pots and pans
bearing witness to my failed attempts
at domesticity
with someone other than you

cloths and cutlery
sometimes they seem to stare right back at me
as I stumble through another
awkward night

hope there’s still some hope for me
I want to learn to ride the wave

oh my friends
gentle and kind, wise and prescient
have been letting me down easy
now for weeks

I’ll re-task
the effort I put into colouring the past
into searching for a future
I want in

hope there’s still some hope for me
I want to learn to ride the wave

from under a cloud of dust
I swear I felt my soul reach
new-agey as it may sound
I heard it whisper in a gravelly voice

you can’t cut a slice of honey
I’d found out the hardest way before
still I’m here for more

it didn’t have to be the summer
all those summer evenings gone to waste
but it was the case

from under a cloud of dust
I swear I felt my soul reach out
new-agey as it may sound
I heard it whisper in a gravelly voice
enough

international loss adjusting
international just in timefor the end
that’s how I’ve been

I’m not great at being angry
waiting for the other shoe to drop
I’d rather not

from under a cloud of dust
I swear I felt my soul reach out
new-agey as it may sound
I heard it whisper in a gravelly voice

from under a cloud of dust
I swear I felt my soul reach out
new-agey as it may sound
I heard it whisper in a gravelly voice

I heard a creepy rendition
of a song I used to love
I was on the edge of thinking of something deep

but there was someone at the door

for a moment the man peddling real estate

looked like a handsome astronaut
lately I have the the attention span
of a tiny anxious dog

I might

run wild

at the very mention of a party
at an early summer afternoon
at myself reflected in a pretty stranger’s eyes

for the littlest of whiles

I went back into the apartment
holding a glossy brochure
of a house with a kidney-shaped swimming pool

surrounded by the fake outdoors

so if I ever grow a fortune
– by some accident I’m sure –
we can all lounge in the lounging chairs

and drink wine like connoisseurs

I might

run wild

at the very mention of a party
at an early summer afternoon
at myself reflected in a pretty stranger’s eyes

for the littlest of whiles

who would have thought
at thirty-six
I’d find myself jealous of a cat
who’s sitting on your lap

I make excuses
to write to you

I’m trying hard
not to fall
before I know it’s halfway true
halfway true

halfway true

halfway true

how can I tell
at thirty-six
if this is wishful thinking
or a momentary lapse of clarity

keep it simple
isn’t that the golden rule?

don’t go catching any feelings
before you’re halfway through to sure
it’s halfway true
halfway true

halfway true

halfway true

if it’s only halfway true
I’m happy to have gone there with you
if it’s only halfway true
halfway to
somewhere new

I wonder baby
did we get the chance to ruin every street in the neighbourhood
did we get the chance to ruin every part of the town we love

or do you want to go again
do you want to go again

I wonder baby
are you ever going to come by and pick up the rest of your stuff
do you think we had the chance to break other’s heart enough

or do you want to go again
do you really want to go again

I wish you would
stay off my mind

I wonder baby
do you miss me most in the afternoon
will I stop missing you any time soon
or is this something else I’m going to have to learn to live with

I heard it said baby
there’s a time and a place for everything
you shouldn’t mix up the end and the beginning
for a lack of better words to describe the mess that we found ourselves in

I wish you would
stay off my mind (some days I feel comfort in the weirdest things)
I wish you would (some days I almost feel like myself again)
stay off my mind (somedays I’m almost one with the universe)

I got up past the third snooze again
I had sworn this year would be different
a blackbird was singing a straightforward song
and I tried to harmonize with it

I suppose it’s just how it goes
after your thirtieth
you want to believe you can be anyone
but it’s pretty obvious

out of the abyss
and into the groove
I do the same thing
again and again

finally moving
I go through my pockets
for a stray piece of chewing gum
aspartame, glycerin, peppermint flavour
lanolin, sodium

my best ideas die quietly
at the altar of laziness
I suppose it’s just how it goes
after your thirtieth

out of the abyss
and into the groove
I do the same thing
again and again

here comes your baby
now if only you were taller
here comes your baby
and the room becomes much smaller

here comes your baby
and the night is raw and tender
all the sharpness is suspended
what can you do but surrender?

here comes your baby
you’d made up your mind to go home
here comes your baby
there’s a riot in your eardrums

here comes your baby
and the center starts to cave in
there’s no point in trying to blend in
there goes all that you believed in

here comes your baby
there goes all that you believed in

under the vertical garden
in the fluorescent light
you came up with a plan
then you let it go

look at the vertical garden
the shiny artificial plants
they will never die
they will never grow

go out of your way
or fake it through another day
everything is real
make your peace with whatever you feel

the unwilling coalition of characters crowding your thoughts
make too much noise
and way too little sense

when you run out of excuses someday soon
you might just linger
in the present tense

go out of your way
or fake it through another day
everything is real
make your peace with whatever you feel