Underneath the Willow Tree

Jungle Joe

Jungle Joe, he had to go
He knew he wasn't coming back
Fly away on vines that sway
He knew he wasn't coming back
All that he knew, he wasn't coming back

Jungle Joe had come to know
A kind of emptiness inside
Dust, they say, had settled on his brain
Soiled the dreams he once held tight
Oh how tried to take it all in stride
But somehow this world just seemed to pass him by

Jungle Joe, he had to go
He knew he wasn't coming back
Hung to dry, he looked up at the sky
To find some solace in the sun
Which seemed so apparent to everyone
Maybe there’s a place for me, he thought, on the other side
Oh how he’d longed to take that flight

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Moving-In Song

[NARRATION]
One life ends and another begins
In a small house at the end
Of an otherwise simple street
A mother and father brimming
With all that a new home brings
As a young boy clings to pant-legs & things

Turn the key and let the door swing open wide
Sunlight streaming in, the floorboards come to life
Room to room, the little house on Drayka Street
The backyard weeping willow makes the thing complete

Peer out through little pools of light
Lord knows you’re a sensitive child
Peek round, your pretty flaxen head
A place you could call home instead

Grab a box and crack it open, gesundheit!
Paper stacks or crumpled hats and coats, oh my!
Make-way for the davenport and drapes
A cavalcade of shapes goes by
You sit alone and cry

Peer out through little pools of light
Lord knows you’re a sensitive child
Out there, it just might be
A place for you, swaying in the breeze
Hearts break and willows weep
And some boys are found hanging from a tree
So steer clear of dangling vines
And maybe things will be just fine

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Box Of Letters

In the wall
It waits
In the wall
All that remains
In the wall
A panel moves
Tiny hands will find
Their way to you

In the wall
To whom
In the wall
You

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Up & At’Em

I just genuinely like Marvin Martian
I just genuinely like Danger Mouse
Spend hours on end in my bedroom
Like a dame in the nuthouse

I just genuinely like to go ape skin
Caddywhompus and the like
Romp around this place
Out of the gates like a track star
With a nail in his brain

Footsteps out in the hall
My heart like an anvil will fall

I just genuinely like penguins!
Thus, we waddle round the arctic, arm-in-arm
Stay tucked away in our igloo
While the wolves tear them apart!

Footsteps out in the hall
My heart like an anvil will fall
Footsteps closing in fast
This episode will be the last

Up and at’em boy
The sun is rolling out today
Brave the open air
Make mama proud to say
Up and at’em boy
No son of mine’ll waste away
With his eyes glued to that looney tube all day

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Eighteen Sets Of Eyes

Eighteen sets of eyes
Are staring back at me
I never fit in
Ill at-ease in my skin
It’s measles-esque

Standing there with rats for hair
Elastic jeans
Cast out on the porch
And through the windows and doors
They’re gawking at me

Dangling down
The willows weep
Maybe I’ve found
A place for me

Bookish fuck with backward luck
And crooked teeth
Look across the street
Through a window we see
A girl recede

Clutching tight, the stuffing
Of my only friend
Tucked under my chin
A tuxedo-clad gent
Ely the penguin

Dangling round
The willow tree
Held safe and sound
Here underneath
Dangling down
The vines they mope
Each a helping hand
Or hangman’s rope

But still burning bright
In the back of his mind
That box of letters
Somehow left behind
Waiting for him
Reaching out to find
A stranger’s hand
Through the sands of time
And on to the next life

He could open one just to see
Maybe this was really meant to be

Eighteen sets of eyes
Are staring back at me
I never fit in
Ill at-ease in my skin
Who gives a shit?

Scamper in and scramble up the stairs
On-end hairs as the envelope tears
A pair of trembling hands have we

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To Whom It May Concern (Letter 1)

Plastic head in a cloud again
Ask the heavens to stop
Shedding light on the shape we’re in
It’s enough to melt your face off

Plastic head in an open flame
I’m not very much fun
Basking in the light of so much pain
It’s like staring right into the sun
Maybe everyone else is just numb

Plastic head in a cloud again
Have the heavens no shame
Black fog billowing, blistering skin
It’s burning a hole in my brain
And as for my heart, much the same

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I Dream Of Holly

Sleep, the night is good
On a red-pine bed of wood
Silken black, the sky
Streaming through your open mind

Sleep, the darkness says
Lost at sea inside your head
Ghost-white vapors pass
Starlit Asian waters oh-so vast

Floating in the open waters there
Bobbing about by the bedside
A delicate lotus flower fair
Floating in the mindless open air
Petals unfurl, by the bedside a girl
With a dark and slanted stare

Holly half-reply
Calling out through open eyes
Floating in a flower
Glowing like a meteor shower

Holly here we are
Tragic as a falling star
Together in a dream
Any minute now my alarm will start to scream

