Monday, August 10, 2009

Nothing Left

cuz what you've never had is nothing left to lose
nothing left to understand
when all you've had is something better than before
all you coulda been is worse than what you are
look off and see those differences away so far
i bet the changes are too difficult for you to imagine
cuz there's nothing to forget
in the end i guess there's nothing to regret
just emptiness and laughing silence left to rot
all that coulda been is just wrong
gonna leave those gifts that coulda been given cuz they're wrong
cuz the way you coulda learnt is wrong
wrong wrong wrong
never knew any other way that what i can see today
but all i can see is the way that the old ones pray
but i don't think that is gonna be another way
that reality has never held ground for me today
angels once said that all i can do is tell the story i was told
get out of this dark hole, break the mold
take myself a blanket and go back out in the cold
somewhere in the back of my mind i know the truth was sold
to someone else who didn't have a soul
or maybe just that they didn't break the mold
cuz all they wanted was what's been sold
somethings never change and somethings never stay the same
somewhere out there there's nothing similar
that is reality everything is just a mirror
of what we wanted when it was gone in magic made
by those who wanted to make sure we wouldn't manage or remake
what the wanted us to hate
those things about ourselves we try to remake
cuz there's never time telling you that it's too late
maybe a second chance is just to turn back the clock and go out that gate
another chance to change the hands of fate
so cruel and unjust there's sometimes nothing left but hate
and no-one left to liberate
i hope there's something left for you to leave
so that i can take a chance and love
instead of hoping to take some paint and cover it all uo
instead of making it vanish up

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Round Drum


round drum
carries heartbeat, heartbreak
carry that drum in your chest
take good care to protect and honour
your ancestors worked for it
take good care of it
only love and honesty are in there
there is a reason you have been givent this drum,
this drum that was carried by those who are near and dear,
at least those you are descended from, whether there is love there or not
take this drum from them
even if you do not love them, because without it you will be lost
there will be nothing to carry your heartbeat, heartbreak
take this drum
and with it you will be able to hear your heart
take this heart, and you will be able to hear the heartbeats of your ancestors
those echoes are still in there
take this heart, and you will be able to hear what has happened before you
those stories are still in there
gently take this drum so you can hear your drumbeat
they say that individuals only march to the beat of their own drum
only you can decide what that beat is
take this heart so you can hear your drumbeat
take this drum

Anyways


cut the surface like glass
metal gunwhale sharpened to a point
we're going home
horizon invisible to the naked eye
donning sunglasses at night, i see home
sparkling stars dancing in the dark sky
up above my head
heart's compass is the only necessary guide
day's just begun
no-where
some-where
any-where
nothing between us and the other side
admiring the beautific trees and green
ripples hit the rocks
all i know of them is their reverbations
echoes coming back to me
everything i need
everything i need
everything i need
it's all here with me
somewhere south behind is a land of glass and cynicism
nothing i need
left behind cause all i had was nothing left to lose
goodbye green
i think i'll settle for a red any day, anyways
some things were just never made to last
one day i might go back
but in the meantime, nighttime
i'll just sigh and say goodbye
save yourself and get away, got to keep myself all to my self
who knows what's waiting on the other side?
i dunno but won't we all see sometimes
take everything you've got, and give it back
keep on giving everything you're not
instead of taking everything you've got
somewhere, over the rainbow
that's what they told me, anyways
don't worry, i'll say goodbye to green
take a red any day, anyways

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

don't worry

don't worry i already hate you
the place that you have created doesn't have room enough for me
don't worry i can take you
i've already learned how to deal with stares, wordless comments
don't worry, i won't forget you
like the thousands before you whom i lost respect for, you will always be enshrined
no matter how hard to work, no matter how hard you try
that image of your own ignorance and utter failure is branded into my mind
perhaps it would've been best if you tried for success but sadly you have never succeeded
those hollow words that you speak are nothing but empty threats
time doesn't need to errode them to tell me that what you have said is really nothing
i don't even have to listen to you anymore
destitution and persecution is all that i am destined for by your projection
seems you have left whatever else is there to my own reflection
perhaps you hope that i can just keep afloat
never have to take care of me, carry me with your money

