Lines

I lay awake and let my mind wander
Think of the things I have to ponder
And let these thoughts infect my dreams
Things are not what they seem

I stare at the ceiling, the cracks on the wall
Mystified and intrigued by the wonder of it all
The lines on the wall like those on my hand
The monsters there at my every command

I trace the lines on my palm with my finger
Choosing carefully on which ones to linger
I stop at the point where the line ends at last
And move my finger back to retrace my past

The corners of my vision begin to cloud
But still my heart beats strong and proud
Like laying on the edge of awake and asleep
I lay here dazed as my breaths become deep

Finally my time is here
My left eye cries my very last tear
I look at the world for the very last time
Before I calmly surrender my mind

Chord progression (two chords per line):
C, G, Am, F (x2)
C, Am (transition between verses)

.....[nothing].....

Just sitting, taking in the noises, trying to make
Something
Out of nothing
Taking thoughts and weaving them into
Poetry
No cadences, metaphors, or rhymes.
Just listening to the bustle, writing nothings that I
See.
Hear.
Think.
Feel.
But is it really nothing if it’s coming from my soul?
When the pen jumps so naturally along the paper
Putting together the words.
There must be purpose.
It knows where to stop–


Start,
And how to cut through illuminated lies,
Marking the canvas with my bloody truths.
The pen leaves my mind naked and vulnerable.
The ink spills the tears my eyes dare not spare.
Sacrificing me for the comfort of those who know
One
But not the other
Hate
But not love
Ache
But not relief
Death
But not life.
And all who simply celebrate the latter
Wonder
My ambiguous plight.
He who knows both
He who bends his mind into the impenetrable
c h a s m s
That shift my emotions, truly
Knows.
The pen is the cross that I bear.
So I sit, take in the noises, make
Something
Out of nothing.
Letting this pen drain the sweat of my struggle and
Stain my paper with its bitter salt.

I am from Eden

CHORUS:
I am from Eden
I am a truth to behold
I am from Perfect
I come from stories untold
You may forget my past
And paint my victories in shame
But I am from Eden
And you will hear my name

Starting even
Falling from the top
Banished outward
Madness never stops
Diving under
Diving under
Shackled by the values of man

[CHORUS]

I can prosper
And still be by your side
Let me prosper
And you and I will thrive
Give me freedom
Give me freedom
To take my given power again

[CHORUS]

Chorus chord progression (two chords per line):
Am, Dm, C, E (x3)
Am, Dm, E, E7

Verse chord progression (written corresponding to line):
Am, Dm
C, E
Am, Dm
C, E
Am, Dm
Am, Dm
Dm, E, E7

Atlas

Every new day is the very worst day
Maybe it’s just not my year
I am to blame so I guess I can’t complain
Though I’m living a life of fear

CHORUS:
You can call me Atlas
I’m holding the world
But buckling under the weight
Now nobody is safe

The pressure is great and I’m losing faith
That I’ll balance the world much longer
But the tears I cry from my terrified eyes
Will not make me any stronger

[CHORUS]

BRIDGE:

I need to rest take this load off my chest
Not to mention the one on my back
But I dare not sleep for as soon as they leave
They plan their returning attack

[CHORUS]

Verse chord progression (one chord per line)*:
F#m, C#m, Dm, A, E

*E on same line as A

Chorus chord progression (group two chords per line)**:
A, C#m, Bm, E (x2)
F#m

**F#m is transition on last line

Bridge chord progression (corresponding to lines):
E, F#m
E, F#m
Dm
A, E

A Truth and Two Lies

The news came as quite a shock
Though things were never fine
All you took away from me
Was the heart I once called mine
Still I’m left here empty-handed
Thinking of your eyes
Dreaming of the way you were
Always a truth and two lies

CHORUS1:
Don’t say anything
Please don’t speak
I’m much too tired
I’m much too weak
Please don’t sell me
What I despise
One of your truths
And two of your lies

I’m still waiting for you to call
Though I don’t want to hear your voice
You might want to talk to me
But now it’s not your choice
And when you call I’ll answer the phone
With muffle coughs and cries
And shake my head at every word
Another truth and two lies

[CHORUS1]