Floating in the open waters there
Bobbing about by the bedside
A delicate lotus flower fair
Floating in the mindless open air
Petals unfurl, an enchanted young girl
With a dark and slanted stare

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Willow Tree

Hang out for hours with the willow tree
I don’t give a fuck for me
I got all I need
New kid in town and you know it’s true
They’re gonna crack my head in two
Just something to do

Hang out underneath the willow tree
See the sun in golden streams
Line the vines and leaves
New kid in town, if they know I am
Stuff me in a garbage can
Don’t dare take a stand

Weeping never felt so right
As when these vines are holding me tight
No one here to tell me to buck up
All my fears, my sorrows
All my love
Free to fuck around
Like a flock of doves

Hang out for hours with the willow tree
Only place I care to be
Just Ely and me
New kid in town, gonna get me good
Strap me to the rusted hood
Of Grandma’s old Fleetwood
She’ll never notice

Weeping never felt so right
As when these vines are holding me tight
No one here to tell me to buck up
All my fears, my sorrows
All my love
Free to fuck around
Like a flock of doves

Keep out the world around
Underneath the willow, safe and sound

Hang out for hours with the willow tree
Only place I care to be
Wish someone else could see

Then from the corner of my eye
I see her standing there under the vines
She turns and runs, leaving me there
The girl with the dark and slanted stare

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Mom & Dad

That boy ain’t right
He’s way too up-tight
Spends all of his time
With that tree

He’s awfully shy
Spends all day and night
Alone in a world
We can’t see

So often inclined
To get left behind
Lost with the vines
And the leaves

He’s awfully kind
A bit off at times
And different
Whatever that means

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Sucking At The Air (Letter 2)

????????

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The Girl From My Dream

Holly, can it be?
The girl from my dream
Waiting for me
Holly, there you sit
Beneath the hanging stems
Of the willow tree

Stumble out of bed, don’t wait a minute more
Nevermind your shoes and socks, just go
Rumble down the stairs and out the fucking door
If you’re lucky, she’ll be waiting so
Bumble through the yard and think of what to say
If and when you’re finally face-to-face
Grass is soft and sharp in shards of wispen-jade
Brushed against the lightness of each pace
Holly Yeong of lotus flower fame

And suddenly, there we are
She turns to me and I can see
The swelling tears in her eyes

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Park Bench (Letter 3)

Fucking hell, what just happened?
Everything was going alright
For just a fraction of a second
Thought I’d stepped into the light
By chance she found me on this park bench
By chance I didn’t get tongue-tied
For once it didn’t dominate me
Felt I was reaching out from inside
Then in an instant without warning
She just threw it all away
She raised her foot up in the air
And without a care
She came down
She brought it down
And stepped on an ant

Another footstep pressing on my chest
Another cardiac arrest
I’ve had enough, I might confess
If I had any say at all
I’d say there’s nothing left
Better this than locked-up in my room
At home with that half-cocked buffoon
He’s banging on my door all day so hard
I’d like to take an ice-pick from the drawer
And jam it in his heart

I just die and they don’t bat an eye
Another sunrise having blown my mind
I just die a little bit inside
Whenever drunken bums curl up at night
Clutching their collar tight
How can I just fall apart each time
A person walks by or looks me in the eye
How can I expose this heart of mine
When every conversation makes me want to cry
Clutching the hollow place inside

Brains are somewhat sunny-side up in my head
Out amidst the sweltering unrest
Every ray of light is like a kiss of death
Sealing our fate in this hot mess
Brains are somewhat sunny-side up, so they say
Molten yellow running down my face
Maybe it’s just me but I can’t bare the strain
Of all the heartache, suffering and pain

That annihilates the senses in the brazen light of day

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Origin Of Holly Yeong

Tucked away, a tiny village
Just east of the Seomjin waves
Where sailors come for pint and pillage
Where young girls are sold as slaves
One among them with her long hair
Pulled tight in a hangman’s braid
Flung herself into the night-air
And sunk to a watery grave

Mother died in vain
Father’s debts to pay

Swallowed up at sea, miss Holly Yeong
Coughed up on the beach with salty lungs
Swallowed up at sea and left for dead
Coughed up on the beach in lotus flower bed

Taken in and told to scrub
Every crevice and every hole
Papa Grub sure has a preference
For young girls who know their role

Half a world away
How her poor heart aches

Swallowed up at sea, miss Holly Yeong
Coughed up on the beach with a foreign tongue
Swallowed up at sea and left for dead
Coughed up on the beach in lotus flower bed

Holly, you’re safe now here with me
Underneath the willow tree
You got all you need
Don’t cry, see the sun caught streaming through
He won’t lay a hand on you
For at-least another hour or two

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Magpies

NARRATION:
Things are looking up
For the young boy
And his willow tree
A box of letters to explore
And a budding friendship
With the girl next-door
Though broken hearts need all the more