ergo, i too am human

Thursday, July 16, 2009

long time ago eh

when i was young (long time ago eh)
i walked
i saw
big city opened up it's mouth and yawned
inviting universe ravishing in beauty and furnished with fantasy
a playground.
i walked
beside the bars, the drunks, homeless, junkies,
ne'er-do-wells. 
city life created its own offspring, larvae ready to implode
destroyed already before incubation and (re)birth
i walked
i saw
them
them
them
and i heard the words when i saw
THEM
don't be like 
them
paraded by parents (their own minds clouded by what they were taught, afraid themselves)
don't be like
THEM
don't be another drunk indian
don't be another drunk indian
DON'T BE ANOTHER DRUNK INDIAN
a long time ago eh?
sunset smiled down on the man-made metropolis
green grass growing gaily down the boulevard
human footprint on the land.
once where women took care of the land, loved it, grew only what was needed
they are gone.
only big city opening its mouth, yawns
young eyes open up to far far away
the city has disappeared already because it has destroyed itself
multiple identities gone.
no more taking children down the damp sidewalk,
telling the kids
don't be like
them
no more.
water rises up to meet the sky and everything disappears.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Parental Control

so i sit and admire the world you have created for me
the place you have designed and guarded
jealously waiting for the surprise and honour so perfect for my world
in your haste and hard work you have made it some thrill
hoping to keep me occupied and entertained
you put before me the most you could afford
the riches of your soul and all the treasures of your money galore
your foundest hopes are passed to me
the burning torch of your desires unfolds
all that you have wished for is supposedly my desires
i admire and observe these things of beauty
only to tell that you have forgotten some
or that you have not been thinking at all of me
instead you have created the world only for the image of yourself

Thursday, June 11, 2009

History

and so i saw my ancestors
all lined up like at a feast
most of them all gone now to a land of rest
but the rest got told by some they're traitors

now don't tell me i've seen the last of those retaliators
cuz i know that those cowards can't mess with the best
especially when those they do are this content originators
kinda like they wanna poke some sort of jest

but time will tell who does well
overcoming the consequences of greed and destruction
passing in between the troughs and riding the swells
perhaps proving the point we've got more gumption

the song's can't be sung if the sun don't shine
but as you'll come to see, everything's done in the end of time

Monday, May 25, 2009

Kill

kill for a thrill
kill for a chill
doesn't that make you ill?
to think that a kid would even think 
that to be like that he's gotta have a shank
something you'd expect in a prison
not a seventh grader
well, why don't i catch you later?
something the matter?
why do you think i run as your teeth chatter?
doesn't it give chills
to think that your own self is ready to kill
and you claim that your in it for a thrill
spice and dice and slice
but i can see that everything ain't all rosy and nice
perhaps we can be just as nice
blame the parents
better to just eat your carrots
eye-sight will make you a better killer anyways
i've seen what you think it is to be mean
and i've seen the ways you walk and what you mean
and how you think you're all over this scene
maybe just take a step
and see the vast void over which you've leapt
from childhood to the world of men
but i bet that's really what you wanted in the end
when all you've ever learnt is how to make a good friend
but will they really be there for you in the end?
those with their flashing clothes
and the way that they talk and the way they all know
now maybe i'm sad that the shape that you're in
might have to do with the shade of your skin
but somehow i don't think it has everything to do with why you're in
honesty and modesty
are not counted as goals
where the ice in your heart is as black as coals
but maybe more along the lines of prosperity
but how you got there needs some clarity
when all the world you've seen is just a fallacy

