by Steve Wands
The green turns to yellow, to red, to brown, to flaking
Its no less warm, or inviting, but change is on the wind
The screams of summer are dying out
Falling leaves fill up its throat
The season struggles like a living thing, gasping,
SPIT IT OUT
Behold the carrier of violence
Hateful words condemn the innocent
The loudmouth runs rampant
Raping the world with its tongue
That long tendril of terror
Snake-like, slimy, putrid, yet alluring
A dirty word perched on the crest of your tongue
Ready to pounce the unsuspecting
They cut and slash, at random
Puncturing through safety nets
And running through walls with scissor-legs
Leaving trails of blood in letter-shaped smudges
TAKE A STRAIGHT-RAZOR TO YOUR CROOKED WORLD
Don't tell me its okay when I know that its not
It's the middle of the day and the sun is out of sight
Give me moonlight, give me star-shine, give me anything to shed some light
Everything is dark and that's what the people want
They've lost all heart and don't even care
Don't ask me how I'm the one who does
It doesn't make any sense, so please, don't stare
THE GRIM REAPER'S METAL EPIC ROUGH DRAFT
Master of the night, ruler of the dead
Disaster in sight, the oceans run red
Beasts of the deep swim ashore
Living dead mouths all full of gore
Winged skulls fly overhead
Screaming for vengeance, Screaming for the dead
The Grim Reaper's got something to say
Screaming for vengeance, Screaming for the dead
Horned beasts erupt from the dirt
Demons wake from the depths of the earth
Fire takes the suburban dream
The cities fall into the sea
Winged skulls fly overhead
Screaming for vengeance, Screaming for the dead
The Grim Reaper's got something to say
Screaming for vengeance, Screaming for the dead
SPIRITUS, PART ONE
BEYOND BREATH
We are now godless
Man superior after all
We are oblivious
We are faithless
Consequences not suffered
Our children will burn
We cannot see beyond
The walls of flesh we tread upon
We are now godless
We have reason
If man cannot make
Than it cannot be
We are now godless
Murder the earth
We have reason
Free of consequence
SPIRITUS, PART TWO
AFTER ABSTRACTION
Will the unanswerable be answered?
Will dirt be our new life?
Can we see the tears of our loved ones?
Can we see the forgotten in hopes to remember?
SPIRITUS, PART THREE
THE HUMAN CONDITION
Bodies pushed to breaking
The Green Man is taking
Try not to think again
Sustain consistency
Swallowing pride
A bitter flavor/razor
Face down, you hide
Disgusted by what's inside
Bad blood with false hope
You fool no one
Not that it matters
We are meaningless
Sunlight. Stardust. Shadows
I've got work to do
SPIRITUS, PART FOUR
END ALL
The world has got me down
Deeper than dirt
It's not her fault
That's just how it goes (down.)
THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH
Where do we go once we've seen it all?
Can we still get our kicks and fixes when they've lost their touch?
Sensory overload and multi-tasking hell
Making love, texting and television, all in the same stroke
Can't you see its all a joke?
Your visions blurry and your doing everything but you haven't done shit.
Will it ever end, or will you be digging your grave, saying goodbyes, and jerking off to the next ghost?
Step away from the system and focus
Can't you see these things mean to choke us?
Keeping busy, buying distractedly, never looking up
Sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, sunrise,
It doesn't matter, we can't even tell
All these things have become our hell
A happy hell full of busy bees and worker drones
Handfuls of empty needs and hollow clones
Are you entertained?
Was that the point?
Did you want to think?
I guess its too late
BLEED YOU
Bleed you is what I do best
Believe me, that's it
My teeth sunken in
Not letting go
An anchor on your chest
Further down you go
Bleed you, bleed you, can't you see I need you
LIKE A GHOST
Something's wrong
You know it, can't see it
Under your skin
In your head
Like a ghost made of glass holding you tight
Kissing ripped lips well into the night
Something's wrong
And you're letting it happen
It's not too late
Don't fade away
Like a ghost, don't fade away like a ghost
Like a ghost, don't fade away like a ghost
THE GIANT BUGS OF DOOM
Radiation sickness looms, nature's lost her mind
The end comes again to soon, its apocalypse time
Here they are...the giant bugs of doom
Spider webs cover the skyline
Worms spill forth from the subways
Havoc flies on dragonfly wings
Enlarged to show terror
Wasps and Hornets are hell incarnate
Impaling people on flagpole-sized stingers
A B-movie plotline that seemed nifty in the fifties
The Atomic Age is now, killing us quickly
With bugs the size of busses and eight plans that fail
To save us from our collective Frankenstein monsters
FLESH-FEAST
Mouth agape, tongue dry like cactus spikes
Yellow teeth caked in rot and bloody ruin
Shredded lips linger on the warm flesh
Warm crimson dribbles down a dry, scratchy throat
The street is barren save that of the light from the moon
The creature pulls its victim to the pavement
Her screams sound orgasmic
Crickets fill the gaps in between gasps
Flies circle above, the tiny vultures
Their embrace lasts only as long as it takes the blood to cool, a few moments
As cool as night and as sticky candy she opens her eyes
The two of them get up, fighting stiff joints and soreness
Their staggering steps leave behind a trail of blood
The flies feast
The crickets scream
THE DIRTY DIRTY
Lay it down
Hit me where it hurts and don't be gentle
I'm the canvas for your paint
The screen for your movie
Let me be the voice you can't pull from your throat
We were people once, now we're animals
Fierce with our needs
Clawing and biting and taking
Proud of urges, not ashamed or bashful
The work clothes lie on the floor
It's time to be animals once mor
e
GRITTING TOOTHED-SMILE
An outstretched row of arms
Grasping into the thick air of morning
The sun shines on another day
Where money falls from the sky
The fingers pull and pluck all they can
Pockets tear as they are pushed to capacity
The women stuff their bras
And the men rip at them
The money falls to the ground
Green becomes stained in scarlet
The sun continues to boast its prosperity
And distance makes a hole that cannot be filled
LIFE EXPLOITED
Some like it dead
The kids are all grown up now and that's what they say
Saturday sodomies and Sunday night suicides
They did all they could with the living
So, naturally they turned to the dead
It was new and fresh, but not really fresh
It was taboo, at least for a bit, then everyone did it
It was time to quit
Too cool now, time to move on
Life is art and what do you do when you've done it all
The colors are all used and the canvases full
You can't clean them off and they aren't selling for shit
No one wants to buy the broken but everyone wants to break
Take all you can and fill it with life, fuck it till it dies and then move on
Sentiment is yesteryear, caring is careless
Don't get attached and nothing is real
You can do what you want, nobody cares
You can do what you want, just let us stare
WORKING TITLE
Film it, fuck it, kill it, cut it
Slap a title on it and kill in the name of
Show it to the kids but keep it from the neighbors
Believe what you will
Believe what you kill
Its only a movie, you sit entertained
On the edge of your seat, biting your nails
What's going to happen next?--sex or death?
