Boomerang

Your sweaty hands can grip me no longer

your aim is no longer hitting my mark

The light I had thought that you were shining

Was black light, it just makes my world get more dark

You're tryin' to keep too many balls in the air

and losing them all, every ball, one by one

Soon you'll be standing there, waving your arms

in an empty theater, onstage all alone

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off to warmer climes

You're playing with dolls, puppets on strings

You ignore real people who actually care

The ones who tell you the unvarnished truth

You'd rather just hear what we think of your hair

Your audience shrinks a little more day by day

Your show's getting old, it ain't drawin' the crowds

If you bothered to read what the critics all say

You wouldn't be singing and laughing so loud

Well honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling out of this theater of grime

People are laughing behind your back

You're making a fool of yourself, you know

You're smoking your real friends up like crack

While posers and yes-men fill your front row

The billboards, marquees, your name all in lights

You got top billing, I will give you that

But it's an empty script, and rather chilling

And I ain't stickin' around for the second act

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off without glancing behind

Just one in a long line of toys to him

Something shiny to (p)lay with, he's had quite a few

He's pushed all your buttons and seen all your tricks

And he's at Toys 'R Us right now, buying new

A few months' diversion, is all that you are

To him you're one cookie on a very big tray

But you don't wanna hear it, and I'm out of breath

So it's so long, goodnight, and have a nice day

'Cause honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

And I'm rolling off 'cause you're wasting my time

Your script needs a rewrite, and it needs it soon

Before all the roustabouts fold up your tent

Your show's going under, your backers are here

demanding their money, but you know it's all spent

It might still be possible to save yourself

To drag your box office out of the red

But I don't think that you've got the guts to do it

'Cause the cheap seat acclaim has gone to your head

Well honey I ain't your boomerang

You've thrown me away one too many times

The string on this yo-yo just broke for good

So I'm rolling off and I relish the climb

Neptune's Song

This is me mug-slammin' pub sing-along. And I have no idea why that one line keeps getting huge, lol. I've copied and pasted from the original over and over, even deleted it and re-typed it (shrug).

I need to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song

Well you popped up above my horizon that day

An enticingly lush little port

But your treacherous rocks, bars and currents

are making me cut my stay short

The relief when I first sighted land was intense-

The delights of the shore were alluring

But as always the draw of the land was illusion

Come the tide I’ll be slipping my mooring

Are there no safe harbors in the world left for me?

Each one that I visit brings disaster

To stay far at sea is the only way for me

to have a chance to remain my own master

I need to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song

But as soon as you're out of my sight far astern

The longing will return with a vengeance

Some safe place to anchor and rest my bones

Not to find one has been a life sentence

This old hull's waterlogged, planks and frames going rotten

Long streamers of weed trail behind

There's no place to careen, to patch and to clean

And it's only a matter of time

'Til my masthead dips below the surface,

And I go to meet old Davy Jones

The land's turned its back, and my hope's all gone black

Drifting sand will soon cover my bones but

It's time to go back to sea again

I've lingered in port for too long

There's nothing to keep me here any longer

It's time to sing Neptune's song

Jailbreak

A life sentence without parole  

That's how I was living

Resigned to it

A ten-foot cell of loneliness

I convinced myself I deserved it

I was doing the time

I must have done the crime

Not designed for love

Missing some crucial human quality

Everything confirmed it

Everyone I met confirmed it

Once in a while I heard footsteps

The jingle of keys

But they never stopped

At my door

And I stopped running to see

Became ok with it

I must be where I belonged

Stockholm Syndrome

Almost happy

Until the footsteps stopped

Outside my door

I didn't react at first

Must be hearing things

No visitors allowed, after all

'Til I looked up

There you were

Smiling through the bars

Key in your hand

No way, I'm dreaming

Rubbed my eyes

Looked again

And you were still there

Not wearing blue

But orange, like me

A jailbreak?

A partner in crime?

No way, I thought

But you unlocked the door

Held it open, beckoning

No way, I thought

An hallucination

So I stayed on my bunk

You called again

"C'mon man. Let's get out of here"

