Came a Tabby

The babe lay
in the crib
a-cryin' and cryin'

Footsteps in the hall
were not to be heard
no one rushin'
out of bed
  to comfort
     and soothe

No, the house
  it sat vacant
hushed and hidden
  in the middle
  of the lane

from the woods
  behind the house
came a tabby

She snuck in
wand'rin' the house,
 drinking a bit
  of milk
from the fridge

upon finding the crib
  that tabby,
well, she said,
       shush now,
close your eyes
the world will go away,
if but,
    for awhile,
just close your eyes

She's a rock climber now

She's a rock climber now
oh no!
oh man,
how ever will you
get that high?

You always seem to forget
there's a difference
between getting stoned
and altitude

The trails are all mapped
with bright florescent tape
but you just stand
mouth agape

Which will it be this time?
back to that place
that's almost
but not quite Mexico,
or will you try?

She's a rock climber now
oh no!
oh man,
how ever will you
get so high?

maybe you can fly,
maybe you could

Webs They Weave

Words and pictures
they paint
webs they weave

like old
forgotten memories

Oh, won't you leave me?
no, won't you leave?

Words and pictures
they paint
webs they weave

won't you leave me?
no, won't you leave?

There's been
enough bad here
no need for more

Won't you leave me?
Oh darlin' please,
don't go

Nocking on the Wrong Side

You're nocking
arrows on the
wrong side

With the fletch
tickling your shoulder,
you're all tangled

Straighten yourself
take a breath
close your eyes

Feel that bow
loosely held
in your left hand

You only get
one chance to let go,
to make the shot,
now everyone's watching

That bowstring
won't catch on
your leg
Let it fly, oh
nock it true,
and let it fly

Killer Whales

Killer Whales
only come out at night
that's what they
used to tell me

Back then
before you were born
when there was still

Starlight in the static
can you see it?
Starlight in the static
can you hear it?

Killer whales
only come out
in the middle
of the night

That's what they
told me
in Marine Biology
in 2014

Before you were married
when there was still

Starlight in the static
can you see it?
Starlight in the static
Can you hear it?
Can you hear it anymore?

Tacos at Sunrise

There is something magical
about the way the sun
rises over the rolling hills
on a warm June morning

To pack a basket with tortillas
fresh from the oven,
carne asada
straight off the grill,
a thermos
full of iced horchata

Sitting above it all
watching the light
trill and pulse
over the ridge

With heartfelt
food in hand
day breaking
all around
what could be better?

Pull the Thread

Pull the thread
out from the sweater
let it all unravel

its time
    to to to-
its time
    to to to-
to let go

When we were young
when we were old
oh, the world turned

Pull the thread
out from the story
let it all unravel

its time
   to to to
its time
   to to to
get free

Go see a movie
in the theater alone,
let the shadows
in the dark
be your friends tonight

Pull the thread
go ahead,
its time tonight

Under an Awning

Left out
in the rain
on a cold
Wednesday in May

You'd rather be home
under covers,
sipping tea
not stranded
out here solving
paranormal mysteries

Under an awning,
dripping with water
you sigh and
touch an avocado pit
hidden deep in your pocket
and blink three times

The water reverses
direction, back
into the sky

Without the rain
the air is hazy
and wet
like a damp tissue

You light a cigarette,
start walking,
thinking, well,
its a start

Doctor Said

That rash on your neck

don't look so good,

Doctor said

it would clear up soon

uh huh, yeah sure,

but you look

like you're dying

That's a nasty limp

ya got,

you say 

its just fine

Uh huh, yeah sure

but you look like

you're dying

The news reports

keep coming in

panic struck

dire threat

masses are risin' up

what to do? 

what to do?

The Doctor said

your speech problems

are from the concussion 

you got when

you fell last week...

But that rattlin' moan,

that don't sound like nothing

I ever heard

So if I leave you,

just know,

its cuz I love you

and I don't want 

to lose anymore of you

Party to Your Abuses

Maybe I am
just a party
to your abuses

Sitting idly
on broken floorboards
near rusted pipes

I'd listen
as you spouted forth
empty rhetoric
   and shot up
   clear poison

On and on
it went
until I'd find
my fingers snapping
  trying to summon
   a stray melody
   trying to remember
      a lost thought

   Maybe I am
    just a party
to our lack of ambition

Sitting idly on broken dreams
watching the seconds
    fly away

On and on
  it'll go
until I'll find
my hands creating
shadow puppets
  trying to remember
    how to spell beauty

Ride the Fear

You can't
be so afraid
of those parking lots

Its where
the ice grows thickest
and the ghouls hide
but they're
not there for you

You can't
be so afraid
when it hits you,
ride that fear
like a wild stallion
out on the plains

If you
let the fear take hold
that's when they'll
get you

But its not
you they seek,
no,
they're not here
for you

Let's Not Try to Forget

All is forgiven but,
alls not forgotten
All is forgiven but,
let's not try to forget

Now Eliza,
come set the table
and dear Mary
don't dither, not if but
for a second

All is forgiven but,
alls not forgotten
All is forgiven but,
let's not try to forget

Oh, sweet Sandy,
might I sit down
here by your rocker?
Let's try maybe just for tonight
to play it off like
it wasn't the way
that it might be

I remember your father,
and my father too,
workin' down at the old quarry
workin' all day
and brawlin'
from nightfall 'til dawn

All is forgiven but,
alls not forgotten
All is forgiven but ...
but don't go tryin'
to leave me
here to my memories

