sleeping pills
too much drinking and too much cake.
uh-oh, he drowned in a lake.
his absence makes my body fall numb,
a clumsy state to amble through.
her lies are bandages that serve to disturb my wounds.
now we're in a state of co-dependence...

the star witness in a high profile case will testify to verify the tapes.
a hush builds as the jury enters the court.
i am amazed the room sustains four walls.
at once we're searching for the governor with a bitter folded exercise.
now we're in a state of drug addiction.

fucking and crying and puke on the floor.
she's passed out on the kitchen table, dreaming of virginity.
now i can't speak or eat or sleep.

this is the center, the place where the bullet should enter.
childish games and binge drinking, late night telephone calls,
always looking to the mirror for the same stupid face.
the car will not decelerate.
uncle, i am coming to join you.

trumpet
it will take centuries for me to forgive batesian mimicry.
however a smothering princess exists to unseal a cartoon kiss from oogenesis.

your trumpet is an overset cup dripping wine down a pyramid.
drunken liquid joins azaleas and clinging hemlocks as it covers the ground.

then a door slams in my face as applause lifts you to the stage.
a rehearsed acceptance speech escapes your lips:
"i'd like to speak my heart but there's nothing in it unless heart stuff.
i'd like to thank someone..."

spelling bee
i am the math guy.
i never dream.
if a plus b equals c, then give me c and i'll shut up,
just don't cut corners with me.

i am the champion of useless information.
can talk my way out of any situation.
i'm just a liar but i've got the proper attire.

i want to fill church graveyards with dinosaur bones.
who else could explain pathogen colonists in coed beds?...
i am a man from another planet.

weapons
power up our mighty window.
views far away.
dreams.  is this real?
blinded!
pick up your allotted amount.
will serve you now.
never mind the show.
listen to the little one.
nowhere near here.
the picture she would paint.
daily plodding in fear.

new humor
the soft blasting.
the casting.
i want to know all about you.
every detail.  every folktale.
the jolly science of your daily routine.
it's outstanding you don't fit in.

bird seed goes in the bird feeder.
i'll no longer be your cheerleader.
i protect myself when i pull out your teeth.
it's the new humor.

sri lanka voodoo unmasked in carolina.
he built a factory on the beach.
now his cremated bones pollute the sea.
it's amazing the way he floats.
emotionally unstable.

mother
mass momentum mobility.
i have a tendency for kamikaze.
toddler tantrum doesn't compare.
lock me in the closet.
mother, get off the floor--i can't see you anymore...

it's kind of you to be so cruel
that kind of love is something new.
mother, cut off your arms--your muscles are worn.
mother, put up your hands--your baby is gone.
shake your baby to sleep.
i don't deserve this.

skeleton poem
this is my skeleton.
it is made of bones.
without it i would be floppy.
it holds me up.
it protects my heart and brain, and other parts of me.
i need a skeleton.

we can't do this on our own.
we are made of skin and bones.
we must look somewhere else deeper than this.

graham
if i could take the best parts of you i wouldnt be as confused.
id pinch a streetside for every harsh memory.
my life is in moving boxes.
feels like im running away.
now im reminded of the time i almost cut my wrists off.

you fall asleep with a hand on the remote.
you never want to let go.
do you ever get stage fright when youre putting on your act?
don't get so popular that i cannot speak to you.
don't become so obscure that it hurts to look at you.

your words were childlike sharp and pathetic
when you said its tragic to trick the flow of traffic.

father
everything is perfect.
concinnity.
sterile air.  sterile words...

brand new china closet.
winter catalogue.
brand new girlfriend.
plastic smile.
you never helped me.
you never cared.
you signed the legal papers.
you never have to see me again.

returned mail.
simple jail.
where is my father?
abandoned.

number one
you can't keep up with me.
watch out, you're leaving me.

at this level still behind.
started late.
some days it works.
other days scream it falls apart.

hang in there.
slow down.
hold tight.
one more time.
one e and uh.

game over
we have incited an indulgent exhibition
the geese have protected us from infectious destiny
we are reciting our parents' indecisions
maybe we'll say yesterday held unequaled liberty

we are fighting in a parrot's television
next time we'll take half the time groping other entities
the game is over

all lyrics by the goodnight brothers
copyright 1999, 2000