Lost Cause by Beck

charlie chaplin

the great train
robbery

broke my heart

in london in

1903
it was only faces
on the train

of people
not money (but still)...

i was sitting
on a broken
chair

looking in your eyes
i

made you smile    
(i loved goodbye)    i
cried it

like wolf and
somehow

i stood up
on

the platform
by myself
and

did it:
i

won.

Train Leaving Gray by Mason Jennings

retro

today i see things
slanted

(crooked)

like a hook
on a sideways
mountain,

crushed in all my
(m)

(c) squared

escher-ness  and
i crumble
down the hill,

jack and jill as
i can get.    i
see things

tilted, today.
hands deconstruct my world
and

draw themselves in circles

as i slide circumspect across
the floor.

so sue me.

I Saw by Matt Nathanson

soundless

on stage muffled sound
like it

is in snow

i look   outside my window
and see

the second snow

this year. echoes of
your acoustic guitar
flail

off the railings
and come back to me

afternoon passes
with me here,
chin up    but  eye

lashes
gray
as the clouds

i keep my heart posted
to the sky,

hoping you will
come again,

maybe three times this year,
and

make my eyes see
(or hear) cold

and
happy...

Lovely Fool by Jack Savoretti

taconic

i got a bad case
of

the lonelies

last night
i walked in the kitchen
and

saw my flower
on the windowsill

all bathed
in
christmas light

(and)

the way she leaned into the cold
and bowed
her amaryllis head

i had to fight
back tears.

they're gone now,
they're

all gone.
even

when the sun shines
she

remains
in the mountain state of

timelessness.

Fallen From the Sky by Glen Hansard

after

two days later   i
trudge

through stepped-in snow,
adding

footprints to places
where
people have already gone

i

feel the tracks of my tears
seeping in, too,
on

the chasms of my cheeks
beside my eyes

like the ground
beside the tree

stomped to pieces

and
full of snow

that used to be

white    i
trudge,
quietly,
alone

except for the
trodden snow

Pray by Pyotr Tchaikovsky

gifted

the sparkle

in your eyes
is nothing

compared to that angel
on the tree   i

see it long before
it

opens

and on christmas day
the magic

of the moment
overwhelms me so

i point
to

the star, the star
on

top of the world

it shines and we reach for them,
for

the stars...

Away In A Manger by The Greatest Christmas Show On Earth

for richard

someone gave me
this flower

for christmas,
an amaryllis

i place it
on the windowsill  and

it graces all the snow
we have today
in texas

(one single bloom)

precepts
like diamonds

and cowboy boots   i

keep this flower (close to my heart)
like all

precious metals you must

i

hear it growing.
it wishes me a merry christmas

while someone sings
like bing    and

these are happy tears.  (the kind

that look
like flowers...)

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra

blizzard

i feel it coming

the cold heat
of winter

i love
this scarf
(the one that tastes
like christmas)

and

how it feels like chocolate
on my skin

like silk

(cashmere) blankets
in the snow

so dance,
little
sugar plum fairy:
dance

it's cold outside

(baby)

but i am warm here
with

my thoughts of you...
merry

christmas,
winter....

Right to Be Wrong by Joss Stone

scanner

christmas this year

is like
playing a six-string guitar

with only five strings  after
one

popped off
and hit me kerplunk
in the face   i
lost it

in the shuffle.
the music   sounds

muffled   and

i wonder if anybody
but me can hear
the melody,

like laughing in
december,

and bells.
i keep playing   not

because it
sounds good but

because
it is christmas,

and
even when something
is missing

you can
hear it in your

heart.

Marshmallow World by Bing Crosby

mink

with all the secrets
of

a lion in a wardrobe
i bade

you come in

through my front door, which
is marbled, crackled grass
with

foggy faces

as if you
breathed on me

and looked
at me

in narnia vision.

i open the door
as you jingle,
bells on leather,

with the happy mystery
of

a season: old,

and new.

Sway by the Perishers

maple

darker and light
with

feathers

i linger (holding)

you
between my fingers
bird

hands
with gloves
covered

my skin

i fly
toward you

as they sing
holly jolly
christmas

to the clouds

oh

i love you,

and this is how
i
say it...

