cake stir memories of a Rama summer ... soap on the water blown along the shore ... steeple top crucifix adorns the countryside ... white rose store, warped plank floor, shelves old and empty ... sing-a-long with car radio song ... dirt road dust in your eyes ... bush on fire, swollen tire ... never to be seen in a casino again ... don't grieve for lost emotion ... don't leap through the rear view mirror … cowbirds greet you in the parking lot ... zero in on the shopping carts ... walk a swollen mile around the mall ... footwear stigma ... old kale chipped shoulder ... tremolo sun just begun ... blow up behind the bench ... swinging a rusty wrench at a sink of dirty dishes ... power play in the hall by the foreman's office ...  a baby oil request from the steam bedroom nest that the camp cook had blessed ... sipping February nights down at the laundry ... pizza eyes popping through the bars in jail wondering about the score ... no one can ignore the news ... the robber got away but had to snooze ... in his van at the intersection of Bowen and Cruz ... they found him passed out with the loot, stinking of booze ... with a Valentine card signed in blood ... and a note that read, "I'll get out of dept or die buying " ... impulsive prick at the end of a shift waiting for the new girl in the house ... so sayeth the drunkard from the ditch, "this bottle is empty and life is a bitch" ...   we laugh at your prayers, we piss in your home ... we eat soda crackers while polishing chrome ... dance like never planned ... romance of the seven glands ... peaked out at twenty ... could handle it sunny ... begging at thirty, whickered and dirty ... the sixties hit like a bad acid trip ... the congregation chatters about sexual matters ... paper cup, blades of steel, Pacific rim frontier ... blow-out game, freezing rain, ringing in your ear ... septic smell, news from hell, the politics of power ... oh ain't that neat ... the president tweets ... while you try to swing, he tips his wing, then flies over the golf course ... the scourge of parenthood, they keep coming back ... conference with the king, a real estate dream ... turn churches into homes with a five year fixed term loan ...  it's a cold trail behind the pulp mill ... you'll make a lot of money, but you'll spend it first ... on a cruise around the world ... getting fat, seeing all the sights ... poor boy in the corner, staring into the jungle ... here comes the jewelry brigade with colorful hats ... if you don't like history, shred the facts and re-write it ... re-ignite it and send it to the post ... this early morning watching Nat King Cole, listening to Captain Beefheart ... I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't tweet ... they waive the fee, admission free ... no common ground from you to me ...  repeat turkey news, moonshine fungus booze, fired staff on cue, network snoring pews, born paying annual dues, on board a viral cruise, with shit stains on your shoes, a loud chorus of boos, mufflers they don’t use, with rings around the fuse, a thing they won’t reuse, the house you’re going to lose, green tarp window blues … all the programs on campus will close early tonight due to sincere weather conditions … fair motion ride ... you're so right, in your shoes tonight … you converse like you're dying from thirst … with arm you will slay the mighty beast … we hit the iceberg, but I never heard a word  … I was asleep dreaming about hot sex … trapped in a fire, flying off the balcony … abused at school by the golden rule … sniffing glue to keep my mind away from you … it's not your fault the way you are … it was trauma tarp you sailed passed … fair motion ride.

Bill fears no beer !

Cave of the umpire … streak in the sky … shady eye spectator … garbage sale gloom … smoke in the basement … flames of deceit … bound by the limits … weak link on the team … only as good as your worst neighbor  … when the novelty wears off and you wake up in a trough, under a nuclear threat, could be your last cigarette, in the frantic craze of the media haze … At 5:30 pm I made a call to a friend, just another old guy who was waiting to die … I can’t face my face, it got so out of place in the neon halls of the shopping mall … heed the wrath of man with a radical plan, an evil relation to a power fixation … I’m a land locked man, vi in the sand, at the end of the rainbow you’ll be eating apple pie … somewhere in Sointula you’ll be grazing in the rye … little sister, wedding resister, witness to a back alley crime … keystone cupid, make me look stupid at the altar of the Lord, don’t get bored, it’s just a minor chord over and over again … I’m enthralled with the thralls in gowns that flow across the floor … Surrey came to Pender on a cold Friday night … oh the wonderful quiet of Xmas ... the Xmas morning ambulance siren ... the Xmas snow plough ... the Xmas restless neighbor .

