Bite My Tongue




Seal my lips
Bite my tongue
My wisdom’s ancient
My heart is young

I’m on the fence
Then I’m on the run
No needle in my arm
Still the damage done

Thanks Neil Young
You helpless soldier
In the war against dirt

All these jagged chords
And ragged mouths
Singing the same song
Until the city goes up in smoke

I’ll never know how
Those old blues singers died
Without their shoes tied
And a library card expired

Fuck you cancer
For killing my friend
And killing his career
He was just a fearless soldier
In the war against fear

I moved too much
From place to place
Not like a traveler
More like a slave

I am now a lost soul
With more self control
Then I had before
When I had none at all

My eyes are crooked
My elbow’s shot
My poetry is primitive
It needs a new grave

I dig for answers
In the rubble of an old midnight train
Money escapes me
So does the rain

I’m blowing in the wind
Like an out of state plate
Dropping off passengers
On the way to the zoo

But I fear only money
And loneliness too
I wasn’t made for these times
I’m an out of place Jew

Who puts value in good weather
And a valiant try
Fighting rough against my judgment
Though I don’t really see why

My instincts are sharp
Like a paper cut trail
And if you follow me slowly
You’ll be doomed to fail

Fuck you cancer
For trying to steal my mom
She’s done nothing to no one
Except for her own

My father’s a dead man
Though he still lives all alone
Sometimes I catch him
On some old telephone

He says the same damn things
Again and again
I never listen
I don’t even pretend

That I’m better than I was
Or better than I’ll be
I’m just trying to live
Without a shadow behind me

So I sing all the time
And pretend it’s all fine
I go to sleep with a body full
And a head full of wine

There’s no safety in numbers
There’s no thrill in the chase
I fill up on heartache
And go running in place

Till I fall over backwards
And hum some song that I’ve made
To take over my body
And rearrange my face

I am no fearless vampire killer
Drinking bad blood while dancing to Thriller
And I’ll never get a job under uncertain weather
So hire me, fire me, and let me be better


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