Strange Ength

[Hannibal]

These songs allude to times that are gone,
each one singing to me
burning into my mind the movies of which
I have played a thousand times before.

The moment I stood on her porch
and the door shut on me for the final time
Ring in hand.
Without even a single goodbye
or tear shed.

The night I drove aimlessly seeking the solace
that only one friend, a brother by name,
could give to me.

These movies plague me,
streaming to life with every note I hear
Influencing the every note I play

As much as I want to let my music
sing to someone else
I hear the voices of those I have known
singing to me
causing my silence

I see the faces of those I have known
watching me from somewhere far removed
from where I am.

A quiet field as a youth
my cousin in tow
With nothing but the evening around us.
The foggy prairie as our blanket.

A decade has passed, but everything seems
so fresh.
I can smell it in the air as I walk
to my current day destination
of work
and sadness fills me.

I am tired now
but my eyes stay open
with heavy shudders
Unlike the days a time ago
When they were awake with
excitement
Afraid to shut for
the fear
of missing Something.

Slow songs without words to misrepresent
the emotion
or to speak for the ghosts of
my memory
pour into my ears

I cannot recall a night that goes by
without a note
either played or heard
that does not reach to my innermost core
and pull from it
These feelings lost
in the sea of time.
And drown me.
I fall, sink,
even when surrounded by
work, and people,
A city of
millions.

I haven't made memories
in years
because I am stuck
speaking with ghosts
who will not listen
and acting in a movie
where I cannot break character.

The happy harmonious overtones
bring visions of fun
and friends
Meanwhile the slow steady movements in the background
keep me grounded
to the long night drives
among nature without a person in sight.

I am haunted
Yet I move like a glacier
steady moving forward through
dark water
Everything hidden below the surface
showing only what needs to be seen.

[machinery]

okay, so this is a long one...

you told me earlier tonight that after reading it, you hated it.

it's time to dice it up...

my ideas...

make it a two piece or even three piece...

but before that...

cut words....
omit unnecessary words

e.g.

"These songs allude to times that are gone,
each one singing to me
burning into my mind the movies of which
I have played a thousand times before."

vs.

"songs allude to times gone,
all singing, burning my mind
of scenarios experienced
numerous times."

....now i'm not saying that's what you should do...but lately i've been in the ezra pound mode...

chew on it. picks your words. show, don't tell.

i'll work on this tomorrow at work and rip it up and let you know...

as for now, i'm off to bed.