p4tchw0rk0wl

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

I pull my cards

Put them in place

i ask the world

For mental space

They call me names

And predict ill fortune

Claim any gain I've made

Is another link on the chain

I've placed around my neck

To run is the cowards way out

An unguarded heart undone by fear

Unwilling in terror to let anyone near

It stays still inside it's shell

Convinced itself heaven contains its own hell

Plant your feet and become unmoving

Stand firm in your descion

To waver is your undoing

Your sickness entering remission

Is your mind in disorder

Or are you headed the wrong way?

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

A quick stroll through a valley where angels fear to tread

Sweat upon the brow falls onto a carcass long dead

Picking through ruins, whatcha got whatcha get?

The walls close in,

Trap triggered, and the path is set.

Probably wishing that he had used his head

How he didn't feel fear

How he's never known death

Slide down a side passage so he can catch his breath

Pluck the ruby eyes from a statuette to the old gods

Give old boy a full nod;

Taking off like a fuel rod

He jumps gaps

Staying on track

Where before he formed a plan of attack

A successful heist

Watches out for a stab in the back.

Money split up

And the crew follows suit

Poverty held them together

It's what the pentacles do

Raise cups to good fortune

Making moves through open doors

Soon each of them sups lavishly

And all for fool who walked with no fear

Into the shadow of death

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

I should do this

I should do that

I need to go to work

Id rather pet my cat

She lays around the house

Until she gazed upon the mouse

That made her stalk and hunt

And wiggle her but

To catch the squeaker

Walk her strut

And I'm so proud of my silent killer

Most proud of all i don't have to make dinner

At night she pouts,

With narrow eys

He little face

I narrativize

"Come to bed" "I'm sleepy now"

So I get up, to go lay down

And all the while

My baby sleeps

On my back

So I overheat

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

I dropped my grandma's phone

I cracked the screen and scratched the lens

It made me feel so alone,

The last momento of the dead

So I will play her favorite song

I will make her favorite food

I hope that it won't take me long

So that I don't lose the mood

I had to pay for it twice

I had to pay for it twice

Because I knew she looking down and saying it's all right

And then I hear myself inside

Which leads us to a fight

Why you drop my grandma's phone

You cracked the screen and scratch the lens

You think you grown I shoulda known

When you stacked the deck against yourself

Did you think I wouldn't notice?

You make my life so difficult

Just grab a knife an-

But then I played her favorite song

We've got greens and chicken after all

I keep her memories with me

I could never drop my love

Cuz I know you would never stop watching from up above

Sorry about your phone tho

I'll get it fixed

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Archeology

It's really just dust in the wind

Built over the centuries but it comes to an end

Foundation cracks as vines choke back entities devoid of function

Time rolls on the weather begins thumping

Monuments stripped bare

Rust embracing every metal

As the grass emerges from each crack

The vegetation has struck back

Frozen rain covers the pass

Setting the scene for young adventures

Ragged breaths come

What they witness causes a shudder

A world taken by time

As the people refused to change

The ground quakes and rattles

the final buildings to the ground

Our heros begin searching

Keeping an ear to the ground

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Comfortable Distance

Lighthouse across the sound

The beam lighting up the ground

I watch storm clouds roll in

Steam rising all around

Beautiful in the abstract

Dangerous when in contact

Maintaining a comfortable distance is in our contract

I think sometimes I need to keep the idea of you far away

But we're so close

And the closeness brings change

Things begin to rearrange

And spiral away

The storm draws closer

I feel myself getting older

Tears disappear in the rain

Mixed emotions spring forth

I try to follow the course

And cowardice takes precident

Overcoming my force

Of will they won't they

Too scared of putting cards on tables

And going all in

Don't want to be vulnerable

Can't stand to be hurt again

A comfortable distance

Cannot be maintained

I still struggle to move forward

I struggle to play the game

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

writing lines, intoxicated on one drug or another, still waiting:

waiting for the voices to calm & for hands to reach out to me,

to be bathed within the blood, in some steady sentimentalism;

when the world seems cold we huddle together around flames.

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Ok Im pushing past poetic fluff

Intend to last when times are tough

I wish I may I wish I might

Learn to look straight at the light

Torn away from a perfect plan

Because I was a lesser man

My stressors now have upped the weight

It's high time I moved this plate

Here I sit upon my stoop

A passage writ by phantom troop

We see our fate

I show up late

But never do I miss the loop

I come back here once a year

So I can take in, smoke stained air

My home had burned

I held the matches

My skin cracks

And joins the ashes

Picking through what's left of my house

I wish that you would help me lift it out

Piece of myself i could not shift

I move to grab a pick-me-up

And find that chains hold fast in place

I kept myself inside that house

Never tried to find out

If you felt we could try again

Am I healthy enough to be a friend

The medicine is bitter

That's how we know it works

But we sit in sin

And flavor takes a different hold

Decisions made by silly kids

Fry oil and halos

Made me think about what I really did

And the things I carry

Changed my ways

So I can show the kids

Healing comes in waves

And with each passing tide

Our footprints slowly wash away

Can we only exist in the past?

