gasoline and perfume

the peace of the past

is gasoline and perfume

burning off surfaces

me pulling the zipper up 

the back of her dress

and watching her fix sticky lips

this is the soil

I am rooted in

this is the air

I inhale

me peeling his boots 

from his feet after work 

and watching the earth fall away

this is the soil

I am rooted in

this is the air

I inhale

gasoline and perfume

burn away in the sun


[[ smells and sights of childhood ]]

ring of stones

at the... 

end of the 

actual 

day

when the... 

moon pushes 

through the 

sky

we fold 

our bones

round a ring 

of stones

and talk 

across 

a fire

we talk 

across 

a fire

we wonder how - we will get through the snow

we wonder how - we will carry this load

we wonder how - we will build a new home

we wonder how - we will follow this road

oh, go on

we go on

we can do 

nothing else 

but go on

oh, go on

we go on

and we sing

while we walk

a walking song 

till the... 

end of the 

actual 

day

when the... 

moon pushes 

through the 

sky

we fold 

our bones

round a ring 

of stones

and talk 

across 

a fire

remember how - we would lie in the grass

remember how - we would play by the shore

remember how - we would watch the day pass

remember how - we wanted nothing more


[[ nomads, refugees, wanderers  ]]

you go on

don't ask where 

did things go wrong

in the middle of a song

you keep singing

when love is gone

and you can't go on?

when love is gone

you go on.

lick your fingers

salt and vinegar

on fingertips

smell of hot oil

and sweat 

pools of light 

on the sidewalk

men smoke and steam

in between

women want a 

nowhere to go

lick your fingers

who is this woman

who is this woman

holding the light?

who is this man

at the carnival?

everyone wearing

their bones out tonight

at the carnival

bones on the outside

under the light

you've got a secret

only we know

only we know

you've got a secret

you wouldn't hurt me, 

would you, baby?

after everything we've ever done?

you wouldn't hurt me, 

would you, baby?

after everywhere we've ever been?

who is this woman

holding the light?

who is this man

at the carnival?

they look like us

at the carnival

you've got a secret

only we know

only we know

you've got a secret

[[ I think this started in a James Bond movie ]]

a bad-luck moon

a bad-luck moon above 

the city morgue

another woman dead

under another moon

say, let's go in and see 

the damage done

he held his fingers here

and crushed her throat

he sank his teeth in here

and consumed

gentlemen, 

there's a new 

cannibal 

in this town

it could be anything

the sight of the sea

the full moon

anything

a bad-luck moon above 

the city morgue

another woman dead

under another moon

I'm so afraid, she said,

I'm shaking like a leaf

then the lights go out

[[ I think I was watching Doctor X (1932) ]]

retirement

I missed your funerals;

how did they go?

Two tins of ashes now

hid in a row?

Forever on the hill

till the sun turns to red

Or developers come to

turn you both out of bed?

Although we have paid 

in advance for our plot,

nothing's forever and

forever is nought.

[[ my parents on a hill ]]