Salt of the Earth

I met J.D. in a dive bar downtown Austin
fresh off the train from Milwaukee
inappropriately dressed for the Texas summer

he played drums in my friend Steve's band
and worked in the offices at the flagship Whole Foods store
he was from Buffalo and had been living in Austin for 9 years

we shared a few rounds of cocktails
and stepped out to the alley to smoke some weed while i told him my story
that i had no where to stay and was planning on crashing at the shelter
until i got on my feet

he said i was salt of the earth and could crash on his couch
that i could use him as a reference to get a job at the store
and he'd think about playing drums with me once i got settled

 we caught a cab back to his crib
smoked bong-rips and drank Icehouse
while we passed the acoustic guitar back and forth

i never really did settle into the town that second time around
but i stayed afloat
got the job
and he did play drums with me for a while
until i told him i was more of an artist than a musician

to which he replied
"well, i'll buy you a fuckin' canvas for your birthday
but i only play with musicians"

the best friends will tell you like it is
but they'll always lend a hand when you're in need

Isolation

darkened basement of the soul
crowded with horded fears and resentments
where no light can get in

a cage is the state of a troubled mind

Paul Setser and the Rest Of Us

visceral were the nights we stood upon a stage together
each of us armed with an instrument and a cocktail
and hearts that beat like tempos

we put on a show
but we weren't put-ons
the music was very real to us
in us

the song was our god
and Paul Setser was the christ

the bar lights were more beautiful than the moon
the twinkle in the drunks' eyes more beautiful than the stars
and when they all sang along
or someone would buy us a round of shots
we felt like we'd won something

we were glad to have learned our instruments
pleased to have found one another
blessed to have found Setser

those nights
however fleeting and long ago
were the greatest nights i have ever known

[slept through my alarm]

slept through my alarm
there's no time to make coffee
can't be late again

A Requiem for My Decaying Teeth

broken headstones in a cemetery of disrepair
bacteria running rampant 
feeding off the bones of the dead

decay cannot be undone
time will always bring about the irreversible spoil of the end
so the grave must be excavated before the rot spreads
because when death arrives
it remains

the only hope for the living is to
let go
and bury the dead elsewhere

All I Want For Christmas Is A Life I Can Afford

i'd like to visit the doctor
to see what state my health is in
and the dentist
to fix some broken teeth
without
worrying if the bill can be paid

i'd like to find a modest apartment
in a neighborhood close enough to where i work
that i can walk there
or bicycle in the summer
a place with a working kitchen sink
a shower
a toilet
cupboards and a refrigerator
with
room for groceries
without
worrying if the bill can be paid

i'd like a new phone
so i can text my friends
and call my family on birthdays
nothing fancy
without worrying

a job where my hard work is compensated fairly
a community where people look out for one another
a life where death doesn't sometimes seem like a way out

just to know that the bills can be paid
and a little left over to be
comfortable

Jail Ain't So Great

the bottle seems to have gotten the best of me again
and it only reaffirms my suspicions that i should dry my pallet
because i don't look good in stripes

so i sit on the cot
staring at my socks
starving for an answered prayer
desperate for a lost god
and still foolishly thirsty to dance in the fire

when released
i get off light with a fine
and walk home in the dirty clothes i was wearing when
they brought me in

i walk by the house i grew up in
and i can't believe what has become of me

i had potential
i had a dream
i had hope

where did it all go?