When the Lights Go Out

they put granny on a bus to nowhere
empty seats and foreign apolstery
all the words reserved for mental health facility
don't you wanna just join in the fantasy?
but in reality, it's just granny
taking a ride with her man just cause she can
the wind from the window just making her hair blow
as she sits and thinks about why she has to go
the hospital looms ever present in her recent memory
its prison like walls surrounding her with anger and jealousy
the grandkids, forgotten like broken china dishes
all those dreams can just go swim with the fishes
they put granny on a bus to nowhere
where's she gonna go if not there?
in her place there's gonna be another
whose grandkids neglect and smother
their love so fleeting that you wonder if they ever had a mother
to teach them the ways of the world and some others
but god knows the freedom beckons
and how freedom of choice is a better reckon
maybe their parents weren't even there to reconcile
the ways in which they left them while
they spent their own time in a place out of mine
those drunks in park knocked out from wine
while somewhere in the back of their minds
they know they should be at home
caring for the baby they like to call their own
when really it's granny who's doing it alone
her worn out frame carrying all that pain
that her kids never managed to shed
no matter how much blood they saw bled
cause sometimes what you think can teach really just goes to your head
in place of that honesty
they put a fake world of hilarity
high smiles and drunken whiles are the only thing left for their disparity
money vanishing faster than a magician on speed
they work too hard to get the fix they need
the kids wrapped in granny's arms 
hoping to protect them from harm
she can't be the answer to all hate's charms
they put granny on a bus to nowhere
once upon a time youth smiled on her
the now glazed eyes of her beloved fixed with hers
he seemed so much better
but that's what life is, isn't it?
change is natural
though we like to think it's controllable
with our various drugs instead of kisses and hugs
we blind the mind instead of teaching what way to find
ain't it a crime?
they put granny on a bus to nowhere
someday, she hopes 
those undeserving little sh_ts will look back and smile
for once appreciation show in their eyes
something they didn't know the really meaning of
because they were already gone from the reach of her love
something she couldn't deal with or thought she was above
not that it's her fault
she tried the best she could for run times two
when those who weren't supposed to let her down
decided to let their responsibilities drown
and hope that all they'd get from her was a demand and a frown
but sadly their immature minds are just too blind
to know that those they hurt the most
are those they hoped they could keep close
kids aren't kids anymore
they grew up, after giving up
because there wasn't anything left for them to reach up
they put granny on a bus to nowhere
because those little sh_ts wanted her there

Friday, May 22, 2009

Magic Carpet

i've got this magic carpet,
and all you've got to do is ride it,
ride it, ride it
cuz when you think you're falling, it'll just take you higher
way up above the city skyline
the boulevards and seaside
perfect squared concrete and shops
throngs pushing through all the bus stops
loud cries and banter abound
the population continually rising
imagination searching and divining
all they can see from the sky so high
everything hide to just a plain eye
away, up high
the distractions dissipate into space

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Funeral

long black rollers
crashing against the barren shoreline
the parade of the dead passes by 
mourners shrouded within their own misery
they carry the heavy burden left by the deceased
bells ring above the modern churchyard
not so long ago something much different would have occurred
the missionary priest greets the tragic party
behind they drag the wooden coffin
house of the dead
for there his spirit will reside forever in the arms of god
slowly 
the sun breaks through the morning fog and climbs
up
to its mid-day resting place above the evergreen mountains
gladly heavens rays shine down from above onto the sinners
the throng presses itself into the minute wooden church
built to hold fifty at capacity
but the fire marshall is not here to observe and demand
children talk loudly in their high-pitched voices 
many do not realize the gravity of the events before them
the choir begins to sing 
as many force themselves into the little worn building
a man attempts to open the windows
but stops when he realizes they have been painted shut
the spirit house
the mourners pass on their sadness through the ceremony
gently they lower him into the ground
his final resting place

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ghost Clouds

they smile like a dead dream
a dead dream half empty, the moldy lace curtains shaking in the whistling wind
nothing more shall remain
golden sunlight gone down behind the horizon
flowers bend in the oncoming storm
big brown earth mouth opens wide
yawns
swallows up the water from the wide open sky
nothing left behind
all is emptiness
ghost clouds smear in pirouettes daintily
their shadows dance on the grass
fading soon, they too will be gone
serene grandmother smiles
little children look up at the big dark sky
thunder?
lightening?
just words to express physical action
just names to express physical emotion
just another form of attachment
time changes all of everything
infinity keeps walking on
one by one, they are all gone
rain comes again
the wide earth opens wide mouths and swallows
rain falls down from the sky
grey aggregate colour
it lookings longingly at the ground so far away
the granite in the ground is the same colour
waving in the wind the grass continues
so many more times grass will be there
long ago descendants of it saw the same
everything is changed by time
only infinity keeps walking on

Monday, April 20, 2009

Gone


magic doesn't happen overnight
doesn't get created when you sit up late at night
no-one understands why you'd go destroy something right
cuz magic's just another way to determine the wrong from the right

creation is just another evolution
when what you really want is revolution
crucify the masses and force them to wallow in their own retribution
no more lies and games, just a final solution

tolerance doesn't really teach
all it does is keep killin those who preach
the message screwed up before it gets to those they're tryna reach
nothing to lessen the fact that all they've ever taught they sucked off like a leech

motion flows and thought pattern slows
what's been done and gone is only in between the lows
keep you eyes up on the sky don't look down below
watchers keepin their eyes on you from down low

honesty the best defence for those who hope to repent
something to show for how many lives they spent
the last mistake, one to many for those who's lives went
angry edge to the horizon makes the land look bent

never seen anything so obviously destructive
curling tentacles menacing through eyes and hearts receptive
young minds gone to something so bad and deceptive
but what can we do, when they have chosen their own demise as elective?