Oh fair Melissa
you'll burn youself
there by the fire,
and old Jack,
you wiley tomcat,
though you seem
 to be apurrin'
you'll always be
the most fearsome lion
I ever did know

Half Decomposed

In the snow
buried under clear ice
there lay a small
dead animal,
half decomposed

I thought it said
something poetic about the world
though what, I cannot say

I pointed to the spot
in the snow,
you looked,
then shook your head
in sadness

For one reason or another
I always thought
 you to be the
one with macabre sensibilities
but no,
perhaps its me
   maybe its me after all

Lies in the Dark

When you tell the stories
you always make her out
to be the bad one

But I heard last week
you stabbed that guy
five times in the alley
behind the bar,
that don't sound
so angelic

And I heard on
that same night
she was teaching
blind kids to read,
no that don't sound
so bad

Now who are we
to trust,
when you're selling lies
in the dark
And all your stories
seem like shams

Not Some Desert Rat

Finger comb your hair
before the guests arrive
Finger comb your hair
but not too neat

not too fancy
not too neat
you're not some desert rat

So show just a bit of class
for these delightful strangers
who came to spirit
you away

They like you for your mind
that's what they said
and they seemed sincere
so spark up,
smile for once
it'll be okay

Finger comb your hair
before the guest arrive
Finger comb your hair
but not too neat
of course

You're not some desert rat
so spark up,
smile for once
it'll all be okay
least that's what they said

Jumping Jackal Fish

I was working
the third shift
at the late-night
used-bookstore
out on Severance Boulevard

The night had been uneventful,
with only a
few stragglers
here and there
and drifters coming in
to seek refuge
from the darkness

She came in,
a heat-seeking missile
homing straight for the counter
asking, "Do you have any serious fiction?"

I directed her
towards the
 self help section,
luckily she laughed,
but she still called me an ass

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some coming attractions here at Muffin Puddles: I participated in the 52 book challenge which is basically reading 52 books in 1 year. That's wrapping up, so I'm going to try to write a list of what I've read and what the stand outs were. Also I'm working on a story or two, so that's coming up, and I might throw together an "end of the year" mix. Its been a pretty stellar year all things considered and thanks for reading.

Brave Little Melody

I heard you hummin'

sweetly in the pale moonlight,

just a yellow sliver in the sky 

and your melody

floating so softly

You were a ghastly sight,

beautifully illuminated

by the piccolo vibrations

floating from your 

rosy cheeks

I thought life would be just lovely

so full and complete

if there was a banjo 

to accompany you,

oh, how heavenly that'd be

But I did not have a banjo

on that night, so I did the next best thing,

as we got closer,

moving our separate ways

in the pale moonlight,

I sang along to your 

brave little melody.

You were surprised, 

then your cheeks grew redder with embarrassment, 

then we both smiled at each other and continued 

our separate ways,

carrying the song

with my voice and

your humming

Straight Into the Water

You dropped me
straight into the water,
you left me
in the middle of the sea,
'Fore you left me
you said
"Don't talk to the otters:
you said,
"just don't touch them ponies"

Or that's what I thought
I heard,
but it might have
 been something like
blub blub,
blub blub blub blub,
It was hard to hear
 your voice from
  beneath the waves

Now if you did say
ponies in fact,
I have to say,
I don't quite
know what you meant
All the sea-horses are
downright cordial
and the small ones
seem to be made
 of nothing but pure whimsy

Maybe you said Hippos
instead of ponies
now the hippo on the other hand get downright moody
and some days
they're more than a little angsty.
A Hippo tantrum
is no small load to bear

The otters, though
sly and playful,
have never once
led me astray

You dropped me
straight into the water
you left me,
but perhaps
I should be glad

Walk the Moon
Tightrope

Five Dresses

Tried on five dresses
'fore you threw em
to the ground
Tried on five dresses
but they don't fit you no more

It's okay
cuz you lost weight
at least that's what
you said

I'm gonna drive out west
and start a band
soon as I find
a beat to break my heart

I'm just a legend
that forgot how to cry
I'm just a legend
running out of time

Tried on five dresses
'fore you threw em
to the ground
Tried on five dresses
But they don't fit no more

I'm just an imaginary friend
that you forgot about
but still believe in somehow

Hot Chip
How Do You Do?

Misshapen Words

My ears, Oh, my ears are ringing

my ears, they're red

so red from all

the bloody things

that you've said

I'm worried sick about you

my honey dear, 

because I love you

and I just want you safe

But they are going

to take you away

My ears, oh! they're ringing

from top to lobe

my ears are so red

from all these

bloody and dangerous

words you've been saying

Can't you see that I'm scared?

I want you here with me, 

and I know they're gonna

take away your sweet

righteous voice,

gonna take you away

But what exactly does

safety mean anymore?

You ask me

when we're living like this

through thin walls and underground

barely alive, but still breathing

what does safety mean anymore?

My ears are red

from all the things 

all the stupidly 

dangerous things

that I never had

the courage to say

Where, oh where are you now,

my honey dear?

Have they taken you away?

I do not know

All I have left

is this ringing

in my oh so red ears...

Two notes, a) I wrote the above with in mind a soulful/bluesy Otis Redding type beat in mind. b) the video below by Walk Off the Earth was shot in one take, but then edited so that we are seeing things slightly out of order. I think I'm doing a bad job of explaining it, but its a really cool video, check it out.


Walk Off the Earth

Red Hands