You want to see it, but you can't erase it
It's only a movie, but you'll never be the same
CLONE
One separates itself from the heard
To stand in front of many mirrors
They follow and mimic
Warp and distort
It has become your fault
The unknowing leader of some bastard
WEEKEND WARRIORS FROM HELL
Get your weapons sharp for the weekend, warriors
Two days to show the world who you are
You've prepared all week and now its here
Stay up late and wage war against the day
Raise hell and paint the town in piss
Vinegar on your lips and spite on your tongue
Such sweet sarcasm, I love it
Its gone before it starts
Shut down you robots, save your energy
Tomorrow you must produce, grind the gears
Hide the tears and forget the dreams
Paradise is lost and if you say otherwise...
LIFE'S BEEN GOOD
These eyes have seen some drek
Some absolute refuse fit for rats
They've seen miracles too, and a love that shines like rainfall
The sky could collapse, and pin me to my deathbed but I only need to see that smile to know I'm still in heaven
Sour is surely what you think of me and my stone faced expressions rarely tell otherwise
But I'm so happy to have been here
The dirt could suck me down through one of those crazy straws and chew me up with dagger-teeth
I'd die a happy man
Nothing's perfect, but that's just fine
With you at my side, and our little monster
We did all right, I just want you to know
THE COMPLEXITY OF FALSE EMOTIONS
A spider web of emotions
All well-crafted and realistic
I barely fit into the conversation
But I can play my part and blur the edges of what I am
A fake laugh comes from inside
I want you to think you're funny
I want you to think you're okay in my book
In truth you are a mask
A dust jacket to my book bound in flesh and written in blood
You're a piece to the game I'm playing
I don't care about winning
I just like to play
I'm bored as fuck and it amuses me when I play the unpaid actor I am
I've built a life on jokes that were never really funny
NEVER LOUD ENOUGH
The music can't drown out the drones
Not this morning, of all the ones I need
Looking for that rhythm that ticks away
Like the robots and their hive minds
If only I could entertain myself
If only I could refrain myself
The system needs to be shut down
All these drones are metal clowns
No pulse, no passion, just fashion
Sleek and streamlined, just mainline
If only I could take myself
I wouldn't have to hate you
BY TORCHLIGHT WE WALK
The days go by as quick as the tears from my eyes
As they shed tears of saddened joy
Our baby boy is growing up so fast
It's true--these days won't last
Grip them tight and try as we may
To fight the tide and keep our footprints in the sand
Eventually they'll wash away and our eyes will dry
At least we had today, and I hope tomorrow too
Kiss me hard before I numb
And let's walk before we fall
Hurried footsteps down the hall
And sounds that become words
These days are often dark
but I'll go into the night
So long as I know the light we made
will burn forever-strong
THE UNKNOWING WITNESS
Stumbled upon a closed door with a key left in the lock
Looked from side to side and stepped closer still
She turned the key in the lock
And heard the noise of mayhem
There was a mechanical man with a wet lady
Sparks flew across the damp air
Double suicide
Worlds collide
She walks away
INCOMPREHENSIBLE
Slippery, wet, bleeding gums of death's shadow
Out of the big empty, unseen forever...till now
Shapes incomprehensible, breath a gag-worthy gust
Skin like slime, viscous, sticky, but fascinating to see
Forms that refuse to make sense
Parts of the whole function seemingly of separate mind
Like clockwork machinery covered in sea-creature anatomy
Save a seat on the edge of sanity
THE KING OF CONSUMPTION
Choke, you happy whore on the sweat from your brow
Drink it down, in swallows the size of fists
Stare at the mess you made
And you call yourself a man?
Facades conceal what you know to be true
The spawns of your blood rejoice when your away
And you're always away, always
Maybe if you made an attempt, maybe if you cared
But life still treats you like a king
How heavy is the crown?
STAINS
Call off the search, the cops have found their man
Covered in love and as naked as the sun
Close your eyes, you don't want to see this
Laughter reverberates off the wet basement bricks
The dogs are howling, the rookie looks sick
Please, resist, they beg the man in red
He does and they love it
> Everybody gets their kicks
Knuckles swell and ego's bloat
Kings of the shit, rulers of the earth
Monsters all, the good, the bad, the bat-shit crazy
The whole scene wraps up with a bow and ribbon
Come tomorrow, nothing happened
If it did, you'd never know
The blood washes away, and no one's left to remember
Save for the ghosts, who can't help but stay
esc PLAN
Screaming at a keyboard