2016 Different Paths To Follow (and get the shopping done) …

Western Union Telegram ... got the message ... here I am ... says she wants to visit the old disco haunt, after all ... they got on board, except for me ... heading out on stormy seas ... missed the boat, just like before... Western Union Cablegram ... she wrote what I don't understand ... signed by a lawyer, notarized ... guess I'll run for cover ... skip town like a cheating lover ... don't think I'll pass this way again, unless in a pine box …

The jolted peddler could smell Salome's breathe ... satanic manager got sacked in the zone ... compelled in sorrow to give up the throne ... peddle your wares, whomever will buy ... Canadian snow birds  fly south where it's warm and dry ... retired professionals of Lillooet beckon ... release the streets from the evil hounds  ... the narrow view of the big collapse ... lock the doors and shut off the taps ... happiness and pain, at Davenport and Main …  

The union kin made demands like before ... light a match, lift the latch, watch it go up in flames ... they had a call of duty, routine dragged them down ... young busy bodies stuck out in the cold ... weakened by the rust of years until they're old and brittle  ... down at the water's edge the auto wreck revealed ... among all the dents a body was concealed ... wrapped in a raincoat with a message from someone ...
“drive very careful and get the shopping done” …

 
The muscle lack of motivation ... shocked awake in morning  calm ... go your way alley cat ... meet you in a few hours near the school zone by the bright neon lights ... she cut off a drywall truck after she dropped off the kids ... compression vying her mind ... restless line up at the gadget store ... multi-cultural group clutching paper cups  ... they don't internalize their urban pain ... pepper sprayed in the rain ... volunteered to knock on doors ... invite me in for wine and more  ... invent new slogans, move more product ... join the fans in momentary mental relief ... let it all hang out the sunroof ... we'll be chemically deranged in  moonlight … 

Committed to the hidden truth ... splashed with chronic eyes down streets of Gas town ...  
young and indestructible, bright outlook on life ... flooded with ideas ... a career steer to success ... encounters filed with a color coded flag ... no hard landing if you're understanding cosmic signs ... land baron's dilemma ... wide eyed to mend the fence ... capture a deal, something to steal from the down and out ... innocent pay while psychotic money spreads around ... open the gates, build mansions with cheap labor … 

The weasel in your wood pile ... the snake under your skin ... make friends with regret ... everyone needs something to forget ... no map for you to follow … owner's manual not included ...

Watching the movie, "200 Motels" puts me back on the straight & narrow …

Rance, Lance, Vance, dance, pants ... 

Casino Joe ... Scarborough Bluffers ... I've got tears from cutting onions in the camp kitchen …
pillars of the village square … taunt me with idle flare … highly motivated elementary … laughing pilgrims drowning at sea … they talked of how their science failed … hillside cross no love was nailed … Hoo doo, yoo doo, gardens shine in tropical plumage …

You don't want air bags to kill you … you don't want the fire alarm panel to catch fire ... you don’t want mothers and fathers to kill their children … you don’t want your house in a sinkhole … 

If I could make you happy, I'd make a wish … if I could feed the hungry, I'd prepare the dish  … some of us seem satisfied … most are taken for a ride … don't believe all you read … just count to ten and it will go away  … if I could be more helpful, you know I'd try … if I could be more persuasive, I would not lie … I've seen the way they get things done … they disagree then  pull a gun … we take more than we need to survive … we find common contaminated ground … adapt to change that flies around … if I was your soul companion, I'd be content … we could live our lives, in a surplus tent … get removed from the status quo … walk the beat, play it slow … if I was a sandman patron, I let you sleep … 

