All the stones

all the stones in this
patio
speak to me
in whispers
and they all remember
you
in a spring
afternoon

you danced
and I held my breath
and my dreams
at large

you danced
and at last
your feet
made you proud
as I backed down
into the solace
of your wonder
fearing
the dusk
and the night
with its cold comfort
and dizzying spells
of toxic joy

but she cradled me
in her arms
at the edge of a broken cliff
and with
drunken smiles
the whipping wind
died down
beaten
by a hunger for mad
promises and the
vastness of the
ocean
below

the stones know this
too
yet pitifully
their whispers
subside

the ocean is a silent mirror
now
humming in
the background
and that
for me is enough
as I close my eyes
and face
the sun

Into starlight.

Take it with me

Phone's off the hook
No one knows where we are
It's a long time since I
Drank champagne
The ocean is blue
As blue as your eyes
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Old long since gone
Now way back when
We lived in Coney Island
Ain't no good thing
Ever dies
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Far far away a train
Whistle blows
Wherever you're goin
Wherever you've been
Waving good bye at the end
Of the day
You're up and you're over
And you're far away

Always for you, and
Forever yours
It felt just like the old days
We fell asleep on Beaula's porch
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

All broken down by
The side of the road
I was never more alive or
Alone
I've worn the faces off
All the cards
I'm gonna take it with me
When I go

Children are playing
At the end of the day
Strangers are singing
On our lawn
It's got to be more
Than flesh and bone
All that you're loved
Is all you own

In a land there's a town
And in that town there's
A house
And in that house
There's a woman
And in that woman
There's a heart I love
I'm gonna take it
With me when I go
I'm gonna take it
With me when I go

- Tom Waits

Into starlight.

The cave

- your music is dated
he said
- I think you need to
polish it a bit

my girl had wandered
off
my eyes looked back
down to my
Chivas
and I smiled

- maybe you're right
I said
and still smiling
I raised my eyes
again
- we have had that
feeling every
now and then
but somehow
we always end up
following
the same road

it is curious though
and I see where you're
getting at
for I would argue
we are in essence
an existentialist
band
even if the guitarist
is a consequentialist
and the rhythm section
are true pragmatists

I believe it
stems from an involuntary
analytic undercurrent
in the band
it's always bound
to come up
when you're on tour
or recording
or whatever
wouldn't you agree?

- I... well I wouldn't know
about that
but hey man
I really dug your music, y'know?
I gotta go there and
talk to someone
now
will you excuse me?

- sure
I sat back to finish my
Chivas
before getting up
to find my girl
opinionated cocksuckers
always wear her patience
down
too soon

Into twilight.

Tower of Babel

Nearly every day, rain or shine, hot or cold, he would leave his apartment to walk through the city - never really going anywhere, but simply going wherever his legs happened to take him. (...) Each time he took a walk, he felt as though he were leaving himself behind, and by giving himself up to the movement of the streets, by reducing himself to a seeing eye, he was able to escape the obligation to think, and this, more than anything else, brought him a measure of peace, a salutary emptiness within. The world was outside of him, around him, before him, and the speed with which it kept changing made it impossible for him to dwell on any one thing for very long. Motion was of the essence, and the act of putting one foot in front of the other and allowing himself to follow the drift of his own body. By wandering aimlessly, all places became equal and it no longer mattered where he was. On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to be nowhere.

- Paul Auster

Into twilight.

In your sweet shade

whenever
wherever I lay my head
in abandon
it shall rest
in your sweet shade
and I will forget
the thirst
not knowing how many
of your tears
I drank

but I shall
know
no greater treasure lies
beyond the
amber ocean of your eyes
or the
silken brightness
of your smile

do forgive me
if words & dream
sare all I can give you
for now
for I want
to reach you
and
to reach out
and carving out
this mountain
it is your name
I see
and it is
your smile & grace
my fingers
trace out of the
darkness

somewhere along
these lines
of youth & wisdom
somewhere behind
these miles of
vertigo
dreams
are woven
and unfold
in bright
shivering motions
and they too
long to rest
in your sweet shade

Into starlight.

