small town high

life bruised her eyes
not someone's fist
he turns his small town beauty
into a goddess drinking by the
kool-aid colored lights

and she loves that rebel boy
the color of her sin is loyalty
walking with him she feels 
prettier than she will most likely
ever feel again

bus stop goodbye
three days of loving in 
their eyes
he'll drink till he's sober
she's the wine too wild to bottle
and the world will be too loud without her
in the crimson nights he'll find safe harbor

he's on a small town high
falling in love for life
road ready and restless
running from passions sweet
messes
they'll never forget this

Rivers and Mirrors

it's not easy to remain quiet when all you want to do is scream
it's a nightmare when all you want to do is sleep but the red hot creeping memories refuse to lie down and you tear at your own skin
the drama is a slow kill and you're not amused anymore
your heart is weary and you're tired as the comfort zone has been stretched too far for your body to know of its existence
pretty girls in fancy clothes on classy streets have songs for memories but
when was life ever clean for you girl
it's not easy when you think too much, a film always running its frames in the back of your mind and your heartbeat is irregular
the answers are too heavy to carry
sometimes
afternoons used to smell like strawberry jam and homemade biscuits and you were safely tucked into the hymns she sang so reverently
but that river don't run anymore
your heart cries like a child for a blanket and begs for amnesia 
your mind just wants a break and your thirst clamors for more than chemicals to drink
you're starved for beauty but years of un- justice do you no service
heaven is a room filled with scented flowers
but you haven't any
you're sure your hands are empty but they're always busy
you're scared but don't know why, the rain makes you smile, the sun makes you cry
you'd die for your dream but your bones are aching and where's the alchemy
your wallets empty, truth is cremating and the dust of her dirty presence is just too plenty
and you walk in mazes in the home you carry in your dreams just to prove you still can
too many bullets and cold cases , nothing will ease your aching head but they tell you time heals everything but its all just a scar waiting for the wrong moment to ripen and rip it free so it has power to keep you on your knees
hungry for your mother's hands that haven't touched you in years
you miss your father but his dreams drowned in a river
just too much heartache for that girl you see in the mirror
 

one night

you were flesh in his hands
nothing more
you were hidden sin
behind closed doors
you were a body moving
in the direction of desire
a few suspended moments of
a lifetime
not meant to be forever
you were working hard to be
a woman in love
but moments like this in a mans life
isn't likely love he's thinking of

you were just his wild seed
he must sow to be great
a beautiful,  sensual misdeed
yes,  his hands were gentle
a prayer on your skin that received
and blessed his every word
you were his goddess,  his moonlight
you were stardust on his tongue
for one night
his one and only one

you were being recorded on the blackboard
hall of fame in his mind
queen for a night
held in hands that worshipped you like holy art
one night of
valentine's and ruby wines
quick silver and a glimmer of lust
in his eyes
just a passionate on by

dreams and dragons

if you turn the kaleidoscope into a slate
and watch the angle as all the darlings
fall in love with the moments want to be
and the floor you're dancing on in a small
town bar is the future highlight of your life

watch the sparks fly as they hide in the glint
of their lovers eyes, youth was a compromise
forget what must die to keep that love perfectly
alive
and the beauty that we make just prays for sleep
on sunless days
and pretty words grow roots and strangle
all that silence won't erase

we'll have conversations in future living rooms
we'll build our dreams from lights of promise
and we will never go
to where we can't see the light of glory
in the eyes of a dream that lived

we'll take steps of grace
but we will never concede
we'll believe because we breathe
and we'll fight through the pain
because we're alive

everything on the line
misdirection is unimagined and
our whitewashed dreams turn into dragons

fuchsia nights

fuchsia lights on soft young skin
every lonely man's dream
stare of a strangers desire
softened by the before drink
dressing like a dreamgirl
candy smiles for rooms of alcohol angels
with haloes of stale smoke
beauty arrives then disappears
like a ghost

she's new at this dance
the swivel, the sway
that was created for men's pleasure
her accomplishment is to make them
feel special
she wants to be liked
but the bills on the table at home
won't wait

her old friends vanished
with the means to reach for
the educated kind of glory
while her dreams are earned
on a small space budget of a slim string

she checks out
to a summer long ago
forgotten by the love who left
her behind
and now her body sings in rhythm
as heated eyes lust for the girl
beneath fuchsia lights

she smiles
she's theirs for a thought

summer romance

fire caught the words in my throat
as I rested in your arms my angel man
we drifted in suspense
our hearts loud like thunder
yet we were cocooned in comforters
of bliss
and words were an unwelcome diversion
in our own heaven
I was lost in the scent, the feel of you
my eden,  happy oblivion
contour of your hand in mine
your lips were divine
summer air wafted as roses boiled
in the summer sun

no repeat

you spilled your records on the floor
and I spilt my hair on your shoulder
we sat like children
with music and memories
at home in the light of your
living room
belonging to that time
that space
we fell asleep on the floor
the turn table on repeat