There's a no-fly zone in your happy home … there's an old shoe can on the stairs … there's a dust bin drain flowing down the lane … there's a seaport store with a warped wood floor … there's a quiet place where few tourists loom … there's a pigeon fight on the news today … the candidates promise you the moon … there's a lonely train in the prairie rain … there's a small town fading out of sight … there's a Union Jack on a Cadillac … gliding on gravel in the night … when the output rage gets weak with age … when there's no sole left on the shoe … roll call came, they called your name … flashbacks were all consuming …

Dry heave boys were at it again ... turn the corner and what do you find ... a man starving himself all week then gorging on  "All You Can Eat" ... management request he leave … you can't sit on the fence … in a world so intense … information so condensed … I promise you the moon … I promise you the moon ... 

Here rain, hear your name, your environment … here rain, hear your name, your biology … no tales of woe … news day is slow … Fraser Valley passing by … don't you know it feels like the highway … Port Mann bridge says hello … don't you know it feels like the highway … fading city awfully pretty … don't you know it feels like the highway … 

All the old folks say, it was better yesterday, when autos could be fixed without a bag of magic tricks … they gather without warning, fill tables in the morning, diamond in the rough, calling poker bluff …  planet that we made was better in a cave, fabricate and pave … anything extreme is weakening the team …
jade with advancing age, optimism turns the page ... youngsters in another world … irony of dying in a plane crash on the way to a funeral … irony of drowning while trying to catch fish … there's panic on the bus, cause no one looks like us …

Down and out in seven, can’t keep the pace … wander through Locklevan, in the ruins of Boniface … eyes burnt by soot, sunset on the Deer foot … recover from the sting of  a lover … finally ran out of gas in a snow covered pass … the complacent stage, the lingering age … the gargoyle girl … pearl of pedestrian poise  … nothing of consequence to say … no brick of wisdom to convey … they were beverage hounds of blasphemy … a toast to our musky peers … domestic foreign catastrophe … can’t believe you’re anywhere … turn back the clock change your hair … relive happy times … etched through crooked lines … can’t believe you anymore … lobby dreams on congress floor … pick a fight on a chrome dog night … sacrifice us to your economy king … 

The subway of your mind, no time to dance or dine ... this dying is going to kill me, the food will feed your cancer, exhaust fumes fill your lungs, it's a noisy world for baby, ringing eardrum crazy, they mount you like a whore with information, it's a corporate education for the benefit of fat cats … 

Undisciplined past ... we'll bring the ballpark to you ... asbestos free zone ... like no other home ...
Full of barbiturates on a Sunday afternoon, left the El Macombo, walking doom, downtown danger, creepy eyed strangers, no hospitality down the cabbage town alley, old dirty brick buildings, old sewer steam streets, upper rooming house window, no sun shine, temperature soar, brown blood floor, speed into panic mode forsaken load ... step down ... step down … there was a call from the forest a long time ago, you cut and paved where no human should go, with love lost pain the soldier-on game, kill the power to the tower, let the dogs go to sleep, put your guns away, so we can walk down the street, there are daffodils just over the hill of garbage at your feet, the steel and glass, the rain of concrete ... step down ... step down  …

Sweet Ammeena, Honey Parker, living over a septic tank, moonshine love … 
Democracy breeds hypocrisy ... Black Friday camping out on the car dealership parking lot … 
Try not to wake me if the plane is going down … 

May your engine never run out of fuel ... may your tomahawk fly straight and true ... may the wind fill your sails ... may people learn to park at the library ... 

Like a wax house hand-me-down, they uglify this town ... a rendezvous at Turtle Creek … a program to be followed … a kick back from the frozen man … an ill fated journey home … her big brown eyes disarm you … by the warehouse garbage bin … Wolfgang lecture of deceit … suburban home of fantasy … they did the neighbors proud … they campaigned for the poor … they bore the media wrath … they shoveled shit in the rain … go empty out the whiskey train … get harbor from the changing winds … let the credits roll to the end … shiver the night away outside the window … the guests have come and gone … nothing remains of what was … from a different point of view … walk on silver water …