Quenching your thirst

Do you curse where you come from,
Do you swear in the night
Will it mean much to you
If I treat you right.
Do you like what you're doing,
Would you do it some more
Or will you stop once and wonder
What you're doing it for.
Hey slow Jane, make sense
Slow, slow, Jane, cross the fence.

Do you feel like a remnant
Of something that's past
Do you find things are moving
Just a little too fast.
Do you hope to find new ways
Of quenching your thirst,
Do you hope to find new ways
Of doing better than your worst.
Hey slow Jane, let me prove
Slow, slow Jane, we're on the move.

Do it for you,
Sure that you would do the same for me
one day.
So try to be true,
Even if it's only in your hazey way.

Can you tell if you're moving
With no mirror to see,
If you're just riding a new man
Looks a little like me.
Is it all so confusing,
Is it hard to believe
When the winter is coming
Can you sign up and leave.
Hey slow Jane, live your lie
Slow, slow jane, fly on by.

- Nick Drake

Into starlight.

Whispering in shades

silver bells ring
chasing away
the ghosts
under this burning
sun

and on the
merciful
afternoon calm
music floats
and whispers
in shades
casting away the
days

silver bells ring
to remember
beaming smiles
and toasts
- a doo-wop
sanctuary of sorts -
and souls
wrapped as candy
for streetwise
scribblers

you dig?

Into twilight.

Sails of oblivion

My death is like
a swinging door
a patient girl who knows the score
whistle for her
and the passing time

My death waits like
a bible truth
at the funeral of my youth
weep loud for that
and the passing time

My death waits like
a witch at night
and surely as our love is bright
let's laugh for us
and the passing time

But whatever is behind the door
there is nothing much to do
angel or devil I don't care
for in front of that door
there is you

My death waits like
a beggar blind
who sees the world with an unlit mind
throw him a dime
for the passing time

My death waits
to allow my friends
a few good times before it ends
let's drink to that
and the passing time

My death waits in
your arms, your thighs
your cool fingers
will close my eyes
let's not talk about the passing time

But whatever is behind the door
there is nothing much to do
angel or devil I don't care
for in front of that door
there is you

My death waits
among the falling leaves
in magicians, mysterious sleeves
rabbits, dogs
and the passing time

My death waits
among the flowers
where the blackish shadow cowers
let's pick lilacs
for the passing time

My death waits
in a double bed
sails of oblivion at my head
pull up the sheets
against the passing time

But whatever is behind the door
there is nothing much to do
angel or devil I don't care
for in front of that door
there is you

Jacques Brel (English words by Mort Shuman)

Into starlight.

Carving out your name

Somewhere, by the side of this road, there is laughter... And a sparkling stream that flows endlessly, one that you crossed a long time ago. At a time when summer winds blew strong and dry, when jazz kissed the streets in warm nights, and you never thought of turning back.

Now the winds are memories... And in the background your stepping stones crumble like chalk, ruins without ancestry. There is laughter by the side of the road, you say to yourself, shivering at the sickly breeze that dies with the sunset...

Into starlight.

Of swords and glances

Knowing how to free oneself is nothing; the difficult thing is knowing how to live with that freedom.

- André Gide

Into starlight.

Stopping for a beer, on the road to Damascus

there's water coming in
under the door
as the wind
whips the windows
in a minor key

I'm looking at
the water
spreading
and looking filthy
I wonder
where it's been before

I should be doing
something
to keep it
from coming in
but somehow
I'm thinking of Saul
in his dungeon
writing in bare
cold feet
but so far away
from bonfires
bullets and
burning flags
cartoon wars and
badly drawn
cartoon preachers

I'll really have
to keep the water
from coming in
but somehow
I'm not surprised
anymore
at how filthy
it is

Into starlight.

