still shining
 [freestyle bleeds]

candles love steam
frolicking in corners unseen shadows
mating with the light
another spark
together we stand

"I woke up and saw her sleeping face
drowned in blue light. Comfort swept my system,
peace locked in my mind. Heaven breathes."

my eyes are brighter now
trapped in the light of her smile
my mind is open now
caressed by the tone of her voice
my life is stronger now
as one, we fall



everyones a winner

here we go again
life
life says you're a winner
life lies to you

"Every day I wake up, I thank God
for the beautiful morning, and I 
pray for the souls of my junkie
daughter and my bi-polar wife, so
he may take them home before I
kill them both."

so you're a winner
show me what you've won
I don't see any prizes
shining in your eyes

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's show
Miss Jones what shes won!  Why...
it's a new set of yellowed bruises
for her neck, happily matching the
ones her husband leaves.  And thats
not all folks!  She also gets to watch
her son die slowly from AIDS.   Lets
hear it for our newest winner!"

so this is victory
when you wake
you lie
you've won
defeated life
overcome all hardships
youre stronger for it
you've gone the extra mile
the one that they forgot

I could go on forever
but I don't like to lie
I leave that to life
where everyones a winner



woven

www.life.com
www.me.com
www.you.com
we are digital
numbers on a page
on a screen
to blind our eyes
from truth in numbers
faith in chaos
we can change the future
by learning from the present
the past is a dead memory
learn and move on
insistent
for brighter lights
faster switches
quicker relays
learn from the number
one
our future is coming
babies with bar codes
serial numbers behind your eyes
our present is coming
cloning
another me
another you
fight for your soul
we are technological convenience
easy access lives 
for easy access minds
remember the number
one
switch
wheres your screen name
when hes got the gun to your head
when they take the children from bed
murder by numbers
and you're surfing the web
www.conquest.com
www.war.com
www.famine.com
www.death.com
and then there were four
riding fiber optic horses
looking for a number
is it yours
are you the one
shut down
no more numbers
kill the power
no more webs to weave
one hundred years ago
there were no radio waves
no micro waves
no cell phone satellites
life was silent
it's too late
the processors are fried
like our minds
reboot
reset
wheres that switch
I need one for my life



"maestro, the happy number please,
 and toss in a breakbeat."
 version 2.0

Life is breaking down
in front of no one,
save the setting sun and sky.
Too many tears shed for the days
and minutes lost to the wrinkles
your smile wears.  I am feeling
the warmth of my blood again,
coursing through veins dried
with love long ago.
Someone pushed me to the mirror,
and the monster glaring
through the pane throws me
into another spiral long forgotten.
I am carrying myself to the bottom again,
thick with the scent of claustrophobia.
It lies dark and warm
[somewhat worn]
reminding me of the life flowing
fresh through the shell.
Welcome home dreamer,
grab yourself some kneeling space,
the suns about to fall.
I am my own jail, clutching
at the bars behind my jail-cell eyes,
and rattling my tin cup across bone,
begging for parole, for the end.'
Life is closing wounds in your soul,
left there by the dead skin
she wore into your bed.
Stretching you into the form
that wants no matter the pain
your faces share with the sweat
that bleeds from your brow.
Life is the abandonment of time
as you watch the morning tide
wash another day away.
Life is pain, on levels
that words could never share.