Abendlied by Robert Schumann

fulcrum

i (feel) as if

we

have once again (entered)
the

blistery patch of road
of cuteness
where

(you hang up first) (no you) (no you)

becomes our mantra, our
relationship.

all the signs
are

leading there (and)
yet

i find

no shortage of (stoplights),
of signs

that

tell me (how far) away
from

home you are, (how)
far

we have come.
i hold on

to
that idea...

Song Without Words Op. 19 #6 by Felix Mendelssohn

briar-ridge

hello
(like the color of heather/

on the bay) and
goodbye

(to martha's vineyard), i'll be
setting sail

(like growing
my own teeth) and

i cannot wait.
here.

the time comes (in) and goes
(like tide)

and

everything you are (to me)
all
comes down
(to)

just one thing:
the sun

going down (in the sky).
i

like the color
of

your face...

Lieberstraumme by Franz Liszt

mayor/town

as it rains,
i

have this fear of heights
(i keep myself

from climbing)

the stars
fall down
like trains

in the night

(and)

i point my chin at the sky.
i

have this fear of

falling...

Gymnopedies No. 1 by Erik Satie

bent

like a farmer's tan
(my eye)

only goes halfway

across.

the horizon glows and
(this orange stripe)

unbecoming /as it is/

continues.
to carry

me
through/out

the world (and)
only

pieces of me shine.
oddball shirts

/and/

(sun)shine...

Fur Elise by Beethoven

enya

chicken marsala, chocolate cake
and

streamers--this is a birthday
party

four months
(before) the birth day--

and

i like it.
i am having fun.

the fan is on,

and

my hair blows.
paper plates (disheveled) on the wind
unfurl

below the boxes
and the bags
complete

the scene, it is a celebration.
we

pull the cake
off

our faces...

The Swan by Camille Saint-Saens

algonquin

the deep jade color
of

your eyes
(i held a baby

and she
didn't cry)

the neon orange sky
like

piles

of traffic cones

(i held your head up
with

a sigh)

and

the faded blue denim rain
(it falls

steady

when
you say goodbye) and

the

lonely pink heart
i keep

just for me, the unbroken prism
deep

inside...

Queenie's Suite by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

oregano

you are my svengali,
like

spaghetti

(i recall the way
you made me taste,

empty rhetoric

like noodles
in my mouth)

and

in between all the cans
i try to

keep my goods in

(alphabetical) order and

away
from the neon glare

of
those stage lights, the ones
from you,

the ones i crave
(and talk to

during

nights like this).
i

am

your svengali,
and i speak

through you.

Mary in Labor by Paul Cantelon

indent

(i have a scar).
it  is

on my knee,
affixed to (the place)
where

i fell down.

it hurts.
(i can't feel anything,
anymore).

i have a scar.

it is
on my heart...

Aspirin Vs Arsenic by Eric Bachmann

end/ing

my daisies are dead,
the

happy flower

in the spotted bowl
has gone

(and)

all the things   i thought
were good for me

are not.
i find it difficult to believe
in

life

when all the pretty petals
keep falling

(lonesome)

to the floor, and as i pluck them

off,
i repeat my vows:
he

loves me. he loves

me not...

Embraced by Paul Cardall

infant

embraced in feathers (like
a pillow)

i fall

into the soft and fluffy (wish) maybe
thought
of

you.

it is where i belong.
heaven

(like a cotton ball)
is

a dream (and)

i fall asleep      thinking of you,
trying

to determine my fate.
you

came in white...
you

leave a rose...

The 9th Level by Two Star Symphony

3-D

without you
time

is just a blur.
it passes, fades away

like

smoke on the screen   with
purple edges,

pulling out ghosts
and

silhouettes.
i

can't look at you (nor at the sun)
and

my heart is like two pinholes

from which
this story         is projected

onto a black hole wall    for
all the

world to see.
with you, my vision (never)

sharpens...

Song From A Secret Garden by Secret Garden

myopic

holding you (in my arms)
seeing

your pink skin

(your hand in my hand),

like this,
i

never close my eyes.

picture this (picture you)
twelve years from now
on

this day, this love,

holding my big heart (in your hands).
i

held yours, today, (right now),
and

i keep you (small)

this way, forever.

Barcelona by Jim Brickman

un-even

this is not my nose.
i

borrow it
when i'm feeling down,

turn it blue

and

liquify
(the snot out of it)

in photo-shop.
i

find it,

pointed in the wrong direction.
(it

takes some doing)
because

this is not my nose...

Elephants (Instrumental) by Rachael Yamagata

leviathan

out of the sea,
these

monsters (keep coming)
after me.

teeth

and flailing limbs

keep (nothing)
in the air,
the whales of consequence

swim

un-disturbed (and so)
i wait.

i doggie-paddle my (defiant) way
into

the mouth
of a bigger monster,

more wild and overwhelming
than you...

but scarier,
nontheless...

Short Careers by Eric Bachmann

lake/wood

we all race
to

the finish line,
holding

tighter

to the fray,
blankets clutched

about our bodies,
waiting tired
for

the bay.
we want this.

going faster (like a race)
we

put

our feet
on skates

like ticker tape

and run.
that's all it is...

for fun.

