I ran after you on the hard concrete
Tired, worn, and calloused bare feet
But nothing could stop me
Not the storm in the sky
Nor the look in your eye
Not today
Today I run until you stop
Until our looks finally lock
Tired, worn, and calloused eyes
Teary and bloodshot
Perhaps you’ll see
Something worthwhile in me
That could somehow keep your feet
Rooted to this gritty concrete

Squeaky wheel chairs
And graying gray hairs
Walk hand in hand
Down hospital halls
Blinding white lights
And lonely black nights
We pay the cost
Beloved ones lost
Tiled white floors
And black numbered doors
Old painted walls
Line hospital halls
Waiting for doom
Wait in small rooms
Dripping IV’s
And color TV’s
Lunches on trays
And flower displays
Candy machines
And everything’s clean
As I walk down these hospital halls

Pretty Clothes

Pretty clothes so tight and taut
Unravel when a string is caught

Pretty clothes so cut and clean
Don’t stop the stains from being seen

Pretty clothes so nice and new
Can be fit to cover all of you

Pretty clothes so polished and pressed
Can be faked for even less

These pretty clothes are all around
Catch your eyes with silent sounds

How easily replaced they are
High maintenance, they won’t go far

Sensible is the real way to go
Plain, simple, nothing new to show
Unlike all these pretty clothes

The winter winds blow again
On fallen leaves
              and broken hearts
The clouds cast
                 -Shadows-
On the streets
                 we walk close
                            hand in hand
                            step in step
                            Motion by motion by motion
                 -Together-
                                         We are alone
                                         We are cold
                                         We are nothing
                  -Now-
It doesn’t matter what we’ve had
Because in the end
                  the colors fall
                               and our lives are still
                 -Black and white-
Light is lost to the atmospheric tendencies
                 of the times we enter
                  -Winter-
We are cold again
                  there is no end
                                to these winter winds
Blowing our shadows
                 and us
                            all away

We were all once believers
But we grew up
And slowly forgot
Wishes and good luck

We were all once in control
But we grew up
And slowly gave in
To the teenage stuff

We were all once satisfied
But we grew up
And suddenly found
A kiss wasn’t enough

We believed lies
And we made truths
We said goodbye
As we broke their rules

Yes, we were all once boys and girls
But we grew up
And gave up

Boy out of order
Order a new one
One that won’t break
Breaking was easy
Easy to fix?
Fix me?
Me, the boy out of order
Order a new one
One that will work
Working well?
Well, not anymore
More repairs
Repair the boy out of order?
Order a new one
One that will make you smile
Smile, daddy’s going to buy
Buy you a new boy
Boy out of order
Out of commission
Broken, broke
Waiting, wait
For the girl with rough hands
Rough hands and hard eyes
Eyes that drill
Drilling into my body
Nobody cares
Who cares about me?
Me, the boy out of order
Order a new one
One with standard features
Features that are simple
Simply tell him what to do
Do this, do that
That the boy out of order couldn't do

T.V. dinners and casseroles
Comfort food for wounded souls
Adding up the aftermath
One light on at home
Resisting the urge to laugh
In disbelief that you're alone
Tonight your eyes are dry
From all the tears that you've cried
Tomorrow you'll find time
To get him off your mind
After you call the insurance company
To change the policy
And you stare at the photographs long and hard
Take scissors to the worn out credit cards
Wash the last load of clothes
Take another minute to close
Your eyes and remember
His wrinkled face
Standing in this place
Smiling at you
No need to cry
So much left to do
Time to open your eyes
Something you despise
But you know you have to
Make up your bed
Regret the words unsaid
Sell one of the cars
Rethink everything's 'mine'
No longer 'ours'
Cut the grass
Take out the trash
All the while,
Learning that nothing lasts
Listen to all the condolences
Curse the time that's stolen his
Memory from your mind
Despite all the time
He was here
With you
It’s so clear
It was true
And it's so sad watching you
Wash the dishes at home
Hearing your lonely moans
Driving to the store
But knowing it's only for
You and you alone.

Yes, watching the empty chair across from you
Makes you want to die a little too