Dark eyes and carnival lights
My heart is on a carousel high
Hard times left somewhere behind
With Holly Yeong here by my side
Magpies and cartwheel cries
I feel head over heels tonight
Dark eyes, a milk-carton smile
She's what I’ve been missing all this time

Whisper softly
How she looks so odd
People talking
She’s not what you thought

They don’t have the time
For kids that don’t all look alike
But we don’t pay no mind
Just a couple of magpies

Dark eyes and carnival lights
A world-away in every sigh
Hard times are still burning bright
For Holly Yeong here by my side
Starlight, we’re spending our nights
With Marvin Martian, Rainbow Bright
Dark eyes they harbor a kind of
Torment she can’t even describe

Whisper softly
How she acts so queer
Better off, she’d be
To up and disappear

They don’t have the time
For kids that don’t all look alike
But we don’t pay no mind
Just a couple of magpies
No they don’t have the time
For kids that don’t fall into line
We see eye-to-eye
Just a couple of magpies

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Dead Hamster (Letter 4)

Golden waves break over my window
Morning tide is rolling on in
Blinds in rows half-open eyelids glow
Tears warm in the light

Harvey, have you any idea?
How beautiful the sun at your side
Heaven intermingling in the strands
Glazed, fluffy and wild

Golden waves break over my window
Morning tide is rolling on in
Blinds in rows half-open eyelids close
Tears washed away in the light

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Fishhooks In My Brain (Letter 5)

Fishhooks in my brain
Fishhooks in my brain

Scratching and tugging and twisting away
Why can’t they give me a break?
Racking up phobias, writhing in place
Such are the thoughts of the day

Fishhooks in my brain
Fishhooks in my brain

Worthless and socially fucked in the head
Choking back chitchat at school
Crybaby curled up crooked in bed
They always laugh at the fool

Stepfather sticking his dick in a friend
Hours at the office run late
Mother is worried but she can pretend
How she admires his strength

Fishhooks in my brain
Reeling from the pain

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On The Blink

It’s weighing on me
Eighteen pry

Just when I think
Everything is on the blink
Out in the yard
She comes calling
Just when it seems
Only walls will talk to me
She knocks at my door

It’s weighing on me
Eighteen sets of eyes

Just when I think
Everything is on the blink
In through my window
Comes crawling
Just when they say
Now he up and lost his way
She takes up my arm

Just when I think
Everything is on the blink
Out in the yard
She comes calling
Just when it seems
Only walls will talk to me
She turns up at my door
With her dark eyes imprisoned no more

Will I cave?

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Young Korean Girl Sits Alone Before Being Jumped By Bullies

[none]

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Betrayal Song

What have I done?
Turned my back on Holly Yeong
They chased her down
In the backyard where we found ourselves out
As she looked up at me
They circled around shouting, “get up freak”
Through little pools of light
I know too well that look in her eye
Holly, what to do?
Will you ever forgive me
For ducking out on you?

NARRATION:
Broken hearts need all the more
And so must stick together
Or else

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End Of My Rope (Letter 6)

Howling winds are heartless, cold as ice
Cry myself to sleep another night
Burn the clothes that held me back all day
Naked free and watch the willow sway

A helpless stupid fuck, am I
A gutless sitting duck, am I

“Donnie Doormat in a funk, I’ll bet”
He stuck his fucking finger in my chest v “Always feeling sorry for yourself”
“Weak just like your father, may he burn-in-hell”

A self-indulgent fuss, am I
A sack of bulging puss, am I

Tonight I’ll paint myself a yellow-gold
In honor of my hamster, rest his soul
In honor of the sun that fried my brain
To represent the coward I remain

If I could reach up with my yellow hand
And grab hold of one of these willow strands
I’d fly away into the blessed night
And start a new life swinging by and by

A phony, faggy mope, am I
At the end of my rope, am I
A twat who couldn’t cope, am I
At the end of my rope, bye bye

Caught in the undercurrent, white sands
Cave in the coming light of day
Grains of the sun & moon change hands
I feel it all slipping away
Train yourself to swallow your fears
All of your cares down the drain
Bury the thoughts that bring you to tears
In sands of denial, so plain

Cover my eyes against the bright sun
Can’t bear to face another day
Strange how the majesty of new light come
Exposes a world so depraved
So efficient we have become
Our toughness and our resolve
Pile it on, you cocksured scum
Till you feel nothing at all

See all other faces dissolve
Now will anyone come when you call?