Breeze in G by James Todd

primrose

evening tracks
set up the morning

(the horses say hello)

and

fences
never back down,
they smile.

clouds cover (every)little thing,

i see you.
he

lets it slide.
the sunlight

shines, and you

go back home (alone)....

Time by Paul Cardall

hello/beyond

throwing (this balloon) up
to

the sky (and back) it comes
to me;

holding

on (with fingers) curled

tightly (to my soul)
i listen

for the words
(of goodbye)


this beyond (the grain)/sunshine

higher/higher,
(blue sky)

on green

(and) i hear it, (the words)
i

didn't want to say.
i

blow myself out, (like candles), and
let my hand

fall back (to my side).

Below the Beams by Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

first things first

(first) thing to do:
get rid

of all the clothes
(that)

remind me of you.
difficult,

because

that's like
trying to breathe

(without)

reminding yourself
of

the air...

i see you.
(in

everything).
guess

i'll walk around naked,

forever...
maybe hope

no one

will notice
the sad (and lonely)

look up

(on my face)...

George Winston Canon in C

exit

in the waiting line,
i

merge thoughts (of you)
together

with memories

(and futons)

like dresses
swaying

on (the line).
the

mannequins
swirl and flood

the floor, with
time

and money    in their pockets,
and i

shine. needlessly.
no

one can see me. (and)
the line

keeps moving...

December by George Winston

heat

cool air flows
(like

the hot orange color of
a glow

in the dark
bracelet)

and it
pulls my hair back,
lisping.

my nose is cold.
i

find relief

in someone else's fur
and

for a moment,
my blood stops flowing.
it's

a hundred degrees

in your arms.
i hold it (hot)

inside my heart

as i journey far away
from you,

frozen / lonely / and

frigid...
into the

backlands of passion.

The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber

chasing phantoms

years later, i run
in

the same direction,
east by southeast

on

a plain-dead trajectory,
lying. i

find you

in every tree, in every path,
in

every song.

i sing, dead-pan face,
stinging breath

pulled

out from tired lungs,
holding

change (out in front of me) on a limb
like

a carrot.

with
my dog-ged tread

you haunt me,
(haggard and still),

nine

thousand miles later...

Paradise Found by Michael Giacchino

eskimo

early morning (dew)
i

stand in ant beds
like

a garden gnome

waiting for
the sun
to

come up.

it
slowly rises,
in cambodia,
changing colors

green to

orange, and the birds
flicker

through

like fairies.
late night, (and)

this is
how

i would have it...

Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major by Mozart

cicada

the hum (of the city)
exists

solely in
my mind, and it drones on.
it

is one note. (it comes)
from the

edges of the trees,
standing heat,

flying sound

like an echo's solar footprint
(and i hear it

come).

it beckons me,
ringing voices

in my ears

just

always out of reach (and)
hums on

into eternity...

Serenade No. 13 for Strings by Mozart

sound and fury

i hear
(an explosion) eight

miles away

in a (pecan) plantation.
i hear it rumble,

hear the strings.
they vibrate

like tornadoes,
breaking

arduous rainstorms (in two)

like bells,
furious

in the sky
with flames...
i

hear the fire,
burning,

for you...

Out Of The Deep, Anthem for 6 Voices by Orlando Gibbons

holga

in search of bokeh,
i squint

my eyes

and bow my head,
opening just

one iris

to look at you.
you

make me sad.

people grow and flowers bend
in bars

like

gardens
down the street (and)
i

close my other eye.
it

still sees you.
so

do i, even through
the

bokeh branches...

Christus Factus Est, Motet by Felice Anerio

capricious

waking up,
birds

weave

nests of allegory
on

top of heads
of

state,
swaying
heroically

back and forth like
little
dr.

seuss trees,
yellow/gold

in fiery green lawns
stretching

out to morning,
wings

up

in the air, frightened,
little

birds

waving
their symbolic little feet
over the edge...

Herzlick Tut Mich Verlangen by Bach

bird

without a sound
destiny

floats, tree to tree,

silent ground
(wild willow ways)
like water

by the boat

with hope (and without wings)
and

so like birds
they

dig

big holes

(and place me in them).

Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven

somber

the last flickering
moments

of a pineapple candle,
all

lit up, little wicks
floating

in a hot pool
of yellow wax,

i blow out

like smoke.
i

throw a tantrum
of
gargantuan proportions,

fighting oxygen

to

breathe

and bleeding light...

Piano Sonata No. 14 by Beethoven

adept

the problem with you
is

you fracture your fingers
on

the piano,
playing

it too hard.
you leave

bruises
on keys,
some black

and some blue,

some others
left untouched.

the problem
with

(you)

is you
keep

trying to stretch
too far.

you

run away
much too quickly,
falling

over backwards
and
banging your

hands

against
the delicate keys...

Fantaisie for Piano & Orchestra, L. 73 by Claude Debussy

yo-yo

overwhelming up
and

down, i move  in dreams
round

in circles
like

the eye of london,
only smaller.

less enthused.

life circles,
sun

and set, spiders
dig their holes

and

i flail  in random cycles,
unbound

by the tradition
of

building

whatever it is
you

flung at me
to

make me stick (here) and
never leave...