White Knuckles in the Spirit World

 

when your world falls apart

and you can no longer deny your broken heart

may it all come down peacefully

 

may the mountains collapse

like cotton kittens in your lap

and smother your dreams while you are sleeping

 

the ground is rocky and hard

in the glowing yellow graveyard

where I am standing like a tombstone

 

black marble haircut

shoes of polished lead

the sky is a flowing river of birds

 

                so I untie my feet and float away

                cuz life is so much better off the ground

                I am the flying scarecrow of reason

                my broken heart is my only weapon

 

mice are sneaking like snakes

through the luminous lace

scattered on the ground

 

starlight and distant city spit

speckled on the hills of face

and mountain silhouetted over rhinestones

 

                so I untie my feet and float away

                cuz life is so much better off the ground

                I am the flying scarecrow of reason

                my broken heart is my only weapon

 

the fire dying out

embers glowing like roses

the sun is sipping nightfall from a pickup truck

 

darkness descends

and the long night begins

white knuckles in the spirit world

 

 

 

 

© Nathan Payne

January-March 2014