An abandoned pup, offered a milkbone

Longing, but not trusting

You coaxed me to the door

I smelled the grass

Saw the sunshine

Felt the warmth

Stepped out and embraced freedom

And you shoved me back inside and slammed the door

With a laugh

I cried, uncomprehending

Stood at the door for a month

With my hands thrust through the bars

Calling for you

Begging for you to come back

Hearing nothing but the echoes of my own screams

Until I gave up and went back to my bunk

Then I heard your footsteps again

It took me twice as long this time

To trust you enough

To run for the open door

And your smile

But eventually I went

The lure of redemption

Was too hard to resist

But you slammed the door again

And strolled off, whistling

I didn't call from the door

This time, but I still cried

It couldn't be intentional

A guard must have shown up

No one is that cruel, even in here

Benefit of the doubt

Not listening to your detractors

I was sure it wasn't your fault

Something else was stopping you

From freeing me

So I sat on my bunk and waited

'Til you came again

The last time you came I needed no coaxing

Maybe before, I waited too long

I went to you, still sure of your goodness

But you slammed the door closed again

That's when I realized

That I was never getting out

Even though you had the keys to all the cells

You could free us all, and yourself

But you chose to remain locked up

And would never let anyone else out

So I hung a towel over the window

And blocked my ears with toilet paper

And sat on my bunk

The Light of Morning

I remember sleep

Sinking into the mattress

And sighing with bliss

Drifting down

Just surrendering

Knowing you have hours

And no pressing reasons to get up

When the light of morning comes

I remember it fondly, sleep

Such rejuvenation

Such tranquility

Such optimism

I remember sleep

Why doesn’t it remember me?

Only its half-assed twin 

do I see

staring back at me

from the ceiling for hours

and nothing important to care about

When the light of morning comes

Please god let me sleep

Such drainage

Such instability

Such disintegration

I remember sleep

I doubt we'll meet again

Been gone too long to recover

Equilibrium

staring at myself

in the mirror for hours

And one important thing left to do

When the light of morning comes

How can you stand it?

You wake up with bruises in the grim light of dawn

Spread on the makeup, so no one can see

Paste on a smile, and go through the day

Pretending you're happy, and safe, and free

What he does to you isn't love or even sex

Just a safe way for him to purge his twisted crap

You exist as his slave, as his toxic waste dump

And he goes merrily on his way, leaving you in the trap

Well I know the truth and it fills me with rage

That a so-called man could do this to you

To lock such a kind, gentle spirit in a cage

And I'm dying to help, so tell me what I can do

You say that there isn't anyone else who can love you

You say you deserve all the shit that you've gotten

You say that you're flawed, that you're bad, it's your fault

But there's nothing wrong with you, and it's his soul that's rotten

You're too damned smart to believe all his bullshit

You're too damned talented to be sealed in a cave

Too rare and too valuable to be allowed to die

There are too few like you, and you have to be saved

How can you stand it, to live like that?

To exist for his pleasure, to submerge your own soul?

You've so much to offer, but he couldn't care less

And the longer you're with him, the deeper the hole

Where do these “men” come from, from under what rock

do they all keep crawling? There are more here each day

What corruption of nature allows for their existence?

Who told them that life was for them to have their way?

They're savage little vermin, no heart and all teeth

Lacking the balls to be men on their own

So they beat you, and rape you, and leave you there broken

When where they belong is a cell built of stone

They catch you when you're young, and feel out of place

They tell you they need you, how pretty you are

They isolate you, say they're your only friend

So why are you home bleeding, while they're out at the bar?

They're just like jackals cutting weaklings from the herd

They seek out the vulnerable, the sad and the scared

They're oh so charming, when they're luring you in

By the time you realize what they are you've been snared

How can they stand it, to be like that?

They must realize that they're nothing but scum

Can they really believe what they're doing is normal?

Do they search for excuses, when they know there are none?

And you who have seen it, who know what goes on

Who have friends being raped, being beaten and abused

Yeah you, remaining silent, not getting involved

Might not be your crime, but you're still not excused

You know who you are, and you know the excuses

“I slipped on the ice”, “I walked into a door”

You know what it means, and yet you ignore it

Well your hugs and your silence aren't enough any more

If you don't try to help her, then it's partly your fault

That you're looking at her casket, standing there in the rain

I hope you can live with yourself when it's over

And he's off hunting with the pack once again

How can we all stand it, to leave them like that?

We all know about it, but we keep walking by

It's happening all around us, God damn it we know it

No one's doing anything, and I want to know why

Huh? I don't get it.

I just watched "The Big Lebowski", after searching for "funniest movies" lists. I'm a Coen Brothers fan, I loved Raising Arizona (laughed like hell through the whole movie), liked "OH Brother! Where Art Thou?", so I figured it was a safe bet for some laughs. But "The Big Lebowski", sorry to say, wasn't funny at all. I mean John Goodman was funny, as always, but even he didn't get one out-loud laugh out of me. All the actors did a good job, it just wasn't a funny movie. And I certainly don't get the whole "cult" thing. Sorry to all you cult members.

Happy Independence Day

We seem to be losing much of  our independent spirit these days, And by that I mean independence from the government and particularly the two parties, but have a happy 4th anyway. Where's the corn-on-the-cob?