You and Me


You, are calling me
And I forget the canvas weighting on my mind
See the children play
There is more than gold laid on this grass each day
Voices softly spoken in the dark
Reflect the dreams we could not
Start to own or understand
But life goes on between the cracks of time
We build with pieces that we find and that’s just fine for you and me

See the morning come
We run into the storm and pray we’ll find our way
Helpless and alone
I reach out for your arms and follow white lines home
Echoes of the ocean eating sand
Time wears away the hardest land
But where we start to open
Moments of resistance in the heart
A small oasis in the dark and that’s just fine for you and me

There are vines where grow the sweetest fruit
You need no gown, you need no shoes or fancy suit
Just the place to store the find
Just a place like yours and mine

Voices softly spoken in the dark
Silent laughter from the park
These are the things that guide
Between the cracks of time
We build with pieces that we find
And that’s just fine for you and me

AMBER TEMPLES

A vision of a child staring out across the car park
Folding eye’s against the sun’s reflecting glass
Of the temples that they walk into, then stumble out all born anew
The hours rolling by them oh so fast

At seven o’clock the neighbourhood vibrates to the chorus
Of children fighting sleep with TV shows
In walks a man with an idiotic grin
Grasping reality, with one more for the road

Been knocked down once, stood up twice
I believe in myself there is so much more to this life
You know it, breaks my heart to tear my eyes from you
But I’ll blow your temple down, what else can I do

Holding on, to a photograph
Of a man I wish I’d known
All his dreams and his promises all now left within the temple
Like the furniture, battered and so old

And carved above the urinal, he staked his claim to fame
“I was here, 1985”
Suburbia assimilates all those who he associates with,
With one more for the road.

A vision of a child staring out across the car park
Flashed before me as I laid him to his sleep.
And all those friends who stole our time and couldn’t bear to say goodbye
Were drinking to his memory.

Not in This Life

They’ve lived so many places with their backs against the wall
She keeps searching for new friends who never seem to call
She knows there’s something better waiting for them all,
But not in this life

She loved him for a lifetime, gave away her youth
But when pushing came to shove, it was hard to face the truth
She’d lost her independence, couldn’t rise above the fall
Not in this life.
Ch
What do we know about love, ain’t that much,
Why do we sell our last resistance for a human touch?
Till there’s no time left anymore,
Not in this life.

He still swaggers like he’s 18, but still can’t face the truth,
That he left his dreams behind him, so he hides beneath the roof
And lashes out in anger at the one love of his youth,
Here in this life.

They pretend that life is perfect to family and friends
While the children learn that anger and tears are at love’s end
Maybe they’ll recover and outgrow all the fear,
But not in this life.

We all struggle through each morning and learn to live with pain,
Then take a breath, close our eyes, then do it all again,
I’m sure that there’s a place where love will conquer all,
But not in this life.

 

A mother’s tears roll out before me 
They cut like lightning through my eyes
The battlements are scarred with toys and broken little girls and boys
And terror in the eyes of ones so young

There may be no final answer 
No one wins a deadman’s war

I hate it when the sun don’t shine 
I’m fighting not to loose my mind
And I don’t want to go there anymore

You stand upon your point of view
It don’t justify the things you do
And I don’t want to go there anymore

Captive eyes and words of anger
Shelter in the guise of faith
While the Prince of Peace and Prophet cry at innocence again denied
You’ll never shape a world this way

Ch.

There may be no final answer
Till we all stand back and think it through again
Till the weak, oppressed and children stand under the love sent from above
Hey no one wins a deadman’s war

Ch

Baby’s Got New Clothes

Well he walks out if the corner store and sits down all alone
And rolls a cigarette with shaking hands
He thinks of the potential that he gave away so long ago
Sees the bus arrive and makes his stand
Pretty girls are waiting in an office on the 4th floor
Where he lives his life between the sleep
He wishes there was someway he could open up there eyes
To what he used to be when love was cheap
But he spent all his investments on a love so long ago
Now the market has down turned and he’s got nothing left to show

Because Baby’s got new clothes
And she’s been getting it from somewhere else
Because Baby’s got new clothes
And she’s been getting it from somewhere else