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Make This Right

Flakes in a free-fall across the sky
Great cherry blossom trees of Asian white
I’ve gotta find her and make this right
Can’t bear to see it fritter off and die

Flowers of every shape and size
Some open-up at every new sunrise
Others seem unfit to face the times
Here today and gone in the blink of an eye

Climbing the branches toward her light
She opens up the window with a smile
I can’t believe, a complete surprise
Thought I’d never look into those eyes again

Flowers of every shape and size
Great cherry blossom trees of Asian white
Too many petals brushed aside
In this world, like so many tears that I’ve cried

I stood with the crowd as they cast aside
The one true thing I’ve got in this life

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Joe’s Farewell (Letter 7)

A final look up at the sun
Out amongst the branches
No more tears and dry they run
I’ll be on my way

Wrap the vine around my neck
I’m off to see the world
Sailing through the air, I’ll bet
They’ll think of me somehow

And never live it down

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Never Again, Without A Friend

The letter it drops to the ground
With two sets of tears streaming down
They hold on tight to each other tonight
And weep for the one we call Jungle Joe

If your petals are wearing thin
If you feel your world folding in
Been told that it’s sink or swim
Holly I’ll lift you up
Should your colors ever fade
In the cold-blooded light of day
I’ll cover your eyes and say
Holly never again, without a friend

The willow tree held us in her arms
But the sun perhaps meant us no harm
There are beautiful sights that are also brought to life
If we dare to step into the light

If your petals are wearing thin
If you feel your world folding in
Been told that it’s sink or swim
Holly I’ll lift you up
Should your colors ever fade
In the cold-blooded light of day
I’ll cover your eyes and say
Holly never again, without a friend

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Praying Mantis

Meadow Song

In the meadow across the road
From my childhood home
Where I wondered off alone

In the meadow, INARRATOR – anonymous co-lead who, along with Pellapetisimo, relates much of the story first-hand to the listener.

Appears in: Meadow Song, Dandelions, Every Alcove, It Warms The Cockles, Stems & A Green Leaf Still, Two Houses Pt.1&2, Sally’s House, Daisy (2nd-half), Compound Eyes, Pellapetisimo.
heard him call
Where the grass grew wild and tall
His song like a crack in wall

In the meadow across the way
Where the slight and unsightly pray
Where the sun shone round all day

Look carefully, I heard him say
There’s more to this overgrown place
Pellapetisimo’s the name

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Dandelions

Waggled leaves and meadow blades
Scattered greens that twitch and sway
What it seems is not always

Leaflets, stems and stalks abound
Some stand-up and walk around
Others just sit there all day

[Refrain] Dandelions are curling round my spine
Little yellow flower petals climb
Out from my eyes

Stirring in the thicket there
Little things that stop and stare
If we’d only take the time

See the forms, become aware
Floral shapes will dance on air
Often more than meets the eye

[Refrain]

Listen for the melody
Whispering amidst the reeds
Is it just the wind, no more?

At the edge our universe
Can expand, for what it’s worth
We need only to explore
The prospect of something more

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Every Alcove

[Refrain]
If you come a little closer, let your eyes adjust
And open your mind up, the whole of the hillside
Will come into focus
Let the flowers and the grass grow up around you there
The locals are waiting in every alcove
And anticipating

Meet Miss Tropicanna Black
Her friends call her Lily
Not that sheTROPICANNA “LILY” BLACK – leafy social outcast with perhaps more to say if only given the chance.

Appears in: Every Alcove, Pellapetisimo.
has anybody
Whom she could really call a friend, per se
Sweet Miss Tropicanna Black
Some say she's a little off
Not that anyone has much of anything to say at all 
To Tropicanna Black

[Refrain]

These weeds echo with the sounds 
Of Christopher Cricket 
He leads a chorus that surrounds us
Here in the thicket
We count on it
"Three cheers," we joyful!
We exclaim, "Here comes Mr. Cricket" 
Fingers snapping to the songs heCHRISTOPHER CRICKET – an unending source of good cheer for the “towns-folk” (so it seems).

Appears in: Every Alcove, Pellapetisimo.
sings 
We wave and stop to say, 
"There goes one swell guy"

[Refrain]

If you come a little closer, get to know the folks
That scuttle along on the overgrown lawn
There’s so much that goes on
Let the clovers and the canes grow up around your brain
The natives exchange subterranean claims
So glad that you came

Earthworm, face-first in the dirt
Leave him to his folly
He works all the day and night
With nothing but plight to show
For Wally Dearth
Earthworm Wally, what’s the point?
You wallow and dawdle
Each and every day the same old mess
Of sweat and soil, inanely toiling away

Lily Black, she stares down at the grass
Watching ants share information
She has a rad collection of acorn-caps
And thoughts on why some folks are so numb
And Chris Cricket wishes each song were his last
Perhaps he could at-least sing in a minor key
No one saw as Wally worked to solve
The meadow’s arid-soil situation

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It Warms The Cockles

Now see the drunken bluebirdHANK THE BLUEBIRD – the town drunk with a secret crush, inspired by the Charles Bukowski poem “Bluebird”