For Me, It's You by Train

break

you know that feeling
when

you're on the verge

of falling asleep
in some public place
on

a train somewhere and
part of you

suddenly
twitches

and you're back awake again

because you feel
so foolish...

i

feel just like that...

with all the little tinglies
and the shame and

the bliss

of coming so close
to actually

falling asleep
before

you snap

back to reality...

In The Colors by Ben Harper

decisive

some times  (i) get
overwhelmed

yes
every time (i)
get

in my car,
it

is the same, and so

please can (i) pull
out my hair

(i) would just
for the sake
of

variety    or

maybe (i) will climb
upside down

through the sunroof
or something.

(i) still sing along
to
the same song

on
my radio (i hate it)

so please
(i)

need something new, maybe
air

conditioning

or open windows blowing
in my hair.
just,

please,
be

something different.

Dear Me by Mike Schmid

dublin

he asked me
if i'm
from england

and i laughed
i

said no

i'm from texas

as
soon as i said it
i knew

it wasn't true.
he came in shivering
and i stood there
watching

in my little glow worm world and
decided

i do.
i do come from england.

my ankles
like stonehenge
buckle and

my buildings swell
before they break
and i

feel the artist parts of me
sink in italian
by the bones
of

the ancient sea  and

i wish
i was.

i could see myself there,
shining,
like a lightning bug
doomed

to illuminate the pages
of history,
but never,

never to be
a part

of them.

Everyday by Toby Lightman

accepted

last class
of the day

and

they want
to
call me barbie

i said that's okay
so when

i sit in the chair    and

soak up the late
afternoon
sun

on the golden side of my hair

it
doesn't matter so much

if i'm fat, or if
old navy's having a sale.  i

can't explain it but

i like
the fact
that i feel

numb as a lightning bolt right now:
as

numb and pretty
as a hollow
plastic
doll...

My Favorite Memory by Corey Tut

tiny dancer

every day

a new debacle

and   i fly

with

the tiny turquoise strings

wrapped around

my

shoulder

blades like december

well

it's almost january now   and

with every twirl

i twirl

a new

day of time

and love

(art)

is a terrible

thing to waste

i should know   i

stomp it to death

every day

with the rhythm 

of the rumba,

making

my own dance.

every time.

and

i love it.

i

love it...

Alone on a Saturday Night by Robby Hecht

tango

i look at this picture
of

the pluteus larva
of a sea biscuit

and

it looks like
the
mechanical starfish arms   i

have
that are
pulled in so many
different directions

(my) fingers feel like
the radial tips
of

a star under water     all

splayed
in microscopic spasms,

positions in which
it feels

so alone
in the sea   and

to be swimming here
without you,

well,

it feels like ten thousand
arms

just dropped me
from

the sky

Be Here Now by Ray LaMontagne

arrive

here it is

the inevitable breakdown
that always comes
after

you fall trying to hard
you

fall down and
men

scatter around you like toys
like

gerbils

they run
about you
with claws
laughing

at the sound
of

your heart
while
it's

breaking to pieces

and
here it is, the hard part.

after you fall,
the living vortex
of love

that consumes you alive and

it has come,
it is here...

Unloved by Jann Arden

indentured


i go

swift (ly) closing all

the doors

in my way

and

they all say

hello sweet (ly)

that

even with wrongs and

failures i

hear you say

you are (my) best

teacher

in the world and

as i (fly)

down slopes i turn

to look at her

and

say thank you

with (my) eyes

i smile

at them

the way i still did

at you

when you told me

how

(all) the little children

liked me.

for some

reason...

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by Gayla Peevey

verde

slowly and alone
i jingle

like bells

on my feet

walking down fifth
with

the tune of
salvation army bells.

with ears like elves   i
listen for the clink
of metal

as

i place my change
into
the old red bucket and

(hoping
for a better
way)

i
still like silver
and gold (so)

that's why i give it away,

especially

with ice and little red ribbons
like snow.

i'm wearing white today
to
imitate

the angels
and

i try to step
in rhythm while they watch   so

slowly,

happily,

i will become my

brightest christmas
self...

Not As We by Alanis Morissette

cheese

i was
sitting there

surrounded

by my own hair,
held up

by the smell of

chocolate labs and lace  and

i kept on plucking
my yellow

gold split ends and

flicking them away
and

they would land
like snow on

top of my

long black sleeves
where

they lay like
little flecks
of golden dust

it's just dead
old skin

cells

but still
the follicular mess

i've surrounded myself in,

at least,
makes me feel

like
i've done something.

