the solitary reaper. (incomplete)

standing still on a solitary hill

in purgatory amidst heaven and hell 

i was never coming down 

i can still hear the sounds

made by dying men

i was not brave enough

to find out love was war

and war was pain

trapped remembering unhappy

far off things

the soldier crawled up the hill

his uniform soaked

his eyes certain, still 

he said stand up

and walk to the edge

look around

take in the moment

this blue sky

the breeze that is blowing

and all that it has seen

empires rise

and better men than us

have failed

to stand the test of time

there's no place for our hubris at all

so no, the fight’s not done

confessed it made him scared

the thought of the gauntlet left to be run

he said tough, no point in backing down

no sense in sitting on the sidelines 

until the clock’s run out

time’s up

and it’s over

and you’re out

the poet.

i knew a boy who could make you weep

with a handful of words shaped into poetry

his imagery sharp and achingly sweet

the prose simple, stark, and clean

his life, it was troubled, but his conviction pristine

when i met him on the sidewalk of that empty street

he was so sad, but content

thinking of how to make a difference

through his words and with his mind 

the perfect mix of raw and refined

he said i choose this hurt

i choose this pain

choose this sadness that burns and takes my breath away

so keep your smiles

and redirect your light

i think i'm going to walk this road a few more miles

i want to feel

the weight of the world

watch the tragedy and the comedy unfurl

i will learn how to speak

to people's souls

and they will remember the poet long after the man
he is gone

fool.

he says i'm too bad to be good for you
but i still like the smell of your perfume
your heart is naked, bared, and i like the view
darling, you don't leave because you're such a fool

fool, to fall for you
fool, to fall for you

he says i, i don't need to apologize
i never fed you promises or empty lies
and if the truth it trickles from your eyes
darling, even though i sympathize

carry, carry on
carry, carry on

somehow find a way to justify
the bruises on your soul and in your eyes
but i'm not fooling anyone, am i?
carry on,
i'll be alright

no more lies.

in shadows thrown by yellow lights
the speakers pound and the bodies writhe
i couldn't name all the places i've been
breathing cigarette smoke and a thousand sins
wondering if i, i could have lost my way...

sink into a chair at the back of the room
blinded by a sense of doom
a whisper of doubt run up my spine
shoots through the haze into my mind
i'm wondering if i, i could have lost my way
led astray... 

by all of the
bright lights 
on the way down
and the consequences of that now 
are these electric days in a carefree daze
surrounded by a crowd but there's no meaning
i'm feeling out of control, i don't know what to think
except i'm standing at the crossroads
of a story etched in indelible ink
and in ten years 
i will be right here
still blind

well i want more from the world
it's time for me to wake up
and face what's in my soul
the fickle girl with the promising eyes
a dreamer afraid to even try
an optimist with a cynical smile
but no more lies
no more lies
no more lies
no more lies
yeah (x4)

and the fear of failing made me freeze
so i trembled when he set me free
and promised that he'd hold my hand
oh when everything else came to an end
but i wonder if i, i could have lost my way
led astray...

as he showed me the
bright lights
on the way down
and the consequences of that now
are these carefree days in a summer haze
the sun on my back but i'm still
so cold, and all alone
and i can't hide from all the people i know
and the right things, the expected dreams
how life goes by every time i blink
and i'm back there
in that same chair
still blind

but i want more from the world
it's time for me to wake up
and face what's in my soul
the fickle girl with the promising eyes
the dreamer with a careful life
an optimist with a cynical smile
but no more lies
no more lies
no more lies
no more lies
yeah

(with a smile on your face and love in your heart)

yeah

(as the world fades away we’ll dance in the dark)

yeah

(as the skylines come crumbling down)

yeah

(the lights go out and the warnings sound)

yeah
(our dark days are over now, we tell)

(no more lies

no more lies)

yeah

(no more lies

no more lies)

careful (this summer will never end).

we were sixteen
and the world was new
so certain all our dreams
were going to come true
i was trying
to figure out who i was
a dreamer with a careful life
and all the reasons not to love

we, we didn't speak of the paths we'd walked
he said you,
you don't gotta be so

careful, careful, careful
i'm not going to hurt you
i just want to be your friend
but you're so
careful, careful, careful
i am not going to hurt you
i just want to be your friend
and pretend
this summer will never end

so we sat close
under a blazing sun
with no more walls to be built
and no more battles to be won
and i was tired
of being who i was
a dreamer with a careful life
and all the reasons not to love

we, we didn't speak of how we'd hurt before
he said you,
you don't gotta be this

careful, careful, careful
i'm not going to hurt you
i, i just want to be your friend
but you're so
careful, careful, careful
i am not going to hurt you
i just want to be your friend
could we pretend
this summer will never end

you're so
careful, careful, careful
i'm not going to hurt you
i, i just want to be your friend
but you're so
careful, careful, careful
i am not going to hurt you
see i, i just want to be your friend
and pretend
this summer will never end

i will sing.