Appears in: It Warms The Cockles, Sally’s House, The Fool & Earl
.
Watch it collide with a tree in mid-flight
Now see the drunken bluebird
Stumbling around in the pale moonlight
How it warms the cockles

For the second time this evening
He’ll challenge a soda-pop can to a fight
How nice, see the drunken bluebird
Follow his heart again into the night
How it warms the cockles

Enough to make a man weep

Spreading his wings without a care
Of what they think down below
If only I too could be that rare
I’d show them the same

There, stranded in the rain
He’ll stagger and shout at the worms on the ground
“Please, I come to make amends“
“For the times when I’ve eaten-up some of your friends”
How it warms the cockles

For the second time this week
He’ll curl-up to sleep in a neighbor-bird’s nest
Now see the drunken bluebird
Profess his love for the girl Sally Tess
How it warms the cockles

Enough to make me weep

Spreading his wings without a care
Of anything down below
If only I too could be that rare
I’d show them the same
Somewhere inside I’ve hidden away
Someone as pure and free
A drunken bluebird of my own
That no one ever sees

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Stems & A Green Leaf Still

[Refrain]
Somewhere, passing the time until
Stems with a green-leaf still
Sun through a hundred eyes can reveal
What lies, a world concealed

When I was boy
We used to wake-up early in the morning
Saturdays
So hot you might have drained off breakfast
Before you were halfway up the road
But we didn’t care
We were after the one thing in life that made us truly happy
At the time anyway
We were searching for a Praying Mantis ?

[Refrain]

My friend and I
The girlHOLLY – the next-door neighbor girl of the unnamed narrator.

Appears in: Stems & A Green Leaf Still, Pellapetisimo.
who lived next door
Well we’d get lost in those fields
Lost in the light of youth, innocence, discovery
Sometimes we’d sink down
Beneath the surface of the tall grass
And uncover things about ourselves
About each other
Things we’d never known in our most colorful dreams

[Refrain]

Waifs in the woodland wet
Ways we wound around in the grass to forget
A world that never seemed to look much further
Than that which collects on the surface
We found each other there
Soft summer air
And nary a watchful eye to bare
Save for those of the Praying Mantis

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Two Houses Pt.1

Two houses in the meadow
Side by side
Two houses in the meadow
So alike

Two houses painted yellow
Two green doors
Two matching cherrywood swings
On the porch

Two houses, so alike on the outside
Though they contain within their walls
Two all-together different takes on
Passing through the gates of dawn

On the left, lives Sally Tess
See the bluebird sitting on her sill
Maybe we could have ourselves
A closer look, this night we’ll get our fill

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Sally’s House

SallySALLY TESS – woman who lives in one of the two identical (on the surface) houses in the meadow. Her husband spends more time in the backseat of his car than he does at home, if you know what I mean.

Appears in: It Warms The Cockles, Two Houses Pt.1, Sally’s House, The Fool & Earl, Pellapetisimo.
can’t stop crying
Waiting on her man
Lately, he ain’t never home on time
She’ll pass out in the kitchen
When she’s had all she can stand
Of second-rate promises and cheap wine

[Refrain]
If you catch my meaning
Then you get my drift
Paper hearts aren’t cut out for this shit

She’s always had a fondness
For the wrong kind of man
This one ain’t much different than the last
He’s holed up in the backseat
Of a blue sedan
Groping at the glory days that have long since passed

[Refrain]

Headlights cast her shadow
Hard against the wall
The gravel churns as he pulls in the drive
And for a moment there, her clouded stare
Clears to see his face
And somehow she feels happy just to have him back standing there in her doorway

But then he stumbles on past and hurries down the hall
Muttering some bullshit about how he got called back to work
And she can smell this rat a mile away
So she pulls out a pair of brass knuckles from her purse
And chases him down and grabs ahold of the collar of his shirt
And then she bashes in his face

[Refrain]

It’s best he sleeps this one off
He’s out-cold anyway
And Sally, she sits back down to calm her nerves
And the bluebird at the window
Opens with a new-day song
And for a moment, Sally wonders if it’s for her

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Two Houses Pt.2

Two houses in the meadow
Side by side
Two yellow painted shells
They do belie

To the right, the morning sun
Comes crawling in across the carpet there
Then the bed, the new day calling
These folks aren’t likely going anywhere

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Sunrise House

Sunrise doesn’t apply
What to get up and do?
These eyes wade through the light
Softly fade into view

We could shuffle round like zombies
Turn knobs and try-on shoes
But why to waste the dawn
We-twoSUNRISE COUPLE – the unidentified pair of humans living in the other of the two identical (on the surface) houses in the meadow.

