i liked to think he had it all. fine new shoes, rich burgundy with leather soles. a brick townhouse downtown. the hardwood floors, the vaulted ceilings and bay windows. even the kitchen had the classic black and white checkered tile he’d favored.

he’d talked about laying it in himself but ultimately when no one was looking he shelled out wads of money he probably couldn’t afford to part with to have some greasy overweight man named jerry joe come in and do it for him.

i was called over for drinks on thursday evening, close enough to the weekend, i thought, and well past noon. a nightcap seemed appropriate. he was standing in his parlor, looking at his bookshelves, one arm leaning on a globe bar, clutching a class of single malt scotch.

i made my presence known. he smiled and greeted me and offered me a glass of his scotch and i readily accepted. i sat down in an overstuffed leather smoking chair and sipped at it. it was hateful. i wondered if he was punishing himself.

he asked for a moment. you see, he just needed someone where when he.. well, it was a culmination of sorts. he picked up the phone, dialed a number. he spoke briefly, confidently and then stopped dead in his tracks.

he said he understood and hung up the receiver slow and sad.

four of the books from the bookcase fell when he did this. they weren’t actually books, you see- sometimes you get cardboard that looks like the back of books and it appears as though the case is full.

he looked reticent for a moment and then slammed his fist, full force, into the side of the case and the cardboard books tumbled down in droves. he hit it again and the case shuddered. he hit it a third time and stared at his knuckle as the last of the cardboard books tumbled through the air before settling on a pile of their brothers.

i set the scotch down and left, feeling ill to myself. nothing about it was healthy, so i decided it was better if i took my leave.

and so i did, never to return.

i remember
when i was a child
sitting on the pea green carpet
in my grandmother’s bedroom
in the old farmhouse

she read to me from a dirty green book
with a threaded cover
crumbling, yellow jagged pages

she told me that when autumn came
in her resplendent glory
all the trees changed into their best dress
to impress the fall

winter grew jealous
and blew hard
and all the trees were laid naked to the cold winds

now summer is dying, and autumn has begun her waltz
here in my home
but i am not ready for the wind

lafayette imperative

I woke up to light tearing in through the window
pupils drawn tight, everything’s too bright
mouth dry from the self destructive afterglow

we have kool-aid and eggs for breakfast

our matted hair, this gnawed up old couch
the television showing oscar the grouch
we take a step back and wonder about this seemingly eternal slouch

we have kool-aid and eggs for lunch

warm, sweet summer air weighing down the grass
empty solo cups and scorched pipes
reeling like the british at the fall of madras

we have kool-aid and eggs for dinner

one of these days now, someone’ll break free
and leave this bombed out place for good
but I hope it’s not you, and I hope it’s not me

tentative tracklist

title: The Motor City Bridge Drifters Make Like Cobain

side one
1. The Event Horizon
2. Moonlight Over Bernie
3. Showdown at Don’s Gun World
4. The Ultimate Warrior Will Vindicate Us All
5. The Mess Inside (Mountain Goats cover)
side two
6. Towards Lansing
7. East Side Eukaryotes
8. Famous Blue Raincoat (Leonard Cohen cover)
9. The Lawrenceburg Switchoff
10. The Day We Will Win (spoken)

So I changed the titles to some of these songs and some haven’t been posted yet. Those that have will be polished but you will recognize them. I need to get permission to do The Mess Inside and Famous Blue Raincoat but out of the two I am more afraid of the Cohen song not making it. Then again maybe neither of them will. The mechanics of putting covers on things are totally foreign to me.

New songs

“East Side Eukaryotes”

This one’s for us
The desperate men at the gas station
Milling around, looking for Confederate flags
We’re going to found a nation

360 long gray Muncie days
Hoping to find some long forgotten cay
Walking around the bridges, slowly wasting away

Flashing microbiological gang signs
Arms all stuffed with bamboo
They say don’t, they say we won’t
You know we’re sure as hell going to

And then we’re at the bridge, jackets open wide
And the people down below us all start to run and hide
It’s a slippery slope we’ve begun to slide
I wanna go back inside

But not too far now, our victory day’s a comin’
We steel ourselves and drink too much coffee
We’ll hit the ground running
We’ll hit the ground running

—

“The Ultimate Warrior Will Vindicate Us All”

The best of the heels, you’re an alright face
And when you get to ranting, you really set the pace
But man if there’s only one true thing certain
It’s that the Hulkster’s gonna smash your face

The hijacking and all the ancient ones coming down
You’ve gotta feel like you’re starting to run this town
You’ve got Mean Gene running scared
And you’re gonna seize that crown

You legally changed your name to Warrior
Speak like you’re the chose one, the true homo superior
The wheels are all in motion
This time the cuts won’t be just on the exterior

yeah, needs work, not a lot of shit rhymes with warrior. oh well! productivity!