hypnotist

dampen the banister with a full glass of scotch

say you can’t remember anything without the hypnotist’s pocket watch

grasping for evidence like digging a face out of make-up

hands falling asleep waiting for your lover to wake up.

cleanliness and godliness and these floors are filthy

but you still hold your breath when you drive past the cemetery

eat fallen fruit from trees with limbs hanging over fences

and swear you can’t taste anything if your not wearing sunglasses

smiles all around you when your mood elevates

and cameras kept handy so you can see the look on your face.

a french connection

you better connect that french

we’re in for a long night

she said bend and wretch

keep her on if the lips look alright

look out and look up

they’ve got bombs on bombs

look out for the ones

with the honest faces

and the limbs that go numb

you better brace yourself

you asked for a light and a good life

you wore it well

your all days turning into all nights

she looks up from a stiff drink and says to you

“I’ll smoke this bridge if you want me to”

like stars

sometimes he misses the nights spent in bars

he still doesn’t think it would ever go that far

but now he says there’s light out there like stars

brighter than anything you can see from where you are.

some body, some vampire

you’d think he slept for days

that he just hibernates

that he wakes violent in the basement

of the tower of his mistakes

but now its early to bed

and much earlier to rise

from dreams shaped like steam

to cloud the mirrors of his mind

how can he keep from pushing all the comfort away

just get that soot from his eyes where it settles each day

make him get dressed

and paint his cities red

then tell him he has to leave when he says he wants to stay