Appears in: Two Houses Pt.2, Sunrise House.
removed

Sunrise, we could comply
But why for to fucking move?
Held tight, I could just die
Lying here next to you

We could shuffle round like zombies
Shout things out, room-to-room
With all the fruit flies longing
To see you soon

Sunrise, another time
I’d spend the day, it’s true
Seems like Heaven’s alright
But what do they have, if not you?

We could shuffle round like zombies
Shower-caps, coffee brew
But why to waste the dawn

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Daisy

Hey Daisy
Maybe by mistake
I never noticed it before
When the wind takes-up
Across the range
You seem gladly out-of-sorts
Grooving around
So graceful, so demure

Hey Daisy
I just want to say
What a lovely dissident you make
With your soft white
Petals out of place
Hanging down across you face
Grooving around
So nicely disarrayed
A colorful flout
Of light against the gray

Hey DaisyDAISY – the inimitable flower to whom Pellapetisimo takes a liking.

Appears in: Daisy, Pellapetisimo.

Maybe by mistake
You haven’t noticed me around
The stems and green leaf
Wavering in-place
Atop the honeysuckle sprout
I’m much obliged
Of course, I’m sometimes brown

It might sound crazy
Daisy, as of late
You’re all I ever think about
Your mad sashay
Amidst the tussled gray
Your soft white locks that ruffle out
Grooving around
The rhythm yours alone
The best thing I’ve found
Daisy, you should know

She says there is a dead thing
In the ground beneath her feet
It tells her of a time, not so long ago
When the days would run together
Like a reoccurring dream
And this field of green poured over everything

Down by the lilac clusters
Not far from where we’re standing now
There once was a farm of strange renown
A precious fur could there be found
Housed in the back a little colony safe and sound
Of caged chinchillas

Well this farm became a prison
The chinchillas all death row
As they soon learned of their intended turn as winter coats
And this one who lies beneath us now
Telling of a hidden past
He lost his life by a farmer’s scythe
As he led his friends to freedom through the grass

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The Fool & Earl

???THE FOOL – unidentified speaker in conversation with Earl, he offers-up a most seductive plea for ignorance.

Appears in: The Fool & Earl.
?????EARL THE SQUIRREL – observant rodent who witnesses something unexpected at Sally’s house and later recalls it in conversation with his friend, The Fool.

Appears in: The Fool & Earl.

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Compound Eyes

Dazed ubiquity lies
In kaleidoscope highs
What a beautiful sight
Staring into your eyes
Praying mantis
I see your splintered mind
And I know

Flash a myriad glimpse
Dazzled images entwine
Travel with them inside
Staring into your eyes
Praying mantis
I see your splintered mind
And I know

This façade of green comes apart at the seems
Fractures into weeds, tall grass and leaves
Further-in we see insects, birds, rodents, seeds
Sprouting new life from the soil beneath
The dirt, the worms, the roots as they squirm
In their relative time-flow, down through the earth
Soaking up the nutrients, moisture, air
Delving further through microbial fair
Bacteria, algae, fungi all give way
To molecules, atoms, photon rays
Electrons spin in an orbital stay
Around nuclei boasting in electromagnetic sway

Like a pendulum king
Lost in rhythm and allure
Soft hypnotic we sway
Lulling all of us away
Praying mantis
I see your splintered mind
And I know

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Pellapetisimo

I caught a glimpse and it shot through my senses
Like nothing that I’ve known before
Standing in front of a canvas, so wonderfully lost
In the luster and lure
I reach out my hand as the brushwork commands
And am sucked-in and shown something more

The light breaks
Pellapetisimo
Soaking up the sun
Of another day
Somewhere in the maze
Of brambles and bright green foliage

My heart aches
Pellapetisimo
Our time together
Nearing over and done
Soon the sun will fade out
Forever on these summer days

[Refrain]
I caught a glimpse and it shot through my senses
Like nothing that I’ve known before
Standing in front of a canvas, so wonderfully lost
In the luster and lure

That’s all folks
PellapetPELLAPETISIMO – the praying mantis, main character, and active guide for both the (unnamed) narrator and the audience.

Appears in: Meadow Song, Dandelions, Every Alcove, It Warms the Cockles, Two Houses Pt.1&2, Daisy, Compound Eyes, Pellapetisimo.
isimo
Kicking up his heels
And pedaling back
Farewell, that’s a wrap
Spin the cane and wave the skimmer-cap

Daisy waits
At the top of the hill, she sees
Spilling over with
The rush of the red-orange tide at sunset
A shadowy figure all stems and leaf

[Refrain]

[Refrain]
Standing in front of a canvas, so wonderfully lost
In the luster and lure
I reach out my hand as the brushwork commands
And am sucked-in and shown something more

The light wanes
Pellapetisimo
Saying our goodbyes
To WallyEARTHWORM WALLY – oft-dismissed drudge who’s up to more than most will ever know.