bury the dead and move on
cuz what's been said is broken and gone
face the darkness and hope to usher in the dawn
but what can you do when everyone else is gone?

don't ride the fence and hope we'll buy your blue sky blues
cuz what you really wanna hide will come back to you
especially when you're knowin that it's really all true
feelings and farces can't save you from the fate painted by black and blue

they promised you the world in exchange for all you can give
but don't you want a chance to just be here and live?
or is that too much to ask for from someone slipping through a sieve

perhaps it's that you don't want to be here
instead you want to go where everything is really clear
and get yourself out of here
but what'll happen to those you left behind and helpless?

buy yourself that one way ticket
cuz once you've got it you can never release it
take yourself to a cell or a little black box, cuz that's what you want isn't?
and maybe then you know that you can't really get it

you don't really know what you got til it's gone and no i'm not just talking about that one song
you know the one where you kinda sang along
well it's that same old song
except that you never saw the light and now that time has gone

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Not So Innocent

Clustering the corner
leaning, apprehensive
the crowd admires the passing traffic.
Rain patters down, unnoticed
they are worlds away,
heads spun and twisted, the needles within knitting.
Glassy eyes stare back at passerby
ignoring
everything that they don't want to see.
Recognizing only the ones they know
looking beyond everything and everyone else
always searching.
Tourist exits bus
glancing in their general direction,
is afraid of them.
Fear takes over,
takes the role of fight or flight
the heart begins to pump harder.
At first they do not notice the tourist,
sitting duck,
hoping they will remain unobservant.
Unfortunately, some are more aware than others
one shambles over
glassy eyes hidden by a playful smile.
Tourist recoils
who are they
why are they here.
Caught off guard by the innocent smile
that is not so innocent
all is not what they thought.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sing Your Own Song

what's be done is only what's become
the things from which we thought we'd run
cuz that's the only way we can see what's begun
and in the end where we've come from

if anything we should hope to understand
instead of look around and only reprimand
cuz that's the way we shouldn't really stand
without the honesty or truth of what we set to plan

if we had the time or morality
we'd be able to create what we want in reality
rather than drive our own desires into obscurity
because we're so caught up with popularity

magic doesn't happen overnight
without the thought of flight
with the the awesome sight
of how we'll make a "maybe" might

and even with this consideration
all we may have left is truly trepidation
cuz we're just full and often are mistaken
but how would you know without that revelation

to ask isn't to find
it's to look at what you've done and redesign
stepping outside in what you've come to mind
until you can look back and maybe see a sign

the image of perfection is something best left to reflection
rather than instant satisfaction
cuz you know it won't end with all that gratification
rather you'll see that you were overtaken

thoughts destroy and recreate
the things we swore we'd really hate
but how can you full comprehend the matters of late
when some foolish fallacy is given such a weight

flowers don't bloom in dead empty soil
and work won't get done without any toil
even so you need to see between the vinegar and oil
and reach right back down into that dark black soil

recite not what you were taught but your own song
cuz in the space of absence we have stood too long
hoping that some presence will hurry us along
but that isn't true; sing your own song

Friday, March 27, 2009

Big Blue Lake




















big blue lake
kinda like the one we call crystal lake
sparkling starts dancing on the water
and all you can see is the big blue crystal off as far
as
you can see
wish somebody could be here
to share
the way things are looking
something special should be shared
not locked away in a vault of memory
sadness doesn't turn to goodness
not matter how much you apply the kindness
spring comes late here
hardy trees punctuate the rugged rocks
determined
they pine onward
no pun intended
one day i want to build a cabin on these big crystal shores
logs of cut pine
sweet smells of sap to wake up to
nothing better in the world
away from the traffic and the throngs
and all the things that can possibly go wrong
dancing sky
i can see for miles
the water beckons
for
a canoe to crest the surface
long ago memories come back
some things you just can't forget
no matter
how you crush them

