Return to the secret room
To the memories
To the places
And the times
So many years later
We show some wear
Some scars
But we’ve built armies
And still we stand
Under red light
Under noise
In a room full of strangers
And destiny
I see you
Still behind that black curtain
Preparing for ceremony
And we will all move with you
In unison
Again and again
We will follow
But more importantly
I will follow
Again and again
To that place
Deep inside you
In years past
Now
And the years to come
Into that secret place
That only we know

The week between holidays is a funeral procession
We wrap it up in shiny foil
But these last days haunt us
Chewing away in little bits
As we approach the new year
Some cover themselves with celebration
Others mourn what could have been
Holiday lights are still left plugged in, some bulbs now broken
Trash bins flow over with shards of happy paper
Discarded electronics loiter the street
We look forward
Some of us burn
Some of us burn up inside
Others can’t sense the time
And the passing
Of another year
As we approach the new year
We medicate ourselves in liqueur
We kid ourselves with a new found spirituality
We promise ourselves things we’ll soon break
In the new year

I’ve seen you there
So many times
Young one
Wise beyond your years
Old soul
Dreamer
Ancient streets
Under a foreign moon
So far away
In the city of the dead
Temples have risen
Temples will fall
We’ll walk hand and hand
On their streets
Amongst their relics
A land lost
A time far gone
And yet, somehow we still exist
In this space
You, dreamy, and looking up at the stars
Hearing those songs
The ones that will always bring you back
To this place
To this time
In the city of the dead

The city still sleeps
And I’m on the road
With the fog
With a few late night travelers.
Demons maybe
Monsters
With nowhere to go
Like me
We travel for destination
Others just travel
These lights, that pass, torture me.
Inspire me
The stories behind them
The stories of those safe
In their homes
In their beds
While we wander
Unsure if it’s late
Or early

Frontage road
It’s a long and dusty trail back to you
From this place
From these times
There are ghosts on these roads
I’ve either picked one up
Or become one
Out here, on this Texas road
So far away from the world
So far from you
We drive haunted
Dust in the air
Dust in the eyes
Dirt in our mouth
We drive down this frontage road
Somewhere in this
This once frontier
So far from home
I’ve forgotten my place in this world
But I haven’t forgotten you

Turnpike nights
A porch light in the distance
But it’s not calling to you
Your company, the moon, wants you to move on
And so do I
Through these days, these years
Through your anger
And your fears
There is a light in the distance
But it’s not lit for you
Nor for me
It flickers far away
So very far away
Go and find it my friend
I hope when you do
You’ll find me

Temples of commerce
Lost to time
Meant for monetary
But we held fort there none-the-less
In our youth
In a different age
We took refuge
We found others
We walked through
Made our tiny little way
In these temples of commerce
Made by man, to make money
To sell a culture
To a culture
How many nights
And days
And mornings could I find you there?
How many adventures
How many streetlight nights
Cruising on four wheels
Running on our own two feet
Driving and sliding in the snow
We came up there
Came up hard
In those temples of commerce
Derelicts from a time before us
And yet we made it our home
Made our living somehow, some way
Behind some of these structures, we made war
Behind others we took chance at love
Our paths went to, and through, and beyond
And now we look back
At a temple gone
A time spent
Temples of commerce
But for us, and so much more

East Sider
the weight of the world on your eyes
keep walking,
don’t turn that head
don’t look
at me.
at the times before
just keep walking
East Sider
self made
not by the hands of man
not by a man
never a man
East Sider
did I ever figure you out?
in that house
east side of town
alone
surrounded by night
by trinket’s of others’ past
by self inflicted isolation
by your own dreams and prejudice
saving yourself for that day
for that person
that will never happen
or never was
I remember you East Sider
and as you walk by, I can tell
you pretend not to know me

Dog pissing, leg held high
Can’t work through the headaches any further
The car, constantly on empty
Weary days
Weary man
The sun has touched the earth here before
But never exactly the same
And where was I then?
When this was similar
To this day
To this year
Still pissed
Still lost
Weary man
A dog pissing with his leg held high

love and concrete
this is a story of the young ones
they’ll always have the city

they’ll look back
days were cold
on the boulevard
buses pass
great noise
one awaits the other

in a place at the other end of the world
hidden
from the city
from the streets
it’s here
just for them
for their dreams
for chance meetings
for love

love and concrete
everything outside
everything cold and wet

strangers rush by
as the day comes to an end
lovers soon to meet

keep this
always remember those days in the city
on the concrete
in the rain
and the love