The Testing Sessions:
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"The Dust of 1915"
04/16/08 * 10:45 a.m.

"I have known no home.
I have slept in all sorts of places.
Here today... There tomorrow...
I am tired of this life of taut nerves,
of night-riding and day-hiding,
or constant listening for footfalls,
cracking twigs...
and rustling leaves...
and creaking doors."

beloved outlaw - retired the fight
in Missouri and Alabama - acquitted thrice
legend superseded - murder and theft
lucky Frank, he found the quiet life
and lived it 'til his death

no more night-riding and day-hiding
no more cracking twigs, rustling leaves, and creaking doors
the tale of law and disorder unfolds in no certain order
and when the days are done for Western lore and dreams
the outlaw's ash to ashes
in the dust of 1915

"box 233"
04/19/06 * 9:52 a.m.
-a little farther than words
would see you down to the end
and grasping again
at something substantial
something that matters
in those tense moments
when dreams start to shatter
-crawl back into the safe place
when the blanket draped over the table
when the air from the vents soothed incidents
and stable- was the way
-days in the dirt
in the trees and the streets
sheltered yet able to learn and to see
the magic of time, the pain it can bring
the beauty of memories and bites from the stings
-crawl back into the safe place
when the blanket draped over the table
when the air from the vents soothed incidents
and stable- was the way

"swine move"
04/18/06 * 9:15 a.m.
sedated with sanctions
we stand from the stranglehold
marching in time with
the beat from the lies you told
-as the power goes out
the swine move about
-interests contested
and views from across the fence
call for reaction
to clear up what you meant
-as the power goes out
the swine move about
as the sun goes down
the neighbors are quick to frown
-it's been building for days
ignoring the ways we tried to obey
now you're calling us out
increasing the doubt we had in you anyway
-you align with the unseen enemy

"brutally dishonest"
04/18/06 * 8:58 a.m.
-fly the flag of rocks in your faces
locks on the places you'd trespass
and make a pass for power
to be the men of the hour
-brutally dishonest...
-your opinion serves no justice
your assumptions are an ill fit
and we can't know where we stand
four times, four rights interpreted by man
-brutally dishonest...

"hate manifesto"
04/17/06 * 10:42 a.m.
-pillage and plunder
you'll tear this place asunder
if we let you
-sneaking and seeping
through cracks and shadowed crevices
aswarm with you
-your sights are set for government
infiltration works the best
our might is mocked by what's 'correct'
at last, your hatred manifests
-the wars expand, and follow man
for domestic grounds to be broken down
you thrive on our inattention
but we will contrive a true contention

"comprising the compromise"
04/17/06 * 10:15 a.m.
-reckon yourself to wreckage of health
bending and breaking, the glimmer of wealth
-i wish i knew how to understand
the toiling and tolls are breaking the man
if i could, i would cut you down to size
revealing the truths of this compromise
-reckon me, to reality
spending and straightening, the perpetual scene
-we've barely scratched the surface

"control tower"
04/17/06 * 9:27 a.m.
-in birth and death
we test the best of life's subtle offerings
when face to face
we're at the place of new mortality
-who can't touch us?
-in comfort draw the covers up
in blissful trust
of a sleep so deep, our souls to keep
to weather off the rust
-who can't touch us?
-it's not as if we're in control
-we're plastic and frozen
and no one knows they're chosen
with knowledge abounding
our composure is astounding
we're haggard and stagger
whitewashed, yet filled with daggers
we're bleeding into nothing
just steps away from seeing this tower fall
-when you amputate the hand that feeds
don't look at me to meet your needs

"liability"
04/26/05 * 11:02 a.m.
fake requests of stunted breaths
necessity untrue
it's easy to be a liability
when it's all being done for you
lazy, lack of truth and virtue
love's outside your hands
at the fence, you will wince
and demand to understand
i offer nothing in return
unable and unwilling
except to watch this mother burn
burn

"completion"
04/26/05 * 10:55 a.m.
i think i am prepared now
to tackle the monsters that have crowded my space
it's all in the air now
the point of reference has now shown its face
completion is the song that soothes
the cares of the burdened
and makes right the twisted thoughts
of worry and confusion
completion darkens the shades at night
and amplifies the thunder and rain
for the sleep that replaces wrong with right
a true southern serenade

"ignited"
04/26/05 * 10:43 a.m.
ignited in travel
blighted, unraveled
bury the lengths you would take just to make
the points of inferior, desperate complaints
stay away- within your lane
the myth of flashing death
at the crux of my behest

"appointment"
04/26/05 * 10:11 a.m.
i can't be bothered with this invasive appointment
though its reckoning day draws closer
so i travel through the trials related to this discourse
with my focus intent on the end
the benefits and royalties worth clammering for
are locked in my vision- to unlock that door
and enter a dawn of new landscapes
horizons fresh with the fruit of accomplishment
far beyond the scope of inadequacy

"lock and key"
04/25/05 * 11:08 a.m.
age stacks itself in proportion to preparation
we adjust ourselves to weather each transition
a firm footing on unwritten laws and codes of conduct
statutes and limitations that justice we might not obstruct
the comedy is strong and irony full-blown
for the chance encounters of passing years
photos yield definitive stills of days that fade away
of people who came our way, and memories made that stayed
to each of you who stepped beyond
reality's lock and key was strong
but deep in the pit of that inward home
i believe you sensed that you really belonged
and that's enough for us