Hide And Seek by Imogen Heap

taylor

six nights
of not
sleeping

and

as kanye said
this is bad

real bad

and playing hide and seek
with sanity
i fall awake
too much

it's fire and ice
i'm telling you

outside

it's cold and nippy at
26 degrees

and

my flannel daisy sheets
are

failing to deliver
swiftly

on their promise
to keep me warm.

like you.

i protest.

i'll get it back
if i have
to

take it.

Split Screen Sadness by John Mayer

bogey

gold hair
on

umbrella spokes   i
am
audrey hepburn  in

paris but

it's only
paris texas

and

i just hit myself in the nose
with a camera

so

i listen to the music
trying to sing

but

somewhere in the
dean martin induced

white christmas of it all

i've come undone.

there is nothing left to do
but dance.

She's Gone by Waz

restriction

you know

what,

i got my story
from you
and
that is all that matters
in

the end

our history
in the making

was mine
and

my story
(oh yeah)
is

all about you,  baby
but

even more
it is
about me

and the time
i sat
on your bed
and

showed you how
to sew

a button
on your shirt   i

learned

things

about my self    i
adhered

myself to your fingers,
ever after,

with needle
and

thread...

Yesterday by Eva Cassidy

lightning bug

every once
in a while

i close my door
and

smell
your mother's perfume...

it lingers there...

on
scalloped lace edges

with little
white
florentines

and i think about
sending

her a thank you card
or

at least
i wonder if it

would burn your edges...

(the hard ones)

you hold
against me
and

the clear shards
of romance

i wrap
tight

around my neck...

I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore by Shelby Lynne

polar

red and blue
socks

my shirt
sings songs
like the

wind-up santa
on

the doorstep
of the snowflake
on the doily covered folding table   i

feel
like mrs. clause

sitting alone
here
in the middle

of this
festive sea

tick-tock

watching

all the vocal
swarm of happy people

moving in motion blur

around my head
except
for me,

left behind by time,

isolated and cold
in air

like a raindrop
in a
  polar

ice cap sea...

Sunday Afternoon by Rachel Yamagata

tidings

too much to do   i
reel

at (the) thought
of

seven christmases

at home
alone
no

body
to cuddle with
under
my new snuggie

and (the) trees

all
bursting with light

so

i won't pass
i won't collect two
hundred dollars    i'll

just

go straight to bed
and
rest my

unbrushed hair
on (the) pretty,

after,

thought of smoking
coal...

In My Lady's House by Iron & Wine

ornate

is that a
snow

flake symbol

i see
on a friday

for
the weather (or not)

that chill (oh love)
i

love wearing scarves
with stripes on
them,

sweaters with ribs
and

hats with feathers

my coats with fur
hoods and

my gloves
my hands

covered
in red fleece

(oh no)
i

see a sunshine
next

to sunday

it is
time

to fall
(in love)

again...

It's Good to Be in Love by Frou Frou

aviary

snow flakes
and
music

on my mind

i
feel so small

like a bird
wrapped

up

in your ways
and

with the smell
of your perfume
on my cheeks

i
let it linger
in my soul

i pull my
wings

in tight

and
think of you.

that
sparkle
in my eyes

it is

because of you

(and)
your love,

like birds...

Everything'll Be Alright by Joshua Radin

swirl-tastic

van gogh
should have
seen

this

a thousand
daisy clouds

and
snow
in december
in texas
and

i missed it   but
that's okay...
because

i found the sky.

i painted it
just
the way
it was...

poor, poor
neglected
sunflowers
my

christmas trees
in well-lit windows
draw

a storm
of adoration (and)

i love being here,
i do,

i do...

Goodbye (Piano Version) by Sean Fournier

elephant skin

i love
the cold epidermis

of the sky
when

gray

elephant wrinkles
it reminds

me of the fish
factory
in the fog

in the winter
in the rain              i

love how

close it is
(to my heart) and

under cover
like a man

(who says
i love you) and

really, really
means it.

or like the sky
and

the goosebumps
i get
when it's cold, or

when

you touch my

skin...