The Picture
I don’t know how I move
I tell my body to do things
I find myself someplace
Decisions and motions
All in a dream I woke up
And here I am
How did I get here
How did I make this world
I thought it out and made a plan
And the elements combined
Presto — here’s reality
There’s always a beginning and an end
Even in between those times
When motion moves me through the air
Or was it just a thought
How did I commandeer that event
We all appear and then dissolve
Like an image presentation
Smile and talk and make conclusions
Watch the world as we go by
Say hello and drop a thought
Verbalize and construct time
It takes good will and thankfulness
An annoying glancing piercing eye
And solitude that just won’t quit
The moving rolling landscape lies
All about the sides and front and back
In a picture frame that’s made for me

The Place
There’s a key somewhere — where did I put it
Maybe it’s in the car
Maybe it’s in a cabinet
Is it in my pocket
Is it in my case
I keep thinkin’ about that key
I think about the key
More than what’s locked up
What’s locked up in that place
What’s so special about those things
That I don’t want them changed
I want it all like it was
I left it before
We all got to have something unchanged
I want it all like it was,I left it before
We all got to have something unchanged
That we can take for granted
Some place, some object, some constructed thing
We made a thing, and it needs perfection
Who want to be the one
Who makes a change
To this little place
This protected spot
So where’s the key
I want to turn the latch
Unlock that place
And see what’s there
How can I do what I need to do
In that place with those freed-up things
Laughing and joking and having fun
In an unlocked, freed-up, special place
Where did I put that key
I know it’s someplace
Where did I put it
Maybe it’s here
Maybe it’s there

The Highway
I can’t believe I’m here
With all the deaths I almost died
And then woke up in another place
Disoriented, I shook my head
What, where, how
Who, when, how much
What an escapade that was
And here I’m shooting like a star
In the sky
What a thrill that death ride was
But I’m glad to be alive and well
Let me check my parts
And see if I’m all here
Let me collect my thoughts
And organize my mind
Let me remember myself
All over again
Yes I’ve got to go
And I’ve got to stay
And be careful about the chasm in the road
Don’t fall down there, you might not come back
If it hurts bad enough, you’ll get knocked out
And maybe wake up in another body, or a rock
Or a lake, or a tree, or a cloud
You might even not know what you are
You might not be anything at all
For millions of years
Or for all of the time
To be no thing is a dream I had
Do you come close, or is it far away
Are you a highway for a lot of souls
I can’t believe I’m here

The Answer
I heard the bell ring
I wondered who was there
There was an orange sky behind the mountain
Just a silhouette of a horizon
And then I was in the car
Looking out the back window
And I saw the nose and eyes
Closed on that ancient face
And the corner of the post
And the cut-glass chandelier
A flashlight looked at me
I couldn’t even see the hand
The side of the wall had two windows
Green light shone through them
Maybe an ear and a touch of hair
Somebody’s at the door
But it’s so hard to see
Imagination’s taking over me
I got geometric patterns
There’s lightning bolts and shafts of vapor
And a long coat in the haze
They’re waiting for me to come and see them
But I keep imagining it’s not there
It’s back in the black and the red and the yellow
And the storms and the arrows and hieroglyphics
I can find out who you are
I can think about the stairs (stares?)

The Stumble
I don’t have everything you want
I sit in the chair and stop existence
Why should I be something I’m not
I refuse to be afraid
The chance I took multiplied forever
I’m tripping over time and place
One stumble leads to another
And I no longer break my bones
I just don’t get that physical
I’ll break my neurological patterns
On my random walk and talk
I don’t need my legs and words
I flipped into another world
Where I can use all the things around me
To make a castle in the sand
Silicon days ablaze
I’ll let light bouncing off these glassy stones
Come in, come in, come in, come in
All you light in your passageway
You’ll bypass through my molecules
The in-between part is your home
You make me feel so radiant
Maybe your channels will accept me
And I can shine and blind all being
Why don’t it take a walk with you
Stop and stumble and fall on through