"chemical"
04/25/05 * 10:43 a.m.
there's always one- and through some sort of paranoia
it seems as though she wants to know you
there's always one- and in its form of grand delusion
she takes the form of sweet allusions
the current that flows beneath a chemical bridge
isn't strong enough to bring it down
always divided by the sacred hedge
and there's not enough left to go around
burn it down

"the public eye"
04/25/05 * 10:36 a.m.
in the twilight of day, when thoughts are delayed
repressed by the success of scheduling
conflicted enough, the outcome is tough
to leave one embittered and reveling
the pastel glow that is known to show
a beauty that rages too early
to lessen the blow and save time to grow
a mission to slow down the hurry
the fullness- overtly potent
the weakness- dynamically solvent
the sweet synaptic revelations
of all the different complications
tied into sickly corelations
perused by the public eye
tender, livid contradictions
uttered softly- trite contrition
in his mind the bright depiction
of perfection again this time

"buy now, pay later"
04/25/05 * 10:02 a.m.
blur the countenance of financial fortitude
rake the embers of burning funds
stretched out across needles of naivety
farther and harder we run
into the sun of acquisition, though our bodies become frail
our cargo- old inventions, weighing down the ship we sail
the gleam is in sight to set things right
if we can hold the calls just a few more nights
these childhood days are equitable
sometimes the trails they blaze- regrettable

"trivial"
04/22/05 * 11:43 a.m.
trivialities come to the trivial mind
a mind with too much time is blind
bound in expectation
the weight of good intentions
capsized, inside
time, now released, flies by
abandoning logic for trivial flares
and questioned for trauma to sellable wares
it's crucial to be trivial
and unspeakable to be equal

"the green hand"
04/22/05 * 11:30 a.m.
like a vulture by moonlight seeking its prey
we ride through at midnight away from the day
long to linger like a stone
born to wander far from home
through the bayou's blood and guts of the immortal
trading tales and spells from different portals
seek the green; speak the dream
carry the banner if it stands alone
and make sense of another as its come and gone

"encumbered"
04/22/05 * 11:15 a.m.
this inward road is dotted with melodies
that dance vaguely through the shadows
instrumentation and exultation have befriended vagrant days
and i, encumbered with extra measures of forethought and hindsight,
have found a veritable goldmine of tales to tell
i've seen miracles come to life from wishing wells
and nightmares from the dark that seem influenced by hell
songs that have stayed; games that've been played
visits and travel; the stories unravel
to discover the differences are not so great
that people everywhere can somehow relate
to the voices inside our heads
to our thoughts on life and death
of hopes, fears, and love
the truth of worlds below and above
this inward road is dotted with melodies
through the shadows dancing vaguely
the befriending of vagrant days

"disappearing friend"
04/22/05 * 10:30 a.m.
he opens the door and enters the code
the hour of night he aches not to know
on past the hall, the breath and the care
the feeling of coldness rests in the air

he sits down at a table unprepared
he finds out the truth is more than he can bare

walks by the love seat, the tv, the phone
knowing somehow he is not there alone
into the hallway the sounds yield their voice
another extraction, an ill-fated choice

he falls down onto a blade of ripe despair
he finds out the truth is more than he can bare

the litmus test for this betrayal is blazing red like fire
he enters the confrontation like an explosive timed live wire
she spews her alchemy; refutes this adultery
his pistol is at hand; in the hands of the damaged man
blast, blast, blast, blast
coming around for another pass
blast, blast, blast, blast
never the first; maybe the last
blast, blast, blast, blast
the story finds its end
blast, blast, blast, blast
the disappearing friend

"skylines beneath us"
04/21/05 * 10:15 a.m.
spreading far are the wanton shards
that extend into depths unknown
of black and orange, of red and fire
sorrow calls these halls home
choices are ceilings and floors
the knots and cracks in boards
making existence what it becomes
tie your preferences like decorative ribbon
but beware to test their strength
beneath us- we can see
below- we do know
the colors are strong and prove
the deeds of lies and truth
the colors weave the scenes
a tapestry without seams
a blanketed canvas, as rest the stars and moon
the familiar thought of skylines beneath us
yield power, love, and doom

"the start"
04/21/05 * 10:10 a.m.
formula- cascading
who you are- barracading
rip these halls apart; this could be the start
of the feelings in my head; the motion in this bed
emotion- emanating
devotion- underrating
touch, distill my heart; this could be the start
of the feelings in my head; the motion in this bed
closed are the doors to you
those who'd seek to twist the truth
of the feelings in my head
the feelings in my head
emotion isn't dead

"covetous"
04/21/05 * 10:00 a.m.
sequester the tester to fall farther behind
endeavor to weather the memories of mind
conquests are apparitions belonging to another time
symbolic celebrations of union dismiss the former days
when around any corner could be the sudden rush
the fuel to set in motion the next love or crush
we, the jealous ones, covetous of our neighbors
longing for vegas-like landscapes in our humble townships
growing unaware and becoming debonair
aging and raging into a grating wide open
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