Blue Hotel

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way
I wait alone each lonely night
Blue Hotel...
Blue Hotel...

Blue Hotel, every room is lonely
Blue Hotel, I was waiting only
The night is like her lonely dream
Blue Hotel...
Blue Hotel...

Blue Hotel, on a lonely highway
Blue Hotel, life don't work out my way
I wait alone each lonely night
Blue Hotel...
Blue Hotel...

- Chris Isaak

Into twilight.

Sad songs in major chords

eye to eye
we dance
in the breeze
and the sounds
of this frail
gypsy wedding
are carried north
between the trees
to fade on sullen shores
where children play
oblivious to the water
that was once
red
with the blood
of their grandfathers

and on these six strings
tended by bruised
soft-spoken hands
the burden rests
with silent strength
and wanderlust

playing sad songs
in major chords

Into starlight.

The Ship Song

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

We talk about it all night long
We define our moral ground
But when I crawl into your arms
Everything comes tumbling down

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Your face has fallen sad now
For you know the time is nigh
When I must remove your wings
And you, you must try to fly

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

-Nick Cave

Into starlight.

New year's bestiary

as you said
I almost forgot to
wish you
a happy new year
staring at this screen
as I have been

looking at

rising gas prices
political campaigns
sports heroes
and sporty heiresses
wireless applications
and faster data transmission
fixed interest rates
gross national products
and stock ratings
new trends in trance music
feng shui
vegetarianism
veganism and detox diets
historical novels
reality shows
and postmodernist TV
promising young stylists
interior design
this season's colours
and the new generation
of just about everything

and wishing they'd just
fuck off and go die
somewhere else

oh yeah
and confessional blogs
fuck'em too

happy new year

Into starlight.

Leaving Kristiania

and so with our
back to the stars
we bid
farewell and revel
in glories long gone

and to the sound of
ticking clocks
and our childishreveries
we bow
in graceful lament

this scent of raisins
everywhere
brings back
the sickness in me

and I have nothing to say
to your beautiful
starlit eyes
for the sea
will be rising soon
and no more will
these salt-stained ropes
keep us in port

silently shivering
I turn away from your gaze
and I search for words
the wind is howling
stronger and
in a way
we are all
leaving Kristiania

Into starlight.

Merry Christmas, what else?

to everyone
a Merry Christmas
or fucking happy holidays
if that suits your
politically correct views
best

nevertheless I hope
you all have a fine time
with crackling fireplaces
and steaming pieces
of roast
followed by that special
granny licquor
over beautiful tables

and I hope your eyes
glow with delight
by candlelight
as you're surrounded
by wrapping paper
and smiles of loved ones

may your evenings be filled
with warmth and comfort
and gifts that keep you
happy
well into the new year

and while you're at it
do remember that
it's not what it's all about

Into twilight.

Let the bells ring

I long for
redemption
somewhere under
these cobblestones
a sigh
a whisper
a madness
growing sweetly
under this
sky

a flame held out
stretching thin
in this air
and your words
marking the breeze

gently I stir
and I think of the
tender loins of freedom
as the ocean
fills my gaze
and its salty spray
is all I crave for

Into starlight.

In Memoriam

John Lennon

October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

Into twilight.

The great music of the centuries

"There´s nothing to mourn about death any more than there is to mourn about the growing of a flower. What is terrible is not death but the lives people live or don´t live up until their death. They don´t honor their own lives, they piss on their lives. They shit them away. Dumb fuckers. They concentrate too much on fucking, movies, money, family, fucking. Their minds are full of cotton. They swallow God without thinking, they swallow country without thinking. Soon they forget how to think, they let others think for them. Their brains are stuffed with cotton. They look ugly, they talk ugly, they walk ugly. Play them the great music of the centuries and they can´t hear it. Most people´s deaths are a sham. There´s nothing left to die."

- Charles Bukowski

Into twilight.