Appears in: Every Alcove, Pellapetisimo.
and Chris
Lily Black and those kids
Nestled together in the tall grass

Sally Tess
Wishing you all the best
Lest we all forget
As one awakened
From a beautiful dream
He’ll be there whispering in the reeds

~~~~~~~~

The End

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Songs For My Cat

Aria Darling

Red lung my darling Aria
Tread Harley Quinn we, Aria
Oooooh Ooooh Ooooh Oooh Oo-ooh
Stale eyes have torn your heart in two

Now, if you're freaking out
You should know
Thick as thieves avow

Take my hand
We can wake the ragtime band

Red lung my darling Aria
Dead rung my darling Aria
Oooooh Ooooh Ooooh Oooh Oo-ooh
Cans of coiled worm cavorting through

Now, if you're freaking out
Don't be slow
Thick as thieves, we shout

Take my hand
We can wake the ragtime band
Circle and bow
Let you're hair stream purple now

Oooooh Ooooh Ooooh Oooh Oo-ooh
When the bones in hand don't feel true

Now, if you're freaking out
You should know
That I'm freaking out

Take my hand
We can stir the ragtime band
Yielding dawn
Hit the floor headfirst come on
Our brains spill out
And mix like paint together now
We circle and drown
Let your hair stream green and brown

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Bob

Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob
He's the creature from my childhood dreams
Long ago
Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob
In the stories that were told

Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob
He's growing old and you know
Bob Bob Bob Bob Bob
In the stories that unfold

Each notebook leaf, a new adventure
His sidekick Imp, waiting in the wings
Arch nemeses at every turn
He's unearthly and free

Umbrella cloak in red & black rows
Spectral torso trailing as he goes
Swelt eyes caught cross, or so it seems
Old-time rocker in themes

Find a flame-thrower or machine-gun
Just lying around, glinting in the sun
Take aim and say fuck-all to this
Amassing dismay
Start blasting away

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Birthday Song

I'm rubbing cake all over my face
I'm rubbing cake all over my face
Mama says it looks a disgrace
I'm rubbing cake all over my face
I'm gonna smash these bottles and plates

I've got on lipstick and my swim trunks
I'm gonna take a bath in the punch
I want to take a bath with the girl
Who smiles to herself as I run amuck

[Refrain]
It's my goddamn birthday
It's my day to shine
It's my goddamn birthday
Maybe I could make her mine

I'm gonna take a gun to the bank
I'm gonna have some fun the old-fashioned way
Press the barrel right up against
The bank teller's forehead and say
"Some for me and some for the girl"
"Who smiles every time I say her name"

[Refrain]

[Bridge]
And when the day is done
Things may feel different
Maybe I'll hold on
To that wild mane
When tomorrow comes
Lost in the distance
With the Earth it spun
Off and away
Now come and gone
Soft reminiscence
Maybe I'll hold on
To that smile she gave

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You've Got The Madness

Mind spun like a top
Shot through the attic
Walls to climb and then some
Thoughts light up across
Midsummer night skies

Mokey I'm afraid
You've got the Madness
Call me in the morning
Once you've had a chance
To sleep it off

Mind spun like a top
Flung through the front room
Jaws unhinge and claws glint
Gone off like a flash bulb
In the snow

After examining your chart
I can see that you're suffering
From a severe case of the madness

Twine voices they talk
To you in visions
Tearing flesh and torrents rain
Stood so alonev That fateful day

Mokey I'm afraid
You've got the madness
Should you care to join us
Once you've slept it off
We could be friends again

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Catatonic Blue

The music swims around in furry-head
Its monsoon season for my tabby-cat
Well, he's half siam

The violins shred clouded thoughts.
Light stratifies the shock
And my cat twists and twirls.
To dance deranged
A typhoon ballet

[Refrain]
He's watching, corner room
Catatonic blue

The music cracks and glistens in furry-head
Refracted whims imprisoned.
What a mad little kitten I have

The blurry mind's eye dilates
Azure skies dissipate, as Mokey lies in wait
For his typhoon ballet

[Refrain]

Then he jumps up out of position
Whirling around like a gale apparition!

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Hairball Shimmy

Mokey's doing the Hairball Shimmy
Doing the Hairball Shimmy all around

He'll meander along till the feeling comes on
Stealing the rhythm and seething the song
Shrug your shoulders, stick out your tongue
Cough the hairball up with your lungs
And say

Step out from
Behind the velvet curtain, you're on
Jive with the spasms as they come along
Shrug your shoulders, stick out your tongue
Cough the hairball up with your lungs
And say

Mokey's doing the Hairball Shimmy
Staring me in the eyes all the while
He's doing the Hairball Shimmy
Carry the hairball up and out in style

If you can
Embrace the demons, you'll set them free
Clean out your closet. Scream and shout all along
Shrug your shoulders, stick out your tongue
Cough the hairball up with your lungs
And say

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Mokey's GloveBall Quest

