this song has been stuck in my head all day.

And I’m frustrated with myself
But I can’t change
I don’t want to be me anymore
And all of the tics & tocs & clicks of clocks
That tell the time tell me this is just a phase

And everything every day
That’s been scraping away
At the side of my brain
Can’t come to form a thought, except…

And all the thoughts I think I’ve saved
Here for days that remain
Just keep eating away
And I still can’t sleep, sing…

Why can’t you tell me what I wanna hear
To help me get some rest
Oh my darling dear?

The songs of the birds
Don’t bring calmness no more
Oh no, no they don’t sing

And none of the girls seem to think you’re cool
It’s probably because you smell bad

A skin disease won’t get you
Nowhere these days
It’s true, it’s sad but true

And everything every day
That’s been scraping away
At the side of my brain
Can’t come to form a thought

And all of the thoughts I think I’ve saved
Here for days that remain
Just keep eating away
And I still can’t sleep I sing…

We’re going to make plans
We have plans to make plans
We’re going to do it right
We’ve locked it in our sights
I’ll la-dee-da & they can dum-dee-day
We’ll tra-la-la all night and day we’ll go far

And if I write enough
And think about it it’ll happen
It’s not as tough as mom said
As it so happens

Your analyst lied to you when
She told you the truth
About boys, fear, open sores
And things that are simple
Like opening doors

And all the thoughts I think I’ve saved here
For days that remain
Just eat eat eat away
And I still can’t sleep, sing…

The Middle East - Blood

older brother, restless soul, lie down

lie for a while with your ear against the earth
and you’ll hear your sister sleep talking
say “your hair is long but not long enough to reach
home to me
but your beard
someday might be”

and she’ll wake up in a cold sweat on the floor
next to a family portrait drawn when you were four
and beside a jar of two cent coins that are no good no more
she’ll lay it aside

older father, weary soul, you’ll drive
back to the home you made on the mountainside
with that ugly, terrible thing
those papers for divorce
and a lonely ring
a lonely ring
sit on your porch
and pluck your strings

and you’ll find somebody you can blame
and you’ll follow the creek that runs out into the sea
and you’ll find the peace of the Lord.

grandfather, gentle soul, you’ll fly
over your life once more before you die
since our grandma passed away
you’ve waited for forever and a day
just to die
and someday soon
you will die

it was the only woman you ever loved
that got burnt by the sun too often when she was young
and the cancer spread and it ran into her body and her blood
and there’s nothing you can do about it now