the sand between my toes understands
the notion that tides will come and go.
I know shallow water leads to somewhere
someone’s already been.

salt drapes my eyes.
it all feels so different.
gotta get way out there to leave my feet.
if I’m meant to leave my feet.
gotta get way out there.

tipping, whimsical waves
tell tales of lives, time and crashing.
I know shallow water leads to something
everybody’s seen.

good right here, shut my eyes,
I must be facing the sky, I’m floating.
ripples in the sand felt my fingers
and my eye shadows aren’t leaving –
now I’m up thinking.
watching waves crash in my world.
from here I can see that we’ll weather this storm.
tides, like time and distance,
have my heart thirsty for a little bit more.

ask plenty of questions
and I’ll understand the ocean.
give answers time.
I stood on the sand and stared at the sky.

Purple lightning snapped above a desolate town.
She sang quiet’s all I needed like she knew me.
Tilt my head up as I’m tailing down.
Closing my eyes as I splash through the ground.

Little dark and dirty down here.
Scary. Single little light spinning in the distance.
Think this thing’s still floating.

Darkness breeds beauty, I suppose.
Balance, for me, the great unknown,
but I think I’m getting used to it.
Send a smile, a song,
a signal, what you’re thinking.
No sinking.

She flipped and fell
into a hole that only a star would stumble upon.
I wrote my thoughts out years before I had them.

Living life in the wake, watching over.
Saw a sailboat sitting in the stars the other evening.
What if everything matters?
Lighthouse, lonely, but saving some days.
Fragile, still standing to help them find our way.

Orchids grew right on the sky Thursday night.
Maybe she knew we were watching.
Spinning in the distance,
to help us find our way.

Truck, Shark, Shank.
Chalk, Chai, Chük.
All of these thanks, they’re written for you.

Truck, Shark, Shank.
Chalk, Chai, Chük.
All these mistakes, they weren’t aimed at you.

I could’ve found deep love.
I could’ve chased fame.
With all this time waiting
for them to call my name.

Instead, I’m left sitting in the corner.
My arms on these arms,
thinking while my cup gets warm
where I can see it.
She’s still my favorite scenery
and I’m smarter than myself.
Just not sure that that’s mine.

Truck, Shark, Shank.
Chalk, Chai, Chük.
I really sank, but not ‘cause of you.

Truck. Shark, Shank.
Chalk, Chai, Chük.
I really braked, stopped my traffic for you.

I could’ve found balance.
I could’ve faced change.
With all this time waiting
for them to call my name.

Figure eight, my mind.
Configuring my time
for myself and all my other crimes.
We walk in single file to hide our numbers.

Carve our own roads for a while
and hope that they collide.
In time, on our own. Happy.
Highway, side by side.

Time’s just… hard to explain,
it’s always there, somewhere,
but it usually doesn’t matter.
Everything could be gone right now
and still, people complain.
I’ve never really worried
about how long anything takes
and I’ve always felt we’d make it.
•
The things we want, or need, leave
and we’re left with what we make of us.
I belong in the circus
or an old shack by the sea.
•
Deviate for fun.
Re-create or run
inside to see what develops.
We walk in single file to hide our numbers.
•
Silence speaks and sometimes I understand it.

Shadows on the fog left me wondering.
Two feet outside my door,
just not ready to go in.

They’re leaving the center
of a shitty motel with plastic bags in their hands.
A carton of eggs, maybe.
Maybe I’m not ready to be.

Think I just waved to a stranger.
Think I just found my old smile.
Think I am living in circles.
Think I am losing my rhyme.

Silence when it rains leaves me wondering.
Two feet inside, I snore,
just not ready for leaving.

They fade on the inside.
If I get down, I can see two knees under a door.
A carton of blues, maybe.
Maybe they’re not ready for me.

Think I just waved to a stranger.
Think I just thought, ‘it’s my friend.’
Think I am walking a straight line.
Think I am what I intend.

Broken down near a city that I broke down in.
Couldn’t have lived through how it seemed.
Strung out lifetimes shuffle through a parking lot.
What I watch now was never a dream.

They’re so far gone.
They’re like an old song.
They shuffle ‘til dawn.
They shuffle and struggle, can’t leave.
Mental movie reels shot from the corner, by me.

Put on these ears, go out back to my own world.
Beautiful quiet here.

Bouncing down an old dirty road,
in my mind sang, ‘here we go.’
I was gone, it was on.
We were walking.

I swear I stopped to tie my shoe
and I jumped on my shoulders too.
So much weight, just wait
‘til you fall right off of you.

Leaning out a rear view window,
ears off just to hear, ‘let go.’
Couldn’t hide, couldn’t lie.
I was flying.

It was really dark.
Feeling just like an old song.
I was crawling
and they saw ‘nothing’s wrong.’

Put on these ears and hide out back.
Put on these ears and stay on track.
Put on these ears and take your time.
The wonderful quiet I hear.

Diving off stars, to float toward the night.
A walk to the corner to pick up a bite.
Writing in cans and passing the turn.
Finding a signal and losing my words.

Soaring past people, leaving no one behind.
Running on coffee and shaking with time.
Calling up friends and asking, ‘hello?’
Seeking out comfort in somewhere unknown.

The ceiling was sweating the other evening.
I saw people moving to my day.
Photographer didn’t capture a thing,
reeling me in, leading me to reconsider.
I still can’t shake that picture.

Shining with silence when its all too loud.
Feeling uncertain when part of the crowd.
Digging deep holes, but having some fun.
Hearing no nonsense while speaking in tongues.

Looking for distance in everything here.
Laughing at crazy while dancing in clear.
Thinking of laughter and missing a smile.
All of these people, they’re not quite my style.

I can’t shake that picture.
I can’t shake those words.
I can’t shake the things I said.
I hope nobody heard.
Reeling me in, leading me to reconsider.