In the Arms of the World

she sleeps with the windows open to the night
the air so cold, the moon so bright
the rain like a daughter of neptune lost in the flood

the dogs and the cats, curled up in bed
the wind in their dreams the color of red
somewhere down the street is the innocent mud

and the waters flow back to the sea
and the sun is shining in eternity
and the sky is wheeling like a great bird
we are living and dying
in the arms of the world

the garden waits for the spring to arrive
the soil turned and so full of life
the birds dancing like dinosaurs with wings

she turns on the bed and flashes a smile
gives me a kiss on the radio dial
we are the paupers, we are the kings and queens

and the waters flow back to the sea
and the sun is shining in eternity
and the sky is wheeling like a great bird
we are living and dying
in the arms of the world

there is horrible news from the milky way
the speed of light is on holiday
and the book you read last night has just been sold

but the coffee has brewed in Jerusalem
and god has an exhibit in the museum
with any luck there will be new stories told

and the waters flow back to the sea
and the sun is shining in eternity
and the sky is wheeling like a great bird
we are living and dying
in the arms of the world

i hear her talking in the other room
laughing like a child at the edge of doom
using the phone to cure a friend

and the cats are hungry and the dogs agree
let's feed everybody and play by the sea
there is no beginning and there is no end

and the waters flow back to the sea
and the sun is shining in eternity
and the sky is wheeling like a great bird
we are living and dying
in the arms of the world

she turns on the bed and flashes a smile
gives me a kiss on the radio dial
we are the paupers, we are the kings and queens

For Donna~

***

Sleep in a Lullaby

who is the man in the mirror
staring back at me
hair the color of ashes
eyes that can barely see
who is the driver
who is the machine
the days of spring are coming
but they're not the days i've seen

i'm hoping to get to the forest
and find a place to sit
the wind is biting winter
and i will take the hit
the doctor took my number
and pointed to the sky
everyone lives for awhile
then everybody dies

who is the man in the article
who is the stranger in the street
who is the piper at the gates of dawn
and who is keeping the beat
where is the memory of a golden sun
where is the mother of god
i could use a little lullaby
where is the mother of god
sleep, little darling and dream your dreams
sleep in a lullaby
sleep in the arms of the mother of god
sleep in a lullaby

he worked that day for a friend of his
getting the lift to run
gears and oil and a bolt of rust
must've weighted fifty tons
by night he said goodbye to the men
and drove by the whiskey train
but he just kept on going
alone in the Oregon rain
the cold is a fierce competitor
the grave is a fait accompli
he drove to the forest in the dead of night
and said goodbye among the trees
he said goodbye among the trees

who is the man in the article
who is the stranger in the street
who is the piper at the gates of dawn
and who is keeping the beat
where is the memory of a golden sun
where is the mother of god
i could use a little lullaby
where is the mother of god
sleep, little darling and dream your dreams
sleep in a lullaby
sleep in the arms of the mother of god
sleep in a lullaby

(repeat opening stanzas)

**

This song is dedicated to a man I do not know, but upon reading an article about him in the OregonianI wrote these lyrics.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn refers to a passage from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, a phrase in turn used by Pink Floyd as the title of their debut album. If there is a sense of caring love in the universe in terms of protecting a lost child it is this chapter that brings it to life.

**

The Wall of Bricks

Alone Sometimes

Too late

too late in the day to wonder
too late in the day to cry
too late in the day to plunder
too late to say goodbye

too late in the day to get the worm
too late to be first in line
too late to be original
too late for the sun to shine

too late to leave the planet
too late to stop the rain
but i ain't gonna worry none
i ain't gonna complain

too late to catch the 509
too late to shoot the stars
too late to be invincible
too late to close the bars
but i was on time for you
i looked up and you grinned
i walked across the street for you
when you show up you can win
when you show up you can win

too late to be an astronaut
too late to be a king
too late to the governor
and make them kiss my ring

too late to be a big tycoon
too late to rule the world
but i met you just in time
you're my diamond and my pearl
you're my diamond and my pearl

too late to catch the 509
too late to shoot the stars
too late to be invincible
too late to close the bars
but i was on time for you
i looked up and you grinned
i walked across the street for you
when you show up you can win
when you show up you can win

too late in the day to wonder
too late in the day to cry
too late in the day to plunder
too late to say goodbye

for donna
xoxoxoxo

The Book of Drunken Cats

the book of drunken cats
lay hidden in the garbage dump
until a loner spied
some rope for suicide
and he jumped off of a stump

the loner fell without success
alive and sad as sin
he remembered december
and smoke from the embers
floated past just like a grin

it was then he saw the cats
drunken cats in full career
drunken cats guarding lager vats
drunken cats all drinking beer

somebody should be writing this
the vagrant said aloud
the cats began to serenade
even the ones that had been spayed
they were singing to the clouds
they were singing to the clouds
the book of drunken cats

i will start it off with lions, dear
and tigers, jaguars
they will set the stage, you see
for cats through all eternity
who waste their time in bars

what will happen in the rest of it?
the cats, they did meow
something awful and dramatic
freaking and spasmodic
leading readers to ask how

it was then he saw the cats
drunken cats in full career
drunken cats guarding lager vats
drunken cats all drinking beer

somebody should be writing this
the loner said aloud
the cats began to serenade
even the ones that had been spayed
they were singing to the clouds
they were singing to the clouds
the book of drunken cats

the loner wrote the book that day
and published it the next
he was autographing everywhere
and the cats they did not even care
too drunk for much pretext
far too drunk to even realize
something happened to the loner's eyes
he was wearing a brand new disguise
he was captivating light
he was brewing in the night
he was meowing
he was meowing

the cats began to serenade
even the ones that had been spayed
they were singing to the clouds
they were singing to the clouds
the book of drunken cats

***

Live in Space

Because you already do...