fly fly away

and know that you were loved 

sleep sleep sleep

and rest if you must

everything you wanted to do it is done

and if i must carry on

and all that is left is this song to be sung

i will sing, sing, sing, i will sing

i will sing 

i will, 

i will sing

silhouettes and streetlights.

in a corner of paris 

in a darkened studio

amidst a disarray of tangled limbs 

and pillows on the floor

your breath is slow and even

your lips pressed against my throat

you smile in your sleep 

and i wish i could go where you go

when your dreams carry you away 

the sky is dark, bluish gray 

and the leaves are burnished gold

the days end quickly 

and though the nights are cold

the window is flung open 

and on the streets below

a single set of headlights 

illuminates the snow

drifting down lazily 

as the moment seems to slow

and you shiver in your sleep 

and reach out to bring me close

there's a pause between our heartbeats 

running through the darkness 

with my hand held in yours

silhouettes against streetlights 

that set the night aglow

though there are many places 

that i have called my own

there's never any doubt you are my home 

stumbling over cobblestones 

in the narrow streets of rome

pressing our tongues against 

melting ice cream cones

wandering through ruins 

where sound speaks in echoes

our laughter is mingling 

with centuries of hope

as we stand at a fault line 

of the new world meeting old

running through the darkness 

with my hand held in yours

silhouettes against streetlights 

that set the night aglow

though there are many places 

that i have called my own

there's never any doubt you are my home 

when the adventure is ending 

and drawing to a close 

i will hang up my hat 

and take off my coat

and when i'm writing the epilogue 

to the grandest story told

there will never be any doubt you were my home

running through the darkness 

with my hand held in yours

silhouettes against streetlights 

that set the night aglow

though there were many places 

that i called my own

there was never any doubt you were my home

there was never any doubt you were my home

cigarettes and a touch of pink.

she smells like cigarettes and a touch of pink

a mix of bad with innocent

a sideways smile on blood red lips

with a little shrug she starts to sing

i'm medicated up to my neck

i'm dedicated but such a wreck

its complicated but whatever's next

i think i'm ready for the test

if it breaks me

i'm just gonna get up

if it hurts me

you know that's what i like

if it kills me

well, i guess that's fine

i felt alive 

i felt alive

i felt alive

she stumbles home in six inch heels

all golden skin and sex appeal

whisky-soaked and out of breath

says i've never looked before i leapt

hell, i think i'm brave but i hate the dark

i know i crave leaving a mark

i'm educated but not so smart

i never know when to stop

if it breaks me

i'm just gonna get up

if it hurts me 

you know that's what i like

if it kills me

well, i guess that's fine

i felt alive 

i felt alive

i felt alive

wait
you see, i know you're right
that you're the sanest voice
that's running through my head at night
but as the reel unwinds
and the time ticks by
the picture shakes
the tracks are misaligned

sometimes it's all too
slow, slow, slow
and it feels like i'm losing my mind
fast, fast, fast
and i, i am falling behind
wait, wait, wait
i don't know how this thing goes, but

if it breaks me

i'm just gonna get up

if it hurts me 

you know that's what i like

if it kills me

hell, i guess that's fine

i felt alive 

i felt alive

i felt alive

"if you"

do you know...

there's a boy who is
so much more than a man
and he lingers in my heart
and hell, he knows he can
he makes me want to stay
in his arms and under his hands
lost in his touch, until
it is more than i can stand

and in my mind, love
i've got to say there's no explanation
for you making me feel the way i do
but well i don't mind love
that i've got no hesitation
in loving you the way i do

...honey, if you
feel this
i know
its crazy to think
of letting it go
darling, if you
taste me
i'm addicted
touch me, drive me
out of control
if you
laid me down
and burned my soul
i'd toss and turn
beg for more
so give me more
just give me more
than i can stand
so love, if you
feel me
like i,
like i feel you
don't be letting this go

and there's a boy
who makes me warm
on cold winter days
coz when the breeze swings my hair
pushes it against my face
i think of his smile
and it brightens the day
i hear his voice in my ear
like he's right there
a little closer than
so far away..

well in this mind, love
i've got to say there's no explanation
for you making me feel the way i do
but well i don't mind love
that i've got no hesitation
in loving you the way i do

because
if you feel me
like i, like i feel you
oh

...honey, if you
feel this
i know
its crazy to think
of letting it go
darling, if you
touch me
i'm addicted
taste me, drive me
out of control
go slow
mm so slow
but only if you're
going to give me more
give me more
than i can stand
til we can't stand

...and, if you
feel that
i know
forever is not enough
for me and you love
because when i
i feel that
i know
forever is not enough
when its me and you love

<3