Sunday, March 22, 2009

the foundation's been laid
lumber delivered
sun shines down on the fresh cement
the old house is long gone
nothing will remain
it took a while to get rid of all the junk
maybe next week we will get the frame up
right now we can just wait
from here you can just see the road
not too busy though
soon the kids will have their own rooms
something to be said for a good sized house
maybe in two weeks
we can start the roof
lumber lies where the shed once stood
we will put another one up
one without mold
and garbage
you couldn't open the door
or garbage would tumble out

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Feeling

what a magical mystery
of the things that begin and the things we rekindle
something to be said for the things we find alternatively
relationships fade and the weather does change
time goes by and the wind sighs
how we face the world realistically
the choice is yours
magic doesn't happen overnight
you have to work at it
Rome wasn't built in a day
or so they like to say
slowly our fears can edge away
and leave us with nothing but what we really want
something we can choose to mold and fold
the feelings and things we want to share instead of burdens to bear

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Time and Time Again

rain clouds and electric razors shine reflections off the bathroom window
sunshine creeping through the clouds again and blue sky's on the way
somewhere a bus rumbles through the buildings
grass getting illuminated by the sharp shining light
traffic wines as the clock ticks the day by in seconds
on the desk the papers sit for me, ever-ready
waiting for that knock on the door and the eviction notice
sitting still no sound comes from the stairwell
everything's packed, set to be sent up north
back home somebody's waiting
counting down the days until the time is here
no more knocks on the door at ungodly hours of the day
while the time away
bare walls stare out with uninspired faces
all the photos of cousins and countless others are gone
sandwiched between books and breakables within boxes
duck tape keeps them all safe
sunshine day
clutter cleared and counters cleaned, gleaming
nothing remains, all will disappear
open windows sing to the wind, come in come in come in
time and time again
one orange moving truck idles below
boxes, bags and parcels make the descent to its bed
there they will remain until the destination
one last careful check to insure everything is gone
saying goodbye
returning the key one last time
the landlord isn't home, he won't know until it's too late
a stop at the bank to gather the well-saved money
soon, the on-ramp to the highway
no turning back

Saturday, March 7, 2009

This Land


dark dank rain on the truck windshield,
onward i go.
clouds descend with ever-rising rapidity,
i laugh, and think of the times when these skyies were sunny.
west coast wet coast.
nothing between me and the empty highway except how many tonnes of metal they put in this truck,
cruising along between the evergreen gorges, the sparkling streams and the ferocious waterfalls.
up ahead, just another in turn in the road,
onward i go.
mist sits in the trees, looking down thoughtfully as i admire the its wispy mustache whinging its way between the boughs.
"just guy, on the lost highway"
cold night will set in before and after i have reached my final destination.
city born, country bred.
i dog the relentless reaches of the province,
and pound the pulverized pavement that winds its way wonderously throughout.
soon
i will load my behemoth vehicle of steel, iron and whatever else they are putting in these damn automobiles nowadays,
onto the wrought platform of a ferry
and coast merrily down the coast, past the reserves and resources
the dark evergreens everywhere.
so long i have longed for this land,
the mountains that open up their arms to pick me up and carry me into their hearts,
the currents in the ocean that twirl and wave their hands, beckoning,
the world where everything began for me.
the place where i have grown up.
there is no other place like it it the world.
though my ancestors come from lands to the east, the Metis in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and others farther still,
forever i will be here in this land.
this is where i come from.
i have been taught the ways of this land,
when i set foot in it i am able to understand.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Northern Highway

















big brown bluffs
sand dancing off the road
wind waves the surface of the water
90 miles an hour down the highway passing town
sun setting in the west as the shadows start getting longer
soon dusk is here and the little golden lights can be seen from houses
before you know it the stars will be up in the royal blue sky blinking down at us
turn on the radio and listen to a station as sleepiness starts to edge its way after a long day
as more hours pass the later it gets and actually gets closer and closer, dawn of another new day
yawn and smile as another small country town goes flitting by in the blink of one drowsy eye
somewhere in the distance the light begins its daily transformation to day again
a bright blue line on the eastern horizon disappears behind mountains
higher it climbs as the road progresses steadily northward
almost time for breakfast today if you find a town
the sun crests the now rolling hills
new scenery and a new day
grassy golden fields