Mokey woke up late one day
Sun ran through the window pane
Warmth to flood his fuzzy mane
Will it incubate his brain?

In his mind he'll float along
Waves of golden Siren song
Stirring molten visions up
Careful not to touch the cup

Lift the eyelids drifting black
Sunlight surging cataract
Rack the senses, back-to-the-end
Close your eyes and stretch and then...

Thought's philosophy and zest
Mokey sets out on his quest
Off to fight the spirits squall
Find the one-and-only Glove Ball!

Telephone's a-ringing wild
Swells of sound and vision pile
Up inside a waking dream
Mokey sheds an aching scream

Scamper all along the couch
Swing from claws, hung upside-down
Dart through doorways, slash and stir
Dander dash confetti blur

By the window, finds a clue
A shiny string that he once knew
Tied around the Glove Ball then
Lift the latch and spring from the den

Oh the Glove Ball, gone astray
Mokey's explorations take
Our blue-eyed hero down the path
Violet darkness falling fast

All around the crickets chirp
Fireflies flickered mirth
And Mokey moves through sticks and brush
A mystic quest, press on he must

Now the moon is shining bright
Spiny branches split the night
And splintered twigs close in on all sides
Mokey spins and shucks and jives

Then suddenly, Mokey stops!
His claws sink in the soil plot
Off in the distance, shimmered bright
A pair of simmering-yellow eyes

They vanished quick like sinking stones
Mokey sat there all alone
The darkness held unyielding plight (unending doubt)
And Mokey bedded down for the night

When he awoke, all lay still
No stirring mice or whippoorwills
Mokey turned, to his surprise
He met with simmering-yellow eyes

He leapt back with coursing fright
Another cat as black as night
And in his mouth the Black Cat held
The one-and-only Glove Ball, well...

In that second split so fine
The torrents lit his wintered mind
A glint of Taurean design
And Mokey leapt forth, feral-blind

He sunk his claws deep in the black
Alas, he felt a surge come back
It shot through every bone he had
And brought a vision slow and mad

He saw a giant purple cube
A perfect monolithic ruse
Comprised in scores of tiny ants
They moved together in a trance

And in the cube, which gleamed so bright
He saw himself, he shimmered white
He saw that he too was comprised
Of tiny ants, to his surprise

These ants were white and black and gray
They moved together in that same way
And they were he and he was they
All one within the cube display

Then Mokey came out of the dream
With smoke and ash all across the scene
The Glove-Ball now was in his mouth
The Black Cat nowhere to be found

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Monsters By Sea

And if monsters come, they will come by sea
And if monsters come, they will come through walls around you
With terrible eyes rolling, terrible teeth
Gnashing, they cry to the moon and their king the Mongrel

[Refrain]
Bedposts grow branches here
Tangled groves for dance and cheer
They know to find you, dear
Cross the sea over a year

So wildly gone, they will crack their smiles
In spirals and song, they can tap their toes for miles
Now frolicking on, in the moonlight guiles
Like spires at dawn, freely dance in fireside styles

[Refrain]

And if monsters come, they will come by sea
If monsters come, they will come through walls around you
They'll carry you off on shoulder tops, through trees
Then ferry across in moonlight dreams abounding

[Refrain]

They show their razor-sharp
Brazen claws that clink and spark
Wild Mokey staring stark
Let the wild rumpus start

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Border Town Song

In a little border town
South of Chiricahua ground
The lustful seek forgiveness
From old familiar friends

Mariachis cull the sound
The desert sun is going down
Some may search for new lines
In the same old songs they're sent

Have you nothing to spare for a tired old man?

In a little border town
Sorrows for a quarter drown
In cups of warm Tecate
And mescal-tonic vials

Firecrackers in the wind
The dire thoughts come creeping in
Dark curls on her fair skin
Disarmingly, she smiles

Have you no one to care for you now that she's gone?
Lavender heavens stare sorrowfully down upon

In a little border town
The dark drifting angels go dancing through you mind
In a little border town
The shadows keep secrets of every sordid kind
In a little border town
The traces are tangled in melodies that wind
Round together lithely bound
To still-born notions of a life now left behind

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Brain Acre

There he goes, the village idiot
About on a stroll, with his hollow head aglow
And everyone claims that his brain's been carved away
Long ago
But they don't know
The idiot's off in a daydream promenade
Attic space
Where flowers grow
The idiot's roaming about by orange flame
A great escape

Brain Acre Farm
A braided light-blaze lines the countryside
Brain Acre Farm
To find your way, wind round your second sight
Living with the vegetables, alright
Brain Acre Farm

There he goes, the village idiot
He will carry on unaware, through the carriage-driven square
Whispers, "Where does he go?"
With his vacant slang, wait there
But they don't know

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