Songs All Over You

It was the coldest winter Russia had ever seen. The wind froze your blood and the frost caked on your nosehairs. Red fingers were a good thing, because that meant they still had blood flowing to them. Red, chapped hands, burning and scabbed, were a luxury.

The world was drowned out in ten feet of snow. It blocked out all sound and suffocated the light.

But the surface was as bright as day. The sun reflected brilliantly off of the blinding snow and the sky was clear.

Out of this frozen mountain emerged a pair of nubby, gnarled hands. They scraped away the snow, slowly at first, gradually working more and more furiously. A small hole appeared that grew wider until finally a large head popped out, gasping for breath. The face was savage, with black glinting eyes that wildly rejoiced in the basking daylight. A mane of wavy black hair leaped out of his head. With every breath he grew stronger and he clawed out of the snow with vigor, soon thrusting out fully.

Here he stood, the man in the tattered green jacket and the numb shaking body. He sat down at the piano, the slick polished mahogany wonder, and started pounding out a driving harmony. A railroad stretched out into the distance, a rodeo wonder that glorified the sunset. The man trudged down the tracks, drinking from a canteen with a flag draped over his shoulders. A harmonica appeared between his fingers and he blew out a soft sad tone, slow and labored, the blood pulsing through his breaths and the tune.

Back in the blustery wasteland, the man swayed with the neon melody, lost in the lights that radiated from the keys. He didn’t notice as the dwarves popped out of the snow like daisies, their long ragged beards mingling with the red overalls. They needed warmth and they built a fire. The kindle crackled with glowing flame and the smoke drifted up past the sky. Huddling in the frost, the earth replied, “Life is a dream. Sit in the wood smoke.”

The night grew dark. The stars in the sky glowed, scattered remains of millions of years past. The centuries grow old but the lights are always the same. A cracked brick plopped down into the sand, crumbled with age. The sand grew weary and specks blew in the wind. They trickled between the cracks as lightning shot across the sky and stayed there permanently. Balls of lightning floated down to the quiet earth and drifted over the fields. Observers came to watch, drove from all around in their Malibu Chevy’s and golden Subaru’s, burning the gas and yelping to the night air. A car is flipped off the rails and tumbled down the grassy knoll into the windy lake. Under the water there was a pyramid but he couldn’t enjoy it. If you throw away your life, you can’t enjoy the rare simple pleasures.

We were singing songs for the restless and having the time of our lives. We were living in chaos and riding the tides. We were ignorant in bliss, naïve in love. We learned more and wanted more, tried more and got more. We flew through the currents with you on our minds, we walked down the streets just biding the time. Every day is a new one, dripping pouring with sweat, if you cage the spirit you’re always second best. The fight is begun and the tears on our cheeks, dirty soaked travelers no one to beat. Flying to the sun at a riptide pace, all I want is you and your wonderful face. Trees up above us the sea is below, in the hot desert sun is what they deserve. They grind on our joy and make all the pain, stir up the violence and give it away. Steady bass lines rumble and shake, I love you to the point I can no longer take. Growing up is for those who have money and time, growing up is for the old who never unwind. We have a future full of times at the creek, rogue passion and wonder not a care in the world. Give me your heart and we’ll cast out our minds, throw me a line and I’ll read you the time. There’s a world outside that nobody knows, there’s an ocean outside where the mangoes grow. Sweet fruit of the vine, a tangy sensation, humming to the core and a liquid vibration. You got a friend and that’s a fact, before you know it the light’s coming back. Everyone has a soul and you got mine, I like your songs on a ladder of chimes. Look at the moon, a blinding star, whistle to the sea and I’ll play your guitar. Whisper to me with the wind at your back, make the words echo for the ones who matter. There’s a compelling desire to see you again, an inner drive for a new chance to begin. When the autumn leaves fall into the roiling sea, open your mind and let yourself free. Justice is met when the last bell has sounded, if we’re gonna get there soon we all gotta pound it. Once, twice, for the innocent and poor, you gave it all but I want more. I dug a hole with a shovel in my hand, it brought tears to my eyes and I stood under the gray sky. To bury a loved one who died in vain, to find a way to kill the pain. We all want a fire but I’ll settle for a spark, it’s often the thing that gives us the stars. Some things are propped up to be more than they are, but all I want is you and a shiny guitar. She’s growing on me, a maniac dove, before I knew it I was falling in love.

The trumpets sounded on a blood red sky. Silver unicorn blood drips from the tiled ceiling into the pools of voices.