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Magic Bullets

magic bullets and sadistic currents
something we think we know as we think of how we need deterents
keep yourself away from the bad and hope to make yourself good
something that doesn't seem to work but you hoped it would
'cause that's the only way you can think of being good
enabled to disable 'cause that's the only way you've been able
why don't you just sit down at this table and be reasonable
but that's impossible 'cause you're really lost in yourself
doesn't take a blind man to see that you're the only one you need
'cause the things one which you need to feed
are things that just 'cause you to have more greed
when you're never satisfied by the things you'll never really need
if we're just shooting stars in the sky
then why do you keep looking forward to day you'll die?
nothing's ever going to change unless you take the chance and try
instead of looking blankly back up at the sky
animosity is just another form of curiousity
one where you don't know where your understanding is
'cause you have no idea what truth really is
lost in a blur of adrenaline and something else
so take a substance and inject it into your veins
remove the thoughts and actions you view as your chains
but before you know those things are your reins
and what you thought would make you feel better has become a bother
'cause there's no way to escape something that loves you like a brother

Friday, February 6, 2009

hey kiddo


hey kiddo
watchin' you grow up
i see what you're gonna be
just wanna guide you
see you through
make sure you know what to do
can't stop lovin' you
make me smile as i see you change
the ways of the world are wonders with you
happiness is blissful
my heart is kept safe
watchin' and learnin' as you do the things you do
i'm so proud
nothin' better than havin' this chance to be here
got nowhere else to take the place of now
i dunno if i'da said this back a year from now
but now i know
that there isn't anything better than seein' your kid grow
gotta share the love while we're here
my back is strong to carry the load
of parenthood and things for the old
cuz i know you're still young and'll do it for me when i get old
cuz that's just the way the way the stories are told
passed back along to the young from the old
your grace and innocence
are somthin' so genuine and free
it makes me laugh with joy
as i see the peace you carry inside
somethin' nobody should ever have to hide
somethin' i want you to carry with pride
i don't own you
you are your own person
i just want to be your guide
and help you do whatever you decide
cuz all parents gotta do is be their kid's guide

Alcohol

Glass bottles, gently carved from the shifting sands of the earth,
they are lined along the wall, soldiers facing the world, their blank faces staring out at you,
colourful labels and designs so fine,
all lined up in one long line,
sealed and sold, carried clandestinely in a brown paper bag, just under your arm.
But here they sit, still innocent,
nothing wrong to be done here, only looking but for that the price is free.
Try it just once, and you'll try it again,
circles of well-pounding metal encapsulate them from future patrons, waiting
longing, to be opened, their contents hurriedly swallowed in a frenzy,
remains a mystery, since nothing inside them is really all reality.
Lights shine up behind them, the eyes if angels, watching over us as we paw them, eye them, caress them,
hope for one moment that the security cameras, policemen, casheers, and laws will cease to exist so we can scoop them up, cradle them in our arms,
and disappear.
Such desperate longing is the way of the devil,
or so it has been said by many who know what lies locked within those cylinders of glass,
and who would gladly tell you they had no need for it in their lives,
when really all it does is walk them through life in a stupor of fantasy, like a dead dog on a leash.
They would have you believe that, because they cannot believe it themselves;
they do not want to believe it.
crystal glass dances in the sparkle of the lights, giving off an irreplaceable sheen
draws you in
it's reaching desire and playfulness tricking your heart.
It wants you to believe.
It wants you to love.
It wants you to be deceived.
It wants you to surrender.
so many, it grabs
holding onto their shirt collars with more force than a politician on campaign day,
more force than you will ever see displayed by a policeman.
Just that power itself is enough to do some people in, they don't need to stick around and see the rest of what it has to offer them,
the delights, the fears, the shadows and signs.
They may not have seen it already, but they are filled up by it.
They are finished by it.
Let the thunder pound down and the rainfall roll over,
as we sit and we wait for these times to be over,
the smiles of those who sell and the greedy, impatient hands of those who have come to claim their eagerly awaited glass-cloaked prizes, which
on some occaisions, take no time in taking those lives,
for which they have been bought and sold for in front of some eyes.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Made the Change


