Waiting for the typhoon the air was thick and wet
The blue sky struggling to stay visible
Despite the gathering clouds.
I ran.

Under the gaze of the mountains
Treading dirt paths and bridges past locked gates
Concealing a life I will never fully understand
I ran.

As Crows circled above
Cicada in the trees sent amplified signals
Koi gliding in silence accompanying the prayers
And through this I ran.

And then I stopped
An outsider
Couldn’t catch my breath
Soaked and off balance
My pulse pounding

But then there were ground balls and line drives and seeds
I turned as the wind picked up at my back
And feeling the first drops upon my forehead
I ran.

I ran Invisible
I ran Unseen
I ran Alone
Ran a Stranger
I ran a Witness
I ran a Servant
I ran
I ran

Away from everything towards nothing
Away from nothing towards everything

I ran

There’s more at stake in the playground today
There’s more at stake in the playground today
There’s more at stake in the playground today

At worst you’d leave with a black eye or a swollen lip
These days your parting gift is slander
Invasion
Violation

The new charisma
No charm No class
Just who barks the loudest
Covers gold with brass
Steals the microphone

Ruin your day or stay above the fray
The choice with which you’re faced
When everything is pale grey

What a canvas
Anything you could dream of right here
Took a while to realize the paint is toxic and burns right through it like a northern wildfire

Hurling words towards unprotected ears “Harmless” words you don’t even believe
Integrated into naive neural networks
Before their first words.

What’s worse?
The suffering of the forgotten
Or the guilt and shame of the affluent.

The conductor is incompetent
The tracks are tears
The passengers are fooling themselves
Into thinking they’re going anywhere at all.

The stink will eventually permeate the compound.
It’s just a matter of time.

There’s more at stake in the playground today
There’s more at stake in the playground today
There’s more at stake in the playground today

Temptation
Decadence about
Enough to cause a quiet man to doubt
And tear a family to shreds
Protect yourself from the excess
Put on armor

And be a monk at the Bellagio
A monk at the Bellagio

Destruction
Chaos all around
Enough to drag an honest man down
The water turns into mist
Protect yourself from the darkness
Bring in light

And be a monk at the Bellagio
A monk at the Bellagio

In Sodom there were lovers too
In Gomorrah, philosophers
But they were swallowed up, consumed
Will we be swallowed up?

Division
A Forest with no Trees
Enough to bring a nation to its knees
The storm is already here
Prepare yourself for the fallout
And pray for the strength

To be a monk at the Bellagio
A monk at the Bellagio
Sitting, in contemplation
Serving, to ward off temptation
Sitting, in deep meditation

There was no doubt he was going down
A ruptured plaque by the roses
As I struggled my way
From Point Dume at midday
To arrive just in time at the bedside

As the doctor announced this is futile
His heart is at fifteen percent
I stood and stared at this mountain of a man
Now reduced to a shadow

But I could not accept this sentence of death
With his grave dug out and waiting

So I fought for his life
Without even thinking twice
I had no idea I was
Fighting for the Devil’s life

I remembered that day on the ocean’s edge
Took the hand of my youngest sister
We welcomed him openly into the fold
And a brother he became to me

She was advised to go home to rest
And make sure his affairs were in order
That’s when she discovered the fraud and the theft
And that there was nothing left

The sheen had worn off and the cracks were exposed
Nothing but lies and deception

Tell me why
I fought for the Devil’s life
I lobbied for the devil’s life
I just can’t forgive myself
For fighting for the Devil’s life

The Devil lay down for a restful sleep
With a gaping hole in his chest
And his life blood was coursing through a machine
As they removed his still beating heart

And of course that bastard recovered completely
And found out he’d been caught
He just smiled and laughed
“You can’t touch me”
Leaving a wake of destruction

Now I cannot undo my wretched success
So the earth will continue with him on it

All because I fought for his life
I pleaded for the Devil’s life
It’s a sick feeling
Fighting for the Devil’s life

Now smiles are guarded and something’s held back
And the chill that you feel at the small of your back
Cause the Devil still lives with some poor dead man’s heart
Haunting the town at the foothills

And though some actions come straight from the heart
They may lead us closer to hell

Like the day I
Fought for his life
Without even thinking twice
It’s the price I pay for
Fighting for the Devil’s life
And pleading for the Devil’s life
This unwanted burden
Fighting for the Devil’s life

Another urban sunset is ignored
But not here, where the north meets west
A sullen stranger passes silently
Something you’ll never see
Footprints on a long forgotten track
It was time to return

Reaching up to test the wind and it matters
Living at the foot of the volcanoes
The ocean west the desert east
The river in between
Feedback clearing from the mind

The giants stared down at the market place
And they smiled where the north met west
The people from the two states were as one
Like ancient days
Sharing their harvest
There was enough for everyone

Reaching up to test the wind and it matters
Living at the foot of the volcanoes
The ocean west the desert east
The river in between
Mist obscuring sense of time

Dancing in the rain
As ten thousand falls appear

Another urban sunset is ignored
But not here, where the north meets west

Reaching up to test the wind and it matters
Living at the foot of the volcanoes
The ocean west the desert east
The river in between
Soil and seeds and sky and wine

It Follows me everywhere
But I try not to care
My poisoned shadow

At first I tried to shake it
But I could not forsake it
My poisoned shadow

I threw it all away
It hangs around each day
just to remind me
Just to remind me
Of everything I’ve lost
And all the lines I crossed
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow

Oh, leave me alone
Stop following me
Let me forget
I want to forget.

Sometimes at night it’s gone
So I can finally roam
My poisoned shadow

But then it’s back
Ready to attack
It’s my poisoned shadow

I threw it all away
It hangs around each day
Just to remind me
Just to remind me
Of everything that’s turned
And all the bridges burned
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow

No, Leave me alone
Stop following me
Let me forget
I need to forget

Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow
Just to remind me
My poisoned shadow.

Your lumberjack shirt flows over those pants
I try to understand how eight years have passed

As the embers fade to reveal the dark
In the cabin by the national park

Snoring rings down from the floor above
As I rewrite my definition of love

The door is open yeah there’s room for more
But don’t need reminding of what I’m grateful for

Together from a distant past to this very day
Time may pass but this love won’t fade away
A distant past to this very day
Time may pass but this love won’t fade away, fade away
It will not fade away
It will not fade away

But this love will not fade away
No this love will not fade away
No this love will not fade away
No this love will not fade away

Before the flower the land was barren
The desert was silent bathed in the quiet light of dawn
Once awake the colors exploded the plan set in motion
The life in the garden grew untamed

As foretold the vines grew towards the sky
And they were fruitful and multiplied
Like a child without any judgment without hesitation
Becoming the garden with no name

And she sighed watching it all unfold
With the pride of a mother
And she sighed and watched it all unfold
With the pride of a mother
She watched it grow

The scent of youth and growth rose into the air
And was drawn by a current towards the east
Then at last began its descent into well-travelled lands.
Floating and dancing to the ground

Before long the hawk set its sights upon the west
Chose its course and began its steady flight
And the dove following slowly far behind
It was only a matter of time

And she cried watching it all unfold
The tears of a mother
And she cried and watched it all unfold
The tears of a mother
She watched it go
She cried and watched it all unfold
The tears of a mother
And she cried watching it all unfold
With the tears of a mother
She watched it go

And the smoke filled her lungs
She cried oh my
And the water rose to her chest
And the smoke filled her lungs
She cried oh my
And the water rose
Covering her sad eyes

The tears of a mother