John Prine

The night that John Prine died, it felt like John Prine died.
Three days before, I heard a song but just one.
Brad put it on cause it felt like a good time,
and it was a great one but still only one.

The night that John Prine died, I was on a bike ride
and listening to Clem Snide; and he sounded done.
That night I swear it's as if every folk song
had fallen to pieces and they all became one.

The night John Prine perished, "the president killed him"
and then "we all killed him" how we'll kill everyone.
I wondered if John Prine had really stayed inside
and washed all his fingers and not seen his sons.

The night that John Prine died, the world was on a bike ride
and it's nowhere near finished. We ride close to the sun.
That night I swear it's as if every folk song
had fallen to pieces and they all became one.

Heart Bears No Seal

Too good to be true, too quiet.
Mascara eyelids blacken the sheets.
A simple romance, how Hugo writes it.
A flash of red light on a black leather couch,
all it took to ignite it.

Slow burner, baby. Turtleneck trim. 

When you truly love someone else, you’re afraid they could die.
You’re around when they fall, and let down when they leave.
Down to let them go, and the heart bears no seal.

Less simple romance, how Percy writes it
Time as your highness, no son here to speak.
And just like a dream, mouth is defiant.
Eyes speak the words that are chained to esophageal eyelets. 

Slow burner, baby. With turtleneck trim. 

Subaquatic Live (truthful version)

New Orleans is the center of the world, so one day you’re bound to return. That’ll be the day that I float up and burn. That’ll be the end of the world.
Adams Street feels like a hell where the cemetery doesn’t seem real. It’s nothing that’s healthy. No, it won’t help me heal. Adams is the end of the world. Adams, where I’ll be interred.

Where the Texas plates won’t go away, a blue civic is starting to fade. There’s people still telling me that I’ll be okay; my family didn’t hear what yours heard (the last time I was in church before this weekend. Way out in Mansfield, your pastor was speaking, said we are all saved but I’m betting he’s reaching). It is finished. He breathed his last breath. Then the priest touched my forehead for almost a minute.

“If the house isn’t yours, son, then why are you in it?”
“It feels like it’s mine more than hers even if it just feels like the end of the world.”

The last night I saw you, I wanted to hate you. White hair fell on shoulders like nothing had happened. Asked you to meet me at Snakes for a farewell. Turned into a normal night so I got shitfaced. You told me you’d come back. Don’t know why you shared that.

You told me you’re back in July like you’re back every night in my mind. Not back for me but for what you left behind, your cat. What’d it do to deserve you? Now I think maybe I’ll stay. Was leaving with you til you had your way.

Maybe I can hate you if I drown in the rain in New Orleans at the end of the world. When I am sinking, my mind will replace you with blood spots at the end of the world. When you return you can stand on my grave eating popcorn when you’ve ended the world. When you return, take a picture of my name cast in concrete.

Free WiFi in the Vatican (on campus for students)

Have you ever thought there might be free WiFi in the Vatican? There’s no password, they just let everybody in. And when the pope takes his shoes off, the real fun begins. There are no bad ideas and they’ve forgiven everybody’s sins.
With all this bandwidth, we’re gonna cure world hunger. We’ll eradicate malaria! We’ll give thanks for Melania! As unlikely as it ever has been, I’m hoping for some free WiFi in the Vatican.
Hey brother, if you get out to that part of Europe any time soon, will you let me know if they’ve installed the free WiFi in the Vatican yet? And if they’ve ungirded their loins, and those water closets are also free, I’m gonna spend every last dollar to fly over that sea.
It’s pretty likely that they’re gonna call it “Why-Fee” in the name of the father, the son, and the holy high speeds. A drop in the ocean, I will sit on my shins and thank the lord for free WiFi in the Vatican.