I thought long and hard about you today
And decided this was the end
You won’t call and I won’t care
But I’ll still call you a friend
And if I’m distant and cold
And you wonder why
I will simply smile at you
And tell you a truth and two lies

CHORUS2:

Don’t say anything
Please don’t speak
I’m no longer tired
I’m no longer weak
But now I’m selling
What I despise
One of my truths
And two of my lies

Verse chord progression (one chord per line):
Am, G, F, E (x2)

Chorus chord progression (one chord per line)*:
Am, Dm, G, Am
Am, Dm, G, E…
G, F, E

*Last three chords in progression are transition

Where Were You?

Where were you when the music stopped
And the last lost leaves blew across the hard cement?
When the carousel’s cheerful song turned to maniacal teases?
Where were you when I waited alone and tired?
I saw the sun trying to shine through the hazy clouds
And looked away, ashamed at its pathetic attempts.
The air turned bitter and cold while I waited and waited and waited.
Tree branches I’d climb on, frosted and slashed through the wind
Sending shards of unforgiving autumn against my face.
Where were you, when the crowd died?
The laughter ceased? I waited at the gate just like you said.
Plastic clowns mocking my genuine fear. Empty swings across the street
Swayed in the meaningless wind. And I waited.
Where were you? Did you forget?
The sun slumped behind the mountains
Shooting unseen colors across the darkened sky.
A streetlight lit my seat on the curb as I shivered in your absence.
A tear froze to a stop on my cheek. A fallen nightmare.
Looking into heaven, I saw the first star and my mother’s car sped towards me.
My harvested tears poured as I reached for her, reaching for you.
She was there.
Where were you?

Sonnet I

The promises are few and far between
But somehow sting me deeper than your eyes
So tainted in betrayal, trust, and lies
When nothing has come hence from what it seems

Where tears will sit like dew upon my lids
So fresh, pristine, and heavy in release
The only proof that night had conquered peace
You rack my heart with what my soul forbids

So scheming in your ways I lose my view
Succumbing to the reasons that I fear
Though far the source of things that come from here
I find myself reliving dreams for you

The twisted pains of what your friendship brings
Are fit for no one but the devil’s kings.

Cool Waters

I’ve crawled inside your eyes
And slept within your soul
And drank from the cool waters
I’ve woken from our time
Climbed out of the hole
And drank from the cool waters

CHORUS:
Take my heart
Take my soul
Take my tears and my fallen shadow
So we can huddle together for warmth
In cold and bitter meadow
And drink from the cool waters

You’ve seen inside my mind
And heard my crying thunder
And drank from the cool waters
And when you tried to find
The madness falling under
You drank from the cool waters

[CHORUS]

We’ve run from all our kind
And bathed in pools of heartache
And drank from the cool waters
We’ve robbed each other blind
To feed our growing earthquake
To shake each other in its waters

[CHORUS]

Verses chord progression (two measures per chord):
C, E, Am, F (x2)

Chorus chord progression (two measures per chord):
C, G, Dm, Am
C, G, Dm
C, G, Dm
F

If I Were a Sculptor

If I were a sculptor I’d sculpt you with jade and gold.
I’d start with your heart and I’d finish you with your soul.
Your laugh and your cry all that’s in between
The parts of you that I wish they would see.

CHORUS:
When you smile, they’re crying
And you cry when they smile
It’s a sad world, wish we could leave for a while
As they live you’re dying, as they die you live
Have you come to save us all from what we wouldn’t give?


If I were a tailor I stitch you of satin and silk
I’d first sew your courage and hem with your will
I see your beauty deep inside
I see you when I look into your eyes.

[CHORUS]

If I were a savior, you’d be the first one to save
Cause you are the one who makes me want to me brave
Though I say, I know it won’t be
Cause you are the one who’s saving me

[CHORUS]

Verse chord progression (corresponding to lines):
Dm, Dm, C, G (repeat after words)
Dm, Dm, C, G (repeat after words)
Dm, Dm, C, G
Dm, Dm, C, G

Chorus chord progression (corresponding to lines):
Bb, F
G, Dm
Bb, F, G, A
Bb, Dm
F, G, A7