Well the movers and the shakers on the sidewalk down below
All look familiar to his tired eyes
And he ponders on the feeling, to be flying through the air
Then lay before them in a red disguise
But surrendering of life’s not in nature so he shakes his head
And slowly lets the hours go
Across the plains of deserts where the hunger of a man
Is quenched with beer and a topless show

And he gives his best performance walking gently through the door
Smiles up at his love they just don’t talk much anymore

 

One More Time

I guess it’s automatic
Though some might call it devious
But when you throw your look at me
I swear, I swear you’re just mischievous

I love the way you brush your hair
I’m crazy about the clothes you wear
You’ve got me tripping over poetry
And odes to what we’ve done

Climbing to the top I go
Let’s take a ride that never slows
And when we finally hit the ground, I say

Let’s go around one more time
Go around one more time
Go around one more. One more time

I guess it’s symptomatic
But I’ve become addicted
Love is high maintenance
So let’s spare no expense

Ch

Sometimes it’s easy,
Sometimes better than before
I could always take on more
There’s no better load to carry.

Ain’t Got Nothing on You


I’m standing on the corner watching girls walk by
Their jeans are hanging low and there’s danger in their eyes

But they ain’t got nothing, ain’t got nothing on you

I’m a simple kind of man who needs a little space
I make a little noise to find a little grace

But they ain’t got nothing, ain’t got nothing on you
But they ain’t got nothing, ain’t got nothing on you

Say what you ever see in a fool like me, I don’t know
Take a little time and kiss your destiny, then let it grow

Pearls are in the oyster, the moneys in the bank,
I’ve seen a lot of faces all worth a second glance

Say what you ever see in a fool like me, I don’t know
Take a little time and kiss your destiny, then let it grow

The night is full of fire the stars are hanging low,
The constellations gather to put on quite a show.


Know What It’s Like   

I sit alone and wait.
Blank paper stare at me
Words are not assembled
Flow easily and then not

I pause to listen
Unseen and yet heard
I hear the voices of loved ones
Some here and then not

And I know what its like to be loved

I see their faces
In my mind
It helps me find a meaning
To what I’m not

I feel a sense of comfort
Wash over me
I hear the voices of loved ones
Some here and then not

 

SWEET THING


Such a sweet thing, when I see the sun rise over your land
How am I suppose to guide you through things I don’t understand
Don’t walk in my footsteps, walk ahead and make your own
But know that through,

Cut fingers, kicked toes, you’re never alone

It’s such a grey day, when I see the tear well in your eyes
And all I have are these two arms and a worn out lullabye
Don’t stand in my shadow, let the sun warm a place of your own
And know that through

Cut fingers kicked toes your never alone

I’ve learnt to tumble when I fall
But all these scars I bare, hold lessons for us all
But when I look at all these things I do
I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than you

It’s such a sweet thing, when I see the sun rise over your land
Hey everyday’s a magic box to hold within your hand
Don’t walk in my footsteps, walk ahead and make your own
But know that through

Cut fingers, kicked toes your never alone.

 

Woman


I’ve been sifting through some changes
Anticipating some way overdue
She says come to bed now its getting late
But don’t wake the baby up or I’ll kill you

And I look into eyes so hungry for sleep and its
Hard to imagine a place I’d rather be

And only time can create it
This inner circle, my own open space and

Girl you’re all the woman I need
Girl you’re all the woman I need

In the middle of these glory days, well it’s
Fine just to land my feet upon
A floor where I can stand as the man that I am
And not be afraid

And when we’re talking through those tired voices
Well I hear more than you say

And it’s a lifetime’s connection
My own piece of perfection

Whether it’s a match made in heaven or
Carved from stone
I see in my reflection that I
Don’t stand alone

And when we’re talking through those tired voices
Well I hear more than you say
And only time can create it
This inner circle, my own open space and

Goodbye

So this is goodbye, I hate to see you go
This is goodbye my tears will never show
What it means to loose you, even for a day

This is goodbye, I hate to see you go
This is goodbye, the hours go so slow
When I'm not beside you, to feel your breath on mine
The hours go so slow

But my love will find you
No matter where you lie
Yes my love will find you
No matter where you are

This is goodbye, I hate to see you go
I watch the sky until I see you go
But never from my mind, you're always on my mind

This is goodbye, keep your head down low
This world is changing, but we all know we cannot hide from fear
Just keep your head down low