I never wanted this to be a phase

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Seeing them in public

Like different sides

Of the same knife

Just being there is lovely

Flipping rides between

A life they had together

Or when goodbye was forever

We get there at the same time

Then I stare for a second

You ask me what's good

I don't think I'm ready for a reckon

Cashier knows a friend of yours

They're blocking the double doors

We slide off in the car now we're together

Everyone demanding explanations

Dip off dodging the extraditions

Sharing memories of a time gone by

In that car Bonnie found Clyde

Clandestine meetings with consequences on the horizon

The egos feeding off the soul

Then they weaponize them

Turn opportunities to heal

Into something small and petty

Tried and true, locked inside the roles that they selected

Mirror worlds, preach to the free but want to be protected

Moving on from everything that they themselves rejected

Eyes glued to the rearview

Why jeopardize our lives

With everything ahead

Why waste our time

Pick and choose a star tonight

That we might receive the same starlight

Dance upon the frozen air

And guide the way

To diamonds bright

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

I want to dance with a hurricane

Let the winds take me back from the sea

Let my sins drown in the pouring rain

Stand up for my self seek to soar again

Feel the wind on my face from the hurricane

I once knew a place where I could be free

But everything changed once my eyes would see

The shadow thrown down

From the end of the line

I just wanted to have myself a good time

While I dance on the storm

And spread a few sparks

There's coals in my pocket I drop on the mark

They burst into every shade of flame

Encourage the storm to do the same

How could it go badly, at all

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Taking stock of the scene

The sights remind you of a nightmare

Or a dream in which no one fights fair

Of screaming from the rooftops

And throwing rocks at roof cops

Not a care in the world

For now

You were sight seeing

Trip to Europe

Inspires like a bolt of lightning

And you were sure of

You and your magical timing

The ice bath starts to burn your skin

Stitches on your belly feeling thin

The path you walked was the one less traveled by

They say witches once stalked the home in which you now abide

Curses and monsters now follow your every step

Saddled with the now ever present fear of the dead

The sprint you break into isn't fast enough

The choices you made turn to dust

As your struggle burns itself to ash

The restraints hold true

Only Scarface knows what's about to happen to you

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

New pop new shine

Bright colors clean line

I forget it's been quite a long time

Within a temple cleansed

We see sore spots revisited

Today's wishes put up for auction

Yesterday's cautions don't seem interested

In what tomorrow has in store

We cut more than we bleed

When we don't know what a knife is

And go to plant salted seeds

In the wounds we don't show

Each drop is precious

Placed through practiced hands

To be consumed by the lifeless

Picture perfect

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Take me with you

In you brand new beat-up car

I wanna hit the road

And end up somewhere far, away

On a one way trip to a brand new city

Give everyone the slip it's such a pity

That I wanna go with you

Wherever you end up

I'm not a gambling man but

With you I'll test my luck

If we're running away again

I'll give you til the count of ten

To pack your bags

Throw on your rags

It's time to go

We ain't done no math I can't be sure

But I think my love you are the cure

To every aching bone, knee, hip and back

Our path ain't set and we ain't done yet

Now baby I'll count to ten because it's time to pack

I wanna take you with me

On long and winding roads

I wanna break those rules we set before

This song might tempt me

To pack my things and go

But no matter where I am I can always call you home

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

Sit with me a while

Let the bile in your throat build

Until it coats your lungs

And you leave your last laugh unsung

It's the latest trend, the newest style

Let the acid melt your teeth

You won't need them in the end

No more chewing no more beef

I don't think, I just feel

Checking in on what's real

I realize that I've got a lot to prove

Friends and family looking for a big move

Behind every poet lives a soul looking for love

Wouldn't even know it

If it came from up above

The design behind each lines leaves me looking for mine

I've got a bird's eye view

Of the haystack where I let the needle drop

Where the bar burned down

The sound was jazz meeting hip-hop

Hours fly by

Nights spent making music

Smoking weed; I was happy using

Behind every poet lives a soul looking to be understood

I wish I could

Do the same for you

Play a song and make dreams come true

Out fiddle the devil

And get my due

But I misunderstood

And that would be my mistake

The bile in my throat

Made me an angry ingrate

Taking advantage of unwanted advances

Squandering important chances

To fill up my plate

There I sit hungry and pondering

When the bile took my teeth

Behind every poet lives a soul looking for connection

A mind which feels the weight of a ton

Gives up protection in the pursuit of understanding

That we are simply the gods collection

Of love and hate

Real and fake

Enemies and lovers

And our true fate

We can take

To hold on to one another

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

There's a empty pit way out in the jungle

They say it'll swallow the world

Sit awhile and see

What wallows in darkness

And makes the ground rumble

As it drowns out all sound

With a song

There's a bottomless hole

In that temple

Its song has lured many to their deaths

Forgotten texts tells us to be cautious

Rest assured you'll never be next

Monks threw trash

They threw gold

Sacred ash

And common mold

But the pit only ever grew

Until the day it did behold

It's ends would span the world

Folding inward on itself

Caution to the wind

As it was the only thing unable to be swallowed

It danced around the edges of the pit

And became music

[p4tchw0rk0wl]

A world away

We've been sitting talking bout the good times

Retracing lines from the past

Over lines in our palms

I recited a couple Psalms

And truffles waft through air

Mingling with milds and black coffee

Your voice sweeter than toffee

But I'm filled with fear

Is it honey or poison

Dripping into my ear

Cycles grow larger

And unavoidable fact of life

Each time we step farther

Words cutting a deep slice

Deep wounds have festered

Sequestered in the coldest vaults

Moving past fingertips pointing

Looking for each other's faults

Blame spread thinner

And talking over diner

Has got two sinners

Walking through twisted streets

In the dead of winter

Colder days coming

You feel it in your feet

The urge to run away

To grip familiar fingers

Palms soaked through

What is one to do

Whenever I am happy my thoughts wander to you

What do you listen to?

Read about?

Study on your off days?

This is turning into a pretty long phase

It's hard enough to be without

But harder still to be with you

Circles grow larger

Another fact of life

And we step farther

Into an inverted paradise

The more that we drift

Through the gears as we shift

Moving on through a particular life

The further we get to the center

Of the wheel

In samsara we find peace

In the center