got myself a ticket home
goin back to the place i was born
goin home to where i'm from
family waiting at the shore
gonna wait for me in lac la ronge
then we go back
to where we're from
haven't been there in a long time
gonna see things that'll make me smile
gonna see things i haven't see in a while
just wanna get out back on the land
see the water where it mirrors the sky
just wanna see the same things again
i'm sailing home
the bus wheels whine
it seems the cry
the city left in goodbye
took my transfer at prince albert
all the way from saskatoon
said goodbye to all the friends there
some family maybe too
nothin left there for me to do
got my possessions here with me
in the seat sitting here
i can see the land go by
the sky that same eternal blue
soon i'll be home too
the trees i see are the ones i've seen
when i've taken this road before
the green of their boughs waves playfully
as we rush past effortlessly
today i am happy
today i am going home
leavin saskatoon
nothing left for me to do there
only sit at the apartment walls and stare
as i see my shadow dance across the wall
sun's playin games
sweet smell of the country
sweet smile of the sunshine
going back home
going back to a place i though i'd never see again
and thought i'd never be again
but i was wrong
'cause here i am
smilin as i know we aren't too far away
from the place i like to call home
back to lac la ronge
so much here will be the same
encapsulated in my head
laid to rest 'til i came back
just so
i will see the changes that have come and gone
but that's the same with all the world
'cause nothin really changes
only you do, and you see them a different way
but nothin's really different
you made the change

Friday, January 23, 2009

Suicide


White on white and blue on blue.
I can see the sky from here.
I think of you.
Gone are the days when you were here,
my heart begs for you to come back.
I think of times passed,
and memories elapsed.
I long for you,
sun sitting on the surface of the sky.
Please come back.
Everyone waits for you.
Sadness in the eyes of those who you left,
loneliness in those who never said goodbye.
You can't fill the emptiness with sorrow,
it'll be gone tomorrow.
Eat you up inside,
there's blood on the riverside.
Black water locked in heavy ice,
gone 'til the break-up;
come back before it breaks.
Clouds stretching themselves before a long journey,
no wind to push them onwards.
Soon no-one will be here to see for you,
they'll all have forgotten you.
Don't go,
please come back.
Eat you up inside,
there's blood on the riverside.
Snowflakes perform pirroets and tumble down,
lying porcelain
on the undisturbed white canvas of snow.
Empty blue,
eyes looking out into the next world.
If you look hard enough you can see where you went.
Maybe if we look harder,
maybe if we search a little longer,
maybe if we pray a little better,
we can bring you back.
What made you go,
we'll never know.
Please don't go,
we need to know,
what's making you leave us so.
You can't be leaving yet,
we need you to tell us
where you went.
How can we find you
before
it's too late.
Why did you have to go?
Go away, away, away.
Eat you up inside;
call somebody quick, there's blood on the riverside
I can see
your
shadow.
On the snow on the riverbank.
I hear the rush of the river.
I hear of it's soulful whisper.
I hear the gunshot cracking in the morning air.
Where, where, where
did you go?
Where can we look?
Can you come home?
It'd be suicide to think you can bring back a man who died....

Lie

and then you really might know what it's like
cuz i think that you been thinking what you know is right
but i think you realize it ain't alright
cuz how can you see these things at the end of the night?
i can't see but i been thinkin'
that you don't know what you been doin'
cuz how can you see what you haven't been understandin'?
where is the love
where is the thing that you thought you had to lose?
where did it go?
where has it been?
lies won't stop
cries won't stop
you need to fix all this and make it stop
cuz it won't end 'til you're gonna drop
singin' and dancin' and tellin' your song
cuz you've never understood how this did you wrong
how couldn't you see things all along
there isn't much too see the way things have gone
how can you rest when so much must be done?
i bet you coulda found a better way
one with benefits and vacation pay
a way to make life fun today
but i think you and i know why you chose this way
driving down the highway at a quarter to five
just tryna think about keeping it alive
what's there to do when all you've done is lie?

