Hostage Calm

When the ball drops, let’s call it off You dropped the ball a lot this year And the night’s closing arguments Can’t convince me why I’m here It’s gonna be a bad year You disappear On the one night I need you here I face the world alone. Can I get t...

Confronting the lessons you wish you’d learned, (A mistrust earned) Riding the wheels you feared would turn A mistrust earned, oh, a mistrust I earned Fled the bedlam; scathed, I stagger on A mistrust earned, oh, a mistrust I earned Rushed to trust in...

Full-speed collision: Your life and my decisions. The chance that we were given Is dead so, you said so… I’m dying, you’re living With my reckless decisions. Unwanted, unforgiven You said so, you said, “When you try to wipe away the tears, Try to wi...

He’ll have you know, That after ten hours spent in court, You’ll grow up knowing who you owe. He treats you right, And loved you more than his own wife. Still, behind the Cutlass you kissed him goodbye. He returned that night, And still you don’t feel...

You come out in droves; Protectors of an ancient code. You’d like to know What would become of you and yours If left alone. So, with that pride destined to find Itself on the wrong side of history, You take arms. Did you cast a ballot or a stone? Did...

Staring through the disconnect, I felt my own in consequence. ‘Neath the standing army of discontent, I felt my own in consequence. On a waiting train that wouldn’t leave, I prayed these chords my soul to keep Tonight, they won’t take me alive ‘Cause...

And they wait for his closing remarks Only moments before he embarks And the people are giving off sparks Along the avenue, along the avenue Oh your gaze, and the craze it’s Created in me. Can’t you see? Just take my hand, You’d have total command T...

A bit too young, a touch too numb Coming up for air With ten wars at once on the news at five, You’d do anything to feel alive And you’re smiling… Darling you, you’ve got to know That I’m onto you, and I want to feel my body on top of you And get use...

We never wondered if we should, But only how we made it look so good. We got nervous and caught up on purpose. Before, doubt was calling out… Now it’s all falling down Don’t die on me now Not tonight, not this town Don’t die on me now Is there a doct...

Fallen angel, raised red, white and blue Young and able, what are they doing for you? Bible baby: hope you’ve been reading it right Blue eyes don’t cry, but my-my, are they tired tonight Fallen angel, falling into my arms Fallen angel, falling into my ar...

Oh, we couldn’t have seen ourselves here In this desperate place made more austere. And now that it’s all gone to hell, they’re asking, “What’s there to sell when everyone’s come off the shelves?” Can’t you feel the unease? From these “Troubled States”*...

I want to know where all the summers go. Do they pack up and move when you turn twenty-three? Do they disconnect from the years they protected you From youth’s reckless speed? Around the bend, they drew an end… Fending off the end (Start it all again)...

Love against all reason and consequence Love against all the history and bitterness Love against their unconsciousness Love against the constant curse of circumstance Love against all their warnings of the aftermath Love against their unconsciousness,...

In the midday you’ll hear summer groan Of how she misses years of old. Her temperament’s been stretched so thin, Revealing signs of silent discontent. Yet you pretend she likes it like this. Don’t turn it down; Let the oceans rise high forever. It’s dr...

Hey Twenty-Two, I’m onto you. And all the while refusing to Believe that you’re a party to their Cold, cornered, grey aesthetic, Cracked pavement, pale, pathetic. In this crowd of battered lives, I found eyes. They think we’re shy but we’re twice as a...

And when the floor gave out, we made our way to the ground And laid for hours. In the ashen dirt, we knew we didn’t have much But it was ours. Between loneliness and some broken love, I’d choose none of the above. They say we wanted it a little too much...

Restless with the endless hurt of waiting Trembling with the fear of wasting It all on someone else, All on something else. Somehow, I always knew they’d come for us. But even if this sad world caught us, Why come running with your hands up? Yeah, you...

We stretched our skins over the rims; Oh, how we beat ourselves to death. The sound decays, spread too thin to resonate. If we don’t fold the wrinkles show Each trepid movement, an intrusion onto sacred soil, Now vacant from a welcome overstayed. Our re...

The shows we watched when we were kids Jetsons’ spacecars, Apollo ships That we could shrink the world to fit The big dreams of broken kids That someday, skyways, speedtrains and flying cars Would keep us safe from the fools we are; Genetics and bionics...

Whether forever, or never again I see you gone And now, I just want to be there with you, Forever… Oh, how your eyes fell into mine And we stirred to find the world alive Like we couldn’t feel the decline… Old railroad, take me away to that time Whe...

I’d rather be hated for who I am, Then loved for who I am. It’s no surprise, we can’t decide From side to side, from side to side… Every passion is a passing phase, But the hell we’ve raised, The hell we’ve raised. Let them throw my flag to the flames...

Watching from the sidelines, Dancing on the land mines, Exploding through the headlines: “The new front is on the move.” Caught in the crosshairs of a war we didn’t wage Tanks roam the borders of this town, Poised to restore what they tear down Don’t l...

My back on the railroad tracks Each misgiving you won’t give back It’s no help when I tell myself, This is the last time. Jet-black, baby, comb it back Your legs relax as you watch my act It’s put on, but it’s all for you This is the last time that I’l...

Is it true? That he’ll never put a ring on you? You’re abused, but is that the worst He’s done to you? It’s a sad time to be young, Knowing the worst has just begun. Meridith, do you really want to marry him? This could end up an embarrassment, and...

Making months into minutes, I forget how fast I move Knowing the engine won’t last if it never gets the chance to cool. The whole ride home from Baltimore I scanned the floor as not to see what passed. I’ve watched so many Run to the edge of the world ju...

Refused to find the stars aligned In skies ripe for misleading; Reserve them my contempt. And worlds behind their obscured lights, Confidence depleted In hopes that you won’t find Us retreating. The more I stalled, Suburban sprawl kept creeping ever c...

Do you believe In making love at first sight? In making love that first night? A thousand stars in flight Do you believe That two kids so wronged could make it right? That scarred and longing for life, We can find it in the night? It’s more than abou...

Like grass through cracked cement, We move through spaces called Difference and restriction. These lines in the sand, They divide the common land. My friend, if the world can’t fit in your hand Maybe it’s the way that you’re squeezing, Trying to trap a...

Something to survive Decades of murder and maize remind My every night, I wrestle with the thought of their return. To what will we owe our next relocation? Tenants to their reevaluation Of the ever-emerging “threat,” We wither on the vine. I rise; it...

Such a cheap game, pretending To win a father’s blessing, When we've been downstairs undressing, Knowing not the time it takes… Your thoughts start to stray, and You see the paleness in me. You hear the lonely bars of Nassau singing You to sleep… I w...

Downtown waiting around For no one in particular; Tickled by the grazing eyes of bachelorettes and passersby. You’ve been playing the part of The cultured and smart, of clean-pressed shirts and a ruthless charm. Oh, the cars pass by a bit slower just to...

Caught crying at the bar As your friends danced from afar. Your necklace hides the scars Where seventeen ripped you apart. You said, “If this year’s like the past, Well I don’t think I could last.” [Chorus:] Cause now your head and your heart are comi...