My Junk Mail

The following text arrived in my junk mail at work today. I liked it.

Democrats, were you listening last Thursday, when Newt Gingrich laid into debate moderator John King for raising concerns about his fidelity? You should have been. You would have seen the future. Please note that Mr. Gingrich was not angry at the liberal media for doubting his explanation for his dalliances with the young ladies, but rather, told the moderator that he had no right to raise the question at all. Ever. Period. Please note that Newt is a standard-bearer for the party of personal morality, the party that preaches that bad behavior in the bedroom will lead to America’s ruin. And yet, even with this focus, Newt somehow convinced voters that it’s perfectly fine to kick your wife to the curb and expect us all to smile and say it smells like roses.

An amazing performance, Democrats. You’d better be watching. This is the man who personifies that essential Republican virtue, the ability to turn the tables of indignation against anyone who dares to say no, sir, no sir, what you did to your family does not smell like roses. Yes, Democrats you have met your nemesis. This is the man who, as President, will look into the camera and tell us, with heavy heart, that Iranians possess weapons of mass destruction, and that America is tasked with the difficult burden of bombing them into the Stone Age. And when it turns out that Iran wasn’t as missile-bound as all that, Newt will indignantly throttle the Democrats, the journalists, and all the boogeymen who came in for such a tongue-thrashing last Thursday, to the sound of mass applause and the fawning of commentators. Yes, Democrats, we’ve all lived for three years under a President who has quietly chipped away against our economic problems, lowered our taxes, turned around the automotive industry, killed Bin Laden, and all this with the fanfare of a man getting up on a regular workday and heading for the office. But where’s the fun in that? What’s the appeal of a President who doesn’t even pretend to be God’s Anointed Messenger? BORING!

But now, the fireworks will really begin, the same fireworks we saw in 2003 under That Other Republican: Go ahead and ask Newt, and he’ll happily inform you: “We are living in the End Times.” What does that mean? It means America must wage a final struggle against Islam, usher in the closing of the Age, and thus, fulfill Biblical prophecy. Do you think Mitt Romney could sell us that? Mitt Romney, who, whenever he talks, knows that you know that he knows that you know he is lying? No, only Newt Gingrich can assume the proper somber gravity, don the mantle of George W. Bush, and convince us that we must once more, soldier up in some faraway land of Allah and start shooting.


Go ahead. Take a deep breath, summon some courage, and publish this.

Neela Bannerji

No deep breath, no courage, but I am happily publishing this message!

***

The Refusal of the Call

i saw visionary sights
moons reflected, perfect nights
the ocean sleeping serene and clean
the stars all majick jumping beans

to the sea in early morning
i was each day quite newly born
into the waters, cleansed and clear
arising from the waves, no fear

sleeping in the noonday sun
playing catch upon the run
the temple had no hold on me
i was inside eternity

that was a time of eden
that was a time of freedom
that was a time, a time all mine
that was a time so long ago
after breaking all the locks
looking inside my treasure box
the gem, the jewel, the heart of hearts
was something hidden at the start
that was time, a time all mine
that was a time so long ago

a prince of paupers, an errant knight
who turned away from the good fight
i ran away and left it all
my own refusal of the call

you cannot lecture the old men
you cannot make them young again
the best thing that you may yet do
is love someone quite near to you

there are children at the gate
they all run off, though one may stay
if there is wisdom, take this one clue:
be kind and listen, don't be rude
the child at the secret gate
just needs a hand, this is your fate

that was a time of eden
that was a time of freedom
that was a time, a time all mine
that was a time so long ago
after breaking all the locks
looking inside my treasure box
the gem, the jewel, the heart of hearts
was something hidden at the start
that was time, a time all mine
that was a time so long ago

a prince of paupers, an errant knight
who turned away from the good fight
i ran away and left it all
my own refusal of the call

Depoe Bay

the family gathered near the water
with their shoes held in their hands
sand between their toes and daughters
the sun was setting on the land

they'd come to set him free forever more
scatter remains at the end of day
they had driven to the silent shore
and set him free past Depoe Bay

(chorus)
goodbye father, goodbye darling
goodbye to you my friend
after spirit has departed
only ashes in the wind
we have gathered at the end of day
to set you free past Depoe Bay

the harbor ain't that much to see
not very big and rather plain
the bridge above a shadow now
another ghost lost in the rain

a note is clenched inside his hand
one he wrote so long ago
no one left to which it matters
and nowhere left to go

(chorus)
goodbye father, goodbye darling
goodbye to you my friend
after spirit has departed
only ashes in the wind
we have gathered at the end of day
set you free past Depoe Bay

sometimes thunder stops the heart a bit
sometimes wind comes rushing by
sometimes it's all so beautiful
sometimes it ain't a lie

(chorus)
goodbye father, goodbye darling
goodbye to you my friend
after spirit has departed
only ashes in the wind
we have gathered at the end of day
to set you free past Depoe Bay

Human Head Found in Hollywood Hills

According to unnamed sources the human head is polling third in South Carolina. Truth, that.