Saturday, January 17, 2009

banjo and fiddle


banjo and a fiddle were dancin' down the road
off to alabama
and the appalachias
they belong in the south
down in the deep south
banjo and fiddle goin' off to kentucky
goin' off to arkansas
goin' off to a hoe down tonight
strings of steel and bows of birch
runnin' down roads of rich red dirt
and they're goin'
we're goin' to a hoe down tonight
crisp little stars in the cold moonlight
wicked little wind blowin' down the highways alright
we're goin' to a hoe down tonight
sounds and songs of a happy family
as we pass through the land of kentucky
inside the ways of appalachia
on to arkansas, louisiana and maybe on through alabama,
over to the virginias and missouri too
all through the south, singin' songs
banjo and a fiddle dancin' down the road
we're goin' to a hoe down tonight
oh muddy water
wash all my sins away
jesus in the sky keep me in your heart til it's my time to die
oh muddy water
wash all my sins away
keep me safe today
as we sing and dance this way
we're goin' down to a hoe down tonight
off we go in the bright moonlight
enjoy the dancin' sky in the night
and the good things we're gonna do this night
banjo and a fiddle runnin' down the road
singin' and playin' and laughin' and smilin'
goin' through every single southern town
'cause we're going to a hoe down
i've lived my life the way i was told
and watched as i been gettin' old
and seen the way the world's been sold
and come to know what's really gold
as we sit and watch the land get sold
and wonder how we can find what's truly gold
and i know in my heart of hearts
what's true and what's a poison dart
'cause i seen whats good and what's just dirt
and understood for what it's really worth
maybe that's why i'm goin' down
goin' down to this hoe down
banjo and a fiddle dancin' down the road
'cause they know whats really right
and how we should be spendin' our time tonight
as i drive like wildfire in the cold moonlight
oh muddy water
wash all my sins away
oh jesus, why don'tcha watch over me today
keep me from goin' astray
'cause i know that i shouldn't go away
so listen to the whisperin' wind
'cause it sounds like a big storm blowin' in

Monday, January 12, 2009

An Ode to the Episode of C.F.


and every new and shining day
we take the path we hope will lead us to a better way
a better way where we can stay
a place we'd like to stay someday
to keep us with our better ways and keep the pain away
cuz all you got to lose is what you gained today
something to help you think before you go astray
the ways in which your people helped and guided you to say
don't you wanna stop and keep us all and make a big display?
with all your screwed up foreplay
and things that you really meant to be the other way
what more have i to say?
you ruined it you took your chance
you made sure we couldn't fix this trance
something to think about when you see what's really gone askance
the world rocking on its hinges like a door askew
as you realized just what you've come to do
life taking your mind in the paces you've been through
the ways in which you'll never understand exactly what they do
making your path up from the underworld
a journey from the unknown
as you can watch what you have blown
god on your side or maybe on the ones you have dethroned
think about it before everything is gone
something you shoulda understood fore what you did was said and done
now didn't you really have so much fun?
those family that you've put on the run?
do they really want to invest in someone full of rum
making their own lives hellish as they watch you perish
my god you must think you're special to make somethin incredible
that can make us all turn so unintelligible
wait til the light's gone off and you're uneligible
they'll be watchin your path as you grace unremarkable
the brains cells dyin as your eyes lose their sparkle
coming from a place where the descent's matriarchal
the weight of your world faced by others who made it more than partial
as you sit and you wink with the think in your drink
and watch these globs of slick black ink
killing itself off with the drink
everything gone in the time of a blink
something to be said as the world begins to shrink
everything is gone with the length of a song
didn't really take that long
just keep goin along
with those you belong
and soon before you can realize what has come to pass
and wish that you could surpass
but my god won't you be living in the past?
cuz it's gonna come and get you before you can make the pass
and dive back into the things you thought you hid in the grass
maybe your kid will dig up your needles, your pills or your powder
lay it out on the floor so perfect
with the simple look of a child so innocent
that you can't help to corrupt with a mind so undiligent
cut the crap and clean up your act
cuz you've still got the life in your muscles to react
just get up off your ass and hope the edge where you're walking hasn't cracked.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

cake

bought myself a rifle and a batch of johnny cake
gonna take it to my aunt next morning at just past eight
gonna take it by her house sittin there by the lake
i bought the thing cause i don't know how to bake
can handle a pan or pan a handle
but i know how to shoot a grouse or a nice heavy goose
somethin that i don't hafta guess
but i think i'll stay away from that johnny cake

wabaseemoong

highway 17 does go
through kenora and keewatin
a land of ancient bliss
greening forest hidden by the mist
take the highway 17A
to pass it by
take it west to get to manitoba
or go the east and get to thunder bay
nothing much to see in here and there
just lakes and things grow there
winding highway
where did i take you wrong?
where did i miss the turn off to wikwemikong?
i must be pretty lost, cause the sign says i'm in wabaseemoong
oh where did i go wrong?